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#great that Amity stood up to her parents for real this time and is like incredibly strong holy shit.
thebuttsmcgee · 3 years
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Glad that escaping expulsion is finally out so I can now safely ask, was anyone else expecting gus' voice to drop that low like holy shit. Had time really moved that fast between recording S1 and S2???
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redrobin-detective · 3 years
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Half of
Danny Fenton was half ghost. Or something.
No one was quite sure what that meant exactly or if it was even true. A ghost in a pure white suit had announced it during an attack on the town until he was beaten and silenced by Phantom. It’s been three days since then and the nerd hasn’t been at school. Not that Dash was looking for him or anything.
Dash worried, for just a second, that something bad happened to him. The Guys in White creeps had been asking questions around school the last few days. There’d been a noticeable lack in ghost attacks around town, maybe another ghost got to him? What about his ghost obsessed parents? Surely they wouldn’t have done anything to their own kid...
“Think Danny will be in school today?” Kwan whispered nervously, leaning in close to Dash’s side. Talking too loudly about the elephant, or ghost he guesses, in the room got people very forcefully interviewed by the government. 
“Why the hell would I know?” Dash grumbled, shaking his friend off to shove his hands deep into the pockets of his letterman jacket. “No one knows what’s going on, Manson and Foley haven’t shown up either.”
“I hope they’re ok,” Kwan said quietly, looking down at the floor. 
“Why do you care?” Dash grumbled, harsher than he meant to.
“You and everyone ditched me for Danny when Paulina was dating him, remember? Sam and Tucker were real pals and Danny, well he’s weird but not really that bad.” Kwan said bitterly before his eyebrows twisted in confusion. “That was actually pretty out of character for Paulina to date him now that I think about it, maybe he was, like, using ghost magic to control her?”
“That’s stu-” Dash was interrupted by the usually noise of Casper High going dead silent. He and Kwan shrugged at each other. He saw Star down the hallway, staring at something. He caught her eye and mouthed What is it at her. Her eyes slid back over to the hall before mouthing Fenton back. 
“Shit,” Dash couldn’t help but mutter under his breath, “Fenton’s here.” He glanced over at Kwan, trying to hide his nervousness. “Guess we’ll find out if he’s some sort of ghost freak after all.”
Kwan eyed him for a second, “you know if Danny really is half of a ghost then maybe you’ll want to quit it with the names.” The warning bell rang for first period. “You guys have homeroom together with Lancer, right? Just, I don’t know, don’t make him mad or anything.”
“Man, don’t even joke,” Dash said with a strained smile. “It’s Fenton, what’s the nerd gonna do?”
XxX
Fenton always sat in the back right of the class so seeing him there wasn’t that strange. What was strange was that he was there before the bell rang, not looking sweaty or exhausted or beaten up. Seeing him sitting there with an almost bored expression, casually leaning one arm over the back of his chair. It was eerie, seeing Fenton try to act normal. Dash felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on his head as he stiffly walked by the nerd he usually smacked when he walked by. He thought he felt Fenton’s icy eyes following him as he passed. Dash made sure he didn’t scurry like a wimp to his seat but it was a close thing.
“Class, please stop staring at Mr. Fenton and let us begin,” Lancer sighed, unsuccessfully trying to start the class.
“Do you know the ghost boy?” Paulina asked, slamming her palms on her desk and ignoring their teacher. “Because if you’ve been holding out on me-”
“I mean everyone in Amity Park knows him,” Fenton shrugged. He’d been so chill this morning, like the whole thing wasn’t bothering him. It only made Dash more antsy. He bounced his leg under the desk.
“Can you do anything cool? Like fly or shoot lasers from your eyes?” Mikey asked, leaning forward with curiosity.
“I can do lots of cool things,” Fenton sniffed. “I know a lot about the space program and local astronomy. I draw sometimes and I’m think I’m pretty good. I also have super flexible joints so I can do this.” He grinned a little as everyone squealed when he bent his thumb back so far it nearly touched his wrist. “Of course,” his grin turned into an eye roll, “no one really cares about that only my supposed superpowers.”
“What is a half of, exactly? What that ghost called you?” Dash found himself asking. He almost didn’t want to be heard but Fenton turned to look at him anyways. 
“What do you think it means?” Fenton questioned back. Though he had a teasing smirk, his eyes looked dull and dead. Dash couldn’t look at them and ducked his head. 
“Alright, alright, enough with the questions. The Fenton’s gave Danny a clean bill of health and allowed him to rejoin class so that’s all you kids need to know. Now, back to what we were actually talking about.” Class continued as expected but everyone still snuck glances at Fenton. He’s not sure what they were all waiting for, him to suddenly turn green or sprout horn or whatever. But Fenton just sat there, still as anything, trying to act normal and it just didn’t fit him right and it was all just. Wrong.
XxX
Dash was relieved Fenton wasn’t in his second or third period classes but they did have the same lunchtime. For the first time since he was skinny, bucktoothed 6th grader, Dash wanted to hide away and eat his lunch in private. But Fenton wasn’t the only one trying to keep up appearances.
“Alright, what has everyone got,” Paulina was whispering to the table by the time Dash was sitting down. “The day is halfway over, someone had to have seen him doing something ghostly.”
“I mean we don’t know how long he’s been like this,” Star commented, flipping her hair as pretense to sneak a glance at the loser trio near the back entrance of the cafeteria. “He could’ve been hiding his for a while.”
“Fenton’s always been weird,” Dale commented with a sneer, stabbing at his beefaroni. “Since day one, he’s been jumpy and clumsy and goes through weird mood swings.”
“Maybe he’s never been normal,” Kwan said with a little frown. Now Dash knows this wasn’t true. He was the only one at the table who’d gone to the same middle school as Fenton. The nerd had talked too much about space and was always tripping over something but he’d been like all the other annoying brats in middle school. Dale was onto something, Fenton had changed once high school hit which means whatever is up with him as been going on for a while. Years. 
He suddenly felt eyes on him, a cold, crawling feeling that made his breath catch in his throat. Dash squeezed his eyes shut and breathed a silent sigh of relief as the eyes turned from him. They didn’t return but Dash found he couldn’t eat after that.
XxX
“Dude, did you hear about Fenton?” Victor said in an excited but still hushed whisper as Dash was leaving fifth period. 
“No, what did he do?” Dash asked with dread.
“He had gym last period and apparently he’s been faking his loser weakness. He crawled up the rope climb like a goddamned spider monkey and then slid himself back down. Don’t know how he didn’t have intense rope burn from that. He also beat Charlie, Katie and Veronica on the sprinting portion. Must be those ghosty genes.”
“Fenton did all that?” Dash asked, he bit the inside of his cheek. Hard.
“Yeah it was crazy, I thought Tetslaf was gonna pass out,” Victor laughed. “Maybe we should get him to try out for the football team, he’d be a great running back or-”
“Come on, Vic,” Dash laughed but the sound came out wrong. “Why would we want Fenton on our team? He’s, he’s Fenton! Just a skinny, weird little wimp.” Vic side-eyed him a bit before clapping Dash on the back.
“World’s changing, Dash. First ghosts, now half ghosts, it’s all wrong but you just gotta roll with it. All I know is I have 2 years left in this hell hole before I leave this miserable place for Chicago and never look back. I recommend you do the same, after all,” Vic grinned again but it was sharper. “Fenton’s always been your personal punching bag, not every day you learn your victim has superpowers.”
“We don’t know what the hell is up with Fenton,” Dash defended. Vic just shrugged.
“Yeah but he’s always been a freak now we know he ain’t human. Who knows what else he’s hiding?” Vic said with a smug smile before wandering off, giving a halfhearted wave over his shoulder as he left.
Dash stood in the hallway, trying to get himself under control until the warning and late bell rang. Only then, when he was certain he wouldn’t run into Fenton, did he head to class. 
XxX
“Should we follow him, see where he goes?” Paulina said, biting onto one of her nails in nervous excitement. Paulie was gorgeous and overall pretty cool but her thing with ghosts sometimes tired Dash out. Now more than ever. 
“Come on, that’s like stalking,” Kwan scolded. “Even if that wasn’t illegal or whatever it’s just not cool. They had a rough day today, leave ‘em alone.” That icy chill returned and Dash looked out of the corner of his eye to see Fenton and his cronies walking out of the school. 
Truthfully, Dash didn’t think Fenton had that bad of a day. Yeah people were asking questions but he’d side stepped them all, gave non-answers. Other people talked about Fenton’s supposed strength in gym but there’d been conflicting reports, some said he flew up the rope climb, others said he levitated doing his push ups. Dash really didn’t know what to believe. Fenton was just acting, well, like Fenton. He paused for a second, stopped walking before catching up with the group.
Maybe... maybe Dash was getting caught up over nothing. There really was no proof Fenton was this ‘half of’ other than what one dumb ghost said. He thought back to Fenton’s grin during first period; stupid nerd was probably milking his 15 minutes of fame and bully free time. His earlier fear and uncertainty burst into flames until a familiar anger was burning in his gut. Now this he knew what to do with.
“Yeah, well his day is about to get rougher,” Dash heard himself say as he stomped off to where Fenton was smiling tiredly at something Manson was saying. “Hey Fentonio! Think you’re pretty cool with every paying attention to you but I-”
Fenton gasped suddenly, like a hiccup only his breath misted out in front of him cold as a winter’s day. Dash stopped midsentence watching as Fenton’s whole face twisted. His earlier weary but tolerant annoyance that he’d been projecting all day was stripped away. He glared at Dash with an expression that was hard as ice and full of an exhaustion and bitterness he couldn’t begin to understand.
“As payment for being forcibly outed,” Fenton spoke up loudly enough that most of the school yard could hear him. “I was promised a week.” His eyes slowly but methodically scanned the crowd who had frozen in place at his authoritative tone. “Where I didn’t have to deal with ghosts, so I want to know... Who is trespassing on my haunt.”
Fenton’s mouth opened impossibly wide revealing what seemed like rows of sharped teeth. He curled his fingers into claws and, looking closer, his fingernails had indeed become real claws, as sharp and deadly as his teeth. His eyes blazed an impossible, ectoplasmic green and his dark hair developed streaks of white. He was terrifying, monstrous, but he was still Fenton. That feeling that had been eating at dash all day came back full force. Not the realization that Fenton had powers or whatever but that he had been hiding it in plain sight through ghost attacks and bullies and failing grades. This had always been Fenton, they just hadn’t seen. Until now that is.
And now the script had flipped and Dash didn’t know how this Ghost Fenton, who still was the same Fenton Dash had wedgied last Wednesday, fit. A green blob ghost materialized over by stairs, quivering and wailing in some ghost language. It turned and fled, presumably in the direction of the Fenton Portal to escape Fenton’s wrath. Fenton’s glowing eyes tracked it for a moment before he straightened up from his hunched posture and... was human again.
He brushed his hands through his black hair, lazily blinked blue eyes and, when he smiled, his teeth were normal. But Dash had seen, they all had. He’d let them see but to what end, he had no idea. Fenton turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow and another small smirk, just as tired as earlier.
“Sorry about that Dash, I take my vacation time very seriously. You were saying?” Fenton said with a smug lilt but his eyes were still dead and there was a bit of fear in them now. Despite his powers, he still gripped his backpack tightly.
“When your dumb little vacation’s up, Fentionail,” Dash said with a shaky voice. “It’s-it’s back to business, okay? Punches and wedgies and locker shoving. You,” he voice cracked a bit and he fought it down. “It’ll ramp up now that I know you can take it.” Fenton blinked, once then twice before he smiled. This time it wasn’t annoyed or scary or fearful but like the dumb grins he usually gave his dumb friends. 
“Yeah okay, we’ll start back up next week. The usual time?” Dash nodded, not knowing what else to say. “Alright, see you around.” He turned to walk away before pausing and turning back. “Actually you should be careful on who you shove into lockers, it can get hard to breathe in there and not everyone can phase out of them. You never know who’ll turn up dead,” he grinned and his eyes flashed green again, “if only half.”
That said, he and his friends walked away, ignoring the stares of the entire school on them. “Oh and it’s halfa, not half of,” Fenton called out over his shoulder. “I’m not half of anything, I’m just a whole me even if the details get a bit complicated.”
“Bye Danny, see you tomorrow,” Kwan called after with a grimace. No one else said anything for a minute until Dash found the strength to move his legs from where they’d been planted. He clenched his fists to hide his shaking and continued his walk home. Everyone else slowly did the same, talking quietly among themselves.
“What the hell was that?” Dale asked in a nervous high pitched voice. “What the hell did I just see?”
“Fenton being a weirdo but that’s nothing new,” Dash shrugged with a confidence he didn’t have yet. But if Fenton could show up to school after being outed and then willingly show them his inhumanity, then Dash needed to up his game. Couldn’t let the nerd be cool or anything. “So what if he glows or whatever, he’s still Fenton. Look I gotta get home, it’s Pookie’s feeding time and he is NOT going to believe the day I had.
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five-rivers · 3 years
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Home
The building that housed Fentonworks had never been normal, no matter what neighbors and real estate agents might profess.
Things had happened there. Deaths. Wild twists of fate and shocking coincidences. People who lived there heard noises, saw things, felt things. Experienced sicknesses with no cause. Were cured of sicknesses without cause. Survived things that should have killed them.
It was a thin spot between worlds. Reality was a rippling membrane, frayed enough for things to shine through.
The construction of the neighborhood itself had been… strange. It happened much faster than it should have, as if there was a whole extra shift of workers on the project.
The townhouse that would one day become Fentonworks had stood out even in that mystery. Extra rooms, a basement deep enough to cause a nasty fight with regulators, features not approved by the architect.
It was a wonder they hadn’t hit any of the water lines or the sewage systems. A wonder- and an impossibility. So, the matter was ignored and dropped.
Then the next owners expanded that impossible basement, building another, secret basement and putting things in the walls- They were criminals, of course. It was expected for them to do illegal things. (Although exactly what they had done was… oddly uncertain.)
(Drugs, perhaps.)
Then, the lunatics. Then, the tiny cult that collapsed in on itself. Then the empty years, dozens of transient ghosts trying and failing to pass through, and the ghost hunters. So many ghost hunters, none of them particularly successful.
Then, the Fentons.
Then, little Jazz.
Then, little Danny.
Danny with wide eyes that saw too much.
And all the horrors that the Fentons could dream up, from living hotdogs to weapons that burned like stars and doors to places that should not be visited.
And this was Danny Fenton’s home.
.
The Manson estate was an odd case, even for Amity Park. Save for the basement, the entire building they lived in had been transplanted, brick and beam, from Germany.
Rich people were bizarre.
Even the Mansons couldn’t explain it. The man who had done it hadn’t been a Manson. The Mansons, who were relatively new money, all things considered, had purchased it from one of the man’s children. Anything to boost their prestige.
It was fancy, and it was old, a gothic and statuesque mansion worthy of its name. Still, it wasn’t quite fancy or old enough to merit the kind of expenditure moving it had to take.
Hence the rumors, squelched by the Mansons, that the place was haunted.
It wasn’t.
The rumors, however, were enough to get one Samantha Manson interested in the occult. Especially given how hard she saw her parents working to hide the rumors from her.
No. The mansion wasn’t haunted. For all it’s oddities and quirks – which only multiplied as the Mansons added more and more features to it – the building itself was mundane.
(The land it was built on might have been another story.)
And this was Sam Manson’s home.
.
The Foleys didn’t want to know what Tucker got up to in the attic, but liked to think that, with that one exception, their home was a nice one. It was on a nice street, in a nice neighborhood, just far enough away from Fentonworks to keep both sightings of the Ghost Assault Vehicle and resultant property damage and property taxes to a minimum. Within walking distance of the high school, a supermarket, and a park.
They kept the fridge and pantry stocked. Their food might not have always been healthy – red meat was an element of almost every meal – but it was always available and filling. They made an effort for the dietary restrictions of Tucker’s friends of course.
All the rooms were kept clean and neat. Even Tucker’s, by way of bribes. Everything was organized, everything had its place. Except, perhaps, for the stray shoe or piece of schoolwork.
But that attic.
It really hadn’t been anything, before Tucker asked if he could move his computer stuff up there. Just a storage space, one too difficult for either Angela or Maurice to climb up there often. They didn’t consider themselves old, but they couldn’t call themselves young either. Not with a son Tucker’s age.
Once Tucker had realized the attic was there, he had been fascinated. And, well, once he was old enough for them to not worry about him falling off the ladder, they let him go up.
Some days, it seemed, he didn’t come down.
Better than his faintly disturbing Ancient Egypt phase, where he kept bringing pictures of mummified corpses to the table. Or, worse, the werewolf phase.
And this was Tucker Foley’s home.
.
Amity Park had claimed the distinction of ‘most haunted town in America’ long before the Fentons opened their portal. In fact, that was the reason the Fentons had set up shop there, in the first place.
No haunted town was complete without at least one haunted house. Amity Park had several. Not to mention a haunted hospital, a selection of haunted schools, a haunted museum, a haunted pool, a haunted crosswalk, a haunted mall, a haunted football field… The list went on, essentially ad nauseum.
Of course, that list mostly consisted of places that became haunted after the Fentons built their portal. But even before then, some places offered their dubious charms to tourists.
Mostly gullible ones. More than half of the claims of hauntings before the portal opened were fraudulent in their entirety. These places quickly went broke and got abandoned when real ghosts started showing up.
One of these was the ominously named Raven House, which stood in the hills on the west edge of town.
The story the tourists of years gone by had been told was that a widower had lived out here, all by himself and that one day, he stopped coming to town, or paying his bills, or even getting his mail. When the mailbox at the end of the long driveway was full, the mailman decided to go check on the widower. What he found was a flock of ravens and a skeleton, entirely picked clean of flesh.
No such death had occurred there, nor in any part of Amity. No such person had ever lived in the house, either. The last owners, before the company that decided to market the house as haunted, were a couple with two children.
It wasn’t until months after the portal started up that it became haunted in truth.
.
“This place isn’t haunted,” said Danny, panning his flashlight over cobwebbed corners on the ceiling. “I don’t think it ever was.”
“That’s what, strike five?” asked Sam.
Danny shrugged. “Yeah, I think so.”
“Four, actually,” said Tucker. “We counted the hospital as inconclusive, since we don’t know if anyone was there before Spectra.”
Danny nodded. “It’s weird, though, isn’t it? That no one lives here, I mean. It looks like a perfectly nice house.”
“Décor’s a bit… eh. Trying to hard to be haunted,” said Tucker, poking a raven decal on the wallpaper.
“I like it,” said Sam. “Needs cleaning, though.”
“Hey,” said Tucker, “you’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking, are you? Because I’m pretty sure that’d be illegal.”
“It isn’t as if anyone else is using the place,” argued Sam. “It could be a great backup hideout, if we ever had to… you know.” She glanced at Danny. “Plus, we’d be doing them a favor, really, keeping things clean and lived in.”
“I think it’s an okay idea,” said Danny.
“Yeah, but you think lots of dumb things are good ideas. Like showing up at a party hosted by people who publicly humiliate you on a regular basis.”
Danny grumbled something about trauma responses that sounded like a direct quote from Jazz and something else about that incident being ages (aka weeks) ago. Then, he brightened.
“We could get one of the little ectoplasm generators to power everything,” he said. “Remember all that stuff we lifted from Skulker and Technus? We could actually use it. Study and test things without worrying about whether our parents will walk in. I mean, your attic is great, but still.”
“Plus, we can have actual lab safety protocols. No offense, Danny.”
“I am the one that half-died in a lab accident, so… None taken.”
Tucker rubbed his chin. “Alright. I suppose I can see the appeal… But if we have stuff that can trace back to us, we could get in serious trouble."
“We’ll be careful, then,” said Sam.
“Anything I take from Mom and Dad has plausible deniability. They’ll assume ghosts stole it.”
“We also need to clean if we’re being serious about this. And get a fridge. And figure out the pluming situation.”
“Fridge is on the list. We have to be careful about the outside, too. If this place is suddenly well maintained, people will notice.”
“Sure, but that isn’t something they’d call the cops over,” said Danny. “They’ll just assume new people are moving in. If anyone sees it at all. We’re pretty far away from anything. But pluming won’t be too hard. We just need to bring our own water. Like, toilets flush using physics. If you dump more water in, they’ll go, no electricity required.”
“How do you know that?”
“I can’t even tell you how many time Mom and Dad blew out all our breakers with stuff in the lab,” said Danny. “You pick up a few things.”
“Well,” said Tucker, swinging his flashlight over to examine a discolored spot on the ceiling. “Then… Home sweet home, I suppose.”
.
There was a house in the hills in the west hills of Amity Park.
And this was the home of two and a half humans and half a ghost.
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citadelspires · 3 years
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P1 - Given how great you're track record's been for doing hypothetical interactions of Amphibia kids with the Duck kids and Owl House kids, let's try doing the Duck kids meeting the Owl House kids and who they'd like the best. I'll exclude Violet for this for the sake of evenening things out 5 to 5. I'd assume Luz would get along best with Dewey (both jump into adventure), King with Louie (could see em teaming up for a scheme), Willow with Huey (eh, more leftover interaction but can work)
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Screenshot of second half of the ask provided. Text: P2 Gus with Webby (would totally ask each other lots of questions about their species), and Amity with Lena (both got abusive figures they stood up to and would totally talk about their crushes on Luz and Webby LOL). Would love to see you take on Duck kids and Owl House kids interactions.
First of all I’m very pleased to hear you find my track record on these posts good, they’ve been really fun to write and it makes me really happy people like them! Second I am so sorry it’s taken so long to get to this ask, it’s a really in depth one and it took a long time to write, I hope you’ll find it was worth the wait!
Aight! Oh and one last thing real quick before I get into it. I hope you wouldn’t mind me adding Violet back in, partially due to the fact I love her, but mostly because there’s actually another owl house character I think works significantly better with Louie than anyone else and I really want the chance to talk about that. Saving that one for last hehe. This’ll be another long one, writing below the cut.
Luz and Webby So I do like a lot of the possible interactions brought up by your suggested grouping but my mind went in a few different directions. I’ll start with Luz, who would fit in best with another excitable adventuring partner, as pointed out, but I think the best fit for her in that regard would actually be Webby. While Dewey would no doubt get along great with Luz, there’s a special element to the potential relationship between Luz and Webby that really elevates the potential of their friendship to another level, that being: they both want to eat a hamburger.
An aspect of Webby I wish the later seasons of the show got into a little more, but is definitely something I would consider a core part of her character, is the fact that she got held up in the mansion her whole childhood, with no opportunities to interact with the world around her, have all the adventures she wanted, and most importantly to just be seen as the kid she wanted to be. And while Luz was technically able to go out into the world, the place she found wasn’t one that was willing to see her, or give her any of the chances she longed for. Both Webby and Luz fully understand that feeling of being trapped in your own life, of finally getting the chance to break out and just doing your best to make the most of it. I think there’s a lot the two could gain from spending some time together.
(Also, to borrow the bit about gushing about their crushes but from the other end, these two would totally get sidetracked talking about their respective crushes and also trying to play wingman for each other. It’s a massive comic disaster in both cases, but somehow both Lena and Amity manage to find it endearing).
Amity and Violet Okay wait lemme explain. While the two of them don’t have a whole lot in common at first glance, I think they would genuinely get along extremely well. While a lot of Amity’s focus on school came at the force of her parents, you cannot honestly expect me to believe that girl isn’t a studious nerd on her own anyway. Heck even outside the realm of studies she throws her full dedication into literally every single thing she does. Remind you of anyone? Beyond just being extremely intelligent Violet is clever and ready for anything. She takes everything in stride and always has a plan, she can go from “we were sleeping over and you said everybody get on the plane, so we got on the plane” to “I brought an axe” in a minute flat.
I like to think the two of them would have a mutual respect for each other based on their respective intellects upon first meeting, but as they become closer friends they find they can move from more serious respect to a casual enjoyment of each other. I would go as far as to say that both of these characters really value dependability in a friend, and that they each provide a lot of that. To wrap back around to the stuff about intelligence I think Violet could provide a lot of insight to Amity as far as showing her that pursuing studies and academic heights of her own volition can be something that she can just do because she wants to, and that’s no excuse for unhealthy parental relationships. Getting along so well with someone like Violet only to see that her parents are actually really loving and supportive, that would be really eye-opening for Amity I think. For Violet’s part she could get a lot of help from Amity as far as her pursuit of the secrets of magic goes. I suspect Amity would be much more interested in the study of her magic than Violet would be able to get Lena to tolerate lol.
Bonus Round: Amity would absolutely be a senior junior woodchuck and she would love it you cannot convince me otherwise. She starts quoting the JWGB around the owl house kids and they all look at her like she’s crazy.
Lena and Willow I feel like this one might seem a little out there at first but trust me on this one. Initially Lena doesn’t think too much of Willow, being as close as she is to Webby she knows liking flowers and cute things doesn’t mean Willow is automatically to be taken lightly but she feels like she’s got a good read on her that she generally prefers to avoid trouble and turns down opportunities for violence, which isn’t really Lena’s deal. Over time Lena figures she was right about her first impressions as Willow doesn’t seem to take many opportunities to expose some hidden power, even when Lena knows the people around her kinda deserve it.
She learns to adjust her opinion when she finally does get the chance to see Willow in action and realizes that girl is more powerful than any of the other kids she’s met in the boiling aisles bar none(yes this is my genuine opinion of willow if you don’t think she could kick your ass you’re wrong). It’s at that moment where she starts to pay more attention to Willow and notices a lot more of the strength she puts into all the little things, how much she cares for everyone and everything, and it does a great deal to show Lena that maybe having super strong magic powers isn’t mutually exclusive with being kind and gentle. And maybe gentle isn’t her thing but still, it’s nice to know.
For Willow’s part she’s just happy to make more friends. Especially if the opportunity arises, as I like to think it would, when they’re close enough friends, that Lena would start to hint around asking questions about how Willow remains so casual and nice with the ability to do so much damage, and Willow takes the chance to help Lena figure out her magic a bit more, and learn how to better appreciate it as an aspect of herself she doesn’t have to be scared of. (I mean come on Lena never really learned how to do any of it except barely kind of from Magica of all people she could really  use something like that).
Huey and Gus Now there are some certain things about Gus that would drive Huey absolutely nuts. His lack of primary and reliable sources for any of his information being a big one, but at the end of the day I think he’d enjoy Gus’ desire to learn in the first place. Gus would probably be a little dubious about Huey’s “sources” and “citations” but if it helped him get more info on the human realm he’d certainly go for it in the end. In that way the two balance each other out pretty well. Gus is studious and intelligent but he’s a little off the wall, he’s got a big creative streak, and he’s really excitable. Huey is really really good at facts and analysis but he lacks the strength in imagination that Gus has. Huey is able to take all the grandiose concepts Gus is able to think up and help make them actually happen. Gus has that specific brand of an adventurers soul matched up with the fact he’s not actually the type to get into danger and fights, meaning he’s able to drag Huey out of his comfort zone a little and help him reach new heights with his mind that his struggles with creativity prevent him from reaching, while managing to not make him feel like he’s actually in danger. I actually believe the two of them together could get some really incredible stuff done.
What I’m saying is that with Huey’s help Gus could absolutely complete his tunnels under Hexside.
Dewey and King Now this, this is the pair who would go incredibly well together, at the detriment of literally everyone around them. If there is one person King “I Will Rule Everything” Clawthorne should not be exposed to its Dewey Duck. Within minutes of meeting each other the two of them would immediately have so many bad ideas. Between Dewey’s insistence on being the best and most daring adventurer while putting his name on everything and going down in history & King’s trying to rule everything and everyone, the attempts to raise the stakes would be constant and the two would spend literal hours endlessly trying to one-up each other. All in one day they search for legendary treasure, discover an entirely new civilization, try to take over said civilization, create a new species just to name it after themselves, and build statues of themselves in the middle of Bonesbourough. And that’s all before lunch.
Louie Here it is. The one I waited till the very end for out of sheer excitement. I even kept the second name out of the heading thing. That’s how secretive I’m trying to be about this. See, there’s one character in the owl house that works so well with Louie it’s practically canon. Their interactions have so much potential, they each bring so much to the table, I just couldn’t Not talk about it. And yeah, I know this ask was specifically asking about the owl house and ducktales kids, but I just couldn’t resist talking about the relationship between Louie and Eda.
A con artist from another world who was so successful she became nationally famous? There’s no way Louie would pass up an opportunity like that. For his part I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already managed to set up another underworld identity in the boiling aisles, or at the very least that Eda could totally have been to the ducktales realm and heard of his one there.
Either way I’m convinced the two of them would start planning a heist as soon as they figure out who each other are. Eda is a little prideful and wants to show this kid he can’t out-con her, but Louie knows what he’s doing just as much. Honestly with the two of them combined Eda wouldn’t have to worry about losing her stand for a long time. Over the course of their planning and seeing Louie in action Eda begrudgingly gains some respect for the  kid, and while Louie was definitely just using her as a learning/profit opportunity at first, he’s pretty susceptible to getting attached.
For Louie, it’s the fact that she actually respects him for being good at what he does. Even back with his family who all love and care about him and all that he still feels like most of them don’t really get what he does or see what’s special about him, so having someone who made a whole life of it be even a little proud of him feels really nice.
And of course, at the end of their heist when they finally have the money in hand, and Eda just casually hands over his half, he stares at her like she’s crazy.
“You’re just.. Giving it to me?!”
“Well, yeah. That was the deal wasn’t it kid? I mean if you really want I definitely have a few ideas for it.”
“No! Uh, no, thanks, I’ll keep it. It’s just that you really remind me of someone, I guess I was expecting something else.”
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ordinaryschmuck · 3 years
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What I Thought About "Escaping Expulsion" From The Owl House
Salutations random people on the internet who most likely won’t read this. I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.
Do you wanna know what I love the most about The Owl House? The writers waste no time getting to the good stuff.
Things like Willow working things out with Amity, Lumity, Lilith's redemption, and Luz's fight with Belos are stuff that most shows would drag out and wait upon using until several seasons down the line. Most of them for the final season. And yet, it all happens in the first! The writers somehow knew what the fans exactly wanted and gave them just that before they even had to ask.
Take "Escaping Expulsion," for example, as it has some great plot points and ideas I thought would happen later in the season and maybe even near the end. But it's only episode TWO of the new season, and I'm appreciative of it for that reason alone.
But explaining the good stuff this episode delivers requires spoilers, so if you haven't watched the episode yet (even though you definitely have at this point), I recommend that you do so. Now let's review, shall we?
WHAT I LIKED
Blight Industries: Huh. I'll be the first to admit: I would have never expected that the main reason why the Blights are rich is because of their technological advancements. Large in part of how the Boiling Isles is a fantasy world, and rarely do you see technology taking place in a setting such as that. Still, points for total expectation subversion added with some pretty cool tech, I might add.
Odalia Blight: It's nice to put a face to the name I've grown to hate with a fiery passion. Now I can update my dartboard!
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But to tell you the truth, it feels weird saying I like someone so vile. I mean, the woman is a manipulative, smarmy b-word who nearly killed Luz. Anybody who does that last part deserves to go on my s**t list! I despise her with the same fiery passion I've had since "Understanding Willow" premiered...and it's that reason why I like her.
Because here's the thing: Characters and people are two different things. If Odalia existed in real life, she better hope that I never meet her. But as a character whose purpose is to have the audience hate her, she succeeds with flying colors. It's the same reason why I consider it unfair to hate an episode like "Something Ventured and Someone Framed" because Mattholomule exists. I get it but understand that hating him is his purpose. It's the same with Odalia. I love her, but only because I love to hate her.
Alador Blight: Wow. I guess Alador really is the lesser of two evils.
By the way, keep in mind that I said "lesser of two evils" and not "the nice one." I don't care how adorable it is to see him get distracted by a butterfly. He's still an abusive figure who stood aside as Luz fought for her life against the Abomitron and still goes along with Odalia's plans despite how heinous they are. And whenever I remember how he treated Amity in "Understanding Willow" as well--
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Also, don't make him neurodivergent so he can seem redeemable. It is painfully obvious that he is just exhausted after hours of toiling away in his lab working on his inventions to the point that his brain is beyond fried.
Now, seeing that I've dismissed the argument about how Alador is the nice one, let's actually talk about his character. Because I can see what Dana Terrace meant when she said that he's interesting. He's not explicitly as awful as Odalia, as he mostly seems to be in his own little world half the time. Despite that, Alador still shows signs of being just as dismissive of Amity in general. You see this as he focuses on how her strength shows signs of Amity being a potential coven leader instead of noticing how his daughter nearly died to his own invention. Alador doesn't manipulate, but he doesn't love his daughter in a way a father should either. I'm very intrigued by this route for his character, and I can't wait to see what is done next with him.
Amity’s Amulet: My heart sank when I realized the true purpose behind Amity's amulet. The thought that Odalia found a way to literally be in Amity's head at all times...I hate that. I mean, I love it because it's A+ storytelling and symbolism, BUT I F**KING HATE IT!
Amity in General: And seeing how we're already talking about Amity, let's dive into the fact that "Escaping Expulsion" is easily her best outing so far in the series. I say this because it really puts to the test Amity's dedication to being a part of the group. You can tell by her expressions and Mae Whitman's performance that Amity so desperately wants to help her friends, but she can't due to being afraid of her mother's wrath. Which doesn't surprise me, given what we know about Odalia so far. But what does surprise me is that Amity stands up to Odalia in this very same episode. I expected it for sure, but most likely at the end of the season, due to most shows dragging out a similar concept for drama's sake. However, as I said, the writers don't waste time giving the fans what they want. So, yeah, Amity defies her mother in the very same episode we're officially introduced to her. And it's totally believable, as Amity has been fighting her parent's control ever since Luz literally showed her the light after "Covention" (click here if you don't believe me). It's yet another impressive showcase of Amity's character development and how she's leagues ahead of other redeemable characters who would go through five more episodes like this before getting to the point.
Luz in General: But enough about Amity. For now, let's talk about the actual best character of the series!
Just like Amity, Luz is on top form in "Escaping Expulsion." She is quick to call 'applesauce' about Odalia and Alador expelling the Hex-Squad and is smart enough to figure out the deal Odalia is worming her way into making. Several people classify Luz as stupid, and while she definitely leaps before she looks at times, this episode proves that Luz isn't going to fall for the sweet talk that someone like Odalia offers. As reckless as she can be, Luz is still intelligent enough to know what someone like Odalia wants and cuts to the chase despite knowing the woman can't be trusted. Still, Luz going through with the deal anyways is fantastic character work for her as it shows her dedication to the people she cares about. It hurts my heart to see Luz get all beat up from Alador's inventions, but her willingness to put up with it for her friends is an act of service I wouldn't have expected from anyone else. "Escaping Expulsion" may be more centered around Amity, but it still proves why Luz earns her spot for one of my favorite characters.
Learning How Glyphs Work: Another solid aspect of The Owl House is that the writers find brilliant ways for world-building and explaining the rules of the Boiling Isles. Take this episode's b-plot, for instance. Eda and Lilith need to learn how to do Luz's version of magic, so having an entire section of the episode dedicated to them figuring it out is a perfect outlet to explain how glyphs work in the first place. Although, I have some tribulations with this subplot that I'll get into with the dislikes. But I still consider this a brilliant workaround to explain glyphs, even if specific executions could be handled better.
The Fairy Pie: Not only is this well-crafted dark humor, and not only is it adorable as hell, but it also shows how Amity has calmed down with her feelings toward Luz. She still blushes when handing over the fairy pie, but it is certainly more subdued in comparison to "Wing it Like Witches." I like to think the time off from her (and our) favorite weirdo helped cool down those emotions a bit, but that doesn't mean she won't get slightly flustered every now and again. Because as much as I adore seeing cool and collective, I'm still very much a fan of Disaster Amity due to how cute it is.
Principle Bump: "This character is underappreciated!"
"That character doesn't get enough love!"
YOU WANNA KNOW WHO'S UNDERAPPRECIATED AND DOESN'T GET ENOUGH LOVE?! PRINCIPAL GOSH DANG BUMP, THAT'S WHO!
So many kids' shows focus on how educators are the bad guy who treats students poorly because they love seeing children suffer. But that's not Bump! Sure, he made a misstep in "The First Day," but for the most part, he really cares for his students and hopes that they work hard to be their better selves. So when he's forced to send Luz, Gus, and Willow away, he's genuinely saddened by it to the point where he breaks down crying! On top of being wholesome, Bump missing his students is another example that a character shouldn't be written as evil just because they run a school. Sure, there are scumbag teachers and principals out there, but for others, they're a lot like Bump: People who show admiration and respect to their students rather than ridicule because a principle "just doesn't get it." And I appreciate Bump all the more for it.
Gus and Willow: It feels weird that these two basically got sidelined, especially since they have a stake in the plot as well, but it's understandable. "Escaping Expulsion" is clearly more Amity-centered, and with Luz being the main character, it would also be odd if she didn't get more of the focus than her friends. Having them do more would have been great, but what they've already accomplished is pretty decent anyway. They show how much they're on the same page as Luz when trying to figure out a way to sneak back into Hexide, Willow is still the best voice of reason when saying no one will be killed through their plans, and Gus wins the comedic highlights in the episode. While I would have loved that they did more, I'm perfectly fine with what we got. Besides, this is only episode two of Season Two. We got nineteen more episodes to go to focus on these two.
King: Ok, now, this is the version of King I like to see. A character that mocks Eda as if they're equals and acts as a reluctant voice of reason. This episode shows King more at his best and is a major step above what we've seen in "Separate Tides."
Lilith: ...Yeah, f**k it. I like Lilith.
Personally, I would have preferred seeing her dragged through the coals at least a few episodes, but that's judging the show for what I want. Not what it is. And as is...It's fine. Lilith has a great dynamic with the rest of the Owl House, it's honestly adorable seeing her refer to Luz as a teacher, and that scene where she makes presents out of ice for Hooty is all kinds of wholesome. I'd say your enjoyment of Lilith highly depends on how forgiving you are, and if you think her splitting the curse is enough of a gesture, you probably won't mind her as much. The execution of her redemption really could have used more time in the oven, but Lilith is still a decent character regardless, so what's to complain about.
Luz Making the Abomination Have a Cat Face: ...Luz...I f**king missed you.
DON'T EVER LEAVE FOR THAT LONG AGAIN!
(Also, I just love that this is all Amity needed to know Luz was in trouble)
Hop Pop Cameo: He's on the cover of one of the books Willow's dad lifts up. Which is extra cute given how Dana Terrace and Matt Braley (creator of Amphibia) are close friends in real life.
Willow’s Dad Pretending Not to See Anything: One single action defines the type of man this guy is. He's the fun and understanding dad!
Gus, Willow, and Amity Arguing How to Break In: This little quarrel just shows how much these three need Luz. Without someone to keep the peace and bring up compromises, these idiots would have just kept arguing all night.
In addition to that, this clash over ideas acts as a showcase for who these characters are. Willow is careful and smart, so she's going for the option more unlikely to get them caught. Amity is brash and to the point, so she's going for the route that gets them inside as soon as possible. And then there's Gus, who's young and naive, so his plan sounds like something out of a cartoon. The odds of any of these plans working are highly debatable, but seeing these characters with clashing personalities and ideas is a ton of fun to watch regardless.
Edric and Emira Helping: There's not much to add here. It's just another sweet scene that makes me so glad that the writers decided to make Ed and Em more like supporting characters than minor antagonists like "Lost in Language" made fans think they would be.
(Amity throwing the "Hex me" signs back at Edric is just the cherry on top).
“Stay away from my Luz!”: ...What the f**k do you want me to say that? It's f**king perfect!
Luz Catching Feelings for Amity: ...Huh. Neat.
...
...Alright, let's move on.
Luz Wanting to Take a Nap After--Yeah, I can't do it. Not even for the joke.
WAH-HOO-HOO-HOO-HOO! MU! TU! AL! PINING! AH-HAHAHA!
THIS! This is more of that good s**t I'm talking about! Due to being so used to other shows going for the slow burn when writing the endgame romance, I was expecting Luz to catch feelings halfway through the season, even at the end of it. But near the beginning?! That is something I am more than ok with!
And much like Amity standing up to her parents in this episode, Luz catching feelings this early on is totally believable. Many fans have already analyzed how Luz's love language is "Acts of Service," which I'm somewhat sure is romantic gestures. Meaning that I f**king challenge you to find a grander gesture than holding back a literal killing machine while swooping down like a knight in shining armor! Oh, wait, you can't. BECAUSE THERE ISN'T ANY!
But by far, the best--the BEST--thing that can come from this is the dramatic irony! We, the audience, know that Luz and Amity like each other, but they don't. So the constant failings as these two fools try to work out their romantic feelings for one another is something I cannot wait to see in all its glory.
This is one of the best things that could have come out of the episode, and while it doesn't mean Lumity is canon, it is definitely closer than ever before. And I'm excited about all of it!
Luz Wanting to Take a Nap After Getting Home: I adore this because there's no one way that this can be interpreted. Either it's because Luz is exhausted after nearly getting killed for the fifteenth time that month, or it's because Luz is overwhelmed about having a crush on Amity...or both. Most likely both.
Belos Wanting The Abomatrons: Wow, what an ominous ending to the episode! I'm sure it won't come into play at all in the future...The season finale is going to hurt, isn't it?
WHAT I DISLIKED
Gus’ Growth Spurt: I mean...that's just weird. Gus suddenly being almost as tall as the others is a change so jarring that I feel like an explanation other than "witch puberty" is required. I get that they wanted to explain away why Issac Ryan Brown's voice got deep this season, 'cause puberty's a b**ch. But sometimes I feel like it's best to just ignore it, like with how Phineas and Ferb or Steven Universe just goes along with the fact that VAs tend to grow up when the characters themselves remain ageless.
Eda is Kinda Stupid in this One: It's not just me, right? Because I feel like Eda is more careful in the past than she is in this episode. She's been as reckless as Luz is at times, sure, but carelessly screwing around with magic when she has no idea how it works? I can maybe see King doing that, but not Eda. Just seeing her act dumber than usual is something that doesn't sit right with me.
Lilith Explaining Her Glyph Magic: I don't mind this. Glyph magic is pretty confusing, so having Lilith explain how it works to Eda and the audience is something I can understand. My issue, however, lies in how they did this.
Why, in the name of all that is holy, would Lilith explain her theory after the fact. It would be much more natural if she explained while saving King, but doing it after comes across as more forced than it should. Which is a shame because this series is usually on point when explaining how things work in the Boiling Isles.
And...That's about all the complaints I have with this episode. Which are nothing but nitpicks and possibly personal preferences.
IN CONCLUSION
If I'm willing to forgive and forget, I would give "Escaping Expulsion" a well-earned A+. But I'm not, so it's going to be another solid A. And, I mean, if you complain about that...there's something wrong with you.
"Escaping Expulsion" delivers on quite a bit of what fans want to see on top of giving these great character moments that show why we love these casts of oddballs and weirdos. I wouldn't say it reached perfection, but it still carries the winning streak that this new season has so far. Meaning there's no escaping the fact that Season Two is off to a better start than the first.
(Although, the fact that we got two solid As in a row means that we're in for a stinker real soon, doesn't it?)
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bleachanimefan1 · 3 years
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The Song of the Titan
Chapter Ten!!
Three days have passed, Luz had recovered from her common mold. There was an occasional mushroom growing on the top of her head, but thankfully it had stopped and now she was fully recovered. Luz, Eda, King, Azara, John, and Hooty were outside of the house and Luz was finishing setting up the last ingredients as she placed it on the homemade portal door.
"So according to Phillip's instructions, the hardest part to making the portal, was finding someone who knew how to build it," Luz told them. "But, a lot of the ingredients are pretty easy to find. Your crazy apocalypse supplies finally came in handy, Eda."
"Don't forget this," King handed Luz, Amity's glove that still had the Titan's blood still stained on it. She took it from him, looking at it.
"Titan's blood," Luz said. "I can't believe something this powerful was in the old key this whole time." She tore a finger piece off from the glove and taped it to the door. "It's okay. If Belos is still trying to get to the human realm he'll have to beat me to it!"
"Are you sure that this isn't going to blow our faces up?" Eda asked as she hopped onto a bicycle, that was acting as a generator to power up the door.
"Nope!" Luz replied, smiling.
"Well, here goes something!" Eda started pedaling the bike and the door began to glow as it started to activate. Suddenly, it began to shift transforming into a portal and the door, swung itself open.
"It worked," Luz replied, shocked that it had actually worked.
"Did it?" King asked, with an uncertain look on his face. "That looks real different from the old door."
From what everyone had seen, the door appeared to be wonky, twisted and mangled in shape and had multiple eyes on it. Inside there was a grey and black light as it clashed and swirled together.
"Yeah, but this my one chance to see my mom," Luz said, as she tied a rope around her waist. "If it looks like it's closing, pull." She handed the other end of the rope to Eda.
"Luz, as impressive as this is, I don't want you getting hurt," Eda replied, frowning, concerned.
"Once, I make sure that my mom is okay, I'll be right back." Luz assured her.
"You be careful, Luz!" Azara told her. "And you better come back together in one piece!" She frowned, worried, wanting to come with Luz, to see her mom, but Luz didn't want to risk her getting hurt. She volunteered to be the first test subject.
Luz smiled and laughed. "I'll try."
"Just be careful, the human realm is filled with some real weirdos," Eda joked, smiling.
"Don't forget to mention me!" King shouted. Luz nodded and turned back to the door.
"Okay," She ran towards it and jumped right into the portal.
Luz was met with darkness and she felt like she was floating in water. A small whisper of a disoriented cackle met Luz's ears. She opened her eyes and gasped, coughing, trying to get some of the liquid out of her lungs. She heard a disembodied voice whispered in her ear.
Cheater...
Luz widened and she looked around, nervously. Great! Now she's hearing voices, now! Luz looked around but saw that there was no one there. All she saw was floating yellow and black cubes all around her and she stood up, seeing her reflection in the dark water. She could have sworn that she heard an disembodied voice, whispering to her. She shook her head, as chills ran down her spine.
"Did I do something wrong?" Luz whispered to herself. She looked around the strange foreign place, noticing that she wasn't even nowhere close to the human realm. "Eda, King, Hooty, Azara! Can anyone hear me?!"
Yessss....
A large glowing yellow cube rose out from the water, floating in front of luz. She grabbed it with her hands and looked into it. She saw Eda, King, Hooty and Azara not too far away as they were still standing in front of the portal, holding the rope. Luz yelled out as a gust of wind knocked her sideways.
"I think I'm in an reflection of the house," she murmured, realizing that she was looking out from the glass of the window of the owl house.
"Do you think she's safe?" King asked.
"She made it this far, we just have to trust her," Eda replied. She looked towards Azara.
"So, how are you holding up?" Eda asked. Azara looked at her confused.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Are still okay with the golden guard incident?" She asked, concern. "You've been quiet for the past few days. You haven't been acting like your usual self, singing and all!"
"I'm okay, really," Azara tried to reassure her.
"Do you consider crying for the past three nights, okay?" King teased.
"Come on, tell us. You're lying!" Hooty added.
"I said that I'm fine!" Azara snapped. Eda, King, and Hooty's eyes widen in shock, and they quickly closed their mouths.
"I just don't want to talk about right now," Azara sighed. "Can we just drop this, please?"
"Kid, there's no point in torturing yourself," Eda frowned. "Believe me, I've been through that before. I know how you feel. But, you can't do things on your own. There are people here who can-" Eda's eyes widened. Everyone turned their heads to see the portal door in front of them, beginning to shift, and twist violently, and now starting to shrink.
"Eda?" Azara asked, worried.
"Pull!" Eda shouted. King, her, Hooty and Azara pulled hard on the rope and Luz came out of the portal door, landing on the ground in front of them.
"I'm sorry I had to pull you out. The portal was closing," Eda told her. Everyone looked towards the door to see it shrinking until it disappeared, leaving only a pile of cinder blocks behind.
"Did you talk to your mom? Did you mention me?!" King asked, excitedly, jumping onto Luz's shoulder. Luz smiled. Azara frowned, noticing it. She couldn't place her finger on it, but there was something strange about her smile. It looked like she was troubled by something. She seemed more quiet and withdrawn, not her usual energetic happy self.
"Yeah...mama-mom, can't wait to meet you guys," Luz told them, as she hugged everyone. Azara turned her head back to where the door was.
What did Luz see in there that caused her to act this way? What happened?
Eda smiled. "Well, just rest up now, okay?" she replied, wrapping her arm around Luz's shoulder. "And don't you worry, kiddo. With everything we've learned, we'll have a real working portal in no time!" She finished and winked.
"I'm gonna eat human snacks!" King exclaimed, eagerly.
"I can't wait to share parenting tips!" Hooty added, as he joined in.
"Who dubbed you a parent?" Eda asked, smirking. All three of them laughed as they began talking to themselves, excited about they were going to do in the human realm. Azara turned her head to see Luz walking away, heading inside of the owl house, and followed after her.
Azara walked in, to see Luz standing in the living room, quietly, looking around. She frowned and approached her. "Luz, are you okay?" Azara asked, concerned, placing her hand on Luz's shoulder. Luz, jumped, startled, now noticing her and turned around, smiling.
"Yeah, I'm just tired," she told her, walking away head back to her room. "I'm gonna go lie down for a bit."
"Wait, before you go, please tell me what did you see in there?" Azara asked, grabbing her hand, stopping her. "What happened?" Luz froze, where she was, and turned her head back to her.
"Uh, well, there was some strange floating cubes in there." She told her, pulling her hand away. "While I in there, I could have sworn that I heard a voice, guiding me. It sounded like a whisper, disembodied, I couldn't really make it out though." Azara's eyes widen in surprise. Luz heard a voice in there? The same that Azara heard a voice in the mines of Eclipse Lake. Something wasn't right about this...
"But, it might have been my imagination," She told her her. Azara saw tears that were starting to form in Luz's eyes. "I did see my mom! That's a good thing!" she smiled, wiping them away. There was something off by the tone of her voice.
Azara stared at her with an unsure look. "Then why do you not sound happy about it." Luz's eyes widened before she turned around, walking off.
"I'm going to bed," Luz told her. "I really don't want to talk about it."
"Luz!" Azara tried to call out to Luz to stop her, but she ignored her and left the room. Azara stood where she was, wondering what had just happened. Something happened in there and Luz wasn't telling her. But, what could she do? She couldn't just force it out of her.
Azara sighed and walked over to a shelf that was filled with books, scanning through it. If Luz didn't want to tell her, then she won't press on it any further. She was going to give her time to recover. Azara picked a book off from the shelf as one caught her interest. She walked over to the couch, sitting down, and opened it, starting to read from it.
Eda walked in along with King, as the two saw Azara sitting on the couch reading the book.
"Where's Luz?" Eda asked.
"She's in her room," Azara told her. "She told me that she wanted to rest." Eda frowned, in concern. Was she still not recovered from being sick? She shook the thought from her head when she heard Azara ask her something.
"What was that?" Eda asked.
"Eda, what's this?" Azara asked again, holding up the book. It had some ingredients on the page. Eda walked over and took the book from her, looking at it.
"Oh, it's just an spying spell potion that we use to spy on the emperor's coven," she told Azara. Azara's eyes widened, curious.
"Can I make this?" she asked. Eda looked at her in surprise before she smirked.
"Kid, are you still thinking about the nerd?" she teased.
"I just want to see how he's doing," Azara blushed, as she played with her hands, suddenly interested in them at the moment. Eda smiled, placing the book down on the table.
"Okay, I'll help you make this. I'll go grab the cauldron and the ingredients," she told her as she walked away. A few minutes later, Eda came back, along with King and they set the ingredients and the cauldron down on the table in front of her. The two helped Azara make the potion until it was finished as she stirred the liquid. The potion made a glowing blue glow and started, bubbling.
"What do I do?" Azara asked.
"Just think of the place that you want to see and the person and the potion will do the rest," Eda explained to her. Azara nodded. "But, be careful. Spying leads to crying!" She joked, leaving the room, along with King. Azara smiled, as she watched the two leave before turning her head back to the cauldron, looking inside.
Azara focused her thoughts on the emperor's castle, then Hunter's face came into her mind. The potion began to warp and started to swirl around when an imaged appeared. Azara eyes widened as she saw Hunter sitting on his bed, along with Lil rascal who was sitting beside him. He was holding the key as it dangled in front of him.
He hasn't given the key to Belos, yet! Azara frowned, wondering why. Suddenly, the potion swirled again, revealing another image. All Azara could see was a dark room until her eyes began to focus more adjusting to the darkness. Her eyes widened as she saw the portal door in front of her, fixed. Then the scene moved as it focused on a opened book that was resting on a desk.
Azara read the page seeing that it was an ingredient to make something.
A grimwalker...
"What is that?" Azara whispered to herself, silently as she continued to read the page that listed the ingredients: Galderstones, Palistrom wood, Stonesleeper lungs, Selkidomus scales, and a bone of ortet.
She looked over to the next page to see the ingredients, listing what each other did. Galderstones, for heart and power, Palistrom wood for keratin, Stonesleeper lungs, for the lungs, scales for body structure...
Then her eyes saw a picture of a baby, then a child stage, that was checked off, and last adult. The arrows pointed to a picture of a head with fuchsia colored red eyes. Azara's eyes widen in shock, mixed with disbelief and horror. She jumped back, knocking over the potion and it's contents and it splashed onto the floor.
They looked like Hunter's eyes! The exact same shape, color and everything! Even his nose!
Azara leaned back on the couch, overwhelmed by the startling information. That last ingredient with the stages...bone of ortet?
"Eda, what's a bone of ortet?" she called out, growing more and more disturbed out by the image.
"It's a plant that a clone is originated from!" Eda called out. "Why?"
Clone? Hunter is a clone? Azara felt like she was going to throw up as she covered her mouth with her hand. A feeling of dread and horror, rushed through her stomach, in realization. Hunter was the last ingredient to make this grimwalker.
Belos had been lying to him, his entire life. He was in danger!
Azara quickly stood up and grabbed her red cloak. "I-I got to go!" she replied back, yelling out to her. "I need some air!" She ran over to the door, opening it, and Hooty hooted in surprise. John was sitting next to him, talking to Hooty, when Azara opened the door, as he stared up at her surprised as well.
"Azara?" John asked, startled. "Is something wrong?"
"Where are you going? Hoot! Hoot!" He asked. Azara ran out, not answering them, completely overwhelmed by the information.
"Sheesh! Hoot! Hoot!" Hooty whined. "Rude. Nobody ever wants to talk to me!"
"I know!" John complained. "She never listens to me!"
10 notes · View notes
mischiefandspirits · 3 years
Text
Doppelgänger (19/19)
Previously on Doppelgänger ~ Masterlist ~ Next time on Doppelgänger
Danny, Sam, and Tucker were just 14 when they took a look inside the portal Danny’s parents had built. From there, everything changed. They woke up with white hair, green skin, and powers they could learn to control. They were hybrids, halfas.
They were the hero Doppelgänger.
{Identity Crisis, Part 2}
Danny melted onto Valerie’s hoverboard with a sigh as she kissed him. She was kneeling between his legs with one of her arms braced next to his head to hold her weight off him while the hand of the other snuck under his shirt to stroke his side. His own hands were occupied with holding her close and running through her long curly hair.
They were hovering high above Amity, partially hidden within some low clouds. They’d been admiring the view and taking in the afternoon sun when they’d gotten a bit distracted.
Valerie chuckled into the kiss and pulled back. She gave his limp form a pleased look then ducked down to pepper his neck with kisses.
Of course, that was when his ghost sense went off.
I’m going to kill whoever it is, Danny thought as Valerie’s scanner started ringing and she pulled away.
“There’s a ghost right beneath us,” Valerie growled, glaring at the scanner before giving Danny an apologetic look.
“Well, I guess that’s what we get for mixing dates with patrol,” he chuckled with a shrug.
She glanced down. “It should be fine to leave it to Doppelgänger.”
He sat up to look down as well, his hair hiding the red shine in his eyes. He spotted a glowing laptop flying down a road.
Ugh, who let Technus out? He reached out for his partners, but neither responded. He looked around to be sure neither of them was in sight and said, “They don’t seem to be here. Should probably make sure the ghost doesn’t cause trouble before they can get here.”
“Yeah.” She pulled up her mask and he braced himself as she brought them down. “Sorry about this.”
“It’s fine, Val. Really.” Jazz is definitely going to kick his butt if she found out about this, though.
Valerie dropped him off in an alley before shooting off after the laptop.
Who let Technus out? Danny asked again as he transformed and flew after her.
Tech-Oh shoot! Tucker hissed. He’s why my laptop was running slow! He must have been stuck in my cache. My bad!
Well, that explains why he’s flying around inside a laptop.
Want some help? Sam asked.
Valerie’s already on the scene, Danny pointed out.
Right, I forgot you guys were on a date.
DON’T LET HER DESTROY MY LAPTOP! Tucker shouted.
Danny turned a corner to see Valerie trying to blast the laptop. We’ll try.
He tried to sneak around the fight so he could try to knock Technus out, but was distracted when Valerie got wrapped in the laptop’s cord.
“Red!” he shouted, shooting towards her to pull her free. He looked her over for injuries. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” she huffed and shoved herself out of his grip as her board swung around to catch her.
“Well now, this is interesting.”
The two turned back to Technus just as the laptop stopped glowing and fell. Danny darted over to grab it before it could hit the ground, then looked around for the ghost.
“My scanner is only picking up you,” Valerie said and Danny checked the computer.
Wireless transfer complete.
“Ugh, he sent himself somewhere else,” Danny groaned.
“Well, you’re the one with technokinesis. I’ll leave you to it.”
“What?” He looked up to see Valerie turning away. “You’re leaving? Just like that?”
“I’ve got a date.”
“Well crud,” Danny muttered. He shoved the laptop into the fold and dove into the ground, flying as fast as he could back to the alley Valerie had left him in. Good news and bad news. Good news, our laptop’s fine and Val’s leaving. Bad news, we lost Technus and Val’s leaving him to us because we’ve got tech powers and she wants to continue our date.
The irony, Sam sighed.
I can’t leave right now. Kiran and I are right in the middle of a debate on which generation of Pokémon is the best, Tucker said.
Kiran? Danny asked, popping up in the alley and transforming back just before Valerie could come around the corner.
This really really cute freshman in the computer club. They’re a gamer who’s building their own PC, they’ve got the hottest smile, and I refuse to let Technus blow this for me!
An unimpressed feeling came from Sam. I’ll take care of Technus. Clearly, your love lives are more important.
“You okay?” Danny asked Valerie. Sorry, Sam. I can tell Val I need to go.
“Yeah, it’s a tech ghost so Doppelgänger’s taking care of it.”
No, it’s fine, Sam said. You’ve ducked out of dates for us plenty of times. You deserve some alone time. It wasn’t really you I was mad at.
“If you’re sure. What do you want to do now?” Danny asked, stepping up onto Val’s board.
I think my love life deserves more consideration than his, Tucker huffed. Since, you know, I DON’T HAVE ONE!
Valerie grabbed his waist and tugged him against her. “How about we find some privacy? We can head to my house since my dad’s working until midnight. We can cuddle and watch tv. I think there’s supposed to be an animated Batman marathon on.”
Danny tuned out his partners as he nodded. He shifted behind her and braced himself as she took off towards Elmerton. She flew up to her window and opened it, letting Danny climb through before slipping carefully in. She recalled her board and pulled down her mask.
The boy didn’t have a chance to react before she was scoping him up and setting him on her dresser so she could kiss him. Her hands slipped under his shirt and he tried to bring his own up, only to knock something off her dresser.
She snorted into the kiss and he mumbled, “Sorry,” as he wrapped his arms around her neck.
“Valerie?”
The two froze.
The door opened and Damon Gray poked his head inside. “I didn’t realize you were -”
Valerie jumped away from Danny while he squeaked and worked very hard not to turn invisible.
No matter how much he wanted to.
Valerie’s father looked at Valerie, then Danny, then Valerie’s suit.
“H-hey, Daddy. I thought you were supposed to be at work,” Valerie said nervously.
“I had a break so I came to grab something I’d forgotten. Fortunately.” He gave her a sharp look. “Get changed. We’re going to have a talk before I head back. Mr. Fenton, out.”
“Yessir.” Danny gave her a quick apologetic look before following Mr. Gray into the living area.
He froze when the man grabbed his shoulder. “I like you, Fenton. You’re a smart kid and you’ve got a good heart. However, if I ever catch you in my daughter’s room without my permission again, you will be reminded in a far more painful way than I’m doing now that I carry a loaded weapon for my job and I am trained to use it. Understand?”
“Yessir. Sorry, sir. I swear, we weren’t doing anything like, you know, that. We were just -”
“Out.”
“Yep, right, leaving!” Danny ran for the front door.
“And Danny,” Mr. Gray called before he could close it behind him. “I suggest you go straight home. I’ll be calling your parents as soon as I talk to Valerie.”
Danny flinched and nodded. “Right.”
As soon as he made it to the alley next to Valerie’s apartment building, he slumped against the wall and screamed into his hands. Then he transformed and headed home as slow as he could.
“We’re dead. We’re so dead. We’re going to spend the next decade in the Fenton Stockades,” he groaned. “We’re so dead! We’ll never see the light of day! Hold still you stupid bucket of bolts! Goodbye cruel world! Wait, why are we transformed? Val’s father walked in on us making out. Sucks to suck. Can we get a hand?” He checked his watch and shrugged, turning towards where Sam was fighting Technus at the boardwalk. “Sure, we’re dead as soon as we get home and Mom and Dad won’t be expecting us back for another half hour since they think we’d have to take the bus. Great, because he’s getting on our nerves.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I’m grounded for two weeks, Danny said. And I had to sit through mom giving me The Talk again.
Sounds like it sucks to be allo. Can’t relate, Sam said, setting aside the book she’d been reading and grabbing another.
And Jazz came in looking all stern to say that when she told us to spend the weekend having fun, she hadn’t meant that much fun.
Sam snorted.
We didn’t even do anything!
She looked over the passage on Chronos she’d found, but it didn’t have any new information.
Val texted to say her dad’s taking her phone. She’s grounded for a month and her dad’s taking her suit and all her gear.
Sam tossed the book aside. Wait, her dad found out?
We’d just gotten to her house so she was in her suit when he walked in.
She was in the suit when you guys were making out? Tucker interjected out of nowhere. Wait, is the suit kink a Fenton thing? Is that why -
Finish that thought and I’ll toss your laptop into the ghost zone, Danny hissed. Crud, Jazz just came in. She’s making me study with her to make sure I’m not talking to you guys. Talk later.
Bye Danny.
See you, Sam said and stood up. She grabbed the books she’d gathered and went to put them back on the shelves. So you’re done hanging out with Kiran then?
Camp’s over for the day, but we’re going to hang out again tomorrow, Tucker said. What are you up to?
Checking out the paranormal section at Skulk and Lurk. I was hoping they’d have some information on our clock ghost.
Aren’t we supposed to be avoiding ghosts?
Jazz isn’t the boss of me.
True. Want some help?
Are you dressed like your usual self?
Yes?
Pass.
Rude.
I love you, but I will not get kicked out of my favorite bookshop because you’ve decided your aesthetic is traffic light.
Aw, I love you too! Tucker cooed.
Tuning you out now.
Okay, bye, Sammy! Love you!
Sam made a gagging sound in her head as she started looking for new books to check. “Aren’t there any books in here about real ghosts?”
“Try the historical fantasy section.”
She looked over to see Ravage reading the description of a book. “What?”
“The historical fantasy section,” he said, gesturing half-heartedly to the side. “Found a book over there the other day that was about a ghost king. Sounded just like the real dude. The author seemed to understand death and ghosts better than most. Bit too cheerful, but it was an interesting read if you can push past it.”
“Do you remember the author?” Sam asked.
“Worth, or something. The book was King’s Coffin if that helps.”
“Thanks.”
“Whatever. You coming to poetry night?”
“If I can get away from my parents.”
“Good luck.”
“Whatever.”
She went over to the section and found the book Ravage had mentioned alongside a few others written by Regsit Worth: Acropolis of Elysium, Nocturnus, Dark Winds, and Carnivorous Garden.
She pulled King’s Coffin off and glanced over the description before flipping through the book. She skimmed through it and her eyes widened at the ghost’s description and the description of his downfall. She checked the Also By section and smirked when she saw a book titled Shadows of Time. She put Pariah's book back then grabbed the garden book and headed to the counter.
“Would you be able to order a book by this author?” she asked as the cashier rang her up.
The man shrugged and switched to a different register. He asked for the title and typed it in when she answered. “Another print isn’t due for a year or so, but our sister store in San Francisco has a few copies. I can have them send one over, but you’d have to pay shipping upfront.”
“That’s fine.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“You know, I think Jazz was onto something about having some weekends to ourselves,” Tucker said when they met up Monday morning. “I had fun at the camp and made great headway with Kiran. Trust me, we’ll be dating by Christmas.”
“Sure you will,” Sam teased. “I’ll admit, though, it wasn’t awful. I got this new book on a wicked plant monster ghost that could actually exist and I might have gotten a lead on our clock ghost. I won’t know until Thursday.”
“Glad you two had fun,” Danny pouted, his forehead pressed against his locker. “Val’s dad threatened to shoot me.”
“If it makes you feel any better, you can just phase through the bullet,” Tucker said, patting his back.
“He has ghost weapons now.”
“You right.”
“You could try not sneaking into girls’ bedrooms,” Sam suggested and Danny flushed.
“Don’t say it like that!”
“Hey, Danny.”
The trio turned to see Valerie walking up.
“Hey, Val. Sorry about Saturday.”
“Not your fault,” she sighed and hugged him. “We both didn’t think that through.”
“You didn’t get into too much trouble, right?”
“Just grounded like I said. I’m mostly just mad about my gear. Dad’s taking the suit into the lab and he’s going to give all the rest to your parents. I told him I didn’t get most of it from you, but I don’t know if he believed me.”
“Better them then Vlad,” Danny said with a shrug. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to get any of it back for you, though. They’ll probably be keeping better track of their gear after your dad talks to them.”
Which means it’s going to be hard to replace their thermoses if one gets damaged, great.
“That’s alright. My dad will be keeping an eye out now anyways.” She pulled back. “I should get going before I’m late.”
“Alright, see you at lunch.”
{The Fenton Menace}
Danny sighed as he scrubbed the lab’s counter. “Can’t I do this later?”
“It’s not as if you have anything else to do,” his mom said pointedly.
Maybe so, he thought, eyeing the gun his parents were working on. But I’d rather not get vaporized when that thing accidentally goes off.
When, not if. Danny knew his parents too well for that.
He went back to his scrubbing and his mom focused back on the gun.
A few moments later, Danny’s breath fogged in front of him and his eyes darted to the portal as a pirate kid and his skeleton parrot flew out and up through the ceiling.
Captain Kid is back, he told his partners. My parents are keeping on top of me so I can’t deal with him.
Headed your way, Tucker said.
I’ll come too. Mom’s trying to drag me to the hairdresser.
Have fun. Danny flinched as the gun went off, thankfully pointed away from him. “Can you guys work on something else while I’m down here, please?”
His dad pouted, but his mom put the gun away with a nod, frowning at the blast mark it had left.
21 notes · View notes
3laxx · 3 years
Text
Bring It Home - Chapter 11
Turning her golden eyes up to the memorial, she winced. Luz looked so lifelike, so authentic, that she almost felt as if the young teen could start moving at any moment. She stood proudly, as Amity had remembered her, her chest puffed out and her hands holding a light glyph while her coat fluttered behind her.
And finally, the end is here. The legacy Luz left to the isles. A very smart person told me that a legacy is planting seeds in a garden you never get to see (yea ofc it's a Hamilton quote xD) and honestly, that's exactly what Luz did in this series.
Ao3 / FF.net
---
Slowly, Amity approached the memorial they had erected for Luz only last week. Matt and Gus had been working on it like mad, to get it finished right after they had torn down the statue of the emperor just after the riot had started.
Her entire body ached and she was heavily leaning onto her crutches, but she hadn’t wanted to push this event out any further than need be.
As soon as the healing coven had announced that she was safe to go, she had jumped up from the bed and gotten ready for the ceremony.
Turning her golden eyes up to the memorial, she winced. Luz looked so lifelike, so authentic, that she almost felt as if the young teen could start moving at any moment. She stood proudly, as Amity had remembered her, her chest puffed out and her hands holding a light glyph while her coat fluttered behind her.
Matt and Gus had managed to capture Luz’s spirit so well, Amity’s heart ached.
Grunting, she took step after step, before Willow joined her side and Gus started coming from the other. They took a short break, still watched by the people of Bonesborough before Amity could move on again. Eda was already waiting for them by the memorial, along with Raine, Lilith, and Camila.
Amity gave a strained smile, then she straightened up and managed to take the steps up to the monument. The people of Bonesborough, many of which had taken part in the revolution in the past four years, stayed respectfully quiet.
Amity turned to let her gaze wander over the crowd which had closed after her, looking down into expectant faces, before turning back to her family. Edric and Emira had joined Eda on the other side and softly smiled at her.
The years after they had opened the portal door to the human realm had rapidly picked up the pace. Belos had discovered them building an illegal portal and had started chasing them, hunting them down, her family and friends and everyone keeping ties to Amity and Eda.
After running away, they had formed a rebellion, under Eda’s and her administration, together with everyone brave enough to come to join them. Word had spread fast, and they had been able to build a base, practice fighting, and gear up in a matter of three years.
More and more people from all over the isles had joined their cause until they had become a powerful opposition to Belos’ unbroken power.
Even Principal Bump had joined their forces, after pronouncing the school a neutral ground to ensure the young generations’ safety.
The fighting had picked up. Some members of the Covens had sided with Belos, some with the rebellion, and the Emperor’s Coven had only picked up in strength.
About a week before, Amity had finally led the invasion of the castle grounds and had managed to corner the emperor and kill him. His right hand, Kikimora, and some other coven guards had fought ferociously, but the rebellion had won. Finally, they had overthrown the totalitarian government and had implemented a completely new, emergency senate, as Lilith had called it, to decide on the best possible system to found now that they had all doors open again.
Camila had been put in as an advisor on human systems, as well as Bump as a historian on ancient Isles systems and they were currently in the process of finding a form of government that was fit for everyone on the Isles.
Along with a lot of other fighters, Amity had been injured and put on bed rest for a week, but she had announced before their invasion, that she’d devote this uprising to Luz.
After all, the human had kicked off the idea of a revolution, she had managed to change Amity’s mind, and she had been the cause of all this to start, after all, the portal she had come through had been the turning point of Belos’ reign.
He had carried his aspirations into the grave with him. Amity had never learned what he had wanted to do with the portal, but she hadn’t cared, either.
All she had cared about was to end his terror, to end the coven system, and to make things fair again on the Boiling Isles, after fifty years of a tight-knitted and violent reign.
And, of course, to make a legacy. For Luz.
Sniffling, she nodded at Matt to step forward, presenting her a metal box of Luz’s most important belongings. Camila, Eda, and her had searched them out together to donate them to this cause.
Her gaze flickered over to her family once more, finding all eyes glued to her.
Edric and Emira had fought all battles on her side, after breaking completely with their parents upon learning that they had staffed Belos’ ranks with abomatons over the years. They had joined the rebellion as some of the first to do so, and they were both bandaged as well. Emira was sporting a pretty nasty scar over one half of her face where an abomaton had used a fire spell on her. According to Viney it only gave her “more character”, as ridiculously cheesy as Amity thought that was.
Edric had lost a leg, but he had quickly been able to get a prosthesis by their skilled healers, and by now it was almost invisible, except for the slight stumble every time he started walking and briefly forgot he was missing a leg. Amity could still only shake her head at her brother’s statement to forget something like that. Eda was smiling at her, with King standing beside her. He was a good head taller than her by now and at eighteen years of age, he had significantly grown.
She and Eda had grown closer after Luz had died, and she had almost become a sort of mother figure to her as she had become to Luz. Lilith next to her gave her a small nod and Amity gratefully nodded back. Her mentor had stepped up as a leading figure in both Amity’s life and the rebellion, and she had managed to save Amity a few times, from her own ferocity sometimes.
Camila gave her a small smile as well. After they had gotten to know each other, they had hit it off quite well, Amity even starting to live with her when the Owl House got too crowded for Amity’s anxiety. She had almost become the same warm energy in her life as Luz had been and it hadn’t been hard for her to understand why Luz had wanted to get back so desperately after she had struggled with that due to her own issues with her mother.
Willow placed a hand on Amity’s shoulder and caught her gaze. Managing her crutches, Amity placed her bandaged hand on top of hers and squeezed softly.
She had stayed with her through it all, not even wavering in her stance when her fathers had been arrested in the hopes of blackmailing one of Amity’s closest friends. Unquestioningly, she had followed Amity into every battle, and even when she had lost an eye, she hadn’t backed down as Amity’s closest and most important commander.
Gus on her other side softly pulled her into a one-armed hug, before she looked over to him. He had thrown himself headfirst into the rebellion and hadn’t even rested once to fight for their cause, only when Willow had forced him to.
Humming, Amity finally handed her crutches to Willow and let Gus hold her upright, so she could search out the bucket list she had kept with her all these years.
It had become thinner and more fragile with all the use, ripping along a few more folding lines, one edge even coming off. Amity had had to glue it back on.
But it had overcome, had traveled with her for over ten years. She gave the piece of paper a soft look, gulping down her tears before stroking all the tasks she had written down.
The paper looked so worn and old, she almost didn’t believe it had only been ten years.
Sniffling, she traced her old handwriting, before tapping over all the checks.
She had decided to leave the first task open. What even was a real witch?
It didn’t matter to her. It didn’t matter in the least. She had known Luz and had watched her become a great witch against all expectations. She didn’t care if Luz was a real witch, or if she had been, or Eda or Belos or anyone for that matter. It wasn’t that she had given up on searching for an answer.
It just gave her a certain kind of satisfaction to leave this task open, as the only one, to leave all possibilities open as well. She had no idea what kind of witch Luz would’ve become in the future, and she had no idea where her path would be leading after all this.
She knew damn well, though, that she was proud of both Luz’s and her accomplishments.
Part of her had contemplated setting a neat little check behind the first task, but leaving it undone left all uncertainties for the future. Had she checked that off in the beginning, she had never known that ten years later, she would emerge victorious from a revolution. Who knew where she would be ten or twenty years from now?
Checking it off felt restricting to her, so she had refused to deem it a complete task.
She had no right defining what a real witch was.
With Willow holding the Azura book up that had helped Amity and Luz bond, she put the list down on it and checked off the very last task on the list. Make a legacy.
Luz had laughed, she had learned and danced and snuck into peoples’ hearts.
She had changed the world, she had changed Amity’s life and touched so many others. She had been the cause for this revolution and Amity would see to it that her name would appear in the history books.
Luz had changed the demon realm, by touching everything with her light and joy, and she had given magic to magicless demons by rediscovering the ancient ways.
This was her legacy.
Willow placed the book in the box which contained Luz’s Grom picture, her cat hoodie which hadn’t entirely washed out all the blood from her attack, and some other personal items, as well as locks of hair from her mother Camila, Eda, and her closest friends Amity, Willow and Gus.
As the last thing, Amity put in the bucket list, with all the checks but one.
Eda stepped forward and put a preservation spell over all the things in the box to keep them from falling apart and rotting, then she pressed a soft kiss to Amity’s forehead.
Smiling, she felt a tear rolling down her cheek while watching Matt closing the box and sealing it with another spell.
The box was placed in a hole they had dug at the foot of the statue and buried before a heavy stone slate was placed over it and sealed in place. For a moment, they stayed silent, before Amity turned to the people to lift her fist, propping herself up heavily on her crutch that she had gotten back from Willow.
“For freedom!”, she exclaimed, and the Bonesborough citizens repeated a thousandfold with their chant back, deafening cheers filling the whole city before Amity turned back to the monument.
Her friends accompanied Eda and Camila in the descend down the stairs, while Amity stayed back, just before the stone slate they had just fixed in place.
A wave of emotions overcame her, with the cheers of Bonesborough behind her, that she slowly placed her crutches in front of her and propped herself up heavily, before lowering herself down.
She didn’t see how her family and friends jumped, before freezing in place upon realizing what she was doing.
The chants died out when her knee hit the ground, her hands still holding onto the crutches as she lowered her head.
The city got silent again before a wave of rustling and some steps sounded.
Everyone started copying her, everyone lowering themselves to one knee and keeping their gaze downcast, while Amity kneeled.
She didn’t realize any of this.
Droning out everything around her, she breathed, slowly, before smiling to herself.
This was Luz’s legacy. She wouldn’t be able to dance with her anymore, but she could remember it. She could remember Luz’s smile and her light whenever she would talk or think about her and keep her alive that way.
Finally, she lifted her head again and softly groaned in pain, but finally, she felt free of her burden. The tears welling up in her eyes would most likely stay, as well as the lump in her throat, but her burden was gone, and she knew, she had freed Luz.
Smiling to herself, she blinked the slight blur from her vision.
“I love you…”, she mumbled while looking up to Luz’s distinct features, “I never stopped.”
The twenty-four-year-old witch slowly rose to her feet again and turned, looking over the kneeling population of the isles, before giving a small smile as she remembered how she had experienced Luz ten years ago.
“For Luz.”
---
Let me know if you liked it and if I should open suggestions for you guys?
7 notes · View notes
loversarcanas · 3 years
Text
Midnight Romeo Ch. 1
Series: The Owl House Pairing: Beta!Luz/Beta!Amity
Luz Noceda finds herself frequenting night clubs to cope with her loneliness. She never expects to find anyone, really, until she’s forced to save a pretty girl from a nasty creep harassing her. Please support the original on Ao3! (trigger warnings for alcohol consumption and minor sexual harassment)
12:35am. The flashing lights and blaring dubstep over massive stereo systems was enough to overwhelm anyone, especially Luz Noceda. She wasn’t really even sure why she kept coming here. For drinks? People-watching? Moping, hoping for a stranger to reach out a hand to her and make a connection? Probably all of the above. Yet, despite how agonizingly crowded the place was and how much it reeked of Mary Jane and sweat, she sat alone at the bar, sipping on her second glass of whiskey and watching wasted hornballs grind on each other.     Luz was a pretty lonely person. She didn’t really have friends to spend time with, her mom worked hectic nights at the hospital to the point where they barely saw each other, and she had nothing but shitty breakups with shitty partners who left her feeling more and more closed up. Nobody could envy her right now. Any last shreds of hope that some gorgeous, charming person would approach her and suavely sweep her off her feet, were stomped on by her own cynicism. After all, who would want her ? Slumped over the bar in an unwashed army jacket, uncombed hair and beanie, probably reeking of booze. Hah, yeah. A real catch, huh.     Her self-deprecating thoughts were interrupted, however, when a shorter, punky looking girl ran up to her and wrapped arms around her. “Oh my god, hiii! I haven’t seen you in so long , babe!” came a peppy, raspy voice from the girl. Luz froze, completely shocked and incredibly confused at just what was happening right now. As well as a little bit flustered, because this girl was very pretty. Before she had a chance to speak, however, the mysterious girl whispered in her ear “ Just go with it, creepy guy behind me ”. Ah.     Luz’s demeanor changed in a heartbeat, cracking a smile and hugging the girl back. “Hey! What are you doing here? It’s been ages!” Pulling away from the hug, she looked passed the girl’s green-dyed hair to see a seething man walking directly towards them. “Hey Amity, who’s this girl? Some friend of yours?” He asked through a fake, gritted smile. Oh, Luz could feel the rotten vibes emanating from him. “Yeah, the name’s Luz. Amity here is one of my friends from college. May I ask who you are?”
The strange man crossed his arms, a smug grin crossing his face. “Yeah, I’m her man of the night. And we’ll be going now, actually.” Venom dripped from each of his words as he tried to grab at Amity’s wrist. The shorter girl struggled and mumbled “Let go” as she tried to pull away, and a new flame entered Luz’s gaze. She stood up and towered half a head over the man, staring at him with an intense anger, reaching into her jacket pocket for her switchblade.     “I don’t think she wants to go with you. Now let her go, or I’ll slice that hand clean off your wrist.” Luz scowled, flipping the blade open. The man visibly flinched, but stood his ground for a few moments more before finally letting go. “Whatever, fucking cunt. She’s an ugly bitch anyway.” He mumbled as he walked back into the crowd. Luz closed her switchblade and looked back down at the green haired girl, who was now rubbing the spot where her wrist had been so roughly grabbed.     Amity looked up at the taller girl in appreciation. “Thanks, uh.. You said your name was Luz? Thank you. I swear to god, men don’t know how to take fucking ‘no’ for an answer.” Luz sighed, and patted her shoulder. “Yeah, guys can be real creeps sometimes, especially at places like this. I’m just glad he didn’t do worse to you. Are you okay?” Amity grumbled, and hopped up on a bar chair next to the taller girl. “Well, not really. My friends bailed on me and I’ve been trying to ward off these dipshit guys all night. I don’t see how anyone enjoys these places.”     Luz stifled a chuckle. “Yeah, I hear ya. But if you hate it so much, why are you here?” Amity let out a heavy sigh. “I came because my friends asked me to. This isn’t usually my deal, but they were insistent. Then they had the gall to fucking leave me here alone. Assholes.” She mumbled, laying her head on the counter. “They don’t really sound like friends if they’re just gonna leave you here.” Luz offered. Amity noticeably shrank when she said that. “Yeah, well, they’re kinda my only option as far as friends go… And they were my ride here too, hah .” She laughed bitterly.     The two of them were silent for a few moments, only being enveloped in the sound of the music over loudspeakers. At one point, the bartender asked if Amity wanted a drink. She lifted her head and ordered a long island iced tea, much to Luz’s surprise. When asked if she wanted a refill on her whiskey, Luz declined, and turned back to Amity. “So, you don’t have a ride home then?” Amity shook her head. “It’s probably fine. I’ll just grab an Uber, or beg one of my siblings to pick me up, haha.” Her laugh was tired, and her eyes looked tired as well.
  While Amity silently drank, Luz watched her - taking in her appearance. Her eyes were sharp and golden, with thick, black, winged eyeliner and smokey eyeshadow. Her nose was long and pierced through the septum. Her lips were thin, covered in black lipstick and adorned with black metal snake bites. Her hair was messy, tousled and long, reaching halfway down her back. Her ears were covered in black piercings, and she wore a fitted band tee and a pink plaid miniskirt. Truly, this girl was stunning. Luz couldn’t help but wonder if this was the princess charming she had so long been wishing for-     ‘Ugh, don’t be stupid’ She thought to herself, and quickly stamped out the idea. Her main concern should be how to get this girl home, anyways. Her friends left her, she’s apparently been dealing with sexual harassment all night, and she’s probably going to be wasted on long island teas before she leaves. “So… Are you gonna text your sibs for a ride?” Amity finished the remains of her glass before slamming it back down on the table. “Yeah I guess I should, probably. They’ll probably make fun of me for getting so wasted, but it’s fine, whatever.” She took out her phone and started quickly typing a message with her thumbs, before setting it down on the bar. She called the bartender back over to order another tea, then slumped back on the counter. “Uh, you sure another one is a good idea chica ? Especially after the night you’ve had?”     The green-haired girl rolled her head to look at Luz, with a dead stare. “While I appreciate your concern, I kinda don’t care right now.” Her phone buzzed and she picked it up to look at the new text, before slapping it back down with a loud groan. “UGH, of COURSE they’re too busy to pick me up. Fuckin great.” Luz bit her lip, wondering what the next step should be. I mean, she barely met this girl, But after the night she’d had, she didn’t want to risk this Amity girl having another run off with a creepy guy. And she knew from experience that Ubers and Lyfts weren’t always the safest to ride in as a drunk girl.     “Hey… Uh, do you need me to give you a ride home then? I really don’t mind.” She waited in silence for a moment, while Amity turned to look at her. “I’m fine, I’ll be fine. Just need to order an Uber, it’s fine..” She trailed off, pulling up the app on her phone. “Listen, I really don’t mind driving you. I’ve had some… not so fun experiences riding drunk in an Uber. They don’t do background checks on those guys, and especially since you’ve been through so much from creeps tonight...” Luz trailed off. Amity let out a huge sigh. “...Okay, fine. But you better not try anything weird either. I can and will fuck you up, or break your car window open.” Luz internally breathed a sigh of relief. She definitely understood not trusting a stranger to drive her home, but she didn’t want this girl to go through worse than she had already experienced tonight.
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------     1:21am. They walked out of the bar, Luz had mostly sobered up, and supported the shorter girl so she didn’t stumble or trip on the way to her car. Luz’s car wasn’t anything special - it was an old 2002 Honda Accord, silver and a little beat up, but she was sure to keep it clean and in functioning shape. She opened the passenger door for amity with a polite gesture, and made sure she was all the way in before shutting the door and returning to the driver’s side.
  “Wow, your car is old.” Amity said bluntly. Luz laughed. “Yeah? Your point? I still keep her running like a dream. Why? Are you not used to old bangups?” Amity crossed her arms, embarrassed. “Well, my parents are all about having the newest thing. They all got brand new shit at home, fancy imported cars and that shit. They got me a brand new Maserati for my birthday this year. So yeah, I’m not used to ‘old bangups’ I guess.” She looked out the window while Luz started up the engine, and popped in a CD. The music started playing on low, Amity tuning in to the song that was playing.
‘You’re the beach on Christmas Eve,’
      ‘Wrong place, good time, consistently’
          ‘I feel like a walking love song’
      ‘When you do me like that, can you tell my brain turns off’ It seemed to fit the atmosphere pretty well, actually. Luz rolled down the window and let her arm hang out, bringing a much-needed cool breeze into the car. Amity could feel herself nodding off, despite trying to fight it. ‘This girl, Luz… can I really trust her? I mean, she seems really cool, and it’s nice of her to drive me home, but… ‘ Amity’s thoughts ran slowly through her head. She raised her head to look over at the girl in the driver’s seat. She really did have a cool aura about her. The army jacket and baggy cargo pants, while normally not Amity’s style, seemed to fit the girl. Her messy hair, red beanie, adorned with a pin Amity couldn’t see in the dark. She noticed Luz was singing along to the song under her breath. It was kind of cute, actually.     ‘From 7-11s to California Heavens’
      ‘I try to hide with my words, but you just find me clever’
            ‘I found a million places, you’d be worth the chases’
        ‘To go-oh-oh’
  Finally, they pull into a long driveway, protected by overbearing steel gates. Luz stopped the car, and looked up at the massive home behind them. “You live here , Amity? Damn, are you just rich as shit or something?” Amity sighed, clicked off her seatbelt and opened the door. “My family is rich as shit, yes. I try not to think about it.” Luz unblocked her seatbelt and rose to get out of the car, making sure Amity could get in alright. “Oh, wait! Here, hang on a second.” She said, running back to her car to grab something.
  Amity stood before the gates for only a few seconds, before Luz came back with a scrap of paper. “Listen, not that you’ll need it, but…” She looked embarrassed, rubbing the nape of her neck anxiously. “If your friends ever bail on you again or you need to get rid of any more creeps, here’s my number.” Luz handed the scrap to Amity, before shoving both hands in her jacket pockets. Amity looked down at the paper, then back up to Luz, with a smile. “Heh, thanks Luz… Maybe I’ll take you up on that. Amity brushed a piece of hair behind her ear, and turned toward the gates to her house. “Oh, and… Thank you for all your help tonight. Usually people aren’t so kind.” Those words were her last before opening the gates and walking inside.
Luz slumped back into her car, waiting until the girl was fully inside her house before buckling up and starting up the engine. ‘Well, that’s certainly not how I thought my night would go.’ She felt a buzz in her pocket, and pulled out her phone to find a new message from an unknown number. xxx-xxx-xxxx: Hey, this is Amity. Thanks again for tonight.     Luz smiled, and quickly registered the girl in her contacts. As she backed out of the manor driveway, she felt a lightness in her chest that she hadn’t felt in a long time. Maybe going out to clubs wasn't all that bad.
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thegoodgayshit · 3 years
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Luz’s mother really doesn’t want to send Luz to camp. She knows once she leaves, there is no going back. But Luz has a knack for getting into trouble, and one day she stumbles into the same type of people her mother would have preferred she avoided. After helping Luz dissolve her high school bully into dust, Eda and Lilith know right away that this kid is just like them - a child of the gods. So Luz hops on a Pegasus and heads to Camp Half-blood, where she embarks on a dangerous quest that makes her both friends and enemies... and she might even save Olympus along the way.
Chapter Thirty: The Brazillian Business Man and his Silk Suit
Luz stood there on the edge of the mountain screaming out for Amity until her throat was raw.
She hadn’t seen where she landed. Beneath about twenty feet below her, there were piles of rocks and some shrubs covering the base of the mountain. Luz hadn’t realized just how deep the tunnel to the cave ran. The portal had been so deep inside the mountain, it was like they hadn’t climbed it at all.
Amity was down there somewhere. Luz kept hoping, praying, that any moment now she was going to climb out of one of the bushes, call out to Luz that she was okay, and they would meet outside the mountain.
That hadn’t happened.
But she kept screaming. Hoping. Praying.
“I don’t understand,” Hestia mumbled from right behind her. Now that the tremors had subsided and the portal had been shut down, she was more willing to stand near the edge next to Luz. “This shouldn’t have happened.”
Luz felt anger rise in her chest so quickly she couldn’t help but spin around on her.
“Of course it wasn’t! She wasn’t supposed to die! Amity always is the one who sacrifices everything for everybody. Couldn’t she for once get to share some of that burden? She deserved better!”
Hestia seemed surprised by her outburst, and Luz knew it wasn’t a good idea to scream at goddesses, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. Amity was gone.
“That’s not exactly what I meant,” Hestia said slowly, thankfully deciding not to take what Luz had said personally. “I meant that she is not the hero in the prophecy who is supposed to die.”
“What do you mean supposed to die? Nobody was supposed to die!” Guilt was beginning to eat its way up into Luz’s chest. She’d promised Amity things would be different, that maybe the prophecy was misleading. Now she finds out that wasn’t true?
Was Amity the wrong one? Even if she was, would Luz be able to handle Willow or Gus dying in her place? She didn’t have to ponder those horrific thoughts for much longer.
“Luz, you are the hero whose life ends.”
Luz was stunned into silence, her whole body freezing up.
“What?”
Hestia is watching her with careful eyes. They were so much warmer now that she’d been freed and Belos had fallen. She seemed to glow, her whole body illuminating a soft sheen. The healthiest nine year old she’d ever seen. She also shimmered with a sort of power, one that made Luz feel weird about looking down on.
But she was hooked onto Hestia’s words, desperate to understand. Hestia’s bright amber eyes flickered between Luz’s own brown ones, searching for something.
“It cannot be Amity who dies. It was her prophecy that foretold a death, but her hands would only bear the weight of the journey. You, on the other hand, are the most important piece to the puzzle. The escape.”
“It takes four…” Luz murmured softly, remembering her own prophecy, and Hestia offered a little smile.
“Yet I only saw two of you here today.”
“Willow and Gus, my companions… they’re fighting off the demigods,” Luz mumbled under her breath, running a hand through her hair. Luz might be a little dense sometimes, but she wasn’t stupid. And right now she was wracking her brain trying to figure out what was going on. “They bought us time to come down here and save you. And… and we did. And Amity’s gone. The prophecy lied!”
Hestia shook her head. “Luz Noceda, you’re quest is not over.”
“No, it’s not.”
Luz turned her head to the sound of the new voice, and at first, she clenched her sword, worried that she had a new enemy to fight. But this… this wasn’t an enemy.
It was a man, with deep chestnut coloured skin and wavy dark brown hair that was styled neatly on the top of his head. He had a chiselled jaw, and a clean five o’clock shadow covering his face. His eyes were light brown, and as Luz examined him closer as he slowly walked towards them, she noticed that there was a tiny slit in his thick eyebrows.
He was wearing an expensive-looking, slim-fit, dark blue silk suit, not dissimilar to the color of the one Luz wore to the fake prom, which already felt like eons ago. In his hand was a winged staff, with two real snakes curling around the ends of it. A Caduceus.
She would have known who he was without her new knowledge of the Greek Gods. Her Mami had always talked about him this way. A very successful businessman from Brazil, who'd she only met because he was vising the country on a work trip.
Her father, Hermes.
If Luz wasn’t so wired with grief, anger, and exhaustion, she might have been excited to meet him.
The messenger god was walking slowly towards them, towards Luz, and for a moment, she saw what looked like hesitance cross his face. It infuriated Luz. He’d been gone for her whole life, never bothering to show up or be there for her, and he chose now to intervene? Now to make his grand appearance?
A week ago, she would have felt honoured. Now, it felt like a slap in the face.
“Hello, Luz.”
She wanted to scream. To whip out her sword and slash Aletheia right across his face. But Luz didn’t have the resolve she wanted. She was upset, hurt, and heartbroken. She didn’t want to be angry at a father who’d never been around. That felt like an overreaction. She didn’t want to overreact. She just wanted Amity back.
“Hola, padre.”
It was colder than her usual tone, and Hermes didn’t miss it. He winced, and Luz felt a tiny twinge of satisfaction in her gut. He didn’t deserve to feel comfortable around her.
“I… know how you must feel about me,” he said quietly, “and I don’t blame you for it. I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?” Luz echoed, her eyebrows furrowing in disbelief. “Sorry doesn’t cut it! I’ve been on this quest with just my friends without your help for almost two weeks. I’d been alone my whole life before coming to camp. Now Amity…” her voice breaks, and she shakes her head. “You should have been there. You should have helped me!”
“I have done my best to aid you on your quest,” Hermes insisted, gesturing to the sword in her hand. “I guided you to Peleus’ sword, the first key to the mountain. It’s the same one I enchanted centuries ago for him. I granted Aphrodite’s chariot great speed to get you to Indiana. You asked me to bless your throw in Orpheus’ manor, and I did just that.”
“You left my Mami,” Luz said through gritted teeth, even if her brain was buzzing with new information. “You left me to grow up with her alone.”
“Your mother is a strong, brave, and dedicated woman,” Hermes said with a nod. “I wanted to be there for you, but it was not my place to do so. All demigods must grow up alone, without the guidance of their goldy parents. And you are special, Luz. I could not interfere with the prophecy.”
She looked down at her now-battered white shoes, which had been brand new when she’d first come to camp. She wanted to argue with him. To go on and put Hermes in his place for being an absent father. But she just didn’t have the energy to argue with a god.
Hermes stepped forward, reaching out to her. Luz didn’t push him away. He settled his hands on her shoulders firmly.
“Luz, look at me.”
She looked up and blinked. She’d been wrong about his eye colour. They weren’t brown, but a deep bronzy hue. They were narrowed in a determination she thought was familiar. As she looked on, she realized why. It was not dissimilar to the look Alador had given her right at the end of their one on one conversation.
“"Por favor,” he pleaded, “déjame ayudarte."
Luz swallowed hard. She wasn’t sure how she felt about her father, but at the very least, she owed this much to Amity to do her best to finish the quest they’d started, even if she couldn’t.
“Okay. What do I need to do?”
Hermes was quick to step back and give Luz space, this time turning to Hestia, who Luz had completely forgotten was standing there.
“The portal will not be closed until we can make sure Belos will never be able to activate it again. His soul has reappeared in Charon’s office, just as it did the first time he died. He will be taken across the River Styx for trial, but he had prepared for something like this. His portal is on the outskirts of the Underworld, between the Fields of Asphodel and the River Acheron. Instead of wandering past the line with the dead, he will take a secret passageway back to the portal, and will try to open it again from the inside.”
“That makes no sense,” Luz retorted, “we’ve freed Hestia. The portal just can’t reopen without her.”
Hermes nodded, “you’d be right, usually. But the portal was able to fuse with the mountain and lock in Hestia’s hearth. She could be on Olympus, or on the moon, and it still wouldn’t matter. Her divine essence has fused with it.”
“Okay, so how do we stop the portal from reopening?”
Hestia and Hermes shared a look, and reality hit Luz like a truck.
“Oh.”
“I’m sorry, Luz. But you’ll have to be the hero one last time,” Hestia said softly. “The portal must close.”
And Luz agreed. Amity had fallen down a mountain for this. For all of this to be over and done, and for Belos to never be able to hurt any demigod ever again.
“I’ll do it. I’ll go to the Underworld and close the portal.”
Hermes’ mouth twisted into a smile, something between pride and amusement. “It won’t be easy. You’ll have to get past Belos and his army. But I’ll help you in every way I can. You won’t be alone.”
Luz’s brow furrowed. “What, you’re coming with me?”
“Not quite,” he replied with a chuckle. It was deep and grizzly but also somehow soothing and gentle at the same time. “The Olympians cannot cross into Hades' realm without his consent. But I am not just the god of travellers, you know. I am the god who guides all travelling souls to the Underworld. I did not just come here to guide you, Luz. I came here with a message. There is a soul the pantheon has agreed to spare if you complete your quest and stop this portal from bringing the downfall of Olympus.”
Luz's heart started to race. Did he mean…?
Hermes reached out and placed a hand back on Luz’s shoulder. This one was much gentler than the last, firm grip. It was almost fatherly.
“Amity is not a casualty of this prophecy, Luz. The two of you must destroy the portal from the inside, and stop Belos for good. You’ll find her waiting in line to be judged. But a warning: she won’t be the demigod you once knew. Many in the Underworld need to be reminded of who they are.”
Luz wasn’t worried about that. Amity was the strongest person she knew. When they were together, they were unstoppable.
“She must hurry,” Hestia muttered, rubbing her palms together. It was a weird gesture, she was moving so quickly it looked like she was trying to catch a flame between her hands. “I can already feel my powers weakening.”
“I can’t go without telling Willow and Gus,” Luz said, preparing to turn and sprint back up the mountain path from which she came.
“You must! We are out of time,” Hermes said with a shake of his head. “It takes four to escape, and release goddess caged”. They have their own role to play in allowing the portal to open, and guarding it while you’re on the other side. And… they will need to recover Amity if her soul is to come back with you.”
Luz hesitated. She’d come so far with their help, she couldn’t just… leave.
The hand on her shoulder gave a comforting squeeze. “Luz, por favor, se nos acabó el tiempo.
I will stay here, and guide them while you are gone. I swear it on the River Styx.”
“As will I,” Hestia said with a nod. “I swear it.”
Luz took a deep breath. She needed to get a grip. Besides, after all this, what was one more quest to the Underworld to stop an evil demigod from taking over the world?
Easy peasy.
“Okay. When we find the portal, how do we close it?”
“You will need this,” Hestia said, and Luz realized that she hadn’t just been rubbing her hands together for nothing. In her hands was a tiny flame, and she extended it out to Luz. “One touch with this on the portal and it will open for you and Amity to walk back through. When the power of my hearth has touched both sides, I will be able to use it to burn the connection between us. The portal should fall apart.”
Luz was a little nervous to take the flame, but she was surprised how easy it fit in her hand. There was no burning like she thought, but rather a warm tingling sensation right in the middle of her palm. After a moment, it shrank and shifted into an ambered coloured plastic lighter.
“A warning,” Hestia added, and Luz glanced up at her tone. “Only a living soul may harness my hearth. It is yours and yours alone to carry.”
Luz nodded, gently setting the lighter in her pocket. “I won’t give it to anybody else. I promise.”
“Then it’s time,” Hermes said, and Luz tilted her head to look up at him. “I must allow you to pass into the Underworld. Are you ready?”
More than she would ever be. She shrank Aletheia back into a ring, letting it rest onto her finger. She was going to go down there and bring Amity back if it was the last thing she ever did.
“I am. So, how do I get there? Are you going to lend me a flying chariot?”
Hermes laughed. “Not exactly. Take my hand.”
He extended it out for her, and Luz took it. She was surprised how soft it was for a god, but then was somehow equally surprised when he gripped it tightly, not letting her go. His other hand came down to the front pocket of her shorts, the opposite on to where she put the lighter, and he slipped something inside.
“I need you to look at me and not look away. This won’t be pleasant, but it’s the only way for a living soul to travel through the Underworld unscathed.”
Then, Hermes started to glow. At first, it was oddly beautiful, his whole body lighting up golden around the edges of his suit, like a picturesque model of a Bloomberg business magazine. Then, it got uncomfortable, and Luz was squinting, and she knew right away her eyes were starting to burn as it got brighter and brighter.
It was bordering on painful when her head started to get woozy. “Dad, are you sure this won’t kill me?”
The last thing she remembers is his soothing, deep-throated, chuckle. “Well, I've never done this before, but even so I'm fairly confident it will work.”
The burning got so bright she couldn’t see anything but white, and her whole body tingled like she was burning alive without the excruciating physical pain that should have been paired with it.
Then, there was nothing.
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tuiyla · 4 years
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So I finally watched The Owl House
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I wish I’d do this with every show I watch but it seems like only a lucky few get the She-Ra style rant of love treatment. Well, I finally watched The Owl House after my dash having been flooded for the past couple of weeks and I have some thoughts. Slight spoilers below.
First off, I love the whole vibe. I had a faint idea that this show would be about magic but I didn’t know much before watching - except for one thing, we’ll get back to that. The way it builds its world and deals with magic, though, is so refreshing. And I just have to mention here that I laughed out loud at all the Harry Potter jabs, they were hilarious. I expect we’ll learn much more about magic and its users as the show goes on but as far as the first season goes the introduction was really solid. It strikes the right balance between leaving things to the imagination but being more than “wave wand and magic happens”. It’s colourful, it’s creative, and I even like the ovens and school tracks, despite knowing that the story is about not conforming to those. It makes the Boiling Isles unique and make me want to learn more about the world even beyond the characters and the main plot.
TOH also presents a world that’s much more macabre than I was expecting from the Disney Channel, not that that’s a bad thing. I found myself thinking of Adventure Time at certain points and pondering, at scary moments, how kids would react. I think kids love this, though, and besides, nothing can be more scarring than Courage the Cowardly Dog was. It’s not that terrifying, of course, just daring enough to stand out. Overall the show has what I would classify as more of a Cartoon Network vibe than a Disney Channel one, but I admittedly haven’t really been following many Disney shows. In any case, I dig it. I dig the weird creatures and the beautiful backgrounds and I appreciate how alive the Boiling Isles feel. It doesn’t take long for TOH to immerse you in its world so I’m for one am hooked.
I make a big deal of loving the world itself because rarely does it happen that world-building stands out to me so soon in a series. I do love carefully constructed fantasy worlds but for the most part I’m more interested in the characters themselves. Here, I’d say it’s close to being a 50-50, which is something that even Avatar can’t say with its elemental masterclass in world-building (which is mostly because the character depth there is unrivaled but still). So yeah, kudos to The Owl House for achieving this. From Luz’s glyph magic to the covens and the titans, I’m excited to explore this world more.
Now, the characters. The real meat of any story. Starting with Luz, I have seen some criticism that she’s a generic hero so far, the “I’m a weirdo”, heart of gold, upbeat variety. I don’t think this makes her bland, though I do admit that being told over and over again that she’s weird makes me less engaged, even she’s also shown to be weird. I like the message of her arc and that the chosen one trope was deconstructed almost right away. I like that she’s relentlessly enthusiastic and kind to people and I like that she doesn’t have to get more bitter in order to get development. Instead, she learns from her mistakes but keeps being herself and brings her unique spirit to the Boiling Isles. We need protagonists like Luz, not just because she’s latina and bisexual but because her learning process doesn’t involve cynicism. Sure, there is a lot she needs to learn but her heart is presented as an asset and a sort of source of magic. I’m excited to see where her story goes, for sure.
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I’m gonna write briefly about the other characters before I get to my favourite one. Eda is super cool and I quickly got over the fact that she’s not Beatrice Horseman, lol. She embodies such a youthful energy but the show also allows her to be a middle-aged woman comfortable in her own body - well, owl curse notwithstanding. Also, her relationship with Lilith is one of my favourite parts of the whole show. Eda subverts so many of the mentor’s traditional tropes and I’m here for it. I kinda thought she was the villain based on her design and when I didn’t know anything about the show but hey, happy she’s not.
I don’t think I’d even seen a picture of King before starting to watch the series and at first I thought I’d get tired of him real quick. He’s the type of character who can get really annoying instead of endearing really fast if he’s not given any depth or charm, both by way of writing and voice acting. Luckily, I ended up liking King and his antics. His design is indeed adorable and Alex Hirsch is a genius. The only time I felt like he went too far was, perhaps surprisingly, in the book writing episode, “Sense and Insensitivity”, but even there going too far was the point. So yeah, King’s also great, there’s much potential in his backstory and general character.
Alright so really quickly, other characters: Willow and Gus are generic best friend characters and though they already have other things going on, I expect more development as the series progresses. I like that Willow is actually super powerful, just not in the way people expected her to and Gus is clearly also talented despite being younger. I’d be happy to see more of the other kids, get more familiar with Hexside. Edric and Emira are fun characters but they were really shitty in their first episode so I was kind of surprised they weren’t more of a nuisance to Amity later on. I’m all for supportive siblings so I wouldn’t mind a good relationship between the three but I feel like it’s more complicated than that with the Blights.
Finally, I also have to mention that Hooty is... well, quite something, isn’t he. Much like with King, I thought he’d be much more annoying but somehow the show is self-aware enough that it makes Hooty tolerable. I’m almost always torn between feeling sorry for him and being thoroughly weirded out, and I think that’s the intention? It’s fitting that he’s the titular character as he embodies the tone of The Owl House well in my eyes. He’s there for the comedy but there’s just enough there to hint at something more. Very bizarre, strong CN vibes, here for it.
Now that I’ve written a paragraph more about Hooty than I expected to, let’s talk about Amity. Listen, no other character stood a chance to be my favourite as soon as I learned Mae Whitman voiced Amity. That woman gave me Katara so now I have a quasi Pavlovian response to her voice. I’d also say that I knew more about Amity going into the show than I did about any other aspect of TOH. I heard somewhere that she started out as an antagonist, I knew her parents were abusive, and the reason the show blew up on my dash and my general online bubble is the Grom episode. Lucikly I only saw stills of Lumity beneath the crescent moon but the pure Sapphic energy of that was enough to gay migrate me to this show. I’d like to note it here though that The Owl House is a good show in and of itself, the queer rep is just a nice extra. I’m gonna spend the next couple hundred words going on about Amity and her crush on Luz but I don’t value only that. The Gay Migration is great and rep is great but I’m also grateful to have a solid show behind it. That being said.
I’m a total dyke for Amity Blight. I was very biased before even being introduced to her character but I genuinely find her to be fascinating and she has great potential. She’s developing quite quickly, like much of The Owl House, but an arc not being stretched out for several seasons before getting a rushed conclusion is refreshing. The progress hits all the beats and the only note I have is that I want more. She starts out as a generic bully but the opportunity to be more is there from the beginning. We find out early on that she used to be friends with Willow, we see that she works hard and values honest work. When she becomes Luz’s rival, it doesn’t last long before Amity shows that she’s open to new perspectives. That’s not to defend or even justify her earlier and nastier moments, Amity was rude to both Luz and Willow. But through all that, she becomes a complex character who does bad things but isn’t a bad person and grows when she gets the space to. I think that’s neat.
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Luz’s decision to befriend her might be cartoon logic but as someone who subscribes to the “kill them with kindness” ideology, I can totally relate. Amity’s softer side doesn’t take long to show and “Lost in Language” is such a great episode to show how complex people can be. Again, I was already biased when it came to Amity but she’s consistently shown to be capable of self-reflection and growth when others give her the chance. I think her past and potential future friendship with Willow is a great way to explore many different topics and I’m trusting the show to do it justice. I also can’t wait to meet the rest of the Blights, if only to get me some angst and further develop Amity. I half expected Grom to take the form of her parents. Too dark for Disney? Well, we don’t know Amity’s dynamic with her parents, exactly, but there’s so much subtext and potential. I love what we’ve already seen from her but I’d also say that she has one of the greatest potentials in the show.
Another way in which this potential manifests is Lumity, of course. Again, they’re developing quite quickly but that doesn’t mean it’s rushed. I’d love to explore Amity’s crush more and what Luz means to her. The Grom episode surpassed all expectations, still and gifs don’t do the stunning dance sequence justice. The animation is so smooth, the colours are amazing, the music is on point and the Sapphic vibes complete the picture. Poetic cinema, truly. Molly Ostertag and Noelle Stevenson are really out there giving wlw animation fans everything we ever wanted, huh. It also warms my heart that the crush is made very clear, not just by Luz’s name being on the note but by the delightful gay disaster that is Amity in “Wing It Like Witches”. I never thought I’d ever see such a relatable useless lesbian in animation so kudos to Dana Terrace and the whole crew. Wow, how far we’ve come.
So yeah, Amity is a funky little lesbian and I’m a 100% here for her gay disaster moments, but I also love where Lumity is going thematically. They’re great as foils and I’m hoping that they won’t get together at the very end. Look, I love me some Bubbline, Korrasami and Catradora, but it’s time a wlw relationship had the chance to exist onscreen and not only in the last episode. The Owl House has a great chance to do that. I know the creators don’t want romance to be the main focus and I respect that, I think the world they created deserves to showcased and explored to its full potential. Lumity could be a great subplot though, as representation on the one hand and as a thematically interesting dynamic on the other. Plus, Luz and Amity are just cute and sometimes, it’s as simple as that. Oh, and also the whole Little Miss Perfect thing? One of the best fandom discoveries I’ve made in a long while. Not only is the song truly perfect for Amity, I love that Joriah Kwamé went on to write Ordinary as well. This right here is why fandom is beautiful.
I think that’s about it for season 1 initial thoughts. The moral can be a bit on the nose at times, especially in the early episodes but the show is ultimately for kids and I appreciate its message. Interesting world and magic system, good characters, great potential for later seasons, just a well put together show that I’m really glad I started watching. I’m kind of sorry I didn’t keep up with season 1 as it was coming out but I would not have been able to wait between episodes. The pacing is good overall, deffo moves fast but I wouldn’t call it rushed, and the “filler” episodes still add something to the story. I’m not sure if I would still feel like the show moves at a fast pace if I hadn’t binged it but in any case it isn’t rushed, the necessary beats are all there and have time to sit. I’m going to watch as it comes out from now on so hopefully season 2 will arrive early next year.
Oh, and: I’m very new to the fandom, barely just found out about Little Miss Perfect, so any and all tidbits, fun facts, and fic recommendations are welcome. Also if you just want to chat my inbox is always open!
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damianwaynerocks · 4 years
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Ghosts in Gotham
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Danny Phantom / DC Comics fanfic
Dedicated to: @dannyphantom-justiceleauge
Summary: The Batfamily has been through their fair share of the supernatural. That’s why they originally weren’t worried whenever ghosts started showing up in Gotham City. Until one day, something happens; Batman is captured and taken into the Ghost Zone. With no way to go in there themselves, the no way to fight the ghosts inside, the bats decide to call the person who can; Danny Phantom. Together, Danny takes Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown and Damian Wayne into the Ghost Zone before the Batman is lost forever.
Words: 2032
ch 2 Masterlist
Chapter 1:
-
Every city had its hero.
Gotham City? Batman. Metropolis? Superman. Central City? The Flash.
Amity Park? Danny Phantom.
Amity Park had mixed feelings about Phantom. Some said he was a helper, a true hero, keeping the town safe. Others said he was a criminal, doing nothing but wreaking havoc on the town. Either way, Phantom was known for one specific thing; fighting ghosts.
Which is what he was doing at the moment.
"I am!! The Box Ghost!!" a short, stocky ghost shouted. His eyes glowed blue and an aura of the same color surrounded the boxes crowding the back of a movie theater. "Beware!" he raised his arms and hurled three boxes at a figure who easily dodged.
"Come on, Box Ghost," a teenage boy with white hair and green eyes floating above the ground groaned. "I don't have time for this! I have to order the new Cheese Viking game before it sells out!"
"Beware!" The Box Ghost shouted again, throwing more boxes at the boy.
Danny Phantom rolled his eyes as his body became intangible, the boxes easily passing through it. He raised his arm, and a blast of bright green energy shot from his palm, hitting the Box Ghost square in the chest. The Box Ghost, with a grunt, was blown back into the brick wall of the movie theater.
Not wasting any time, Danny grabbed the thermos that he had strapped to his back and pointed it at the other ghost. In a flash of light, the Box Ghost was sucked into the thermos.
"Finally," Danny muttered as he took off into the sky.
Danny Phantom, his real name being Danny Fenton, was a sixteen-year-old halfa, or a ghost-human hybrid. He could switch between ghost and human form at will. He'd gotten his powers from an accident with the Ghost Portal, a portal in his home that was a bridge between the human world and the Ghost Zone, where every ghost resides.
Ghosts repeatedly escaped the Ghost Zone through this portal for one of three reasons; to wreak havoc on the human world, to kill Danny or both. Usually, it was the latter.
Danny returned to his house, passing through the walls of the building with intangibility and landing in the lab. He switched back to his human form in a flash of light, changing his hair color from white to black and his eyes from green to blue.
His family was made up of ghost hunters- aside from his sister -so they had an entire lab dedicated to ghost technology.
"Back you go, Boxy," Danny said as he released the Box Ghost into the portal. "Finally," he sighed, "Time to get Cheese Viking."
"No!" he shouted five minutes later at his computer. The new Cheese Viking, Danny's favorite game, had sold out.
"Danny!" a large man in an orange jumpsuit burst into the boy's room. "Are you okay!? Are you hurt!?"
"No, Dad, I'm fine," Danny replied to his father, Jack Fenton. "Except for that stupid Box Ghost making me too late to get Cheese Viking!"
He hadn't told his parents about his life as Phantom until he was fifteen. Well, it wasn't Danny who told them. His sister found him in his room passed out with a gaping hole in his side, and she had to tell their parents so they could help him.
Jack paused. "But.. you got him?" he asked cheerily. Danny smiled.
"Yeah. I got him." Jack slapped him on the back.
"Thatta boy!" he said with a grin. "Come on, Jazz got a letter from Wayne Enterprises and your mom wants the whole family to watch her open it!"
Jazz, Danny's sister, had just graduated high school and had applied for an internship at Wayne Enterprises, one of the largest businesses in the world. An internship there would kick-start her career in marketing. That was the reason she claimed, but Danny was sure that part of the reason was that Bruce Wayne, the billionaire who owned Wayne Enterprises, was cute.
"Finally!" Jazz, a girl with long red hair and a blue headband huffed. "I haven't been able to look for three hours! What were you out doing?"
"Uh, my job?" Danny smirked as he hopped over the back of the couch to sit on it. Jazz rolled her eyes.
"Open it, dear!" Their mom, Maddie Fenton, urged. Jazz grinned widely, opening the letter. Her smile grew, and she jumped up and down.
"I got it!" she squealed. "I got it!! I got the internship!!"
"That's great, Jazz!" the other three Fentons exclaimed at once. Jazz seemed to get even more excited as she continued reading the letter.
"And," she continued excitedly, "All the interns are expected to attend the next Wayne Gala with their families! All expenses paid!"
"Yes!" Jack cried. "We're going to New Jersey, baby!" As the entire family celebrated, Danny couldn't help but be suspicious. Jazz had applied late and while she was smart, she wouldn't have been anything special next to the other applicants.
Something was up. _
"So what, you think she only got accepted because of you?" A girl with short black hair raised an eyebrow as they walked through the halls of their high school. "Why, exactly?"
"Because, Sam," Danny responded to his girlfriend. "It's weird. I was looking at the Infi-map, and there's a portal to the Ghost Zone in Gotham that wasn't there a month ago. And get this? It's five miles away from Wayne Manor.”
"You think Bruce Wayne wants you out of the way for some plan?
"It wouldn't be the first time somebody did."
"But how would he even know who you are?" Sam Manson asked, "I mean, there's no way he knows that you're Phantom."
"Um, because he's Batman?" An African American boy walking beside them scoffed as though it was obvious. "Batman knows everything."
Danny and Sam laughed. "Tucker, seriously?" Danny shook his head in disbelief. "That conspiracy? Batman and Bruce Wayne have been seen at the same time in the same place multiple times.”
"Okay, well, you can clone yourself! Who's to say Batman can't? Or maybe it's a hologram! Or maybe it's one of his thousand children in the suit!" Tucker Foley counted on his fingers as he rattled off the various theories. His eyes widened, and he grabbed Danny's shoulders. "Dude, you have to get proof."
"There's no way I'd be able to get close enough to Bruce Wayne to prove anything."
"Then trick him!" Tucker said, his eyes bright. "Most of Bruce's adopted kids are boys with black hair and blue eyes! Just say you're an orphan and I bet he'll be like 'Of course you can stay, I am always down for more children."
"Okay, first of all," Danny began, adjusting his backpack on his shoulder and prying his friends arms off of him. “His son Damian? That kid scares me, he gives off Dash vibes. Did you see how he made that interviewer cry?"
A few months prior, a video had surfaced that showed Damian Wayne insulting a girl who was trying to give him an interview. The two-minute video ended with the girl crying.
"And second of all-" Danny was cut off as he was shoved to the ground. He looked up to see Dash Baxter, a muscular boy with blonde hair.
"Watch where you're going, Fen-freak," Dash sneered, "Before I shove your puny face into a locker!"
Danny gritted his teeth as he sat up. Dash had been picking on him from the beginning of high school. Two years later, he hadn't stopped.
On any other occasion, Danny would have said something in response, but Dash had already continued down the hall.
"Why can't you just zap him or something?" Tucker grumbled. "He's the worst!"
"Yeah, I know," Danny stood up, wiping dust off of his shirt. "But I can't. It isn't right."
"Your moral code is dumb," his friend snapped back.
"If you're going to Gotham," said Sam with a pointed look at Tucker. "Who's gonna be here to help with the ghosts?"
"I've got it covered," Danny replied swiftly, looking up. "Dani's coming down.  It'll be fine. I have to keep Jazz safe, and figure out what Brucie Wayne is up to."
__
"I am sure Father would have a better plan than to invite some under-qualified intern to the Manor."
A seventeen-year-old boy with spiky black hair rolled his eyes. "Damian, she isn't under-qualified. She meets all of the qualifications for the internship."
The first boy, an Arab thirteen-year-old with the same spiky hair and bright green eyes, scoffed. "There is no way a person from some backwater town would have received the internship if we hadn't needed her brother."
Tim Drake and Damian Wayne, the youngest children of Bruce Wayne. Damian currently held the Robin mantle, while Tim used Red Robin. The brothers were in a large cave decked out with a plethora of high-tech equipment.
"Okay, but you think every place outside of Gotham is a backwater town." Tim pointed out as he swiveled his chair to face a massive computer.
"Amity Park is a backwater town. The citizens there are animals," Damian retorted, crossing his arms. "You just cannot see that because you are also a backwater type."
Tim laughed as he realized what the younger boy was basing his opinion on. "Damian, please tell me you haven't generalized an entire city just because of one tourist from Amity Park ran into you and spilled soda on your shirt."
"It was my favorite shirt! And that cretin did not even apologize!" Damian spat. "The nerve!"
"Okay, well, put aside your dumb grudge and think about the objective," Tim responded. "I think, if you look within that thing you call a soul, you can see that letting one intern that you think is under-qualified is worth getting Bruce back."
"Tt. I suppose," Damian admitted begrudgingly. "If this Danny Phantom character truly has the potential to save Father."
"He's the only one who can." Tim reminded him. "We can't get into the Ghost Zone without a ghost, and I don't think any of the ones we've seen so far would be willing to help," He paused. "Plus, don't the Fentons make ghost hunting gear? Who knows, maybe they have a ghost sword."
After a sudden wave of ghost attacks in Gotham, Bruce had poured in countless hours of research to find out as much as he could about ghosts. He had discovered that they came from another dimension and that there was one person who was an expert at fighting them; Danny Phantom of Amity Park. It didn't take very long for him to uncover Phantom's true identity.
"Tim! Dames!" a voice shouted. "My boys!" Tim and Damian looked towards the stairs and saw a taller man with black hair and blue eyes jump the railing of said stairs, landing in the Bat Cave.This was their oldest brother, Dick Grayson, also known as Nightwing. He grinned brightly. "How's it going?"
"Making sure that we have every possible outcome of this mission prepared for." Tim replied as he continued typing on the Bat Computer. Damian nodded.
“Yes, and so I have decided that I shall accompany them on this journey."
"Damian, no." his older brothers said at the same time. Damian scowled.
"Why not? I am plenty capable of-
"Because people would get suspicious if Batman suddenly didn't have a Robin," Dick answered, strolling towards the younger boy. "That's why Jason, Tim, and Stephanie are going. They won't be missed," He gave Tim a nervous look. "No offense."
"None taken," Tim replied, waving his hand. "Sorry Damian, you'd just get in the way."
"But I have died before!" Damian huffed, his hands clenching into fists. "That combined with my skills- which are far greater than yours, Drake, I might add -makes me much more qualified than you."
"Little D, dude, I just told you," Dick ruffled his younger brother's hair. "It'll be suspicious if you're gone. And besides, I need you. We're a great team."
"But my father is in there-"
"Master Damian-" their butler, Alfred Pennyworth, interrupted the trio's squabbling. "You won't be going anywhere until your homework is done."
"Homework? Finding my father is much more important than an essay on why the Roman empire fe-"
"Master Damian." Alfred repeated in a low tone. "Now."
Damian scowled as he trudged up the stairs. It didn't matter how tough the person was. When Alfred told you to do something, you do it. "I will be going with you, Drake!" he called behind his shoulder. "I promise you that!"
Dick and Tim exchanged a glance and rolled their eyes.
"Children."
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k7l4d4 · 3 years
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Midnight Striga: Fairy Tail/Owl House Cross Fic Episode 6 Part 6
Hello, and once again, I introduce you all, to a world of fantastic imagination! Welcome, to Midnight Striga!! Everybody Clap Your Hands!!
“Well that was a waste of time.” Amity grumbled, as she and the others broke away from their circles, disappointed at the lack of response.
“Aw, look at the bright side, Ams,” Skara said, slinging an arm over her friend’s shoulder, “At least we gave it a shot, and we’ve had a pretty great time overall, Conjuring or no!” Her peppiness was almost infectious. Scratch that, it was infectious, as a small grin fought its way onto Amity’s face.
“Please don’t call me Ams,” Amity sighed, choosing not to hide her smile. Skara just gave her a cheeky wink.
“But it suits you so well, Ams!” Skara laughed cheerfully, even as Amity gave a good-natured groan. “This is nice.” She said, a look of content on her face.
Amity nodded. “Yeah, it is.” She smiled, before a conflicted look crossed her face. She sighed. “Skara, I’m sorry.”
Skara cocked her head. “Hmm? About what?” She asked.
“That it took you getting hurt for me to start treating you like an actual friend, instead of someone my parents made me hang out with.” Amity confessed, even as the eyes of Skara and the others widened. “I let my issues with my parents define my relationship, and I can’t even begin to say how sorry I am for that. Can you forgive me?” She asked. She didn’t honestly expect to be forgiven, because what she did was nothing less than crappy.
She wasn’t expecting Skara to snort, and laugh in response. “Oh my Titan, is that why you’re always on edge around me?” She asked rhetorically. “Amity, there’s nothing to forgive. We all just got a little look at how… difficult your mom can be, and my family definitely has its own issues.” She explained, lightly pressing her hand against Amity’s shoulder. “While it may have been a lame thing to do, you owned up to it, and were there for me when I really needed you to be, and have done your best to be a real friend ever since. As far as I’m concerned, you’re a great friend.” She finished, pulling a surprised Amity into a hug, which she tightly returned, eyes misting.
“While learning that you didn’t want to be friends with us is a little painful,” Amelia added, drawing glances from Skara and Amity, “Skara’s got the right idea. You may not have been the best friend, but you did what none of us ever has,” She said, gesturing to herself, Cat, and a sheepish Bo and Selena. “You were there for her, and stood by her when she was hurting. You didn’t just walk by and ignore it. You even apologized when you were in the wrong!” She exclaimed, throwing up her arms.
“Yeah, wasn’t expecting to hear that.” Cat said, a sardonic grin on her face. Her face fell into it’s usual stern look. “We all just stood on the sidelines and let Boscha do whatever she wanted, and went along with even her worst ideas. You never did that, even when Boscha really wanted you to. You may have hung out with us, but looking back? It was pretty clear you were only there out of obligation, and you never went along with anything that had even a hint of getting you into trouble. Out of all of us, you were by and large the best.” She stated, a proud gleam in her eyes.
“You pulled Skara out of her funk, and got her to start living again. She was starting to backslide after the Covention, but then you did all this!” Bo exclaimed, gesturing to the party setup surrounding them. “I can never repay you for that.” She finished, bowing.
“I’ve always been a face in the crowd.” Selena stated, her face finally regaining some color after her prediction. “But you took a chance and let me come here. Because of that, I’ve met some really cool people, and had a lot of fun. And while I am now utterly terrified about my imminent future,” Everyone gave her an odd look at that,” for the first time, I can say that I’m living my life without regrets, and I’m going to keep doing that!” She gave a beaming grin.
“Ahem!”
The group turned, looking sheepish at the sight of Gus and Willow standing just a few feet away from them. Skara cleared her throat, blushing. “Um, sorry for ignoring you.”
Gus rolled his eyes. “It’s fine.” He sighed. “Look, Amity?” He began, causing the girl in question to go ramrod straight. “I don’t know you. Not really. I only know what I’ve seen, and some of what Willow’s been willing to tell me about you and her.” He gestured to the two of them, causing both girls to clench their fists in nervousness. “Still, you took a chance and let Willow come here and hang out with all of you. That’s never happened before. So, I’m gonna give you a chance, and while I’ll never forgive you if you mess it up, I don’t think I have to worry about that.” He finished, a half-smile on his face.
“Amity, you hurt me. Badly. In ways that any and all of Boscha’s taunts never could.” Willow said, Amity’s eyes turning to the ground at her words. “But I’ve never hated you over it.” That caused Amity to whip her head up so fast she almost felt her neck hurt. “I was sad, and lonely, and a lot of times I just wanted to scream and scream and never stop! But… I always remembered how, even after we stopped being friends, you never had a real smile. But lately, that’s changed. You’re enjoying life again. And I’m happy for you.” She finished, giving a tearful Amity an honest smile.
“I think we should go check on Luz and the others.” Skara said in a choked up voice, enthusiastic nods following her suggestion. As they walked over to the humans, they instantly took notice of the murderous look sported by Luz and the guards, and Neon’s tear-stained face. “Um, what happened?” Skara tentatively asked.
“Let’s just say that Neon’s dad is an even bigger piece of trash than I thought.” Luz bit out, cuddling Neon closer. She gave Neon a meaningful look. “Do you want me to tell them?”
Neon bit her lip, visibly conflicted, but nodded. “Yeah. If you trust them, it’s okay.”
Luz sighed, unsure if she was relieved or disappointed. Turning to the group, she gestured to Neon’s arms, exposing the heavy bruising covering them. “As you can tell by his handiwork, Mr. Nostrade had a nasty temper, and a liking for using Neon as a punching bag.” She growled, trying to resist the urge to bundle Neon up and scream at them all to leave.
The Witches felt sick. This man, whoever he was, had used his own daughter as an object to take his anger out on? Something to attack and scream at, and blame for whatever problem was plaguing him at the moment? As the sickening feeling built, so too did a surge of blistering hate. “You know,” Willow began, her voice far too casual, “I’ve always wondered how good a living body would serve as plant food.”
“That sounds pretty interesting, Willow,” Gus chimed in, his voice also way too casual, “I’ve honestly gotten invested in this one spell I found. It was apparently based on Grometheus, in that it mines a target’s memory for their deepest fears and most traumatic memories, and traps them in a labyrinth composed of those same memories and fears!”
“That’s fascinating!” Bo chipped in, a toothy grin stretching across her face. “It honestly makes me think of this one spell I read about that forces the body to heal wounds it doesn’t actually have! It’s supposed to be agonizing, ripping the flesh open as extra material and limbs forcibly claw their way out of your skin!” Cat nodded along with her words, a bloodthirsty smile on her face.
“Really? That’s super similar to this one spell I heard of that lets an Oracle summon a spirit directly into a person’s mind!” Selena added, an ominous gleam in her eyes. “It’s incredibly painful, and has a one-hundred percent rate of madness inducement.”
“Personally, I’m rather fond of the idea of using Bard Magic to extract a target’s blood through their pores, deliberately taking as little blood as possible for as long as possible. You know, to really draw the experience out!” Skara chirped, looking far too perky at the mental image.
“Mmm… I don’t know, I think I’d have to go with Willow’s plant food thing,” Amelia maliciously stated, glancing towards Amity. “What about you Ams?”
“Firstly, don’t call me Ams.” Amity said, before an absolutely remorseless grin crossed her face. “And secondly, I always wondered why my textbooks said not to use living beings as Abominations ingredients, and what better way to find out than to test it?” The Witches started cackling, tenting their fingers and rubbing their hands together in malevolent glee. Oh yeah, they would make that monster pay, big time.
“Uuuhhh… are you guys okay?” Luz asked, honestly a little weirded out at the turn the discussion had taken. The Witches blinked, surprised at her confusion, until Amity face-palmed.
“Luz, we’re talking about ways to kill Neon’s father.” Amity bluntly stated, a look of comprehension finally dawning on Luz’s face, along with Neon’s and her guards.
“Oooohhhhhhh!” Luz exclaimed, flushing in embarrassment. “I’m surprised you jumped to that so quickly, not that I disagree, really.” She stated, rubbing her head.
“It shouldn’t be that surprising. Children are precious, and one of the greatest duties a parent can have is to look after them, to care and guide them for their future.” Amity said passionately, a fierce light burning in her eyes. “Of course we aren’t going to stand for someone who treats his children as things to walk away from what he’s done. That is,” She glanced at Neon, who was watching them all with an unreadable expression, “if that’s alright with you?” She asked tentatively.
“Papa never said he loved me. Mama always did. Papa didn’t like it when Mama did that.” Neon stated hollowly, staring into the distance. “I always hoped Papa would tell me he loved me. But he didn’t. I’m never going back. If he has to d-die,” She choked briefly, before soldiering through it, “then I’ll be okay.” She finished, giving a look of gratitude to Luz.
Amity gave a considering look. “Neon, what happened to your mother?” She asked. She felt that she had an idea, but…
“Hmm,” Neon began, pressing her finger to her chin in thought. “Mama and Papa always fought a lot. Mama was always really mad that Papa kept me in my room. She used to yell about leaving. Then, one day, Mama screamed, and I ran out of my room and over to her. Papa said she fell down the stairs and hit her head really bad. I tried to kiss it better, but Papa told me not to, that it was stupid and I was stupid to try it. Mama went to sleep, and never woke up.” Neon finished, a look of sad acceptance on her face. The Witches and Humans all exchanged looks of understanding about what had REALLY happened; Neon’s father had killed his wife, either accidentally or on-purpose, made it look like an accident, and assumed total control over Neon’s life. And with that, they now had another reason to kill the bastard.
“Well then,” Amity stated, her flat tone doing nothing to hide the icy rage in her voice. “If that’s settled, I believe I have a solution for you and your guards’ residency issues.”
Neon and her guards instantly stilled. “W-what makes you think we don’t have a place to live?” Neon nervously laughed.
“I never said you didn’t have a place to live, but thank you for confirming that.” Amity’s reply instantly choked off Neon’s laugh, causing the girl to sigh in embarrassment.
Amity gave a light laugh. “Don’t worry about it too much, afterall, I have a plan.” She gave a daring grin, the type normally found on her mother’s face when she was about to take a high-payout risk. “Simply put, out of all of us here, I am the best equipped to host you and your guards, so it makes sense for you all to stay with me.” She stated, relishing the shock her offer elicited.
“You… you would do that for me?” Neon asked incredulously, a glimmer of hope shining in her eyes.
Amity nodded, now solemn. “Of course. I am the best option, logically speaking, and...” her face screwed up in frustration, “I do owe you for my mother’s conduct earlier, and can use that conduct, as well as your skills and the strength of your guards as a counter-argument for whatever risks or concerns she may use as a reason to refuse.” A calculating gleam peaked into her eyes. “This situation honestly presents a perfect opportunity for loosening some of the… restrictions my mother has placed upon my life. That is, if you aren’t upset at the thought of my offer having such a selfish motive.” She finished tentatively, only to get an annoyed eyeroll from Neon.
“I may not have a lot of ‘weal rorld’ experience, but I’m not a dummy.” Neon stated, lightly thumping her knuckles against Amity’s forehead. “You are still doing something really nice for me when you don’t actually have to. That’s all I need to know.” She pouted, getting an flushed look of reluctant acceptance from Amity.
“Well, if that’s all settled, I think it’s safe for me to share a little tidbit with you all.” Luz said, the Witches puzzled at her mischievous look.
Alador braced his arm, tightening the internals of his project, one ear carefully tuned to his wife’s frantic rantings.
“And it could be the end of it all!! The Blight name, gone for good!! We have to prepare, we have to ensure the children have all the resources they will need to survive the fallout!” Odalia shouted, a frantic look in her eyes. Alador absentmindedly nodded along; he perfectly understood where Odalia was coming from, as the thought of even a fraction of the implications of that prediction coming true being more than enough of a reason to necessitate… drastic actions. Oh for sure, if their back-up plans ever came to light, they would instantly be branded traitors, and most likely be petrified, but that was a risk they would need to take.
“Calm yourself, Odalia.” He announced, feeling a hint of satisfaction peek through as his wife forced herself to center and focus. “While the implications are certainly worrisome, we have more than enough contingencies in place to ensure the Blight name will endure and thrive… no matter who stands at the top.” He stated, an ominous note entering his voice at the last words.
Odalia sighed, forcing herself into her chair. “You’re right dear. It’s just so frustrating! I can’t believe I allowed myself to act so unbecoming in front of the future generation!! What if they tell their parents!? That Porter boy’s father is a reporter, what if they tell the media!?” She ranted, a look of anxious horror on her face. She brought her face to her palms, groaning. “Ugh, and I just know Mittens is going to use this against me somehow, I just know it! Why must she be so ungrateful for the effort we’ve expended to see her succeed?”
“Uh, it may have something to do with you making her wear that stupid Oracle Necklace and choosing her friends for her? You know, just a suggestion. Also, Edric keeps singing off-key in here, and I am THIS close to throwing him out the window!!” Emira’s voice spoke up from the panic room, irritation and amusement coloring her voice.
“~Oh, Butter Town, Like Creamy Streets of Gold!! Oh how we Love you soooo~!!!”
Alador and Odalia blinked at their daughter’s words. “Hmm… you may have a point,” Odalia conceded, before focusing on something far more pressing, “But how would you throw your brother through a window, the Panic Room is a solid block!”
“I have my ways, Mother Dear!” Emira mockingly called back.
“It’s true, she once twisted this one dude from Glandus who wouldn’t take no for an answer so that his face was inserted into his butt! I was watching, and I still don’t know how she did it!” Edric threw in, his voice colored with amusement.
Alador blinked, scratching his chin. “Hmm… that could be an interesting feature for one of my inventions.” He muttered, instantly scribbling the idea down.
“Right!?” Odalia exclaimed, just as intrigued at the idea for one of their self-defense oriented products. She frowned, considering. “Still, I’m unsure just how Mittens intends to use my… earlier indiscretion against me.”
“She could attempt to use it as leverage to allow the Nostrade girl and her entourage to stay here.”  Alador stated, calmly resuming his work on the project before him. His wife’s explanations of those… conditional spells were certainly intriguing, and if he could successfully implement it into his line? Oh, the possibilities…
“Yes, that is the most likely possibility.” Odalia conceded, tapping the table in thought. “I merely do not wish to close off alternatives.”
“Perfectly understandable.” Alador replied, lightly nodding as he resumed his work. “Still, whether she attempts it or not, we should move to offer Miss Nostrade shelter.”
Odalia smirked in understanding. “A girl with an incredible talent for prediction and a bevy of loyal guards? We would have to be fools to turn that away.” She chuckled, sipping her tea, only to grimace. It had gone cold.
“I am only understanding half of what you guys are saying, but I’m grudgingly willing to agree with you two!” Emira called out. “Having more bodies around to protect Mittens is never a bad thing!”
“Then it’s settled!” Odalia cheered, her earlier dread pushed aside for the moment. “Whether Mittens pushes for it or not, we will move to have Miss Nostrade and company stay here, under our protection.” Alador nodded in agreement, a faint smirk rising to his face.
“WWWWHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTT!?!?!?!?!?!?”
The two paused, clapping their hands to their ears at the raging shout. Odalia blinked. “Hm, it seems the children learned something rather frustrating.”
“Really mom?” Emira asked through the door.
“Indeed, I am most familiar with such sounds, considering my own experience with making them in response to Edalyn’s childish pranks back in school.” Odalia grumbled.
“I still say you looked adorable in that butterfly costume.” Alador interjected.
“~Oh~! Tell us more!” Edric called, engaging in the conversation at the thought of parental humiliation on the part of the parents for once!
“Alador!” Odalia cried, face flushed.
Eda shouldered her way into the stand, grunting in annoyance. King skipped in after her, warily glancing around the environment. Marching up to the counter, Eda roughly hammered against the counter top with her fist. “Hey, I’m looking for a guy named Grimm Hammer for some potions! Whoever he is, he better get out here now!” She shouted, unconcerned with disturbing someone. If anyone had the guff to complain around a place like this, she’d just knock their head, or heads, off their shoulders.
“Oh, coming, coming!” A higher-than-expected voice called out. As she and King exchanged raised eyebrows, they stepped back, watching as a small, Pig-like demon climbed onto the counter, clad in a dapper little vest. He would’ve looked harmless and charming… were it not for the cold, calculating gleam in his eyes, and the naked greed that danced at the mere sight of Eda. “Oh, and what can I do for you fine individuals today?” His politeness was undercut by the almost menacing undertone, as if he’d been expecting them.
“You’re Grimm Hammer?” Eda questioned. He probably was, but getting confirmation was always best, and it would help her and King get their bearings.
“Yeah, you seem a bit different than what talk made you out to be.” King added. He was totally bluffing of course, they’d heard NOTHING about this guy beyond his name, but the more they could twist out of him, the better of a position they’d be in afterwards.
Neither missed the slight narrowing of the Piggy Creep’s eyes. “Indeed! I am Tibblet-Tibblie Grimm Hammer III, better known as Tibbles!” He explained, grin wide and welcoming, eyes cold and considering. “I must say, I never thought I’d see the day the Owl Lady herself found her way into my humble little shop!” Eda and King instantly smelled a rat; something about this wasn’t adding up, particularly in how he’d side-stepped their little bait to get him talking about himself.
“Yeah, yeah, that’s nice and all, but I’m in need of some potions, and word is you’ve got the kind I need.” Eda brusquely stated.
“Yeah, so fork ‘em over!” King chipped in, trying to make himself look bigger.
“Now, now! There’s no need for such aggressiveness!” Tibbles chuckled, ducking down to retrieve the potions in question. He popped up, a cheerful smile on his face. “And here we go! One stock of Curse-Suppression Potions!”
“Hey that’s great-! Wait a minute, how’d you know what kind of potions we needed?” King questioned, hackles raised.
Tibbles chuckled. “Considering your infamy, very few don’t know about your curse, so there are very few reasons you’d be in search of this elixir for any other reason.” He explained calmly, arching an eyebrow in mocking challenge. King growled, marching forward, only to be held back by Eda’s grip.
“That’s great, really it is. How much?” She asked bluntly, wanting to get as far from this creepshow as she could.
“A thousand snails.” Tibbles stated, an amused grin on his smug face.
“For this whole thing!?” Eda demanded incredulously, eyes panning over the box.
“No. A thousand EACH.” Tibbles grinned, relishing the look of rage building on Eda and King’s faces.
“You slimy little-!” King’s impending death threat was cut off by Eda, whose face was shifting into grave calculation, details clicking into place as she stared at the potions. Her hand whipped out, yanking one of the potions out of the box.
“Hey! You can’t just-!” Tibbles protested, only to reel back at the angered glare Eda sent his way.
“I thought this looked familiar.” She growled, eyes roving the container in her hands. “This is Mort’s work, I’d recognize it anywhere! You bought up his stock to resell at a price hike! That’s low, even by my standards.” 
“Hmph! The fool should’ve been more concerned at someone placing such a large order when his most prominent customer is the known bearer of a rather vicious curse.” Tibbles spat, yanking the potion back from Eda. He gave her a glare, grinning maliciously. “I’m honestly surprised no one has attempted this with you before.” He said slyly.
“Most people aren’t stupid enough to provoke the most powerful Wild Witch of our time.” Eda said, honest to Titan murder coating her voice. Her eyes focused on Tibbles sleeve, fixating on an image peaking through. “Hey, what’s that on your wrist?” She asked calmly, a malicious bit of satisfaction slithering to the surface at his face going pale. Before he could scuttle backwards, her arm whipped out again, lifting the little menace off his feet. She roughly yanked back the fabric, staring in hate at the familiar symbol inked into his arm. “Oroboros.”
“Why yes!” Tibbles grinned, abandoning all pretense of civility. “And you should know, this is supposed to be a trap.”
Eda and King blinked, before rapidly turning pale. Before they could respond, a massive blow slammed into Eda’s side, sending her flying. A violent chuckle echoed through the air.
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Forever and Always
(This song still gets me to this day. And if you know it, well, you already know what this is about. Take caution all who enter here.)
It was late by the time Amity finished setting up dinner. She doesn’t cook often but she desired to do something special today so Luz better be grateful. Speaking of, said girl should be arriving any minute now so she really only had enough time to wash up. Using the candles she had lit and scattered around the house as a means to find her way to the restroom, Hooty was asleep and so were the lights, she made sure to stay quiet while upstairs considering Eda and King were also asleep. 
Amity shot a mental “thank you” to Eda’s door for allowing them to do this even though they didn’t even have to ask. From all the years of being with Luz, Amity has come to find the Owl Shack, house but she’ll still teasingly call it a shack to Hooty especially, like a first home. First because her actual home never had her feeling like this. And Eda like a second mom, second to Lilith, don’t even ask about her “real” mom. 
After a quick freshening up Amity made her way back downstairs to watch over the food and wait for Luz to arrive. Who should really be arriving any moment now. Not only did they have a date but it was late and Luz does live here. In fact it was odd for the girl not to be here at this time of night but she was sent out on some last minute errands by Eda who was too sleepy to remember them earlier. The Owl Lady was both a blessing and a curse on their relationship but who would be surprised to hear that. 
There was no need to worry though, Luz had grown into a very capable witch, as powerful as Amity herself and no doubt will be as strong as Eda one day. So like I said, there really was no need to worry but as seconds became minutes became half-an-hour she found herself unable to do anything but. Surely Luz would have tried using her Scroll to call her by now, she hated making Amity concerned even if she was just five minutes late.
A young 16 year old Amity sat in the booth of one of the few restaurants in Bonesborough that now carried human cuisine. Thanks to Luz a link was formed between this realm and the human one so humans were no longer a rare sight around here and while not all did some businesses did see the opportunity in that. 
Amity herself has come to learn that she really likes pasta which this particular restaurant served a good selection of.  When she had arrived she ordered two cups of tea, Black Tea for herself and Barley Tea for Luz, but the girl had yet to arrive and her tea was getting cold. 
At first she was annoyed but as annoyance turned to concern a ding from her scroll helped ease her mind. 
Hey babe, I’m so sorry I’m late something happened at the Owl House and now I’m running over there as fast as I can, pretty sure I nearly ran over that tiny critter with the big nose. Anyway, I’ll be right there, please please please don’t be upset. I love you ~ Luz
Idiot, how was she suppose to be upset when Luz texted as if she was sending a letter. A very short but sweet letter that showed just how much the human cared about how her witch was feeling, and even though it took nearly 7 more minutes for the girl to get here Amity found she still couldn’t bring herself to be upset when Luz sat across from her panting and trying to explain everything. 
Quickly taking her girl’s hand Amity insisted it was alright, Luz didn’t need to explain and the two still had a great time. 
It’s now been an hour and still no word, not even when Amity tried to call or text her, which wasn’t like Luz at all. So she tried to call Willow, then Gus, her siblings even who despite keeping their nature as troublemakers knew when to take the tremors in her voice seriously. She even called Boscha who was still a bitch but in a good way, she had mellowed out since school and even more when she started dating Willow. That and the fact that Amity gave three eyes a stern talking to that if she ever hurt Willow (and by extension Luz or anyone else) again she was going to be sorry. 
But that talk was more a formality than any real threat, she knew how hard Boscha has been trying. When Willow found out about her feelings the gentle girl really made Boscha work for it and the girl never complained once. She meant it when she said she wanted to be better and though it took awhile the group welcomed her with open arms. After that Amity and Boscha started being freinds, not like what they use to be during school but actual friends and Amity couldn’t help but admit that it was nice. If only things were different, maybe if they didn’t have the parents they had, maybe they could have been better friends all along. 
No time to dwindle on that thought though, no one said they seen Luz since the morning and it took another half hour to make all those calls so Amity was really starting to freak now. 
‘What’s wrong, Luz?’ ‘Where are you?’ Were just some of the many thoughts making a mess of her head. ‘Mi amor, what’s going on?’ 
“Mi amor” was a phrase Luz taught her from that other human language she spoke. Amity sometimes forgot the name of it when there was too much else going on her mind. 
The two teens were more than content to laze around on Eda’s oddly shaped couch all day if they could. Amity sat up properly on her side, a book open in her left hand for her to quietly read while her right absentmindedly combed through Luz’s hair. Said girl had laid her head in her girlfriend’s lap while she also held a book open with both her hands. 
At some point during their reading session Luz had ended up getting distracted and blurted out “Eres tan hermosa.” into the empty space. Effectively startling Amity considering how quiet it has been for awhile now. She couldn’t help the light blush that formed when she looked down and saw Luz staring at her with “that” look in her eye. That look she gave her when she was doing something particularly “amazing” which Luz insisted was all the time. 
“What?” Amity asked with a hint of laughter in her voice. By now she knew about this other language Luz spoke but still wasn’t familiar enough with it to understand what she was saying. Not for lack of trying though, she had secretly acquired a book from the human realm to help her learn and knew enough to know that the word “You” was somewhere in there, at least. But she didn’t want to spoil the surprise until she was ready to show Luz how far she’d come. 
“You’re so beautiful.” Luz repeated in English this time, effectively turning Amity’s light blush into a raging fire. Internally she was proud that she somewhat got the “you” part right. 
“So hermosa is beautiful?” Amity asked with genuine curiosity that made Luz’s heart skip beats. Here was someone who loved her enough to want to learn everything they could about her. And Amity sounded really cute when she was trying to speak Spanish. 
“Si, mi amor.” 
“I know si is yes but what is mi amor?” 
Luz whispered the answer into a slightly twitchy pointed ear. 
A sudden screeching sound from her scroll ripped her out of her thoughts. She hoped beyond hope that it was Luz and if it was she resorted to give the girl a piece of her mind. But it wasn’t Luz and looking down at who was calling made her want to drop her scroll entirely. It was Viney and while Viney was a good friend, and Emira’s girlfriend, she was also a healer who worked at the local hospital for Magical Folk and Beasts Alike. They also recently started treating humans and if Viney was calling at this time of night it was never anything good. 
But instead of Viney’s voice it was Emira’s sounding sadder than Amity’s ever heard her. And she was quite sad when she thought Viney stood her up at Grom. 
“I found her.” was all it took to have Amity rushing out the door. This couldn’t be happening, it just couldn’t. Not after everything that happened just last month.
A 23 year old Amity sat with a rather content expression on her face as she listened to Luz’s mother, Camilia, recount another tale of Luz’s childhood that Amity is certain she’s heard for the fifth time now. But she wasn’t the only one Luz invited to her mother’s table this time and it was only fair the others got to hear it for it was a particularly juicy story that Amity would never grow tired of. 
“Are you serious?” Gus asked with that adorable boyish wonder he never grew out of. 
“Augustus, do you think I could ever lie about something like this?” 
“Wow, Luz, I think you might have topped even mine and Ed’s most daring stunt when we were that age.” Emira laughed as she dug into her frijoles along with her brother. They were pretty good for human food. 
“Mami, do you really have to tell everyone who walks through that door that story?” Luz whined prompting Amity to rub the back of the hand closest to her. 
“Relax, mi amor, I’m sure nearly everyone here has a story as embarrassing as that.” 
“You don’t” 
“I said nearly everyone, I’m perfect which makes me an exception.” 
“Sure, sure.” Boscha mumbled out from where she was sitting next to Willow who was insisting that the girl try the green ‘broccoli’ stuff because it would be rude if she didn’t. 
“It’s an earth plant that humans eat, it’s not going to hurt you.” At least she hoped not. 
But a rather boisterous laugh silenced everyone as Eda spoke up. “That’s nothing, wait till you all hear about some of the things she’s done in the Boiling Isles that she’s been too embarrassed to tell anyone else about.” 
“EDA! Not now, don’t ruin this for me!” 
“Oh c’mon kid, we all know why we’re here and if she hasn’t left you yet she never will.” 
At that everyone went silent as they stared at Luz and Amity. Amity smiled nervously as she turned her attention to Luz who looked like that one expression of an animal getting caught in lights. 
“Luz, what does she mean?” She asked for she didn’t know why they were here, to her it just seemed like a spur of the moment thing to have everyone together. But then again when is everyone ever able to be together like this, she’s sure today was a work day for most of them. The more she thought about it the more she realized she should have sensed something earlier. What with the weirdly knowing smiles she kept receiving. 
Finally Luz found the courage to clear her throat as she turned to face Amity. “Amity, the reason we’re all here is I wanted to ask you something.” She stood up and gently helped Amity out of her seat. God the silence was deafening but no where near as deafening as when Luz went down on one knee. And where did that tiny box come from?
“Amity Blight, I’d like to be your fearless champion and take my place beside you forever.” Oh the little box opens. “If you’ll have me?” 
‘If you’ll have me’ echoed in her head over and over and as smart as she was she just could not wrap her head around them.
“L-Luz, what does that...what does that mean?” 
“It means.” The girl had to swallow real quick “Amity Blight, will you marry me?” 
This was it, this was what she was expecting yet at the same time not expecting at all. She once wrote their names together when she was 14 taking notes in class. Okay maybe more than once and not just in class and not just when she was 14 but the point is. She never imagined...never imagined.
“Yes.” It came out so quietly the first time that Luz wasn’t sure if she actually heard it. “Yes, Luz, of course I will!” 
And as Luz stood up to wrap her new fiancé in her arms they were met with a round of applause and cheers of “Kiss her, kiss her, kiss her.” from their family and friends.
“Should we give them what they want?” Luz asked but instead of giving an answer Amity kissed her with everything she had. 
If that day was the best day of Amity’s life than today had to be the worst. Something was wrong with Luz but she didn’t know what, couldn’t hear them when they told her as Viney led her down a maze of halls. All she managed to hear was that there was an accident but the way her heart pounded wouldn’t let her process the rest. 
All that was going through her head was “Why? Why did this have to happen? Why now?” The thoughts growing louder as she was finally lead into a room to see a small girl covered in bandages and lying on a large white bed. 
Amity rushed to the chair beside the bed as she quickly took hold of her light’s hand. “Luz? Baby, I’m here. It’s okay. Please open your eyes.” 
And Luz did for she could never refuse Amity what she wanted even if it hurt. The sight of those wonderful brown orbs finally causing the tears to spill from Amity’s own eyes. 
“Hey?” Luz said in a voice so quiet and like her own but at the same time not. 
“Hey” Amity answered back in much the same way as she brought Luz’s hand to her lips to kiss the back of it. “It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.” 
“I’m sorry that I was late for dinner.” She sounded genuinely sorry like it was her fault for inconveniencing Amity and the girl couldn’t help laughing even though it was painful. “Don’t worry about it.” 
“But I am worrying about it.” Luz insisted quietly. “Em even told me that you made something for me.” 
“Nothing big, just pasta so it was easy.” Amity rubbed at her eyes with the other hand that wasn’t holding onto Luz’s. 
“Still, I would have loved to have some. You make the best food. I bet our kids will even insist that every time they bring friends over.” 
This is the second time Luz has ever brought up children. The first being to ask Amity if she ever wanted to have them. To which she answered “Yes, eventually.” After all how else was the dream to end if not eventually having a family with Luz. 
“Hey Amity?”  Her girlfriend of five years now, since they were 14, called out to her while she was studying for the exam that would decide if she made the emperor’s coven or not. Don’t let that name fool you, ever since the defeat of the old emperor and rise of the new one, though don’t ask who it is you wouldn’t believe me if I told you, things have been better than ever. And the coven was something Amity still wanted, more than ever actually, to be a part of. Seeing Eda and Lilith both a part of it and in action together was very inspiring. 
“Yes?” 
“You like kids, right?”
“Yes?”  Amity had been rather straight forward in her answers around this time. Not able to afford being too distracted.
 “Ever thought of, you know, maybe one day having some of your own?” 
No matter how strong her resolve this question took Amity completely by surprise. So much for not getting distracted. 
“What?” She finally turned to her girlfriend with a heavy blush on her features. It’s not that she never thought of having kids with Luz but this was the first time the concept had ever been spoking of out loud. 
“You know what if there were a couple of Luzes and Amitys running around. Would you like that?” Luz stood leaning on the doorway of her own room, the one Eda finally gave her, smiling sheepishly as she sported her own blush. 
“How many is a couple?” Amity had to ask, she made it sound like she wanted four or something.
“I dunno, maybe like six?” 
SIX?!
“Okay, Luz, for one thing no we are not having six kids. I doubt we could even care for that many.” Luz pouted but she perked up as soon as she heard her love’s next words. “But yes, I would like to have kids with you, eventually.” Amity’s expression was rather shy as she looked away from Luz that the human couldn’t help but rush over and plant a sweet little kiss on her lips. 
“I would like that too, eventually.” She said rather happily, always keeping that childish innocence she’s had ever since she was a kid. The one that melted Amity’s heart the first time. 
“I hope I learn to make their favorite foods right.” Amity played along with a smile even as the tears fell heavier on the floor. 
“As if you could ever do anything wrong.” Luz tried to insist rather weakly. Amity could only nod but then Luz’s tone turning rather serious as she spoke her next words. 
“I wish I could have married you before-” 
‘No don’t say it, please don’t say it.’ Amity said in her mind as she kissed Luz to keep her from doing so. It was at this time that she finally noticed a few other new tearstained faces in the room. Willow and Gus, Edric and Emira, even Eda, King, and Lilith. Oh gosh Eda, Amity hadn’t thought to wake her up and she deserved to know as much as anyone. But the look on the Owl Lady’s face, a title she kept even as she took control of the curse, said that it was alright, she understood. 
It was at that moment that Amity got an idea as she left the room without saying a word, taking everyone by surprise and making them think that she ran because she couldn’t handle it. But before they could send someone to follow her she came back with two small rings in her hand and walked up to her old mentor. 
“You’re able to perform ceremonies are you not?” Amity asked and understanding quickly dawned in everyone's eyes as Lilith nodded. 
Amity took her place once again in the chair next to Luz, taking her hand as Lilith began speaking. Their eyes did not leave each other for one moment and finally when it came time for Amity to speak all she could think to say was. “I love you, Luz Noceda.” 
She knows there was a ritual to this. Something she should have said. But she couldn’t bring herself to say anything of it. No amount of words felt strong enough to say what she felt so she kept it to as little words as possible. Just five little words that meant everything. 
When it came time for Luz to say her part it took everything she had to lean up and whisper in a twitchy pointed ear. 
And I must apologize but it’s not my place to tell you what she said. Those words were meant for Amity only and they will stay Amity’s till the end of forever. 
~~~
I love you forever
Forever and always
Please just remember
Even if I’m not there
I’ll always love you 
Forever and always. 
(No that’s not what she said, it’s just the ending to the song which I’m listening to right now and...damn it) 
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somuchchaoss · 3 years
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When Witches Connect Over Literature (Lumity Fic) (Pt 9)
Chapter Nine: Forever Hand In Hand
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"...Edaaaaa..." Eda turned around to see Luz timidly in the doorway of the kitchen, shifting her weight from side to side. Eda rolled her eyes, possibly knowing where the conversation was going. "I was just wondering if Amity and I could go out tomorrow on a date?" Luz asked. "Oh, so is that the kids call hangouts now?" Eda joked. Luz shook her head. "No, me and Amity are going out on a date." Luz stated. Eda stopped, looking over at Luz like she was joking. But Luz looked dead serious. "Oh... you and Amity finally realized what love was then?" Eda asked. Luz snorted a little. "Yep, so, can we go?" she asked. Eda thought for a moment. "Give me one second." Eda said, walking past Luz to the stairs.
"HEY KING! YOU OWE ME $15!" Eda shouted. Upstairs, there was a familiar squeal of rage as the tiny dramatic king of demons threw a tantrum. "Wait, you guys were betting if me and Amity went out?" Luz asked. Eda shrugged. "It was more of a bet that you confessed and realized that she liked you  all this time." Luz face palmed a bit mentally. "Dang, I'm that oblivious aren't I?" Eda snorted and ruffled Luz's hair. "You said it kid, not me." Luz grinned and playfully wacked Eda's hand off of her hair and smoothed it back. "So, is that a yes?" Luz asked. Eda nodded. "Just don't do anything stupid, okay kiddo?" Luz proudly puffed out her chest and grinned confidently. "I'm never stupid." she said with a smirk and turned around to leave. And then she hit her face on the wall that conveniently appeared. Eda snorted. "Riiiigghhht. Never stupid. Gotcha."
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Meanwhile, on the couch, Amity was having a gay panic attack (every Tuesday).
'Did all of this really just happen?' she thought. She sat there, almost dumbfounded. Like, this whole situation felt so...rushed and unreal. Was she dreaming? Only one way to find out...
"Hey Amity!" The familiar voice of the chipper Luz called from the side. And with that, Amity smacked Luz's arm. "Ow?" Luz whimpered. "What was that for?" "Sorry," Amity sheepishly said. "Just wanted to make sure that this was real." Luz rubbed her arm. "Oh, well...that was one heck of a way to determine that, wasn't it?" The two laughed awkwardly, feeling like this situation was a bit awkward.
"So...has Eda agreed to the date?" Amity asked. Luz nodded. "But," Luz said. Amity froze, hoping to the Titan that Eda wasn't gonna set up a bunch of boundaries. Although, Eda didn't seem like that type of witch to do so. "I'm impatient and restless, so therefore, we will have our date in about..." Luz looked at her wrist. "15 minutes!" Wait, how could Luz tell time? Was there an invisible clock on her arm? Must be a human thing. Wait, 15 minutes? NOW? "I'll be right back, I'm going to go set everything up!" Luz said with a cute grin. "In the meantime, you could go talk to Eda if you'd like?" And with that, Luz had already rushed up the stairs.
"...What just happened?" Amity pondered aloud. That was ten types of information and it was too much for Amity to handle right now. But taking Luz's suggestion, she went to the kitchen to talk to Eda.
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"Hey there, kid." Eda said, as Amity made her way into the kitchen. Amity gave a small hum of greeting before awkwardly standing still. The two were silent for a moment before Eda spoke up. "So, you and Luz are together now?" she asked. Amity nearly choked over that. She broke into a fit of coughs.
"Woah, jeez kid." Eda chuckled. "Didn't know you'd have that kind of reaction." Amity tried to ease her aching throat from the violent storm of her coughing. She was pretty sure her face was tomato red at this point, from embarrassment or lack of air she didn't know. Finally, Amity managed to recollect herself, heavily breathing to try to regain control of her quickly beating heart. "Well..." Amity quietly said. "Not exactly. I think that's the point of this date." The two went quiet, not sure of where to bring this conversation.
"Hey," Eda said after a few minutes. "Not to be a Nosey Witch, but...how do I put this lightly...why did you come here? I mean, I got some bits and pieces of what may have happened, but I want your story first." Eda asked. Amity froze. 'Is she gonna rat me out to my parents?' Amity was starting to panic again, but some part of her mind was telling her that Eda was really not that kind of person.
"Well, I ran away from home." Amity bluntly stated. Eda raised an eyebrow. "And-" "Don't tell me. It's your parents isn't it?" Eda interrupted. Amity nodded, slumping a bit. "Hey, I understand. Maybe I wasn't in the same situation as you were, but I had to run away from home when I got cursed." Eda said. Amity was silent, but looked at Eda with interest. "My parents were worried of me getting caught by the Emperor. And Lilith was already with him at this point. So really, I wasn't safe anywhere. My parents were desperately trying to find a way to either undo the curse or find me somewhere in a forest where I could live the rest of my days as a beast. Personally, I sort of knew that there was no way to undo my curse and I didn't like the idea of just forever living as one. So, one night, I just...left. And that's how I got here." Eda said. Her eyes seemed glassy, but she shed no tears. Shaking her head, she turned over to Amity. "My point being, aside from the tragic backstory," She started. "Is that I get where you're coming from. Sort of. And trust me, I knew your parents back in school. Both jerkwads who thought they could control everyone. Couldn't control me though. And they can't control you, either." Eda placed her hand on Amity's shoulder. "So if you need to stay here for a while, or hell, forever, you're always welcome to stay." Eda finished with a grin. Amity shakily smiled back at Eda. "Thank you." She whispered, her voice quivering a bit. "No problem, kid." Eda said.
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About 13 minutes had passed, and Eda and Amity were happily chatting away with some anecdotes about Luz. Both hardly noticed the time going by until the familiar voice of Luz called down from upstairs. "Amity, I hope you're ready for the best date of your life!!" Luz called. Amity giggled a bit. "Well, Eda." Amity said with a grin. "It was nice talking to you." She started to leave. "Wait, kid. Before you go, there's one thing I need to tell you." Eda said. Amity turned around to face the witch. "If you break her heart," Eda started coldly. Amity gulped. "I will personally find you and break your kneecaps..." Amity started to sweat nervously. "Or I'll send Hooty after ya, if I'm too lazy." Eda finished with a casual shrug. Amity squeaked, and nervously scampered out the room.
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Amity made her way upstairs before being dragged into a room by a unknown force.  The room was dark, but smelled faintly of chocolate and lavender. Suddenly, the lights turned on, and there in the center stood Luz in an otter suit with the tutu over it. Amity realized that this was peak romancing. "Luz..." Amity struggled to say without breaking out into laughter. "My name is not Luz. I am...AN OTTER!" Luz cried, pointing her finger to the sky. Or in this case the ceiling. "Well, okay Otter." Amity playfully smirked. "Now, if I may direct your attention to your outfit of the night, ma'am." Luz gestured to a chair that had a cat onesie sitting on it. On the table right next to it were flowers and a box of what seemed to be the smell of it, chocolate.  Amity was doing her best to not laugh, but with the look on Luz's face made Amity's heart melt. She could tell that Luz was trying her best, and she was doing a date the way she wanted to have a date. And if that involved wearing an otter suit, so be it. It was more romantic than the boys Amity's mother tried to set her up with at parties. "I'll let you get changed, and when you're finished, meet me in the room across from this one." And with that, Luz bounced out the door (how she did that will remain a mystery till the end of time).
Amity felt touched. Luz was putting in so much effort into making this a great date. And yet, Amity was worried that it would be an Azura book club part two, falling into the same things that was done at said book club. To put her mind at ease, she took the cat onesie and put it on. After successfully putting it on, she turned her attention to the box of what was probably chocolates. She opened the box to find a note from Luz.
"Hey Amity,
I'm rushing a little bit, but I remembered that Eda and I went out to the market a few weeks ago and while I was browsing, I bought this for you because I thought you might like it. But I never gave it to you for some reason, I might've just forgot, ha ha. (typical me, amirite?)
Hope you like it!
~ Luz Noceda"
Amity smiled faintly, and reached into the box to pull out a chocolate statue of Amity and Luz hugging. Welp, if Amity wasn't already swooning before, she definitely was now. Putting it back in the box and closing it, she went to the door across from the room.
Outside on the door was a sign that said, "For mi amor, Amity Blight" Amity had no idea what mi amor meant, but she hoped it was a good thing. Opening the door gently, she gasped at the sight.
The room, while still dark, was decorated with floating lanterns, which contained some light balls in them. In the center of the room, was a table and two chairs with two light balls in a jar in the center. Farther away, near a window, was a long table with treats and drinks placed all around it. Luz was near the window, carefully holding a small box in her hands. Hearing Amity come in, Luz turned around and smiled at the other girl. "Hey Amity!" She cheerfully chirped. She skipped over to the girl and gasped dramatically. "OMIGOSH! You look so adorable!" Luz cooed. That got Amity flustered. She felt her cheeks heat up at an alarming rate and she felt the need to hide her face into the hood of the onesie. Taking her hand, she guided Amity to the table and chairs. Amity took a seat, trying to not become so overwhelmed. Luz made her way to the treats table. "You want anything?" Luz asked. "What do you have?" Amity asked. "We have some hot chocolate with a dash of cinnamon, some chocolate toads, this weird gelatin thing that King gave me, and some apple pie with some whipped cream." Amity thought for a moment before saying, "Give me the apple pie." With a grin, Luz carefully cut out a piece of the pie and placed it onto a plate. She grabbed a fork for Amity and brought it back to the table. "Anything else, madam?" Luz playfully asked. Amity giggled. "I'll have some hot chocolate as well." Luz nodded, and grabbed one of the only two mugs of hot chocolate and brought it back to the table. Luz quickly went back to the table and got some stuff as well (it was the gelatin). She sat back down and the two started to eat.
The food wasn't bad, Amity's apple pie and hot chocolate were really nice, to Amity. But the gelatin almost made Luz gag. It was a horrible taste, almost tasted like a bitter flavored dead rose. Or broken dreams. "Food not that great?" Amity asked, noticing Luz's disdain. Luz nodded, almost spitting out some pieces. "I'm gonna sue King for this." Luz jokingly muttered. "Hey, don't sue me! I only have two stars on DemonYelp!" The voice of King called from an unknown place. The two girls laughed. "Well, if you don't want to finish yours..." Amit got up and grabbed a fork. "You can have a bit of mine." She scooped up a bit of her pie and raised it to Luz's mouth. Luz ate it and  Amity moved the fork away. "Hey," Luz started after she finished chewing. "I got something to show you." "Right now?" Amity asked. "Yeah, I'm sorry if you wanted to finish." Amity shrugged. "Eh, I wasn't really that hungry." She said. The two got up and Luz motioned for Amity to follow her.
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The two made their way down the hall, until they got to a ladder. "Here, I'll help you up." Luz said, as she started to climb. She grabbed hold of Amity's hand and hoisted her up, almost effortlessly, but really Luz kind of struggled since she has weak nerd arms. The rain had stopped, and the stars were starting to fade a bit since morning was coming soon. Traces of dark purple could be seen hiding behind trees. Luz sat down and patted the ground next to her, motioning for Amity to sit next to her. She sat down cross-legged and took down the hoodie of the onesie since it was a little muggy outside because of the rain. Luz took out the small box that she had stored in the pocket of her otter suit and handed it to Amity. Wordlessly, Amity opened the box up to reveal another box. "Open it." Luz said. Amity opened the box to show a tiny figure of Azura spinning slowly around as soft music played.
  "Luz, where did you get this?" Amity gasped. Luz smiled. "I bought it at a convention last year. It was my favorite purchase hands down. I asked Owlbert to get it for me since...I wanted to give it to you." Luz explained. Amity's eyes widened. "But, Luz, this is yours." Amity stammered. "Amity, I have plenty of Azura stuff. You can have it. I want you to have it." Luz insisted. Amity closed the box and without another word, leaned forward and gave Luz the biggest hug ever. "Thank you, Luz." She whispered into her ear. Luz returned it and softly whispered back, "No problem."
The two started to feel something. A thought that both have had, time and time again, but without knowing if the other's feelings were returned. They let go of each other for a brief moment, but still held onto each other's arms tightly. Amity started first, slowly leaning in, eye closed. Luz followed, slowly leaning forward. Both felt like their heart's were going to pop right there and then from the moment of nervousness both felt. But both didn't care. And with a small bit of determination, the two kissed. Their first kiss.
Luz had only ever written what a first kiss had felt like, but now, she really needed to rewrite those stories. It felt...magical. Whether that be from Amity being a witch or love was just magical in itself.
Amity didn't know what a first kiss should feel like, but now that it was happening, Amity wasn't sure where to place her feelings. They were all positive, to be sure, but there wasn't just one. It was a myriad of emotions all overlapping at once. But there was one emotion that Amity could pinpoint. Love. Overwhelming love.
The two moved away, with the feeling of the kiss still lingering on their lips. "...Woah." was all Luz could say. All thoughts had been drained and their head was empty. "So..." Amity said. "Are... are we official now?" Luz grinned, and gave Amity a small kiss on the cheek. "Of course." Luz whispered. The two smiled at each other.
"I love you, Amity Blight."
"I love you Luz Noceda."
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Last chapter soon guys! Hope you enjoyed this one! I think this may be the longest chapter of this so far.
~ Chaos
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lunaschild2016 · 3 years
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Chapters: 2/? Fandom: Divergent - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Eric (Divergent)/Original Female Character(s), Four | Tobias Eaton/Tris Prior, Zeke Pedrad/Shauna, Marlene/Uriah Pedrad, Lynn (Divergent)/Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character/Original Female Character Characters: Eric (Divergent), Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s), Tris Prior, Four | Tobias Eaton, Zeke Pedrad, Shauna (Divergent), Lauren (Divergent), Max (Divergent), Jeanine Matthews, Peter Hayes (Divergent), Tori Wu, George Wu, Amar (Divergent), Harrison (Divergent), Johanna Reyes, Andrew Prior, Caleb Prior, Natalie Prior, Hana Pedrad Summary:
*Formerly Catching Silver
Sylvan 'Silver' Bryant has a Dauntless heart, an Erudite mind, Amity kindness, and an Abnegation's ability to be selfless even if she has to sacrifice something of herself. She always knew it was Dauntless where she belonged but living up to her family's legacy there was another matter. Will she be able to overcome a hidden past and step out of their shadows when she finally joins her four older brothers in the faction of the brave? Will her feelings for her brother's best friend, Eric, get in her way or will he help her to finally heal the scars of her past? Eric Coulter had no regrets about leaving Erudite and his so-called family behind him. With fierce determination, he achieved his goal of becoming a leader of the faction and started his own legacy with the Bryant brothers as his allies and friends. Will the bonds of brotherhood be broken when the secret of his feelings for their precious sister is revealed or will it give him the family he never dared hoped for?
Chapter 2
Eric
My footsteps echo loudly against the rough stone walls as I make my way deeper into the bowels of the Dauntless compound. The air is chilly enough that I'm glad I didn't bother removing my heavier winter jacket and gloves after my return from a meeting in Erudite. In the hotter months of the year, this same cold air is a relief whenever I have had to make my way down here, but it's winter right now and it just makes the cold seep right down to my bones.
I don't know how people stood this cold back when Dauntless was first founded and resided in most of these subterranean places and I'm thankful we don't have to anymore.
I've been in Dauntless for a little over a year now but I'm still now quite as used to the compound as I should be by now. Every time I have to return to Erudite for a meeting it always feels like the culture shock I got when I first stepped foot in my new faction.
Before coming here I never gave actually living here much thought. I didn't contemplate mundane things like if the buildings Dauntless occupy have heating for winter or air conditioning for summer. I just took for granted that they would because Erudite did. There are a million other little things just like that which make big differences in day-to-day life in this faction. So much so that I'm still discovering things I didn't know even now.
Not that it's a bad thing, mind you. I fucking love being in Dauntless despite the huge differences between my old faction and new. I would be hard-pressed to describe what's so great about it but I guess it boils down to the fact that it's real here. There's no need for the fake smiles and the overly polished appearances among the members of this faction. Generally what you see is what you get and we prefer it that way, something that would never happen in Erudite.
There it's always about plots within plots hid behind different veneers of polite smiles and silver tongues. The hours I have to spend there are torture but are necessary for now. I'm still having to play by their rules in order to get what we need for Dauntless.
Although I hope that after today I won't have to do that for much longer.
I walk down a final hallway and see the door to the room I'm headed in front of me. The location of this room isn't where one would expect it to be. It's not located in the same section of the compound that the administrative part of the faction operates out of. It's not even in the section of the compound that houses all of the tech Dauntless uses as their command central.
This office is located in the bowels of Dauntless in a section of the compound that is hardly traveled anymore. Not since the faction spread out and claimed more buildings in the sector we are located for things like housing and shops.
I stand rigidly in front of a door, hesitating for a few seconds before I square my jaw, raise my hand and deliver three rapid raps.
I've barely lowered my arm when the command to enter is barked out. I take a deep breath and open the door to one of the smaller conference rooms that the leaders of Dauntless use for matters that need more security. It might seem paranoid to have this but when it comes to averting potential government coups and the possibility of mass genocide during the said coup, every pre-caution can and will be taken in this faction.
I nod in greeting to those who are already present as I shut the door behind me. A wave of warmth washes over me, drawing out a sigh of pleasure as I move towards my seat and begin to divest rid myself of my gloves and jacket.
The five people already seated give me the time to get settled in my chair but Max speaks up as I start to pull things from my messenger bag.
"I take it you were able to get evidence regarding their plans?"
"I believe you should take a look at what I have and make the determination for yourselves," I reply with a grimace as I start handing stuff over for the five senior leaders present to look over.
Max, Harrison, Clarence, Victoria, and Nate each take a set of documents to go over, switching out as they finish them off. Their expressions darkening with each new thing that's revealed. I watch Nate intently, knowing how close to home a few of the things I've uncovered are. I can tell the second he gets to one specific bit because his head snaps up and his eyes bore into mine. My jaw is tight as I try to contain my own rage and I only give a short terse nod.
After several more minutes of tense quiet Max tosses the last paper down with a sigh. "I would say you got evidence of something just not what I was expecting. Before we even get into this new stuff, give us a status report on their progress so far in building their own army and if it can be traced back to any of the higher-ups in Erudite leadership."
The report starts out like all these official reports have so far with a recap of the events chronicling the escalation of events. I've gotten so used to doing this I don't have the nervous jitters I had at the start. Even during those first two unofficial meetings when I was still in initiation. I waited all of two weeks before I requested to talk to all the Bryant brothers about the stunt my parents pulled and what they suggested. Two days after that I had another unofficial meeting, this time with just Nate and Max.
That was about the time that Erudite put a motion forward during a meeting, requesting to have Dauntless provide three units to be transferred and stationed to their sector on a permanent basis. Meaning they would live and work there and be technically under Erudite command. That was shot down almost immediately for two reasons. The first reason was that we, Dauntless, honestly do not have the manpower to spare. We're already strained to our limits covering the areas we do as well as keeping guards on permanent stations along our cities borders. The second reason was that Marcus Eaton has a well-known dislike of Erudite and tends to try and get anything they request dismissed and in this case, it was easily voted down.
I knew my parents weren't happy I picked Dauntless and I probably made them look bad to their friends, so I thought this might be an attempt at getting me back there. It turned out I was mostly wrong. They knew the proposal had a larger possibility of being denied than it did being accepted, but on the off chance it wasn't, they would pull strings to make sure I was the one sent to Erudite.
Their real goal, however, was the counter-proposal of being allowed to create their own security with one or two Dauntless to help properly train the chosen Erudite. Their reasoning for this was the increased amount of thefts from their sector by factionless. Since they had sufficient evidence to prove the need for this and proposed a reasonable compromise to the initial request, it was approved.
Only the three of us knew that there was another reason for forming the group and Max granted my request to use my parent's connection to investigate our theories, which has been slow going.
After passing initiation and ranking second place I was offered one of the spots for the leadership track which has required training of it's own to be completed before anything else. I busted my ass and pulled double shifts to get done what I needed to get done in order for me to start working on earning a spot as a junior leader, and hopefully, that will lead to me getting a position as a senior leader when one becomes available.
My becoming a leader is a large part of what's been holding up my progress in taking Erudite down. I've had to gain trust and prove that I can be a worthwhile ally for them and my lack of a senior leader position has halted that somewhat until recently.
That brings me to now and my current report.
"I believe that I've made progress in gaining their trust after the most recent proposal was accepted by the council that can help further their plans in creating their 'security team'. I informed them of the requirements for me to gain a senior leadership position is to have one or several successful projects that help the faction in some fashion. I advised them I had an idea for one that would help me gain that position while also helping to achieve the primary Erudite goal." I state before I pass out the relevant documentation regarding this newest change in the city.
"They were running into issues being able to find enough suitable candidates for their security forces that are already members and were turning to those who are due to choose within the next year or so and not finding their options much better, at least not by Dauntless standards." "My suggestion was that we could go ahead and start training with the members who are suitable enough to meet our immediate needs then expand the search through all factions. I was able to give them a timeline and plan that will have to be taken in stages and with the first of those plans being easily put into action I was able to gain even more of their trust."
"So they truly believe that mandating physical education courses run by Dauntless will give them the candidates they want?" Harrison asks me, alternating between looking over the paper and at me.
"I've managed to convince them it will increase the physical suitability at the very least and there is data to support that theory. Erudite already hosts several clubs through the school that are sports-oriented but attendance is smaller than it could be and is mostly just the Erudite who know about it and are interested in those types of things. There have been the stray Dauntless and Candor who have been accepted but those are rare. It was easy for me to point out that the majority of dependents who take part in those types of activities generally have transferred to Dauntless when their time came, by offering them another option they could prevent that."
In this room, it didn't need to be said that none of us had any intention of ever letting that happen. It also didn't need to be said outside of this room that the only people we planned on benefiting in that respect was ourselves, Dauntless. Everything I stated is true. The people that take those kinds of opportunities usually end up coming here. By making physical education a mandate we just might increase the number of transfers even more. I just used that truth and allowed the group in Erudite to think my real motivation is to give them, and me by default, their army.
"I see that you've added our choices for instructors that we discussed prior to presenting this to them but I also see some other things added that weren't there before. What are these possible additions to the curriculum mentioned in their debriefing?"
"Actually, I believe I can answer that since I was the one that suggested Eric might want to include them. We all know that we are using this as a method to put a stop to Erudite's plans but there's no reason we can't use it to our advantage as well and get things put into place that will help us in the long run. Physical education being required is a great first step but that won't necessarily motivate kids to go Dauntless without further incentives. I thought back to how my parents kept six children motivated to keep in shape and compared that to things we already do here and came up with a few suggestions."
"Do you have a list of these?" Max asked with definite interest and an almost knowing look in his eyes.
"We wanted to go over them before I presented Erudite with them to throw their weight behind the curriculum proposal."
"Good idea," Clarence grunted then waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "One we can address later. For now, what progress have you made in finding out how high up the chain this thing goes."
"The highest I can get proof of links a brother-in-law for the Department of R&R being involved. None of the advisors closest to the leaders or the leaders themselves can be proven to be involved in this other than maybe having made a comment or another that might seem supportive. Despite that, I know that Jeanine Matthews is at least an instigator but proving that would be next to impossible."
I hear grunts of disgust and nod my head while Nate mutters darkly before sighing and shrugging. "As I said at the beginning of this, we shouldn't get our hopes up about tagging her. She's always in the middle of things but can never be pinned down with anything other than voicing her opinions, which isn't illegal. But that's how she gets things done, she'll drop a comment here or suggestion there and people fall over themselves to do whatever it takes to get in her good graces and make her happy."
I only nod in agreement, because this is exactly what's going on with my parents right now. They are doing everything they can to get into her inner circle. This brings me to the next bit of information I've been able to obtain.
"That's exactly what I need to report about next. During the last meeting with my parents, they made a few comments that concerned me about building data regarding the divergent threat. Apparently, Jeanine has been overheard voicing concern and not being able to make a case regarding that without something to present to the council to prove the theory correct. That's not the first time I've heard the complaint but I believed nothing would be done about it until after they had at least gotten a security team together but I was wrong."
I point to the other files I handed them earlier. "Those are the documents I was able to secure after accessing my parent's personal files. They are already running tests of Erudite subjects under different guises but they seem to be targeting the school-age children the most. Since it isn't unusual for kids to be given multiple tests each school year, replacing one of the existing ones with another one will most likely go unnoticed. They have a target list of those they are most interested in subjecting to these tests. In addition, I believe my parents are doing their own off the books tests and experiments. I didn't have the resources to crack the file, but I found one that I'm pretty sure would be the data from those."
"Alright," Max says after a pregnant pause while everyone digested this information. "We need to make some plans about how to handle this new development. We've been careful to in limiting knowledge of the operation inside and outside of the faction but this will require broadening it. We need to make sure to do this by the book and document everything as well as bringing in others we trust outside of the factions. Nate, can we count on Gideon and Selene to help on the front with Erudite?"
"Of course," He replies firmly.
"Clarence, what about Amity?"
"Johanna would be the best one to go to but it might require more to convince her to take a hard stance. If we could find out more regarding those experiments and what it involves...that might get her on board."
Max nodded gravely and looked over at Victoria next. "What about Candor?"
"Jack would be the best one to approach but he will also be the hardest to convince. He would say that an investigation of that magnitude and with the potential ramifications needs hard proof and not just circumstantial or hearsay. What we've already been able to gather so far will go a long way to getting him to at least hear us out fairly."
"Harrison?" Max calls the oldest member of the five leaders and doesn't even need to voice the question before the older man harumphs then sighs.
"Abnegation is going to be a nightmare to deal with, Max. Letting Marcus Eaton anywhere near this would be a monumental mistake and might just be the advent that brings on the civil unrest we are worried about. If he gets anywhere near this he will turn it into an all-out war against Erudite, one that we can't afford nor do we need. The problem is there is no way to do what will need to be done without bringing Abnegation into things and that will mean he will too."
His admission was something that's been on my mind and I had been kicking around an idea but I'm not sure how well it will go over with one of the people involved.
"Unless a way can be found to muzzle him before then." The words slip out before I really allow myself to think about them. All heads turn to me and Max looks at me quizzically then motions me to continue. "There was a certain rumor about Marcus Eaton that I know everyone here knows is actually true. If he could be convinced to come forward and substantiate those rumors it could work in our favor. We could just use that to make Marcus go along with things but I would suggest getting him removed from his position for abuse of power. There's no way he didn't use his position to hide his abuse of his son not to mention the questionable death of his wife. His removal might allow someone else a bit more reasonable to step in although I don't know who it would be."
"Andrew Prior," Nate responds while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "He's not exactly pleasant, has a real holier than thou thing going on but he also is very honest and intelligent. There have been things he's stepped forward to get passed through that Marcus was very vocally opposed to, like the care centers."
"I don't care for him myself either, but when it matters he usually can be counted on to stand up for what's right and better for the city instead of cowering to Marcus." Max agrees. "That being said I won't force the boy to bring charges against his father but I can agree that someone should address the issue with him. Maybe tell him how it will help not only Dauntless but the city as well."
I see a few of them glance at me as Nate smirks at me and I shake my head vehemently. "It would be a very bad idea for me to try and talk to him about this. Four and I have put our differences aside but there's still some bitterness from our initiation. The fact that I used his situation with his father against him in our fight will still be fresh in his mind. If anyone would be able to get through to him it would be Amar. That's who he really looks up to and is closest to here."
"Alright, I'll make a note to talk to Amar about that when I talk to him about heading up the group who are going to be teachers of the physical education department of the school. Nate and Eric, I want you to get with him as well to go over the curriculum we want to see introduced there. Clarence, we need to come up with something that can get Eric access to those files. That needs to be a priority in order for us to know what we're up against and to get the other factions on board."
"Copy," Nate confirms while I nod and Clarence grunts in agreement.
"I think about covers things for now unless anyone can think of anything else?" Max asks while looking around the table. Seeing no one has anything to add he dismisses the meeting.
Nate gets up and walks around to me and pauses long enough to quietly pass a final message. "Dinner in my apartment, I'll pass the word to the others."
"I'll be there," I assure him, knowing without having to ask what the subject will be at the dinner tonight. I knew how he would react when he saw the list of people that Erudite, specifically my parents, compiled of people they want to conduct tests and experiments on, especially the top two names on it. When I saw I had been hard-pressed not to give myself away.
My only consolation in restraining myself was the knowledge that I would make every last bastard pay for even thinking about laying a finger on either of the youngest Bryant children. Seeing those names...seeing her name...and imagining any harm being done did something to me. It wounded me deeply. It also drove away any of the small vestiges of feeling for the people who brought me into this world. As far as I am concerned Steven and Patricia Coulter are just two people who happen to have the same last name as I do.
That fact won't stop me from making sure they face justice for any crimes they commit...but if they harm Sylvan and Elijah...I'll make sure I'm the one delivering that justice to them personally.
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