#Luz has been lonely for a while now

[kindestegg]

The plush under Collector's bed: A totally necessary analysis, trust me

So, as a recap of this scene, before King leaves to visit Eda and Lilith, Collector asks King if he could sleep with François that night.

King reminds Collector that only himself and Luz can hold François, and Collector obliges but asks that he at least leave François there to "watch over him", claiming he "doesn't like being alone".

King does so, and Collector seems satisfied. It's very telling of Collector's development that they never touch François after this interaction, showing respect for King's boundaries.

... Except! This sweet little angel is actually a master trickster! A liar and a fiend!

He had a plush under his bed the whole time!!! In fact I'm pretty sure every shot of their little bedroom planet has the underside of Collector's bed obscured UNTIL King starts to leave and we pan to see the beds from an angle which reveals the plush!

You know what this means, right? Collector could have easily pulled his plush from under his bed and cuddled up with that if he hated sleeping alone so much, but he didn't. Why?

Well, I don't think he was lying about being lonely. Loneliness seems to be a prominent common theme for Collector, both declaring his loneliness back at the start of O' Titan, during a vulnerable moment where he didn't expect anyone to hear him, so he'd have no reason to lie there...

And then also having this acknowledged by King in the current episode, who has been living with him for about two months now, so he would know Collector's state of mind better than most here.

So... what gives? Was Collector really only out to force King to give François to him? Why?

Well, my current theory about this is what François means in this scenario: a connection to King. We know François is very important to King and King does not hide this when he expresses to Collector how he won't let them hold him.

To Collector, being able to sleep with François is the ultimate foolproof way to ensure King won't leave them. First, if King eventually lets them hold him, it signifies King would trust them enough with this and hold them to a regard as high as Luz, which we know Collector seems to be jealous of. I... just realized I should probably analyze that too, huh. Well, all in its due time.

And second, even if King won't allow them to hold François, but leaves them close to Collector in their room, that already acts as a guarantee. A guarantee that King will come back for François eventually, that King won't leave them to sleep alone the entire night.

Whatever the case, François is a symbol, a meter to test their closeness for Collector and King, and considering how many times Collector has lost people they considered friends before (whether those were real friends - in the case of the titan babies - or not - in the other collectors and Belos' case -) and have been double crossed by Belos, it's no wonder they have trust issues and want to make sure King does care about keeping them company.

So... that's it, then? He probably threw his original plush under the bed and then lied to King he lost it and is now constantly trying to get King to let him either hold François or at least keep him close to him as a connection between him and King?

Well... yeah, but if you'd allow me, I'd also like to talk a little on the symbology of the plush here. You see, while we can't make out the full of what the plush looks like, it appears to be some sort of canine with pointed ears and a poofy tail. Maybe it could be a titan, even a plush replica of King, but... I don't think so. There seems to be no stitching around the neck to signify it has a skull like titans do.

See, I think this is a fox plush. And why it is important in a metatextual sense that it is a fox requires a look into lots of different possibilities, each enriching the narrative in a different way.

For one, in popular folklore, foxes are seen as tricksters, lying and cheating their way into what's most convenient for them. Villain or hero, the fox is always winning people over through tricks.

This would align with the very nature of the plush being thrown under Collector's bed: it calls back to the fact he's tricking King with this. And yes, while Collector does have his problem with "fibbers", I don't think he's above more harmless tricks, we've seen him joke around with King before, purposefully feigning ignorance to mess with him, and the very nature of how he splattered Belos was through him lying that he wasn't mad. He may dislike it when a major lie is told, but little lies and sarcasm are no stranger to him.

Another possible connotation is the fact that rabbits and foxes are naturally prey and predator. François is a rabbit, Collector's plush is a fox. King, the member of the species that was hunted by the collectors, holds the prey animal, while Collector holds the predator animal...

The position of the plushes is also important here if we go with this interpretation: François is on top of King's bed, indicating he does not conceal he is the prey here and is well aware of this. He says so as much: "this whole time I was scared of making him mad". In general he behaves like a scared animal around Collector, despite their efforts to put them in equal grounds and the fact they have spent so long together and made considerable progress in their friendship.

Collector's fox on the other hand is under their bed, signifying Collector has concealed their fox, or maybe more appropriately, buried and left the fox behind. They may be part of the species that wiped out all the titans, the predators that so mercilessly hunted King's species as prey, but they want no part in this. Their backstory seems to involve wanting to play with titans and denouncing the other collectors after all, likely being bitter at them for ruining everything and hunting their new playmates to near extinction.

Alternative readings also include a few possible pop culture references. A possible one is the prominent role of the Fox in the Little Prince. While Hunter is the one who has been nicknamed "little prince" by Darius, Collector still seems more thematically similar to the character, being a child who came from space:

The similarity also hands itself to the fact King does somewhat resemble a fox with his canine qualities and fluffy tail, and in the story, the Fox was one of the first friends the Little Prince makes on Earth, and the one to teach him how to approach someone who does not trust you yet, to "tame" them.

Yet another possible reference this could be is the Disney movie "The Fox and the Hound":

Which seems like something I should frankly make a whole separate post comparing the eerie similarities it harbors to the current dynamic Collector and King hold. But to summarize, if you don't know the movie, it follows a hunting dog pup and a fox pup that become friends at a young age, and their friendship must overcome advertisities unique to their species.

If this is a reference to this particular movie, this once again has a different reading: Collector is clearly the hunting dog here, not the fox. For him to keep a fox under his bed would signify he wants to keep King close to him, safe under his bed and protected. This could even be a call back to the very last scene the titular fox and hound in the movie share: Copper, the hound, positions himself above the fallen Todd, the fox, protecting him. The plush being under the bed to mirror this would make sense.

Whew! I think that's everything that I had in mind to comment on this particular tiny easter egg. Whatever meaning you take from this about Collector's mysterious plush, I hope I could at least inspire something in you!

#the owl house #the collector #toh collector #king clawthorne #toh theory #toh analysis #toh spoilers #Commander's orders

[finnigan-writes-stuff]

Hey is it ok if you could do fluff with Hunter and a badass!caring!human Reader who is very protective to the people she cares for and has a soft spot for  Hunter (when he's not messing the denizens of the Owl House)

Hi anon! I am so so so sorry this took so long I've been swamped with school work and been going through some writers block. If you don't like how this turned out let me know and I'll redo it! Also since it wasn't specified if you wanted romantic or platonic I went with romantic I sincerely hope that's ok. Also it got a little angsty in some places my bad

Hunter with a badass s/o

Warnings:cursing

Pronouns:they/them

You and Luz were besties so when Luz was going to get sent to that camp you decided to tag along so she wouldn't be lonely

Not once did you expect that you were actually going to end up in a magic world

You didn't care as much about becoming a witch as Luz did, while yes it seemed interesting you were more interested in hand to hand combat so you ended up stealing a sword

In any case the first time you met Hunter you didn't know that he was the golden guard

You were in the market getting some stuff for Eda when you came across a book stand and you realized that some of these books were about the savage ages, you figured Luz would enjoy them so you went to buy them

That's when he stopped you and started talking about how those books are banned and for good reason

You didn't feel like getting sent to the conforatorium right now so you begrudgingly decided against buying the book.

Afterwards you decided to ask the kid his name and if he wanted to hang out with you

He was very hesitant but ended up agreeing to it

After that day you two became fast friends and you became partners soon after

When you found out he was the golden guard your relationship had started to get bumpy but after he found out how much of a douche Belos was everything was (sorta) back to normal

When he ran out of the Owl House you chased after him and when you found him in the woods you had a heart to heart and told him that if he ever needed you you'd be there.

The first time he saw you fight he fell harder than he already did

Like he was down bad before but now he's down bad

When King's tide happened you fucking punched Belos for being a dick to your friends

You almost got killed because of it but ut was totally worth it

All in all you two are adorable and Luz and Amity are jealous

#thanks for the ask! #hunter toh x reader #the owl house x reader #hunter wittebane #hunter wittebane x reader #toh hunter x reader #toh golden guard #golden guard x reader

[thousand-winters]

Home

I’m still thinking about Hunter having the realization that he cares for Darius as if he were his dad because he misses him in the same way the others are missing their parents and I ended up writing this in a frenzy. 

.

.

.

"I want to see my dad," Gus murmurs, brokenly, before bursting into tears once more and, judging by the sharp intake of breath coming from Willow, he's not the only one who wants to. Hunter doesn't speak, but he tightens his hold on both of them.

For the second time in a week -in only a week! That must be a record somewhere, he thinks, only slightly hysterical- the only thing he wants to do is go home. But he couldn't go home before and he sure can't now. Not that there's a home for him anymore though, there hasn't been in a while. Did he ever have a home to begin with?

The castle was his place of residence his whole life, but he's slowly coming to understand that it takes more than that to make a place a home. A home shouldn't make you feel so lonely and afraid all the time. Right now he couldn't feel less alone, with his friends -and isn't that strange too? To be able to call someone else a friend?- all pressed against him on a human couch, in a human house, scratched and tired, alive and breathing, but it does little to soothe the gigantic feeling of defeat sitting on his chest.

"Do you think they're okay?" Amity asks quietly and Hunter knows she's thinking of her father kissing her forehead before they left him just like all the others. Like the Owl Lady and Raine and Eberwolf and...

And Darius.

And suddenly he's feeling every bit the child the Coven Heads always said he was. He remembers the man, silent and unmoving on the floor. Wrong. Wrong. Because Darius is not one to keep quiet, he states his opinions loudly and proudly. He is not one to remain still, he gesticulates energetically, and yet not one movement of his ever seems wasted. He tried so, so hard to wake him, desperate to see if he was gonna be alright because he couldn't imagine life without Darius, but there was only so much time they could spare before going to rescue Luz and... and...

And his eyes sting and suddenly his cheeks are wet.

"I want Darius" he whispers, his voice trembling with tears. He's certain the others hear him, but there's nothing to say to that, nothing that will help anyway, in the same way that there was not a good answer to Amity's question nor a soft comfort to Gus's plea, because none of them know what is happening on the Boiling Isles and they went through hell and back together, there's no point in lying. Moreover, they won't lie to each other.

But Hunter remembers a kind hand on his head, he remembers a scroll, the first gift he was freely given without having to earn it or deserve it in some way, he remembers sewing lessons with gentle scoldings that left him feeling warmer than any time his unc-Belos grabbed his shoulder in faked concern, he remembers bickering and the surprise at the certainty that one wrong word wouldn't get him hurt this time, and he thinks that maybe that's what a home would feel like.

He knows he starts shaking because Willow's hand feels a little bit firmer on his back, Gus rearranges himself to be a little bit closer to him and Luz grabs his right hand with her free one. It doesn't matter to them that he's crying because they all are. Only the sound of the rain accompanies the soft sniffles of kids who lost everything. And despite it all, Hunter is grateful that for once he is not alone.

This is not home. But it has to be enough.

#the owl house #toh #the owl house spoilers #toh spoilers #king's tide #toh darius #toh hunter #technically the rest of the kids but the focus is on hunter #dadrius #my writing #is 'to hell and back' an expression they would have on the isles? #well hunter was raised by a puritan man that's my excuse

[welcometogrouchland]

could u elaborate on darius camila fake dating? ill assume its for convenience's sake but ure so right the complicated feelings this would stir in luz, hunter and even vee are delicious

Okay so, I don't usually write fanfic, but I do have several fanfic scenarios and jumping off boards that I, when inclined, rotate in my mind like a DVD. Most of them are remarkably silly and arbitrary in premise, and the Darius and Camilla fake dating scenario is no exception.

To set the scene, it's post canon, w/ a working portal at Luz's disposal and Hunter flitting between a couple houses atm

The Nocedas and Deamonnes are having family dinner in the human realm. Things are going well! Darius is telling mostly non-morbid stories (bc based on CotH he CAN get morbid when he wants), Camila is impressed by the things he has to say even if he's not so subtly bragging as he goes on (both about himself as a matter of bravado, but also about Camila's kids. They're tough little bastards and he admires them, even if he'd never admit it)

Luz and Vee like to push Darius' buttons bc frankly it's stupidly easy and rewarding to do so (he is an irritable man, Luz is a mischievous lil scoundrel and Vee is, fundamentally, a silly creature. Vee's still nervous around witches (excluding the hexsquad) so Luz takes the lead w/ teasing)

Meanwhile, Hunter's having the time of his life!!! He's getting double the amount of parental praise and affection he normally gets!!! Big win in his eyes!!! He's never realised how much he likes his lives in the human and demon realm intersecting until now.

and, obviously, the stars of this hypothetical show, Darius and Camila. on the surface they seem very different, and they definitely are to an extent! Camila's naturally a sweet woman with a tougher more authoritative side that she reserves for when her loved ones are in trouble. Darius is a naturally cold and sophisticated person who only reveals the softer side of himself to those he's close with. she's very sincere and has been at this whole 'parenting' thing for a while, Darius has a few layers of persona and hard outer-shell on at all times and he's literally only been something close to a parent for like. a few months max.

but fundamentally they both feel massively out of their depth. right now, they both have a bigger support network than ever before, but the fact is that they've both been very lonely people until recently, and they're used to doing things with maybe one person by their side, max. they have all these people eager to help them, but also all this fear of Doing It Wrong and i feel like they're both people who're very conscious of how they're perceived by others. it makes them want to pull away and keep doing things the way they always have. but seeing that same imposter syndrome and concern born out of love in each other is...nice. it's nice to know someone else gets it. that they're not alone.

It's a wonderful time all around, until someone (stealing the idea of it being Camila's coworkers from another anon) unexpectedly calls to the house for a visit (ig Camila forgot abt clinic potluck night)

IMMEDIATE panic breaks out; Vee greets the guests at the door and stalls while Luz and Camila shove Darius and Hunter into another room to quickly try and come up with an exit plan. There's one obvious solution: summon the portal and go.

We could say there's an issue with this somehow (idk maybe stringbean ate the portal key and they're waiting for her to cough it up) OR we could just say that while Luz and Hunter want to be responsible, protect the demon realm and all that, they were also having a really good time. Luz loves talking about her adventures in the demon realm to her mom, Hunter's only now realising how happy having two parents/families makes him, even Darius is coming out of his shell as the night goes on.

And thus, the Boyfriend Suggestion is given

(rest under the cut bc holy fuck this is long)

Which is to say, Hunter says they can excuse Darius' presence by claiming he's Hunter's previous foster parent/social worker/etc (since I think the only way Camila can really justify the 5 extra kids that stayed in her house over summer with 2 of them staying to people in town would be something like foster care)...AND Camilla's new boyfriend, hence why he's here for the night :] <- this is the face Hunter is making @ Camila and Darius btw

Now, this may seem like a lot of mental gymnastics on Hunters part to keep the night going. And it is! But fortunately, hunter has experience with mental gymnastics. Especially if it's for something that he really really wants. It's not entirely selfish on his part, he's perceptive can tell that both Camila and Darius are lonely people deep down. he wants to see the people he cares about being happy and connected and they were just getting along so well!

Maybe the extra connection is an unnecessary detail, but in his eyes, the worst thing that could happen is a slightly awkward evening, while the best thing that could happen is he gets to live like this forever. Hooray! He is not going to investigate his own possible desire to have a more conventional family structure btw. He definitely doesn't have any leftover fears about non-conformity and being neglected left over from the emperor's coven. Absolutely not.

exiting out of hunters inner monologue and returning to the scene- Camila laughs, Immediately and nervously, because really? Darius? her boyfriend??? As if her co-workers are going to buy that the middle aged, nerdy widow with the famously unpopular daughter managed to snag a 6 ft tall, buff-ass Adonis who, while not being able to tell them that he's secretly a beautiful elf man, you still kinda tell. There's a Vibe he's always radiating, even in human disguise mode.

She genuinely means it when she says all this, she thinks she's just being realistic, but it makes Luz, Hunter and Darius sad to hear. Luz and hunter love Camila SO MUCH. Darius has really appreciated her company tonight. they don't want to hear her talk bad abt herself.

And maybe it's Darius' own rebellious nature that spurs him to contradict her. He's the kind of guy who believes in sticking it to ppl and proving that you're not the person they thought you were! And he's not above petty victories either. He looks at Luz and Hunter. They look back at him. He steels himself.

He pretended to be a coven head for years. He's played the role of someone cool, calculating and utterly unattached to the point of nearly convincing himself along with everyone else...

...So surely he can pretend to be his son's mom's boyfriend for a night!

and essentially any amount of shenanigans can spiral out of that premise, lol.

You can have Darius fumbling his way through pretending to be a human!

(He's doing his best. Hunter is guiding him but he's also wrong a lot of the time. Honestly Camila's coworkers look at Luz and think back to Manny and are like. Yeah that checks out this woman's a weirdo magnet)

You can have Camila and Darius!

(2 full grown adults who haven't had significant committed relationships in a while) trying to figure out the Right Amount of fake affection and PDA it takes to be convincing w/o being weird

Darius not knowing how to operate around the Noceda girls now that he's been put in this liminal paternal space for the night. Gives them both these awkward head pats and then internally cringes

You can also have the kids wildly differing emotional responses to this frankly absurd scenario! I genuinely cannot afford to make this any longer than it needs to be so maybe I'll expand on this idea some other time BUT in my mind it's a lot of...

bickering between Luz and Hunter about if this is really necessary (they are both self motivated rn but in ways that are understandable)

Vee not even knowing how to approach the idea of Camila having a boyfriend/her having more than one parent (this is all very new to her). I'm honestly torn about whether she'd warm up to Darius and be happy at the idea of having a bigger family or if her own fears of abandonment would lead to her being possessive/protective of her mom. It could go either way depending on how you characterize her relationship to Darius

Luz knowing that it's fake but still having a visceral reaction to just the idea of her mom dating and finding herself torn between wanting her mom to be happy and not being ready to accept any new father figures in her life after losing her dad

Hunter realising that Luz is uncomfortable and that in his pursuit of his dream family he may have accidentally put the first person to make him feel like family in immense emotional conflict

There'd probably be some family conflict either during the coworkers visit (prompting them to leave) or after they're already gone. Mostly about Darius and Hunter being not totally honest and kinda Weird the whole night, and the Nocedas unprocessed grief that they've both been refusing to deal with for a while.

Then however the hypothetical fic would resolve is up to you! Do Darius and Camila actually get together? Does one catch feelings but the other is still hung up/hesitant? Do they just stay friends and confidants? It's all up to the imagination baby

Anyway, sorry for the terrible wait on this answer anon, I've had several funks/episodes in the interim between starting and finishing this ask, hence why it got delayed lol. It's probably not as polished as it could be, and is really just a functional ramble about things I don't think I'll ever write, but it was definitely a fun ride lol

#ramblings of a lunatic #asks #the owl house #toh #darimila #darius deamonne #camila noceda #hunter toh #luz noceda #vee noceda #I'M SORRY TO MAINTAG I JUST SPENT TOO MUCH TIME ON THIS TO NOT POST IT IN TAGS #I'm not an expert on Darius or Camila as characters btw so if anyone wants to add on w/ alternate takes or build on what Ive said feel free #crackships and fans with niche interests keep the world turning #okay. i need to go sleep now. badly

[crimeronan]

i saw you post on wondering how early Caleb left and it got me thinking, in the Princess Luz AU was Belos jealous of Hunter and Luz relationship?

OH YEAH ABSOLUTELY HE WAS. i have actually given this a lot of thought & it plays a role in the actual fic. unsurprisingly. considering how much thought i've been dedicating to how fucked up belos is.

he SAYS (and honestly believes, to a point) that the reason he didn't kill hunter upon adopting luz was bc luz immediately imprinted on hunter. but let's be real. if luz was about kindgertarten-age then it would have been Extremely Easy for belos to dispose of hunter; luz would probably have been lonely and cried for a couple days but then gotten over it. death and grief are super impermanent feelings at that age

the narrative that belos constructs for Himself is: he makes hunter, then god brings luz to him, and he realizes that hunter is a corrupted abomination to the lord and that belos should never have tried to resurrect a human with dark magic. (he is able to abandon the idea of the grimwalkers after centuries despite sunk cost fallacy because he is now free to redirect all of his obsession with purity and with saving a human soul and with Fixing His Brother onto luz.) but then he realizes that his new daughter really likes hunter! so he lets the abomination to the lord live. to be nice to her <3 because he's a great dad <3 who loves her <3 and wants her to be happy <3333

in actuality, belos saw hunter get a proxy baby sister and went "hmm, maybe THAT'S what's been missing. maybe THIS ONE could Actually be caleb. now that he has a younger person to act as role model / caretaker for"

and then of course that works fabulously, by his own metrics, while also being a result that he Fucking Hates. he hates that hunter is so fatally loyal toward and protective of luz when caleb never gave that kind of shit about him (note: i'm POSITIVE that what ACTUALLY happened between belos and caleb and evelyn was FAR more complex than this callous abandonment narrative. but callous abandonment is how belos has chosen to interpret it because that's easier). he hates that luz and hunter's trust in each other is so uncomplicated. he hates that they spend all of this time together and haven't managed to develop a Shred of resentment toward each other. he hates that hunter for all intents and purposes is The Better Caleb that belos has been wanting, but that his energy is directed toward an entirely different person

this simmering jealousy and resentment drives a Shit Ton of his actions in this verse. he has no reason to make hunter's life a living hell and to make hunter constantly scared for luz's safety, except to punish hunter for being a decent person. by pushing all of his Better Caleb buttons constantly. belos's anger toward luz in the third chapter isn't Just because she's questioning his authority and standing in the way of him finishing his unfinished business -- he is ENRAGED by the fact that luz isn't enough like him to betray hunter like he betrayed caleb. he considers this a personal failure on his part, he believes that he hasn't properly raised her to recognize the soullessness and emptiness of caleb grimwalkers. and he's also maddened by what he views as her choosing caleb hunter over him, because she's SUPPOSED to be the answer, the one who actually does things RIGHT. she's SUPPOSED to make the right choice and choose belos. like no one ever has before.

it's. layered. the man is fucked up. Waow.

#delighted by this question and getting to talk about this because luz doesn't pick up on a lot of the jealousy #obviously. she has no context. she doesnt understand exactly what sets belos off or why certain things she does make him so volatile #but the jealousy sure is there. Oh Fucking Boy Is It There. #toh #princess luz au #replies #caleb wittebane #belos toh #hunter toh #luz noceda #horrible mindscape trauma pals #long post

[whoredmode]

oook here’s some more official stuff for my sriv rewrite. i’ll link a general plot overview here, but i’ll touch on some stuff as i explain these lol

so part of the story involves the revival of three major gangs from previous games: the rollerz, the emperors, and los carnales. these three are “back” in both stilwater and coming into steelport. i put “back” in quotes because technically none of these gangs ever left; the underlying themes of my rewrite is the larger criminal underworld, and while they may have lost some footing in stilwater, they still operated just fine outside of the city. 

so we’ll start with the rollerz. it would perhaps be more fitting to say they’re technically the ronin, with their more direct yakuza connections, but their new leader, jamie, uses the rollerz name as a tribute to her brother, joseph price. jamie and joseph were twins, and while jamie herself was initially not interested in dealing with the shadier parts of the family trade (instead she opted for working on her own jewelry business), she ended up being roped into it later on after the death of her brother and uncle. she also was able to get donnie to return to his roots and rejoin the rollerz, despite his hesitations. 

if you don’t feel like clicking on that link about jewelry, i’ll just say now that in sr1 there is a jewelry store called jamie price jewelry, and with that surname being so important, it seems like more than just a coincidence imo, so i’ve made her into an actual character. she’s out for revenge. their specific ventures are things like money laundering, drug and parts smuggling, and protection rackets. 

next is lady ranja and her lieutenant king, in charge of the emperors. lady ranja is based on the character of the same name from undercover, as well as partially influenced by another cancelled game character. lady ranja has roots in stilwater, having been a part of the VK back in the 70s alongside ben and jules. things ended terribly between them all, especially with the death of angela, so ranja left stilwater and didn’t return for years.

however during the 70s she ended up getting involved w the sons of samedi and their drug racket, and it’s how that gang ended up being able to get such a strong foothold in stilwater during sr2. ranja is a capable fighter, but her silver tongue is perhaps her strongest weapon of all. she has connections all over, and grudges spanning decades, so she and the emperors are not to be taken lightly. kings only rule a kingdom, emperors rule an empire.

finally there’s the carnales. they never actually went away, as they have a large presence out of state.

so while i don’t rewrite the first two games like i do srtt and sriv, i still have some adjustments to their stories because it like it better and it flows much nicer into my rewrites. specifically, i don’t think manuel ditched luz. i think the two are actually married, but luz is stuck in stilwater to manage the drug trade through there while manuel is in colombia. luz is fine with it, but she gets lonely—thankfully she and anteros have become pretty decent friends over the years. as such, as the carnales presence steadily grows in stilwater again, they and the saints don’t really have as many problems because their leaders are on good terms. however, during my sriv rewrite, luz goes missing along with a string of other disappearances. in the meantime, one of her lieutenants, torque (another character from total control lol) is the interim leader. he’s a longtime carnales member turned brotherhood then back to carnales. he works as a bouncer in his spare time (based on the cooler, another cancelled sr project), and he wants to find luz but isn’t so trusting of the saints, suspecting they may have a hand in whatever happened to her. thus, this ends up turning the carnales fully against the saints once again. 

anyway it’s almost 2:00 in the morning. i have many more thoughts but i need to sleep. i’m sorry ahead of time if there’s one billion grammatical errors in this😭😭

#my art tag #saints row #ashes to ashes (sriv rewrite) #feel free to ask/talk to me about the rewrite i have a lot to say #i’ll just have to answer it. later. goodnite snnzzz #torque #ranja #jamie price #donnie #luz avalos

[nonbinarycollector]

thinking about how the collector parallels luz and king. king wanted nothing more than to be an all powerful ruler at the start of the show, he wanted EVERYTHING the collector has, and if he got it before growing as a person he very well could be the same as the collector king is shown to be possessive with his favorite people (ie luz), he shrunk her friends to hang out with her, he clings to her and denied the idea she would ever leave the demon realm, and struggled with letting go and reconciling with the idea that luz might not always be there, may never be there again someday, even. we know that was never going to happen, but he DIDNT and it terrified him! hes grown more now, and he understands how to deal with his emotions better. the main point of difference between him and the collector is that king had the safety and support to do so, while the collector didnt the collector is very lonely, ostracized from demons and witches, and may have been an outcast from other collectors. luz grew up lonely and an outcast from humans. she struggled to connect with others and find people who truly accepted her and were willing to put in the work to get to know her, and has constantly been pushed down by people and authority. she starts off very optimistic and a bit naive to the consequences of her own actions (wing it like witches is a good example) and has a hard time thinking things through the collector is a much more extreme case, being a god detached from mortals, but they also dont understand their impact on others and how to deal with themself or others because theyve never been taught. how can you be taught when everyone pushes you away? when you push everyone away, intentionally or not? not to mention how they keep being used by others, hell the SAME person, due to their naturally trusting natures, and how its chipped away at their self worth. luz directs it internally and the collector directs it externally. either way it hurts them and others the collector is kind of brilliant to me in how starkly they contrast yet reflect the two characters most pivotal to their development, and how that says a lot of things about luz and king themselves

#toh #the owl house #toh spoilers #the owl house spoilers #the collector #the collector toh #king clawthorne #luz noceda #toh analysis #text

[footprintsinthesxnd]

Lucky Strikes

Pairings: George Luz x Carwood Lipton(platonic) Warnings: description of war, injury, shell shock, ptsd, cold weather.

So I actually wrote this a little while ago and completely forgot to post it but this fic all stemmed from a conversation @georgieluz and I were having and the idea was born. This fic links to the moodboard it made for Band of Brothers Appreciation week so if you’ve seen it before that it why. Anyway I hope you guys enjoy.

George Luz would often be referred to as the clown of Easy Company, he was the comic relief, the joyful sidekick to the main character of the story. He was witty, insightful and had the heart of a young boy, pure and full of nothing but kindness. In fact, George could probably count on his hands the number of times he’d been rendered speechless, on D-Day when he’d seen a young paratrooper strung up in a tree, when he’d discovered a family hiding in amongst the rubble in Carentan and now standing in front of his friends as he watched their blood seep into the crisp snow, deep crimson dying the pure white carpet.

The scene rendered him speechless, words forming on his lips fell silent in his throat, his mouth dry, chest heaving with each breath as if he’d been crushed by a Sherman. He’d seen the horrors of war plenty of times before but nothing compared to this.

George stood frozen as he watched Doc Roe working on his friends, watched Bill crack jokes about getting home to the States, watched as his friends were carried off by fellow paratroopers. He couldn’t bring himself to utter a single word. He could hear Lipton talking to him, face hazy and his voice muffled by George’s mind. George found himself pointing towards Buck, surprising himself that he’d heard and understood Lipton despite his obvious lack of consciousness.

He watched, his heart heavy, as Lip walked cautiously towards Buck, kneeling beside the shaking man. To see Buck Compton now, shoulders shaking as he sobbed into Lip’s shoulder was more than George could bear. He turned away, his body stiff, joints moving like an abandoned rusted machine as he plodded through the snow, head hanging low, shoulders slumped. His foxhole wasn’t too far from the scene and he slowly sank onto the icy floor, no longer concerned by the snow that has piled into the hole and the tree branches and debris that lay across one end, that would be tomorrow's problem.

George had always felt like he needed to bring people joy, it was his meaning in life but sat shivering and lonely as he mourned the loss of his friends all George wanted to do was cry, to let out all the pain and heartache but he couldn’t bring himself to let the tears flow, couldn’t bring himself to break. “If I break then they’ll be no one to make anyone laugh,” he’d told himself time and time again, it felt like a burden really, being the light in the darkness and despite everything someone expected you to crack a joke.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lipton’s warm breath fans across his face against the icy wind as he searched the foxholes, checking on each man but specifically seeking out one. George Luz. Lip recalled the horror and agony in his usually energetic brown eyes as he’d fled the scene, too consumed with grief to help Roe and Malarky. Lipton asked around for George but no one seemed to know, each giving another vague answer. It wasn’t until Lipton journeyed back to his own foxhole that he found him, tucked up beneath Lipton’s blanket, his knuckles pure white as his fingers desperately gripped the scratchy army-issued blanket. Lipton spoke softly to him, crouching down and watching as George’s eyes flickered wildly, moving but unseeing.

“George?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Having been too consumed in his sorrow he hadn’t heard Lipton approaching, calling his name or even the large warm weight appearing beside him. It wasn’t until Lipton lay a hand on his shoulder that George jumped abruptly. His brown eyes followed the arm up, meeting the sympathetic face of none other than Carwood Lipton.

He gave George a small crooked smile before nestling down further beside him, his hand still on George’s shoulder. George couldn’t bring himself to meet Lip’s eyes, turning his head away and burying it deeper into his scarf.

“George? Are you alright?” Lip asked, his voice laced with worry, he brushed George’s long brown locks off his forehead revealing the face of a small frightened boy. George shuddered, shaking his head silently. Lipton watched in horror as George’s face morphed into an agonising silent sob, tears began to trickle down his dirty cheeks, leaving silver trails highlighted in the moonlight, illuminating the dark shadows of his face.

Lipton lurched forward, cradling the boy against his chest, whispering to him as he let out all the anger, the pain, the frustration that had been building since D-Day. Lipton had held many a man while they cried, comforted them as they died in his arms, and cooled them down when their anger erupted but not George. Not George. He’d never once seen him exploded with anger, cry after an artillery barrage, he’d not even seen him pray before a jump. Lipton could feel the boy's chest rising and falling in uneven, shaky breaths, knuckles fisting the front of his uniform and his legs wrapping around Lipton’s outstretched ones. He resembled a baby Lemur that Lipton had once seen in a National Geographic book, clinging onto its mother.

“George?” Lipton asked, pulling back from him slightly to watch his eyes silently begging him to stay. Lipton only nodded, giving George a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.”

With shaking hands George pulled the packet of Lucky Strikes from his breast pocket, lighting one and inhaling slowly before lip plucking the cigarette from his mouth taking a long drag and exhaling deeply. Both men watched as the small clouds of smoke drifted up silently into the dark sky, their eyes aglow from the stars above them.

“Thank you,” George whispered, titling his head upwards to glance at the Sergeant. Lipton nodded and without uttering a word they both knew what hadn’t been said was understood by the other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tags: @georgieluz @iceman-kazansky @yeahcurrahhe-e @lieutenant-speirs @sharpshootershifty @liberteuniteegalite @msmercury84 @shadowsintheknight @callsign-phoenix @desert-fern @mayhem24-7forever @not-havingthetimeofmylife @floralfloyd @dustyjumpwjngs @theflyingfin @jump-wings

#george luz #carwood lipton #hbo band of brothers #band of brothers #lucky strikes #hbowar #101st airborne #101st airborne division #easy company

[lotusthewriter]

For you, I'd wait till kingdom come

Fandom: The Owl House

Rating: G

Relationships: Luz/Hunter (romantic)

Characters: Luz Noceda, Hunter; MINOR - Amber (original antagonist)

Summary: Even after becoming what everyone wants her to be - quiet, passive, and obedient -, that isn't enough for her bullies.

Thankfully, Luz is not alone.

Word count: 1.989

AO3

TRIGGER WARNINGS - bullying, minor violence, and depression

Luz and Hunter are not canon siblings.

P/roship DNI.

--

Since returning home, school has been awfully quiet.

Maybe not school, but Luz Noceda herself, the famous troublemaker that could never fit in.

You’d think things would get better, now that she doesn’t drive everyone nuts anymore, now that Mamá doesn’t have to get called to the principal’s office to pointlessly help her daughter.

But Luz, at this point, should’ve learned to not keep her hopes up.

Admittedly, it’s different from the Demon Realm, but not better.

Luz is used to the gossiping behind her back. She’s more than used to people looking at her weird. Yet again, she did expect things to change now that she has become exactly what everyone wanted her to be.

Quiet. Passive.

Obedient.

The only “weird” thing Luz does nowadays is take her palisman to school, usually hiding it in a warm piece of cloth. As it’s still protected inside an egg, unsure about its purpose, what it’s going to be at all, Luz needs to be there for the palisman. She doesn’t want it to hatch while she’s absent. She doesn’t want anything bad to happen to it. It’s the only connection she has left of Eda, of the Demon Realm besides all her friends, who ended up stuck here with her.

If anything happened to her palisman… Luz can’t even imagine how much more of a failure she would feel.

At the very least, nobody seems to bother her with that. People leave her alone, despite the whispering and the multiple eyes watching and judging her every step.

Nothing seems to go beyond that.

…

Sometimes, small balls of paper are thrown at her head.

There is some annoying snickering behind her back.

Luz never turns around. Never looks back.

She just moves forward.

Even when the voices are talking to her.

“Hey, Luz! You didn’t bring snakes this time?”

She simply ignores them.

Even when they continue.

Even when they’re close to her.

Luz leaves.

It’s usually quick anyway.

It’s fine.

--

Her mother is not picking her up today, so Luz decides to walk all the way home on her own. She’s not banned from the school buses anymore, but Luz knows it’d be as lonely as her walking by herself, so she decides she won’t stay trapped with her peers this time, or ever.

The girl’s backpack is on her chest instead, so she gets to keep it in her sight, to hold it close. Luz is not focused on the world around her, because it doesn’t matter, none of it matters. She just wants the egg to feel safe to come out.

Luz hears the same voices behind her. The same laughter. She gives them no mind.

Nothing matters.

She wants to do one thing right.

But the world doesn’t want her to.

Suddenly, she’s pushed hard, so much that her things fall off the backpack.

Including the egg, completely unprotected.

Luz is not quick enough to take what’s hers before the bullies do.

The leader, Amber, is quite similar to Boscha. She’s the school’s football captain, and everyone else looks up to her rudeness, especially when it comes to the “weird girl” in question.

“Ooh, you’ve had a dinosaur egg this whole time?” She teases, holding the palisman like it’s a ball, not a living, fragile being.

Luz, though, tries to keep it cool.

“Give it back,” she says, voice low.

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“Give it back, Amber.”

“How do you say it?”

Luz inhales deeply, trying not to get angry, because that’s what bullies always want. That’s what they’ve been expecting her to do this entire time.

“Please,” she rephrases, “give it back.”

“That’s more like it.”

Amber holds out a hand for Luz to get her palisman back…

“Think fast!”

… Only for the jock to throw the egg to her other peer, and when Luz realizes, Amber’s team plays around with the palisman like it’s a game of hot potato, while the bystanders laugh endlessly. Luz attempts to stop the unfunny little game, to no avail.

“Stop it, you guys!” She pleads.

“What, Luz? Afraid we might break it?”

“YES!” Luz loses her patience, making the other kids laugh harder. “Be careful!”

She’s nearing the point of tears. The girl hasn’t cried because of school in a long time, and she hates that she’s giving in. That she’s letting them get to her, after everything Luz has gone through.

“What’s so special about this dumb thing, anyway?” Amber has gotten the egg again, analyzing it with a judgmental look. “Did you make a lizard baby or whatever?”

Luz groans, “You guys don’t get it, just give it back to me!”

“Whoa, Luz, where’s your fun?” Amber snickers, dodging the other teen. “You used to be so entertaining, and now you’re so…” she even pauses for dramatic effect. “Pathetic.”

Something breaks inside Luz.

Especially as all the other kids agree with Amber.

Luz sees red.

“I'm NOT PATHETIC!” She yells and advances.

The moment she does so, she sees life flash right before her eyes.

“Whoops!” Amber drops it.

“NO!!”

Luz’s first instinct is to take a glyph to save her baby, even when she knows it won’t work.

She’s failed.

Again.

…

In the speed of light, a hand has saved the egg from its cursed fate, taking it very carefully.

“Phew! That was close!”

Luz knows only one person whose snarky voice sounds so completely dorky .

Here, the savior is wearing a plain gray hoodie that covers his head, an old black cloak, and his mouth and nose are hidden behind a black kitty face mask. He really doesn’t look intimidating, yet everyone has stepped back in fear of his sudden, magical appearance.

“Who the heck are you?” Amber asks, trying to sound tough, but she’s more shocked than anything.

Snickering, the masked boy returns the palisman to Luz, who hugs it close to her chest, mentally apologizing to it for being so careless.

“I… am the Hunter of Gravesfield,” he tells the other terrified teenagers. “I hunt nitwits who should learn a thing or two about being careful with other people’s babies.”

Despite the jokey tone, Hunter actually sounds… angry . So much that even Luz gulps.

“Oh yeah? What are you gonna do, Hunter ?” A boy mocks his tone, and she almost feels sorry for him.

“Ah, you know,” Hunter makes a dismissing gesture with his hand, “teach you valuable life lessons. Here, why won’t I show our sports prodigy right here?”

A yellow light passes by, and one second later, Hunter disappears with Amber… until everyone suddenly hears screams from above.

Not too high up from there, Hunter is steady on his staff while he holds the bully by her leg as she shrieks helplessly.

“What are you DOING?!” Amber demands.

“Teaching you a valuable life lesson!” Hunter states rather joyfully.

“ABOUT WHAT?!”

“About how the egg must have felt when you dropped it!”

“The egg is not even real! Luz made it up!”

“But if Luz made it, then it’s real,” Hunter argues. “And guess what else is real? Your broken bones when I drop you.”

“You WOULDN’T!”

“Wanna find out?”

The moment Hunter releases a finger – his little finger even –, Amber is yelling louder in desperation, and the other kids gasp. Luz, admittedly, doesn’t share the same reaction, which might sound messed up.

“Wait! Wait, please, I’m-” Amber tries to say something… “I’m-!”

“Oh?” Hunter tilts his head. “Did anyone hear that? No? Ah well.” He shrugs.

He releases his ring finger…!

“WAIT! I’M SORRY! I’M SORRY!!” Amber screams immediately, at this point crying. “Please, I’ll do anything, JUST PUT ME DOWN!!!”

“Ooooh! Why didn’t you say so?”

Finally, the two are back on the ground in less than a second, with Amber falling on her face. Now, Hunter stands between Luz and the bullies, holding his staff like those heroes from old fairy tales, showing a sense of superiority and respect.

“I hope you all learned something today,” Hunter says, “because if I see anyone here messing with Luz or her egg again… I’ll know, and I’ll come back and make sure you get it through your heads”– he steps towards the crowd menacingly –“literally .”

For whatever reason, he has grabbed a random fruit and he crushes it with no mercy. Luz swears she sees everyone’s souls leaving their bodies as they all become pale.

A second later, Hunter resumes his silly Golden Guard persona.

“Alright, see you never, byeeeeeeee~!”

And immediately after, everyone else runs away the fastest they can, leaving only Luz, her palisman, and Hunter behind.

School is finally quiet.

Holding her palisman dearly, the brown girl can’t help the relieved laugh.

“You know you’re supposed to keep a low profile,” Luz scolds, yet not even sounding disappointed, really.

“Of course I’m keeping it low.” Hunter gestures at his clothes to prove his point.

“And traumatizing kids is your kind of low profile?”

“As if you don’t know me, Luz.”

Although she laughs quietly, her vision is blurring, after keeping it in for so long. In the end, her laughter grows into many, many sobs. Luz doesn’t hide it from Hunter, who is kneeling down to her level in support.

She doesn’t openly cry, not like she used to. She doesn’t think she will any time soon.

Hunter gets it.

Two arms pull her close, so Luz can cry on someone’s shoulder in the literal sense. She doesn’t have to hug back right now, and that’s more than alright. The hug doesn’t last too long, mostly because Luz starts shaking, and then Hunter is wrapping his cloak around her. He rubs her arms and shoulders gently both to soothe her and to warm her up. In the meantime, Flapjack is on Hunter’s shoulder, chirping as if trying to tell Luz that they’ve got her back, even if she can’t understand him.

“I can hold it for you,” Hunter offers, his hands going for hers, ready for her next command. “Do you trust me?”

Sniffing, Luz doesn’t hesitate to nod, allowing Hunter to tenderly and slowly take the egg off her hands, while Flapjack nestles himself in the empty space with his adorable noises. She laughs in comfort, bringing him to her face to snuggle him, as Hunter smiles from the corner of her eye.

Like that, after taking everything that was left from Luz’s backpack, the two teenagers make their way back home. Hunter is holding her things with her palisman protected inside the same way she did earlier, while the girl is not expected to be perfect or useful. Flapjack is half hidden inside her hat for further warmth.

Drying her still watery eyes, Luz has a million thoughts in her head. Many things she wants to say.

“Hunter?” She speaks up, her voice high and young.

“Hm?”

Luz sniffs. “Could we… get some coffee first? I didn’t really eat anything at school, and… I-I don’t want to go home just yet, if that’s okay.”

“Oh, that’s totally okay. We can do that.”

“Okay.” She bites her lip. “And Hunter?”

“Yeah?”

She takes his free hand, her cheeks blushing shyly.

“... thanks,” Luz whispers.

Although she can’t see most of Hunter’s face, only his magenta eyes, she knows he’s an even bigger blushing mess thanks to his reddened ears. Even inside the mask, he’s smiling like a dork in love.

“Anything for you, Luz,” Hunter replies.

In the end, Luz and Hunter are allowed to hold hands, reassuring one another of their presences, their bond. They stand together in the cold and the falling leaves of Gravesfield, against the bullies that want them to stop being who they are.

But right now, Hunter looks after Luz, and he holds the palisman like it’s his own. Like he would kill for them both.

It’s moments like these where Luz realizes things are worth it.

That she’s worth it.

#the owl house #luz noceda #toh hunter #lunter #bullying tw #depression tw #vent fic #fanfiction

[charizardstolemynickname]

THE OWL HOUSE SEASON 2 HAS CAPTIVATED ME, so here are my reactions/thoughts to episodes 18 and 19

Episode 18: FINALLY MORE GUS TALK!!!! We get so much information about all the other characters I WAS BEGINNING TO THINK MY GUY GUS WAS BEING NEGLECTED!!

His power is so cool, I need more people to be as excited about illusionist magic as me and Gus are! HE LITERALLY CHANGED THE WHOLE SCHOOL AND TRICKED THE HEAD OF ILLUSIONIST COVEN!

Speaking of, the head of the Illusionist Coven being just some wanna be director is fucking hilarious, he is a snob and I hate him with a passion but I want to laugh at him, so much

Gus literally saving all the students at the school too is being SEVERELY looked over right now, like DUDE HE LITERALLY SAVED ALL OF YOU!!!!

All the guards this episode had me in stiches!!! I WANT MORE GUARDS BEING FUNNY IDIOTS!! ESPECIALLY SEVERINE, god, someone get Severine some therapy, like SLAYYY GO BACK TO THE TINY CAT COVEN! GET SOME SELF ESTEEM BACK!

Obviously, i cannot talk about this episode WITHOUT talking about our boy, Hunter.... who was living in the school stage. Listen, I won't judge the guy, he is homeless, his whole life has been thrown upside down, I feel for the guy it was just a surprise! (/lh) ANYWAY, I LOVED THE GUS AND HUNTER FRIENDSHIP GROWTH! From the sharing of the breathing thing (TWICE!!!) and the comforting each other AMAZING

Amity and Willow learning how to be friends again was also an amazing plot line, I love to see how their friendship will expand

Episode 19: THE WEIRD DREAM THING??? AND KING BEING CONNECTED TO THE COLLECTOR?!? Listen, I still don't fully understand who the collector is BUT THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THEY HAVE APPEARED IN ONE OF THE GANG'S DREAMS! Yeah, I haven't forgot about it being in Eda's dream too! I am very confused, it seems lonely, but evil, but also just a chaotic vibe, I am conflicted

POOR KING! He literally just found out traumatising news and THEN people keep treating him differently now?? I spent the whole start of the episode wanting to just hold King and keep him safe from everyone, HE IS JUST A LITTLE GUY!!! HE IS JUST A BABY!!!

BUT! Steve to save the day. I am now a Steve Stan. I am a Steve fangirl. If Steve has 1 fan, its me, if Steve has 0 fans, I am dead. BRING BACK STEVE!!!! I adore Steve, with every essence of my being, HE WAS ACTING LIKE KING WAS FAMILY AND- AHHH, best friends your honour, they are best friends

FUCKKK The Eda and Raine and Luz angst was a plotline I was NOT ready for after the absolute fluff that was King and Steve helping people and vibing. SOMEONE GET MY PAL RAINE OUT OF THERE!!! Plant coven girl is literally obsessed with them, tf

Eda just wanting to save the kids, to protect Luz and King- I will admit, it hit me in my feels, Eda still treating King as a kid (AS HE SHOULD BE) and Luz and wanting them both away from danger AHHHHHHH

Luz bestie, I love you, but PLEASE EDA WAS RIGHT

HOWEVER HARPY EDA CAMEO!!! RAHHHHHH, I am still obsessed with it, we need more of Harpy Eda in this show.

AND FINALLY, THE ALLIES!!!! GOD. I am obsessed DARIUS I KNEW I COULD TRUST YOU!!! I don't know if I posted, but I REALLY liked Darius but knew (well, thought) he was evil, BUT NO I CAN NOW FINALLY LOVE HIM! AND EBERWOLF! Didn't forget him (did just have to search his name tho)

OH AND! The Palisman!!! I was going to mention this as I hadn't been mentioned in a while, BUT CARING FAMILY BONDING BETWEEN EDA, LUZ AND KING!!! I fucking love found family. Can you tell!!#

IN OTHER EXCITING NEWS! I am about to watch the season 2 finale episodes! No idea what to expect, but I am literally addicted so will take anything, i am sad I am so close to finishing it though, as Season 3 has less episodes

BUT it means I can finally interact with the fandom, etc etc

Thank you to all following my journey watching the series for the first time

#the owl house #the owl house spoilers #the owl house season 2 #the owl house season 2 spoilers #eda the owl lady #luz owl house #toh #toh spoilers #edalyn clawthorne #toh raine #the owl house darius #toh hunter #the owl house hunter #toh gus #the owl house gus #FINALLY SOME GUS LOVE #the owl house willow #toh willow

[sylvanedadeer]

If I remember correctly, you have mentioned that you are a big fan of literary tropes. Can you tell us what are some of your favorite tropes, least favorite tropes and what tropes you'd like to see more?

This one might be fairly long:

Anyone who knows me fairly well knows I'm literate largely because of comics. It's what my dad had around, so naturally, I'm a bit superhero/fantasy/fiction brained, but my dad is also a latin teacher, so I've been reading Homer, Livy, Herodotus, and Plato for probably longer than I should be. So, genre-wise, I tend to stick to writing/consuming fiction, usually fairly grounded in reality, with superhero stuff tending towards the top of the list.

Some of my favourite literary tropes are "The Self-Chosen One", "The Power of Friendship," and "The Sacrificial Lion".

"Self-Chosen Ones" are kinda self-explanatory, but have some chunky nuance to them. The archetypical "self-chosen one" is Sir Gawain, who chooses to take a challenge that would've otherwise fallen to his king, which ends up roping him... into a bisexual throuple? His isn't as chunky as like, Luz Noceda, who chose to take responsibility for her mistakes and for the people she empowered, or Moana, who rejects her destiny on the basis of destiny and chooses herself to prove TO herself that she can.

Marco, from Adastra, is an interesting instance of this, because the specifics of his "being chosen" were structured in such a way that he super WASN'T necessary. With Luz and Moana, there was... a remarkable lack of people hanging around to solve the plot, so by the Rules Of Stories, they kinda had to take things upon themselves, because otherwise... there's no story. Of course, Marco also had to go forward because PLOT, but 1. Not without grappling with the decision 2. At the detriment to his own health (his near-decapitation) and 3. They clearly outline why he made the choice he did, and also kinda... leave it tenuous on purpose. Very good way of using the trope for a tragedy.

"The Power of Friendship" is less of a trope and more just a reflection of the truth, that humans work well on their own, but will always work better, be happier, and thrive best with other people around them, helping and supporting them. The more direct invocations of this, like in MLP or Yugioh are kinda one of those guilty pleasures, even though I'd argue against the guilty part.

But less overt instances of it, like in Castlevania, when Alucard goes Fucking Nuts because Trevor and Sypha leave. The Avatar Gang and their whole "do you ever wonder if friendships can transcend lifetimes?". There are several instances of "you hurt my friend, time to die" in Invincible that honestly do a lot to keep me going despite the horrific nature of some of the fight scenes.

The most notable one that really got me was the "Loner realizes he has friends and allies" arc in TOTK, because I've clocked. About as many hours on BOTW as I have breathing, and it really does FEEL LONELY AND EMPTY, and that never FELT that way until TOTK came along and my nephew (Tulin) gave me the whole "We're stronger together" bit. I cried.

"Sacrificial Lions" are a little less obvious as to what they are, but the general gist is "a character who exists in the narrative as a heroic bastion of hope, who will be killed or die to further the narrative". Rose Quartz, Pyrrha Nikos, and most versions of Leomon I know about fit this category, as well as, like. Jesus lol.

I've... always liked heroic sacrifices it seems like the best way to really end a heroic character's life, and while I've reexamined that SPECIFIC point, I'm still a lover of the idea. Altruism is a very worthy thing, but I also like how these characters can haunt the narrative, almost always, to the point of making the cast Really Change. Rose is, of course, the inciting incident to an entire show, as her death lines up all of the pins that Steven has to kick over now.

Idk, I'm a fan. I also love it when narrative foils kiss.

[whumpy-wyrms]

The Last Lab Rat AU masterlist

TLLR masterlist

I have a bunch of AU ideas so here’s where i’ll put them!! :P this will probably get very unorganized very quickly

🦇 Vampire Dew AU

When Dew was turned into a vampire, he had no choice but to run away from his old life. He couldn’t bear to let his friends see him this way, now that he’s bloodthirsty and wanted for murder. He wanders among an empty forest, a safe place to hide. But he has no idea of the scientist lurking in the shadows, who had been looking for a new test subject for a long time, and who has so many plans for the vampire who walked right into his trap.

tag | art | picrews

part 1

part 2

part 3

🐹 Borrower Basil AU

Instead of a little talking mouse, Basil is a tiny, 4 inch tall borrower living in the walls home to a reclusive scientist. She gets caught, like all borrowers do, but instead of being put in a cage and experimented on like she thought, her and Anton actually become friends! Years later, Basil is working alongside Anton, as his little lab assistant helping with whatever strange and bizarre experiments he comes up with.

tag | art | picrews

part 1 (coming soon-ish)

🛸 Alien Abduction AU

Dew and his best friend (and crush), Hayden, are walking alone one night and find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time as they are beamed up into a curious alien’s spaceship. Anton (the alien) is fascinated by humanity and wants to learn as much as he can about his new test subjects in the only way he knows how: unethical experimentation! Hayden had always loved aliens, space, and the supernatural, and is adamant on somehow befriending the alien. Dew is scared out of his mind and wants nothing but to escape and go home to Earth, but can’t stand the idea of abandoning his best friend in the vast, infinite abyss of space.

tag | art | picrews (all nonexistent so far)

part 1 (coming soon-ish)

🥼 Role Reversal AU

A role reversal AU created by @vidawhump where Dew is a scientist in an organization run by Sawyer and his goal, alongside his scientist friends, is to make all sorts of cool body modifications possible and safe. He needs a test subject for this of course, so he kidnaps Anton from his reclusive home in the middle of the woods and secretly tests out all of his unsafe body mods on him. Anton is extremely defiant and sassy here, wanting to get home to his animal friends, Basil and Sasha, while Dew has to keep all this a secret.

🌲 TLLR x UARAD crossover

A TLLR x UARAD crossover AU where Anton “rescues” Ruaridh after they were abandoned in the woods, and brought them to his lab to be a new test subject. Ruaridh and Dew become roommates, and they also become friends because they both are so incredibly lonely. Ru is also an unhinged creature who doesn’t have much of a memory. Hijinks ensue. (Ruaridh and Uilebheist A Rinn An Duine belong to @inkwell-and-dagger)

🦉 The Owl House AU

Basically a crack au that takes place in the universe and world of the owl house. Dew is basically Luz, and finds himself in the demon realm while wandering (or taken) through a strange portal door. Anton, basically Eda, is very fascinated with humans and decides to keep Dew and try to teach him magic until he can get the portal fixed. totally (he’s not letting him go). except everything gets a lot more complicated because Pierce is Belos and like, imagine something that makes absolutely 0 sense for a second: imagine if Hunter somehow escaped Belos and was on the run, and he figured out how to practice wild magic, and he was obsessed with humans and lived in the owl house (and Eda never existed). that’s basically Anton here. so he simultaneously plays the role of Hunter and Eda and im sure i sound absolutely insane right now but i don’t care. am i ever going to write anything with this? no

🌀 unnamed vampire!Anton au that has been rotating in my brain like a rotisserie chicken

An AU where Anton enthralls Dew. But he also enthralls Aspen! And me! And you! Might just write something for all four of those scenarios, I have no idea yet, but I desperately need a possessive gentle vampire Anton to hypnotize someone and suck their blood soooo bad. It would heal me. Putting it here to force me to write something eventually.

More AUs coming soon!

stuff i have a vague idea for / wanna do eventually (feel free to send asks or requests!):

angel demon au

tiny Dew au

mer au

fae au

vampire Anton au

interactive au (CYOA thing with polls. very excited about this one but it takes place like 3/4 through the series so.. it’ll be a while)

also i am 100% open to crossover aus with other stories! please feel free to ask :D

#hi i ​just added some of the new ones to keep track of them #masterlist #the last lab rat #vampire dew au #borrower basil au #alien abduction au #tllr role reversal au #tllr x uarad crossover #tllr toh au

[jessy-the-martian-girl]

Okay, I´ve finally finished it. And I've started on June, 2nd. This story was intended to be something short and fluffy, but it turned out bigger and with some sad themes (loss of a close relative in particular, and attempts at coping with it).

~5.7k words. Luis x OC.

Sorry for any mistakes and typos. Some things might seem weird - as I'm not completely sure if real people do talk like that.

Idea: Beach day with Luis.

Summary: Sea and cats are the best cure for the soul.

By the Sea at the Edge of Forever

“The sea is everything. It covers seven tenths of the terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely, for he feels life stirring on all sides. The sea is only the embodiment of a supernatural and wonderful existence. It is nothing but love and emotion; it is the Living Infinite. ”

― Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

- So, this is your hometown, eh? - Luis could not resist asking this question in the late evening, when the priority tasks were finished.

Other relatives and friends of Jessy's brother were notified of time and date of the funeral. The newfound cats were fed, the minimum cleaning in the apartment was done too. Even soothing tea was brewed and handed to a young dark-haired woman, who looked pretty upset by this sad event.

- Almost, - the girl who settled in Serra's arms smiled mirthlessly and, after taking a sip of tea, continued even without more questions. - My parents moved here when I was a little less than a year old. For the climate, they said. Sea air, and all that, you know...

- Speaking of sea air... Maybe we can go to any beach? - the Spaniard felt that he was treading on uneasy territory, but he also felt the urge to cheer up his girlfriend. - I once heard that cure for everything is salt water: tears, sweat and the sea...

Silence fell over the room. For a while, Jessica just sat there, clutching a mug of tea with both hands, as if trying to warm up her fingers. But when Serra was starting to worry that he might've crossed a line with this proposal, beyond which she would simply stop talking to him (just after asking him to leave), the girl emerged from her trance and finally answered.

- You know, I dig this idea of yours, - she turned a little in the ring of hands to see the face of her Spaniard. - I've had enough tears for now. There is one small beach here, quite secluded. I like it. But it's not easy to get to it, and your back...

- It's fine, mi luz, - Luis smiled at her reassuringly. - I'm in pretty good shape already, such a walk won't hurt me.

- Well, okay then, - still, Jessy decided to play it safe. - However, we can always change the route and stop at any other place on the coast. It's not the high season, so it's not like there will be no free space on the beach.

- ¡Bien! - the Spaniard beamed and hugged his girlfriend a little closer, mindful about the mug of hot tea in her hands. - Then we'll leave tomorrow morning.

The next morning came quickly. And while Luis was cooking breakfast, despite the cats' attempts to sabotage all the preparations (or, at least, to get these new people to take their feline friends with them wherever they were going), Jessy went on with packing stuff they would need. Surprisingly, this apartment still had some of her belongings, although she has not been living here for almost a year: working, traveling, getting stuck in that mess in Spain and staying by Serra's side at the hospital and even after that...

Two small backpacks readily accepted beach towels and a compact beach mat, sunscreen lotion, water and a light snack (sandwiches with butter and cheese, dates and a few oranges)... Besides, she managed to rearrange the contents of the backpacks so that Luis got a lighter one. The same stab wound on his back that almost ended his life was healed, of course, but doctor's orders were to avoid any serious strain until the end of the rehabilitation period. And there were at least a few more weeks before it, so the girl did not want to worsen the condition of the person so dear to her. Also she was used to go hiking with a backpack three times heavier and it was not a big deal for her.

Among her clothes left in this apartment brunette unexpectedly found men's swim shorts, which she once bought for herself as a part of beach outfit. But they remained brand new as Jessy never dared to wear this piece in public because of unusual design with pictures of turtles in various poses from the Kama Sutra. Luis, on the other hand, didn't have any problems with that, he just grinned at the offering and tried the shorts on to make sure it suited his size.

After having breakfast and, at Jessy's insistence, applying sunscreen on their faces and hands, the couple set off. At first they went by public transport almost to the outskirts of this small coastal town, and then by foot, along forest trails. They tried to keep slightly away from the wider road: though its condition was terrifying, there still were some reckless souls who seemingly enjoyed bumpy and dusty car rides.

On their way Serra chatted almost incessantly about all and everything at once. He even told a story how he learned to read animal tracks as a child. Then he asked something about the surrounding area, and, after listening to the answer, gave out a new bunch of questions. But as they came to the seashore, he stopped mid-sentence and stared in fascination at the expanse of water spreading before his eyes. Jessica sighed happily by his side - she had always harbored deep love for the sea, and now she was glad to share this love with someone significant.

- Well, hello, here we are, - the girl said softly, wiping away the welled up tears and not being afraid to seem ridiculous because of this and because of her words addressed to the majestic water element.

For some reason, she was absolutely sure that Luis *would understand* that. And he did, silently squeezing her cold fingers in his warm hands.

- Perhaps, we will have to walk in the water somewhere, and, please, be careful with stones, even large ones, - brunette gave out the warning on the rights of someone who had scouted all the surroundings in her childhood. - I was about six years old, and that stone seemed very reliable... As a result, twisted leg, slightly cut arms... And my dad and my brother took turns carrying me back to town.

At the mention of her relatives, Jessy´s voice quivered, but she managed to regain control of her emotions.

- Point taken, - the Spaniard nodded seriously, adjusted the straps of his backpack and, wincing from the short jolt of pain in his left arm, added with his usual charming smile. - Vamos, I can't wait to see that beach you were talking about with such a dreamy expression on your face.

And they headed to the border of the first beach, where the sand was almost hidden beneath rather large stones. Jessy was leading the way, maneuvering between those stones with ease, but never forgetting to cast a side glance at her companion to make sure that he was all right and that she wasn't too fast for him. Well, another reason for those glances was to take some sweet time to admire Serra's grace.

It turned out soon, that their's timing for such trip was not very great. The high tide period quickly had them taking off their shoes and rolling up their pant legs. However, the first water obstacle also had an unexpected effect: Jessica barely took a couple of steps only knee-deep in water and froze, feeling sudden dizziness and nausea. The water was so clear and shimmering that it was hard to understand what real depth lied ahead. Some underwater stones and common unevenness of the bottom only added to said effect of uncertainty. The brunette almost offered to turn back, unable to overcome this weakness combined with irrational fear of suddenly going under water, but then Luis was the first to step forward and, turning around, held out his hand to her.

- Hold tight and look at me, not at the water, - understanding and care were reflecting in his gray eyes, and confidence that nothing bad would happen.

Jessy nodded and, clutching to the offered hand, also took a step. She almost went off balance immediately, but Luis never allowed her to fall, simply pressing her to his chest and letting to wait out this dizzy spell. Her next step was much more confident, but she never let go of her Spaniard's hand. Fortunately, there wasn't much distance left to go, and just a little bit longer before their intended destination.

The entrance to that small beach was partially covered by a pile of stones — and without knowing that there was a passage there, it could be easily missed. Jessica confidently dived into this very passage, waving to Serra to keep up. To a casual observer it would seem as if they had vanished into the barrier. And there they were met by light sea breeze, gentle sun and salty spray. The couple could also hear the even roar of the surf, accompanied by the rustle of stones carried away by the waves. And absolutely black sand was quite striking addition to the view.

- Vaya, - the Spaniard breathed out in pure fascination. - How beautiful...

- It is, - the girl responded quietly, leaning into her man's shoulder. - I've missed this place so much...

They dropped the backpacks and set up the place for their base camp, spreading the beach mat and pinning it down with suitable cobbles so that it wouldn't be blown away.

- There is a natural pool of a kind here, that area surrounded by rocks, about waist-deep for me... The water usually warms up faster in there, - and Jessica fell silent, realizing that yesterday she was so desperate for any kind of distraction that she did not even ask what exactly they plan to do on the beach. - By the way... You *can* swim, right?

- Only in fresh water, - Luis, who has already managed to pull off his shirt and jeans and even settle on the mat, saw the mentioned "pool" and smiled in anticipation. - There was a swimming pool at the uni, and we didn't always have our lake contaminated with that... thing. But I haven't got a chance to swim in the sea yet.

- It's said it's easier to swim in salty water, it pushes you to the surface, - the girl relaxed a bit and reached for a bottle of sunscreen. - Do you want me to help with your back? The forecast said that sun can be quite active today.

- And why only my back is worthy of your attention? - the Spaniard pretended to be indignant, nevertheless obediently turning over on his stomach. - What about the rest parts of my body?

- Well, if you insist... - Jessy readily played along, squeezing the lotion onto the man's back and applying it with confident movements on his shoulders and neck, trying not to disturb that new scar under his left shoulder blade. Skin at that place was still too sensitive.

She even touched top of his ears with the lotion out of an old habit, explaining to Serra, who jerked in surprise, that people rarely think that such body parts need protection too, and sunburned ears are really unpleasant experience.

- The only thing worse is getting the scalp sunburned in the parting, - the girl giggled, recalling that *unforgettable* experience of hers. - Moreover, no one believes you when you get sunburns in such weird places. So, roll over and let's continue.

A new portion of the sunscreen was squeezed on a broad chest with the older scar, and soft hands got back to work — gently rubbing the lotion onto chest, arms, stomach... Throughout the process gray eyes were never turning away from brunette's slightly smiling face. However, when those hands slipped on his sides, Serra tried to squirm out from under the light touches.

- Don't, Jess, - the man pleaded through involuntary laughter. - Por favor...

- Sorry, sunshine, - the girl quickly removed her hands and gently touched the tip of her beloved's nose with her finger, leaving a little bit of lotion there. - I guess, you'd better finish this on your own.

While Serra was finishing with his face and legs, his companion got rid of her T—shirt and hiking pants, fished out from her backpack another bottle with a sunscreen of higher SPF, and began to apply the protective coating. With her rather pale skin using a more powerful remedy was quite a logical choice.

- And now it's your turn, - the Spaniard almost purred, not even trying to hide a playful glint in his eyes. - Get down and hand me your lotion.

Jessica stretched out on the beach mat with a smile, exposing her back to the man who knelt next to her, ready to return the favor. Suddenly it dawned on Jessy that she really trusted Luis. Not forcing herself to trust him - it was simply there. During their "Spanish adventure" she had absolutely no time to stop and muse about such things, but now the realization has finally caught up with her.

She only instinctively tensed for a second when deft fingers unhooked the top of her swimsuit. It was a public place, after all, and she was not quite ready for being that explicit. It felt just like a quick test for developed trust, so Jessy relaxed. Luis still noticed her reaction and stopped to explain his intentions.

- This is just to cover all of your skin, - his words did not diverge from the deed, with strong hands smoothly sliding along the curves of the female body, carefully wrapping it with an even layer of sunscreen. - The straps and belt are too thin, if they shift, you won't like the outcome.

- Been there, done that, - the brunette admitted with a stifled chuckle, patiently waiting until the Spaniard hooked everything back, in order to roll over on her back and put her chest and stomach under his caring hands.

Of course, she could have managed on her own from that point, but it felt so nice to be taken care of, that the girl just mentally shushed her inner voice and allowed herself to revel in such an uncommon feeling.

They chatted a bit more, while waiting for the sunscreen to "cure" on their skin. Jessy shared a couple of funny sea-related stories from her past. Though shocked expression on Spaniard's face openly hinted her that the particular story about her almost drowning at the age of five was not that funny as it seemed to her.

- Hey, it was okay, - she tried to lighten the mood. - My dad was close by. He plucked me out of water in no time. It was not enough time for me even to get scared.

- I just can't imagine that I could've never met you, if it wasn't for your dad... - Serra whispered, slightly shaking his head and reaching with his hand to touch the shoulder of his vis-à-vis as if to make sure she was still real.

- But I made it to this day nonetheless, - brunette shrugged and smiled warmly.

After a few more minutes of silence Luis easily got to his feet and stretched out his hand to Jessica, helping her to get up. Then he pulled her towards the "natural pool", not letting go of girl's hand. The water, however, was not yet fully warmed up, but it already felt quite pleasant. And it was much, much warmer than in the mountain creeks in the wilderness of Valdelobos, as the Spaniard mentally noted.

As soon as Jessy was knee-deep in the water, she stopped for a while and took a deep breath, taking some time to adjust to the temperature. And then, gently freeing her hand from Serra's hold, she pushed off from the sandy bottom and slid into the water with a soft exclamation. The first dive after a long break was always a little uncomfortable for her and required some efforts. After taking a couple of strokes, the girl swiftly turned over on her back, exposing her face to the sun and letting the water catch her. Fortunately, there were no big waves this time.

Luis followed suit right away, relaxing on his back close by and just occasionally touching his girlfriend's hand or shoulder with his own. His pose was an expression of a tacit agreement for "no active long-distance swims yet".

After floating in the water like this for a little, they slowly swam together to the stone borderline that separated this small lagoon from the open sea. The couple settled there, enjoying beautiful views of the sea or their secluded beach.

Jessica, in gentle reverie, admired how small waves rolled over hardly visible rocks in the water and crashed on the shore. And Luis, amazed by the transparency of the water, tried to look at the bottom of their improvised pool — his gaze was captivated by nimble fish, colorful starfish, colonies of shellfish and corals. Suddenly, an unusually shaped shell lying a little further away caught his eye, and Serra decided to dive for it to get a better look. It took him a few tries, and it also got Jessy's attention. Finally resurfacing with the loot, Luis turned the find over in his hands, then handed it to his girl. She put the shell on the palm of her hand, but suddenly, with an ouch, shook off the object of study into the water.

- What's wrong? - Serra asked, with concern evident in his voice.

- Something pinched me, - the brunette was obviously embarrassed by her own reaction. - Not that it hurts much, more like I just didn't expect it...

The Spaniard examined Jessy's palm for possible damage, then looked for this shell again. When he spotted it, he carefully knelt down, plunging into the water almost up to his shoulders, and took the shell out, turning its aperture to the light. Something with pincers was clearly stirring inside.

- Oh, so it's one of the Paguroidea species, - Luis smiled involuntarily. - I didn't think they can be found here too. - A hermit crab? - Jessica instantly forgot about her palm and, literally hanging on the Spaniard's shoulders, stared curiously at the shell resident, who was clearly dissatisfied with such intense attention. - This is the first time I've ever seen one, not on TV, not in the aquarium and not in the encyclopedia. Awesome!

- They are usually not aggressive to bigger opponents, - Serra nodded, watching how a representative of marine fauna menacingly moved its claw. - We seem to have just scared this one. - Let's put it back to its natural habitat then, - Jessica expressed their shared thought, adding with a chuckle. - As long as it doesn't come back to bite our heels for this.

- It'll rather be glad that it was released and will not risk another encounter, - Luis laughed heartily, arranging the shell in the water closer to the stone barrier.

The girl also laughed at this joke and hugged her man as he swam closer to her again.

- You know, it's warmer around you, - the Spaniard suddenly remarked in a soft voice, returning the hug. - You're like a little sun with an aura of warmth. To hide her embarrassment at such a compliment, Jessy splashed this eloquent subject and, with a laugh, twisted out of his hands, trying to swim away. This unexpected childishness resulted in a small water duel, which ended in a draw. Or, as the girl proclaimed: "friendship always wins!" - after which, with her arms outstretched, she fell backwards into a small wave, raising a cloud of salty spray... only to be almost immediately back in the firm embrace. Luis was glad that his crazy idea worked and his querida is still able to enjoy simple things. Even after such great loss. Only the shadow of guilt lurking in her hazel eyes kept him a bit worried. He himself had only one night *then*. Afterwards there was no time: his studies and the need to provide his living completely absorbed even hints of free time for several years. He managed, and developed the mask of “a good-for-nothing guy, who happens to be quite a ladies' man”. And under that mask there was an acute, painful sense of guilt: he was not there, he could not help, he did not prevent... Now his own experience seemed to be quite useful. Luis could roughly imagine the direction of his girl's thoughts, and see where it would be possible to intervene and lend her a shoulder. After all, even the strongest and most hardy at some point may break down.

- Let's go back to the shore and get some sun? - the brunette, who went quiet in his arms, offered hesitantly.

Her fingers were absentmindedly tracing some patterns on his chest, and it was... rather pleasant.

- I like the idea, mi vida, - Serra planted soft kiss on his girlfriend's temple and pushed her in the right direction. - A snack would be nice too.

The sea did not quite share their intentions, trying to knock the pair down, like a too playful puppy would, and then drag them back into its depth. Thankfully, it was much easier to get out together.

After drying off with beach towels, the couple paid the closest attention to their food supplies. Sandwiches with cheese and dates were delicious, although the sea air usually made everything tastier anyway. And Luis was very surprised, when Jessica took out a thermos with green tea - the most unexpected and uncommon option for a picnic on the beach. However, it turned out that she forgot to take mugs, and they only had the lid of the said thermos at their disposal.

- One for two is a great option, - Serra stated with a playful grin, deliberately taking a sip so that his lips touched this "mug" in the same place as his companion's.

- I'm glad that we share this opinion, - the girl returned both the gesture and the smile. - An orange for a dainty?

- Sure! - the Spaniard grabbed their improvised mug with his left hand so that Jessica could peel the citrus, but then his shoulder was pierced by a sharp pain and his fingers went numb and weak, forcing the man to hiss through clenched teeth. - Mierda...

The girl with a soft cry threw another small towel over the spilled tea and scurried behind Luis's back. He was clutching his hurting limb to his chest and it was such a vivid and unexpected reminder of the past injury.

- Guess, I've overestimated my condition... - the Spaniard's voice sounded strained.

- The doctor warned me that you might still have twinges like this from time to time, - Jessy's hands confidently glided over his aching muscles, starting from the upper back, stroking, pressing harder, kneading carefully. - He was talking about build-up of scar tissue as a possible cause. Now, it should get better... And the pain really subsided, yielding slowly to firm but gentle touches. When Serra's back finally relaxed under her fingers, brunette sighed with relief and pressed a small kiss upon that creepy scar. She remembered how they had to cauterize the wound with the same plaga removal laser, wrecking all the settings and restoring them again to get rid of those parasites. All because there was nothing left to sew up the wound with.

Shaking off those memories, girl wrapped her arms around Luis, pulling him a bit closer. He, in response, covered the palms that settled on his chest with his own and slightly leaned back, sinking into that warm embrace. - Gracias, querida mía, - his fingertips slid over her forearms in a tender caress. - I hope I didn't scare you too much... - I was more scared when you passed out on the operating table in your own lab, under my hands, - the girl admitted with a nervous laugh, carefully moving to her former place next to Luis and snuggling against his side. - As of today... Thank goodness, that the tea was not boiling hot. We'll do just fine without any burns.

After calming down a little, she finally peeled an orange, handed it to the Spaniard and reached for the second one, this time for herself. She noticed the fact that Serra was willing to share only when a slice of orange was already touching her lips. Jessica did not turn down the treat, followed by the man's fingers weightlessly brushing over her lips, his warm palm resting comfortably on her cheek. She smiled and leaned slightly into Serra's touch, turning her face to him for a kiss with an orange-salty taste.

The kiss was short though and when their lips parted, the couple just finished their snacks and went to lie down on the beach mat, snuggling side by side. Pebbles rustled softly, carried by the waves along the bottom, gulls cried in the sky, sunlight caressed the skin... Luis and Jessy were having fun cloud-gazing, sunglasses in place. Strings of fantastic images floated through the sky above them, driven by the wind: a large turtle, a dancing couple, a kitten playing with a ball of yarn, "Enterprise NCC-1701", that space station "Babylon 5", a sailboat, a dragon, an archer...

Soon the wind changed and brought in black clouds. Noticing this, Jessica reluctantly offered to call it a day and, as soon as their swimsuits were completely dry, slowly move towards their temporary home. Even if it wasn't supposed to rain, weather forecasts did not always pass the reality check.

To pass the wait a little, the girl sat up and reached for a small pointed pebble. She drew several lines on a larger flat stone with it. To Luis's surprise, these lines stood out on the black surface in a gray-brownish color, though the pebble was black too. The first clumsy lines were gradually turning into a simple silhouette of a lighthouse above the sea.

- Hey, you're good, - the Spaniard smiled upon seeing the final picture.

- Nah, I can't draw, - the girl dismissed his comment with ease, throwing her pebble "pencil" into the wave that ran ashore. - That's just my itchy fingers, nothing more.

- I dare to disagree on this statement, - Serra squinted slyly, taking the flat stone with a drawing from the brunette's hand before she sent it into the water too. - A little more practice, and it will no longer be "good", but "excelente".

In response, Jessica vaguely shrugged and, picking up another handful of dark pebbles, consistently sent them into the water, immersing in her thoughts. However, she was not allowed to stay like that for a long time and was soon distracted. Drying off after sea bathe, her hair fluffed up a little, curling and framing Jessy's face with a light-brown halo, trying to get into her eyes and mouth. Second distraction was Luis, who plucked a long blade of grass, and took part in the fun mini-game "tickle-a-friend". The Spaniard was quickly caught doing this, but at a reproachful stare, he just smiled broadly and stretched out his hand to smooth his companion's disheveled hair, which only resulted in another hug.

With all this childishness in action, time to go back home came swiftly. Their swimsuits finally dried out, the wind grew stronger, the sea became stormy... Luis and Jessy had to hurry up with packing, yet the first drops of rain caught them almost at the forest edge. Luckily, it gave them a chance to hide from such weather under the green dome of branches, at least for a while.

They still had to run from the forest to the bus stop to avoid getting soaked to the skin. However, it didn't help much. But when Luis and Jessy got back to the neighborhood where they lived at the moment, it looked like there was no rain there at all. After exchanging puzzled glances and quickly assessing their appearance a la "we went swimming in our clothes", they both burst out laughing. That attracted the attention of a passerby who turned out to be one of Jessy's distant relatives. And that man didn't hesitate to express his disapproval for such behavior of the girl in mourning for someone as significant as her own brother. Jessica visibly stiffened from being scolded, her guilt rearing its ugly head again. Serra noticed this change in his girlfriend's mood, and realized that he neither can nor should tolerate it. He stepped forward, as if trying to shield his girl from unpleasant conversation with his body. It was hard to contain his anger, but Luis mustered the calmest tone he was capable of at the moment. He was not aiming for a fight after all.

- I don't know about you lot, but I personally prefer that miss Jonzz here stayed among living, - he added more menacing undertone to his voice, pinning the other man with a slightly disgusted glare. - And not cried herself into heart attack or cardiac arrest just to maintain someone's else believes of how it's appropriate to grieve.

This rebuke somehow silenced an uninvited do-gooder and forced him to beat a hasty retreat. As soon as this person disappeared from sight, Serra turned to face brunette and gently pushed her chin up with one hand just to meet her unsure hazel eyes with his steel gray ones.

- It's not your fault, Jess, - Spaniard's tone was all about firm, but gentle care mixed with a tint of worry. - You are absolutely allowed to take care of yourself under any circumstances. Remember that, por favor.

- I know, - Jessy tried to smile, almost successfully, and to shook off the dreadful feeling of guilt's filthy paws reaching to claim her soul. - I... I'm okay. Let's go, Luis?

- Sure thing, cariño, - with a wide smile Serra swung his hand over girl's shoulders and pulled her into the right direction. - Our new cats must be waiting us already!

The cats were really waiting, and their patience was finally rewarded. Chirrups, squeaky little trills and cute meows filled the space of the murky apartment, making both Luis and Jessy smile and giggle at such enthusiasm. In fact, little calico cat and his gray brother acted like they knew that right now their humans needed all the positive attention they could provide. Gray one even tried to climb up Serra's leg, but was quickly and gently picked up and placed over Spaniard's shoulder. Meanwhile calico cat sniffed and licked at Jessica's ankles, as soon as she took off her shoes, of course.

- Hey, fur baby, it tickles, - brunette laughed and knelt down to pet this welcoming committee. - I know, I know: you and your little brother missed us.

Smiling to another almost shy meow, Jessica stood up and, after asking Luis if he didn't mind, headed to the shower, to wash off sea salt and sand still stuck on her skin. Serra wished he could join, but this bathroom was too small for two, so he stayed behind to occupy cats' attention instead.

He scooped up the second cat and sank into the nearest (and only) armchair. Those cats, although young, were very skilled at common cats' things, and they've purred their new man into light sleep in no time. When Jessy was done, she came right to a snooze-town. The sight was heartwarming and peaceful, but to shower was a must, so the girl had to wake Luis up.

Brunette watched her loved one go, yawning and carefully pulling off his shirt on the way. Cats yawned in sync and jumped down from the armchair. The movement caught Jessy's eye and she noticed a book with colorful cover lying on the floor. She changed from her bathrobe into T-shirt and funny shorts with TMNT print, then reached to pick that book up and smiled fondly at it's name: “50 best baking recipes from around the world”. It was her gift for her brother's last birthday. This memory made Jessy's heart sank again, and she quickly flipped through a few pages to detach herself from this sorrow for just a bit longer. The girl checked out some recipes and stopped at one, baked churros. It seemed pretty easy to cook, and all ingredients were present in the fridge.

- Oh, temptations... - Jessica sighed softly after considering some other options from this book.

- Are you talking about me, mi amor?

Her train of thought was interrupted by Luis, refreshed and relaxed... and wearing only a towel around his hips. His hair still slightly wet from the shower and his smile as charming as usual - a real eye candy.

- And about you, too, - Jessy couldn't help, but smile in response.- But, actually, I've been thinking about trying this recipe... What do you think?

- Sounds great, - Serra pushed the damp hair out of his face and headed to change into something more suitable, than a towel. - Wait for me.

He was rather fond of this idea for even more quality time together, and it worked out pretty well.

As the late day gradually turned into early evening, sorrow, that was almost perceptible the day before, finally shrunk and hid in the darkest corner of the apartment. Combined efforts of Luis and two impish kitties left no chances for it to overtake again.

The rest of the evening went pleasantly and peacefully, with tea and home-baked churros, and heartwarming talks on the sofa. Cats tried their best too, singing cats' songs, kneading and even clawing lightly at their humans' limbs. And after a while tiredness, mixed with loud purring lulled Jessy to sleep.

Tight embrace of her beloved Spaniard, his steady heartbeat, and her feeling secured helped the matter too.

Luis smiled gently at the girl lying in his arms, and closed his eyes too, drifting off to sleep. Both cats immediately seized the opportunity to pin their humans to the sofa for more feline comfort, and the apartment went silent.

This spontaneous beach day turned out to be the much needed breather for Jessy. A little something to make future look brighter and less hopeless for her, even with all those unwanted changes. It was easier to believe now, that she won't be struggling with everything on her own. And it became plainly obvious that she was not alone anymore. They were not alone.

#Luis Serra x OC #Luis Serra

[susie-dreemurr]

(This was made as a response to someone, but I decided to make this it’s own post for me to link when my friends question my sanity. Long post warning.)

I was still fixated in TOH, already had it as my favorite shows, but my blorbo was Hunter (though Luz was getting there). Still, Hollow Mind managed to double my love for the show. Which was inevitable because, come on. My two favorites had the best episode ever and I’ve been a sucker for angst since I was like eight. I was also feeling vindicated bc I hated fanon Philip. It was an insanely good episode

I didn’t really care for the collector when Hollow Mind first aired, because I too immediately made the Bill Cypher connection. Which, fair enough past me, HM didn’t really present them as anything but evil. Same with Edge of the world. I cared more for exploring other’s characters feelings with him as a plot device which, *looks at pfp* A Lot Has Changed.

We get to the next episode they appear in, one that made me 10 times more mentally ill. O Titan where art thou. It’s then we get the 1st glimpse at The Collector’s loneliness + suffering over their imprisonment and their screams gave me chills dude. I was like “oh this show is really gonna explore the solitary situation as the horrifying thing it is huh D: still evil but I feel bad for him at least mercy kill him pls”

After that, then came Clouds On The Horizon, which finally made me put two and two together that Belos was going to betray the collector (in my defense I was in the fallen Angel theory grind). Their interactions were gold and then the fucking monologue collector has when king listens is EVEYRHTING my fav scene fr fr!!!!! So when that episode ends im like. “OKAY. OKAY. Not only was he on fantasy solitary and then met a puritan, the puritan has also been manipulating them for like 400 years, even now where he can free them but chooses not to until the DoU so now it’s crashing down of them. Buuuut just because they’re a victim of belos too doesn’t mean he’s not evil too. I love them so so so much, they can give some great commentary on trauma.”

At that point I had already reached a high blorbo-like mental illness status. I didn’t even post much abt the lumity kiss and the Luz & Hunter sibling grind, i focused more on those insane two minutes of the collector 😭. Then Dana Terrace thought that I was not focusing on them enough, because she drops King’s “crazy insane episode” Tide.

Not gonna lie… I had to wait at least 2 days for my analysis brain to turn back on, bc every time I saw their physical design my mind went “omg a baby yayayayayayayy” 😭 Srsly the ep gave me a whole different perspective: “lonely neurodivergent kid with god powers who, while is said to be the Grand Huntsman, doesn’t even have anything against titans as species. They play destructive, chaotic games because he doesn’t understand morals. And that’s dangerous, but it also opens a path to redemption. Not only that, they (almost) killed off Belos!!! They’d be on my top list for that regardless!!!!”

So yeah I’m. Not fixated on toh the show, but literally just the Collector now. Oh how the turn tables

#the owl house #toh #owl house #long post #collector toh #toh collector #collector #mine

[loosescrewslefty]

So when it comes to how the show will end and most specifically what Luz will chose. Staying with Camilla or going back to the Isles. What you do think she’ll do?

Personally I’ve seen a lot of people say that they desperately want Luz to stay in the Isles and giving the argument that the Isles is where she belongs, that the show is about belonging and while that is true. I personally also think it’s about changing, finding belonging but also growth and growing up. Yes the Isles gave Luz what she always wanted; gave her people and friends and family that understand her when the human world saw her as weird and she was lonely.

But what a lot of people don’t talk about is when Luz decided to stay there and become a witch she’s actively by default running away from her mom and also running away from her problem by escaping into her fantasy land.

Something that reminds me of the book Where The Wild Things Are. The idea of a child escaping to their ideal fantasy land because they feel like real world has failed them or they feel unloved so they escape to a world that will. In the book, Max’s world was of his own imagination but he was still able to grow, belong and change because of it and had the strength to go back home.

And while Luz’ situation is very different then Max’s seeing as she sees the Isles as her home. The foundation is still there where the Isles gave Luz a change to grow, to live out her fantasy life in real time, and be in a place where she belongs, while also showing her that change is inevitable

Now I’m not saying all that because I want Luz to leave the Isles forever and never come back. No that would literally break the fandoms heart. But I also don’t want Luz to never see her mother again or for her to continue to think that the human world failed her, and is subpar to the Isles: both worlds are beautiful. Both worlds can continue to give Luz the growth, belonging and love she needs, if she lets them.

Luz's conflict with her mother and the Boiling Isles actually reminds ME of one of a quote from CS Lewis;

“Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”

And, in many ways, this is what separates Luz from Belos. Luz came to the Isles thinking she was the protagonist of an isekai, and treating her journey as such at first. But she learned that the things she wanted required hard work and practice. So she worked her butt off and learned, and grew as a result. She changed and matured, finding friendship and love and a place for herself by listening to those around her and figuring out how to fit in a place where she might not have been born, but found a sense of belonging that has been denied to her her entire life.

Meanwhile, Philip came to the isles and saw it as an opportunity to be a hero, to be the greatest witch hunter ever. And any chances he received to change and grow, to revise his opinion and learn to be better, were met with stubborn resistance and hostility. He refused to ever consider he was wrong, that the Boiling Isles and witches had every right to exist just as humans did in spite of their differences. So while Luz matured and grew, Philip remained locked in a very childish mindset and refused to let go of it.

I don't think Luz sees the Human world as subpar to the Boiling Isles, but I do think that she wasn't happy there and the only thing she loved there was her mother, and if Luz had to return and put on a 'human' face after everything that happened, it would make her miserable for the rest of her life. It's not what Luz deserves, and I doubt very much it's what Camila wants for her daughter. This isn't a story where the fantasy world is equated with childishness and the 'real' world with being an adult. This is a story about finding yourself and embracing your oddities to find your version of happy, even if it's not the sort of thing that would make our parents happy.

Growing up sometimes means finding our own place in the world, and Luz has found her place on the Boiling Isles.

#the owl house #toh #the owl house spoilers #toh spoilers #luz noceda #camila noceda

[rhaaclaws]

[puts on my tinfoil hat]

Yukako is The personification of comphet lesbianism im so serious about this. 

As an important disclaimer, I’ll really only be talking on my experiences and how I interpreted her character. Comphet can get really complex, and it’s such a personal feeling so I can really only talk for myself, and how I related to Yukako in this specific aspect. Obviously you can think otherwise, but this is just how I see her. Plus this is just self indulgent since I like talking lol. 

ok so first thing before I go insane about her. Compulsory heterosexuality  [usually just shortened to comphet] is “the societal nudge that pushes folks into opting into heterosexual relationships regardless of whether or not they truly desire to do so,” according to Cheyenne M. Davis. Specifically to lesbianism, Angeli Luz (from the Am I a Lesbian? masterdoc) defines it as “Compulsory heterosexuality is what forces lesbians to struggle through learning the difference between what you’ve been ​taught ​you want (being with men) and what you ​do ​want (being with women), which is why so many lesbians have dated men at some point.” Admittedly, I don’t like the Am I A Lesbian? masterdoc too much, but I think it’s a good starting point for those who are questioning.

I’ve had many personal experiences with comphet, specially from my latino upbringing. I’ve unfortunately forced myself into relationships with guys because that’s what I was taught to do. I didn’t enjoy a single of those experiences, many times I had to think of my boyfriends as girls to get any sort of happiness. This led to some of the most awful experiences of my life. While talking to other lesbians, a lot of us can agree that it’s way different finding out you like women vs finding out you don’t like men. What I’m trying to say: comphet will make you do the craziest shit for the sake of denial.

Now, how does this relate to Yukako Yamagishi? We saw how obsessed she was with Koichi, literally going to the extreme of kidnapping him. Something I noticed is that she was setting the most impossible standards, so when she saw how he fit these specific characteristics [such as: his friendliness, politeness, being extremely reliable] she quickly began to obsess over him. When she found out he didn’t have perfect grades in english and math, she raised those standards again and tried to put him in her ‘perfect guy’ box again. Something that happened to me, and can also be described as comphet, is making up an imaginary guy that’s completely perfect [aka. someone who doesn’t exist] to be like Yeah I Totally Like Guys I Promise. She was also making shit up in that one scene at the café like “Koichi, I’ve noticed your face looks much more defined lately! You have such a confident and courageous demeanor. But when you smile, your face becomes so cute!” best friend you are so lonely you’re just trying to have a friend.

She also has such a fixation on perfection, and let’s be honest in a society where lack of relationships is seen as a personal failing, she immediately latched onto Koichi. She saw being drawn to him [yaknow, as a stand user] being like “ah! I am friends with a guy. I must love him because this is what I’m supposed to do”. She’s so strict because she needs everything to seem like her ‘reality’ of perfection. She becomes controlling and jealous over Koichi for these reasons.

This personality of perfection really shows the most in the Cinderella arc. She is known to literally have no friends, so she completely surrounds herself with the only ‘friend’ she has aka Koichi. She bases her entire identity on him because she has nothing to lose. In the Cinderella arc, it’s so explicitly shown she has no sense of identity, with the biggest example of her not being able to recognize her own face. When is Yukako forcing herself to be with Koichi, it doesn’t work so what she does is try to change everything about her appearance because in her mind, she’s unlovable otherwise. 

Something I need to mention, Yukako’s writing isn’t... Very good. This isn’t even me being mad being like “well this story isn’t exactly how I wanted it, so it’s bad” but her arc is the last thing that should’ve happened. The goal of Cinderella shouldn’t have been “well Yukako and Koichi got together now! happily ever after <3″ Yukako should’ve learned to love herself and actually apologize for the shit she did to Koichi. She never had an actual consequence of her actions so she doesn’t actually have to change her ways. In my opinion, her character development would’ve been so much more fulfilling if she had actually grown and realized that the only person she needs to make happy is herself, and she grew past her goal of proving to herself that she is capable of being loved by other people. She only stayed in that cycle of perfection at the end because she achieved her ‘goal’ of being liked by Koichi. 

Going back to my point of her being a lesbian, she literally says she likes Koichi because of his potential. I’m gonna be honest, that’s not a very #straight thing to say. She liked the idea of what he could be, not really of who he actually is. I interpret this as a moment of denial, she’s trying so damn hard to make herself like him that she fantasizes a fake version of him where he’s perfect. 

Anyways. Yukako lesbian saurrrr true

#is this anything. im having a moment #i <3 saying shit #also idk if any of this makes sense. im not proofreading #anwyays. can u tell shes one of my favs. can you tell. #rhaa talks #long post #Yukako Yamagishi #praying this doesnt get to the wrong people bc i dont feel like fightingLOLLLL #jjba #Diamond is Unbreakable