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myslodsiewniav · 29 days

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Szczęśliwam i z naładowanymi bateriami

25 kwietnia 2024

Najpierw lista, żeby nie stracić myśli ulotnych:

Cieszę się, że po prostu pojechałam. Po prostu: potrzebowałam odpoczynku, wszystko goniło na łeb, na szyję, nawarstwiało się (i wciąż się nawarstwia, ale teraz we mnie jest spokój, gdy obserwuję jak te moje plany piętrzą się i chwieją od nadmiaru) i po prostu: pojechałam. Trochę to jak ucieczka? Trochę jak bodziec do odłożenia codzienności na bok i pozwolenie sobie na Tu i Teraz, na obserwację, bez myśli o nadchodzących deadlinach. Oddech i wydech. I wdech. I wydech. I ulga. Taka bardzo potrzebna ulga, pozwolenie sobie na odpoczynek, bo urlop i koniec. Ale jak w mojej głowie zrobiło się miejsce to byłam tak sfrustrowana, tak zirytowana, że przed wyjazdem nie przeczytałam nic o historii Turcji, o kontekście kulturowym i historycznym. Mam jakieś pojęcie o tureckiej kulturze i historii, przez osmozę. Ale miałam - i mam nadal - TYLE PYTAŃ i nikogo, kto by mi na nie satysfakcjonująco odpowiedział (tj. jest masę książek i podcastów, ale trafiłam chyba na tylko takie nudne, skupiające się na liczbach, datach, zamiast na wydarzeniach, niuansach kulturowych itp). xD Ciekawi mnie to wszystko bardzo. Bardzo. Czytałam jak tylko miałam dostęp do neta, ale ciekawości wciąż nie zaspokoiłam.

Bardzo dziwnym jest poczucie, gdy jako dorosła kobieta NAGLE w zwykłej sytuacji społecznej tracisz podmiotowość. Ba! Gdy jesteś jawnie uprzedmiotowiana, a lokalsom nie jest ani trochę wstyd za takie traktowanie drugiego człowieka z którym przecież chcą dobić targu. Bardzo to dziwne. Bardzo przykre. Bardzo wprawiające w osłupienie i zaskoczenie, bo zachodziło w tak bardzo zwykłej sytuacji społecznej w jakiej nigdy wcześniej moja płeć nie miała znaczenia na socjokulturowe aspekty (jak chociażby kupno zgrzewki butelkowanej wody mineralnej w lokalnym markecie spożywczym, przy kasie). Najwyraźniej w tych sytuacjach ścierała się przepaść kulturowych kodów, zwyczajów. Z zaskoczenia i osłupienia nie udało mi się nigdy w czas zareagować. A może zareagowałam we właściwym czasie? Może. Po prostu potem następowała zaskakująca przemoc (np: facet mnie złapał za barki i pchnął na krzesło, gdy chciałam wstać wkurzona, że mnie DOTYKA zacisnął dłoń na moim barku mocniej, przytrzymał mnie na tym krześle i a drugą ręką wcisnął w moje dłonie kubek z herbatą - to co mówił stało w sprzeczności z jego zachowaniem, sama nie wiem czy mnie traktował po "swojemu", czy to moja strefa komfortu nie przystaje do tutejszych zwyczajów, czy właśnie - jak twierdził w tamtej chwili - opatrznie interpretował to co w naszej kulturze oznacza być dżentelmenem? Nie wiem...), albo zupełnie ignorowano to co mówię i jakie mam zdanie na różne tematy - jakbym mówiła do ściany. Dziwne to było. Nie było na tyle przykre by bolało, ale na tyle by czuć, że nie jestem szanowana, że jestem traktowana jak rzecz, mniej niż człowiek. Nawet nim do mnie dochodziło, że te sytuacje mnie wkurzyły, nim rozkminiłam jak się z tym czuję i na ile powinnam postawić na zaopiekowanie własnych granic i uczuć, a na ile z szacunkiem i akceptacją podejść do kultury kraju, który odwiedzam, w głowie miałam wtedy mętlik, ale nim ta gonitwa analiz "co-w-tej-chwili-jest-ważniejszym-aspektem-dla-sytuacji" chwilę byłam w stanie oszołomionego "WTF się tu stanęło?". Dziwne. I zwieńczone (już chyba drugiego dnia pobytu, wieczorem?) podczas kolacji, przy prosecco "Wiesz co? Dziwnie jest stracić tak bardzo podmiotowość..." Na co mój chłopak tylko smutno przytaknął. Też to zauważył.

Węże. Są.

To trochę nudne (i irytujące), ale znowu jestem chora. Ech. Dziś już byłam na kompleksowych badaniach - oby to nie był pasożyt. Ech. Nie piłam tamtejszej wody, ale kąpałam się w morzu, basenie i łaźni. Gdzieś coś złapałam. I jedzenie chociaż było pyszne to nie służyło naszym jelitom... Dłuższa sprawa do opisania.

Hamam. Złoto. Muszę opisać cały proces, bo CUDOWNE doświadczenie (omijając organizację i kwestie kulturowe).

Hotel <3

Koty xD To jest temat na cały artykuł!

Bliskość - najadłam się seksu po cebulki włosów. <3

Przestrzeń w głowie - nowe pomysły!

Tęsknię za pieskiem i doniesienia od rodziców martwią - znowu trzeba będzie pracować z behawiorystką.

Koszmary xD można książki o tych snach napisać!

Paraliżujący strach przed targowaniem się - nie tak sobie wyobrażałam to doświadczenie. Ale to też muszę opisać.

Czułam się jak Indiana Jones. I to było suuuper! Byliśmy jak poszukiwacze zaginionej Arki xD Tylko, że bez Arki, a z rzymskimi łazienkami xD.

Targowanie się. OMG. Aż na samo wspomnienie muszę odetchnąć na uspokojenie. Myślałam, że to będzie fajne przeżycie. Że będę się tym bawić, że znajdę w tym fun, jakiś dreszczyk przyjemnych emocji. Że to będzie jakaś taka furtka do spróbowania namacalnego zaznania lokalnej kultury, tego kulturowego IceBerga! Że to coś w kategorii "język" czy "jedzenie". Ale nie. To nie jestem dla mnie coś tak łatwo przyswajalnego i dającego fun. To cholernie trudna sprawa. I stresująca.

Hebata turecka & kawa turecka. Oczekiwania vs rzeczywistość (spoiler: obydwa inne niż myślałam, a każde bardzo mi odpowiadało <3)

Okazało się, że nie na każdym urlopie trzeba jeździć na quadzie, ani skakać na bunjie. Nawet jak się tak planuje. Czasem po prostu wystarczy spontanicznie zrobić coś z moim chłopakiem. I to prowadzi do kolejnej bardzo ważnej - i bardzo złotej- myśli:...

... otóż wczoraj, w autokarze odwożącym nas na lotnisko, około 4 rano, we względnej ciszy (miarowych oddechach śpiących pasażerów) i z oczami utkwionymi w rozjaśniającej się za oknem ciemności naszła mnie refleksja. Przypomniała mi się analogiczna sytuacja: powrót z wczasów na lotnisko, wczesną porą. Oglądanie brzasku przed autokarowe okna, zapamiętywanie jak wyglądają i pachną gaje oliwne... Wtedy też było super i byłam szczęśliwa, wypoczęta. Ale moje długaśne piesze wędrówki po Korfu były samotne. Nie przeszkadzało mi to wtedy, bo bawiłam się świetnie, tak jak lubię. Było cudownie, jak marzyłam! Zwiedzałam, w cieple. Byłam taka spełniona! Ale tak tęskniłam, żeby kiedyś móc z kimś tak zwiedzać świat. Oj, tak bardzo!

I od razu, skojarzeniem przeniosłam się z tego autokaru w Grecji do sobotniego poranka w Holandii, gdy radosna - tak bardzo podekscytowana! Tak bardzo spełniona! We własnej opinii podpalająca pokłady energii i humoru nie tylko swoje, ale też całego swojego otoczenia, swojego partnera, jak mała elektrownia - pakowałam do plecaka przygotowany wcześniej prowiant, upewniałam się czy klucze wzięte, czy pompka do roweru przypięta, czy mapa schowana w schowku przy kierownicy, czy peleryny przeciwdeszczowe są spakowane. I opowiadałam o tym, jak zaplanowałam nam całodniową wycieczkę po fantastycznych holenderskich trasach rowerowych! Że będą po drodze muzea (w tym techniki!), fajne jedzonko (bo oktoberfest był w pełni), że trasa obok endemicznych roślin! I sery! SERY! I te cholerne "belgijskie frytki" też będą (ja nie lubię majonezu, a mój były chłopak uwielbiał te frytki)! Że według internetów nasza trasa prowadziła przez miejsce w którym turyści w 2015 roku najwyżej oceniali lokalne frytki. Specjalnie dla niego te frytki wciągnęłam na listę... A kiedy ja byłam spakowana, i gotowa, i promieniałam radością, że wreszcie zobaczymy coś niderlandzkiego - a nie tylko te jebane kofiszopy, supermarket, miejsce naszej pracy i osiedle zamieszkałe przez innych pracowników naszej fabryki! Tak bardzo chciałam zwiedzać! - on wtedy ledwo się ubrał i nie miał siły wstać z łóżka. Siedział na skraju ze zmierzwionymi włosami, spuchniętymi oczami i obserwował jak się krzątam po pokoju, jak trajkoczę. A im bardziej ja byłam podekscytowana, tym bardziej on był wkurwiony (wkurzało go moje szczęście - wolał jak byłam przygnębiona i zrezygnowana, mniej okazji do konfrontacji, teraz to widzę). Obserwował mnie, napięcie między nami narastało, ja go początkowo nie czułam (bo w końcu mieliśmy spędzić czas tak jak ja lubię!), aż w końcu wyczuwałam napiętą atmosferę, pytalam go czy coś się stało, a wtedy on pytał "Musimy jecha��?". Dodawał, że mu się nie chce. Że jest taki zmęczony. Że wolałby odpocząć w domu. Że na to wszystko potrzeba tyle energii. Oskarżał, że jestem samolubna, że myślę tylko o sobie (tj. to dla niego oznaczało, że planowałam wycieczkę od tygodni... ). Rozmawiałam z nim o faktach, przypominałam jakie były fakty, z kalendarzem analizowałam co i którego dnia robiliśmy. Było mi przykro, chciałam go przecież uwzględnić w planach, chciałam z nim przeżywać tę podróż. Jego szczęście też dla mnie było ważne. Przejęte zapewniałam, że przecież gdyby mi powiedział to bym inaczej to zaplanowała, że wzięłabym to pod uwagę. A on ciśgle z oskarżeniami: "Wszystko robimy pod twoje dyktando! Wszystko musi być tak jak chcesz. Nie Vill, ja się na to nie zgadzam!" (hahaha on mi zarzucał to co robił on sam xD, teraz to widzę). Potem, gdy jednak okazało się, że poprzedni weekend spędziliśmy tak, jak on chciał (on jarał, albo jarał z innymi...), że jeszcze poprzedni też, to nagle argumenty zostawały wytrącone, chwilę miczał i w końcu okazywało się, że to jednak rowery jako środek lokomocji są problemem. Bo mu się nie chce, bo dawno nie ćwiczył itp itd. Więc ja rozpromieniona od razu znajdowałam rozwiązanie: "Nie szkodzi! Możemy podjechać pociągiem i przejść się tu, tu i tam!". To go jeszcze bardziej wkurzało.

I nagle się rozpętywała awantura o to, że jestem taka szczęśliwa podejrzanie! Ciekawe dlaczego!? Co przed nim ukrywam!? To mnie wkurzało, ta sama płyta grana z powodu braku argumentów! Gdy proponowałam, że w takim razie, jeżeli nie ma między nami pola na kompromis, to niech on zostanie, a ja pojadę sama - wtedy było jeszcze gorzej. Wyzwiska, podejrzewanie mnie o zdradę, rzucanie mi, że pewnie wszystko zaplanowałam tak, żeby zamiast niego ze mną jechał ten i inny współlokator (który był dla mnie miły po prostu, a o co typ był zazdrosny). Gdy mu wyjaśniałam, że to absurd, że przecież chciałam jechać z nim! To miał być dzień, który spędzamy razem i to tym razem realizując moje potrzeby i marzenia! Że jak jest tak zazdrosny to niech ruszy tyłek i jedzie ze mną, zamiast robić sceny! Że nawet te frytki znalazłam! Dla niego! Żebyśmy obydwoje z tego mieli fun... No i kończyło się, że odwracał kota ogonem tak, zalewał taką falą przemocy, oskarżając mnie o bycie dziwną, niepasującą (nikt z tych lokalnych znajomych od jarania nie jeździł na wycieczki), robiąc przytyki do moich bolesnych miejsc, niepewności, zarzucając mi złe intencje, że go nie kocham i nie chcę naszego szczęścia. Albo grożąc, albo kpiąc, poniżając. Koniec końców to ja siedziałam w pokoju, na łóżku zalewając się łzami, dławiąc się smutkiem, brakiem zrozumienia, próbując ogarnąć co właściwie poszło nie tak, co źle zrobiłam itp, a on wzdychając z rozczarowaniem - bo to on był we własnym mniemaniu ofiarom moich złych intencji - szedł zajarać, zjeść i spać. A ja płakałam, czułam się cała obolała emocjonalnie, opuchnięta od bólu i płaczu... I szukałam pytań i odpowiedzi, jak naprawić tę sytuację by "był jak przedtem". A jak ex wstawał to znowu jarał z kimś... Ech. A ja zostawałam w pokoju, smutna, zrezygnowana, z poczuciem, że jestem niekochana. Te emocje pamiętam wyraźnie, są bardzo we mnie... To było 9 lat temu, a tyle lat mi się wydawało, że po prostu moje potrzeby są tak bardzo dziwne i inne, i niemożliwe do pojednania z cudzymi, że mogę tylko podróżować sama...

Tym czasem wczoraj, w autokarze na lotnisko, zalana tą falą wspomnień zabarwionych tak różną porcją emocji z ostatnich lat ZAUWAŻYŁAM bardzo świadomie, że mój cudowny chłopak - ten obecny - jest osobą, która ma takie same potrzeby podróżnicze jak ja (no dobra, on jednak wolałby jeszcze opcje bardziej hardcorowe np: picie wody z kałuży i spanie w szałasie pod kołderką z liści splecionych palm czy coś xD; ale na razie to nie jest dla mnie i nie wiem czy kiedykolwiek będzie dla mnie, lubię mieć ściany do snu xD. Jednak nie przeszkadza mi wyobrażenie, by na taki wypad wyrwał się z kuzynem czy kumplem - niech się dobrze bawi!).

Co więcej: podróżowanie z nim jest tak ŁATWE. To Asia mi mówiła, że w związku może być łatwo - nie wiedziałam. Teraz już wiem. I to wzrusza. Piękne to.

Dopiero wracając z wakacji ZAUWAŻYŁAM, że odbyliśmy masę podróży (co mój chłopak już po wylądowaniu w Polsce podsumował z przepraszającym uśmieszkiem "Nie potrafimy wysiedzieć na dupie, co nie?" xD - bo mieliśmy SIEDZIEĆ NA DUPIE, odpocząć za te wszystkie miesiące zapierdolu, naczytać się książek, odespać i odpoczywać od stresu zamiast go sobie dodawać. A ostatecznie codziennie byliśmy na jakiejś przygodzie, bliższej lub dalszej xD heheh, ale z masą miejsca na czytanie, spanie i leżenie na plaży oczywiście). Dotarło do mnie, że względem żadnej z nich nie było między nami spięć. Tak łatwo nam się dogadać. Mamy podobne priorytety: jesteś chory? Boli brzuszek? To walić ten zamek na końcu szlaku, wracamy do hotelu i parzymy herbatkę, zagramy w jakąś grę! Czujesz się na zwiedzenie jeszcze czegoś? To chodź na ruinki, te na pustyni, z 4 km od miasta! I to jest tak naturalne. Tak proste. Ech.

Zauważyłam też, że oddałam mu planowanie. Oczywiście nie zupełnie - nadal to lubię robić i często robię. To początkowo było bardzo dla mnie trudne, budziło masę wątpliwości, bo czułam lęk, że "oddając" obowiązek planowania oddaję również odpowiedzialność za siebie i kontrolę (nad sobą - a tego nie pozwolę sobie stracić ponownie: w Holandii lata temu ostatecznie oddałam ją, a potem latami na terapii ją odzyskiwałam). Oddanie komuś innemu steru w obszarze "planowania podróży" w moim przypadku było aktem olbrzymiego zaufania. Ryzyko wielkie, strach wielki. Ciekawym było się przekonać, że oddanie obszaru planowania podróży nie jest tożsame z oddaniem kontroli nade mną. Tym jaskrawiej widzę, jakie skrajne schematy we mnie wyżłobił poprzedni związek - nie wiedziałam, że oddanie planowania podróży to może być to i nic więcej, a na pewno nic z władzy nade mną! Ech. Jak dalekich i jak raniących blizn nabyłam w poprzednim związku... Teraz to widzę, że ten mój wieloletni ból i gojenie trwało tyle, bo te rany były tak straszne i głębokie. Ech.

No, ale teraz, wracając z Turcji fakt oddania mojemu partnerowi planowania był tak naturalny, bezpieczny i w porządku, że świadomie zdałam sobie z niego sprawę dopiero w autokarze o 4 nad ranem w drodze na lotnisko. Ufam mu. Doceniam, że gdy planuje dzieli się tym planem, dzieli się planowanym budżetem, miejscami, pyta o wskazówki i zaznacza, że będą takie czy inne niespodzianki. To jest takie fajne i komfortowe.

I od razu sobie przypomniałam wtedy: oddaję planowanie, ale to ja na miejscu jestem przewodniczką. xD Bo jestem ciekawską factcheckerką i MUSZĘ przed wyjazdem w jakieś miejsce poczytać o nim (jak wspominałam w przypadku tego wyjazdu nie czytałam - tylko to co przez osmozę, a ja jednak dużo wiem przez osmozę :P lubię historię). Zapytałam nawet podczas jednej z pierwszych wypraw mojego chłopaka czy coś przy okazji planowania czytał o tym miejscu - bo nie chciałam mu odtwarzać audio-Wikipedii jeżeli już to wszystko wie. A on się do mnie uśmiechnął z powątpiewaniem i żachnął się "Nie! A po co? Od tego mam ciebie! To co mi opowiesz o tym... em... kamieniu?". No i opowiadam, z dygresjami, wyobrażamy sobie jak to musiało wyglądać w czasach świetności, rysujemy w powietrzu brakujące budynki, sklepienia... Odkrywamy z użyciem wyobraźni. I humoru I się tym JARAMY! Zadajemy sobie wzajemnie masę pytań, hipotez, a potem w hotelu potwierdzamy info w sieci. I masę przy tym śmiechu!

No.

I się spłakałam w tym autobusie o 4 rano, obserwując jak mój partner śpi na miejscu obok mnie słodko pochrapując...

Jak ŁATWO się przyzwyczaja do takiego dobra, które przecież jeszcze tak niedawno wydawało się zupełnie nieosiągalne!?

To wszystko, cały nasz wyjazd, całe nasze przygody, planowanka, kompromisy, przyszły tak naturalnie i tak zgodnie, tak gładko, że łatwo tego nie zauważyć. Nie ma WIELKICH emocji (tj. tez huśtawki - od niesamowitego szczęścia do niesamowitego bólu jak w moim poprzednim związku). Jest po prostu stabilnie i przez to jest miejsce na to by uwagę kierować na inne sprawy WSPÓLNIE oraz sprawy prywatne każdego z nas. Idziemy w tą podróż - tj. w podróż zwaną życiem, że tak oklepanym frazesem polecę - obok siebie, ale razem, pozwalając sobie na odmienność, na realizowanie wspólnych i osobnych potrzeb, i mamy w sobie wsparcie. I kibicujemy sobie wzajemnie!

I chyba bardziej niż kiedykolwiek wtedy, o tej 4 nad ranem, w kołysanym sennym sapaniem autokarze, poczułam, że jestem cholernie zaszczycona jego - mojego partnera - obecnością w moim życiu. Kocham go. I będę jeszcze bardziej zaszczycona, jeżeli zdecyduje się ze mną zawrzeć związek małżeński/partnerski/jaki tam lepszy dla formalności.

I sobie tak chlipałam ze szczęścia głaszcząc go po zarośniętym policzku, nim wzięłam się za czytanie przewodnika po historycznych ruinach tej części Turcji w której byliśmy.

I to chyba najważniejsze wrażenie po tym urlopie. Na dziś tyle. Zrobiłam dziś już 3 prania, podlałam kwiaty, rozesłałam paczki, pracowałam, sprzątałam... dużo zrobiłam i idę spać. :D Jutro rano lecę na siłkę i po psiecko! <3 Tęsknie za cholernicą.

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originalwinnercheesecake · 2 years

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Gus Porter Appreciation Post

I have been wanting to do gull analysis of the important characters in The Owl house since like 2/3rds of the way through season 2. Now that the first season 3 special is right around the corner It feels like a good time to make posts and get views again.

Gus is a character I find particularly interesting. In season 1 and for part of season 2 Gus is there, but he is secondary comic relief, very token, and almost never seems to move or affect the plot. He slowly grows as a character with and develops arc’s though, and whats interesting to me is that unlike with characters like Luz/Eda/Willow I cannot really say when his character hit the turning point. I mean I know when his character had shifts, or started to focus more visibly on certain aspects of his character, a lot of the big moments his character goes through and core aspects that come to spotlight in episodes like “Through The Looking Glass” and “Labyrinth Runners” on re-watch actually start more subtle in the back ground of season 1 episodes.

Warning very long post underneath

Things with Gus that could have been done better

Okay first lets address some of the weakness’s of Gus’s character. I want to get those out of the way so that I can spend more time speaking his praises. Up top I call him 3 things “Secondary comic relief” “token” and “unimportant plot wise”. I stand by all three being true (at least for a lot of the series) and all three can be problems with his character. For the “secondary comic relief” one... King is out main source of comic relief. King is voiced by Alex Hirsch, who many fan’s recognize as the creator and voice actor for many Gravity Falls characters. He is a very funny man. King himself is also a funny character, because he sees himself as big and ferocious, has a large personality, and all of this is wrapped up into a like 2.5 ft tall fluffy little dog body. Gus’s first ever job in the show was to come assist Luz on adventures and mishaps where she would be away from Eda and King. Unlike King though Gus does not have a large personality, and with his a main trait being “Self-proclaimed “Human Expert”, when actually everything he says is wrong” he just never seemed as funny. Also King despite being mostly comic relief had lore and backstory from the beginning, taught Luz about demons and life with Eda, and was able to come up with clever ways to help defeat foe’s. Gus... shares his food, and can do basic distracting.

I called him “token”. that is a word that I know gets thrown around a lot, and there is some argument as to when it is appropriate and what it means. So let me give the definition I learned for “token”: One or a few characters that are different from the main cast in a noticeable way, and are added in mainly to give the illusion of this show/book/game being inclusive.” You know how in 90′s and early 2000′s shows about super hero’s/crime fighting a team will have that one (or maybe two if its a big team) female character because otherwise the show writers can be accused being sexist “don’t you think girls can be hero’s too”? Plus without her they will have more trouble doing cliche romance tropes. Or how about in Christmas specials you always have at least one who is briefly stated or shown to be Jewish, because of course the show runners know that Christianity isn’t the only religion, and Christmas is not the only holiday. Gus would qualify as a token character for two reasons. One is that he is one of the only few boys at Hexside who is learning magic, and is also important enough to have a name. The score for that I believe is Girls 11, Boys 5. Of those 5 Jerbo and Barkus were intended to be one off characters and while we saw them again they got no focus and virtually no development (Barkus is in a hexsis holdum club, Jerbo flew for that jerk professors flyer derby team that one time). Edric only shows up spuraticaly and rarely is shown at school. Mattholomule also rarely shows up, and when he does it is to be a parallel foil to Gus (more on him and that later). So Gus is our only frequently occurring boy to actively bee seen trying to become a witch.

Secondly he can count as a token Black character. The Owl house has prioritized including 3D characters of different sexuality, and learning types. Its disability representation has also gained positive notice and appreciation by its audiance as well. But is does have some problems and struggles in race. I will start by saying that I am white, and as such I do not notice as many things as a POC would when it comes to racial inclusion, and my word should always come second to a POC’s when talking about this. But even I can notice that Amity’s character seemed completely thought out and written with fluid direction when Dana and the crew were still throwing Mabel, Webby, Star, Anne, every other off-beat, family carton, female protagonist of the last 10 years, and multiple popular teen cliche’s all against the wall to see what stuck as character for Luz. Even I can note the racism on giving Luz a new White Mom when she already had a Latina Mom. Then treating White Mom as her main/better/more fun mom, because Latino Mom tells tries to change Luz (get her to tone down her more destructive behavior while at school) but White Mom lets Luz do whatever she wants, up to and including praising her for crime. And even I can notice how Gus got way way less screen time and focus than characters who had lighter skin than him. Now here I want the opinion of POC fans: in season 2 Dana and the crew added 3 more POC characters (Raine, Darwin, and Darius), brought back 2 existing characters (Katya and Mattholomule) and, admittedly more towards the end of the season 2, gave Gus and Skara more focus. Did this feel to you like Dana and the Crew noticing and correcting an issue, or did it feel more like the damage control?

Gus’s plot relevance in episodes is kinda self explanatory. In 1B he does not even participate in shenanigans and mishaps that Luz,Willow, and Amity do. He is the group cheerleader. Which would be fine if they let him do all the cool tricks, acrobatics, and full on routines cheerleaders do. Combining his illusion powers with all of that would have been really awesome. But instead of doing any of that they just gave him two small flags that he waved back in fourth from the stands. That was his whole cheer routine, and most of his 1B character... Okay now I am finally done with writing out the flaws/problems with his character, remember I do love this character, and can move on with praises.

Gus’s magic abilities

Gus’s learning trope is that he the “stressed out gifted kid”. He is a protege magician when it comes to Illusion magic, and have even skipped 2 grades. Okay We do not know that much about how different grades work at Hexisde (it’s an all grade school) since Luz our main character see’s the school for the first time at 14. Given that Luz enrolls during a Summer semester I am guessing that Hexisde is a year round school (how do grade levels work at those? I do not know) that does like 4 three week breaks during each season. But I am going to guess that Elementary level kids learn about the different coven tracks and opportunity’s in them, middle school kids pick their track and learn the basics/early lessons, then High school kids perfect their magic and take more advanced lessons. We have never heard Lilith or Raine or any of the Blights mention Colleges, so maybe its not a thing on the isles and kids only leave when coven recruiters come and take them away...

Gus again skipped two grades and “Labyrinth Runners” implies he does it pretty young, he looks like 9 or 10 in his flashback of his first week in advanced classes. If Willow’s powers came late, could Gus have developed Illusion powers early? We also see that he wasn’t then and still is not now in complete control of his powers. My guess is that when Perry and Bump saw what Gus was capable of they moved him up those grades because they believed the best thing for Gus was to get help from an experienced illusion professor who could help him learn more control and mastery of his powers. We can see how great the Illusion professor is in “Labyrinth Runners”, and how much she cares about Gus.

In season 1 Gus mostly sticks to what seems like advanced basics. He could sentences in the air, and make copies of himself, and he was amazing at it. He was not doing one letter at a time, or even one word at a time, he could magic whole sentences into the air at once with great theatrics. His can make multiple copies at once. His copies still remain fully functional when he is away from them, and they can all talk. For clones made by a child, they are very advanced copies. In “Looking Glass Ruins“ Gus makes an illusion large enough to cover a small grave yard, and then In “Labyrinth Runners” his school. In that episode he also pockets a powerful magnifier glass that lets him peer into foes heads and call fourth bad memories. This gives Gus a way to cause actual damage to Belos in “King’s Tide”.... But Gus may have been hit some recoil on that.

This brings me to another part of Gus’s character that I love: He gets progressively stronger through out the show, but he never reaches the ceiling of his potential. He can give his copies more advanced mobility and speaking skills, But when he does they are less likely to do what he wants. See the that only pretended to take notes for him when he skipped, and the one that he made when he wanted to interview himself who promptly told him “I would rather die than reveal my secrets”. He is not able to make large illusions in season 1, and in season 2 they tire him and he still loses control if they go over a certain size. He learns to use the magnifier glass quickly, but he can only us it on an already subdued opponent and using it may pose danger to him in the process. Gus has all the potential to become a mater illusionist, and the dreams and ambition to become even more. But all of this will be one day in the future. For now he is a kid who needs to keep studying and practicing so he can get better, smarter, and wiser. This brings me to my next point about Gus

Relatable Fears

First off let’s look at the pressure Gus puts on himself. He loves to brag about getting to skip two grades. He can be a show off with his magic, and when mentioning that his dad wants him to become a master illusionist he laughs says “That’s easy”, and declares that he will become this powerful and new figure in relational politics and end a long standing feud between the boiling Isle residents and the Giraffe’s.

When tries to help Willow deal with a pixie infestation with an illusion and it doesn’t help at all, and she gets hurt anyway, He goes through a huge existential crisis and starts wondering openly questioning if the illusion track is even worth studying. Some bullies trick him into helping them clear a way to the graveyard for them, before revealing they do not want to be his friends and do not care about his feeling’s or opinions. Gus blames himself for all of this. Who was he kidding thinking Bria actually cared? Well it’s not his fault. HE thought Bria cared because she did a really good job of putting on a show of acting like she cared. Its pretty high key hinted that he does this all the time at Glandis and that’s how she keeps her three “friends” and probably others under her thumb. Heck its low key hinted that she got Mattholomule in so much trouble that his parents took him out of Glandis at least in part to get him away from her and the members of their group. Gus isn’t stupid, Bria is just a skilled manipulator.

After Bria Gus and the cast, unfortunately meet, Adrian Graye Venworth. Gus see’s through his first illusion and saves Edric and the other kids from being tricked into getting sigiled. But Later Gray and a member of the Emperor’s Coven trick Gus into almost going with them by casting an illusion to make the Coven Scout look like Willow. Hunter See’s through the Illusion and grabs Gus yelling that it is a trick. Gus is devastated that he could not tell the difference between his best friend and an illusion and concludes that he must be stupid and have something seriously wrong with him. A few things that I will point out here (and I am so glad Hunter points out to Gus in the episode). Gus is not at fault at all. The coven guard pretending to be Willow fooling him? They showed up when Gus was in danger, scared, and desperate to find help so of course he feels a wave of relief at Willow. Hunter saw through it because he has rained himself to never drop his guard (he has had to) But Gus has no reason to distrust Willow. Even if he was fooled it was never a fair fight. Gus is a gifted kid, but he is still only a 12 year old kid, and is still learning. The Emperor’s coven is made up of all the most ambitious students and highest scores AFTER they graduated school, past tons of vigorous recruitment tests, and devoted their lives to nothing but improving their magic and serving the Emperor. Adrian is a Coven head, a.k.a the top ranking Illusionist on The Titian. Him and all he guards are older and have both more training and experience than Gus. They were able to fool Bump and the Hexside teachers too, and none of them are fools. Gus’s only problem is the pressure he puts on himself.

To go a bit deeper into Gus’s fears, we see him began to work through his fears in season 2 but I think his arc with fear and overcoming it actually starts in season 1′s ‘Enchanting Grom Fight”. Remember at the end of it when Willow and Gus are helping with the clean up and that peace of Grom morphs into their fears. We see that Willow is afraid of ladybugs (???) and that Gus is afraid of clowns. Now Clowns are a pretty common, it would be enough to assume Gus is scared of their big red grins, yellow teeth, or giant stomping feet. But in “Through the Looking Glass Ruins” through that Illusions are not able to help solve his friend’s issues like Gus hopped he loses faith in them and himself. Then h starts calling Illusions “party tricks” and himself a “clown”. Which descends to “Stupid”, “Fool”, and “Kidding himself” in “Labyrinth Runners”. You add all this together and it equals Gus not being scared of clowns because of creepy make-up, oversized cloths, or how in-your-face some clowns are. We only see the clown image Grom used on Gus from the back but I am gonna gus its front looked kinda similar to Gus himself. “Clown” is the bad name Gus calls himself when he gets angry/scared/or frustrated at his own mistakes. Gus is scared that maybe he is destined to be a clown. Maybe his dad, teachers, friends, and himself are all fooling themselves when they call him someone special, and maybe everything he is good at is just stupid, unimportant, party tricks.

THAT IS NOT TRUE. Gus’s is a great friend and his support has done a lot for Willow, Luz, King, Mattholomule, and Hunter. He has been a real light and the dark for them all. While his illusions have limits, he starts finding knew things he can do with them throughout the season as he improves (and we thankfully say god bye to the Gus the uninspiring cheerleader and the two tiny flags that all he does is flick back and forth). Gus’s own magic feets even hit Heroic status on at least three occasions “Through the Looking Glass Ruins”, “Labyrinth Runners”, and “Kings Tide” where if not for him things would have gone much worse and potentially innocent lives could have been ruined or lost. Gus can, is, and will be great witch. He just needs to take some time, and come into it in his own way.

Gus’s development into a more empathetic friend and his growth and maturity through out the show.

Just a small heads up most of this will be about Gus’s relationships with other males. I know, I know Willow and Luz are his best friends. I am not trying to undervalue his relationships with them, they are great friends and very important to him. The reason I am not talking much about them is that his friendships with them start from their first meeting and remain really consent throughout the show. There is never really any change. They are all friends, Willow and Luz know he is younger by a couple years but they do not treat him any different for it. Gus loves this and is super protective of both of them, trying to jump on or “Gus chomp” any big kid who calls one of the Trio “losers’ or tries to give them a hard time.

Let’s start with the first time we see Gus in his element. Gus’s time as the President of the Human Appreciation Society (a school based club he started). This was Gus at his absolute worst, most jerkish, and it got him nothing. Gus says in the episode that he created the club because being the youngest kid in his grade he was always overlooked and wanted to create a place where that would not happen to anyone. When he says that it is the only time that he is either kidding himself or just being stupid. Because Gus is a tyrannical leader that and overlooks every other person there. No really he is. Gus calls himself “The President” but also made himself a crown, like he’s the king. He has a huge list of rules that he made himself and that no one else is allowed even comment on. He is the only person allowed to touch the objects, He is the only one allowed to make decisions (he legit see’s the group wanting to vote as anarchy), and judging by his reaction to Matty dumping out his backpack Gus may even be the only one who is usually allowed to bring in artifacts. Gus made himself a place where he would get to be in charge of kids older than him and they would have to listen to what he says. Well later in the show we see that Bigger Kids used to take advantage of Gus’s trust and trick him into doing their work for him. These are his worst memories.So seeing that I can see why Gus would want a place like the H.A.S., but that is an explanation for his behavior and not a excuses. He is acting like his old bullies and it is getting him nowhere. The bigger kids in his club must stay because they are interested in learning more about human culture, because they do not seem to care for or like Gus. When Mattholomule challenges him for leadership two kids support him and one just proclaims himself “an undecided voter”; none of them back Gus. When Bump kicks Gus out of the club none of the kids care or ever speak to him again.

Losing the club was painful for Gus in the short term because it was a club he cared about (and it led to 1b Gus and his boring obsession with two tiny flags. They really could not have also given him a horn, some lights, or put the flags on a baton), but after the way he had acted I cannot say he did not deserve to lose it, and he did grow from this. His relationship with King is the first one to show his growth. In “Really Small problems” Luz gets the day off from school and decides to take King to the carnival. While there she runs into Willow and Gus and asks King if they can join them. Gus is really condescending to King here, but King agrees to let them join for Luz. Willow and Gus do not listen to what King wants to do, gradually take more of Luz’s attention, and eventually fully exclude King. This drives King so crazy that he buys a potion to make Gus and Willow temporarily disappear. Which of course he bought from a con artist, its actually a scam that gets everybody in trouble, and King has to apologize and explain his loneliness to the other kids. He tried to make peace with Gus and Willow by offering them both pieces of broken friendship necklaces which they both take. Gus thanks King saying that he has always wanted “A jagged piece of cheap metal”. Willow gets on to Gus, I guess believing he is still being condescending, but I do think Gus was checking himself. Two episodes later when everyone is getting excited about Grom Gus gets to be the announcer and he goes to King to ask if he would like to be his assistant. When King gets stage fright Gus finds him and helps him through it in a much more tactful and friendly way. Gus is 3-4 years older than King, so to King Gus is a big kid. When King confessed the way Willow and Gus made him feel, I think this was the first time Gus was able to see his former bullies in his own actions. He did not like it and he makes steps in later episodes to be more friendly to King and treat him like one of the group.

Now Let’s go to Mattholomule. Gus was a jerk to the other members of his club, but when Mattholomule does his whole “scared and lonely new kid who just wants friends act (which I know was not completely an act)” Gus believes it and really does seem genuine in wanting to be Mattholomule’s friend afterwards. When Mattholomule turn on them and sends Luz to the detention pit, Gus goes to save her, and Mattholomule gets literally dragged along in the crossfire. Gus could have left Mattholomule to rot down there. There is a few options as to maybe why. Maybe Gus feels responsible since he kinda started this whole mess. Maybe since Mattholomule has the most experience with dentition pits Gus and Luz thought they could need him in the escape. What ever reason Gus shows genuine kindness in recusing Mattholomule as well as Luz. That is not an act that Gus gets repaid back to him right away. As soon as they get out and Bump see’s what they did to the pit, he tries to blame Luz. Gus takes all the blame, part of which should got to Matty, but Matty only speaks up when he see’s that he still has the opportunity to steal Gus’s club. Just to be clear on Mattholomule as H.A.S.P: He is a jerk, he will be just as tyrannical as Gus was, and like Gus the club made him no friends, no more popular, and any power he thinks the title gives him is in his head. Gus has to leave and become better.

But in “Through the Looking Glass Ruins” we get more back story on Mattholomule. We meet his old crew (whom his brother does not seem to like him hanging out with anymore) and see that they are all better than him at magic and hear how his lack of polished skill led to other kids making Glandis very difficult for him. Mattholomule essentially dealt with the same issues as Gus but on the opposite end. Mattholomule tries his best to keep Gus away from the other kids, and Gus thinks this is just him being mean. Only to find out to late that these other kids are just using them both. Because Gus was once kind to Matholomule, something that try as he might Matty has apparently not been able to stop thinking about or being grateful for, Matty goes back to help him. After watching Gus defend the graveyard from his old crew Matty finally makes the right choice for the right reason (reasons other than power or dept) and offers to help fix it up. Then, at hearing the illusion history may have to be hidden away, Matty suggests that he and Gus can build it a stronger defense system. Gus has a new friend now (who may one day also become more than a friend, they do share interests and passions) and has renewed faith in both that illusion magic matters, and that people aren’t all bad, and are capable of changing for the better.

These lessons all come to play during Gus’s relationship with Hunter. Gus does not really like Hunter when they first meet. Hunter or “Caleb Jasper BloodWilliams” is a strange, rude mouthed, big kid, who Gus has not seen before, but getting Willow’s flyer derby team approved suddenly depends on him... It turns out “Caleb” is really Hunter, a.k.a the Golden Guard, and he is here to trick them into the roughest coven of them all. Yes Hunter regrets it and goes back to save them (actually he may have done it more for their palisman than them, but he still helped them). He did the right thing, only after lying to them, scamming them, and putting all of them in danger. Gus is not obligated to forgive Hunter or try and be his friend the next time meet. When they meet again Gus half expects Hunter to try and pull the same crap, until he learns that Hunter is on the run. Then he offers him help and a listening ear. Gus did this because he knows that Hunter is not 100% bad, feels empathy for how alone/confused/scared Hunter is, and he knows people can change for the better. Gus has come along way from the bratty, vindictive, kid he sometimes acted like in season 1a. To him these basic acts of kindness do not seem like much, but to Hunter, who is going through so much, they mean the world. It’s because of Gus’s influence that Hunter finds the courage to come out of hiding and publicly supports the rebel side. This indirectly helps lead to all 6 kids (I included King) being together on the day of Unity and able to help each other against Belos.

Gus Porter All and All

Gus is a really great, well thought out character. He is in the background more than some others, and I wish the show had brought him to the forefront more (I do believe that if the show had run longer we would have gotten more of him and Matty protecting the graveyard, Matty introducing him to his favorite book series, and Gus meeting Steve. Grrr). But even when Gus is stuck in the background he still has some really interesting arc’s going on and you miss out if you just dismiss him. I also appropriate Gus getting to do important things and be a hero from the background, he reminds me of Codename: Kids next Door’s numbah 5 in that respect. She mostly stayed out of the spotlight by choice, but was indisputably the backbone of her team. Gus’s journey through school and the insecurities that he deals with remind me a lot of myself when I was younger as well as friends I had back then. I am willing to bet a lot of kids in school can relate to Gus and I like how so much of his feelings and situation are shown to us instead of told. Its nice that kids can see him, and have him to help learn to not doubt or be so hard on them selves, You are special, the right people will see you as such. IF the voices in your head call you names, then tell them to shut up because they do not know.

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thisbelongsto-nohbodys · 1 year

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I like how viney, jerbo, and barkus got to be part of the final goodbye, characters that were seemingly just meant to be one time appearances got to be there for the finale, and hey they’re working with the blight family too.

The funny thing is that they were supposed to just be one-off characters but because the fandom liked them (Viney in particular) is why the crew brought them back in S2 and 3.

(with Viney and Jerbo working with the Blights so closely now it does keep some hopes of Viney/Emira and Edric/Jerbo shippers)

#ask #the owl house #mediawatcher36

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unhinged-summer-fun · 2 years

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What have I been up to?

These are the last four fics I've published, no frills. There's also a look ahead at what's coming soon at the bottom of the post. For events such as Danktober, this post will change pretty much every day. Check back to see what's next!

looking for my masterlist?

Day 20: Agent Whiskey

Day 21: Frankie Morales

Day 23: Frankie Morales

Din Djarin for @ezrasbirdie <3 HBD BB

What will I be up to?

Danktober concludes - 8 days left!!! Got a wingfic coming up tomorrow, some more Puppy Marcus (Barkus Pike) and mesh network sweetness <3 and.... FWANK <3

How are you doing, Bailey?

doing okay tbh, i'm very proud of that birthday fic for katee, she deserves it and I love her so so many, I think this is one of my first bday fics i've actually been able to deliver on time LOL

#roundup #outlook/lookback

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yoshilisk · 2 years

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her name is barkus <3

#yoshiposts #wobbledogs

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stardustelk · 2 years

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The Evolution of Hexside

While we're waiting for The Owl House Season 3 to come out. Word is going around that it'll be out on October, but I'm cautious about that. Anyway, I think people should talk about the evolution of Hexside. Not just the Luz's friends, but the entire thing.

In Season 1, Hexside was just all the other school's on the Boiling Isles. It followed the rules of the Emperor that involved focusing on one specific type of magic and you get stuck with it for life! "Hocus Focus" Principal Bump would say (Let's face it! Those rules were the ones that were hokey). These rules cause some real problems. Not only for Luz but for the other students as well. It wasn't until The First Day was when Bump finally learned the errors of his ways. It was thanks to a mixture of magic that the Luz, Viney, Furbo and Barkus took down a very dangerous Gritter Basilisk. It was also a hint of the sinster plot in the Emperor's Coven.

By Season 2, the School did a massive overhaul in learning magic. With multiple tracks, the students have more freedom. I also felt like the magic tracks also reflect a little of everyone's personality. For example, healing is fitting Emera because of how motherly she gets toward Amity later on. Even Principal Bump and some of the other teachers begin to enjoy this concept more. It defintely shows how much impact Luz had on everyone. In Labrynith Runners, this is were the growth really shows. Mostly with Principal Bump. In the beginning, the guy seemed to be a heavy rule stickler and want funds all the time (though it's a little understandable due to the amount of chaos that happens in the school). Though...Compared to Prinicipal Faust, he's caring. And Labrynith Runners shows that. Bump actually takes on the Coven Scouts! The very people that embody the rules he's stuck to his WHOLE life. It shows that he cares more about his students more than just rules alone. I'm pretty sure he's just DONE with the covens after all is said and done.

#the owl house #hexside #principal bump

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kikotapasando · 4 months

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‘Bootmeesterlicentie 3’ ta nesesario pa nabegá seif for di yanüari 2025

‘Bootmeesterlicentie 3’ ta nesesario pa nabegá seif for di yanüari 2025 02 feb 2024 E medida nobo akí ta parti di e Areglo Siguridat di Boto. Kralendijk Bonaire For di 1 di yanüari 2025 ta obligatorio pa tur doño i operadó di barku komersial na Boneiru pa ta den poseshon di un ‘bootmeesterlicentie 3’. E medida nobo akí ta parti di e Areglo Siguridat di Boto, yamá tambe Anekso 6 di boto. Esaki tin…

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bronzepatriarchy · 10 months

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LNCGTV CHAPTER 3

Fandom: The Owl House

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Category: Gen

Summary:

There were a list of ways to describe Luz Noceda. Smart, funny, creative even. But if Luz could describe herself in one word, she'd immediately choose unlucky. After all, in a world full of people with powers called Enhancements, Luz naturally had to be one of the only people without such power. But she wouldn't let that stop her. Enhancement or not, Luz Noceda was going to become a vigilante. There was just one issue with vigilantism... It was illegal. Not just mildly illegal, either. If a vigilante was seen, they were to be arrested on sight. So if fighting crooks, thieves, and killers with possibly deadly powers wasn't bad enough, now Luz had to worry about the cops, heroes, and her mom finding out about her nightly activities as well! And to top it all off, just as she joined the scene, a strange drug had started to hit the streets. One that could spell the end for Enhancements as the world knew it...

_ _ _

In which Luz is a powerless vigilante trying to help people and not die in the process.

~ ~ ~

Luz opened the history classroom door slowly, only to wince as a familiar jingle rang through the room.

In seconds, dozens of eyes were focused solely on her. Luz shot a deep look of betrayal at the bell sitting innocently on the door shocks, alerting everyone in the next two classrooms over whenever someone showed up late to class.

One of Miss Jenkinmeyer's weird little quirks, she put bells on every door in the classroom, so she’d know any time something was tampered with. From the main door, to closets, a few drawers, and especially the emergency exit in the very back of the room that had at least three bells on it, they were everywhere.

Usually, Luz loved them! But today... Yeah no.

Said teacher was at the front of the classroom, drawing something on the board. She glanced back at Luz for only a moment, rose eyes flashing over the girl with a slight look of disappointment, but it seemed the luck gods were on Luz's side for once as the teacher sighed and shifted her attention back to the whiteboard dismissively to continue her lesson. “After the world war, there was peace for a good twenty years. Those that fought and survived began settling down…”

Luz released a slow sigh of relief as the students followed suit, until only one pair of eyes remained trained solely on her: Golden yellow eyes narrowed into a judgmental glare, belonging to the green-haired headache known as none other than Amity Blight. True to Gus’ warning from earlier, she definitely seemed more pissed than usual. If not by the way her eye seemed to be twitching, definitely the scowl sitting clear on her face. That aforementioned scowl deepened when the two sets of eyes met before Luz ducked her head and scurried to her table instead.

Barkus, her tablemate, gave a single bark in greeting but Luz only managed a halfhearted wave back as she dropped into her chair, and immediately dropped her head onto the table. She was very much not in the mood to deal with more than a wave, sorry Barkus. It's been a very long day, and Luz was tired.

“... but that would soon change with a little country known as Helion.”

Nevermind, Luz was now wide awake, sitting up in her chair and staring at the board with the focus of an ace chess player or someone smart like that. She wasn’t a fan of history, even if Miss Jenkinmeyer was one of the better teachers at Hexside, but she'd never willingly miss a lesson on Helion.

Miss Jenkinmeyer clasped her hands together and turned back to the class, stepping out of the way to reveal a drawing of a cityscape with large, curved buildings and arched bridges. A few humanoid figures littered the ground, some even being in the air with wings drawn on in thin dry erase marker. “That’s where we left off last friday, so today we will be talking about Helion’s rise and fall, and how the world changed surrounding those events. To start, who can tell me what the Helion Gene is?”

In seconds, the air was filled with hands, Luz shooting her own up as well. She was pretty sure she'd not get picked, since everyone who'd been in public school since fourth grade knew the answer, but hey it was a fun question to answer. Plus, MIss Jenkinmeyer was currently reaching into the pocket of her apron, where she carried candy for those that actually answered, and Luz wouldn't say she was so easily swayed by sweets, but candy was candy.

“Miss Blight?”

Some of the students groaned in disappointment, Luz being among them, as 'Miss Blight' stood up from her seat. She looked less ticked off than earlier, at least, but that only meant she had an air of 'I'm better than you' going on instead.

Amity Blight was an… interesting member of Hexside High for sure. Being Latissan, she didn’t even belong in this school, technically, but after her two older siblings managed to get kicked out everywhere else, she was forced to follow them here as well. If that wasn’t bad enough, her parents ran a company called Blight Industries which developed tech specifically for home defense and to help support heroes. So, they were major hero supporters while the rest of Hexside just… wasn’t. While Luz had to admit some of their tech was cool- like the Anti-lighter they made for Nightingale which took the light out of any small room, or the transforming speakers Melody used to better calm large crowds during a disaster- Luz still didn’t like the Blights on principle.

To make it worse, the girl was a huge know-it-all and one of Willow’s biggest bullies before Willow started standing up for herself, so Luz really didn’t like her.

Most of the school still liked her, especially since she was in with Boscha who basically carried Hexside through all their sports endeavors, and usually the others forgot where she was from exactly, but sometimes she'd say something that reminded everyone of who she was, and it would put her into hot water for a few days. Willow was always Ecstatic during those days.

"The Helion gene is the source of everyone's enhancements. It can vary from person to person, but generally speaking the more ancestors an individual has from Helion the more powerful they will be."

“The last part is only in theory.” Luz corrects under her breath, but sighs as she watches Amity sit down with a satisfied smile.

Miss Jenkinmeyer shot a sly look at Luz, apparently having heard that even if Amity seemingly didn't, but only nodded and didn't acknowledge the comment otherwise. Instead, she fished a single jolly rancher from out of her pocket and tossed it at Amity. The girl didn't even look at the candy, just swiping it out of the air and setting it on the table.. “Thank you, Miss Blight. Now who knows the story behind the Helion gene?”

Now, Miss Jenkinmeyer was staring fully at Luz, even as the room filled with raised hands once again. Less this time, Luz noticed. Barkus raised a paw, Selene in the back corner of the class had hers up, and Amity of course... But Miss Jenkinmeyer didn't call anyone until Luz had fully raised hers, and only then did she speak up.

“Miss Noceda.”

Unlike Amity, Luz didn’t stand and in fact she barely sat up straighter to answer. Honestly, she wasn't as confident in this answer as the one before, but Miss Jenkinmeyer clearly wanted her to be the one to say it. “No one’s really sure how it happened exactly, but the theory is that there was a bunch of plants or rocks on Helion’s island that gave off some sort of chemical. It got into the water, and after a while it encouraged the evolution of enhancements."

Miss Jenkinmeyer nodded with a big smile, tossing another piece of candy in Luz's direction this time. Naturally, Luz snatched it out of the air and set on enjoying her prize while Miss Jenkinmeyer pulled down the projector screen, and turned the projector on as she began speaking. "Thank you, Miss Noceda. So as previously stated, before the Helion gene, there was a country of the same name-”

Luz settled in to listen as the teacher began, resting her head on her arms and looking up on the screen as black and white images flashed to life on the whiteboard depicting the various cities of Helion with its futuristic-looking buildings and roadways. They were so close together, it may have actually resembled a single, massive city had Helion been allowed to continue to today since the island was only a little bigger than Texas. Though there weren’t a ton of recordings, accounts, or images around the country, there were hundreds of journal entries found among the wreckage detailing the lives of normal people from the city, casually talking about people who could reshape the ground with a simple wave of their hand or changing the weather in a single passing thought.

Unlike in Titania and most of the world where enhancements were banned in most public places unless given special permissions, Helion was open for everyone to use their powers, and it all just... worked. There were no reports of crimes or need for law enforcement, there were a few scuffles and disagreements but nothing life-altering. Everyone just lived in harmony. Again, Luz caught herself thinking of Bonesborough and most of Titania as the story continued. If only things were so simple nowadays...

“Of course, seeing the gifts the people of Helion possessed, the other countries in the world shared interests and concerns over these abilities.” Miss Jenkinmeyer continued, snapping Luz out of her thoughts. “They were unsure of the limitations of these powers, if there were any at all, and suggested to the Helion people to be tested. However innocent or guilty this suggestion may have seemed, it turned out to be the beginning of the end for the Helion people.”

The slide changed again, this time depicting a single street of Helion’s capital, Phaethon. Despite the towering buildings, the camera was focused on the crowd gathered on the ground on either side of the road. The road itself was torn to shreds, and a large wall lifted from the very center of the road, blocking both ends of the street from seeing one another. There were a few signs being held up, though the text was so blurry Luz couldn’t read it. People from both sides were yelling or staring angrily at the wall, while some were trying to hold their friends back as if that would stop them from attacking through the wall somehow.

“The people of Helion had concerns upon hearing this offer, some believed this was just an attempt to steal this gift of theirs, or so the other world powers could use this to their advantage somehow, but the other half of Helion had trust that this would be harmless to them and agreed wholeheartedly. The disagreements only rose in urgency as time went on, becoming so bad that the world powers had to withdraw the offer altogether out of fear of causing a civil war. But it was too late, then. civil war had already begun.”

The image switched again. The camera quality had gotten a bit better but was still in black and white, showing the same street as before, but now all that remained was a mess of destruction. The wall had long fallen, as did most of the buildings, those that survived had cracks or entire chunks missing. Smoke rose in the distance; Luz could see the blurry image of some sort of truck on a bridge in the background, flipped on its side with smoke rising out of it.

From there, Miss Jenkinmeyer began detailing every major event during the civil war, from the small scuffles at the start with barely any enhancements used to the largest battle in Helion, spanning all of Phaethon. Almost every person involved had used their enhancement in some way during that fight, leaving nothing but rubble, ash, and destruction on their once perfect city. Luz felt her chest tighten at the thought, once again thinking of Bonesborough and Titania as a whole.

“After three years of all-out war between the two sides, the other countries realized that if they did not step in, Helion would destroy itself from the inside out. They had done most of the work already, in fact, and all that could truly be done was allow anyone not directly involved in the war take refuge in surrounding countries. Within the next year, the country of Helion was nothing more than an island of broken cities, and dead revolutionaries. A graveyard for a once-great country, crushed into sand by their own disagreements.”

The class was eerily silent as the teacher finished. Luz shot a worried look at Barkus, who simply hid his face beneath a paw, ears lowered in discomfort. Even after hearing the story plenty of times before, Luz still felt the familiar buzz of anxiety and disappointment that stemmed from it.

Helion had been perfect, but one major disagreement was all it took to destroy everything. Titania seemed like it was in a constant state of disagreement, how easy would it be for Titania to fall apart like that?

“But, in relation to the Helion gene itself: Those refugees I mentioned were all of our ancestors in some way or another."

A loud clap startled Luz out of her spiral, Miss Jenkinmeyer finally decided to save the entire class from ending on a downer.

"Those people eventually had kids with citizens from the surrounding countries, who in turn spread the gene even further. Now, almost a hundred years later, most people have enhancements. There’s still a few but it’s only a matter of time before the entire world population is enhanced in some way.”

Despite the vague wording, Luz still felt multiple eyes flick to her as soon as Miss Jenkinmeyer mentioned non-enhanced people. Even with enhancements being banned in public, it was still somewhat of a class divide between those with powerful enhancements, and those with weaker ones. So to be someone without an enhancement…

Luz suppressed a sigh, pulling her hood over her head to hide from the staring. They didn't mean it maliciously, and most caught themselves and looked away, but Luz still felt the eyes on her nonetheless.

Footsteps approached her slowly, Luz scooted over some for Miss Jenkinmeyer to sit on the edge of the table but didn't look up from where she'd hidden her face.

“Now then, we have twenty minutes left of class, so who wants to get started on the next topic: The rise of heroes.”

Oh no.

Nevermind, forget Luz's lack of enhancement, this was going to be much, much worse.

As soon as the ‘H’ word left her mouth, the entire classroom was filled with collective groans and sighs of annoyance. One person yelled ‘FUCK’ at the top of their lungs, making Selene jump back in alarm at the sudden noise, then glare in indignation at the source of said shouting.

Miss Jenkinmeyer let out a slow sigh before muttering a quiet “And that’s why I left twenty minutes of class.” that Luz swore only she heard.

“Alright, get it out of your system, come on." The teacher prompted, and the class immediately filled with muttering and complaining all equaling out to ‘why can’t we just skip this?’

For her part, Miss Jenkinmeyer wasn’t phased in the slightest, simply looking around casually as if she expected this to happen. She probably did, actually.

It took a few minutes, but once the muttering had finally quieted, she finally spoke up once again. "While I understand your ill preference of certain Titanian heroes, heroes in general are very important not only to the history of our society, but to the current world around us as well and we need to cover it for your exams at the end of the year."

A pale arm shot into the air suddenly, and the class' attention snapped to the owner of that hand: Amity. Miss Jenkinmeyer didn't have to do more than nod before Amity spoke up in confidence. "If we're covering the rise of heroes, that means we're covering the rise of vigilantes as well?"

The energy of the classroom changed then, from annoyance to something a little more pleasant, even excited at the mention of Vigilantes. Yep, that was the way into most Bonesburians heart: Vigilantes.

Another student at the edges of the classroom spoke up next. “Why don’t we just focus on the vigilantes, then? Get the history out of the way, then talk about the real heroes.”

“Because vigilantes aren’t heroes.” Amity shot back just as casually, and yet just like that the entire classroom went silent. All eyes were on Amity. Luz suppressed a sigh, hiding her face once again when the entire classroom once again erupted into objections and arguments.

“They are to us!” One student yelled over the mutterings, but though Luz jolted at the sudden yell, once glance up to Amity showed she wasn't faltering from the attention. Instead, she'd leaned forward over the table slightly, her eyes now set into a stubborn glare.

"No, heroes and vigilantes are not the same thing-”

“Right, because heroes sit on their asses all day doing nothing!”

“Will you let me finish?! They do not! When they’re on shift they don’t even have a chance to sit down!” Despite Amity's insistence, the classroom only became more riled up as more students piped up, yelling over the last until the entire classroom seemed to echo with the noise.

“They abandoned Bonesborough!” One yelled

"They left us defenseless!"

Miss Jenkinmeyer let out a sigh, but even she didn't seem to want to interfere. Luz couldn't blame her. It wasn't like the other students were wrong after all. The heroes stripped Bonesborough of all its protectors then left them with nothing but stupid, useless cops. Of course they weren't wrong.

Suddenly, Amity shot up from her table, slamming her hands against the wood, composure entirely broken. “They had no choice! Do you have any idea how many heroes there really are? Or what their workload is. The risk of injury and the precautions they have to take to not end up dead at the end of the day? They don’t have enough people to watch Bonesborough.”

Wait.

Hold on.

The risk of injury?

That was it. Luz couldn't take it any more. The mention of injury had her own side give her a warning throb, a reminder of how hurt she'd gotten last night. And yet the heroes could get away with it because they could get hurt?! Stars forbid one of them breaks an arm defending Bonesborough instead of avoiding it.

And with all that, doing probably one of the stupidest things Luz had done all year, Luz threw her chair back and stood, mirroring Amity's posture and meeting her eyes with every bit of frustration and challenge Luz had in her.

"The heroes have cops, news stations, entire government agencies to help them if they need it, but they still won't set foot in Bonesborough! But! If you look there's vigilantes– Bonesburians who struggle just like the rest of us, standing up and doing the job heroes won't!"

The entire room had gone silent as Luz spoke, not that Luz had noticed at all. Her attention was on Amity and Amity alone. She saw the way the Blight's eyes flashed from a look of surprise, to consideration, then back to something like seething, defensive anger. But Luz continued.

"Vigilantes get hurt all the time! Heroes get access to– what?– hospitals? Healthcare ? If a vigilante shows up to a hospital they're arrested on sight. But no! The heroes aren’t to blame here, right?"

Luz swore Amity's face was slowly turning redder with each word Luz spoke, but it was like a dam had broken and Luz's words came spilling out with no stop.

"You act like the heroes have no choice but to leave Bonesborough in the dust, that they're blameless and deserving of defense. But they had a choice three years ago that could've fixed it! There were more vigilantes then, if even a few of them became heroes or got recognized somehow we would've been fine with them! But they didn't! Instead, the heroes wiped every vigilante off the map, and left Bonesborough to pay the price on its own."

Luz sucked in a sharp breath as she finally finished, taken aback by her own words even if she meant every last one of them. There's was just… a lot of emotion put into that rant. And a lot of breath.

Amity's face was now bright red, her eyes practically glowed with her rage. Luz shot back her own challenge, but she'd said her peace.

It was just the two of them. The world around them seemed to fade into darkness, Luz swore she heard someone say something next to her, but she couldn't tell what.

All Luz could focus on was Amity's voice as the girl shot back with just as much venom and anger in her voice: "They had no choice! If they endorsed the vigilantes, or even left them alone, it would’ve been anarchy! More vigilantes with less moral codes would run the streets doing whatever they wanted."

"Anarchy?" Luz questioned right back. "I'm sorry, wasn't it already anarchy when there were suddenly no vigilantes defending Bonesborough at all? The southern library is still a pile of ash from the weeks after the crackdown. You say I don't know what I'm talking about, but you're over here defending heroes to a classroom of people that have been abandoned by them!"

Amity's face was even redder now, her cheeks puffed out in a way that threatened to explode any minute. Murder filled her eyes, her hands gripped into fists from their place on the table. If not for half the classroom between them, Luz was sure a fight would've broken out. But with two tables and ten feet, Luz raced to finish her rant without remorse.

"What will it take for you to admit the heroes are just a bunch of stuck up assholes who happen to have semi-descent powers?!”

“At least they HAVE powers!”

Silence.

Luz’s chest turned to ice as those words rang through her ears, and even Amity seemed shocked by what she just said, clapping a hand over her mouth with a surprised squeak.

No one moved, not a peep was heard, not even a gasp from the rest of the class. Luz saw a faint glow of pink in her peripheral, but her focus was on Amity and Amity alone as a familiar ache of hurt and indignation beat through her chest. Despite the way Luz was frozen, her cheeks burned hot from the reminder. It didn’t usually get to her, but now? That was uncalled for, and they both knew it.

“I- I didn’t-” Amity started, but she was silenced when a large figure stepped between the two girls.

Luz blinked, refocusing on the figure hiding the Blight from view, only to meet the disappointed eyes of Miss Jenkinmeyer.

Luz finally had the chance to look around and fully study her surroundings, only to find the rest of her classmates were glowing a bright pink color, staring at Luz or Amity with wide eyes but no one moved or made a sound. Luz couldn’t even see them breathing. The clock above the whiteboard didn’t move either.

She’d heard rumors of Miss Jenkinmeyer’s enhancement being time manipulation in some way, but never had she experienced it firsthand. Or... Maybe she did and she was just stopped in time like the other students were now.

Miss Jenkinmeyer spoke up with a slow, tired sigh. “When I tell you ‘That’s enough’ that means you stop arguing. Classroom debates are fine, but not when you start making it personal.”

Luz at least had the humility to look away in embarrassment, but with Amity being effectively blocked from her eyesight, Luz had no idea if Miss Jenkinmeyer's words had the same effect on the Blight or not.

“I want to see you both after class, understood?”

Luz nodded slowly, and as soon as Miss Jenkinmeyer seemed satisfied, the pink glow surrounding the room suddenly disappeared, and the class burst to life into a chorus of yells of agreement, and ‘Fuck the heroes!’ from the students. The sudden noise after being in what may as well have been complete silence just a second ago made Luz flinch and pull her hood even tighter over her ears.

Miss Jenkinmeyer stepped back now, revealing Amity across from Luz once again, but the tension was no longer there. The redness of her cheeks had faded, she still looked absolutely mortified like she had after she last spoke, with a growing hint of guilt in her eyes, but before Luz could see anything else the Blight sank into her seat and hid her face behind her hands.

Luz sighed quietly, before sitting back down as well, and resting her head on the desk miserably.

As if sensing this sudden change of energy, the rest of the class quieted down, sharing confused comments between themselves as they tried to figure out what happened to the energy from earlier with no success. How no one questioned the teacher rumored to have time powers was a mystery, especially when said enhancement gave off a pale pink glow when it was used, but now that Luz paid attention it seemed the classroom was always covered in a less obvious pale pink overlay. There weren't any colored lamps in the room either, so it had to be Miss Jenkinmeyer.

RIIIIIIIIIING

Luz jolted when the bell suddenly rang, looking up to the loudspeaker in alarm. In moments, the entire class was enveloped in movement as students gathered their stuff and took their leave, filing out of the classroom whilst muttering amongst themselves, leaving only Luz looking around in confusion. No way twenty minutes went by that fast. But the clock said 11:45 on the dot, and the bell definitely rang.

She spared a glance at Miss Jenkinmeyer, only to receive a sly look and a wink back, confirming her suspicions.

Okay then.

Neither Luz nor Amity moved from their seats even after the rest of the class had been cleared. Amity hadn't looked up from where she was hiding behind her hands, but it seemed she was still listening when Miss Jenkinmeyer suddenly spoke up. “I’m sure you both understand how unprofessional that spat of yours was without me saying anything, right?” She prompted.

Luz nodded slowly. She heard a faint, muffled 'yes ma'am' from Amity as well.

“I let a lot slip in my class, but I won’t tolerate that. Especially certain comments either of you said.”

Luz shot a look at Amity, one that was missed by the Blight, but she still saw the girl shrink into herself even further. All three of them knew which comment was the kicker after all.

“So, to make up for that you both have detention–"

Detention??

Luz couldn’t do detention! That meant less vigilante time not to mention how her mom would react–!

Amity beat Luz to her protests, suddenly free from hiding beneath her hands to instead sit up straighter, raising her hand and waving it quickly but wasting no time speaking up. “Miss Jenkimeyer, I can’t do detention. I have too many after school activities that I can’t miss, my mother would be furious to learn you kept me from them–"

As Amity's little rant continued, the teacher looked between Luz and Amity tiredly, before adding “I was going to say Lunch detention. With me.”

Oh.

". . . Nevermind then." Amity mumbled, slumping back over her desk once again while looking just as tired as Miss Jenkinmeyer now seemed.

For her part, Luz let out a sigh of relief and relaxed her grip on the edge of the table. She hadn't even noticed she'd grabbed onto it that was how worried she'd been. Well, it was still detention but at least it wasn't after school. Willow and Gus would be a little disappointed, but Luz won't die via a very angry mama at least.

Satisfied, Miss Jenkinmeyer continued with another slow sigh. "I'll go over the expectations of lunch detention, but your first one is today."

First.

Luz and Amity both shared a horrified look.

That had to be no fair, all they did was argue a little! But before either could protest, Miss Jenkinmeyer held up a hand, and continued.

"Your second- and hopefully last- detention will be Thursday, but that depends entirely on how you two get along during detention. You have fifteen minutes to go get your lunches, then come back here. Go."

The moment they were excused, Luz darted out the door as fast as her little legs could take her, nearly crashing into the doorframe as she did. Fifteen minutes to get her lunch, tell Willow and Gus what happened, and be back.

Oh boy.

Except, the moment Luz cleared the 300 hallway, something SLAMMED into her. Or, namely, someone. Before Luz could retaliate or even do more than gasp, her back hit the wall just hard enough to knock the breath from her lungs. Pale hands grabbed the collar of Luz's shirt, pressing Luz even harder against the smooth brick, and rubbing the still-irritated burn on Luz's neck.

Amity was immediately in her face, lips pulled back into what Luz could only describe as a snarl with a look of murder in her eyes. She wasted no time sharing her grievences, all the while pulling at Luz's hoodie and further irritating the poor burn hiding beneath. "Why did you have to open your mouth? You made both of us look like idiots !" Amity pushed Luz even harder against the wall, Luz had to grit her teeth and bite back a pained noise when the burn flared red hot in protest. Instead, Luz grabbed onto Amity's arm to steady herself, then hooked her legs behind the Blight's just enough to make the girl lose balance. Luz wasted no time pulling Amity and turning, flipping the two positions.

In one swift movement, Amity was now the one being pinned, staring at Luz with wide, shocked eyes with growing signs of anger and indignation with every passing beat. Their noses were practically touching, Luz could smell the mint on Amity's breath, could see small flakes of green inside her irises. If this were any other situation, Luz would be a blushing mess right now. But Amity attacked her, there wasn't anything friendly or anything else about this. As if to prove that point, Luz felt the Blight push against Luz to try to get her off, but Luz only pressed harder on the girl's shoulder to keep Amity in place.

"You made a fool out of yourself." Luz corrected once Amity's attempt had faltered. "I don't know who you think you are, but next time don't talk shit on Bonesborough's vigilantes in a room full of bonesburians." She hardened her voice as she added "And definitely don't call me out for something I can't control ever again."

As she pressed, she suddenly saw Amity wince. The movement was just enough to shock Luz out of the focus she'd had before, and Luz froze when she saw that her grip on Amity's shoulder had been enough to pull the shirt down just a little, revealing a flurry of small cuts and scratches. They didn't look fresh or planned, it honestly looked like Amity rolled in glass two weeks ago, but Luz knew how much things like that still hurt after a week. Luz immediately let go, holding her hands up in a placating gesture.

"Oh, sorry I didn't mean-"

Except, Amity didn't move from where she stood, or even acknowledge Luz letting her go at all.

Instead, she was only staring at Luz in similar confusion and alarm that Luz had had a moment ago. Where was she staring, one might ask? Right where the burn was.

Luz looked down, seeing that her own shirt had moved just enough in the scuffle to reveal the bright red, spotted wound. For a very long few seconds, both only stood in mutual silence as they tried to figure out what the fuck the other had gotten into. Neither said anything, both effectively frozen.

Before Luz slammed a hand over the burn- suppressing a pained hiss from the harsh sting at such an action- while Amity pulled her shirt back over her shoulder with a quick "Oh-" The Blight finally stepped away from the wall, straightening her posture and staring Luz dead in the eyes with a stubborn glare, but pink cheeks.

"You make too many assumptions." She huffed.

With that brilliant line of wisdom from the one and only Amith Blight, the girl shoved Luz away from her, and turned on her heel. Storming off towards the cafeteria. Luz stood frozen a moment longer, watching the Blight turn the corner into the main hall, while trying to figure out what the fuck just happened.

Yes, she knew what happened technically, but why was Amity hurt like that? Luz had gotten a tiny look at it, but it seemed like it continued past the shirt. How did Amity even get hurt like that, she lived in Latissa so it wasn't like a random person just jumped her. It did seriously look like glass was the cause, though...

Then there's Luz's burn that Amity clearly saw... this would be an awkward lunch detention, wouldn't it?

~ ~ ~

By the time Luz sorted her thoughts enough to actually make her way to the lunchroom, about half her time was gone already. She'd had to run to the cafeteria just to make it with eight minutes to spare, even if her side greatly disagreed with her plan.

Now, when on a time crunch one would typically forgo the detours, right? That was the logical solution to not being late to one's first detention of two, right??? Yes, but when did Luz ever listen to logic?

Instead, she beelined straight for the table in the very far corner of the crowded lunchroom, beneath a giant web with an even larger spider hanging out on it, with only two occupants at said table.

Willow and Gus had already gotten their food, but neither seemed to have really touched it yet. Gus was too focused on the phone he was zeroed in on, and Willow was looking around the lunchroom for something. Or someone.

Definitely someone. As soon as green eyes locked onto Luz, Willow's entire demeanor turned from slightly anxious to bright and confident when she waved Luz over. A beckoning Luz couldn't ignore.

"Luz!" Willow piped up as soon as Luz was in range, scooting just enough for Luz to sit but of course there was no real time to sit and chat today. "We were worried you wouldn't make it."

Those words made Luz laugh nervously before offering a sheepish grin. "Uh, yeah about that actually. I got lunch detention!" She spread her arms into a 'jazz hands' just to lighten the news, but Willow already looked disappointed.

"I told you to watch out for Amity." Gus commented in Willow's silence, looking up from his phone just enough to give Luz a little grin, one that Luz returned with a tired smile back.

As soon as the name was dropped, Willow scoffed and threw herself backward in her chair with the finest glare Luz had ever seen from the girl. "Of course it was Amity." Willow muttered.

"Okay, in my defense she was talking shit on vigilantes-"

"She was?" Gus questioned with a disbelieving look, while Willow only muttered another, bitter 'Not surprised'.

"Yes, she was." Luz continued, trying to avoid the detour of conversation. Limited time, people. Please stay focused. "So naturally I defend vigilantes, and she starts going after me!"

Willow straightened in her chair, leaning forward again to ask very seriously "Did you fight her?"

Technically, yes? Luz wouldn't mention what happened in the hall, though. "No, Miss Jenkinmeyer stopped us after Amity brought my unenhancement into this."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Both Willow and Gus tensed. Willow shot up from her chair with a determination and rage that even Luz had to take a step back from. Gus set down his phone and looked at Luz seriously for the first time all day. "Okay, I'll fight her for you." Willow declared with a sure nod.

Luz and Gus shared a similar look of 'Oh shit.'

Luz had never seen Willow get in a fight before, but from what she'd heard from Gus and Willow alike about her training, it wouldn't be a pretty fight. And Luz would rather not have her friend commit accidental manslaughter.

"Nope! Nonono that's not necessary!" She insisted quickly, pushing Willow down by the shoulders to convince her to sit again and calm down. "Miss Jenkinmeyer handled it, and now Amity and I both have detention today and Thursday! Plus, I may have said some personal things about her, so it balances out!" She didn't know if she did actually, the memory of the argument had already gone fuzzy, all Luz really remembered was the very end, right before Miss Jenkimeyer stepped in.

Willow said nothing at first. Waiting so long that Luz was about to drop a second half of her big speech, before Willow finally sighed and untensed, sitting back down and crossing her arms. "I still don't like that she used that against you. But fine, if you don't want me to do anything about it then I won't." Luz breathed a sigh of relief, giving the start of a nervous laugh, but Willow wasn't done just yet. "So long as you tell me if she goes too far. She's not allowed to hurt my friends."

Oh.

Okay, that's manageable actually.

Luz offered a nervous smile and a nod. "Okay, deal."

Definitely a good idea to omit the while 'pinned to a wall' thing, then.

"Okay, anyway gottagonowbye!" With that and a wave, Luz stepped away before either teen could protest, scurrying across the cafeteria to get her food and mentally prepare for the most boring 30 minutes of her life.

Nevermind, make that twenty-five minutes... She was already late if that clock over there was correct.

Luz groaned when she finally made it into the classroom with her tray, setting her sights on the digital clock at the front of the room glaring at her with the time 12:05 showing in bright, red digits. Miss Jenkinmeyer didn't look all too impressed either, shooting Luz a flat look as she shouldered open the door. Amity was already there, sitting at the table in the dead center of the room facing the door, but she didn't look up as Luz entered. Only staring down at her food and picking at it with a fork.

"Miss Noceda, please make sure you're on time next time." Miss Jenkinmeyer sighed. Luz heard a huff of amusement from the Blight in the center of the room, only for it to be silenced as the teacher continued. "If you're tardy on Thursday, I'll be forced to give you both an extra detention to make up for lost time."

"WHAT?!" Amity demanded suddenly, finally looking up from her food to give a betrayed look at Miss Jenkinmeyer, who seemed even more smug with the response. "Ma'am, why should I be punished for someone else's mistake?! I was on time- no, I was early !"

Miss Jenkinmeyer only chuckled and turned back to her desk. "Because you both got yourselves into this mess together, and now you both have to work on getting yourselves out. Miss Noceda, please sit across the table from Miss Blight."

Said Blight shot Luz a sharp glare, but Luz only offered a similar look back before plopping herself right where Miss Jenkinmeyer. Neither mentioned what happened in the hallway, and Luz's fear of awkwardness following such an event seemed to be void if this glaring contest was anything to go by.

Their afortmentioned contest was unfortunately broken by a stack of papers slamming onto the table between their two trays, courtesy of Miss Jenkinmeyer dropping them in just the right spot. Both girls jumped, shooting their attention to the teacher, who only hummed in satisfaction.

"As I said, you both have to work together to get yourselves out of this. And if you don't work together, you will only dig yourselves deeper." With that, Miss Jenkinmeyer gestured to the stack of papers invitingly. Amity wasted no time snatching it up, and Luz quickly realized just how many papers there were. All of it was full sized copy paper, about as thick as two of Luz's fingers with no staples or paperclips in sight. Luz honestly felt sick just staring at the damn thing. Amity seemed to be in the same boat as she flipped through the pages privately, turning paler with each one.

"That right there is your final assignment for the semester." Amity opened her mouth to protest but was silenced by Miss Jenkinmeyer holding up a hand. "I am well aware it's February, and therefore your finals are far from due, but I assure you you're going to want the extra time to work on it. I've added quite a few extras to keep you two busy until then. And I do mean you two. You'll be working as a team to complete this final, and if I find out one of you did the work while the other didn't, I'll fail you both."

Luz heard Amity give a terrified squeak from across the table, but for once the Blight didn't speak up or argue.

"So, here's how things will go. Your specific assignment will be over vigilantes and heroes since that seems to be something you two are so passionate about. Specifically, I want to see you two simulate four different situations where Titania is run Solely by Heroes, by Vigilantes, one where they work in harmony or as close as one can get to that, and one where neither Heroes nor Vigilantes roam the streets. I want your views to be based on fact, not opinion, with real world examples backing your decisions, and at the end of it all I want you to choose which situation will benefit Titania more in the long run. The packet I've provided has a few examples that you can use to help you with your findings, but you can just as easily find other examples outside of that."

Oookay that was... a lot of words.

"Oh, and one more thing." Miss Jenkinmeyer added as an afterthought, reaching for a paper Amity had been looking at then setting it on the desk between the two of them. It had a clock symbol on the top of the page, with what looked like essay questions beneath it. "The discussion pages are due Thursday. If you don't get them done by then, you'll have detentions until it's finished."

Luz groaned, thunking her head against the desk in complaint, while Amity only sighed and mumbled a defeated "Yes ma'am." while pulling the packet back towards herself and flipping through once again. Miss Jenkinmeyer gave a satisfied nod and retreated back to her desk to finish her own lunch.

For a few minutes there was silence, Luz focused on eating while Amity ignored her own food to read through every page of the packet, looking more and more pained every time she turned a page but saying nothing. Apparently, Luz had been right to fear the awkwardness following the hallway incident after all, because it was definitely present now. She couldn't help but stare at Amity's shoulders looking for hints of the glass, but the Blight had adjusted her shirt to hide the afflicted spot well. Amity would look up once or twice, and despite Luz trying to look away, she was sure she'd been caught each time.

But it was even, because then she'd catch Amity looking up from the paper stack to stare at Luz's neck where the burn was now hidden behind her hoodie before Amity would flick her attention back to the paper.

It was definitely awkward.

"Sooooo, where do we start?" Luz asked hesitantly after whopping five minutes had passed, earning a glare from the Blight, before Amity sighed and set the packet down.

"The discussion questions, obviously."

Wow, thanks captain obvious... Luz wanted to say just that, but settled for giving Amity a flat look, instead. The Blight huffed before snatching the discussion paper from the middle of the desk and skimming over it once again.

"There's only six, luckily. But each of them asks for different things to be done. The first one is to create a Venn diagram and explain the difference between heroes and vigilantes on a blank sheet of paper."

Luz drummed her hands on the table, before reaching over to the packet- ignoring the warning glare from Amity as she did- and going through until she found a blank sheet.

Among a whole other stack of blank sheets. Half the packet was blank.

"You're kidding." She mutters aloud, looking up to Miss Jenkinmeyer's desk, only to see the woman trying- and failing- to stay composed in the face of laughter.

Who knew the nicest teacher could be the cruelest?

Luz chose to ignore that to instead draw two overlapping circles, setting the paper within both teen's reach. "Okay, that'll be easy then. Vigilantes are illegal and heroes aren't."

Just before Luz could write any of that down, Amity snatched the diagram paper, and the rest of the stack, away with an audible 'whoosh'. "Wrong. There's more to it than that. There's morals, ideals, and goals to worry about to. Where does a hero draw the line, where does a vigilante? What would one risk their life for that the other wouldn't. It's not just about legality, it's about what they do that is different."

Luz sighed, already knowing this entire discussion was going to be a headache. "Can't we just skip that one and come back to it later?"

"We can't, the rest of the questions build on top of the first." Amity answered easily. "So we need to establish a difference, the real difference-" She shot Luz a pointed look, but didn't stop, "- before we can continue with things like how their actions affect society. And considering you clearly don't know anything about heroes or vigilantes-"

"I know more about vigilantes than you do, I bet. I live here." Luz warned.

Amity rolled her eyes, muttering a quiet "And here we go with the assumptions..."

"What do you even mean by assumptions?"

The Blight scoffed, Luz's heated tone seeming to work her into her own frustration once again as she snapped. "I mean what I said earlier! You see that I'm from Latissa, and immediately think I don't know about Bonesborough's vigilantes, or that I have something against them when I don't! In class, all I meant to say was that heroes and vigilantes are not the same, then you and the rest of the class took that as me defending the heroes."

Luz went quiet following Amity's rant, just... staring for a moment. "Wait, so you weren't defending the heroes? Because you said a lot of things to defend them."

Amity huffed, suddenly looking incredibly tired. "Well... It was less defending them and more trying to explain why they weren't in Bonesborough in the first place. I admit, it's gotten out of hand recently though where heroes refuse to even step foot in Bonesborough, but I mainly meant to explain why it was abandoned. As for the whole vigilante lockdown..."

Luz's grip tightened on her pen, but she let Amity continue...

"All good things come in moderation and vigilantes are no different. Sure, there were great ones like the Bard, or Strigiform, but then you have ones like Trick-O'-The-Light who actively made things worse. Right before the lockdown, there were three times as many vigilantes to heroes, and those were just the ones that had debuted and were in the public eye. We still don't know how many flew under the radar or were arrested for criminal activity instead of vigilantism either, but over half of the vigilantes arrested did more bad than good even if they meant well."

Luz was barely listening, if she was being honest. She'd followed vigilantes for months, seen what they did and who they fought. How they helped.

...Okay, maybe a few had been assholes. She distinctly remembered seeing Trick-O'-The-Light using his enhancement on the homeless to make them see manifestations of their worst fears for no good reason. Another vigilante called Adegast had employed Luz's help to take out a crook, only to turn around and be that crook himself. Though she hardly counted that. Or remembered that since... Yeah she didn't go out for a few weeks after that one. "Okay, I'll keep that in mind for next time." She concededes quietly.

Amity gave a grateful nod, going quiet for a moment to stare at the paper, before suddenly clearing her throat and speaking up awkwardly. "So... anyway back to the comparison..."

After that, Luz ended up letting Amity take charge of the diagram just to see how much Amity knew. Which was... a lot actually now that Luz actively paid attention. Most Bonesburians didn't even realize vigilantes dance around the district lines of Bonesborough instead of just staying on one side, but that was the first thing Amity wrote down was that vigilantes will cross over if it means helping someone, while heroes had a hard stop at the edge of the district. The second one was of course that heroes have set schedules for specific times and specific areas while vigilantes showed up any time they wanted and only had a vaguely reliable schedule.

It was around the tenth comparison when they started to dwindle in ideas, going quiet longer to think. Luz had one left, even if it was basic and obvious, but offered it with a shrug. "Heroes focus on big stuff while Vigilantes are good with break ins and theft."

Now that made Amity stop. Unlike the rest of the suggestions, when Amity would make a face and correct if Luz said something not right- which had been annoying at first but now Luz was used to it- instead this was a full stop from the Blight. Who just... stared.

"What?" Luz questioned, not liking the slightly offended, disbelieving look in the slightest.

"Vigilantes don't-"

"Well, that was your first detention of two." Both girls jumped when Miss Jenkimeyer suddenly clapped and stood from her desk with an upbeat tone, completely cutting off the conversation just a second ago. "I hope you two made some progress, it would be a shame to keep you for another detention next week." Luz grimaced at the thought, she barely survived this one it felt like, but she nodded along as she gathered her stuff. Amity still looked shaken and mildly offended, but she only huffed and packed her stuff as well, tucking the diagram in her back alongside the packet.

"I'll see you two Thursday!" Miss Jenkinmeyer continued with a wave. Luz stepped one foot outside the door, about to give a 'you too'. "Oh, and no more fights in the hallways."

What.

Luz froze midstep, feeling her tray threaten to slip out of her grasp before she fumbled and caught in alarm. She turned to stare at Miss Jenkinmeyer, finding Amity doing the same, both with alarm in their eyes over having gotten caught, but Miss Jenkinmeyer only smiled back at them pleasantly and waved.

"You two have a nice day!"

The door slammed shut behind them, leaving two shocked girls the hallway with about five minutes to spare before class.

Luz's attention shifted to Amity, before she muttered a sheepish "Whoops-" only for Amity to roll her eyes and shake her head.

"Let's just go." The Blight muttered, leading the way back to the cafeteria.

~ ~ ~

Luz threw the door of her apartment open with a tired sigh, throwing her backpack on the old brown recliner she and Camila had struggled for hours with to get it through the door when they first moved, before trudging forward a few steps and throwing herself over the arm of the matching couch instead.

She faceplanted into the cushions without so much as a complaint, simply groaning in frustration by how the rest of her school day went. English and biology were fine for the most part, just long, but it was between classes that sucked. Willow had questioned Luz relentlessly about what happened during Lunch detention, and despite Luz actually getting to be fully honest for once in her life, Willow kept insisting Amity was , in fact, that bad and that Luz should be careful. Even if they got along for most of that 30 minute time period, that didn't mean Amity was nice and she was not friend material. That conversation finally ended with Luz secretly asking Gus for help, and suddenly the bell rang two minutes early so Luz was able to get away. She loved Willow, but stars was she a lot sometimes.

Luz hummed, nuzzling into the cushions even more to shake off the memory. Already she could feel the familiar pull to close her eyes and take a quick nap for a few hours, but like every day when she got home she chose to ignore it. She had to get ready to leave after all.

Though a part of her still mourned the soft cushions, she still rolled off the couch with a dramatic whine, crashing onto the floor in a pile of limbs. She felt a slight twinge of pain from her side, but that was the first time in hours and she couldn't help a surprised 'huh' when she felt it. She kinda forgot she was injured, actually.

She'll probably have to check on that before she left.

For now, Luz half crawled into the kitchen for some leftovers, then while those were heating up, she finally dipped into the bathroom to study her wounds. She shouldn't have been too surprised when she hiked up her shirt, only to find what had been a nasty, purple bruise earlier was now barely visible at all against her skin. The burn itself was entirely gone as well, as was the cut on her arm. The massive X on her chest from Knife Arms was much smaller now, with maybe two more days left before it was gone entirely. She never understood why that happened, since it felt like a fifty/fifty on whether she would have an injury for weeks or hours. Last week it'd been a cut on her hip that ran all the way down her right leg that had healed seemingly over night, but the next day she ran full force into a brick wall on her left shoulder, and the minor bruise it caused had stuck around for a week. Before now, of course, where it now disappeared entirely.

Could it be late enhancement development? Maybe. Especially since Camila had a healing-based enhancement- even if it only worked on animals- Luz could technically develop one extremely late. But... The latest recorded bloomer was at fourteen, and Luz was definitely way past that age.

... Best not to get her hopes up.

Luz pushed the thought away, instead she rushed to get ready while still waiting for her food to heat up, foregoing her mask and goggles at the moment. She scrunched up her nose as she reached for her favorite hoodie only to pull out the tattered, bloody fabric from last night. Right... Stars, she really didn't want to wear the ugly plum hoodie.

Maybe if she stole Camila's sewing machine from the storage closet and made a quick repair while she ate?

But that wouldn't do anything about the blood. And could she even fix a massive 'X' in the front of her hoodie?

She eyed the pinkish purple hoodie she already wore with disdain, before sighing in defeat and trudging back to the kitchen to pull her pizza rolls out of the microwave.

Looks like she's going out in the ugly hoodie, broken one.

Maybe over the weekend she'll go out and hunt for another good one, but she couldn't do much until then.

So, with a defeated sigh, she rushed to eat before finally pulling her mask and goggles over her face, but when she moved to pin the hood of the plum hoodie over her face, she was met with even more disappointment to find the stupid thing wasn't even large enough to cover her hair. And even if she fought with it, she'd just break the hood off with the tattered threads barely keeping the damn thing attached to the rest of the cloth anyway.

She whined, throwing the stupid hood back and refastening the goggles to make sure they wouldn't slip at all. She'd have to keep to lower light areas tonight, just in case a camera caught her. Hair may not be that big of a deal, but anything the cops had to catch a vigilante, they'd use to their advantage.

Hopefully Officer Stick-Up-The-Ass wasn't patrolling tonight.

She adjusted her mask one more time, before throwing one foot out the window, and looking down into the alley below. Naturally, the alley was filled with dumpsters and trash cans, with littler pieces of junk littering around the concrete that Luz could barely see from three floors up, but what she could see was a light gray square sitting in harmlessly in the middle of the narrow alley, with straps and screws around the side keeping it essentially bolted into the concrete. Luz had spent weeks looking for a decent mattress to put down there, and another week trying to keep it from being stolen or used.

Luz let out a relieved sigh to see it still there, before taking a breath and diving out the window.

Time slowed as she was caught in freefall, the wind rushed up around her face, making her hair and hood whip and flap around. Even with the goggles, she still felt the need to squint or close her eyes, especially seeing the mattress rushing towards her from below. Her heart beat in her ears, a hysterical giggle escaped her throat as she got closer and closer-

At the last possible breath, she tucked her head against her chest, pushing her hands forward to absorb the shock.

BAM

She gasped as she hit the center of the mat, rolling on instinct to reduce the impact, before pushing herself back up to standing on hard concrete with an excited laugh. She'll never get over that, even if she was falling for maybe a second the rush was too good. She stared back up at the window she'd just jumped out of, before giving a mock salute with a luaugh and turning on her heel to leave, pulling her bat out of a little hiding space inside the concrete base of the building as she did.

Now for the real fun to begin.

Though it was only five in the afternoon, another three hours from sunset, the buildings still cast heavy shadows over the streets, and by this time busier streets like Baker's way were dwindling down in population, closing up for the night and sending everyone home before it got dark. As such, Luz still had one or two more hours to find a solid place to patrol, before the sun set and the night began.

She swept through the streets quickly, sticking to low rooftops when she could but otherwise slipping through alleys to avoid suspicion- that was the thing about Bonesborough, most alleys connected to one another as did most buildings, so as long as you knew your way around, you wouldn't be seen.

She stopped to peer over the edge of the roofs a few times to see people walking in the opposite direction Luz had come from, towards the major apartments like the one Luz lived in. A few were going the same way as Luz, however. North. These people were dressed in slightly nicer clothes, maybe more revealing but something that would definitely get attention: No doubt heading towards the border between Bonesborough and the Hearth where a strip of clubs, bars, and lounges were set out on a strip called the 'Night Market'.

Luz had never actually been, not only because it was an adult only area but because vigilantes weren't really needed nor wanted there. A few years ago, a vigilante known as Citrix had even been shot there for trying to sneak in and interfere with some shady business. And as much as Luz was used to getting shot at and attacked by all sorts of weapons and enhancements, she didn't want to actively search out a place guaranteed to get her shot. Thanks.

No, she was going northeast, by the border between Gravesfield and Bonesborough. She usually frequented Northwest by Veinsbury since it was a little nicer and more likely to get stolen from, but with slightly nicer streets came with lights and cameras. Something Luz couldn't afford to be seen under tonight. Plus, the other vigilantes in Bonesborough didn't frequent the northeast or west sectors of Bonesborough as much as near the docks, Baker's Way, and the resident areas, where the shadiest things went down at night.

The good thing about the northeast area was that the buildings were smaller, usually only two or three stories instead of five or six, with a lot more consistency between them. So Luz would have an easier time navigating.

Okay, maybe the Northeast sector wasn't that bad all around actually, but Luz definitely had a favorite, and that wasn't it.

She reached it just the sun began setting and found a cozy little place right on the border between the two sectors to watch the last few rays of sunshine dip behind the distant cover of miniature skyscrapers bordering the shore of Veinsbury, coating the sky in brilliant pinks, oranges, and purples. She couldn't help but take a picture.

In the distance, she saw a flash of movement dive from the sky, Strigiform probably, but that was by Veinsbury so Luz was safe for now. It wasn't long after that the first gunshot of the night rang through the streets from the same area.

Yep, typical Tuesday night.

She sighed, pulling herself off the edge of the roof and adjusting her goggles one last time before taking her first step on her patrol.

Over the next hour, Luz simply hopped from building to building without a true goal or purpose. Sure, she was looking around for movement or random noises, but that in itself was stupid boring. So naturally, Luz had started mapping out escape routes from every rooftop and street instead. The area wasn't large, only about five blocks in either direction, but there had to be at least a hundred buildings within that area. Luz's favorite path down had to be from the innermost building on Mayweather, between the Terris and Anderson intersections where Luz literally had to slide down a long pole to get down. Whoever installed said pole was a genius.

Of course, it was in the middle of repeating that slide when she heard her first commotion of the night: A loud clang coming from the block right behind where she was now.

She tightened her grip on the pole, slowing her descent just enough to land silently, stepping onto the concrete of the alley and turning the corner slowly.

She wasn't too happy with what she saw.

Standing at the side of an ATM was a familiar man with short, blazing red hair and crimson eyes, a fire dancing in one hand and a metal stick in the other, seemingly trying to melt a hole into the ATM.

Fire guy, from last night.

She was blaming Officer Dumbass for this one, because she strictly remembered tying Blazing Boy to a pole dammit.

Luz bit out a sigh, before reaching for her bat, and stepping out of the alley slowly with a casual grin hidden behind the mask. Whatever, she'd just make sure Fireguy got arrested again. Simple.

"Hey man, aren't you supposed to be in jail?"

As soon as Luz's call rang through the empty street, Knockoff Guy Fieri's attention snapped onto Luz. Luz only stood there, watching and waiting with a casual stance despite the sudden rush of energy that shot through her, and the beat of excitement for the upcoming fight.

Redhead snarled out a low, menacing 'you' that Luz could barely hear, ATM now forgotten in his sudden, seething hatred. The crowbar clattered to the ground as both his hands lit up with bright yellow, vaguely dodgeball-sized balls of fire.

Luz's neck stung from the memory of what just one of those did to her last time. Even if it was mostly healed now, she didn't want a repeat thanks.

"Okay, not friends. Got it." She commented nonetheless, unhooking her bat from her belt slowly, and readying it for the fight ahead. She took this guy out once already, how hard would it be the second time?

As if to answer Luz's question, Pyromaniac growled once again. Then, without warning one giant ball of yellow light was headed right for Luz's face! Luz jumped out of the way swiftly, landing with a smooth roll just in time to watch the glowing ball crash into the poor pole Luz had just slid down a moment before. As soon as the fireball hit, the afflicted area was consumed in fire. It rose all the way up and down the metal, enveloping the entire thing until the pole itself slowly began melting into the ground.

Luz turned back to Cinderboy with genuine hurt and offense in her eyes. That pole was amazing, how dare he?

"Okay, I get that we didn't go off on friendly terms last night-" She started, "-but that was uncalled for."

Unfortunately, she didn't get to say much else when the other fireball vanished from the Human Flamethrower's hands completely, and Zippo suddenly crouched onto the ground. Luz nearly chalked it up as a 'yes, I succeeded in talking him down from theft :D" situation, but it seemed the universe had other plans.

The moment Propain's hands touched the pavement, blue fire erupted from his fingers, shooting up like some sort of fire fountain and more importantly- headed straight for Luz.

"You've got to be-" Luz didn't even get to finish that sentence as she once again had to jump and roll out of the way.

The blue death tendrils smacked against the corner of the alley, where Luz had just been. Just like with the pole, the moment contact was made it engulfed the brick corner in flames, travelling until the entire building was on fire. But this time, it wasn't metal that was melting.

Luz watched in horror as parts of the wall suddenly began to shrink and collapse in on itself, forming holes in the brick in large, goopy drips of molten brick dripping onto the concrete alley below. Fire alarms went off for only a second, before the heat silenced and melted them alongside the building.

Luz backed out of the alley slowly, gaping still while the building before her melted in less than a minute. There wasn't even ash left behind, just piles upon piles of burned, rapidly cooling molten rock. The blue fire faded with the last hints of the building, not spreading to the street or the alleys by some stroke of luck. Just... leaving an empty space and everything else untouched.

If that could happen to an entire brick building, what would happen to her?

She shuddered, backing away a little more.

No. No time to think about that. Just... channel your brave face, Luz!

"Where was that last night?!" She demanded, turning once more to face the Living Torch. Maybe not the smartest thing to ask after witnessing that but she wasn't exactly thinking at the moment. In fact, all she could think was 'What the fuck' on loop.

Instead of answering, Infernal Building-Melter Guy only chuckled before more fire sprouted from his hands.

Luz darted out of the way as it once again approached her, but no matter how far back she retreated, the blue fire didn't stop it's pursuit. Ten feet, twenty, thirty feet? Didn't matter.

For the second time in two days, she was in the same situation as the night before, except arguably worse now. She couldn't get too close, or she'd be charred, but she needed to get a hit on him. And all she had was her bat-

"Okay, okay so maybe we started off on the wrong foot-" She started in an attempt to bargain, barely spinning out of the way to dodge the fire getting too close. It was slower when it had to turn, she realized right then. Unlike Luz, who could simply spin on her heel, the fire had to make a larger loop just to come back. But it wouldn't stop in its pursuit, and the trail was enough to keep her from approaching her true attacker.

She weaved around it once more to be sure, and yep, slower turning time. But was that reaction time on CinderMan's part or just the fire?

One way to find out, huh?

She waited until the very last moment to dodge one last time, and the moment the flame was no longer nipping her heals, she unhooked her bat from her hip, hoping to the stars that this would work just as well as before, before launching it right at Hotshot in a mesmerizing arc. It flipped once. Twice. A majestic blur of movement reflecting the light of blue fire and a hopeful little vigilante in the distance-

Then it stopped.

The bat didn't ring out with its satisfying noise, it didn't do anything but stop midair as Fireboy snatched it out of the air in mere seconds by its head.

Luz could only stare in disbelief. She felt herself die inside just a little bit.

No way.

That was her special move, he couldn't just... catch it!

But he did.

The fire chasing Luz died the moment Luz's opponent raised his hand off the ground. Instead, the deep red flame burst to life around the bat, and Luz's breath caught in her chest. She stood frozen, forced to watch the fire go from red, to orange, to yellow. Heating up so, so slowly while the fire enhanced only grinned in sadistic satisfaction.

Metal dripped from the head of the bat, melting down and gathering at the purple bandana carefully wrapped around the weapon's handle. Luz's chest constricted more at the thought of what the dripping metal could ruin beneath that strip of cloth. The bat head was fine, but the handle-

"Wait-!"

CRUNCH

Luz flinched as the head of the bat suddenly gave under her opponent's hand, leaving a melted mess of metal around the man's flesh, but he didn't seem bothered by it at all.

Only when the damage had been done did the fire die, and the bat was freed from it's torture. Instead, Fire guy tossed the bat to the side harmlessly. Luz felt her heart shatter hearing the broken clatter as it struck against the curb.

She needed to go.

She had to leave, with this new blue fire this guy was a bigger threat than before and Luz was basically helpless.

She looked back to the now-melted building, to the destroyed pole. To her beloved bat.

She couldn't handle this.

She couldn't leave her bat behind either, though...

Fuck.

Think, think, think Luz! What could she do?

A fear Luz hadn't felt in forever was starting to kick in, her chest was tightening by the second. She sucked in a breath, but the gas mask covering her mouth only made it harder to breath. She wanted it off.

Think.

Please just think.

A flash of movement was just enough to draw Luz out of her momentary panic, the blue fire wasn't back, but he was summoning his fire balls again. Yellow.

Okay, she could do this.

Just as he readied to throw one, Luz jumped into action. She dove into a roll straight for her bat, the fireball skimming just over her back. She could feel the heat, hear the crackle in her ears. For a moment, she wasn't sure she'd dodged it.

But that moment passed, and her hands wrapped around the warm metal of her trusted bat just in time to absorb the impact of the her fall.

She pushed herself up, darting back towards she building block she originally came from. Just one more step to find cover-

BAM

Luz cried out as something hard impacted squarely against her back, blasting her off the ground.

She crashed into the concrete, landing shoulder first in sliding in a way that made her shoulder burn. The bat once again slipped out of her fingers to crash against a brick wall a few feet away instead. Luz moved to push herself up slowly, but a sudden, unrelenting heat enveloped her back and she once again fell back down.

She was on fire. The fireball hit.

It was slowly consuming her hoodie, climbing up to her ears and her face. She swore she could smell parts of her hair frying-

Footsteps approached behind her, large, loud ones. Luz didn't have to lift her head to see who it was, but Redhead's low growl was answer enough.

"Finally stopped talking?" He taunted. Luz could only bite back a pained grunt as she once again pushed herself up, but the heat only worsened again.

Fire filled all of Luz's vision, surrounding her in a void of yellow. She caught hints of smoke filtering through her mask, a filter that was rapidly failing by the second. Each breath she sucked in had more and more smoke in it.

Her focus slipped with each second, Redhead's words becoming nothing more than background noise as the world began to blur and fade, and the fire became too much to handle

The last thing she heard before everything went dark was a haunting screech.

#lncgtv #luz noceda's comprehensive guide to vigilantism #toh #the owl house #toh fanfiction #luz noceda #guided hands au

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