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lampmanliveblogs · 4 months

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Happy New Year!

As I’m posting this, the new year has not yet begun in some parts of the world. But it has in mine! So to you unfortunate people still stuck in 2023, I just wanna say ”Hi! Cant wait for you to catch up to the rest of us in the future!”

2023. Twenty-twenty-three. Two-thousand and twenty-three. This year, I gotta say, for me personally has been kinda meh. It wasn’t all that bad I suppose, but it sure could have been a lot better. I’ve had good times, but the greats were not that great, and I’ve had bad times, but the lows were not that low. Towards the end there, I did lose basically all my motivation to do anything but play Stardew Valley.

So yeah, my creativity and spark to create has suffered a lot this year, which has left me with a lot of unfinished projects gathering dust. So for 2024, my New Year’s resolution will be to complete a lot of unfinished business.

First and foremost we have my liveblog of The Owl House and that Vee fanfic I’ve been working on. Then I’m going to finish Winter Heist and then… I have been giving some thought to an old project that’s been left unfinished for years now… a fanfic that I wrote more than 184 000 words for, and yet, despite all that work, it remains incomplete. But… maybe the time has come for me to take another crack at JoJo and the Crystal Gems…

We’ll see, we’ll see. Really, I should not be telling you all this, since research indicates that if you tell people about your goals, you are actually less likely to succeed. Then again, you can’t spell ”success” without ”succ,” and… I’m not sure where I was going with that one, but, uh…

Happy New Year! That’s the important part. Let’s all do our best this year. I’m looking forward to getting back into liveblogging again. Until then, I’ll leave some of what I’ve written for chapter two of that Vee fic under the Keep Reading.

Our lives became a fairy tale Without rules or laws But is there anyone who knows? If the journey has an end?

(Note: The thing with the cards will make a lot more sense when I publish the full chapters.)

(Note: I still haven't settled on an actual title for the fic)

Lamp Entertainment presents…

The night was growing old, but Masha laid wide awake, looking up at the glow-in-the-dark stars glued to the bunk above. They were tired, dead tired, but thoughts buzzed around their head like ten million fireflies, keeping them awake.

Not only were shapeshifters, basilisks, witches, magic, demons, and other worlds real, but shapeshifting basilisks demons from another world filled with magic and witches were real. Masha had spent most of summer sharing a bunk bed with one, just as they were doing now. It was a lot to take in.

Oh, and as it turns out, the story of the Wittebane brothers meeting a witch? It was true. The brothers had met a real witch, a witch that they had followed back to the Demon Realm, the world of demons and witches. Not only that, but old Philip Wittebane was still alive and kicking, turned into a monster and spending the last four centuries working on a plan to exterminate all witches.

That evil, wicked man was the reason Vee was alive. Vee had been… brief in talking about her origins. Masha knew better than to pry too much, and thank Goddess Marco and Samuel did too. Just telling them about her true identity had obviously been very difficult for her, and if there were things she wasn’t ready to tell them yet, then they wouldn’t pressure her.

Even so, what she did tell them did not paint a pretty picture.

”My name, it’s Vee as in V, as in ’five,’” she had explained, holding up two fingers forming a V. Her voice trembled and her gaze lowered, looking at something far, far away from the comfort and safety of her new home. She took a deep, unsteady breath before speaking again. ”I… I am number five. Lab animal number five.”

And all of the sudden it made so much sense why ”Luz” had spent the first few weeks of camp jumping at every sudden sound and always looking over her shoulder. Why she would always sneak out of bed when she thought everyone was sleeping to make sure the door wasn’t locked.

It made Masha’s blood boil. Philip Wittebane better never show his face in Gravesfield again, or so help them…

Something else troubled on Masha’s mind. They reached down on the floor, grabbing the vaguely clothes-shaped pile of fabric that was their discarded costume. The deck of cards was still in the pocket where they left them, still in the same order. The first three cards were still The Two-Headed Snake, The Light, and The Red String.

They shuffled the deck thoroughly and drew the first three cards again.

The Light. The Red String. The Two-Headed Snake.

What was the chances of drawing the exact same three cards? One in a million?

Maybe there was still some magic in them…

Eventually, Masha drifted off to a sleep filled with dreams they couldn’t remember in the morning.

Chapter 2: For the Future (that we can’t see)

Vee woke up early, before the others. Well, it wasn’t that early, it was just past eight in the morning. But considering the late night, it felt early even as the sun shone through the window.

She spent some time just coiled up in bed, enjoying the comfortable warmth under her two blankets. She thought if going back to sleep, but eventually convinced herself that it was time to rise and shine.

The others were still asleep, so Vee climbed down from her bunk as quietly as she could. Easier said than done you had a thick tail instead of two nimble legs. Somehow, she made it down without waking anyone up, though that might have had more to do with the fact that her old cabin mates were exhausted after yesterday.

She noticed a deck of Hexas Hold’em cards lying on the floor. She recalled Masha playing with a deck on the day Luz contacted her from the Demon Realm. Vee couldn’t smell any magic left in them, which meant it was probably the same deck. They must’ve fallen out of Masha’s pocket. She gathered them and put them in a neat stack next to their costume.

She slithered silently out the room, past Samuel and Marco in the guest beds that used to belong to Willow and Amity. The whole thing reminded her of summer camp. She’d often wake up before her cabin mates then too, often sneaking out to enjoy the early morning sun. Masha had called camp prison, but as far as Vee was concerned, her first true sense of freedom had come from that place.

Making it down the stairs was one of those things that was a lot more uncomfortable with a tail than it was with a pair of legs, but Vee decided to stay in her true form for a bit longer. For the longest time, even before she made the decision to tell them, there had been an insistent voice in her head telling her that her friends would find her true form repulsive. It was nice to learn that wasn’t the case.

Oh stars, she could barely believe it. She had told them! She really had told them! Even though the thought had terrified her, she had still gone through with it. And it worked out, they didn’t hate her, they didn’t resent her for deceiving them.

There were some things she hadn’t told them. Things she had only ever told Camila, late one night after she woke up screaming from a nightmare. She wanted the truth to be a happy thing, not marred too much by what had been.

Vee was determined to move beyond her past pain. At times, the darkness made itself known at the back of her head, deep within her lizard brain. But she was getting better and better at pushing back. She had optimism for the future.

First things first though. She needed to call Camila’s work to let them know she was going to need a few days off. Vee, being naturally paranoid and a born liar, had already fleshed out a halfway decent story.

It took some convincing and a little bit of improv, but Vee was eventually (imitating Camila’s voice, of course) able to get Camila’s sudden leave accepted.

Once that was done with, Vee began cleaning up the mess in the living room while contemplating what to do with Luz. Should she take on her appearance and go to school as her again? Or should she call the school and inform Luz wouldn’t be coming for a few days? Both alternatives had its ups and downs. On one hand, Vee actually did like school and learning about the Human Realm. And Luz’ grades really did not need to get any worse. On the other hand, keeping up the deception would add another element of complication. Vee was good, but was she that good?

She mulled over it while cleaning up until she heard movement coming from upstairs. She turned to her friends groggily making their way down the stairs.

”Good morning!” she said cheerfully.

”Wow…” Samuel whispered. ”I was halfway convinced I was dreamt up everything,” he said a little louder.

”Not me, cause I’m not that creative,” Marco said.

”I gotta say, I think it would make for a pretty good story,” Samuel continued. ”A demon fleeing from an evil emperor ends up in the world of the humans, accidentally taking the place of a young girl headed for summer camp… yeah, that’s a good story. Maybe I should write a book about it.”

”Don’t you have like fifty-eleven different fanfics you’re already writing?” Masha teased him. Samuel blushed.

”I do finish some of my fanfics,” he said defensively. ”Unlike my thirteenth favorite fanfic writer, The Lampman. That guy couldn’t finish a fanfic if his life depended on it. ”

”I don’t know who that is, but he sounds like a talentless hack,” Marco said.

”I’m sure he’s not that bad,” Vee said. ”Anyway, here I am, very much real. By which I mean ’real-ly hungry.’ Anyone else want breakfast? I’m starving!”

The others agreed that breakfast would be nice. Vee lead them into the kitchen and began fixing some food. One thing the other Cabin 7 members had noticed about ”Luz” was that the way she’d scarf down her food at every meal like she had never eaten before. Which, based on what they now knew of Vee’s past, sadly made a lot of sense. Though that was not the only thing they had noticed about Luz ’ eating habits.

”You used to choke on your food a lot,” Masha observed. They were absentmindedly playing with the deck of Hexas Hold’em cards. ”Was that because you usually swallow your food whole?”

”Yeah, pretty much,” Vee confirmed while frying up some eggs. ”I do have teeth to chew with if I have to, but I usually don’t. Human throats are a lot less flexible than basilisks and I wasn’t used to it.” To demonstrate what she meant, she took an apple lying on the counter and swallowed it whole, making her throat bulge outward.

”Not gonna lie,” Marco said. ”That was a kinda gross.”

”You should see how I eat eggs then,” Vee chuckled. ”The difficult part is spitting the shell out in one piece.”

”Th-thanks, but I think we’ll skip that one,” Samuel quickly interjected. He looked contemplative for a moment. ”Do you have… is it poison or venom? I can never remember the difference.”

”If I bite you and you die, I’m venomous,” Vee explained. ”But if you bite me and you die, then I’m poisonous. And no, I don’t have venom. Don’t know if I’m poisonous though. I might be.”

”What if I bite myself and I die?” Marco asked. ”What does that make me then?”

”Stupid,” Masha said, prompting a good group laugh.

”No new information there,” Marco said between giggles.

The eggs done, the gang sat down at the table. Sitting on chairs designed for human creatures with things like ”legs” and ”butts” was yet another thing that was a bit awkward for Vee. She’d usually just stand at the table, but she decided to sit down this time. Before she sat down, she grabbed a special jar from one of the cabinets.

It had a homemade label, saying in neat handwriting that it was ”For Vee only.” A second pencil had added a small face making a sick face, to which the first pencil responded that ”I told you so.”

Her friends watched with interest as she took three slices of bread and spread thick layers of jar’s contents on them. It looked like some chocolate spread, but with strange lumps in it.

”What is that?” Masha asked finally. ”Is it some kind of special basilisk food?”

”Uh… kinda?” Vee hesitated. ”It’s nutella, with protein powder and, um… wood chips and sand.”

This was met with wide stares.

”Wood chips… and sand?” Samuel asked, as if to make sure he ha heard it right.

”It’s good for my digestion,” Vee said with a little shrug. ”It was either that, or I keep chewing on twigs I found on the ground. Camila thinks I need a lot of protein, so that’s what the protein powder’s for.”

”And the nutella…?” Masha asked.

”Oh, that’s for taste,” Vee said. Deciding that was enough explanation, she took one the fried eggs and sandwiched it between two bread slices slathered in the cursed nutella. ”I think Demon Realm stomachs are just tougher than human stomachs,” Vee said between bites of her sandwich. ”Luz told me there was a bunch of foods she couldn’t eat in the Demon Realm, but the others didn’t seem to have any problems with anything from here. Well, except for garlic.”

”What, they couldn’t eat garlic?” Masha asked in-between bites of their own sandwich. ”Like vampires?”

”Precisely,” Vee said with a nod.

”Wait, really?” Masha exclaimed, nearly choking on their food. ”Vampires are real? And they can’t stand garlic?”

”Yes,” Vee said, smiling at the funny face Masha was making.

”Oh, so that’s why you had cloves of garlic next to your bed,” Marco said and nodded a little. ”It’s to keep the vampires away.”

”Kinda. There aren’t any vampires in Gravesfield (I hope), but it makes me feel safer to sleep with it,” Vee explained. ”Hunter said that basilisks and vampires used to be natural enemies, since we both feed on witches. Garlic is deadly to vampires, and since a lot of witches have vampire ancestory, a lot of them have inherited a garlic allergy.” Vee smiled at a memory. ”Willow’s and Gus’ weren’t that bad, but Amity’s was really bad. Luz was devastated, because one piece of garlic bread meant no more kisses for the day.”

That image garnered a few laughs.

”I can’t wait for you guys to meet Luz, the real Luz,” Vee said. ”She’s the coolest! Seh fights Belos and doesn’t afraid of anything.”

”Well, I think you’re pretty cool,” Masha said. They reached out to hold Vee’s hand, soft skin skin meeting rough scales. ”My whole life I’ve been looking for signs for the supernatural, for ghosts or demons or what have you… I never dared to believe that I would ever find anything, much less that I would ever become friends with a living, breathing demon!”

Samuel put a hand on Vee’s shoulder.

”And I’m really happy you felt comfortable enough to tell us your secret,” he said. ”I know it couldn’t have been easy. I’m honored you felt you could trust us that much, and I promise you won’t regret it.”

Marco put his hand on Vee’s other shoulder.

”I used to think Cabin 7 was the coolest cabin in Connecticut,” he said. ”Now I know we’re the coolest in the whole world. I mean, who else can say they have a freakin’ shapeshifter as a friend?

”Aw, you guys…” Ve was struggled to hold back tears. She lost that battle, and big warm tears started rolling don her cheeks. ”I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” she sobbed. ”I wanted to, but I never dared.”

Masha, Samuel, and Marco acted in unison, standing up to embrace Vee in a big group hug.

”Hey, it’s okay,” Masha said. ”We get it. It took me forever to come out to my parents, much longer than it took for you to come out to us. It’s okay, we promise.”

”Th-thanks,” Vee said. She managed to wriggle one arm free to wipe the tears off her face. ”You guys really are the best.”

They stood huddled together for a minute, until Vee felt her love of hugs starting to give way to her fear of being restrained.

”I’m fine, I promise,” she said, trying to wriggle free of the group hug. ”I’m just so happy is all.”

Eventually, the Cabin 7 crew relented with their physical affection and let her go. They had breakfast to finish after all.

The three humans watched with equal amounts fascination and disgust as Vee ate an entire banana, without peeling it. ”The shell doesn’t taste that good, but hey, it’s the inside that counts, right?” she said. And really, who could argue with logic like that?

Her friends had a few more questions about her biology yet.

”Do you shed your skin like a snake?” Samuel asked while helping to gather the dishes.

”Uh-huh,” Vee hummed, putting the dishes in the sink. She decided to be lazy and do them later. ”I actually shed not too long ago. The old skin’s in a box in the basement, if you wanna see it.”

”…that’s a hard pass for me bro,” Marco said. ”Why would you even keep it?”

”What were we supposed to do, throw it out in the garbage?” Vee asked rhetorically. ”You saw how Jacob acted yesterday. After Camila locked him in his own cage, he hasn’t dared to go after us directly. But I don’t think he’s above digging through the trash to find proof there’s a demon living here. As is, everyone thinks he’s a raving lunatic conspiracy nut. Which, to be fair, he is, he just happened to stumble onto the truth this one time.”

The three friends nodded, for the first time realizing just what it would mean if Jacob actually did get proof of demon presence in Gravesfield. The town had a history of witch hunting already, who’s to say the people of today wouldn’t continue the tradition should they learn of Vee’s presence? Not to mention what the government might do to get their hands on an interdimensional traveler.

”It must’ve been incredibly hard for you,” Masha said. ”To have to pretend to be someone else, in a world you know nothing about.”

”It wasn’t always easy,” Vee admitted. ”But… well, it’s kinda what we basilisks do. Disguise, observe, lie, infiltrate, feed, survive… a lot of it was pure instinct. I’m a natural liar.”

Samuel shook his head.

”’Liar’ is a bad word,” he said. ”Very strong, very stigmatized. Say you’re a born actor and a natural talent at improv.”

This made Vee laugh.

”If you say so,” she giggled. She cleared her throat and the next time she spoke, her voice was an exact imitation of Samuel’s. ”A lot of it was instinct. I’m a born actor and a natural talent at improv.”

”You’re so gonna have to help me write my résumé,” Masha said to Samuel, prompting a brief chuckle.

”I’ve been thinking of doing NaNoWriMo this year, so I’ve been practicing how to make sentences longer,” he explained. He then had to spend the next fifteen minutes explaining what that was and deflecting questions his friends had about the novel he was totally going to write.

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lampmanliveblogs · 4 months

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Merry Christmas to all my dear readers who celebrate today on the 24:th, which is the correct way!

#sorry for disappearing again #i’ve been sad and tired #I’ll be back soon

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lampmanliveblogs · 6 months

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Happy Halloween! I hope you’ve had a spectacularly spooky time! Me? Oh, you better believe I had the most frightening of days! I went to work. I know, I was terrified the entire time.

Nah, but Halloween has never been anything I really celebrate. The closest I got this year was watching that Soul Eater AMV and listening to some ”spooky” music on my way home from work today. If I feel like it, I might watch the Nelly Rapp movie. I’ve got it on DVD, but I’ve yet to watch it. And what better time to watch a movie about everyone’s favorite Monsteragent than on Halloween?

I’ve had a rough couple of days, I won’t lie. I wasn’t kidding when I said work was scary, cause bloody hell’s bells, it’s been A LOT to deal with. I work in this really big department store, an absolute unit of a store, a real superstore. And school’s out for the autumn holidays AND people got their pays recently. You can imagine the chaos, we had checkout lines going on for several meters.

This is all to say that I’ve been super tired and in a bad mood the last few days, so I haven’t had the energy to do much of anything. I did manage to do a rewrite of the story I posted a few days ago and it’ll be below the cut. I feel it’s fitting since it’s Halloween and it takes place on Halloween.

I don’t think I’m gonna publish it officially yet, I might want to take another look at it first… and I’ve given some thought to a potential second and even third chapter. We’ll see.

I still haven’t settled on a title yet.

Comparing this version with the first draft, you’ll notice that this one has been expanded a bit. I don’t often remove things between the first draft and the rewrite, I usually expand on stuff, which is what I did here. I’ll leave a few more notes at the end.

Enjoy!

Lamp Entertainment presents…

[Title]

Vee watched Luz and Camila disappear into the light of the portal. Off to save the Demon Realm from the evils Belos was bound to unleash with his return. The portal closed mere seconds after they crossed the threshold.

Vee could still feel the scent of the spent magic lingering in the air. It was potent and powerful, but not unpleasantly so. The Titan’s own magic, such a primal, primordial force of nature that Vee doubted she could feed on it if she tried. It’d be a bit like a human trying to eat grass, if grass could also spontaneously explode. A bad idea.

She turned around to begin her walk back to civilization. A small smile played on her lips. Despite the difficulties they were bound to face in that realm, a realm Vee herself was not ready to return back to, she couldn’t help but feel optimistic. If any two people could handle Belos and The Collector, it’d be Luz and Camila, two of the coolest people Vee knew.

Well… they were at the very least in the top three of the list Vee kept of cool people she knew (admittedly, a pretty short one). One person in particular was very high up on that list. They were a stranger that Vee knew very well, a clueless fortune teller. Pretty as a picture, dancing the night away.

Vee felt her cheeks heat up, and she quickly shook her head to try and clear it. She could think about those feelings some other time. Maybe when Luz got back she could give her some advice. For now, she had to focus on getting mom’s car back ho-

Her eyes widened and she shoved her hands into her pocket. She had her phone and… that was it.

”Sho-ot!” she yelled at the sky. The moon looked down on her, it’s cold light coloring every shadow blue. ”Camila still has the car keys!”

Well. That was her good mood ruined. Vee grumbled curses under her breath the entire way back to the town square. The festivities had died down by now, only a few organizers left trying to clean up the worst mess before giving up and going home. She threw the car a dirty look, as if it was its fault that Camila had brought her car keys with her like some kind of responsible adult. Now she’d have to walk all the way home, get the spare, walk back here, and then finally drive the car home.

She stifled a yawn. Maybe she could wait until tomorrow?

Whatever. She had a lot of time to think about what she’d do next.

She walked along the streets of Gravesfield. By now, most trick-or-treaters had trick-or-retreated back home with their bounty. A few jack-o’-lanterns still spread some light onto the streets, alongside the streetlamps and other decorations. The buzz of the last few organizers cleaning up after the festivities at the town square disappeared fast behind buildings as Vee navigated around them.

Her nose was a lot sharper than her ears though and if she took a few deep breaths she could still make out some faint scents in the air. Pumpkin and spice, candy and exhaust fumes from the Haunted Hayride tractor.

In a somewhat ironic twist, because she was so focused on trying to discern those quickly fading smells, she missed the one in front of her. Once she did notice it, she stopped dead in her tracks.

”It’s you!” A voice that was unfortunately familiar to her called out in the night. It was Jacob Hopkins, the man from the Gravesfield Historical Society, standing there, right in front of her.

Vee froze in place. Of course. Of course she had been too optimistic in thinking she wouldn’t have to deal with that man again. When she burst through the doors at the GHS and realized he was gone, she had felt so relieved. Like he couldn’t hurt her anymore. It was foolish, because he was still around. Did she really think he’d move towns because he got kicked out of the history club?

Before she had time to run, Jacob marched up to her.

”It really is you!” he said again. ”I’d recognize those evil eyes anywhere! You’re my demon!” He grabbed her wrist.

”I-I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said and struggled to free her hand. She saw his eyes go wide and realized her mistake. ”Let go of me!” she said, this time imitating Willow’s voice, but it was too late.

”Don’t even bother trying to distort you voice, demon!” Jacob spat. ”I see right through your tricks! Where is the poor woman you had enchanted as your thrall? Did you eat her, you vile creature!?”

”No!” Vee cried. Hot tears threatened to flood her eyes, but behind that lied something else deep within her.

All her life she had been a prisoner, fettered, locked up and sealed away. Then she escaped and was on the run, always running. When she came to the Human Realm she was hiding, always terrified of slipping up and exposing herself. She was always ready, should the day come, to run again. Run, flee, hide, survive.

Not anymore. She has a great life here with a family and friends! Not just surviving, she’s living for something now! Who is Jacob to think he could take that from her? Did he really think he had just cornered the only wild animal that wouldn’t bite?

”Let go of me!” Vee repeated, this time with a hiss as she bore her teeth. Her teeth, which now looked less like the relatively dull incisors and vestigial canines of a human, and more like sharp fangs. The skin on her hands and wrists began to change too, hardening into tough scales while her fingernails turned into claws.

Jacob did look a bit worried when he spotted the teeth. But, be it because of bravery or stupidity (though Vee knew what she’d bet on), he didn’t relent. He held steadfast her wrist, intent on not letting his prize catch escape again.

”As if!” he said, while trying to make himself look bigger than he was. ”I’ll never let you go, monster!”

”Hey!” A third voice joined the growing chaos. Both human and demon turned their heads towards the voice, a voice that was familiar to them both, though more so to Vee. Despite the situation she found herself in, the basilisk felt a wave of relief wash over her. Suddenly, she knew things were going to be okay. Because who would come to her rescue other than Reality Check Camps very own Cabin 7?

Marco, dressed as a Frankensteiner, with his distinctive bangs covering his eyes. It was a wonder he saw anything at all, especially on this dim evening.

Samuel, dressed as a werwolf, albeit a werwolf with glasses. Apparently even lycanthropes are subject to bad eyesight.

And finally Masha, dressed as a witch. They were the spearhead of the trio, just as they were at summer camp. Always the first one to get them into trouble, only occasionally the one to get them out of it. This time, they arrived to help Vee out of trouble. It seemed that even though they were now strangers, Cabin 7 still had her back.

”What’s going on here?” Masha shouted, making Jacob flinch. ”Let go of her, you pervert!”

”Wha-no!” Jacob explained. He might’ve been some flavor of crazy, but even Jacob realized how bad things must look from an outsider’s perspective. And even he realized the consequences of that was not something he wanted to deal with. ”Y-you’ve got it around your back foot! This is not what it looks like!”

”Really? How about we call the police and ask them what they think it looks like!?” Masha yelled back. Marco and Sam stood by their sides, ready to back them up if things got ugly… well, uglier.

”I-it’s not like that at all!” Jacob said quickly, very keen on not getting the police involved. He looked around, as if the fuzz were hiding behind the corners, ready to jump him. ”Listen, uh… Sasha? No, no, was it… Vasha…? W-whatever, it doesn’t matter.” He yanked on Vee’s wrist, making her stumble forward.

”This is no mere girl!” he exclaimed. ”This is a demon! She has come from another world and has been living among us humans for months! And now her allies, the witches have come too! I’ve seen them perform their wicked magics! They’re not here right now, they must’ve gone back to their own world, but who knows when they’ll be back? You must help me contain this creature so we can warn the president! We’ll share the fame and fortune! I’ll even let you collab with me on Mewtube once my account gets restored!”

He smiled manically.

”If you don’t believe me, just look at her teeth! Look at her claws!” He held up Vee’s hand in the light of a streetlamp for the three teens to see.

It was a completely normal human hand with the soft nails so typical of humans. Vee smiled nervously, showing off a set of very normal human teeth.

At some point during his little monologue, Vee had realized that the best way out of this situation was to just let Jacob keep talking, so she had retracted her claws and dulled her teeth.

Masha, Samuel, and Marco shared a few glances with each other. Vee knew them well enough to follow along.

”This guy’s a loon,” Marco’s gaze said.

”I know you said he was a nutcase, but I didn’t realize it was this bad,” Samuel’s look said.

”Yeah, even I didn’t think it was this bad,” Masha said with one stare.

Samuel stepped forward.

”You’re crazy,” he said simply. Then he punched Jacob in the stomach.

Jacob made a funny sound as all the air was forcibly evicted from his lungs. He fell to the ground, holding his tummy, letting go of Vee in the process.

”Come on, let’s get away from this creep,” Masha said, taking Vee’s hand. They gently coaxed her into following then, not that Vee needed much convincing. They led her away from the gasping and writhing Jacob while Marco and Samuel stayed behind to make sure he did’t try to follow.

”Hey, I don’t think I got your name before?” Masha asked in what was an obvious attempt to distract Vee from what had just happened. ” We met at the GHS yesterday, remember? I’m Masha. I offered you a tour of the town.”

”Y-yeah, I remember,” Vee said. In the moment, she hadn’t realized just how fast and hard her heart was beating, or how ragged her breath had become. She took a few deep breaths to try and calm down, force her body to stop shaking. The danger was gone, no need for flight or fight right now. ”I’m Vee,” she said, finally remembering that she had to reintroduce herself to the friend that didn’t know her. ”And, uh… as much as I would like that tour, I think I just wanna go home at the moment,” she said in a feeble attempt at levity.

A small smile flashed on Masha’s lips.

”I saw your friends at the Haunted Hayride,” they said. ”I didn’t see you though. Too scary for ya?”

”I was staying home with mom,” Vee said, so focused on trying to stay calm that she let her mouth go on autopilot. It took her a moment to realize the slip-up and try backpedalling. ”Or, uh, I mean… aw, geez, I misspoke, I didn’t mean to say-”

”Hey, hey, calm down, it’s fine,” Masahs interrupted the panicking basilisk. They had reached a car parked in front of some small store. They opened the door to the passenger seat and made Vee sit down. ”Just take it easy. That creep didn’t hit you, did he?”

Vee shook her head and massaged her wrist. She could feel where he had squeezed her, though that wasn’t too bad. She had spent the better part of her first decade and half alive in chains, a little pain in her hands was no biggie. No, the thing that bothered her was that she could feel the smell of him on her. It was like a brand. She couldn’t wait to get home and wash it off her.

”I’m fine,” she said after a while.

”Are you sure?” Masha asked, sounding a bit skeptical. Not unwarranted, most normal people would probably be a bit more shaken than Vee was appearing. They probably thought she was in shock.

”Yeah, I’m sure, I promise.” Vee gave Masha reassuring smile, but not too reassuring. ”He didn’t even grab me that hard. I was just a bit shocked. I mean, this was a lot, even for him.”

”Mmmm…” Masha hummed, their thoughts trailing off. ”I knew the guy was unbalanced, but not that he was this unhinged… what was he even talking about, demons and witches?”

”Haha, yeah, I know.” Vee’s laugh was stilted. ”What a nutcase.”

Marco and Samuel came walking back to the car.

”What a wimp,” Marco said. ”After you left he started crying. I think he’s stilly lying there on the ground.”

”Serves him right!” Samuel spat. ”He should be lucky to get off so lightly.”

”I tied his shoestrings together and threw his wallet up on the closest roof,” Marco added. The two boys hopped into the backseat of the car while Masha made it over to the driver’s seat. ”So he’ll have fun with that for a while.”

Vee couldn’t help but smile, the mental image of Jacob trying to scale a wall and falling down too funny not to laugh at.

”Should we call the police?” Samuel asked.

”N-no,” Vee said quickly. While the police might be interested in finding out that a man tried to abduct a girl, they would also be interested in finding out that said girl seemingly did not exist. ”I don’t think its necessary.”

Vee didn’t know it at the time, but she ended up being right. While trying to get his wallet back, Jacob woke and nearly scared the life out of the poor people living in the house. He ended up getting arrested for trespassing. It remains to be seen if he learned his lesson from that.

”Alright, if you’re absolute sure,” Masha said. ”Let me drive you home at least. Or do you have a ride?”

”I’d appreciate it,” Vee said. ”I, ah… missed my ride home.”

The ride back to the Noceda residence was spent mostly in silence, broken by Vee giving Masha directions when needed. Marco and Samuel also formally introduced themselves, unaware that Vee already knew them very well.

Vee had some time to think during the car ride. When Luz returned from the Demon Realm and reclaimed her life, Vee had stopped hanging out with her old cabin mates. With all the new friends in the house, she hadn’t really had the time to stop and think about how much she missed them. But, now they were together again, yet still separated by this new face and voice… it hit her, all at once. How much she missed them and how much she wanted to spend time with them. But she couldn’t, or… maybe…

”There you go, back home, safe and sound,” Masha said as she pulled up the driveway.

”Wait…” Marco said slowly, scratching his head. ”Isn’t this where Luz lives?”

”Yeah, I live here too,” Vee replied. ”I’m uh… well, you see… it’s complicated, but, ah.. Camila lets me live here.”

Out of the corner of her eye she could spot Masha looking at her. They were clearly remembering the comment Vee made before about her mom. They didn’t say anything.

Vee took a deep breath, gathering up all the courage she had. ”Grow a spine,” was the human saying. Vee was a snake, she had plenty of spine.

”Why don’t you guys come inside?” she said quickly, not giving herself enough time to chicken out. She was going to commit to this now. ”I’d like to give you all a proper ’thank you’ for helping me out.”

There was some hesitation.

”It is getting pretty late and we were supposed to sleep at my parent’s house,” Masha said. ”But I’m sure they’d let us sleep at Mrs. Noceda’s house, right?”

”It should be fine, Samuel said, grabbing his phone to send his parents a text.

Marco shrugged and said ”I don’t care.”

”Sounds like it’s decided!” Ve said, a little too chipper and eager to get them inside. ”Come along!”

She lead them inside the mostly dark house and gestured for them to sit down on the sofa.

”Sit down, sit down, I’ll get snacks,” she said and hurried off to the kitchen. Her friends were left in the dust, looking around the messy living room. It looked like a whirlwind had swept through the house, with boxes of costumes strewn about.

In the kitchen, Vee was washing her hands while trying to work up the courage to go through with this crazy idea.

”Come on, you can do this,” she said while washing the stench of Jacob off her hands. She dried her hands off before gathering the snacks she had promised. This was going to take a while, she might as well give her guests something to chew on while she told them… what she was going to tell them. ”You escaped the emperor’s dungeons and evaded his scouts. You helped fight him tonights for Titan’s sake! You can tell your best friends a secret. It’s not hard. They won’t hate you… yeah! Us weirdos stick together, that’s the Cabin 7 way!”

”Hey, Vee?” Masha interrupted the disguised demon’s personal pep talk and nearly made her shed her skin at record speeds.

”Yes!” Vee almost yelled and spun around. ”Wh-what’s on your heart?”

”Is Luz home?” Masha asked. ”Cause we haven’t talked to her in ages…”

Masha’s usually confident eyes flickered down for a few seconds. It hurt Vee to see them without that characteristic confidence that she admired so much. They must be thinking that their friend Luz had abandoned them, left them for some new, cooler friends.

That sealed it in Vee’s mind. She was going to do this. She might come to regret this immediately afterwards, her friends might hate her, she might have to run and hide again… but she was going to do it. She couldn’t stand lying to them anymore, to cause them any amount of suffering. Not after all the kindness they had done to her.

”Yes… or, no,” Vee said, having taken just a little too long to answer. She grabbed the snacks and lead Masha out the kitchen. ”No, Luz is not home right now. She and Camila are away, it… it was a very sudden thing. Kind of an emergency.”

”…okay?” Masha replied, confusion on their face. They shared another few looks with Marco and Samuel. Vee realized that all things considered, she was acting very suspicious. It was Halloween after all. Someone acting this odd on an evening like this… watching horror films the night before, debating witches and folklore… it’s only natural that the unknown would trouble on a human’s mind.

”I’ll explain, I swear,” Vee assured them, not that it did a whole lot to ease their worried minds. If anything, it just made them more confused as to what was going on. ”But it’s a long story, so you might wanna sit down,” Vee continued and gestured to the sofa. The Cabin 7 Crew collectively hesitated before finally sitting down. Vee dumped the snacks on the coffee table and grabbed a chair for herself.

She felt around in her second stomach. She had absorbed a fair bit of magic from Belos during the fight. Amity and Willow had left plenty of abomination slime and enchanted plants behind. So she had a lot of leftover magic to scarf down on if need be. She could afford to show off a little.

”Have you guys noticed something… off with Luz lately?” she asked. ”In the last two months or so… almost like she became a different person overnight?”

Of course they had noticed, and Vee could tell based on their expressions when she asked that question. She also suspected that they had talked about it with each other. Not only had Luz more or less ghosted them and started hanging out with a bunch of strangers that no one knew, her personality had completely shifted. The Luz they knew from camp was gone… almost as if she had become a different person overnight.

”What I’m about to say next might sound insane, but I can guarantee you it’s the truth,” Vee said. ”All I’m asking is that you listen to me… and maybe don’t be too angry with me… okay?”

More glances were exchanged, glances of confusion and worry.

”Vee… what’s going on?” Samuel was the first one to speak up. ”Is… something wrong with Luz? What happened to her?”

Vee took a few quick, sharp breaths. She was about to go against every instinct in her basilisk brain, instincts ingrained into her very core by countless generations before her. Here goes nothing.

”Luz did become a different person overnight.” Vee was having to force herself not to speak too fast. She enunciated every word, trying to make sure there was no room for misinterpretation. ”Or rather, she became herself. You see, the Luz you met at summer camp wasn’t the real one. It was me. I was disguised as her and took her place. It was an accident, I didn’t mean to, but… well, I think is worked out for the better for both of us.”

Silence. The three Cabin 7 members sat opposed to her stared at her. Confused, bewildered, positively befuddled. Indeed, was this not an incredibly odd thing to be said by someone who wasn’t insane?

”I… don’t get it.” Marco was the first one to speak. ”What do you mean you ’took Luz’ place?’”

”I know it’s probably a bit hard to believe, I mean, me and Luz don’t exactly look or sound alike,” Vee said, a small smile on her lips. ”But what about now?” she said, speaking with the voice of Luz.

The Cabin 7 Crew sat still as rocks while their brains tried to process what was going on.

Vee giggled.

”S-sorry, but you guys look so funny,” she said, sounding exactly like Luz from camp. She stood up from her chair and spun around in place, transforming into a spitting image of Luz. No, not a splitting image, the original image. Because that was Luz from camp. ”How about now? Do you believe me now?”

Masha gripped the armrest of the sofa so hard their nails threatened to rip the fabric.

”Explain,” they demanded. ”Right now.”

”Sure thing, though it’s a long story, which is why I brought snacks,” Vee said, shifting back to her regular human form, but with a slight adjustment to make her ears more obvious. She decided against reverting back to her true basilisk form just yet. It was probably for the better if she eased her friends into it.

She cleared her throat.

”What Jacob said before was true. Well, kinda…’even a broken clock is right twice a day,’ I think the saying goes. There is a world beyond this one. A world of magic, and witches, and demons. Demons like me. I’m a basilisk.”

Masha raised their hand.

”No, you won’t die if you look at my true form,” Vee said.

Masha lowered their hand.

”That was a rumor started by witches because… well, you see, we basilisks eat magic, that’s how I can transform.” Vee paused to think for a second. Her captivated audience waited with bated breaths. ”You know what, this probably isn’t the best order to take things. Let’s start with Luz, on that fateful day while she was waiting for the bus to take her the horrible summer camp. As she stood waiting, she spotted a strange owl which she followed into an abandoned house in the woods…”

The End… or is it?

xxXXxx

Author’s Notes

…even more of them

The Lampman tries not to worldbuild in one of his fanfics challenge. Level: impossible.

Probably my favorite line in this was ”Did he really think he had just cornered the only wild animal that wouldn’t bite?” though the ”trick-or-retreated” line is a close second, I thought I was really clever there.

You might’ve noticed I changed ”Marco” and ”Samuel’s” costumes around. I have a reason for this, but I won’t explain it. You might wonder about the term ”Frankensteiner.” It’s from the books about Nelly Rapp by Martin Widmark (illustrations by Christina Alvner). Nelly Rapp is a monster agent, a person who deals with monsters and other supernatural beings. Her first mission has her take on the cold-hearted debt collector Robert Steen, a Frankensteiner.

A Frankensteiner is basically a Frankenstein’s monster, a human made up from separate parts (it’s a kids book, so they never explain exactly where the separate parts come from). They are often kept isolated from humanity and thus don’t develop a connection between their hearts and minds.

After spying on Robert, Nelly finds out that he has two left feet, and that he must be in constant pain from walking. So she manages to trick him into getting a foot massage. With his pain alleviated, he becomes a better person, even getting engaged with the masseuse.

In the next book, Nelly (with some help from her loyal dog London) cures two werewolves from their lycanthropy with vegetarian sausage, the power of laughter, and a strong lamp.

ANYWAY, one of the things I was very conscious about with this story was trying to make sure every member of the Cabin 7 Crew got to do something. It’d be very easy to have Masha be the only one doing stuff since, you know… they’re the only one with a name. Or personality. Also a ship, and fanfic writers love their ships almost as much as they love putting A Guy in a Situation (did i use this meme right?).

I sometimes steal take inspiration from song lyrics while writing. Usually, this is because I happen to be listening to that song while writing. Living in America by The Sounds doesn’t really have anything to do with anything, but it was on while I was editing, so Masha gets to be ”pretty as a picture, dancing the night away.”

A more obvious example is a few lines I stole borrowed from Fear of the Dark by Iron Maiden. ”Watching horror films the night before, debating witches and folklore, the unknown troubles on your mind.” Great song for driving home from work on a dark autumn evening.

So yeah, I would say this story shaped up pretty well. Let me know what you guys think. until next time, take care of the planet Earth, and remember that anything can happen in space!

#fanfic #fanfiction

7 notes · View notes

lampmanliveblogs · 6 months

Text

I found myself writing on this instead of answering the asks in my inbox. This is just a first draft, but I dunno, I think it might be okay. I haven't read through it yet though, this is fresh stuff. What do you guys think, is this something?

xxXXxx

Untitled TOH fic-vee tells the gang

[TITLE]

Vee watched Luz and Camila disappearing into the light of the portal, of to save the Demon Realm from whatever evils Belos was bound to bring upon that world with his return. The portal closed shortly after they crossed the threshold.

Vee could feel the scent of the spent magic lingering in the air. It was potent and powerful, but not unpleasant. The Titan’s own magic, such a primal, primordial force of nature that Vee doubted she’d be able to feed on it if she tried. It’d be like a human trying to eat and digest grass, if grass could also spontaneously explode. A bad idea.

The demon turned around to begin her walk back to civilization. A small smile played on her lips. Despite the difficulties they were bound to face in that realm, a realm Vee herself was not prepared to return to just yet, she couldn’t help but feel optimistic. If any two people could handle Belos and The collector, it’d be the Luz and Camila, the two coolest people Vee knew.

Well… they were at the very least in the top three of the list Vee kept of cool people she knew (admittedly, a pretty short one). One person in particular was very high up on that list. A stranger she knew very well, a raven-haired goddess, a clueless fortune teller.

Vee felt her cheeks heat up, and she quickly shook her head to try and clear it. She could think about those feelings some other time. For now, she had to focus on getting mom’s car back ho-

Her eyes widened and she shoved her hands into her pocket. She had her phone and… that was it.

”Shoot!” she yelled at the sky. The moon looked down on her, it’s cold light coloring every shadow blue. ”Camila still has the car keys!”

Well. That was her good mood ruined. Grumbling curses under her breath, Vee made it back to the town square where the festivities were winding down. She threw the car a dirty look, like it was its fault that Camila had brought the keys with her like some kind of responsible adult. Now she’d have to walk all the way back home, get the spare, walk back here and drive the car home. Or maybe that could wait until tomorrow?

Whatever. She had a lot of time to think about what she’d do next.

She walked along the streets of Gravesfield. By now, most trick-or-treaters had trick.or-retreated back home with their bounty. A few jack ’o lanterns still spread some light onto the streets, alongside the streetlamps and other decorations. The buzz of the last few organizers cleaning up after the festivities at the town square disappeared fast behind buildings as Vee navigated around them.

Her nose was a good deal sharper than her ears though and if she took a few deep breaths she could still feel a few faint scents coming from there. She took some joy in doing that, trying to disentangle the smells in her mind, try to keep them alive for as long as possible.

In a somewhat ironic twist, because she was so focused on trying to discern those quickly fading smells, she missed the one in front of her. Once she did notice it, she stopped dead in her tracks.

”It’s you!” yelled a familiar voice.

It was Jacob Hopkins, the man from the Gravesfield Historical Society, standing there, only a few meters ahead of her. Before Vee had time to get out of her daze, he marched up to her.

”It really is you!” he said again. ”I’d recognize those evil eyes anywhere! You’re my demon!” He grabbed her wrist.

”Don’t bother trying to distort your voice, demon, I see right through your tricks,” Jacob spat. ”Where’s the poor woman you enchanted as your thrall? Did you eat her, you vile creature!?”

”No!” Vee cried. She felt hot tears threatening to flood her eyes. Her heart beat fast and heavy and her breathing was ragged. ”Let go of me!” she hissed at him, this time with a much more animalistic sound. In her mouth, sharp fangs replaced dull incisors and puny canines. On her hands, soft human nails extended into sharp claws.

”Hey!” a third voice joined the growing chaos, causing both basilisk and man to turn their heads. Despite the situation she found herself in, Vee couldn’t help but find herself feeling a little relieved. It was the rest of the Cabin 7 Crew fast approaching.

Marco, dressed as a mummy, but with his distinctive bang still covering his eyes. It was a wonder he could see anything.

Samuel, dressed as a Frankensteiner, albeit a Frankensteiner with red hair and glasses.

And finally Masha, dressed as a witch, spearheading the trio, just as they did at summer camp as well. Always the first one to get them into trouble, and this time, the first one to arrive to help Vee out of trouble.

”What’s going on here?” they said. ”Let go of her, you pervert!”

”Wha-no!” Jacob exclaimed. He might’ve been some flavor of crazy, but even he realized how bad this must look to an outsider. ”You’ve got it around your back foot! It’s not what it looks like!”

”Really? Because what it looks like to me is that you’re trying to drag this poor girl off to do Goddess knows what!” Masha yelled back. Marco and Sam stood by their sides, ready to back them up should things get ugly (well, uglier). ”Let her go right now and we might not call the police.”

”I-it’s not like that at all!” Jacob said quickly, very keen not to get the police involved. He looked around, as if the fuzz were hiding behind the corners, ready to jump him. ”Listen, um… Sasha…? No, no, was it… Vasha? Whatever, it doesn’t matter.” He pulled on Vee’s wrist, making her stumble forward.

”This is no mere girl!” he exclaimed. ”This is a demon! She has come from another world and has been living among us humans for months! And now her allies, the witches have come too! They’re not here right now, they probably went back to their own world, but who knows when they’ll be back! You must help me contain this creature so we can warn the president! I’ll even let you collab with me on mewtube, once my account is restored!”

At some point, Vee realized that the best way to get out of this situation was to let Jacob keep talking. She retracted her claws and dulled her teeth.

Masha, Samuel, an Marco shared a few glances with each other. Vee knew them well enough to follow along.

”This guy is a loon,” said Marco’s gaze.

”I know you said he was a nutcase, but I didn’t realize it was this bad,” Samuel’s look said.

”Yeah, I knew it was bad, but not this bad,” Masha said with one stare.

Samuel stepped forward.

”You’re crazy,” he said simply. The he punched Jacob in the stomach. Hard.

Jacob made a funny sound as all the air in his lungs was forcibly evicted from his lungs. He fell to the ground, holding his tummy, letting go of Vee in the process.

”Come on, let’s get away from this creep,” Masha said, taking Vee’s hand. They gently coaxed Vee into following them, not that Vee needed a whole lot of convincing. They led her away from the gasping and writhing Javob while Marco and Samuel stayed behind for a while to make sure he didn’t try to follow.

”Hey, I don’t think I got your name before?” Masha said, in an obvious attempt to try and distract Vee from what had just happened. ”We met at the GHs yesterday, remember? I offered you a tour.”

”Y-yeah, I remember,” Vee said. Her heart was still beating fast, but sh was starting to get her breathing under control. Her fighting instincts had kept her hands steady, but now that the immediate threat of violence was gone, they started shaking a little. ”I’m Vee. And,uh… as much as I would like that tour, I think I just wanna go back home right now,” she said, an attempt at levity.

Masha nodded.

”I saw your friends at the Haunted Hayride, but I didn’t see you.”

”I was back at home with mom,” Vee said, so focused on trying to calm herself down that she let her mouth go on autopilot. It took her a moment to realize the slip-up. ”Or, uh, I mean.. aw geez, I misspoke, I didn’t mean to say-”

”Hey, hey, calm down, Masha interrupted the panicking basilisk. They led Vee to a car and opened the door to the front passenger seat. They made Vee sit down. ”Just take it easy. That creep didn’t hit you, did he?”

Vee shook her head. She massaged her wrist. She could feel where he had squeezed her, although the thing was was more annoying to Vee was that she could still feel the scent of him on her hand. Seeing as she had spent the first decade and a half of her life in chains, a little pain in the wrists she could handle. But she hated the smell of him and if she ever had to feel his stink on her again, it’d be too soon.

”No, I’m fine,” she said finally.

”You sure?” Masha said, somewhat skeptical.

”Yeah, I’m sure, I promise” Vee said. ”I was just a bit shocked. I mean, this was a lot, even for him.”

”Yeah…” Mashas aid, their thoughts trailing off. ”I mean, I knew the guy was unbalanced, but not that he was this unhinged…”

Marco and Samuel came walking back to the car.

”What a wimp,” Marco said succinctly. ”I think he’s still lying there.”

”Serves him right,” Samuel spat. ”He should be lucky to get off so lightly.”

”I tied his shoestrings together for good measure,” Marco said and hopped into the backseat of the car.

”And I threw his wallet and keys onto the nearest roof,” Samuel continued, following his friend. ”So that should keep him occupied for a while.” His face got a few degrees more serious. ”Should we call the police?”

”N-no,” Vee said quickly. ”I don’t think it’s necessary.”

At the time she didn’t know it, but she was right. In trying to get his wallet and keys back, Jacob would wake and nearly scare the life out of the poor souls living in the house. He ended up getting arrested for trespassing. It remains to see if he learned his lesson from that.

”Alright, if you say so,” Masha said. ”At the very least let me drive you home. Or do you have a ride?”

”I’d like that,” Vee said. ”I, ah… missed the ride home.”

The ride home was spent mostly in silence, broken mostly by Vee giving Masha instructions on where to turn. Marco and Samuel introduced themselves, unaware that Vee already knew them very well.

Vee had some time to think during the car ride. When Luz returned from the Demon Realm and reclaimed her life, Vee had stopped hanging out with her old cabin mates. With all the new friends in the house, Vee hadn’t realized just how much she missed them. Now that longing feeling was very palpable within her. she wanted to start hanging out with them again.But she couldn’t… or… maybe she could…

”There you go,” Masha said as they pulled into the driveway.

”Wait…” Marco said slowly and scratched his head. ”Isn’t this where Luz lives.

”Yeah, I live here too,” Vee said. I’m, uh… well, you see… it’s complicated, but, ah… Camila lets me live here.”

She saw Masha looking at her, clearly remembering the comment Vee had made before about her mom. They didn’t say anything.

Vee took a deep breath, gathering up all the courage she had. ”Grow a spine,” was the human saying. Vee was snake, she had plenty of spine.

”Why don’t you guys come inside?” she said quickly, not giving herself enough time to chicken out. She was going to commit to this now. ”I… would like to thank you all properly for helping me out!”

The three of them all checked their phones.

”It’s getting pretty late and we were supposed to sleep over at my parent’s place,” Masha said, hesitating. ”But I’m sure they’d let us sleep at Mrs. Noceda’s house, right?”

”It should be fine,” Samuel said, already typing a text for his parents.

”I don’t care,” Marco said and shrugged.

”Sounds like its decided!” Vee said, a little too chipper. ”Come on!”

She lead them inside the mostly dark house.

She gestured towards the sofa.

”Sit down, sit down, I’ll go get snacks,” she said and hurried out into the kitchen. Her friends were left in the dust, looking around the cluttered living room. It looked like whirlwind had rampage through the room, throwing pieces of costumes all around. If the room hadn’t been so dark, they might’ve noticed some of the pictures on the walls showing off some things they were not supposed to know yet.

In the kitchen, Vee breathed heavily.

”Come on, you can do this,” she mumbled to herself while she fixed the snacks. ”You escaped the Emperor’s dungeons and evaded his scouts. You can tell your best friends a secret. It’s not that hard. They’ll still like you… yeah! Us weirdos stick together, that’s the Cabin 7 way!”

”Hey, Vee?” Masha’s voice interrupted the basilisk’s pep talk and nearly made her shed her skin at record speeds.

”Y-yes!” Vee almost yelled, and spun around in place.

”Is Luz home?” Masha asked. ”Cause we haven’t talked to her in ages…”

Masha’s usually confident eyes flickered won for a few seconds. You wouldn’t think a lack of something can feel like a stab, but it did to Vee. That sealed it in her mind. she was going to do this.

”Yes… or no. No, Luz is not home right now,” Vee said. She grabbed the snacks and led Masha back out to the living room. ”She and Camila are away, it… was avery sudden thing.”

”…okay?” Masha said, confusion on their face. Again, they shared a look with Marco and Samuel, both of them equally as confused by Vee’s cryptic words.

”I’ll explain, I swear,” Vee assured them, not that it did much to help ease their worried minds. ”but it’s a long story, so you might wanna sit down. She gestured towards the sofa again. Her Cabin 7 mates sat down, only hesitating a bit. Vee dumped the snacks on the coffee table and grabbed a chair for herself.

Vee felt around inside her second stomach. She had absorbed a fair bit of magic from Belos during the fight before. Amity and Willow had left plenty of abomination slime and enchanted plants behind. there should be a bunch of residual magic energy for her to scarf down. She could afford to show off a bit.

”Have you guys noticed something… off with Luz lately?” she asked. ”In the last tow months or so… almost like she became a different person over night.”

The three friends thought amongst themselves. Not that they needed to give it a whole lot of thought, because they had already talked about it with each other, more than once. Not only had Luz more or less ghosted them and started hanging out with a bunch of strangers from out of town (one of whom might be her girlfriend), her personality had completely shifted. The nervous but curious and kindhearted Luz they knew from camp was gone. Almost as if… almost as if she became a different person overnight.

Vee could see on their expressions that this was the general lines of thinking in the group.

”What I’m about to say next might sound insane, but I can guarantee you, it is the truth. All I’m asking is that you listen to me and… maybe don’t be too angry with me… okay?”

More glances where exchanged.

”Vee… what’s going on?” Samuel asked finally. ”Is…something wrong with Luz? What happened to her? And what does it have to do with you”?

Vee took a few quick, sharp breaths. She was about to go against every instinct in her basilisk brain, instincts ingrained into her very core by countless of generations before her. Here goes.

”The Luz you met at camp wasn't the real one,” she said, forcing herself not to talk to fast. She enunciated each word, making sure there wasnät any room for misinterpretation. ”It was me. I was disguised as her and took her place. It was an accident, I didn’t mean to, but… well, I think it worked out for the better for the both of us.”

”I… don’t get it.” Marco was the first one to speak. ”What do you mean you took Luz’ place?”

”I know it’s probably a bit hard to believe, I mean, me and Luz donät look or sound a lot alike,” Vee said. A small smile played on her lips. ”But how about now?” she said, speaking with the voice of Luz.

The Cabin 7 Crew sat still as rocks while their tired brains tried to process what was going on.

Vee giggled.

”S-sorry, but you look so funny,” she said, sounding exactly like Luz from camp. She stood up from her chair and spun around in place, transforming into a splitting image of Luz from camp. No, not a splitting image. The original image, because that was Luz from camp. ”How about now? Do you believe me now?”

Masha gripped the armrest of the sofa so hard their nails threatened to rip the fabric.

”Explain, they demanded. ”Right now.”

”Sure thing, though it’s a long story, which is why I brought snacks,” Vee said, this time with her regular voice. Titan, that must be so bizarre to the poor humans. ”There is a world beyond this one. A world of magic, and witches, and demons. Demons like me. I’m a basilisk.”

Masha raised their hand.

”No, you won’t die if you look at my true form,” Vee said.

Masha lowered their hand.

”That rumor started by witches because… well, you see, we basilisks eat magic, that’s how I can transform.” Vee paused and thought for a second. Her captive audience waited with bated breaths and eyes as big as dinner plates. ”You know what, this is probably not the right order to take things. Let’s start on that fateful day when Luz, the real Luz was waiting for the bus to take her to summer camp. As she stood waiting, she spotted a strange owl which she followed into an abandoned house in the woods…”

#fanfic #first draft #might publish for real once i've cleaned it up a bit

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lampmanliveblogs · 6 months

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Regarding the snake symbolism, particularly the religious aspect- in Elsewhere and Elsewhen, Luz (The Snake) gives Phillip (Mankind) forbidden knowledge (The Light Glyph/Leading him to the Collector/The Apple of Eden) that results in the fall of a peaceful world (The 'Savage' Ages/Eden). Also the name Luz (Light) literally has the same roots as Lucifer (Lightbringer)

Ooh, that’s an interesting interpretation! The light glyph in particular works well as a stand-in for the forbidden fruit, since Philip implies the Titan (who’s taking the role of God) was trying to hide it from him.

(and in this interpretation, it makes a lot of sense that Lilith was the one who followed Luz on that adventure. According to some sources, Lilith was the first woman, created before Eve, but she refused to obey God or Adam. She was the serpent in the Garden of Eden--hence why some artwork of that story shows the serpent as a half-woman, half-snake)

#ask #toh s3e2 #for the future

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lampmanliveblogs · 6 months

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@mwpriddypinkie @jcogginsa

...see, I knew, I KNEW it’d turn out to be something stupidly simple like that. Here I was sat, staring at these images, trying to find the snake, only to find nothing! My treacherous eyes passed over the S while my even more treacherous brain forgot the first lesson they teach you. Because what is it they teach you in school? S is the letter that looks like a snake. Simple.

Every time I scroll past this post, every time from now until the day I close my eyes for the last time, every time any one of these title cards will pass me by, even if only briefly, I'll see it. I cannot unsee it.

That IS very clever though. Unlike me. Are the ”I am a failure as a liveblogger and as a person. I will punish myself by going on another hiatus” jokes still funny? Were they ever?

on the topic of Luz and snakes and foreshadowing, take a closer look at the show title card....

The show title card? Well, I got a few ones...

Season 1...

Season 2...

And two different ones for season three thus far.

...I don't get it. I don't see any snakes? Unless... is the owl supposed to also look like a snake? Cause I don't really see it?

#ask #for the future #toh s3e2

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lampmanliveblogs · 6 months

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I got an ask explaining the title card snake mystery but it’s late and I REALLY have to try and get a handle on my sleep schedule, so I’ll answer that tomorrow.

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lampmanliveblogs · 6 months

Note

on the topic of Luz and snakes and foreshadowing, take a closer look at the show title card....

The show title card? Well, I got a few ones...

Season 1...

Season 2...

And two different ones for season three thus far.

...I don't get it. I don't see any snakes? Unless... is the owl supposed to also look like a snake? Cause I don't really see it?

#ask #for the future #toh s3e2

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lampmanliveblogs · 6 months

Text

The Symbolic Significance of Snakes

An Incomplete and Amateurish Exploration of the Symbolism Surrounding Snakes and its Significance to the Story of The Owl House (up to and including For the Future)

I love alliteration.

I gushed a lot in my liveblog of For the Future about Luz’ newly hatched palisman Stringbean (and should this be the first post of mine you read, I have not seen Watching and Dreaming yet, so please, no spoilers) And while I pointed out some of the snake imagery that hinted at the serpentine shape of Luz’ familiar, I really didn’t go into the symbolism of snakes. So I’m gonna do that.

But first, a quick recap of the aforementioned snake imagery that hinted at. This list may be incomplete or missing things since I’m just going off of memory.

Class: Reptilia (a.k.a all the foreshadowing)

As far back as episode one, season one, Luz was paying with snakes, capturing several to use during her book presentation. It might also be worth mentioning that the Good Witch Azura’s enemy in the book she was doing her report on had a Gildersnake as an enemy. Also in episode one, Camila mentions that Luz should make some friends that aren’t made up, or reptiles. So even from the beginning, Luz has had a bit of an affinity for reptiles.

(and since birds are reptiles, it makes sense she ended up with a bird-themed witch)

We also have the recent addition to the Noceda family in Vee, a basilisk/naga/legless lizard/snake type creature. Not only is she all of those things, she is also a shapeshifter, just like Stringbean would turn out to be.

Thanks to Them had a bunch of foreshadowing. In Camila’s nightmare/falshback, we see Little Luz finding a ”snake pajamas” which she excitedly shows off to the other kids at the playground. The same snake skin is framed and displayed in Camila’s bedroom.

(the snake pajamas framed and displayed in Camila’’s bedroom form a circle. This could represent infinity or a cycle of rebirth, and indeed, snakes do represent reincarnation and healing, more on that later. Or, it could be a reference to the Lindworm, a creature from Nordic myth. The lindworm is a large snake, related to dragons that will sometimes bite its own tail and roll around like a wheel. For a funny fairy tale involving a lindworm, check out THIS video by Overly Sarcastic Productions)

Also in Thanks to Them, Luz wears a shirt with an interesting design, with what looks like a staff with a snake coiled around it. One of the doodles in her notebook when she wonders what her palisman would turn out to be was also a snake.

Order: Squamata (a.k.a Snake symbolism in religion, myth, and legend)

Now, when one considers the symbolism of snakes as it relates to Luz Noceda, the main character of The Owl House, there is one particular that likely springs to mind. Trust me, I am going to talk about that one, but I have this really big book all about symbolism and I’m gonna use it.

Speaking of which, most of the information I’m getting for this segment comes from a book called Signs & Symbols, written by Miranda Bruce-Mitford. It’s great book, I highly recommend it, it’s got information about all sorts of things. And while you’re at it, consider getting Myths & Legends by Philip Wilkinson as well. It’s made in the same style.

Of note is that I’m reading the Swedish translated version, and I’m translating that back to English. The original version likely varies considerably.

Signs & Symbols has a page dedicated to snakes (pages 66-67 in my version). Here is an excerpt:

”With its unusual appearance and unique way of moving, the snake has garnered both fascination and disgust. The snake’s simple beauty is contrasted with its complex and mighty symbolic meanings.”

”The snake’s peculiarity, mystery, and the fact that it lives in holes in the ground makes it a creature of the underground. Its twisting way of moving reminded many early cultures of winding rivers, flowing hills, scrubby roots, and even the spiraling cosmos. The result was a multifaceted symbolism which encompasses dualism, fertility, primordial power, and creation.”

”Within mythology and religion, the snake is a dual force that can have both positive and negative symbolic value. It is a guardian and a destroyer, light and darkness, good and evil. Snakes can have deadly venom and swallow animals much bigger than themselves. At the same time, them shedding their skin is associated with reincarnation and healing.”

It goes on to talk about how in Christianity, a snake in the Garden of Eden convinced the first woman Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. God cursed the snake, and thus the snake became a symbol of the devil. Meanwhile, in Buddhism, the serpent king offered the Buddha protection, and is thus viewed in a much more positive light.

Since snakes often live in dark holes, they are often connected to the underworld and the power of the dead. But at the same time, they are also often associated with gods and divine power.

Snakes are often also associated with wisdom. In ancient Egypt, the cobra represented godly and kingly wisdom. The Māori people associate the snake with earthly wisdom while other cultures consider the snake a wise and cunning mediator between heaven, earth, and the underworld.

In Chinese horoscopes, the snake is sensual, creative, careful, and responsible. It can also be secretive and suspicious.

Caduceus is a winged staff with two snakes coiled around it. It is the staff of the Greek god Hermes and has a number of symbolic meanings. In alchemy, it represents the combination of two opposites, the power of transformation and the resulting balance. While interesting, a perhaps more relevant symbolic meaning is its connection to healing, as a winged staff with two snakes entwining it has often been used to represent medicine.

Interestingly enough (and this is something I learned while skimming wikipedia) is that that while the caduceus has been used as a symbol for medicine and doctors, some argue that it’s the wrongful use of the symbol. A more appropriate symbol would be the Rod of Asclepius, a rod entwined by a single snake, and carried by Asclepius, the Greek god of healing and medicine. Many emergency medical services use the Star of Life, a blue, six-pointed star with the Rod of Asclepius in it.

Suborder: Serpentes (a.k.a What does it all mean?)

Alright, alright, but how does any of this relate to our dear protagonist girl and her adorable little familiar?

I did mention in my liveblog of the episode that Stringbean being a shapeshifter represented how Luz’ may not know exactly what her future is going to look like, but so long as she puts her mind to it, anything is possible. I didn’t use those exact words, I said that ”She is Luz’ own infinite potential given physical form,” which is pretty much the same thing. Luz is a person who does not fit into any mold and shape.

So that’s the ”shifter” part of snakeshifter. What about the first half.

While not explicitly stated it is understood that Philip ”Emperor Belos” Wittebane’s motivation is heavily influenced by his religious upbringing. He grew up in the times of the Connecticut Witch Trials (which I won’t go into right now, you can look it up if you’re). Therefore, when looking at the symbolic significance of snakes as they relate to Luz, we might want to start by looking at the snake in the Garden of Eden.

Someone more knowledgable than me could probably go in depth, but to be frank, the study of extant religions has never interested me much. The important part is this: the snake in the Garden of Eden is thought of as a symbol of the devil (or is the devil in some interpretations). The devil is an opposed force to God. What does this have to do with our plucky protagonist girl going on whacky adventures and learning to be a witch?

For one thing, witches were believed to draw their magical powers from the devil. Luz desires to become a witch, so there you have a connection. This being me, I can take it a big step further and connect the palisman with something like a spiritus or milkhare from nordic mythology; these creatures are usually created by witches for various tasks.

More importantly, at several times during my liveblog of season two, I called Belos a cult leader and a false prophet, and not to toot my own horn, but I was totally right about that. He presented himself as a prophet, the only man who could speak with the Titan and communicate his will to the people of the Isles. The Titan, whose very body makes up the Boiling Isles, and who gives shelter and power to the creatures living on it, is essentially the god of the people there.

In Christianity, the only way into the paradise of heaven is through Jesus Christ. Similarly, Belos claimed that the only way for the people of the Boiling Isles to reach a perfect utopia free of wild magic, war, and traffic accidents was through following him. Follow his every word, and the Titan shall reward you.

Cause the Titan he knows me And he knows I’m right I’ve been talking to the Titan All my life Oh yes he knows me And he knows I’m right And he’s been telling me Everything’s alright

Enter Luz ”The Human” Noceda. A being from another realm, who will do everything in her powerto get people to stray from the path Belos has laid out before them. She is the rebellious upriser leading the loyal sheep the wrong way. She is the accuser, the adversary, the opposer to his divinely inspired teachings. By now I’m sure you can see the connections.

Beyond that connection, the snake is a fascinating animal, symbolically speaking, as I went over in the previous segment.

Snakes being ”dual forces” as my book put it, could be tied into the idea of Luz being, as I call it, a child of two worlds. She might’ve been born by humans in the Human Realm, but the Demon Realm has provided much for her and indeed become a part of her. It was there she found people who accepted her for who she is and liked that person. She found a mentor and mother figure in Eda, and a little brother in King. She found friends in Willow and Gus, and an awesome girlfriend in Amity. The life, fate, and soul of Luz Noceda is very much connected with the Demon Realm, easily as much as it is with the Human Realm.

As mentioned before, symbolically, snakes have a lot of double meanings, they’ve been connected to the vast cosmos, as well as the underground, with light and dark, with good and evil. This is kinda similar to how the Human Realm and the Demon Realm mirror each other in a lot of ways. The red trees of the Demon Realm mirror the green trees of the Human Real, rain in the Human Realm is cool while Demon Realm is scalding hot, etc.

There’s also the idea of snakes representing healing and rebirth. It might be said that Stringbean’s hatching following the heart-to-hear conversation with Camila could be said to be a rebirth of some kind. And if not an outright rebirth, then it could be seen as Luz symbolically shedding an ld skin that was holding her back from growing.

There’s also the aspect of healing. As I mentioned above, the Rod of Asclepius, a staff with a snake coiled around it, represents healing. And indeed, Luz was wearing a shirt with a similar symbol in Thanks to Them. One could see Stringbean hatching as a moment of healing for Luz. It could also be symbolic of Luz as a healer that will help heal the Demon Realm of the sickening influence of Belos (who at that moment had been reduced to little more than a parasite, sucking the life out of anything he touches).

Turns out taxonomy is mad complicated and I don’t understand it all that well (a.k.a conclusion)

I was gonna take the opportunity to talk a little about some True Facts about snakes. But to be honest, with the exception of cute cartoon snakes like my beloved snake daughter Vee, I actually find snakes kinda repulsive, sooooo….. but yeah, pretty much everything I know about snakes, I’ve learned against my will. Like did you know that male snakes have two penises? Oh, you didn’t know that and you would have preferred to not know that? Well too bad! If I gotta know, then so do you! Thanks a lot, Hank Green!

Also, HERE is a video of a snake eating an egg.

But yeah, for an actual conclusion… snakes have a lot of interesting symbolism surrounding them and I found some interesting connections to this silly cartoon. I hope you learned something interesting today. I’ll see you next time. Until then, take care of the planet Earth, and remember that anything can happen in space!

#the owl house #liveblog #the owl house liveblog #for the future #toh s3e2

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