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sergeantsporks · 2 days

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Gilded Family

Rating: Teen and Up, Gen

Ch 39/39: Closure

Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6 , Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 9, Ch 10, Ch 11, Ch 12, Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 15, Ch 16, Ch 17, Ch 18, Ch 19, Ch 20, Ch 21, Ch 22, Ch 23, Ch 24, Ch 25, Ch 26, Ch 27, Ch 28, Ch 29, Ch 30, Ch 31, Ch 32, Ch 33, Ch 34, Ch 35, Ch 36, Ch 37, Ch 38, Ch 38.5

An alternate universe in which Evelyn managed to save Caleb after his confrontation with Phillip. The two of them escaped to present day through time pools, and have been using time pools to secretly rescue grimwalkers just after Belos attempts to kill them. The story follows Darius' mentor as he adjusts to his new life, as well as changes to the course of canon.

Ao3

Xxx

“I don’t know about this.”

Cyrus tried to turn around, but A.T. caught his shoulders, turning him around, and Phoenix gave him a push towards the townspeople cleaning up wreckage and graffiti. Most importantly, towards the blue demon boy stabilizing a broken wall.

“Do you like him, or no?”

“I mean, yes,” Cyrus replied, “But we went on one sort-of date ages ago, before everything went screwy! What if he doesn’t like me anymore? What if he doesn’t even remember it?”

“You were halfway through a date before you were suddenly interrupted and dragged off by your family, and then a wild witch showed up and was chased through the streets,” A.T. reminded him, “How could he forget that date?”

“Yes, but what if the whole concealment stone thing drives him away? What if—if—”

“What if he’s got terrible amnesia?” A.T. suggested, “What if he’s got a new boyfriend? What if I unhinge my jaw and swallow him whole before you have the chance to speak to him?”

“What?” Phoenix and Cyrus asked in unison.

“Exactly, it’s all impossible. Go talk to him.”

Cyrus didn’t look too convinced, but he also seemed too startled by A.T.’s statement to protest, and made his way towards his one-time date. He waved awkwardly, saying something Phoenix couldn’t hear. The demon left his work, dusting his hands off, and tilting his head in a question. Cyrus pulled out his concealment stone, put it on, transformed, then took it off when his partner’s eyes lit up with recognition. He put the stone back in his pocket, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“I’m actually super terrible for lying and you should never even look at me again,” A.T. mimed in a terrible imitation of Cyrus—a truly impressive feat, given how much his natural voice already sounded like their sibling. “I don’t think I’m worth it, even though I totally deserve a spectacular boyfriend!” He switched his voice to a lower pitch when the demon spoke up. A.T. even imitated his tentative hand one Cyrus’ arm.

“Wow, you look so much better without the concealment stone! Let’s get married forever!”

“I don’t think that’s what he’s saying.”

“Could be. You don’t know.”

Cyrus said something else, glancing back at A.T. and Phoenix. A.T. waved when the demon looked over, but the demon barely seemed to see him, his eyes latching onto Phoenix and sparking with something that was almost recognition, but fogged over by confusion.

Right. I ran into him when he was a puppet.

Phoenix wondered how many other former puppets would look at him with that unease, that sense of not quite remembering why he made them uncomfortable, but knowing somewhere in their unconscious mind that he’d played with the Collector, stood by while they were paraded around helplessly.

But Cyrus’ date shook himself, waved back at A.T., and turned back to Cyrus, enthusiastically explaining the work he was doing with a lot of arm waving. Cyrus went along with him, a small, happy smile blooming on his face.

“Aw, well, that’s sweet.” A.T. tugged his hair. “Boy, this place looks different. I hope they don’t rebuild it the exact same. I’d like to see something new.”

“Well, for one thing, there won’t be specialized cells for wild witches,” someone said behind them, “Thank the titan for that.”

A short witch grinned at them. She looked familiar, but Phoenix couldn’t quite place why until she nodded at an alleyway. “Seems like just yesterday you lot helped me out of here, and now, well, I’m back! This time without the chasing, hopefully. Where’s your little friend, the one with the jokes? And the older one?”

“Oh!” Phoenix blurted out. “The witch at the coven day—hey! You made it past the day of unity?”

“Mhm. One of the Collector’s little spies picked me up later, but I’m back now. You would not believe all the apologies I’ve been getting. It’s going to go to my head if I’m not careful. Maybe I should set some scaffolding on fire and give them a new reason to chase me out of town, for old times’ sake. Or at the least to test how far their ‘we’re so sorry, wild witches were right’ sentiments go.”

A.T. reached into his pocket and wordlessly held out a box of matches.

“Did you just have those on you?” Phoenix asked.

“You never know when you’ll have to light a fire,” A.T. remarked serenely, “Just ask Frank.”

The wild witch barked a laugh. “I like you. I’m Annette Thompson; what do they put on your wanted posters?”

A.T.’s face burst into a wide grin. “Matching initials!”

“What’s yours stand for, then?”

“I’ve been told not to ask,” Phoenix told her.

“Oh, a mystery?”

A.T. wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “One that is unlocked after we light enough fires together.”

Annette laughed again. “I suppose we better start, then.”

“Please don’t light anything too important on fire,” Phoenix called desperately after them, “Or better yet—no fires!”

Cyrus jogged over just as A.T. and Annette disappeared into the construction. “I think I need to quit distracting Raphael right now, but he told me when he gets off of construction work, and… where’s A.T. gone off to?”

“To light a fire? I think? He’s made a friend. Or… partner in crime? Possibly both.”

Alarm flashed across Cyrus’ face. “We should be worried, right? We should stop them? They’re just rebuilding.”

Phoenix waved a hand. “I’m sure it’s… fine. Ish.”

“Mm.” Cyrus squinted at the bustling streets. “I guess as long as he doesn’t light anything huge on fire in the middle of my second date.”

“On second thought, I think I’ll go find them.”

Xxx

“I’m leaving.”

Caleb glanced up at Joseph’s declaration, still mostly-engrossed in kneading bread dough for dinner. “Thanks for letting me know. What time do you think you’ll be back?”

“No, I mean, I’m leaving. To go do something else. I won’t be around for… I don’t know how long.”

Phoenix and Frank glanced at each other, but quietly kept chopping up vegetables, pretending they weren’t listening to every word.

“Oh.” Caleb struggled for words, finally managing a simple “I see.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong!” Joseph said quickly. Despite the confidence he’d originally announced himself with, he brimmed with nervous energy, turning a loose griffin feather over and over in his hands, “I love you, and I love the family, and I’ll definitely come back to visit, I just think…” He took a deep breath. “I want to go somewhere else. I’ve been in the same place for so long—and before that, I was with Belos. Now that our home is gone, and we’re rebuilding, and everything is changing anyway… I want to go up to the hand.”

He waved his hands, his nervous energy transforming into excitement. “I mean—the arm is sticking straight up! It’s taller than the Knee now—there’s no telling how the ecosystem up there is going to shift. Plants are going to change to fit the new shape, and the animals are going to have to adapt—and I want to see it. I want to see all the new creatures this brings, I want to see how the old creatures adapt or move somewhere new, or just fail… and I just want to get out and see everything the Isles has. I want to study beasts where they are, out in their natural environments, and I can’t do that if I stay here. I need to go. Please.”

“Okay,” Caleb said slowly. He wiped flour off his hands. “You don’t need my permission, you know that, right?” A wobbly smile appeared on his face. “I gave all of you the choice to leave or stay, remember? I never said that choice had to be permanent.”

Joseph’s shoulders visibly sank in relief. “Thank you.”

“What about the griffins?” Frank asked, finally breaking the unspoken treaty of silence between he and Phoenix.

“I thought—” Joseph rubbed the back of his neck. “—that is—if it’s alright—I thought I’d take Lucy. That’ll make the space restraints with moving closer to town less of an issue. The other griffins I think will be alright as long as they’re fed and exercised, but Lucy… anyway, this—it means the world to me.”

Caleb gave him a small, sad smile. “Permission to…?”

Joseph grabbed Caleb in a bear hug, squeezing so tightly that Phoenix thought he heard Caleb’s back pop. “Thank you, Dad,” he mumbled, his voice thick, “Thank you for everything.”

Caleb hugged back just as tightly. “I’m going to miss you. But I hope wherever you go—I hope you’re happy. I hope you find what you’re looking for. I hope… I hope…”

He didn’t finish his sentence, instead giving Joseph one last squeeze and letting go.

“Say goodbye to your mom, too, okay?”

“Of course. And everyone—I wouldn’t just disappear. Of course not.”

Joseph wandered out of the kitchen, searching for Evelyn, and Caleb sat down with a whump.

“Are you okay?” Phoenix asked quietly.

He managed a tired smile. “Of course, of course. I always knew that someday… I mean, I hoped that one day the world would be safe enough for you. I think I always sort of knew that the house was too small, and that one day some of you might want to leave.” He ran a hand through his hair. “But I don’t believe any amount of time would have actually prepared me for it.”

Phoenix thought of the first time he’d seen Darius after Belos’ attack—how he’d suddenly looked so grown up, how the realization that he didn’t need a mentor anymore had punched him in the gut. “No,” he agreed, “I don’t think it would.”

Caleb took a deep breath. “Things are changing right now,” he admitted, “We’ve been… living in a bubble. The only surprises were when one of you would join the house. But now… now the world’s opened up to us, and nothing will be the same.” He gave Phoenix and Frank a tired smile. “At risk of sounding like my brother, I’m not quite sure I’m ready for the change.”

Frank chuckled. “Now you know how we felt when we woke up in a different century.” He shrugged and chopped furiously at the vegetables on the board. “Things are going to be different. But some things are going to be the same, like—” he yanked back from the cutting board with a short scream.

Phoenix dropped his knife, and Caleb jumped up immediately. “Are you okay?! Did you cut yourself?!”

“My arm!” Frank yelped, “I’ve chopped it in with the vegetables! I didn’t even notice! The whole thing’s gone!”

“Terrible,” Phoenix told him, picking his knife back up, “You are just awful.”

Frank grinned, cheerfully resuming his chopping. “And that is something you can count on never changing.

Xxx

The front of Darius’ house buzzed with activity. Lake and Locke even managed to drag Sam out, although he still fidgeted with that strange box Ghost had found. Joseph paced nervously back and forth, and Lucy eyed him like she might be on the verge of sitting on him. But despite the nervousness, the saddlebags on Lucy and the backpack on Joseph looked natural. Right, even. Even his clothes—he’d bundled up for the likely lower temperatures—seemed to fit him better. His eyes shone with a healthy, excited glow.

“I’ll miss you.”

Joseph tousled Jason’s hair, grinning when Jason pushed his hand away. “Don’t get too mopey over me, or Lucy might turn around midair just to squash you.”

“Yeah, yeah. Come back soon, okay? I want to read about all the new things you find up there.”

“You’ll be the first to see the notes,” Joseph promised. He glanced over Jason’s head at Cherry. “Take care of them, yeah? Especially keep your eye on this one. He’s trouble. He’ll get another concussion if he can manage it.”

Jason stuck his tongue out.

“Always.” Cherry’s one eye flicked back and forth nervously, glancing up at the sky like he was hoping for some sudden terrible weather to appear and delay Joseph just a little longer. “Stay safe.

“Always,” Joseph echoed, “Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine.” He turned to Evelyn and Caleb. “Thank you.”

“You’ll always have a room with us,” Caleb told him, “You know that?”

“I know.”

Evelyn straightened his scarf. “Go find some new wild things. I just know you’ll figure out some way to befriend them.”

“Will do, ma’am.”

Joseph hugged Evelyn and Caleb, climbed on Lucy’s back, and clicked his tongue. The griffin sprang up into the air, her huge wings beating massive gusts of wind onto their heads. Soon, the two of them were just a speck in the sky, sailing towards the raised arm of the titan.

Xxx

“I can’t do it.”

Evelyn gave Auric a gentle shove towards Hexside’s doors. “Yes, you can.”

Auric scratched at the scars on his neck, balking. “I’m too old. Hexside stops at eighteen, and I’m twenty. They won’t let me.”

“I talked to Bump,” Phoenix reassured him, “He and I go back—and Darius talked to him about it, too. You’re not going to be a regular student, no, but the healing teacher agreed to take you on after school, and help you transition into healing-specific schools for graduates. Like an apprenticeship.”

“I don’t have magic,” Auric replied, changing tack, “I can’t do the kinds of… I can’t do it. I’m never going to be as good as them, so—”

“Hey,” Evelyn said sharply, “Who kept Caleb and I from bleeding out?”

“You would have died without the pain sharing spell, I—”

“Who patched up all the refugees when I couldn’t heal anyone?” Evelyn demanded.

“Those weren’t life-threatening injuries, it wasn’t even—”

“You splinted and casted Clara’s broken bone and kept her cheerful,” Phoenix offered, “You were the first one to realize something was wrong with my arms.”

“You stitched Matt up when he came home injured,” Evelyn added, “Face it, Auric—you’re as good a healer as anyone. Magic or no. Magic healers have it easy—we draw a circle, and the wound disappears. But you? You have to put so much thought into what you’re doing, and you have to do it quick. You are incredible, Auric.”

Auric scratched at his neck again. “I’m just not sure.”

“If you really don’t want to do this, then we can go back home,” Evelyn said softly, “But I want you to look me in the eye and tell me with absolute certainty, that going to healing school is something you don’t want.”

Auric took a step back, then a step forward, hovering between Evelyn and the door. “You think I’ll really be able to do it?”

“Would I have put my life in your hands if I wasn’t absolutely certain?”

Auric took a deep breath, taking a decisive step towards Hexside’s doors. “Okay. I’m ready.”

Xxx

“Hey! Over here!”

A hand closed around Phoenix’s arm, pulling him into the empty kitchen. “Phoenix.” Matt laced his fingers together. “You were part of the emperor’s coven when it was actually, you know, a coven.”

Phoenix winced at the reminder. What was this about? “Yes?”

“So you were around a lot of people.”

Where was he going with this? “Yeeessss?”

“Do you know how to plan a party.”

Phoenix stared at him. “What.”

“A party. Do you know how to plan one? Cyrus and I were in town, and his boyfriend invited him to a housewarming party for one of the newly rebuilt houses—well, he invited me, too, but that was just to be polite, I’m not going. Anyway, the point is, I think a housewarming party sounds nice. We could have one for our house, once we’ve actually built it. It would be…” Matt waved a hand. “You know. A normal thing.”

“A normal thing,” Phoenix echoed.

“Something other people do. I think it might help us settle into the town better, you know? Break some of the tension.”

“Have you run this by Caleb and Evelyn yet?”

“I sort of wanted to surprise them. I’ll warn everyone else, of course, but if we’re going to get anywhere with this, first I need someone who can actually plan a party.”

“A party?” Like the word had summoned him, Darius seemed to materialize behind Phoenix. He arched one eyebrow at Matt. “And you asked Phoenix to help plan it?”

“Hey, I planned social functions.”

“The very fact that you just called a party a social function is proof that you aren’t up to the task. What party?”

Matt explained his plan, and Darius nodded slowly. “Doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Who would you invite?”

“You, obviously.”

“Obviously.”

“Um… Cyrus’ boyfriend Raphael? Maybe that woman A.T. started hanging out with… I bet Jason will want to invite the kids. I guess we could invite the refugees who stayed with us, if anyone knows where they went.” Matt scratched the back of his head. “Do we know anyone else??

“Oh, titan,” Darius murmured under his breath.

“Eda and Lilith,” Phoenix volunteered, “Eber. I think that’s everyone.”

“Small party,” Darius commented.

“There’s over twenty of us, any party we host is already huge.”

“Fair enough.” Darius twirled a finger in the air. “If you’re after goodwill from the townsfolk, shouldn’t you invite some of them? Other than Cyrus’ boyfriend, that is.”

Matt winced. “Inviting strangers isn’t the best plan. I don’t know if you’ve realized this, but most of us aren’t exactly the trusting, openly friendly type.”

“I had noticed something of the sort, believe it or not,” Darius said dryly, “Why don’t you go people watch? Pick guests you don’t find threatening. People who aren’t likely to cause friction, accidentally or on purpose.”

“Reconnaissance. We can do that.”

Darius squeezed his eyes shut. “Reconnaissance. Oh, heavens. Please take Jason with you.”

Xxx

“Not that one. Not that one. Ooo, that one gave me an apology basket, let’s invite him.”

Phoenix glanced over at Annette. “You don’t have to help us.”

“Hey, if they’re not friendly towards a wild witch, they won’t be friendly towards your lively bunch either. My insight is incredibly valuable.”

“Hm.”

“Now might be a good time to test that elixir,” Jason commented mildly.

Phoenix glanced down at his arms. Matt had chosen the top a construction crane, of all places, to people-watch from. It had been a miracle—and Annette’s magic—that he’d gotten up here in the first place. And being out in the town without a concealment stone… it made his skin itch. The curse shifted uneasily, reacting to the stress. It was so ridiculous it almost made him laugh; he’d gotten through the Collector’s “games, the apocalypse, and attempted possession, but being up a little too high and getting a little stressed was making the curse react?

“Here goes nothing.” Phoenix tilted the golden bottle back. Eda had warned him not to let it sit in his mouth, but she hadn’t prepared him for the explosion of terrible flavors that washed over his tongue. He swallowed with a gag. “Tastes like burned animal hair,” he said with a grimace.

“But look.” Jason pointed at his arms. The curse settled back into his normal flesh. He could still feel it curled up inside of him, throbbing in time with his heartbeat, but it seemed… passive. Dormant. Almost like it was taking a nap. Some of the bone-weary exhaustion that seemed to stay no matter how long he slept faded into a background numbness.

“Huh. I guess… I’ll be asking Lilith for her recipe.”

“You think it’ll help long-term?”

Phoenix shrugged. “I know the curse has been useful sometimes, but… it’s a little hard on my arms.” He flexed his fingers, wondering at the difference that slight lift from exhaustion had made. “And I’m starting to think it might have been taking up a little more of my energy than I realized.”

Jason nudged his shoulder. “Sam could have told you that.”

“Yeah, yeah. He’d probably love to run a thousand tests on my day-to-day fatigue levels with and without elixirs.”

“Nah, he’s too busy with that box. Potion-brewing lessons for Phoenix, then. Mom will be ecstatic.” Jason kicked his legs aimlessly, watching the people down below. “You guys ever think about what you want to do now that we’re not on the run?”

“Mix as many kinds of magic together as I can,” Annette answered immediately, “Let’s test the ‘wild magic is dangerous’ theory. I bet some of it could be.”

“Oh, wow, you and A.T. really are perfect for each other. Matt?”

“Something normal.”

“What’s that mean?”

“I don’t know. I just want to live a normal life. Make some friends. Get a job. Maybe fall in love, start a family. Do something stupid and young.” Matt shrugged. “I lost my childhood and my teen years to Belos. Everything was one nonstop, horrifying adventure. Everything was some grand purpose. I kind of want to just have a boring life now.”

He heaved a sigh. “I had a choice, you know? Belos just sort of ditched me in the middle of the boiling sea, so when Caleb found me, I was dehydrated and exhausted, but not… dying. I chose to go with Caleb forward in time. I thought if Belos was already destined to be alive for centuries, there wouldn’t be any escaping him in my time. Now that we’ve actually finally gotten away from him… I just want to leave all that behind.”

Matt gave them all a quick smile. “Not that I’d leave the family behind, of course! I still want to be with you guys, I just…” He fell into a pensive silence, staring out at the people below. “I don’t know. I guess Joseph wasn’t the only one with an itch to get out there. This party, getting our foot in the door and helping Mom and Dad get back in the social life of the Isles… it just feels like the right thing to do before going. Not that I’d leave right after. I still don’t have any solid plans. But someday.”

Phoenix didn’t respond. He didn’t know how. It had been enough of a shock when Joseph had left. He’d known, of course, that things would change. Phoenix himself wouldn’t even be at the house on weekends anymore. But between Joseph leaving, Matt’s plan, Auric’s apprenticeship, and the appearance of new people in Cyrus and A.T.’s lives… everything was moving so fast. Maybe they’d stopped running for their lives, but their lives still kept running. He’d barely had the time to get used to the quiet life in the woods before it was completely overturned.

“Wow,” Jason said finally, “Have you told Mom or Dad yet? What about Ash?”

“I don’t want to spring this on them right now. I mean, with the house building, and everyone still healing, and Joseph just leaving… it’s not right. I don’t have a solid plan, and even if I left right after the party, that’s still months of house-building away.” Matt brushed his hair out of his face. “So… don’t tell anyone just yet, yeah?

“My lips are sealed,” Jason promised. He pointed down at the street. “That one, Annette, they stopped to feed a stray, put them on the list.” He sighed. “Wish I had a plan.”

Phoenix ruffled his hair. “You’re eighteen. Give yourself a minute.”

Jason pushed at his hand. “Hunter has it all figured out, and he’s only sixteen! He already knows he’s going to be a palisman carver!”

“You’re not Hunter. Most of us don’t know what we’re going to do. I don’t. Eda offered the idea of mentoring, but I don’t know if I’ll take it.”

Jason looked up at him with big, sparkling eyes. “Awwwwwwwww, but you’d be so good at it!”

“We’re not talking about me, we’re talking about you. Nice try.”

“Hey, I meant it. I wasn’t just trying to distract you.”

“Sure. Anyway, take it slow. Joseph knew what he wanted. Matt kind of knows what he wants. But you don’t have to have your whole life figured out just yet. I mean, everyone on the Isles is a bit displaced right now. There are tons of scouts who have no idea what they’re going to do with their lives now. Everyone’s shaken by what happened and wondering what we’ll do without the covens. So just… take it easy. Forget your entire future, let’s plan small. What do you want to do in the next few weeks?”

“Hm. I sort of want to go back to the human realm. Visit Camila. Maybe go back to the library there. Oh—and I want to take Novus. Phoenix, they have so much mechanical stuff there. I think he’ll explode. And I want to help look for where we’ll build the new house. Of course I’m going to help Matt with his guest list and party planning. And… why are you grinning like that?”

“No reason,” Phoenix said lightly, “It just sounds to me like you’ve got plenty of plans for the future.”

Jason wrinkled his nose at Phoenix. “Alright, point taken. But hey, there goes my point. You’re a great mentor.”

“Thanks.” Phoenix tousled Jason’s hair again. This time, he let him.

Xxx

Caleb eyed Phoenix critically. “You’re supposed to be resting your leg.”

He was, in fact, supposed to be sitting back at Darius’ house doing nothing, but Darius had left to deal with some Terra sighting, and almost everyone else was out close to their old home scouting for a new place to build. The whole place had been quiet, except for occasional mutterings from Sam while he fruitlessly searched for a way to open that stone box.

Phoenix sighed. “If I’m stuck sitting around resting my leg for five more minutes, the curse is going to take over from boredom and I’m going to run back into the woods.”

Caleb blinked twice. “Could that actually happen? Your curse activating from boredom, I mean?”

“I doubt it. Besides, I took an elixir today, it should be fine. I won’t move too much, I promise. I’ll find a spot to sit around out here. I just needed to get out.”

“Did you tell Sam you were leaving?”

“He’s not going to look up from that box for at least another twelve hours. He won’t even notice I’m gone.”

“He should just pour some explosive potion on that box and be done with it,” Novus suggested as he walked by, arms full of levels and angle-measurers, “Or cut into it. That’s the pragmatic thing to do.”

Caleb laughed. “It’s not about getting what’s inside for him, it’s about solving the puzzle. If he gives up, then I’ll let you at it with your tools.”

“That’s all I ask.”

“Anyway—you’re probably right, Phoenix, but still.”

“If Sam figures out I’m gone, he’ll probably just shrug and go back to the box. I don’t think he’s desperate to always have someone around. Unless he solves the box, in which case, he’ll tear over here immediately and demand to know why I wasn’t there to witness his moment of triumph.” Phoenix sat down on a log with a sigh. “I messaged Darius to tell him where I was going. Hopefully that’s enough.”

“Hopefully.”

Caleb wandered off, apparently satisfied that Phoenix wouldn’t rebreak his ankle. Phoenix sat on the stump watching his family. Novus kept laying out string where the house would be, testing different spots with his tools, while Lake casually picked the rope up and moved it just a couple inches to the left whenever he wasn’t looking. Matt wrote furiously in a small notebook—party plans, if Phoenix had to guess. Evelyn drew small circles, testing out her construction magic. Everywhere bustled with movement. If someone wasn’t actively making house plans, they were transporting construction materials, or overseeing everyone else.

“They don’t know how to sit still, do they?” Alex plopped down next to Phoenix. “Neither do you.” They shrugged. “I guess it’s good when we’re trying to build a house. What do you think they’ll find to do afterwards?”

“What do you mean?”

Alex gestured at the busy family. “When the house is finished, what do you think they’ll do? What will you do? None of us are good at stopping and staying still for a moment. We just keep going and going and going. So what are we supposed to do once we finish building the new house?”

“We just… live in it, I guess,” Phoenix answered slowly.

“Hm.”

“Do you know what you’re going to do?”

Alex shrugged. “Keep my feet on the ground, that’s the only thing I know for sure. Stay away from heights.”

“Seconded. How are the falling dreams? Have they gotten any better?”

“Careful, you sound like Dad.”

“Sorry, I just… you know, I don’t think I ever thanked you.”

“For what?”

“When you told me where you died—that’s how we found Ghost. So… thank you.”

“Oh. You’re welcome.” Alex went very still, staring pointedly at anything but Phoenix. “Hey, can I ask you something? And… do you promise not to tell anyone what I said?”

“Sure. But, uh… why me?” Surely there were other grimwalkers Alex was closer to. Phoenix had only ever spoken to them the once.

Alex eyed him critically. “Because you’re the only one who backed off, no questions asked, when I told you I just wanted space to process. I don’t know, I feel like I can trust you to understand. Um. Do you think it would be weird if I moved out of the house really soon?”

The question shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise. Joseph had already left, and Matt was planning on it—the moving fever was contagious. But still, Phoenix flinched at the idea of one more grimwalker leaving. “Well,” he said carefully, “I don’t think it would be… I mean, Joseph already broke the ice on that one.”

“I know.” Alex combed their fingers through their hair. “But Joseph was… Joseph. He was big. He was determined. He was capable of wrestling beasts and winning. He… well, he didn’t have a panic attack every time he tripped. What if Mom and Dad don’t think I’m ready?”

“They’ll let you anyway.”

“Right. But would it be weird? I mean, we’re building this house together, and then I… I wouldn’t be in it. They’d build a room for me, for what? For me to leave right after? I don’t want them to think I’ve wanted to leave this whole time and was just waiting for the all-clear.”

“Well, why do you want to leave?”

“Excuse me?”

“Why do you want to leave? Because you want space?”

“Oh. Yes. Something like that.” Alex twisted their hair and let it go. “Time. And space. And I love Mom and Dad and everyone, don’t get me wrong, they’re just… sometimes a little much. So. Um.” Alex gestured towards the town. “You know. Maybe I’ll leave. But I don’t want it to be…”

“Awkward?”

“Yes.”

“You should talk to them about it. I know that’s not your strong suit, but… give it a shot?”

“They’re busy right now.”

Phoenix watched as Novus gestured to Evelyn. She drew one glowing finger in a wide circle, and huge stone walls rose out of the ground where he’d laid out string, her eyes on his blueprints. Her free hand directed another circle, and abominations sludged their way towards the neat piles of tiles, shingles, glass panes, scooping them up and using the stone walls as a base to build windows and roofs.

“Not for long.”

Xxx

“Wow.” Phoenix’s voice echoed in the empty space. He hadn’t realized how everything in the old house had muffled sound until he stood in the empty rooms Evelyn had built. “This took two days?”

“And Evelyn will be passed out for about five,” Caleb said disapprovingly, “I wish she’d taken it slower.”

Lake bounced down a set of stairs, each footstep echoing off the walls and turning into a marching army. “Is Sam getting two rooms again? Because he’s already claimed one of the empty ones up there for his lab.”

“Oh, no,” Novus said casually, “I gave the house a couple of extra rooms for Ghost and Hunter, but I’m taking over the lab space for my work. Machinery will be far more useful than the glyphs now.” He laughed at Caleb’s stricken face. “I’m joking. There’s enough rooms for both. He can have a lab.”

Lake tilted their head. “Seems kinda… bare.”

“We’ll paint the walls,” Caleb promised. He moved through the space with a twinkle in his eye. “The kitchen will be here. Dining room right next to it, of course. What do you guys think of getting a family picture? I’ve always wanted one.”

“What about Achsah’s room?”

Caleb froze.

Lake scratched the back of their neck. “I mean… we saved some of her stuff. Some of the photographs were okay. We could try to set it all up again. But it won’t really be her room anymore. We’ll just be recreating it. Is that something you and Mom want?”

It was like in the absence of Locke, or Sam to bother, Lake had lost their usual goofy demeanor. Phoenix had never seen them be serious for more than two seconds—to drop this reminder on Caleb shocked Phoenix almost as much as it did their ortet.

“Um,” Caleb said in a strangled whisper, “I don’t know. I don’t…”

The kitchen and dining room area held a startling similarity to the old house—Novus had probably designed it that way on purpose. Caleb turned and wandered, half dazed, into the room that would have been Achsah’s back at home.

Lake watched him go passively. “That went well. Do you want to check out the rest of the house? Novus put a state of the art hidden room behind the dining room. The wall slides out and everything.”

“You’re not going to go check on him?”

“Nah, he needs a second by himself.”

Lake wandered through the empty halls, and Phoenix followed. “I don’t get it.”

“Don’t get what?”

Phoenix struggled for a moment to find the right words. “Why you?” he said finally.

“Because Cherry already took one for the team and yelled at Dad for sacrificing himself.”

“Really? That’s it?”

Lake shrugged. “Locke and I overheard Cherry and Novus talk about it when they first showed us the plans—you know how we like to lurk. Lurking is our favorite. Anyway, Cherry told Novus to just leave it in the plans, and we’d get there later, but, well, like I said, Cherry already did the lecture. Someone else’s turn to be the bearer of unwanted news.” Lake blew a strand of hair out of their face. “Would have loved for it to be Sam, Mr. Logic of Logics, but, well.”

They opened a door. Sure enough, Sam had claimed a space for a lab. Right now, he sat on the floor, twisting pieces of the box. He looked up.

“The box is a gridded cube!” he called excitedly, “Jason has compared it to something in the human realm called a ‘rubik’s cube’ and promised to find me one whenever he next visits. I just have to find the right combination…”

Lake closed the door. “You see the problem. Anyway, Locke and I rock-paper-scissors over it, which he ALWAYS wins, you would not BELIEVE how effective it is when he yells out his choice after I’ve already put my hand out. So I was Mr. Logic of Logics today.” They scratched the back of their head. “Not my favorite of jobs. I tried to channel Sam energy, how’d I do?”

Phoenix shook his head. “How do you do that?”

“What, channel Sam energy? It’s very easy, I just think ‘books, books, books’ in my head over and over again until I’m sufficiently stuffy and sneezing out big words.”

“No, I mean you and Locke—how do you stay so…”

“Charming?”

“…upbeat,” Phoenix finished.

Lake shook their head sadly. “It’s all a coping mechanism, we’re so sad and we cover it up with jokes so that no one will see the empty pit of despair welling up inside.” They grinned, immediately dispelling any thought Phoenix might have had that they were being serious. “Look, Phoenix. You just have to stop taking everything so seriously. We beat Belos! We survived! You’re on track for managing your curse! We’re building a great big house! We fought hard. Now enjoy the spoils.”

Loud banging echoed through the house, metal on wood. Lake glanced at an imaginary watch. “It appears to be checking on Dad o’clock.”

Caleb had left “Achsah’s” room. Instead, he sat in the empty place where the kitchen would be, building a table. He gave Phoenix a cheerful grin. “Been a while since I’ve done any woodworking.”

“You seem… chipper,” Phoenix said cautiously.

“Oh, for Titan’s sake, I can’t do this,” Lake whispered under their breath. They disappeared, and came back with Sam. “Go,” they ordered, pointing him towards Caleb.

Sam blinked, as if disoriented by how fast Lake had separated him from the cube and dragged him here. “Nice table. Avoiding our problems again?”

“I’m not avoiding anything. We need furniture if we’re going to live in this house. I’m solving problems.”

“Very reasonable,” Sam agreed, “How about that problem of Achsah’s room?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Phoenix sighed. This was going nowhere. “Are you okay?” he asked Caleb, “I know this can’t be easy. I know how much keeping her room meant to you.”

Caleb’s hand shook on his hammer. “I knew she wasn’t coming back. I mean, Eda and Lilith existing made that painfully clear. I guess I just hoped… But Lake’s right, aren’t they? It’s not her room anymore. The room’s gone, she’s gone…”

“It’s not wrong to want a reminder,” Phoenix said quietly, “You don’t have to forget her.”

“I don’t think I ever could.”

“You don’t have to decide now,” Sam chimed in, “You can leave the room empty for now. Leave it for last. Besides, you should probably talk to Mom before making a decision.”

“Yeah. Yeah, of course.” Caleb gave the three of them a wan smile. “Thank you.”

“Except Lake for bringing it up,” Sam added.

“No. Lake, too.” Caleb took a deep breath. “I’ll think about it.”

He turned back to the table, but the hammering seemed less desperate now. Phoenix swung out at the obvious dismissal, followed closely by Lake.

“Nice handling,” Lake told him, “Next time, I’m leaving the hard discussions to you.”

“No, thanks. I’ve had enough difficult discussions recently, and I don’t need one more.”

Lake gave him a lopsided grin. “Loosen up, remember? Makes the hard stuff easier.”

They disappeared back up the stairs, leaving nothing behind but the echo of their footsteps.

Enjoy the spoils.

Phoenix took a deep breath, looking around the new house with a small smile. They still had plenty to worry about—making this place home, what to do about Achsah’s room, Matt’s upcoming plans—but for now… maybe Lake was right. Maybe it was time to let go.

Days blurred into weeks of painting and building, moving one room at a time. Kitchen and dining room first, so that they’d have somewhere to cook and eat. Caleb set chairs and tables he’d built in the dining room, beaming with pride. Then came the bathrooms, and the common rooms, and finally, Evelyn declared that they’d picked over the ruins enough, and they wouldn’t find anything else, so they might as well start on their rooms. Phoenix still made the commute back to Bonesborough every weekend to see Darius and catch up on the Isles-wide reconstruction efforts.

Phoenix stared at the blank canvas of his wall. While Jason lined his room with books, and Mole lovingly set potted plants, Phoenix sat on his bed, wishing he could do something besides paint. Even before the house had been destroyed, he hadn’t been there long enough to make the room his own—and the time he did get was so hectic, he wasn’t even sure he’d had anything in the house to salvage.

“Going for the minimalistic approach, are we?” Darius asked from the door.

“Darius!” Phoenix jumped up from the bed. The cast had been cut off yesterday, but his ankle was so weak it almost folded underneath him immediately. “Hey—what are you doing here?”

“Getting all the stuff out of my living room. And having a top secret meeting with Matt about his party. You know, I’m not entirely certain he’s separated the idea of a party from coven work.”

“That sounds right.” Phoenix waved a hand at the walls. “What do you think? Bright purple for the walls?”

“Don’t you dare.” Darius looked around the room. “I know just about everything of yours was confiscated when you… disappeared… so I thought… ah, just take it.”

He handed Phoenix a photograph in a simple wooden frame, a photo of he and Darius during the mentorship. Phoenix gently brushed one hand over his photographed face. He’d gotten so used to the scars from Belos’ attack that seeing this photograph without them now felt strange and foreign. His face looked so… young. But even with the great grin plastered across his face in the photo while he headlocked Darius, a tired sadness seemed etched in his face.

“Thank you,” he said quietly, “I don’t remember this being taken—where did you find it?”

“My memories,” Darius replied casually, “I had a copy made.” He sighed. “I know things weren’t rosy perfect back then. I know so much happened to you that I never saw. And I know—or at least I hope—we’re headed towards a better chapter of our life now. But don’t forget the last chapter, eh?”

Phoenix set the photograph up on the dresser, sweeping elixir bottles to the side. “Never. And—Darius? Thank you. For the photo. For letting us stay with you. For… everything.”

“Anytime. Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s a top secret party meeting I must attend. I believe we are discussing snacks.”

Xxx

“I see someone—wait, no, that’s just someone’s abomination that’s gotten loose.” Jason all-but had his face pressed against the glass of the front window, watching out for incoming guests. “They’ll come, right? I mean, of course our friends will show, but given that half the point is to get the townspeople used to the look-alike family that wandered out of the woods, we really need some people we don’t know.”

“I’m sure they will,” Phoenix assured him, but he watched equally carefully.

“Oh!” Jason yanked back from the window, opening the door and sprinting down the careful garden path, currently devoid of an actual garden. “Willow! Gus! Amity! Luz!” He bowed to Willow with a flourish. “Lord of Bats.”

She returned his over-the-top bow with one of her own. “House of Crows. How lovely to see you again.”

“It’s been three days,” Amity reminded them.

They both laughed, and Jason led the kids towards the door.

“Eda and Lilith are on their way with King,” Luz told Phoenix, “They’ll be here soon. I might take King home at some point, though. Don’t want him up too late and all.”

A loud gasp sounded from the path, and a witch from town clutched her chest. “I—I just thought I was meeting the new neighbors,” she stammered, “I didn’t know that Luz the human would be here—and did you say the owl lady was coming?”

“Yesssss?” Luz said uncertainly, as if unsure whether this information would scare the witch off or not.

“Oh. Oh, my. Excuse me. I’ll be right back.”

She dashed off back towards town, and Luz winced. “I think your guest list might have just gotten a bit bigger.”

That didn’t bode well. They’d kept the invitations small on purpose—not that anyone but Matt and Darius really knew who was coming, but still, Phoenix thought some of the others might notice if too many people showed up.

Eda, Lilith, and King arrived in a rush of feathers and a bag of elixirs pushed into Phoenix’s arms. He answered Lilith’s seemingly endless questions on their effects, wondering vaguely if anyone had warned Caleb and Evelyn they were coming, but mostly focused on the steady trickle of strangers now coming towards the house.

Caleb and Evelyn wandered into the living room, stopping dead when they spotted Lilith and Eda. Phoenix winced. Caleb didn’t look much like his descendants, but their resemblance to Evelyn was impossible to deny. He could practically see the wheels ticking in Eda’s head. But before she could say anything, the other guests reached the house and she was swept away in a tide of questions and admirations. Luz looked similarly swamped.

“Well, this wasn’t in the plans.” Matt stood on the stairs, chewing thoughtfully on a pen. “I should have guessed something would go wrong. I need to warn Silver.”

The mobs around Eda and Luz split into a third group, buzzing around Darius the moment he walked through the door. He arched one eyebrow at Matt, who winced and shrugged.

“Well, we’re getting a reputation for being well-connected,” Locke said at Phoenix’s elbow, “Fantastic, I’m sure this will hold no negative consequences.” He grinned. “We should invite celebrities over more often.”

Babble surrounded Phoenix as people slowly got over their star-struck awe and spread out. They stuck in small packs, townsfolk interacting with their neighbors, and grimwalkers talking to other grimwalkers. Both groups eyed each other uneasily, skirting around each other and only occasionally exchanging brief hellos and ‘excuse me’s.

“Ah, yes,” Locke deadpanned, “I can feel the house warming up already.” He stuck his nose into the air, shaking his head back and forth. “Can you feel that, Lake?”

As if summoned, Lake seemed to materialize at Phoenix’s other side. “No, Locke, what is it?”

“The tension! It’s so thick it’s starting to physically manife—”

Thump.

Muffled murmurs. Evelyn’s immediate sprint, pushing through guests and grimwalkers alike. “Give him space,” she ordered.

“Steven,” Jason breathed, “He’s having a seizure—we need to move everyone away, there��s not enough space.”

More murmurs and exclamations. Across the room, Silver’s face was as white as a sheet, and they beelined for the nearest window, opening it and oh-so-casually leaning against the sill, prepared to leap out, if Phoenix had to guess.

This is bad.

It didn’t take Darius, party expert extraordinaire, to know that. People flocked naturally to a disaster—they’d crowd Steven, stress Silver, and probably panic themselves, which would only—

“Well, I think it’s time to move this party outside!” Locke hopped up on the stairs, raising their voice, “Do we have any plant witches in attendance tonight?”

Willow raised her hand, and a few others tentatively joined her.

“Who feels like a seed race?”

“What’s that?” someone called.

“Only the best way for a plant witch to show off their magical prowess! Winner gets to take home a rare human realm plant known as ‘mint,’ proven to thrive even in the Isles!”

A few ‘ooo’s rose up, and witches started to wander outdoors. Cherry had quickly assembled a circle of grimwalkers around Steven and Evelyn, blocking them from view while guests went outside.

Willow hung back, raising one eyebrow at Locke. “A seed race, huh? How come I’ve never heard of that before?”

“Because I made it up just now. Mole, you’ve got some seeds, right? Where did you want some of the plants in the garden to go? I’ll make it look natural.”

Caleb slumped against the banister. “Thank you, Locke.” Behind him, Steven slowly sat up, watched by Evelyn like a hawk.

“Hey, it’s what I do. Be a loud and annoying distraction. Just ask Sam!” Locke grinned, bouncing out the door. “Alright, three categories: speed, size, and healthiness! Line up!”

Caleb sighed, joining Evelyn and Steven.

Eda nudged Phoenix. “Hey, introduce me to your planner. We’ve been scheming up a quinceañera party for Luz, and so far, this party’s been a riot.”

“Wish it was less of one.”

She grinned and held out an elixir. “Bottoms up, kid.”

Phoenix glanced down. He hadn’t even noticed his arms had started to drip. Great. Another thing for the townsfolk to take home as a story. He gulped the elixir with a grimace. “Does the taste ever get better?”

“If anything, it gets worse. Ah, well, necessary evils and all that. Not to suddenly change the subject or anything, but do you mind explaining her?” Eda waved an accusing hand towards Evelyn.

“I think you’d better ask her. And Caleb.”

“Yeah, I kind of thought that would be your answer. Well, can’t blame me for trying the easy route.” Eda grabbed Lilith’s arm. “C’mon.”

“What? Where are we going?”

“Answer-hunting.”

Before they could approach Evelyn, Sam thumped down the stairs, puzzle box tucked under his arm. “Oh, is the party over already? Excellent, I didn’t actually want to go.”

Lilith gasped. “Ooo!” She pulled herself from Eda’s grip, reaching for the box. “May I? I love a good puzzle.”

“Be my guest.”

“Aaaaand I’ve lost her,” Eda muttered under her breath, “Right, just me then.” She squared her shoulders, and marched towards Caleb and Evelyn. Steven waved the two of them off with a tired smile, and the two nervously gestured towards Achsah’s room, still untouched.

“They are definitely going to botch the explanation,” Sam said cheerfully, “They always do.”

“Yeah…” Phoenix looked back at Steven to check if he was still upright. He was with Darius now, and the two of them spoke in low voices, occasionally glancing down at Steven’s burned-off sigil. Cherry stood only a few feet away, looking like he was desperately trying not to listen in and at the same time, straining to hear what was being said.

“You’re my WHAT?!” Eda’s voice squawked from Achsah’s room.

“Got it!” Lilith said triumphantly at the same time, “You were so close. I barely had to do anything.” She looked up. “What happened to Eda?”

Phoenix hurried to Achsah’s room, Darius and Steven forgotten. Eda jabbed a finger at him the moment he entered.

“You are not allowed to be my great uncle,” she told him, “Not allowed, do you hear me?”

“Sorry. I’ll try not to be.”

Lilith came in on Phoenix’s heels. “What’s going on?”

“They’re our ancestors, Lili. Our ancestors.”

“Oh,” Lilith said thoughtfully, “That makes sense. Fascinating.” She held out the box. “This is for you two, by the way. Someone called Achsah went great lengths to make sure it reached you through time.”

Caleb all-but snatched the opened box from her, his face pale. “Achsah?!”

Evelyn delicately lifted out a letter. Phoenix caught sight of a bracelet inside, hand-woven leather and beads. Evelyn scanned the letter, her eyes welling up with tears.

“Get Mole, please,” she whispered, and Sam was off. Mole arrived moments later, and Evelyn held up the letter. “Caleb, would you…?”

Caleb took the paper from her, his eyes devouring it like a starving man. “Dear Mom and Dad,” he read out loud, “I’ve buried this letter in a puzzle box under where the kitchen will be someday. I hope you finally get to work on that root cellar you always wanted, or else you won’t find it. Dad—” he choked up, and Evelyn took the letter.

“Dad, I know exactly what you’ve probably been doing since the moment the time pool washed away, and I want you to stop it. What happened wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anyone’s. For a while, I was sad, and lost, and wanted nothing more than for you to pop out of another pool and bring me back home.” Evelyn took a deep breath. “But since then, I’ve met some beautiful people, including my partner.”

Caleb took the letter back. “You two would love them, just as much as I love them. I wish the three of you could meet. While I write this, your grandkid is tearing through the house like a tiny terror. He’s got your nose, Dad, and Mom’s eyes. And the healer tells me I’ve got twins coming—isn’t that crazy? I’d do anything to protect them, and I know if you could have come back for me, you would have. But I want you to know that I’m happy here and now. I miss you every day, but I don’t regret the people I’ve met since. Please don’t be sad I’m gone.”

Caleb smiled at Mole. “This next part is for you. Say hi to your lookalike for me, Dad. If he’s anything like you, the ‘don’t blame yourself’ bit goes for him, too. I don’t regret rescuing him. I only wish I’d gotten to know him. Bet he’s awesome. I made a bracelet for him. I know he was passed out, so he probably didn’t see me at all, but it’s just something to remember me by. His younger/older sister.”

Mole sniffed, delicately lifting the bracelet out of the box and slipping it onto his wrist.

“I know we were hiding. I didn’t realize it first, but now that I’ve spent my life here trying to pretend I’ve always lived in this time, I can see it’s the same. Mom. Dad. I don’t want you to keep hiding. Whatever happens, get out there. Show the world who you are. All the love in both dimensions, Achsah.”

Caleb folded up the letter, and they all stood there for a long moment, no one saying anything. Finally, Evelyn took Caleb’s hand. “No more hiding,” she said softly.

“No more hiding,” Caleb echoed, “No more grieving.”

“Are you ready to show the world who we are?”

“If you are.”

Evelyn smiled, and together, she and Caleb walked out to meet the Isles.

Xxx

“Latissa.” Evelyn said the word carefully, like it might shatter in her mouth. “That’s an interesting choice. Any reason?”

Steven rubbed his arm where his sigil used to be. “Darius mentioned something—I know it’s gone, but…”

“The sigil experiments,” Phoenix breathed. That had to be what Darius and Steven had been talking about at the housewarming party. He touched his own mark. The Day of Unity was over, and with it, the danger of the draining spell. The sigils didn’t affect him, but countless witches couldn’t access all their magic—Alador led the way in sigil removal research, and Darius was right there with him.

Steven nodded. “The sigil experiments. I don’t think mine is the same as the modern sigils, since it almost killed me instantly, but Darius said getting a look at the earlier attempts might help them understand the ones we have now.”

“But you said it: you don’t have yours anymore,” Evelyn replied, “How are they going to study it?”

“Questions. Anecdotes. And… the seizures. Darius thinks they’re related.”

“We knew that.”

“Well, yes, but this might be—I mean, if what I know can help them, and if their research can stop the seizures entirely… even if they can’t, I want to help.” Steven shook his head. “I used that glove on other people, even knowing what it would do to them. I can’t change that, but… maybe I can make up for it by helping witches suffering from those sigils now.”

Evelyn chewed on her lip. “Latissa is a bit of a commute without a palisman,” she said finally, “What’s your plan?”

“I’d be staying there.” Steven shrugged, as if trying to make it seem like nothing. “There’s space—they converted the old police station into their center. I’m sure we can fit a bed.”

“I see. Do you—do you know how long you’d be there?” Evelyn’s voice held a sort of desperate casualness to it, like she was trying not to scare Steven off, but also didn’t quite want to let him go.

“Not forever.” Steven’s voice matched Evelyn’s, somehow both intensely normal and strained at the same time. “I’ll be back. Um. I mean, how long could it take, really?”

“How much is Alador like Sam?” Evelyn joked. She rubbed her arm. “Will you be okay? I should go with you.”

“What? Mom, they need you here.”

“But the seizures—if one happens—will Alador know what to do?”

“I’ll tell him,” Steven promised, “And I’m almost certain healers will be involved—I’ll be in the best possible place if something does go wrong. Besides home.”

“Hm.”

Steven took her hands. “Mom, I’ll be safe. I promise. This could be… it could be huge for me.”

“It could be.” Evelyn sighed, wrapping him in a hug. “Oh, I knew you all would grow up. I just didn’t think it would be so soon.”

Phoenix thought uneasily of Matt and Alex. Neither of them had announced their plans to leave yet, but maybe Evelyn suspected. Or maybe with Jason always off with the kids, and Auric always off at his new apprenticeship, and Phoenix gone every weekend, she just felt… lonely.

“I won’t be gone for long. Promise.”

Xxx

“Where was that you said? The wreckage of the keep? Again?” Darius pinched his nose, nodding along to the conversation on the other end of the raven phone. “I know—yes. No, we’ll look into it. I said we’ll look into it! Yes, lovely day to you too, goodbye.”

Phoenix winced, setting his weekend bag on the floor with a thump. “Bad time?”

Darius tossed the phone to the side, letting it fly to its perch. “It’s fine. Just Terra rearing her head again. Most of the scouts and coven heads settled in peacefully enough, but every couple of months…”

Phoenix shuddered. He doubted she’d come after him specifically, but part of him was tempted to start checking his drinks for poison. “Is it safe to leave her on the loose?”

“Unlikely. If anyone’s going to cause havoc, it’s going to be her. But the…” Darius heaved a sigh. “…CATs… are spread too thin. Between guarding the new palistrom tree, rebuilding what Belos and the Collector destroyed, and keeping the peace between disoriented and disillusioned citizens, we haven’t had a lot of time or manpower to spare towards tracking her down. And I don’t want to assign someone inexperienced to the job—we need someone who’s used to handling threats. Big ones. People who can corner her, and…” he tilted his head. “You have a thinking face on. You know someone, don’t you? One of your siblings?”

“Yes,” Phoenix said slowly, “Or—at least, I think so. Let me see that phone again?”

One short phone call and a griffin-flight later, Meleager, Horus, Hamlet, and Venari sat in Darius’ living room, studying pictures of Terra with matching frowns.

“Plant magic…” Meleager mused, “Fire and ice, then. I think I still have some leftover frost potions.”

“We need to get her off the ground,” Venari added, “The further she is from seeds and dirt, the harder it’ll be for her to get away.”

Hamlet scratched his head. “Coven head, though, so it’ll be tricky to separate her entirely—any capture method like nets or rope can’t be made of plant fibers, because she might be able to manipulate those.”

“Once we get her hands and feet immobilized, that won’t be as big of an issue,” Horus declared, “Focus on the capture—containment after should be comparatively easy.”

“Sounds like they’ve got this under control,” Darius murmured to Phoenix.

“They’ve been bored,” Phoenix replied equally quietly, “Oh, just—make sure you prioritize capturing Terra alive.”

Darius chuckled, then glanced at Phoenix and stopped abruptly. “Oh, you’re not kidding. They’ll—”

“Without hesitation.”

“Huh. Well, would it really be that much of a loss? Kidding,” he added quickly, “I’ll be sure to tell them.”

Phoenix shrugged. “I’ve got no love lost for Terra. But I don’t want them killing anyone, for sure. I don’t think that’s a path anyone wants them taking.”

“Hey.” Darius gave Phoenix a small smile. “Give them a little trust. They met Petro—I don’t think they’re in any hurry to go down the killing spree path.”

“Hm. I hope you’re right. They still might engage in some light torture, though.”

Darius squeezed his eyes shut. “Why do I feel like you handed me a bigger problem than the one you’ve solved?”

“They’ll be fine. Just…”

“Reiterate the capturing her alive part, yes, understood.”

“We’re going,” Venari declared, “We’ll see you in… what, 3 days at the worst?”

“We’re staking out the keep. We might come back to steal Dagger,” Meleager explained, “We got this, Phoenix, she’ll never poison anyone again.”

“Alive,” Darius warned, “Capture her alive!”

Horus gave him a thumbs-up, and the four of them disappeared out the door. Darius watched them go, the worry on his face shifting to a pensive, planning expression. “You know, if this goes well, I might have a few other hunts for them. Terra’s not the only one who’s clinging to her old power.”

Phoenix grinned. “I’m sure they’d like that very much.”

Xxx

“Oop—watch the root—”

Phoenix caught Mole’s arm at Jason’s warning, keeping him upright when he stumbled. “Maybe we should take off the blindfold?” he suggested, “The footing’s getting a little treacherous.”

“But then it wouldn’t be a surprise!” Jason protested, “Maybe you could carry him?”

Mole’s nose scrunched up at the suggestion, and Phoenix shook his head. “Yeah, I don’t think he wants that.”

“Well, we’re almost there anyway. Come on.”

Phoenix didn’t pick Mole up, but he held his arm out for Mole to cling to and guided him slowly over the forest floor. Mole gave him a brief grateful smile, jabbing one finger at the blindfold and heaving a fond sigh.

“He’s a bit excited,” Phoenix agreed, “He’s been taking trips out here with Hunter and Willow an awful lot, but they’ve been tight-lipped about it to me, too.”

“Okay, Phoenix, now you have to close your eyes, too!”

“I thought this was a surprise for Mole?” Phoenix protested.

“It is,” Hunter agreed, appearing at Phoenix’s elbow with Flapjack in his staff form, “But it’s a surprise for everyone. Don’t worry, I’ve got you two.”

Phoenix closed his eyes. Hunter’s hand closed over his arm, and he heard the tell-tale sound of a flash-step, his balance just ever-so-slightly thrown off at the sudden change in placement.

“Okay, open them,” Jason ordered.

Phoenix opened his eyes, and beside him, Mole took off the blindfold.

A massive blue tree towered over them, blooming with blue leaves and flowers. Phoenix had never seen a tree like this, but something about it seemed… familiar. His skin crawled with that feeling of just knowing something, deep inside, like how his curse recognized Belos, but more positive.

“Is that… palistrom?” he asked.

Mole stepped forward as if in a trance, putting one hand on the massive blue trunk. He nodded in answer to Phoenix’s question, pressing his forehead to the bark like it was an old friend. Silent tears streamed down his face, and Phoenix remembered just how long ago Mole had technically been born. He must have been used to seeing palistrom forests peppering the Isles, and had woken up suddenly in a world without them.

“The palisman this tree could make,” Phoenix murmured, “It grew so big so fast!”

“Willow had a lot to do with that part,” Hunter explained, “But, well, there’s a reason there was a shortage for so long.”

“Palistrom were kept strictly monitored by Belos,” Phoenix remembered, “You think he kept them small on purpose? Of course he did,” he answered his own question, “Why wouldn’t he? The more magic stifled, the better.”

Hunter fidgeted, twisting his hands around each other. Jason nudged him. “Go on,” he whispered, “Tell them.”

“Tell us what?”

“I’m going to be a palisman carver,” Hunter burst out, “Caleb’s taught me some, and I’ve been talking to Eda’s dad, Dell—he was a professional carver, you know—and he’s going to take me on as an apprentice.” He looked up at the tree, eyes shining. “With the way this tree’s been growing and flowering, we should be able to repopulate the Isles with palistrom in no time. Luckily, the palistrom is a self-pollinating plant. And even just a solid branch from this tree—anyone can have a palisman. Everyone can.” He scratched the back of his neck shyly. “I was thinking… I was thinking I could carve one for Caleb first. Since… you know. He carved my palisman.”

Phoenix smiled warmly. “That sounds like a great idea.”

“And… I could carve one for everyone in the family. Or you could adopt!” he added quickly, “The Bat Queen has dozens of palisman looking for a home. But yes. I could carve one. Hypothetically. No promises yet, I’m still learning, but—oh, okay, you hate the idea.”

“What?” Phoenix reached up to find tears running from his eyes. “No—no, Hunter, I don’t hate the idea, I…” he searched for the right words to describe how he felt. A palisman? For him? He’d never even considered it, not with the life he’d lived. The curse curled up inside him rumbled at the idea, but he couldn’t tell if it was the remnants of Belos protesting, the palisman eager for a palisman of their own outside of him, or something hungrier. “Is that a good idea?” he said finally, “I mean, with…” he gestured to his arms.

“Do you want one?” Jason asked.

“Yes.” The word slipped out of Phoenix’s mouth almost without a thought. He hadn’t realized he wanted one until now, but he knew it deep inside, watching Flapjack and Hunter. “I do.”

“Then we’ll find a way to make it work,” Jason said firmly, “Whatever that means.”

Mole nodded joining them. He pointed to himself, tilting his head in a question.

“Yeah, of course I can make one for you,” Hunter interpreted, “Any idea what you’d want? We can always go the egg route if not. Sounds pretty easy to carve, too.”

A mischievous grin crept over Mole’s face, and he pointed to himself again. Hunter frowned.

“I don’t know what you’re asking—sorry, we’ll figure it ou—”

Jason groaned. “Oh, no. You want a mole for a palisman, don’t you?”

Mole nodded vigorously, breaking off into peals of laughter. Phoenix groaned with Jason, but Mole’s laughter was infectious, and a smile took over his face despite himself.

Palisman for us. It didn’t seem right—not after all the palisman he’d handed over to Belos. Maybe Mole or Jason deserved one—after all, Belos had tried to kill Jason for protecting the little creatures. Phoenix? He’d never even considered another option besides giving them to their doom.

But Flapjack sat scarred and proud on Hunter’s shoulder despite everything, like a beacon saying it’s possible; you just have to want it enough, and the tree loomed over them, big, and beautiful, and strong despite what Belos had tried to do to its species, and right here, in this forest, Phoenix did want it.

We’ll find a way to make it work.

Xxx

Phoenix climbed out an attic hatch onto the roof—another holdover from the old house’s design. He didn’t quite join Cherry where he sat on the edge of the roof, legs dangling over, but he sat down close.

“I thought this was Jason’s brooding spot. Enjoying the view?”

Cherry glanced back at him. “It’s quieter than I thought it would be.”

“Hm?”

Cherry waved a hand at the town sprawling in the near distance. “I thought it would be noisy, living so much closer to other people. But in the evening, if I close my eyes, it’s almost like nothing’s changed. It’s like we’re still back in the forest, and we’re all together. No one’s left and gone where I can’t protect them. And then I open my eyes, and… it’s all so different now.”

“It’s not a bad thing. They’ll be okay.”

“Mm.” Cherry stared out over the town again, his hair almost red in the light of the setting sun. “You ever think it was strange, how close to Belos we were hiding? I mean, the third rib? We might as well have been on his doorstep. But we weren’t discovered. Somehow, we were never discovered. Somehow, Mom and Dad managed to save every one of us, no matter how badly we were injured. Isn’t that odd? We didn’t lose a single person.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Belos always said loss was so necessary, and I believed him. I saw it firsthand, how sometimes people had to be sacrificed. We were some of those people. But somehow, no one died. None of us—despite how many people we killed, not one of us went down. Why did we get to survive when so many people didn’t?” He chuckled, a low, humorless sound. “Doesn’t that seem so improbable, when you think about it? Belos might have been lying about the titan having plans for us, but sometimes it almost does feel like there’s some higher power out there who’s decided to keep us alive.”

“Or one determined human and witch.” Phoenix scooted closer to Cherry, eying the edge of the roof. “It does seem improbable,” he admitted, “People died—and we were responsible some of the time. But we all made it. Against the odds. I think this family is good at that.”

Cherry heaved a sigh. “But what’s the point, if we’re not going to stick together? What’s the point, if after everything, everyone goes their separate ways? We got so far, only to fall apart at the end.”

“We’re not falling apart.” Phoenix looked up at the moon and stars slowly replacing the sun as the brightest things in the sky. “You know… I used to see Darius every day. I’d take him with me on missions. I’d test his skills, but I was always there to protect him if something happened. But when I first woke up with Caleb and Evelyn… he’d grown. He was a capable adult who could handle himself. And that was a hard thing to accept. If he didn’t need me to protect him, if he didn’t need a mentor, then what use was I to him?”

Phoenix smiled. “But we haven’t fallen apart yet. Maybe he doesn’t need a mentor anymore. Maybe he doesn’t need my protection. But I think he still needs me. Just me, because I’m me and that’s enough of a reason.” Phoenix nudged Cherry’s shoulder. “It’s not going to be the same. They’re not going to be as close. They won’t always need your protection anymore. And that’s going to be difficult to get used to. But I don’t think they’ll ever stop needing you.”

Cherry watched the sun finally disappear completely over the horizon, silent until it was gone. “I don’t want our lives to change,” he said finally, “I think I’m glad for the others finding what they want, but I’m not sure who I am without them. I’ve been looking after them for so long, trying to forget the past for so long… I don’t want to be left alone with myself.”

“Hm.” Phoenix leaned back, finally kicking his legs over the edge of the roof and sitting fully next to Cherry. “Well. I can tell you some good news about that.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yes. Even if they all leave, even if we all go our separate ways, you aren’t going to be alone, Cherry. We will always have your back. We’ll only be one raven call away.”

A smile flashed across Cherry’s face. “You’re going to have to teach me how to use one.”

“Oh. Right.”

“But… thanks, Phoenix. For having my back.”

Xxx

Despite Phoenix’s late start, his room filled up over months of living. Mole commandeered his window space with new plants, human realm varieties that Camila shared. Light blue walls were quickly covered over with scribbles that Ghost had presented him, and photos Willow shared. She always seemed to be dropping by, picking up Hunter or Jason or both of them. Sometimes, even Mole went along to visit the palistrom tree. Little practice wood carvings that Hunter made with Caleb and Dell surrounded the photograph Darius had given to him. Hunter hadn’t carved any palisman for the family besides Mole’s mole, but one day, Jason came back from the human realm library with a massive book full of animal pictures that he and Phoenix pored over for hours, looking for a creature that felt right.

Jason tapped one foot. “We’re going to be late. Hunter and Willow are outside waiting.”

“Yeah, yeah, give me a second. We’ll have at least half an hour while Caleb and Flapjack catch up.” Phoenix drank an elixir. Today had been a good day for the curse, but he didn’t want to push it staying up late.

Jason wandered over to the window, peering into the garden. “He’s gotten taller than me,” he grumbled, “Traitor. I’ll be inconsolable if Ghost gets big like that. I cannot be the shortest in the family.”

Phoenix ruffled his hair, his arm braces clicking gently at the movement. “Aw, don’t you want to stay the baby forever? You don’t want to be Evelyn’s little snuggle buddy?”

“I will always be Mom’s little snuggle buddy, thank you very much, but that doesn’t mean I have to be the shortest. Ghost has to be shorter. They have to.”

“Do not.” Ghost wrinkled their nose at Jason from the doorway. “I’m gonna be so big. Gonna eat griffins. In one bite.”

“Don’t let Joseph hear you say that,” Phoenix joked, “He’ll disown you.”

Ghost squeaked, tugging on Phoenix’s arm. “Nee-Nee, it’s time to go,” they said impatiently, “I wanna see King.”

“Alright, I’m coming, I’m coming.”

Phoenix followed Ghost downstairs. Hunter chattered excitedly to Caleb about the palisman he was working on, and Willow gave Jason their customary bow and exchange of royal titles.

“I can just walk, right?” Phoenix asked Hunter.

“Low and slow,” Hunter promised.

“You never actually mean that,” Phoenix grumbled, but he sat behind Hunter anyway, picking Ghost up and holding them tightly in his lap.

Hunter did fly too fast and too high for Phoenix’s taste, but Willow and Jason still beat them by a mile, so he supposed Hunter had been taking it easy on him.

Ghost squirmed out of Phoenix’s lap almost before they’d completely landed, bolting to tackle King in a hug. The titan fell in mock defeat.

“Curses! You’ve defeated the king of the demons this time, little Ghost!”

“She’s coming!” Eda called, “Everyone ready?”

Luz walked through the door, and the quinceañera passed by in a blur of well-wishes and laughter. Phoenix exchanged smiles and hellos with what seemed like everyone on the Isles.

“You thought any more about the mentoring offer? The university’s really taking off.”

Phoenix smiled tiredly in response to Eda. “I’d need a way to get there. Getting Ghost to Hexside is going to be tricky enough.”

“Man. Get a palisman already, would ya?”

Eda’s grin dispelled any bite to the words, but Phoenix’s attention hung fully on the portal door hanging wide open behind her. He glanced around to make sure Ghost was safe—they chased happily after Flapjack, who Phoenix was relatively certain was one of the more responsible people here—and quickly pushed through into the human realm before he could convince himself not to.

Creak.

Phoenix’s eyes darted over furniture that formed monsters and familiar specters in the dark. Wait a minute…

“Petro?” he called, just in case.

“No,” Jason’s voice called from the basement, “Just me.”

Phoenix creaked his way down the stairs to the basement, wincing at every sound. He sat on the bottom of the stairs next to Jason. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Jason gestured out towards the mound where Phoenix knew Belos’ remains lay. “Do you ever wake up and just… forget for a minute that he’s gone?”

Phoenix rubbed his arms. A part of Belos would always live in him, in the curse—for him the problem was more remembering that he was gone at all. “Sometimes,” he admitted, “I’m guessing you do.”

Jason sighed. “I know it’s been years, but… sometimes it just doesn’t feel real. Sometimes I feel like he’s still coming for me. I mean, after all he’s survived, how can I even truly be sure he’s gone?” He rested his chin on his knees. “I don’t know if I’ll ever really believe it.”

Phoenix chuckled dryly. “Can you imagine how furious he’d be if he was still alive?”

Jason cracked a smile at that. “A university of wild magic?” he joked, “He’s probably spinning in his grave fast enough to generate the electricity needed to power this whole neighborhood. Not to mention us.”

“Not to mention us,” Phoenix echoed, “He’d be devastated if he knew we were happy.”

“Guess we better keep being happy, then. Just to spite him.” Jason’s smile faded, and he went back to looking over Belos’ grave.

Phoenix nudged his shoulder. “Hey,” he said quietly, “He’s dead. For real this time. He’s not coming back. But when it feels like he might, when it feels like he’s going to jump out of nowhere and sink his claws into you… you know where to find me. Or Cherry. Or Caleb, or Evelyn, or Mole, or anyone else. You’re going to be okay.”

“Yeah. I think I am.”

Jason got up, stretching and offering his hand to Phoenix. “Let’s get out of here.”

Phoenix happily obeyed, following Jason back into light and laughter. Ghost wandered over, their eyelids drooping. Flapjack chirped an admonishment, tugging affectionately on their hair.

“Hey, Ghost,” Phoenix said quietly, crouching down next to them, “You all tired out?”

They rubbed their eyes. “I’m not sleepy,” they said stubbornly, in spite of their giant yawn, “I just… want to go to bed and rest my eyes.”

“Fair enough.” Phoenix scooped Ghost up, holding them as easily as if they were still a toddler. “Come on. Let’s go home.”

#YAY WE FINISHED IT IN TIME FOR GILDED'S BIRTHDAY!!!! BARELY BUT WE DID IT!!!#toh #the owl house #gilded family au #toh fanfiction #my writing #caleb wittebane #golden guard oc #evelyn clawthorne #willow park #hunter wittebane

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thousand-winters · 3 months

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It might be terrible, but i like to imagine a scenario where some time after the epilogue, just when Hunter has somewhat healed and got used to his new life, something bad happens that threatens his new life and his family, and Hunter either goes a little feral or just shuts down.

in particular i imagine it as Darius getting injured, maybe because of a plot from remaining Belos supporters or even a freak accident, and for double angst Hunter either shuts down, not knowing what to do, or immediately goes after whoever caused the injury, so later he blames himself for doing that instead of actually helping (as he sees it).

Honestly, while the main threat (Belos and the Emperor's Coven in general) is gone, it is likely things will be a bit of a struggle for a while. On one hand, there's the rogue Coven Heads that still seemed to want to keep the Empire going except with them at the helm, aka, Terra, Adrian and Vitimir, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's not only them, but other scouts who don't love the dissolution of Belos' reign and would like back the power they used to have.

There were some really weird scouts out there, like that one that wanted to straight up kill Hunter for kicking them.

So yeah, I can totally picture some kind of accident occurring and it would make sense if it's, say, the rogue ex-Coven Heads, going after Darius, Eber and Raine since they were the rebels who they could easily blame for "ruining everything", even if they were proven right when it came to Belos' intentions. How they could get the jump on Darius is hard to say since he's, well, Darius, and I love him a lot but my man is a little bit overpowered with that skillset of his. Their best chance would probably do the same thing they did during the Day of Unity and weaponize someone he cares about against him, because Darius particularly tends to panic when his loved ones are on the line.

I could see them potentially targeting them during some kind of family outing because then they have Darius and Eber right there, which means they can also use Hunter and Eber to keep Darius from tearing them to pieces right there if they're fast enough.

What I'm picturing here is they try to take them by surprise and perhaps they DO grab Hunter, Eber and Darius freeze a bit because that's their kid and they might risk many things but they wouldn't risk him, and even if it's a moment of distraction only, it's just enough for someone to attack Darius and injure him.

That would probably only work if Hunter's teleportation magic is a bit flickery and doesn't always work, but I imagine he would absolutely lose his head as soon as he sees Darius bleeding, and while perhaps the smart choice would be to grab him and try to get him away or stay behind to guard him while Eber fights (like Eber would probably tell him to do), considering how protective Hunter is, I think he would definitely have a little moment of shock and then get absolutely vicious with whoever it was that managed to hurt Darius... probably Terra considering those three skillsets, hers is the better suited for that.

Between him and Eber, they can probably at least fend them off and get Darius somewhere safer, but then the guilt is so gonna hit Hunter because while he didn't want to leave Eber alone either, he just sees Darius looking a bit pale and thinks that not only was it his fault, but his first instinct was to attack instead of staying by his side like Darius would probably have done and now he feels like the worst person on the Realms.

They're going to need a long talk about how protecting Darius and Eber is not Hunter's responsibility and it's also not his fault that everyone knows they're protective enough of him that he makes good bait if they can get their hands on him.

(By the way, this comes at a really good time because this lovely fic has a very similar premise to what you described, and if you haven't already, you should totally go check it out)

#hunter deamonne #darius deamonne #eberwolf the huntsman #dadrius #the owl house #toh

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lovethebadguy · 1 year

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Alright. I've seen a heck of a lot of gifs and fanart and comics about The Owl House. I'm finally gonna watch it and write down some of my observations.

(spoiler alert, obviously)

• Omfg her name is "loose". I've been pronouncing Luz like it rhymes with "buzz" this entire time.

• Nothing could have prepared me for Hooty's voice. In fact, no one sounds like I thought they would. Eda is Wendie Malick? Was no one going to tell me this?

• I've only known King for five minutes, but if anything happens to him I will kill everyone in this room and then myself.

• King's voice was also not what I was expecting, which in hindsight was foolish of me. I knew it was Alex Hirsch. The Bill Cipher vibe should not have been a surprise.

• When does Hunter get here?

• Amity is the snobby high-achieving school bully?! BUT THE ROMANCE?!

• I know it's coming. I've seen far too many cute fan works of Amity and Luz for that not to be the case.

• SHE SQUISHED KING'S CUPCAKE THOUGH. 😡

• Ahhh. There's a teeeeny tiny glimpse of the Lumity that is to come. All is right with the world.

• Gus is just a little fella. Comics did not fully portray how smol he is.

• When does Hunter get here?

• I am up to episode 16 and I still watch the opening theme in its entirety for three reasons. One: it's fantastic. The music, the animation, it's all tops. Two: I'm waiting to see when/if the image of Amity changes. She still turns her back at the moment, but she's warming up, I know it. And three: the image of King perched on Luz's shoulders just before the title card makes me smile every time. He's so dang cute.

• Ok. So, I obviously already knew from tumblr that The Owl House is beloved, in part, for its representation of LGBTQIA. And now that I'm experiencing it first-hand? I totally get it. Everything feels so natural and understated. Luz blushing when either of the older Blight siblings spoke to her? The short, sweet glances between Luz and Amity? They're all the typical moments you'd expect to see between a male and a female character, and it's honestly so refreshing (and surprising, coming from Disney) to see it happening between two girls in a way that feels real. I am all aboard the Lumity train.

• In the span of 10 minutes, Eda has referred to Luz as "her kid", called herself "mama", and been shown wearing a watch with King's face on it. I love Mama Eda so much.

• DANCE BATTLE DANCE BATTLE DANCE BATTLE DANCE BATTLE DANCE BATTLE

• Amity has fallen so hard and honestly? Same.

• OMG EPISODE 18! I think that was my first glimpse of Hunter! Lilith cursed Eda?! Eda sacrificing herself for Luz! The end credits with that haunting beating of the heart!

• Season 1 is done and dusted! All those feel good family and found-family moments. This show has so much heart. Gravity Falls is one of my favourite shows, and The Owl House seems to share a lot of its tropes and themes. I'm really loving it! I have so many things I should be doing today. Am I going to watch start watching Season 2 instead? Darn tootin.

• ENTIRELY NEW OPENING SEQUENCE!! I love it! Everyone's kicking ass! And Hunter is there!! And they kept the final scene with King on Luz's shoulders!

• They're setting up The Golden Guard as this new, mysterious, powerful rival for Season 2. But I know too much so every little glimpse of him has me sitting here grinning goofily like a proud mum at her son's soccer game.

• Gus is less smol. Kids grow up so fast. :(

• Finally met Amity's parents (beyond the shadows of them we saw in Amity's memory). Odalia sucks. But I officially love one tired dad.

• "Stay away from my Luz!" !!!!!!!

• Baby King is the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life. King is king of MY heart.

• The Hunter episode was everything I ever wanted. He must be protected at all costs.

• Huh. Tumblr gave me a veeerry different impression of what Darius was going to be like. Incoming plot twist?

• LUMITY IS A GO!

• Eda immediately destroying the stress toy because of her need for chaos whilst never once breaking eye contact with Bump nearly killed me. I choked on my tea. Worth it.

• Hunter has just learned the truth. Someone give this kid a hug.

• KING IS A TITAN?! How big is my sweet baby boy gonna get?

• Steve is so cool getting around in his Steve shirt, just doing Steve things. Haha, classic Steve.

• Luz and Amity just shared their first kiss and it was perfect. And I feel like the animation in that scene was extra nice? Maybe it was just me, but it just seemed beautifully bouncy.

• Once again, the near-silent end credits for part one of the finale haunt my soul. Part two now. Bring it on!

• ...Take it back. D:

• That musical montage to kick off Season 3 packed in SO MUCH STORY. Luz coming out as bi and introducing Amity to her mum was incredibly sweet. Vee (who I admit I was a little bit creeped out by until now) has captured my heart. And I absolutely adore the friendship between Gus and Hunter.

• "Time to go home, Flapjack." 😭 HAS THIS BOY NOT BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH?!

• Raine being hearteyes for Harpy Eda, Camila being hearteyes for King, everyone being hearteyes for Stringbean? Mood.

• Obsessed with Eda's haircut.

• My girl Willow has been carrying a lot. Her realising that she needs to let things out and lean on her friends was such a tender moment.

• Willow and Hunter linking their pinkies! ❤

• Not prepared for this amazing show to be over, but here we go...

• Brb, too busy crying.

• Still crying, gimme a minute.

• I was holding it together riiiight up until Flapjack's grave. "Thank you for finding me" broke me.

• Ok. So, generally speaking... this was pretty much everything I wanted in a finale. Happy, healthy relationships, hints at future pairings, redemption for characters who deserved it, and a big middle finger to those who didn't (which, honestly? Refreshing af).

• Eda and King going feral after losing Luz, the reveal of Titan Luz, and the trio coming together to defeat Belos was utter perfection. The animation was on point!

• I am not ashamed to admit I said "NOW EAT THIS, SUCKA!" with Luz.

• Also, the Dad bod, the "Bad Girl Coven" tshirt, and the "I loaf you" pun were exactly what I should've expected from King's dad.

• The time skip end credits were a wonderful way to let us see the characters we know and love, living their best lives. Hunter finally able to exist peacefully, making new palismans with his own little Bluejay on his shoulder (admittedly, I'd hoped he'd get a wolf, but the Bluejay did seem well-suited), Willow and Gus truly coming into their own, Lilith rocking the Harpy form (and hinting a possible romance with Steve?? EDIT: ignore that, I just learned that Lilith is aroace and I am so excited about it.), lil' gangly King growing bigger and stronger... well, I don't need to keep pointing things out. Suffice to say, there were so many little details that worked together to create a beautiful picture.

• In the span of three days, I've watched a show that so many people were obsessed with for years.

• I get it now.

• Thank you Dana Terrace and everybody involved with making The Owl House. The world needs more shows like this, with a great story, genuine characters, represention of people from all walks of life, and heartfelt messages.

• Excuse me while I go and wallow in misery over the fact that it's finished before I start consuming as many fanfics as I can find.

• OH! One final note as someone who learned far too much from tumblr before actually watching the show. I kept seeing fanart that seemed to depict a Hunter lookalike (so, Caleb) and an Eda lookalike, who apparently was Evelyn Clawthorne? CLAWTHORNE?? So here I am waiting for another flashback/memory episode that would lay it all out and do that big reveal BUT APPARENTLY THAT'S FANON??? Y'all had me thinking I'd missed an episode.

#the owl house #luz noceda #amity blight #lumity #eda clawthorne #hunter toh #king toh #my heart is full #the owl house spoilers

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sepublic · 2 years

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I know people joke about Alador screwing up Eda and Darius’ plans to keep the kids safe by taking them directly to Belos, but at the same time... He only did that to rescue Luz, and likewise, the kids were definitely going to the skull to save Luz regardless of permission. No kid should get left behind, so I think Eda and Darius can at least understand why Alador did that, he wasn’t just being reckless with the kids for no reason! And if Alador hadn’t taken the kids with him, he wouldn’t have made it to the skull due to the draining spell... Which means Luz would’ve died without backup. So Al very much saved her life in letting her friends tags along.

Considering Eda dropped everything and went with King to save Luz as early as the show’s second episode, I think she’d ultimately appreciate the effort, or at least have to admit that she couldn’t have done anything differently in good faith, and risk jeopardizing Luz like that; Alador eventually had to send the kids in his place. Same for Darius, because of empathy; Though I wouldn’t be totally shocked if Alador blames himself regardless, he self-berated over those Abomatons after all.

And the kids aren’t around to vouch for him, nor does anyone know they’re alive at all... So it might seem like Alador got all of the kids killed to save just one, but even then. If it was for Luz... Yeah. But don’t let that stop Al from blaming himself for his daughter’s death after finally getting the chance to make things right with her, and being relieved and pained that at least he left the twins out of this!

#the owl house #alador blight #luz noceda

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ferretwhomst · 1 year

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time to talk about my shitty self indulgent toh raeda + aladarius centric vampire au!!!!!!!!!!!! this mostly started as a shitposty thing that i thought up while listening to a few songs (namely these three) but guess what i came up with lore. it's a thing now.

(by the way this post started as an explanation but ended up with me writing a whole story so uh. watch out for that. everything's under the keep reading!)

everything is mostly the same except it takes place WAY before luz's arrival and also a. alador separated from odalia way earlier in this (still technically married?) and b. lilith defected from the emperor's coven earlier, mostly because ... i felt like it.

basically, darius and raine both are well known figures in their respective covens, but one day they both just... mysteriously vanish. eda hears the news and despite not talking to either of them in years, she can't deny that she's worried about them. eda contacts alador (who she also hasn't talked to in years) and asks him to help figure out what the fuck happened to both of them. he agrees.

eventually they come to the conclusion that the two of them were ambushed by vampires. everything they've found seems to add up but they don't have much concrete evidence. nor do they know for sure what happened to raine and darius- for all they know, those two are dead. so alador and eda do what any normal people would do in this situation: go out at night looking for raine and darius.

at this point eda contacts lilith for help, because she knows lilith has a decent amount of knowledge about vampirekind. she's right, but unlike eda and alador, she's unwilling to go out at night to look for raine and darius- she's worried about safety. vampires are notorious for their aggression when they're craving blood, after all. she would much rather stay indoors and research. plus, someone's gotta stay back with a backup plan just in case something does go wrong.

eda and alador are fine with this, and they go out every other night exploring the boiling isles, looking for raine and darius. for awhile, they don't find a single trace of the two. they stop going out as often.

one day eda convinces alador to come with her to the knee. they've been here before several times while looking for darius and raine, but eda swears she saw someone moving in the shadows when she'd been there during the day. alador isn't very optimistic about this- in fact at this point he's totally convinced that darius and raine are dead, but he goes along with eda, if only to entertain her.

he's fully zoning out as she drags him along, almost on the verge of falling asleep then and there... until she suddenly yanks him down behind a bush, punches him in the arm with a little too much force, and silently yet vigorously points in the direction of two cloaked figures before them.

...and THAT is where the whole thing Really kicks off. eda and alador start going out more regularly at night for a chance to see darius and raine. they realize that they may or may not have a thing for vampires (as one often does). lilith is clueless to this development and continues to warn them about the Dangers of Pursuing Vampires not knowing they intend on pursuing those vampires Romantically. etc etc

here are some doodles of The Guys. the designs aren't final at all but i will make more art of them soon and figure it out <3 (and also of lilith!!! i haven't drawn her much and i haven't come up with a proper design for her either but eventually i'll get there ASDCSKLD)

edit: HELLO!!! if you're interested in this au you should check out my askblog @owlsandbats :-)

#i hope you as the reader are imagining yourself sitting by a campfire with me as i dramatically enact this story to you #toh #the owl house #alador blight #darius deamonne #aladarius #the blight deamonnes #eda clawthorne #raine whispers #raeda #lilith clawthorne #lilith toh #ferret rambles #tvh au #<- my tag for this funny little thing #i am obsessed with making raine look like a Creature. idk why

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lord-valery-mimes · 1 year

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The Phantom of Manhattan - A Painful Recap

When I read a brief bulleted list showcasing all the craziest things in this book, I knew I had to read it. I was 42% of the way through it at the time I wrote this paragraph, and good grief, it's all more ridiculous and terrible than I could have ever imagined. So of course I decided that I should write a full recap of the whole horrible thing. Strap yourselves in tight folks. This is a bumpy one.

The book opens with Madame Giry narrating the story, even though she's supposedly drugged up and in horrible pain on her deathbed. Those French women are made of strong stuff. She confesses to rescuing Erik from the freak show where he was imprisoned (so that's where the 2004 Phantom film got that idea). She then brings him back to her flat that she shares with a seven year old Meg, and proceeds to nurse him back to health. Because yes, any working single mom with a young daughter at home would of course be totally down with bringing a strange, disfigured, mentally unstable teenage boy into their home. She proceeds to talk about how she eventually smuggled Erik into the opera, and how he was able to build himself a home and life in the cellars there. Because that makes sense. “Just stick him down there. It’ll be fine!”

His crimes at the opera are glossed over entirely. Joseph Buquet wasn't murdered, he committed suicide, don’tcha know? And Piangi? Oh that was just an unfortunate accident (simply an accident!), Erik only wanted to keep him quiet! His only crime was FALLING IN LOVE. Jesus Fucking Christ. Madame Giry dies, but not before paying someone to go to NY, find Erik, and give him a letter.

Chapter two and suddenly it's Erik himself who is telling his story. About how Madame Giry stuck him on a boat after the events of the musical, and how he spent four weeks crossing the Atlantic. Also how he managed to jump overboard in the middle of winter, and swim FOR AN HOUR without getting hypothermia and dying, just so he could bypass immigration. He finally drags himself ashore on Coney Island, where, conveniently enough, there is an entire gang of disfigured, down-on-their-luck types sitting around a fire, and they don't give a rat’s ass that some bedraggled guy with a messed up face just came out of the ocean like the most disappointing mermaid.

This group makes a living cleaning fish, but Erik is SO smart, and SO clever, that he quickly finds a way to amass a small fortune and make his way up in the world. He even gets a sidekick, a random teenaged boy named Darius who we find out was a sex worker, which in this story makes him the literal embodiment of evil. With Darius as the face and Erik as the brain, they scheme and thieve their way to fortune. Yay, America!

I almost forgot the best part. Because their scheming and thieving requires Erik to sometimes be out and about in the daylight, he has someone make him a latex clown mask (something that Google informs me wouldn't be invented for another twenty-odd years), and he hits the town dressed up as a literal clown. Just… close your eyes and picture the Phantom, full clown face, complete with red nose and oversized shoes, casually strutting around Coney Island. This is no angel of music!

Before you know it, Erik is building the tallest skyscraper in all of New York and designing himself a cushy penthouse suite at the top so he can take off his clown mask and relax in peace away from prying eyes. If he's this clever and good at making money, why didn't he do the same in Paris and live somewhere other than in the dank and dark basement of the Opera Populaire? I’m just sayin’…

Chapter three and we’re shifted to yet ANOTHER character. The poor bastard who’s been tasked with Madame Giry’s dying wish: to deliver her letter to Erik. This man is SO angry, and SO French, and SO unhappy to be in NY where there is no good food or wine, and I honestly wish the whole story had been about him instead. He can't find this Erik Mulheim, even though he was assured that it would be so EASY, given the weird name, and the fact that he was told to look for a guy with a messed up face. Frenchy is about ready to give up and go back to France when…

Chapter four! Yet ANOTHER narrator, this time a reporter for a newspaper, who is just trying to enjoy a hot fudge sundae, when he happens upon our angry Frenchman. The reporter makes the mistake of wishing him a badly pronounced “Bon-jewer Mon-sewer”, and instead of recoiling with disgust at this butchering of his native tongue as any good Frenchman would, the man starts lamenting in French to the unsuspecting reporter, who instead of politely excusing himself so he can eat his sundae in peace, rushes to find someone who can translate for this clearly overwhelmed guy. Somehow the reporter manages to find someone who not only speaks French, but who also has a guess as-to who this mysterious Erik Mulheim might be. Could it be the mysterious man who just built that big-ass skyscraper? The guy who no one ever sees but is a multi-millionaire and an extraordinary entrepreneur?

Now the reporter and Frenchy are buds, and they head to the skyscraper together, because the reporter is hoping he could be the first person to unmask this mysterious character! What a scoop! Unfortunately Darius intercepts them both, and insists on taking the letter to its owner. Frenchy is just happy he can finally leave, and get back home where his wife's ample buttocks are waiting for him to snuggle into. Yes, he literally says that.

Then stuff starts to get REALLY weird. The narrator shifts to Darius, who is literally high as fuck and having a conversation with a god. I’m not joking. Darius is worried because Erik has suddenly gone opera crazy, paying millions of dollars to have an opera house built, and staying up all night writing music. WHAT COULD HE BE UP TO? Darius is worried that this might affect his chances of inheriting Erik’s wealth someday. The god tells him to chill out, but is also like, “But kill him if you think you gotta.” Alright then. Nothing at all ominous about that.

This gimmick of every chapter being told by a different narrator is jarring, but I’m willing to deal with it, if we get to hear more from Gaylord Spriggs, who writes an enthusiastic column about gossip around New York opera. You see, when the Met refused to give Erik a private box, he went, “Oh yeah? Well I’ll make a whole new Opera house then! So there!” And not only is he building his own opera, he's paying insane amounts of money for the two greatest sopranos alive to come and sing there. SUCK IT MET! And one of them is none other than Christine de Chagny. Where have I heard that name before?

Then things get really boring as an old Irish priest tells his entire life story to Pierre: Christine and Raoul's son. Do we really need to know all this? Apparently when a fellow cast member of the opera suddenly keeled over of a heart attack during a performance, the Irish priest was summoned to deliver his last rights, and Christine was all, “Hey, wanna tutor my son?” I mean, I guess I can think of weirder ways to get a job.

Another chapter, and another newspaper report, by yet another reporter, this one discussing Christine's arrival with much pomp and detail. Christine reveals that it was the sheer BEAUTY of the brand new opera by an “unknown American composer” that convinced her to come all the way to New York. She also reveals that the opera is set during the American Civil War, something that I’m sure Erik, a French guy with no formal education, knows loads about. I can't wait to hear more about this.

The reporter sees the need to mention that he sees a strange masked figure standing on top of a warehouse, something that I’m sure a reporter covering the arrival of an opera star would totally do. A big to-do is also made about the fact that there is a *gasp* puddle of slush stopping Christine from getting in her carriage, when suddenly a reporter swoops down with a cape that he flings over the puddle, and crisis averted! I always thought the “throwing a coat over a puddle” thing was so stupid since cloth absorbs water, and the second she steps on it, the puddle will just seep right through and get on her shoes anyway. But whatever, I’m not the one writing this stupid story.

We're back to our first reporter, the one who attempted to get in the penthouse to meet the elusive Phantom millionaire. It looks like we'll be hearing a lot from him, so his name is Charlie Bloom. Charlie describes Christine as “big bagels in the opera world”, and I need to find a way to work that into everyday conversation now. Unsurprisingly, he is the reporter who covers the puddle with the cloak that was given to him by a “mysterious person” in the crowd. My god, who could that mysterious person have been? Apparently his puddle act was so GALLANT that of course Christine invites him for an interview.

We’re quickly introduced to Meg Giry who is now lame in one knee and weirdly also Christine’s maid. This is basically all we see or hear from her in this story. At least it's better treatment than she gets in Love Never Dies.

A bellboy comes up at the same time as Charlie with a gift for Pierre, Christine’s son, and it’s our old friend the barrel organ monkey music box. Pierre just starts tearing the thing open with his clever little hands, clearly to hammer home how STRANGE and DIFFERENT he is. When he turns the musical disk inside the monkey over, it starts playing Masquerade and Christine loses it. She demands to be taken to the store that made the music box. Because that… makes sense?

Back to Erik who’s heart is simply aflame after seeing Christine, even from far away. He drops this gem of a description on us, “the face and smile to break a block of granite clean in two.” Sir, what does that even mean? You are describing a sledgehammer. He reiterates that he gave the reporter his old opera cloak to cover the slush puddle, you know, just in case we weren’t able to connect the dots on our own. Clearly the author thinks that anybody who would bother to read this book must be a moron. Sadly, I think he was correct, because reading it is certainly one of my biggest life regrets now.

Erik tells us of the letter he received from Madame Giry, wherein she retells the story of how she apparently met Raoul as a young man, and saw him get his dick or balls (Madame Giry is a LADY so she doesn’t go into detail) shot off after saving a girl from a ruffian with a gun. Madame Giry lets the Phantom know this, because apparently since Raoul has zero dick or balls, that must mean that Christine’s child is the Phantom’s? So like… they had sex and he just never mentioned this in all his narration? Did they go in a hot tub together and an errant sperm just… Swam its way in? Like… what happened here? Erik never explicitly states that they did the nasty together, so we’re left kind of guessing. Is Pierre an immaculate conception?? You know that if they’d done the deed together, Erik would NOT have shut up about it, and would probably have written a full aria just about Christine’s vagina. I refuse to believe that they just had normal sex and then went their separate ways because it makes no sense. But then NOTHING has made sense in this book so far.

Meg’s turn to narrate now. Please Meg, help me make some sense of this madness. She retells the whole story of the music box monkey. WE JUST READ THIS TWO CHAPTERS AGO! Meg just repeats verbatim the end of the musical, how the Phantom abducts Christine and there is an implication that he either raped her, or she “couldn’t resist” him. Ewww. That’s all I will say about that. That, and men need to stop writing stories with gross consent issues.

Yet another narrator, someone named Taffy Jones. I DON’T CARE ABOUT THESE PEOPLE. He is the Official Funmaster of Steeplechase Park on Coney Island. Ok, maybe I care about him a little. He’s been instructed to open the park for Christine to let her see the toy shop and the Hall of Mirrors. Gee, I wonder what could be waiting for her in there? Of course it’s Erik who begs Christine to stay with him, but she refuses. She loves Raoul! Erik demands she give him his son right there and then. She’s all, “Gimme five years,” meanwhile Erik’s creepy sidekick is eavesdropping. Christine leaves and Erik is all, “Five years? Pfft. He’s mine and I will TAKE him.” No bueno, Erik.

It’s the Irish priest’s turn to narrate now, and he’s talking to god. Literally. Like we read what God responds to him as a dialogue. Who wrote this garbage? Oh right, Frederick Forsyth, esteemed British novelist. The priest confesses to lusting after Christine and God is all, “Of course, she is beautiful.” Ew! WTF, God? Apparently he was lusting after her while he was listening to her confession, so this is all kinds of fucked up. Then he tells God her confession and God just casually drops that there are lots of gods. Man, this book is wild and misogynistic.

This next chapter is by everyone’s fave, Gaylord Spriggs. He reviews the Phantom's new opera that he wrote for Christine, which is basically a cross between Gone With the Wind and… Well… The Phantom of the Opera. The lead tenor mysteriously starts croaking during intermission, and an “unknown” understudy takes his place for the second half of the opera. I suppose at least the poor croaking tenor was spared being strangled. RIP Piangi.

Another newspaper column, this time by Amy Fontaine. I really am so weary of this multi-narrator format. If this Frederick Forsyth guy hadn't already been a celebrated author, and the Phantom musical hadn't been such a big hit, this overblown fanfic would never have made it past any publisher with more than one brain cell.

Anyway, Amy Fontaine is reviewing the post-opera party for a social column, and the funniest bit is that Christine meets not just one, but TWO United States presidents as Teddy Roosevelt himself shows up along with his niece and future president FDR. Irving Berlin also shows up and it's like the author was trying to cram in as many historical time period big names as he could as Easter eggs, but instead of being subtle and clever like an Easter egg should be, these are neon signs that Frederick Forsyth is shoving in your face while he screams at you.

Chapter sixteen is a literal lecture. It's like the author just keeps making this book as torturous for the reader as he can. And it takes place in the future too, around the end of WWII. You know I started writing this review because I thought it might be funny, but now I am full of regrets and pain. But onward I soldier. If it stops anyone else from having to read this brain enema of a book, it will be worth it.

Anyhow, this lecture is being given by none other than Charlie Bloom, who after years of being a reporter, seeing wars and the Holocaust, has apparently seen NOTHING so tragic as the shit that's about to go down between Christine and Erik. He recaps almost the whole book again, including the part we just heard about in the last chapter where he tosses in yet another celebrity just for good measure, since two US presidents apparently weren't enough. He mentions that Buffalo Bill was there, and just for my own entertainment I’m going to imagine it was Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs. I’ll bet Christine could sing a killer version of Goodbye Horses.

Anyhow, Charlie stole a note that Erik slipped to Christine at the party. In the note Erik begs her to let him say goodbye to his son one last time, and to meet him at Battery Park. With this inside info, Charlie’s able to warn Raoul and the priest nanny guy when Christine and Pierre suddenly are missing. Charlie also apparently wrote something on his cuff in Latin that he didn't understand back when he heard Darius shout something on Coney Island. Charlie is wearing that EXACT cuff again, and of course the priest knows Latin, and it apparently says something like “the son must die!” It's a convoluted mess of Deus ex machina that any third grader could have improved upon.

Charlie, Raoul, and the priest all rush to the park and Charlie is literally like, “I’ve gotta explain this all to you in SLOW MOTION”. They get there just in time to see Pierre run to his mother's arms just as Darius fires a pistol at him. Surprise, surprise, he winds up shooting Christine instead. Gee, I didn't see that coming.

Somehow Erik has managed to add crack-shot to all the life skills he’s acquired since his opera days, as he pulls out his own pistol, takes one shot and hits Darius square in the center of his forehead.

Christine is literally dying in her son's arms and she's all, “That's not really your dad, see that freak in the mask? THAT'S your dad. Sorry ‘bout it!” Then she croaks. Not even exaggerating. The next line is literally, “Then she died.” Way to give your kid more PTSD, Christine.

Piling on the PTSD, Raoul decides to tell Pierre “Yep, I’m not your real dad, I’m gonna take your dead mom back to Paris. You are now a man, so come with me to bury your dead mom, or stay with your freaky-masked real dad.”

Charlie’s narration takes a weird detour mid-scene where he suddenly talks about going to interview the priest. Apparently the priest decided to move to the slums of the lower-east side after all of this nonsense happens? I mean it's not the weirdest thing that's happened so far in this book, so I’m not sure why this detail irritates me so much, but it does. But apparently he told Charlie that when all this shit was going down, as he prayed while Christine was dying, he heard the Phantom's soul screaming like an albatross. I take back all my negativity, I love this book now.

Pierre goes to Erik and removes his REAL father’s hat and mask. Charlie says that he's seen drowned corpses and bodies in every manner and state of decomposition, but never has he seen a face like THIS. Despite the face though, of COURSE Pierre decides to completely forget about the guy who's raised him as his son his entire life, and go live with this stranger with the fucked-up face, in a country thousands of miles away from the one home he’s ever known. Because what thirteen year old wouldn't do that?

Erik never wore his mask again. The end.

I thought nothing could top Love Never Dies for sheer inanity, but this certainly takes the cake and drops a whole chandelier on it. RIP Christine, and my entire brain.

#The Phantom of the Opera #The Phantom of Manhattan #book recaps #Love Never Dies

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hererafjastori · 1 year

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I don‘t know if it‘s fanon or canon, that some of Hunter‘s scars where inflicted by Belos when he was in his cursed form, but I can‘t get this scene out of my head.

There is this specific kind of fanfic that I love, where Hunter gets adopted into the owl house and slowly unlearns all the toxic nonsense Belos taught him. He is allowed to be loud. He doesn‘t have to earn his bed, his meal, medical supplies, the roof over his head, etc. He is allowed to be loud. He is allowed to be childish. He is allowed to take a break. He is allowed to make mistakes. He is allowed to talk back to, and disagree with authority figures. Love and care (especially from a guardian to their child) should be unconditional. Getting physically punished is NEVER an appropriate reaction, he deserved better, and Eda would never do that, no matter what he does. And so on.

But I want to focus on the curse thing. Because in Belos has a cursed form. And the worst physical scars Hunter has, were inflicted upon him by Belos when he was in this state. And Hunter thinks that Belos isn‘t at fault for those things because he wasn‘t in control. That it was his own fault for triggering his uncle in some way or another. That he deserved those injuries because he set Belos off in the first place.

Eda also has a curse she doesn‘t have total control over that makes her more volatile. And we know, that even after turning into the harpy, she still needs those elixirs to stay in control (see ftf). There are infinite ways this can play out, but I can think of these:

1. Eda turns into a harpy and Hunter inacts plans to put himself in harms way to let Luz escape without injury. (physically shielding her; playing distraction;…)

2. Eda gets stressed/scared/starteled/frustrated/… and starts growing feathers. Hunter immediately panics, backpedals, apologises, maybe he has a panic attack.

3. Luz gets injured somehow. Maybe elixirs have run low and they couldn‘t get a hold of Morton in time. Maybe Eda grew claws at an inopportune time. Maybe there was a trial and error phase before she was able to properly judge the Harpy‘s strength.

4. Luz was injured by the owl beast in the days leading up to the season 1 finale, where Eda transforming seems to have been a regular occurence. She could have been attacked. She could have stood too close during a transformation. She could have held a shiny in her hand and get badly scratched whem the beast grabbed it. No matter what happened, she and Hunter start comparing scars inflicted on them by their guardians, and tell wildly different stories.

No matter how they got there I want to see Hunter react to Eda‘s reaction. She is in a similar position as Belos. She could use the same excuses: ”I couldn‘t control myself, why didn‘t you move out of the crossfire, or better yet, never let it get to this point in the first place, this is your fault”. She doesn‘t. If there are injuries, she helps patch them up. She gives them space if they need it. She apologizes. She takes accountability. She does everything in her power to keep then out of harms way. She is open and clear about what sets her off, what can be done to avoid that, what she does to keep the curse at bay, what are signs of an oncoming transformation and what they/ he can do in case she does transform/ lose control. She offers to help him move in with Darius/ the Parks/ Gwendoly/ Dell/ anyone who can protect him, and won‘t sell him out to Belos he would feel comfortable with, if he isn‘t willing to bear the risks of living with her. She doesn‘t demand forgiveness for whatever harm she caused, or for him to trust her in spite of that.

And Hunter is confronted with the fact that Belos could have - no, should have done the same, and has no excuse for doing what he did to him.

___________

tldr: Eda would be the second parental figure of Hunter, that has a curse liable to cause anyone in her vincinity harm, and I want to see Hunter confronted with that and the way she handles such a situation.

#eda clawthorne #hunter clawthorne #eda adopts hunter #eda clawthorne‘s curse #toh headcanon #toh #the owl beast #eda and hunter #eda and luz #hunter and luz #traumatized hunter #fanfiction prompts #seriously #are there any ficslike this #I need recommendations #plot bunny #i don‘t know how to tag #Eda the owl mom #Eda is a good parent

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bluephoenixdruidicprincess · 23 days

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So some of you might remember I had gotten into Zodiac Academy. I was making my way through the series but knew I would need to slow down so I wouldn't get stuck having to wait for Book 9 to come out. Well, I ended up having to stop for a while in book 5 because the dreaded moment finally came where everyone found out about about Orion and Darcy's relationship. This is one of the things I dislike about teacher/student relationships (besides the whole power play and predator aspects that gives me the ick). I decided to check out with the series for the time being as I wasnt super interested in seeing how that plotline went. So a few months went by and I'm back in it.

Spoilers below so dont continue reading if you dont want to be spoiled.

Some thoughts about the Orion and Darcy thing. Overall I find them cute and I do find myself rooting for them even though I dont necessarily like all aspects of their relationship. Again, power dynamics are a huge reason I dont go for these types of relationship tropes. But, I will say they are super cute together and I've caught myself smiling in their interactions. But I was not looking forward to when all of Solaria found out about them. It was rough getting through the first few chapters after the big reveal. And honestly I have very mixed emotions on the whole execution of this. For one thing, I fucking knew they would be found out because Darcy left her damn phone or tablet or whatever the atlas is supposed to resemble around. Everytime she forgot it, I'm just like, "girl, you're having an illicit affair with a teacher and that device has all the proof on it, stop leaving it around!" I generally like Tori and Darcy as characters, but they maybe super powerful, but they dumb af for real. Actually, the heirs are pretty dumb too, Solaria essentially is just fucked all around regardless of who gets the crown, not a single brain cell shared among any of the contenders for the crown really. But back to the whole Darcy thing, I honestly have a hard time believing Kylie was the one who turned Darcy in. I totally buy she would find out about the relationship via Darcy's atlas but using that info to turn Darcy in? Kylie's not smart enough nor brave enough for that, and also just doesnt seem like Kylie, lets be honest, shes a simpering idiot (I fully wouldve expected her to go the Seth route and make Darcy do things for her like Seth did to keep her mouth shut about it). Also, it's like really short sighted of her because now she has no ammunition to use against Darcy to keep Darcy away from her man. And if Darcy was a petty bitch, Kylie should really have been worried about Darcy going to Seth and doing all the things with him shes been afraid of out of pure spite. Kylie essentially gained absolutely nothing from this. Before the Vegas and the Heirs acted, her social status didnt even really change, it didnt help her relationship with Seth. It's like you got 10 minutes of fame and that was it. And how did she think the heirs were going to react about that. The leader of the Heirs is Darius who has a known bonded relationship with Orion. And the love of Kylie's life is Seth who is Darius's best friend and Seth is a wolf so he's a touchy feely guy who gets uber protective with those he loves, Darius is hurting from this, no way Seth would just let that lie. How did she think this was going to go? But anyway, Kylie's an idiot, it makes sense and doesnt make sense at the same time.

I havent finished book 5 but I am back to being invested in it. Despite the audio book being over 20 hours long, way longer than it probably really needs to be, I do enjoy the fact that it does take so long for the plot to go anywhere. Like did we really need to see the heirs have a stint in the mortal world and beat up Tori's boyfriend and see how the twins lived before they found out they were princesses? No, but it was still pretty fun. So I'm back in the Zodiac Academy game and by the time I finally get through Book 8, Book 9 will already be out so yay! No suffering for months from an abrupt cliffhanger for me!

Also, I dont think I've mentioned this in previous posts, but Darcy and Tori's face names are Roxanya and Gwendolyna (its like word vomit but in name form). I really hate these names and I cringe so bad whenever they're used. It's also super weird they have names like these. When everyone else has basic ass names. (Just my opinion, please no one hate me for this).

#zodiac academy #orion and blue #orion #darcy

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gethooked · 3 months

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Here's my thoughts from tonight's dynamite

Hook vs Samoa Joe main event, ok I'm totally not nervous at all. This video package feels like it's a ppv. Ok but Hook's voice 😍 he needs to talk more. His slow walk oml.

Christian Cage vs Dustin Rhodes where did this match come from. I hate how Christian walks and I don't know why. Nick Wayne though 😍. Dustin's theme reminds of his Goldust theme. I honestly think Christian is going to win. Christian got yeeted over those steps oml. I feel like Dustin has been wrestling for 100 years, but I might actually cry when he retires. Hopefully he has a match for his retirement match. Not Nick trying to cheat. Yes Dustin, yambag jones, yambag city like Taz said. Dustin beat Nick's ass. Yess, get Nick out of here. (I love you Nick) Christian taking Adam's move 🫨 what did I say Christian was gonna win.

Who's house? Swerve's house! The way Swerve laughs is so weird to me. Renee looks sooooo pretty tonight. Did Swerve quote Harry Styles or am I going insane. Swerve's house!

Just looking at S🤮mmy passes me off. From what I've heard about Jericho recently I don't like him. A pizza cutter? Maybe he will cut your hair. Sydallllll!!!! Sydal beat Jericho before? Never knew that. At least we get to see Sydal.

Orange Cassidy and Trent with Chuck say whatttt... since when was he back. Hopefully OC and Trent win. Oh wait Penta and Komander... this match is gonna be a banger. Trust me I know bangers. Cero Miedo! I love that Rey's back too. Classic OC. I think my dogs like wrestling because whenever wrestling is on they have to wrestle to. They even do their own promos. Ok sorry back to the actual match. I hate picture in picture I get distracted by the commercials. So far I've been right about the winnings for 2 matches. Let's see how many more I can get. Bruh the undisputed kingdom can suck a fat one. Roddy shut the fuck up. Why are YOU trying to tell him what to do. Belongs to you? Bitch what? I agree with the other fans. OC another match?

Hangman you look different, did you dye your hair? Grow a mustache? Again Renee is sooo pretty. He doesn't think about Swerve? Yeah right. Hangman never threaten HOOK like that again.

This might make me cry. Rip Jay. Rest in Heaven. Poor Mark, he already looks emotional. #DemBoys period girl!! Good for you! The love Mark has for his niece is so cute. Now I'm gonna cry for real. The fact that Jay was a family man breaks my heart.

The bucks? What the hell happened to their faces. Nicholas and Matthew is crazyyyyy. Hypothetical he's using that word to much fr. Stiiiiiiiinnnnngggggggg. #changetheworld the shade towards cm punk is my favorite thing. Sweetheart is crazy.

Bullet club gold. Honestly I only like Jay. Mogul embassy? This match is gonna go crazy. I loveee Prince Nana. I think Toa missed. BCG won, knew that was gonna happen. We love Bowens btw. Scissor me Daddy Ass.

Wardlow? Adam Cole? Get off my screen sellouts.

Toni on commentary? Oml i love her but her gimmick gets irritating after awhile in my opinion. Deonna vs Anna? Deonna has to win. If I see anyone make comments about Deonna I will personally beat you the fuck up. What does virtuosa even mean? Yes Deonna as you should. Toni's faces are sooo funny bro. Poor Luther. Right in the what? Poor Taz. They must have been watching a telenovela. (I'm mexican I can make that joke)

Top Flight vs Private Party? I want Top Flight to win, butttt I think PP is going to win since Marq Quen is back. Idk I just hope both teams have fun. I loveeee PP's theme. Aww he gave away his durag. Same thing with TF's theme. I've been loving Darius' hair braided. What did Taz call them? I love when Zay does that little scream. Wasn't Darius on the ropes? Andretti? We love him too.

Hook vs Joe? Bae's gotta win this. Come on Hook. Hook looks so majestic. I'm gonna cry my poor Hookie. Joe you didn't have to actually have to kill him.

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alstroemeriadissonance · 2 years

Note

I really, really like your analysis of Vyn. It's nice to see a balanced take on it.

I think you have a really good point about what he chooses to do. I think something else to mention to that point is his work in the mental health field. It says a lot about him that as much as he hates imperfections and things that are broken, he tries to heal people who have been broken.

He's a very complex and fascinating character. But that being said, he's an incredibly large redflag who apparently has yet to realize that playing puppet master, since that seems to be his game, might come back to bite him.

Thanks very much! I'm glad I managed to put my point across with my obsessed babbling haha

And YES, can't believe I totally missed touching on his god complex and his need for control. That's one red-flaggy tendency that Vyn possesses and consistently does (being quite unrepentant about it too).

He does temper it by respecting the individual's need for freedom. Vyn, with all his questions asking Rosa if she would choose to stay with him, should the chips fall down ("If we must go against the world, will you choose to stand beside me?") implies that he will respect her choices, even if that choice involves knocking down what he had painstakingly built--controlled--to foster their relationship (their happy ending).

We do get some foreshadowing that Vyn may suffer consequences as a result of his god complex shenanigans. Kirstie from Near and Far for example hints at Vyn--the more insane one between the two of them, she said--eventually crawling on the ground one day. Darius in Vyn's Personal Chapter 3 is kinder with his words, but basically says the same thing: his god complex tendencies will come to bite him in the ass, because people will not always act upon his expectations.

I think what Darius said sort of reached Vyn--it did influence his phone call to Rosa during that morning when Vyn got slandered in the net.

Thanks for pointing this out (and giving me another opportunity to talk more Vyn ehe)

#ask #ask response #tears of themis #vyn richter #mo yi

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pollyperks · 1 year

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honestly I wish huntlow got a kiss just to stick it to the antis. it feels like m/f ships are getting pushed to the side in the show and in the fandom to prioritise same sex ones and it's honestly weird. like they get one kiss and are on their high horse for the rest of it

yeah, i mean, long answer, sorry it took 3 days, but i know i'm personally totally squealing happy with what we got and i'm just ?????? confuzzled over people saying that it could be platonic? because they didn't kiss? does that mean raida is platonic too? no kiss on the lips???? lmao platonic lap sitting but seriously. i'm gay i want representation i'm super happy that lumity got kisses and that raida happened like i'm not bitter at all about those ships being canon i'm super super happy! and the huntlow content we got was freaking adorable. but if they got a kiss then antis would probably find some way to say it was one-sided or non consensual or whatever, WHATEVER ANTIS! anyway, luz is obviously the protag so her romance should take front and center but it does feel a little weird when peeps are like 'omg gus and mattholomule (sp? i don't care enough about him) and omg darius and alador' like that's another confuzzlement when 3 second interaction=canon when it platonic hand holding durrr. but tumblr has always loved its slash shipping so why am i even pretending to be surprised idk

also?????? why do these people not want willow to have things? like, i'm trying to think of another show where the side character who is plus sized (and wow is it ever more acceptable for men to be large!!!!) ends up with the 'bad but sad boy' (or a serious love interest at all ughhhhh don't@me with grenda from gf) like bad boys (i mean, calling hunter 'bad' sort of makes me crack up, but that's how he was introduced and he has the appearance down) usually either end up with the protag or in a love triangle with the protag, not with a character like willow. even if willow is buff as fuck in the timeskip, she's still muscular and of a larger build than the other girls, so i love love love love love that for her and why do people want to say huntlow is platonic when it's super great to have not only that body representation in an animated show but to punch the idea in the face that those characters shouldn't be able to experience love interests like everyone else?

(also hunter's relationship with willow and gus was part of what really pulled him into the group so it makes sense from a writing standpoint if they wanted either of them to have a love interest for it to be with each other)

so yeah idk i haven't seen anyone on their high horse exactly, mostly just people being happy about their ships! and their same sex ships! but the antis are driving me nuts they're not here to be happy about anything they just want to scream about how huntlow sucks and isn't real and i think half the time (and this might be what you were talking about anon) they just don't want it to be canon because it's m/f and that's...why don't they just take their hate and push it somewhere else?

unfortunately we just have to try not to listen and find the good content

#anyway huntlow is good come visit me we'll have tea and talk about how huntlow is good #//the owl house #ask box #sorry if this wasn't completely coherent

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thousand-winters · 6 months

Text

20 questions for fic authors

Thank you for tagging me, @candyskiez!!! I shall use this wisely (to procrastinate. And to ramble because I love rambling). Tagging @pascal-oswell @justmagicalgirl and @drbtinglecannon if you wanna do it, if not, that's okay!

1. How many fics do you have on ao3?

36, which would probably be insane to me a couple of years ago, but they're nothing compared to the amount of wips I have, enlisted or not (please, send help).

2. What's your total ao3 word count?

170,058! Nice

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mainly The Owl House.

I have a couple of fics for the Shadowhunter Chronicles, mostly The Last Hours (though I do have a Wicked Powers wip) but I haven't had the most pleasant experiences in the TSC fandom so that'll probably be it.

Oh! I do have 4-ish Mob Psycho 100 fics in the works and a Star Wars one.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

So, what was your name again? No surprises there, it's still lowkey insane to me how much attention that one got

Sentimental, grieving to survive: I think we all were longing for the family reunions after Thanks to Them, so I get it too

Operation 'Make Darius like me': If I had to pick something as my fic writing legacy, it would be Hunter causing Darius psychic damage by saying"meow-meow" in the most deadpan expression in the world

Long lost lies: I remember being sooo excited to write this one and then having a mental illness episode in the middle of it so overall it's funny it came out nice

An unsung melody, mine for safekeeping: I think this was like my third fic??? And it's just pure fluff so... really nice to have it here

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! I cherish each comment dearly so I try to reply to them all within the week. Though I have been going Through It the past couple of months, so I've been falling behind on that :( I love them tho, I'm kinda sad when I don't get any

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Okay, it's either "Loyalty Binds you" or one of my puppet Dadrius reunions which is, in retrospective, incredibly funny because I wrote those 3 one after the other, no hurt/comfort to be found.

I would argue the puppet ones have some hopeful undertones tho, so perhaps "Loyalty Binds you", especially because there's no hopeful ending in sight unless the whim strikes me to write it. It exists. In my head.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I write SUCH cheesy endings, you have no idea, I'm generally not one to leave things in a sad note because I'm too soft for that. But if I have to pick, I woud say "So, what was your name again?" if only because the ending is happy like in most of my fics, but this one, because it's a reunion fic, has a ecstatic sort of quality, I would say.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I have gotten a couple of weird comments, but not hate, no.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Girl, I can barely write people kissing, this is asking too much from me. In all seriousness, I mostly write found family, so no smut here.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Same as candyskiez said, I prefer to write AUs in the setting of other media. I think crossovers can be fun but most of them aren't my thing, ngl.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Once as far as I know. When I went to ask the person to take it down, they deleted their whole profile so... win?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Someone asked me once for permission to translate a fic to Russian, I believe, but I'm not sure if they went through with it.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not really, but Will and I should really get on with the one we have planned. To be fair, I have not replied our unhinged planning in a While™ so it's mostly on me. Oops.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

I don't think I have one. Half of the ships I like don't compel me to read fics about them and the other half feel to fresh to even begin to compete as all-time favorite.

If I had to pick tho, I'm going with Cecilos because they meant everything to me from like 14-17.

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

All of them /j

Okay, kidding, I have been so exhausted lately in the writing department buuuut probably "Children of Dust and Ashes". I still love the concept and ideas I had for it but the one other person who cared about it is an ex-friend and as I mentioned before, TSC is a tricky fandom for me so I don't think I can cheerlead myself into finishing this one. I'm sorry to the like... 2 people who seemed interested.

16. What's your writing strengths?

You think I know myself that much? /j

Um. I'm gonna say characterization? I don't think it's perfect, but I do try to keep it consistent and it's something people have praised before so let's go with it.

17. What's your writing weaknesses?

In theory I know a shit ton of vocabulary. In practice, I feel like the language I use is too basic, which I blame a bit on the language barrier, and my descriptions too simple, which is a problem for me in Spanish as well, so that one is all me lmao.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I eat that shit up. Of course, I think it also depends on the context, keep it consistent! Like if a character canonically sprinkles their speech with words/sentences in their own language, one should absolutely strive to imitate that.

I think adding the translations at the end as a note works well.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

In general in life? Lord of the Rings, especifically, about Gimli, he was my guy.

Actually posting online? I'm. Huh. I'd rather not say... I'm willing to say the second one was Voltron Legendary Defender, so you can imagine how bad the first one must have been.

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

"Loving Echoes (In loving memory of Emperor Belos)" is one I was super fond of when I wrote it and I still think back to it when considering my best pieces. I just really liked writing the speech/monologue there.

#tag games #I guess asjfgjsdg

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itsagirlwithglasses · 1 year

Text

✨ B O O K R E V I E W ✨

📖 Zodiac Academy: Book 1-7

✍️ Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valentti

ZA1: 5/5 ⭐️ 2/5 🌶

ZA2: 5/5 ⭐️ 3/5 🌶

ZA3: 5/5 ⭐️ 5/5 🌶

ZA4: 4.5/5⭐️ 5/5 🌶

ZA5: 4/5 ⭐️ 5/5 🌶

ZA6: 5/5 ⭐️ 4/5 🌶

ZA7: 4/5 ⭐️ 5/5 🌶

⚠️ MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS

💭📝 THOUGHTS:

This whole series is a great concept and I think the authors were extremely smart because I was HOOKED from book one.

The downsides of this series so far have been how long the books are considering the time span in each of them. A lot happens in a short amount of time and the multiple PoVs — although helpful (to really understand the characters) — sometimes made the story a little confusing, and even unnecessary at times.

Now, this series has some of the best characters/relationship developments I’ve ever read.

I want to shoutout some of my favorites:

Seth Capella — the absolute shocker — to me — because I never thought I would grow to love this wolfie boy as much I do and how I’m rooting so hard for him with Bitey C. He’s such a controversial character — specially after the first books — but the way we finally get to see him for who he really is, it’s a total game changer.

Xavier Acrux — I cannot see Xavier as anything other than a little brother and even tho he wasn’t present in the first books he never failed to make me laugh. He’s the clumsiest, most poor timing baby and I came to care so badly for him.

Geraldine Grus — my girl Gerry and her way of speaking is something that I’ll never get tired of reading and laughing along. My heart almost broke in the end of book 7 because I thought we had lost her but to know that she lives it made me truly happy. She is the kind of character that you think will never grow on you but then clings to you like crazy. I love her craziness and her loyalty and how real and humble she is.

Seth/Caleb — tell me why I absolutely hate miscommunication trope but whenever these two come around I just wanna scream. I absolutely love them and I’m always craving their POVs. Although it pisses me off at time I think it is just right for their characters.

Lance/Darcy — talk about a teacher/student relationship! They are honestly so cute together and we all knew they were meant to be together either way but oh my god, not even after being mates the stars made it easier for them! And my heart always breaks for these two.

Gerry/Max — probably the funniest couple/fling ever! Gerry is already a funny character, and then Max is just so soft heart for her and it makes me so happy every time they are together!

Darius/Tory — the ultimate enemies to lovers! But oh no, they are so toxic together! 😂 I still live for all the spice tho, and I felt that with the ending of book 7 things will change even more for them!

The heirs — I was very glad to see the change in all the heirs after the first books once they realized they were all fighting for the same purpose with the twins and not the other way around! Darius was probably the only one who was still too stubborn to see it — even until the end of book 7 — but it made me happy to see the rest of them finally aligning together.

Overall, it is a very addicting series with a lot of things going on at all times. It has the spice, it has a lot of different tropes, and I feel like it is worth giving it a shot!

Prepare yourself for a lot of death, abuse and violence! I feel like this triggers should be taken into consideration before diving into it! ❤️

#zodiac academy #bluelance #darcy vega #tory vega #book review #bookstagram #booktok #darius acrux #caleb altair #seth capella #max rigel #lance orion #review #bookish #booklover #books

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lucifer-kane · 2 years

Text

The only thing Rain and I have been talking about on and off for the last like week is still the “Darius and Alador marriage for tax benefits and Darius’ weird childhood crush that has continued into adulthood. Featuring Aro Alador” Some highlights:

In the house after like a good year or two Darius gets shortened to "da." He's totally cool about being called Da. He's stone faced when it's first said and the second he's alone in the bathroom he's sobbing. Its how you get what you want in the house. You walk up to him, make an impossible request but you tag on a "da" on it and he'll fold just a little bit more.

OK so small old men hc is they sleep in the same bed together(part of the contract. And it's also spotty Alador does tend to stay up) but it's one of those bigass California kings so incase of of the four traumatized teens come in they can find somewhere to lay down. They don't cuddle except for when one or the other wakes up mid nightterror bc of everything that's happened. Because I can make a case for Daruius not wanting Aldaor anywhere near him while he sleeps because that man would sweat. He's old and white he gets sleep sweats.

Also -sides you Daruis has a peacock palesmen hc then passes out to sleep.-

Daruis busting into the Clawthorn-Whispers-Noceda household (no they will NOT shorten the name) and asking Raine how to get boy tape™️ for his boy who is transgender and he is sick of washing Hunter's nasty ass binders he wears for a week straight.

I have a soft moment between old men. Maybe not the old moment that weird the kids out but a moment where they're both laying in bed and Alador is just talking in circles about Abomination science or whatever and Daruis is on his scroll.

At one point Alador just stops talking prompting Daruis to raise an eyebrow "whyd you stop?" "You're not listening."

Sighing Daruis puts down his scroll and turns to face him, "you were talking about abominations structural stability if in a beast form instead of Humanoid." And alador is there just agape that someone was listening while Daruis smirks.

"Just because I wasn't looking doesn't mean I wasn't paying attention. Now. Talk." And Alador does, emphatically.

I think the old men should lay in bed and scroll though fantasy grindr together. Aldaor is learning so much about what other people find romatically/sexually attractive. Alador is aro but not ace and HARDCORE judges anything Darius picks bc 'you could do better'. He could but also they get into a discussion about what Daruis finds attractive (like 60% Alador traits) but then he swipes yes on some guy who Alador questions why and Daruis reply "abs" "....I don't have those." "You don't count, you're an infectious crush from middle school that won't go away."

"You're like a parasite I have a deep parasocial relationship with" "Is that a good thing or a bad thing" "It means I love you and it's weird" Alador: Shrugs. Works for me. Love ya too Darius: Combusts

He would just like crumple at I love yous huh.

Alador doesn't say it a lot, Darius more writes it on notes he slips into Alador's lunch and when they part in the mornings

#long post #the owl house #idk how to tag this rip #dalador #alador blight #darius toh #like i've said before i have 2 alador hcs and it's aro alador and not aro alador bc i flip it like a coin

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aquaquadrant · 2 years

Text

nature’s productions - chapter six

Rated T for: Strong language, violence, mild blood/injury

Summary: Three years after the disaster at Jurassic World, Claire Dearing and Owen Grady are contracted for a mission to save as many dinosaurs as possible from the impending eruption on Isla Nublar. But when they arrive, they experience an unexpected complication; six teenagers who were left stranded on the island when the park closed.

Surviving has left the campers scarred in more ways than one, and they’re pretty sure that their would-be rescuers have less than good intentions. But with a volcanic eruption at their heels, they’ll do whatever it takes to get a ride home- and save the dinosaurs while they’re at it, because that’s kind of their thing.

A/N: Ohhh y’all have no idea how excited I am for these next couple chapters. It’s bout to get REAL GOOD. Hope you enjoy, please reblog/comment if you do! - Aqua

(Read on A03 for full tags and previous chapters)

~*~

chapter six - instinct

~*~

They make it back to the truck in record time.

With all six of them on high alert, there’s no chance of them getting snuck up on, and Darius retraces their steps fairly easily. Brooklynn’s willing to bet that Ben also memorized the path from the truck, even if subconsciously, based on the way he keeps anticipating all their turns. It’s good that more than one of them knows the truck’s location, in case they have to split up.

And if Brooklynn knows Darius, his plan is definitely going to involve them splitting up at some point.

Luckily, the truck hasn’t been disturbed in their absence, and they quickly pile inside. Yaz manages to climb up unaided, which is a promising sign that her ankle is starting to recover from all the recent activity. Sammy and Kenji tuck themselves on either side of her, and Ben wastes no time moving towards the front. He leans over the seats to grab the mirror, snapping it off its mount, before ducking into the back again. Only when he sits against the back of the seats, holding the mirror up to look at the reflection, does Brooklynn realize what he’s doing; he’s giving himself a way to keep watch through the front windows without being spotted, himself.

With that in mind, Brooklynn positions herself in the very back of the truck, to keep an ear out by the canvas flaps. She’s starting to get used to the ambient noises on the ship- the groaning metal and rushing ocean- and she’s confident she’ll hear if someone approaches them from behind. With her listening and Ben keeping watch, they should be safe here for the moment.

Darius is the last one inside, looking everyone else over with an approving nod as he settles on the floor. Brooklynn can instantly tell from his expression that he’s already thinking about their next move, fingers twitching with nervous energy as he figures out the best way to articulate his plan. But at the same time, he’s still on edge from… well, everything.

They all are, truth be told. Running from dinosaurs is nothing new to them, but the volcano was a completely different story. It’s humbling in the worst of ways to confront a natural disaster like that, something that no force on earth could have any hope of stopping. Add that on top of their conflicted feelings about leaving the island, hiding aboard a ship full of dangerous criminals, and the unexpected falling out with Claire’s group, and it’s a recipe for a total breakdown.

Part of Brooklynn understood where Owen was coming from, she really did. But who is he to try and tell them not to help? Who is he to think that he knows them, knows what they are and aren’t capable of? It was ignorant at best and insulting at worst, but either way, it was more than simply treating them like helpless children. This was a drastic misunderstanding of who they are and what they stand for. What they fight for. And if he isn’t willing to do what it takes, then they can’t trust him.

It’s as simple as that.

But Brooklynn doesn’t want to face it all, not yet. So when Darius finally opens his mouth to speak, she gently pulls him into a hug. “Just take a minute,” she murmurs. Then she peeks over his shoulder at the others and adds, “All of us.”

She can feel Darius’s surprise in the way he goes still, but it doesn’t take long for him to relax into the embrace. He lets out a soft breath, the tension draining from his body as he whispers, “Thanks.” Brooklynn’s heart tightens; she can only imagine how hard it must’ve been, to be separated from them for so long.

The rest of the herd quickly follows suit. Sammy practically pulls Yaz into her lap as she wraps her in a bear hug. Humming contentedly, she tucks the shorter girl’s head under her chin in a familiar embrace. Yaz stifles her laughter by hiding her face in the crook of Sammy’s neck, though the tips of her ears have darkened in a tell-tale blush. She’s earned her reputation as one of the toughest members of the herd, and she still has trouble letting them look after her. Even if it’s Sammy. But in moments like these, after everything they’ve been through, Yaz couldn’t care less.

Ben doesn’t take his eyes off the mirror in his hand, but he does allow himself to lean against Kenji as his free hand reaches down to twine their fingers together. When Kenji turns to press a kiss to his temple, his focused expression doesn’t change; though there’s the slightest hint of a smile at the corner of his lips. Kenji is well-attuned to Ben’s mannerisms and moods, and he knows that even if Ben can’t always outright express it, he’s loved.

As Brooklynn watches her herd, absentmindedly rubbing soothing circles on Darius’s back, she feels herself come out of a tension she hadn’t realized she was holding. Despite the terror that still lingers in their minds, and the danger that still surrounds them, her heart is full. This is exactly what they needed.

For a precious few minutes, they simply exist together. Breathing together, checking in on each other with soft murmurs and gentle touches, reassuring looks and gestures. Reminding each other they’re still alive, still together. It’s something they never take for granted, with how dangerous their lives are, but it’s always nice to take the time to appreciate it properly.

Once the tension has dissipated and they’ve all settled again, Brooklynn quietly fills the others in on her and Ben’s leg of the journey, how they saved Owen. She summarizes quickly and efficiently, not wanting to linger on something that doesn’t matter anymore.

(Considering the betrayals they’ve experienced in the past, Owen’s really wasn’t that bad, but it still stings.)

Darius finally gets the chance to praise them for catching onto his idea with the disguise, which Brooklynn is quite pleased about. Then Kenji takes over, describing their escape from Chaos and the security building, with Yaz interjecting every now and then to keep his story straight and unembellished. Brooklynn picks back up with the stampede and their race to the docks, taking the chance to praise Darius for leaving the truck for them. Then he praises them all for their work, and Yaz decides the mood is far too wishy-washy for her taste, and asks Darius what his plan is.

Darius is quiet for a moment, brows furrowing. “I- I should do s- s- some recon,” he decides. “Scope o- out th- the uh, the bridge. Wh- Wheatley knows I- I’m h- here, so he c- can… um, v- vouch f- for me.”

Brooklynn frowns. She knows where Darius’s mind is at; if they’re going to stop this ship, they’ll have to take control of it, and the only way to do that is by taking control of the bridge. But she doesn’t like the thought of him being on his own again, on a ship full of mercenaries and dinosaurs.

(The mercenaries are the more immediate threat, but she can’t forget the dinosaurs- sedated or not. She’s aware of their presence like a field mine that's just waiting to explode.)

At the same time, she also knows that Darius’s plan is the best plan they have. Moving as a group will draw more attention to them, and Darius is the only one who actually has a reason to be on the ship. So as much as she doesn’t like it, she doesn’t argue.

“Alright,” she says. “Straight to the bridge and back. Have an excuse ready. Only stay long enough to figure out our entry point. Be quick and careful, okay?”

Darius grins; he knows all that already, but is touched by her concern. ‘Careful,’ he signs in agreement. Then he adds, ‘Stay, quiet, safe.’ Which Brooklynn knows, of course, so maybe they’re both guilty of worrying too much.

He looks over them all again, offering a reassuring nod, before slipping out of the truck. Ben tracks his movement in the mirror until he disappears, signing, ‘All clear’ just as Brooklynn can no longer hear his footsteps.

Taking a steadying breath, Brooklynn settles in to wait.

~*~

Darius thinks he might be getting the hang of this.

The hold is big, but it’s still an enclosed space, and he’s starting to become more comfortable navigating through it. Even now, as he takes a moment to pause by a stack of crates, he has a good sense of where Zia’s trailer and the herd’s truck are. He can also see, over the vast ocean of vehicles and shipping containers, two spots of light towards the front of the hold; ramps that must lead up to the deck.

All of Darius’s senses are on high-alert, but he doesn’t let his anxiety show. He’s supposed to be on this ship, and no one is going to suspect him of doing something wrong unless he gives them a reason to. So he rummages through the piles of cargo until he finds a clipboard, with what looks like pages of inventory on it, and starts making his way through the hold. He keeps his gaze down and focused on his clipboard, so he’ll look busy if anyone happens to pass him.

Fortunately, it seems the hold is still sparsely populated, and he reaches the ramp without issue. Footsteps light on the metal floor, he climbs up to the surface.

The ocean is much louder out here, waves lapping against the ship’s sides, salty water in the wind. A warm orange glow bathes the deck as the sun begins to sink over the horizon. There are more people out here, standing in groups or jogging across the deck as they go about their business. Two military class helicopters are secured towards the front of the ship, along with more shipping containers tied down in neat rows.

It’s an unexpected relief to be outside again, even if it’s all so unlike the island. Already, Darius is feeling nauseous from diesel fumes.

He takes in the scene quickly, not wanting to linger. Towards the back of the deck, on either side of the large tower in the middle of the ship, are stairwells to the upper levels. Eyes on his clipboard, he moves towards the nearest one with purposeful steps.

The most direct path takes him past a group of mercenaries, but he doesn’t swerve- that’d be too suspicious. Without letting his steps falter, Darius continues past them… and breathes a silent sigh of relief when no one calls after him. At the top of the stairwell, he finds a door that leads inside- presumably to the upper levels, and therefore, the bridge.

Tucking the clipboard under his arm, Darius wrenches the metal door open and slips inside.

It takes a moment to adjust to the dim fluorescent lighting. The hallway is narrow, almost claustrophobic, and there are doors placed at random intervals on either side. Trying to picture the ship’s exterior in his mind, Darius reasons that since the bridge is centrally located, he should stay on the main path instead of going through any doors, which would likely lead to dead-end rooms.

Worse comes to worst, he might be able to ask someone for directions without raising any alarms. It’s a big ship, after all, and he’s young enough that his inexperience won’t be questioned. Considering this operation is all sorts of illegal, Darius wouldn’t be surprised if they weren’t able to be very selective with the crew they hired. The qualifications probably started and ended with ‘is willing to break the law.’

As he continues down the hallway, it quickly becomes apparent that this is indeed where the rest of the crew has been. He can hear voices behind nearly every door he passes, loud conversations and laughing and arguing in equal amounts. He even encounters a few mercenaries on his way- but stepping aside so they can pass him while muttering an apology seems to be enough to avoid a lengthy interaction.

All the while, Darius is careful to keep track of his steps. There are a couple times where the hallway splits off in two directions, and he has to go with his gut, selecting the one that’s more likely to take him to the center. And after a few tense minutes, his methodology is rewarded with a tall, spiral staircase with a sign that indicates it leads to the bridge.

Darius’s mind is racing as he climbs it, mentally going over what he’s going to say. He’s counting on Wheatley being at the bridge, seeing as how he’s leading this whole expedition, but Darius has prepared back-up plans in case he isn’t. His goal is to identify the captain and determine the best point of entry to the bridge- they’ll figure everything else out later.

The passageway outside the bridge continues around either side of it, but it’s narrow and completely devoid of cover. There’s little chance to conceal himself, and he doesn’t want to risk getting spotted doing anything suspicious like hiding. So Darius walks right up to the door- it’s thick metal with a small window- and knocks.

After a few moments, there’s a dull clicking noise, and the door swings open.

Wheatley doesn’t look happy to see him. “I thought I told you to stay in the trailer!” he scolds.

Darius puts on an appropriately chagrined expression. “Sorry, s- s- sir. Zia sent m- me.” As he talks, he directs his gaze up at Wheatley’s face, but really, part of his gaze is looking past him, into the bridge. “She n- needs to- to know, uh, how l- long until we…” He can see behind Wheatley, on the opposite side of the bridge, that there’s only one other door. But it has a heavy bolt lock on it- no way they’ll get through those. “Um, d- dock. Needs s- special supplies f- for- for the uh…” There’s a ventilation shaft on the ceiling- he might be small enough to fit, if they can find an exterior access point. “Th- the raptor.”

“That’s none of your business,” Wheatley snaps, clearly short on patience. “We’ve already given her all the medical supplies we have on the ship. Tell her to figure it out. And don’t let me catch you outside that trailer again, understand?”

“Yes, s- sir!” Darius risks a glance towards the front of the bridge, making eye contact with the man standing before a wide control panel- there’s the captain- as if apologizing for disturbing him. At the same time, Darius notices that there isn’t anyone else in the room. “S- sorry!”

Wheatley shuts the door in his face, the lock sliding into place with a thud. Darius wastes no time turning back the way he came, holding back a pleased smile.

Already, a plan is starting to take shape in his mind, his body mostly on autopilot as he doubles back through the ship. He’d had a rough idea of how they could accomplish their goal, but now that he’s seen what they’re working with, everything’s falling into place. Wheatley’s biggest downfall is assuming there’s no one out to get them- no guards at the bridge! Darius can hardly believe their good luck.

Of course, that doesn’t mean this will be entirely without risk. Wheatley has a gun, after all. So the first thing they’ll have to do is get him out of the bridge. As the leader of the mission, any large problem will demand his attention. Once Wheatley is gone and the captain’s alone, it should be pretty simple to gain entry and take over. Then they just lock themselves inside, radio for help, and wait it out. There’s a lot of evidence that this is a retired military ship, so the glass should be bulletproof, and there’s no other way in.

The only major snag is that they’re working with an unknown time limit. Darius has no idea where the ship is planning to dock. He knows that Lockwood Manor, the estate of the man Claire claimed to have sent them, is located in Northern California. It’d probably take a ship this size quite a while to travel there, maybe even days. But of course, they could be headed to a different drop-off point. Maybe they aren’t even heading back into U.S. waters.

The safest course of action is to assume they could be reaching land at any minute. Not that Darius sees any land nearby when he crosses the deck again, but still. The longer they wait to strike, the higher the chances are of them- or Claire’s group- being discovered, and losing the element of surprise. It’d be in their best interest to stop this ship in its tracks, both to keep it away from shore and to make it easier for the authorities to find.

Darius has a plan for that, too.

Before he knows it, he’s arrived back at the truck. When he ducks inside, the others are expecting him; either Ben or Brooklynn must’ve been alerted to his presence.

‘Okay, safe,’ Darius signs, reassuring them before they can ask.

Brooklynn quickly looks him over anyways. “Did you find the bridge?”

Darius nods. “J- just Wheatley and uh, a- and the c- captain,” he informs them.

“What’s the plan?” Sammy asks, leaning forward.

Darius counts off on his fingers. “Stop th- the ship, d- distract Wheatley, take o- over the uh, th- the… the bridge.”

“I like it,” Kenji says decisively, putting on a contemplative expression. “It’s simple, elegant. Not bogged down by too many pesky details…”

Yaz rolls her eyes at his teasing. “Shut it.” She lightly smacks him on the shoulder before nodding pointedly at Darius. “Continue.”

Darius grins good-naturedly. “A-List, s- sabotage. Find th- the engine room a- a- and… and cut the p- power. B-Team, dist- distraction. Find Bumpy, m- make… um, some n- noise. Draw Wh- Wheatley into… the h- hold.” He puts a hand on Sammy’s shoulder. “After he- he uh, he leaves to s- see what’s g- g- going on, we’ll st- storm the… the bridge, use th- the radio to c- call f- for help.”

Yaz frowns. “Wait, I don’t know anything about boats,” she points out. “I doubt they’ll have a convenient ‘cut engine’ switch. What if we accidentally blow something up? We could sink the whole ship.”

Darius glances over at Kenji, expectant.

Kenji’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “Hey, my dad’s yacht is one thing, okay? But this is a super-sized cargo freighter and I’ve never even been in an engine room before, I’m not gonna know what we’re looking at.”

Darius blinks, taken aback. There goes one prong of his plan. He’d really been banking on Kenji’s self-proclaimed experience with boats to handle that part of the mission, but he should’ve considered the possibility that Kenji had been embellishing his expertise-

“I can do it,” Brooklynn speaks up. “I did a lot of research on boats for Brooklynn Unboxes the Titanic.”

Darius knits his brows together, mind racing. “Okay, um-”

“We split up, then,” Ben says, still keeping watch in the broken mirror.

“What?” Darius looks over in surprise.

Ben shrugs a shoulder. “Look, Kenji and Yaz shouldn’t split up, and Brooklynn has to go with them. I can go get Bumpy alone.”

Darius shakes his head. “Sammy c- can go w- w- with you-”

“Storming the bridge isn’t exactly a one-person job,” Ben says firmly, meeting Darius’s gaze out of the corner of his eye. “I’ll be fine. Once I get Bumpy free, it won’t matter anyway.”

Darius hesitates, weighing the different options. The two pairs can’t just swap jobs, because although Bumpy knows all of them, she really only takes directions from Ben. Especially since she spends so much time with her own herd these days. But Ben’s right that the A-Team should stay together; they’ll have to make a hasty retreat after sabotaging the engines and Kenji’s the only one who can reliably carry Yaz if her ankle gives out. And Brooklynn definitely has to go on the sabotage mission because these are diesel engines and one wrong move could be disastrous-

“I’ll be careful,” Ben says, his voice softer. He seems to have sensed Darius’s uncertainty, and has made the decision for him. “I promise.”

“Alright,” Darius finally relents. He hates that Ben has to be put in such a dangerous situation, but if his herd’s taught him anything, it’s that they’re not willing to let him be the only one taking risks. “Wait f- for them to… t- to cut the en- engines, so w- we have uh, t- time to get in- into- into position b- before… you um, you d- draw Wheatley out.”

Ben nods, returning his focus to surveilling.

Darius turns to the others. “Once th- the engines a- are off, come to uh, to the b- bridge. We’ll ma- ake an announce- m- ment as s- soon… soon as we’ve c- contacted the um, the a- authorities. H- hopefully the m- m- mercenaries will… will uh, b- bail when th- they r- realize the mission’s c- compromised. You j- j- just have to… t- to hold o- out until then.” He emphasizes his point by signing, ‘Safe, fast, stealth.’

Kenji breaks into a wide grin. “C’mon, bro, this is us we’re talking about,” he says, clapping Darius on the shoulder. “We’ve got like, a 100% survival rate.”

Sammy gives him a dubious look. “What about Hap?” she asks quietly.

Kenji winces. “... Hap was an outlier and should not be counted,” he amends.

“Really killing the mood here, guys,” Yaz huffs.

Darius sighs, but privately, he’s glad for their antics. It’s the last shred of normalcy he has, as they’re about to kick off a mission that will ultimately- one way or another- determine their fate. They have a real chance to get rescued, and save a cargo ship’s worth of dinosaurs, too. Failure will surely mean death.

But Darius is something of an optimist, and he knows what his herd’s capable of.

“Be s- safe, be smart, d- don’t die,” he tells them, wanting what might be his final words to be spoken instead of signed. “I l- love you g- guys.”

Inevitably, that triggers a group hug with lots of similar sentiments, but Darius hardly minds.

~*~

Ben slowly peeks over the crate, checking that the coast is clear before making his move.

After the herd split up, he immediately set out to find Bumpy. He’s being extra careful like he promised he’d be, doing frequent checks of his surroundings so he won’t get snuck up on. As a consequence, his progress is slow. He’s only been able to check five transports so far, and of course, none of them were holding Bumpy.

He doesn’t know for a fact that she’s still in the transport they took her away in, but it’s the most likely option. He can’t imagine them taking the time to move her into a different container, unless they felt they’d be able to make another trip before the ship departed. It’s a calculated risk, only looking through the transports. If she’s in one, then he’ll find her faster. But if she’s not, he’ll have to double back and check every other trailer and shipping container, which will take him longer than if he’d checked them all in the first place.

It’s a lot like that concept of cost-benefit analysis Darius once told him about, related to foraging habits of birds. A mother bird has to decide how far from her nest she’s willing to fly in search of adequate food. Too close, and the competition from neighboring birds may leave her with nothing. Too far, and her chicks could starve before she makes it back to them. But if she flies far and still finds no food, it’s a lose-lose scenario. It might be safer to stay close and bring what little food she can back, instead of taking the risk by flying far.

In this scenario, Bumpy represents the food, and the chicks represent a successful mission. Or wait, maybe Bumpy’s the chicks, because Ben’s her mama bird?

… Ben’s lost his train of thought.

Pushing that to the back of his mind, he quickly scans his surroundings again- now more of a meerkat than a bird- before finally darting over to the next transport. Hopping up onto the back fender, he rises onto his toes so he can peek through the tiny, tinted window on the side of the transport.

He’s greeted by a familiar armored plate of turquoise scales.

Relief washes through Ben, and he lets out a heavy breath. He can’t make out much from this angle, but fortunately, Bumpy seems to be standing upright. Which would mean she’s still conscious, as they wouldn’t have had any reason to sedate her. She isn’t moving around much, but the transport is quite small for her size; the spikes jutting out from her sides are practically scraping the walls.

Ben’s heart aches. Even though he knows it was to save her life, he feels guilty for letting this happen to her. He can only imagine what she must be thinking, and can’t wait until she’s free and by his side again.

Dropping back to the floor, Ben does another quick check of his surroundings while his mind races. They need to be ready to go as soon as Brooklynn and the A-List stop the ship, so he’d better get working on a way to free Bumpy.

Walking around to the back of the transport, Ben examines the door handles and gives them a cursory tug. It’s locked, as expected, but the lock seems to be completely internal rather than external. That means it’s unlocked by an internal mechanism instead of any kind of key. And if it’s unlocked by an internal mechanism, it’s probably controlled electronically by the front cab.

Ben circles back around to the front of the transport. There are no doors up here, which seems to be a continuing trend. Why do none of these tactical vehicles have front doors? Does it really slow them down that much? Don’t they know how unsafe these kinds of jeeps are? Especially for this specific terrain; most dinosaurs that are strong enough to tear through a car door are too big to actually get inside it, so it’s the small ones you have to worry about.

In any case, it makes Ben’s job a little easier, because he can study the inside of the cab without having to close himself in. Aside from the usual buttons associated with cars, there are numerous switches- all unlabeled, of course. But he supposes it doesn’t matter. Without keys, he has no way to turn the vehicle on. And without power to the vehicle, he won’t be able to unlock the transport doors in a traditional manner.

For a moment, Ben lets himself wish that Brooklynn was here. She’d probably know how to hotwire the transport, using knowledge from some obscure unboxing video, and he’d be able to keep a proper watch instead of casting paranoid glances over his shoulder every ten seconds.

But he doesn’t wallow for very long. He promised Darius he could handle this. And although he might not know how to hotwire a car, there are easier ways to bust a lock.

Ben pulls his spear from its sling and snaps it over his knee, a few inches away from the spearhead. That leaves him with a handle he can comfortably hold and maneuver with one hand, and fit into the tight space in front of the driver’s seat.

It’s not the first spear Ben has broken. The spear is his weapon of choice partly because he can easily replace them. All it takes is a sturdy reed, a sharpened stone, and a bit of vine. He’s lost several of them during his years on the island; sometimes because they break during a fight, and sometimes because he can throw them to discourage a charging dinosaur, and there isn’t always a chance to recover it.

Admittedly, this situation makes him a bit nervous because he doesn’t have the means to make a new spear anymore. But if their plan works, he won’t need to. He just has to do his part, whatever it takes.

With a dagger-sized spear now in hand, Ben crouches next to the vehicle and- after remembering to check his surroundings again- ducks his head into the space in front of the driver’s seat. There’s a flat panel underneath the steering console, and he digs the spearhead into its seams, prying it open. It takes a bit of effort before the panel finally falls away, dropping to the floor of the vehicle and revealing a forest of wires.

The vehicle is off, so there really isn’t any danger in Ben slicing wires. He does them one by one, hoping he’ll cut the right one before his spearhead is too dulled to tear through the insulated wrapping. And only because his ear is basically pressed to the floor of the vehicle does he finally hear a low clank echo through the undercarriage. Satisfaction flickers through him, but he doesn’t celebrate yet. First, he has to make sure it actually unlocked the-

A hand grabs his arm. “Hey, what-”

Ben’s body reacts before he’s even fully processed the sound of the man’s voice. Whirling around, he slashes a wide arc with the spearhead. The intruder is a mercenary- a gruff man in combat gear- so the blade only cuts harmlessly through the front of his kevlar vest. But the shock of it makes the man stumble backwards, his sentence morphing into a shout, and Ben seizes the advantage.

Springing forward, he swings his free hand up to punch the man in a swift undercut. The man’s head snaps to the side with a pained grunt. But when Ben strikes out with the spearhead again, the man’s ready; he catches Ben’s wrist in his much larger hand, trying to bend it backwards in his crushing grip. Ben swings his other fist at the man’s face, but that gets caught as well. For a moment, they’re in a stalemate as Ben’s taller, stronger opponent attempts to overpower him.

Then Ben drives his knee into the man’s gut.

That makes him release Ben involuntarily as he doubles over, wheezing. Wasting no time, Ben whips his leg around in a kick that throws the man to the ground.

But before Ben can jump him, there’s movement at the edge of his vision- another mercenary running at them. His voice reaches Ben’s ears a heartbeat later; an angry shout. Clearly, the idea of a sneak attack never crossed his mind.

The second man charges straight at Ben, swinging the butt of his rifle at Ben’s head. Ben sidesteps around him, lashing out with the spearhead to carve a wide- but shallow- gash across his arm and sending up a spray of blood. Howling with pain and rage, the man tries to hit Ben again. Ben ducks under his arms and slams his head up beneath the man’s chin.

Crack!

The slight ache of his forehead is worth it when the man staggers back a few steps, clutching his jaw. Eyes blazing with rage, he ducks his head as if he’s going to charge again. Ben adjusts his grip on the spearhead, bracing himself-

Something presses into Ben’s back.

“Hands up,” a third voice says, “or I shoot.”

Ah. Apparently, at least one of them knows about sneak attacks; Ben never heard him coming.

A very large part of Ben wants to keep fighting anyway. The smaller, more reasonable part of his brain tells him that would almost certainly get him shot. And he did promise Darius he’d be careful. So he swallows back the urge to turn and slash at the man’s throat, and instead slowly raises his hands.

“Drop it,” the man orders.

Gritting his teeth, Ben lets the spearhead slip through his fingers and clatter on the floor. For a moment, everything is still and silent, save for the mens’ heavy breathing. The first man has gotten back to his feet, wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth and eyeing Ben warily.

“Who the hell are you?” the second man demands, clutching his bleeding arm.

Ben glares up at him and says nothing. But inwardly, he’s kicking himself- it hadn’t mattered that he was careful. At the end of the day, he just hadn’t heard them. If this had happened back on the island with a dinosaur, he’d probably be dead right now.

The first man frowns, grabbing the radio that’s clipped onto his belt. “Hey, sir? There’s a weird fucking kid here, trying to get into one of the transports.”

Ben can’t make out the reply that comes back, garbled with static, but the man blinks in surprise.

“Uh, yeah,” he says. Then he listens for another moment before nodding. “Copy that.” Lowering the radio, the man smirks down at Ben. “The boss wants a word with you.”

Ben’s heart jolts. This wasn’t part of the plan. He was supposed to bring Wheatley here, not the other way around! But before he can do anything, the man behind him grabs one of his arms- without moving the gun that’s pressed against his back- and the second man moves to take Ben’s other one. Based on their vice-like grips, Ben’s chances of getting free are practically zero.

“But before we go,” the first man says, strolling forward with a sinister grin, “I’ve got something for you.”

Ben’s already anticipating the punch to his stomach, but it still hurts. He manages not to completely lose his breath, breathing raggedly through his nose as he looks up at the man.

“Thank you for that,” he says loudly, baring his teeth in a fierce grin. “Do you feel less emasculated now?”

That earns him a slap across the face, unsurprisingly. But Ben doesn’t regret it; the angrier he can make them, the better. None of them have thought to check what, exactly, he did to the transport. The doors are still closed, but likely unlocked- assuming he did manage to cut the right wire, that is.

Calling out to Bumpy would redirect their attention towards her, and thus, alert them to his plan. But just hearing his voice should be enough. And with the doors unlocked, he trusts that she’ll take care of the rest. Even if he’s not with her, Bumpy will be able to cause quite the distraction.

“Let’s go,” the first man huffs, turning to lead the way. Evidently, he’s decided that being first on the scene makes him in charge by default.

“This should be good,” the second man says to the third.

And as they drag Ben away, he can just barely make out the sound of Bumpy calling after him.

~*~

Claire clutches the still-warm bag to her chest, pausing to catch her breath while Owen peers around the corner.

Her heart is still pounding from their encounter with the T-Rex. She’d woken up halfway through their blood collection, and although the space was too tight for her to do much, Owen had nearly gotten squished a few times. Worse was when someone happened to wander by and close the cage door. Claire had to climb out through the top and unlock it so Owen could make his escape- which he did by jumping through the T-Rex’s roaring jaws.

How this man is still alive, she’ll never know.

In any case, they got what they needed, so they wasted no time in heading back to the trailer. Owen’s making sure they proceed cautiously, though, checking that the way is clear before they dart from cover to cover. The hold doesn’t seem to be very busy, but as they well know, all it takes is one person coming along at the wrong time for someone to get eaten by a T-Rex. Claire would like to avoid that, and any other similar mishaps, if at all possible.

They’re not far from the trailer when there’s a sudden shout from elsewhere in the hold- a man’s pained voice echoing off the metal walls. Very quickly, more voices join in, along with the tell-tale sounds of a struggle. Claire glances over at Owen in alarm, and he holds a hand up, indicating they should wait.

So they wait, crouched behind a truck. The sounds stop after a couple seconds, and then there’s silence. But just as Claire is about to ask Owen if they should move on, they hear footsteps start to approach. Loud, angry footsteps of at least three people.

Wordlessly, they shift around to the side of the truck that’s hidden from the footsteps. For a heart-stopping moment, Claire thinks the footsteps are headed to the trailer where Zia and Franklin are… but then they pass.

The footsteps depart, moving towards the ramps that lead out onto the deck. Claire and Owen carefully peer around the truck just in time to see the retreating backs of three mercenaries, with large rifles slung across their shoulders. The one in the front is speaking on a radio and sounds very annoyed. The two behind him are dragging Ben.

The teen must’ve put up a tremendous fight; one of the men is holding a pistol to his back, and yet the hands wrapped around his arms are gripping so tightly, it’s turning his skin white. Clearly, they’ve learned the hard way not to underestimate him. Claire doesn’t get a good look before they’re out of view, but she thinks one of their sleeves is stained with blood. She turns to Owen to ask him what they should do, but is alarmed to find he’s already moving to follow them.

Claire grabs him by the arm, yanking him back. “What are you doing?” she whispers frantically.

Owen makes an exasperated noise. “We’ve gotta help him!”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Claire says, her mind racing. A sudden thought occurs to her. “What if this is part of their plan? Maybe he got captured on purpose so they’d take him to Wheatley?”

“To do what?” Owen asks incredulously, his brows shooting up. “Kill him with his bare hands?”

“I don’t know!” Claire protests. “But Darius said they had a plan, if we interfere we could screw them up.”

Owen crosses his arms. “Plans can go wrong, it happens all the time.”

“What are we supposed to do about it?” Claire demands.

Owen falls silent at that, his jaw clenched. Even if he’s not convinced this was part of the teens’ plan, he seems to have realized there isn’t much they can do. It’s not like they’d stand a chance against three armed mercenaries, especially with Ben in such a precarious position. They could very well get him shot.

Claire swallows, putting a hand on Owen’s arm. “We still have to get this blood to Blue,” she reminds him gently. “Then we’ll figure out what to do, okay?”

That gets through to Owen. “Okay,” he relents, turning towards the trailer.

Claire sends up a silent prayer before following.

~*~

#jurassic world camp cretaceous #jurassic world fallen kingdom #jwcc #camp cretaceous #my writing

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