Watching them Grow (The Owl House (spoilers!))
Watching them Grow (The Owl House (spoilers!))
By Wanderer D
As he flew into the air, his flaming form bidding a silent goodbye to the boiling isles and the world where his son would grow and flourish, the Titan felt a tug. Which was odd, because as far as he knew there should be nothing else for him to do but fade into whatever followed a long, long… looong life and a just-as-long quasi-death.
Instead of his consciousness fading, however, he suddenly found himself in the familiar form he had assumed while he was in the world between worlds, down to the PJ pants and bathrobe. The Titan blinked, staring down at his claws with mild surprise before looking up and around.
He was in a small, brick hallway. Ahead of him, at the end of it, he could see a room with tables and welcoming light, behind him was a closed door.
"Odd," he said as he shrugged and started walking. "I don't remember walking into this place."
"That would be because I snagged you before you got too far, you old coot," a refined voice said behind him, making him turn in surprise.
Leaning against the door, arms crossed and a mischievous grin on her face was none other than…
"Rarity!" he said with a laugh and opening his arms.
"No hugs!" Rarity said, eyes widening. The human-looking female raised her hands to ward him off. "Not when you're in that… that disaster! What could possibly possess you to throw those rags on yourself and call it a day?!"
The Titan shrugged, looking down at his stained T-shirt. He patted his belly and grinned. "Oh, you know. Years… decades… centuries… of being stuck between life and death, away from the gym with only cubes of ethereal trans-dimensional energy to let me look into the other worlds. I worked hard on this dad-bod." He gave her a serious look, then laughed. "And it shows!"
Rarity sighed and shook her head, a small smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. She crossed her arms again with a look of mock disdain. "Yes. Well, I'm sure you could have found better-fitting clothes."
"What? And deny the universe the surprise? Nah. Besides, these are comfy! And we all need to feel comfy once in a while, don't we? Now, come over here. Don't tell me you really won't make a hug exception for a very old friend?"
Still smiling, she finally caved in and accepted the hug. She sighed as he squeezed him. "It's good to see you."
"I can say the same," he replied gently. "But I already decided to move on, Rarity. I was already supposed to be gone thousands of years ago. What remains of me is… barely holding together."
Rarity grimaced and shook her head. "At least join a lady for a drink?"
"How could I say no to that?"
"King?"
"Well!" The Titan said, "Not quite! But you have a sharp eye if you can see the family resemblance!"
Sunset blinked, then looked from the oddly dressed titan to Rarity, who had walked into the bar with him. "So… King's dad, then?" She smiled. "Welcome to Sunset's Isekai. Your son and his sister are good friends with my daughters."
"Sister?" the Titan asked, blinking as he sat on a stool at the bar. "You mean Luz?"
Rarity sat to his right and elbowed him. "Isn't she one of your heirs as well? You did give her your powers."
"Oh. You were watching. Well, my powers are mostly gone from her, although she did make a striking titan herself! Maybe the seed of power I left within her will let her grow into one too." He sighed, letting out a short laugh as he nodded. "But that's up to her. She certainly is someone I'd love to have as a daughter, but I wouldn't presume to adopt her. She already has two wonderful mothers, after all."
"This is true," Sunset said.
"Besides!" the Titan waved a claw in the air, "I wouldn't be much of a dad. Being dead and gone and all that for all this time."
"We could set you up, you know? Death doesn't mean much unless you want it to when you're here." Rarity murmured. "We've rescued souls, undead… you name it. I can make it happen."
Rather than answering her, the Titan looked down at the bar with a frown.
"How about we start with a drink?" Sunset said. "Wine for Rarity… what would you like? I also have some food I can make or order for you."
"I've always wanted to try that blood-apple juice Eda is so fond of."
Sunset nodded heading over to pour their drinks.
"Why are you hesitating?" Rarity asked, "you know I can make it happen. Say the word. I've known you since you were a kit, there's still much you could do."
Titan sighed, looking at Sunset as she placed down his drink. He gently lifted it up, the owl demon from his eye wiggling in place as he took a sip. "Belos destroyed my core and my heart. Going back there, I think I would do more damage to the already precarious balance the land has achieved. Now, it can grow alongside King. He is the new Titan."
"It must've been hard not being able to talk to him," Sunset said. "Rarity said you were trapped between life and death, able to see him, but unable to interact.
"It was," the Titan said, nodding. Then he smiled. "But I watched him grow. I watched how he accepted his sister, his mother, his aunt… his entire family. Even Hooty! I couldn't wish for more, all things considered. Eda did everything I couldn't do. I might not have been there as I would have liked, but I witnessed him becoming a fine young titan indeed."
Rarity sipped her wine, frowning.
"It's all we can wish for them, right?" Sunset said, smiling at his nod. "I know I'd regret not being able to spend time with them if I was somehow blocked from seeing Lena and Danni, but I'd do my best to keep track of them and see how they're doing, even without me."
The Titan nodded. "When King's brothers were taken away and I trapped the Collector, I worried about King's final fate. I never expected Eda to find him, or take him in as she did." He swirled the blood-apple juice in its glass contemplatively. "I wasn't sure at first… I was powerless to stop her, true, but I still wanted him to be safe. All I could do was watch over him and hope."
"Well you did get lucky on that front," Sunset said, reaching over the bar to pat his arm. "Eda is fiercely protective of her kids, as you well know."
"And it's thanks to her that I can move on," the Titan said, glancing at Rarity when she grimaced. "Oh, I know you can help me back into semi-immortality, my good friend, but not all souls want to keep going forever. My time in the Boiling Isles is over. I'm sure with all the people you have met, you've learned that accepting death is no less noble than wishing to live, especially with a fulfilled life."
"That may be," Rarity said, "but now that your time there is over, the multiverse can accept you without issue. Your fate is not threaded to your world past this point, so allowing you to live outside of it shouldn't be a problem… you would be able to really be a dad to King and maybe even Luz, eventually. She has plenty of you in her blood and magic to make her family now."
The Titan sighed, looking into the glass with a melancholic air. "I… have been imprisoned and 'dead' for so long that I don't know how to be 'alive' anymore. It's true that I have observed what's going on in the Isles, and that I transferred my power to Luz—however briefly that was—but that is a far cry from being directly involved, or jumping right back into it."
Rarity huffed. "So you're scared."
The Titan shuffled in his seat. "Yes. And although that fear is lessened by the prospect of having a family around me again, it's not the only reason I am… reluctant to return."
Rarity scoffed, but relented when Sunset gave her a look. The latter turned to face the Titan again. "What else could stop you?"
The Titan took a long drink from his glass, almost emptying it before answering. "Past mistakes… I know what I did to the Collector was wrong, even if I wanted to justify it as being blinded by rage at the time. My mistake cost us both and forever changed the world. Returning to the Isles goes beyond just reconnecting with my son… and, um, Luz, I suppose. It would involve reconnecting with the entire isles, with my old body, with my old powers. Going back is not just a matter of appearing and resuming life. It's changing the surface of the world itself once more, just for the benefit of my own wishes."
Sunset glanced at Rarity—who was studying her wine with a frown—before speaking. "Well, their whole civilization is built on your bones, isn't it? I understand being afraid of destroying all that, but what about how you look right now?"
The Titan sighed. "It's different when I'm stuck as this. Is it that much for a soul to ask for peace?"
"I'll make sure you get a new body." Rarity would not budge, and even though she was capable of much, it took Sunset by surprise how vehemently she had made the statement.
"Rarity…" Sunset whispered, but her business partner's eyes were on the Titan only.
"You're not just a soul," Rarity said. "You're the Titan. You're King's father. You're not out of options… yes, you sacrificed yourself for everyone in the isles, but you have a chance to be someone for all the people that cared for your son. Your fate in the Boiling Isles might be over, but not here, in the omniverse if you chose to continue it."
"We don't often get a chance to help someone live after their fate has reached its conclusion," Sunset said, "but it has happened."
"So what is stopping you?" Rarity insisted, giving him a glare. "Because it's not just a noble sense of wanting to move on, and you know it."
The Titan sighed, and took Rarity's hand in his own, patting it gently. "Oh, Rarity." He shook his head. "You can tell, can't you? No matter how much you insist."
Sunset blinked, unsure of what he meant, but the sudden flush of red in Rarity's cheeks, and her eyes watering up meant that she did understand what the Titan meant. In her many, many years, she hadn't yet mastered half of what Rarity had. Her business partner was much more experienced in the ways and ever-changing laws of the multiverse, and sometimes it made Sunset feel like one of her brand-new guests: a bit overwhelmed.
"But they just… I just…" Rarity sniffled. "We just got you back. I can't let you go away again forever. Not again."
The Titan drew her in for a gentle hug, and this time, Rarity did not fight him. She didn't break down into sobs, but did hold tightly to him. "I want my friend back. It's been so long since we saw each other, Titan."
"Are you going to tell me in all the multiverse… in all of the omniverse and beyond, you've not met me again?"
"Not you. Not the one I befriended so long ago. Other versions are nice but..."
"I know," the Titan answered gently, "and I want to thank you for taking me with you to explore so many times, so long ago. But I am not me… you know this. I'm just the remnants of my power."
Oh.
It made sense now. Sunset gave Rarity a look of understanding. "So no matter what you'll fade away?" She sighed, then shook her head when he simply nodded. "Maybe… there's no way to stop that, since you're not complete here, but… you don't have to leave so definitely."
Both Rarity, and the Titan gave her a confused look. The former puffy-eyed, the later intrigued.
Sunset nodded. "You have a son that needs you to be there in some way or another… so be there through what you are now, and his sister."
Rarity sniffled almost imperceptibly, gathering herself and delicately wiped a tear from her eye. "Sunset, you can't mean…"
Sunset nodded. "Something didn't feel right about the Titan just fading away into nothing, but I could also feel that he… had moved on. Forcing the last of him to stay as he is seems unnatural." She cleared her throat as she tried to explain her logic. "But he's already taken the first step to leave a true legacy for his family… including Luz and Eda."
"I don't think I follow…" the Titan began, but Sunset stopped him with a smile.
"You might not be all of the Titan, but in you are his power and memories and hopes, and you already lent it all to Luz… so be part of her for real now. Let her be even more of a sister to King, and help them both carry your legacy."
The Titan hesitated. "I already imposed so much on her good will. She took my power, yes but it was also temporary… do you really think she—"
"I definitely would!" Luz interrupted from the entrance to the bar. Grinning at the surprised looks from everyone. But this wasn't the Luz they were used to: she looked a little older now, closer in age to Lena and Dani.
She took it all in, then walked over and sat on the other side of the Titan as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "Do you have any idea what it meant to be the same as King? I want to be his older sister for a long, long time, you know?"
The Titan sighed. "You shouldn't use my magic as a crutch, young witch."
"It's not." Luz summoned a glass of water over to her. "I've been learning magic from Sunset and many others. But… my magic? The one I discovered inch by inch by understanding you little by little? That is gift… from someone that saw me as his son's sister. A step-dad if you will."
"You… would be there for King…"
"For as long as I'm alive," Luz said firmly. "Titan Magic or no." She her grin turned bashful. "But I admit… there's something about talking to you and my dad silently when I have doubts and feeling you both support me… step-dad."
The Titan's eyes went wide, then he laughed a deep, happy rumbling laugh. He laughed so hard he almost fell over, if not for Rarity holding him up until he calmed down. He was still snickering, and wiped a tear of laughter from his good eye. "Step-daughter, huh?"
"Hey, I'm a family girl, what did you expect?" Luz said. "I started with two parents, and now I have three moms, several sisters and a furry little brother that I love with all my heart."
"Three moms?" Sunset asked, blinking.
Luz grinned and winked at her. "Wait till you meet my bio-mom."
The Titan was silent, thoughtfully contemplating Luz's words, while Rarity looked from Sunset to Luz, then back to the Titan. With a long sigh, her shoulders slumped, but a weary smile adorned her face now. "Even I sometimes forget how much our legacy means."
Sunset smiled and patted her on the shoulder.
"Then… I believe I can do that." The Titan looked up at the others as he eventually spoke. "I will entrust what remains of me to Luz, if she'll have me."
"Perfect," Luz said, drinking the rest of her glass, then standing up. "I'll be back in a moment, but there's also someone you'll need to talk to about this." She paused, as if remembering something. "Actually… several someones. Hold on."
The trio watched her leave while the Titan shook his head. "I'm always surprised by how quickly humans grow. Just a few minutes ago she was—" his eyes widened as Rarity grinned.
"Just caught up, did you?" she asked.
"But how…"
His question was interrupted as several voices came from the small hallway just outside the bar's entrance to the main room.
"Espera, mija, you mean to tell me you've been coming to a bar?!"
"It's not just a bar, mom, it's the Isekai!"
"I can't believe you have been coming here too, Eda! I thought this place only—oh my Titan."
"Oh, me." The Titan chuckled as three women, two girls and a young Titan stepped into the bar. Luz was dressed differently, and seemed much younger than earlier. She was holding Amity's hand, who was staring at the trio at the bar with a shocked look.
Behind them, Eda, Ms. Noceda, and Lilith stared at the Titan in surprise, but his eyes went down to the wolf-like creature standing before them.
"D-dad?" King asked.
"In the spirit," the Titan said, standing up and walking up to them. He took Eda and Ms Noceda's hands in his own, then glanced at Luz and King. "Would you four mind coming with me? I have… something to discuss."
As Sunset hurried over to guide Lilith and a confused Amity over to the bar, Rarity stood up and went to the foursome. "I think you four should talk about this somewhere private, come on, I'll show you one of the party rooms we reserve for small events."
Already King was asking a multitude of questions, and Rarity knew it was going to be a bittersweet conversation for all involved… but for some reason, knowing that her friend's true legacy would live on in his children was enough for her to face his future absence with a smile.
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Godspeed your magnificent masterpiece!
I loved Titan Luz’s design when I first saw Watching and Dreaming. Such a flip on a white mage! Her magic is more shadowy than the glowing light of Witches when she uses Stringbean. The Titan knowing Rarity makes too much sense—she was pretty comfortable among demons in the Hazbin Hotel chapter. Moving on, it’s really bittersweet that the Owl House has for sure ended. There were so questions left unsolved due to Disney cutting season three.
Did the other Titans’ bodies develop ecosystems like King’s father/parent? Was Luz always destined to show Philip the Light Glyph or did he find it on his own originally? What did the kids get up to in the Human Realm while stuck there? Are there any other features of Grimwalkers we don’t know about? Uugh. I feel like the Owl House could have been big enough to give us Gravity Falls’ feels? Not that both shows had the same mystery elements yet were really good.
Rumors do indicate Dana making a spinoff under another studio but I won’t hold my breath...
—Cragadilian
now this is a pure moment.
Great chapter.
okay first off let me say this chapter had me smiling from ear to ear, so I hope this little arc is not over quite yet and that we get to see the conversation about to take place. You also did a damn fine job of writing the Titan, I was easilly able to hear his voice though the words in the scene
This chapter... I loaf it!
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well played!
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Thanks. It was the yeast I could do.
11566819
haha ALSO well played, I wonder how many more bread puns we can rise
11566774
YEP!!!
Awwwww that was nice
Not in Europe. I found a way to watch it anyway, but it's weird that it's not available here.
Which raises Questions about the Omniversal Rarity.
Camila. Who is currently sharing the Best Mom trophy with Eda.
I love this joke so much.
I love Luz so much. Only Steven Universe is higher in the Good kid scale
Oh god I LOVE the idea of Luz becoming a Titan again/staying as one all the yes
And wait how did LILITH become...?!
11566783
She'd have to UQ Holder it and even then Disney would probably try to sue.
11566783
At the end of the Day Disney owns the rights to Owl House. So she would need Disney’s okay to make a spin off. Disney has a firm grip and would not give it up.
Lovely work, especially the deeper look we got into this Rarity. For all her eons of experience among countless realities, she is still a Rarity, and sometimes that means offering her friends gifts they don't actually want without understanding why they won't let her give them something nice. To say nothing of cherishing them and wanting them to be happy... while not understanding how their definition of happiness may vary from hers. She means well, if nothing else.
In all, a great coda to a great work of fiction. Thank you for it.
A good chapter. I just started Owl House the other day, although I've already looked up a ton of info on it. ;)
Nice update!
You mean, your time as the Boiling Isles
This was neat
I loved the finale of The Owl House! Dad-Titan was awesome.
Awww! She finally called them her daughters out-right and out-loud! Sure, it took a few centuries, but still, the feels!
This was... so very much Sunset Shimmer.
Her one rule, the one rule she absolutely refuses to budge on, is non-interference. Oh she'll give advice, maybe even nudge things along for a slightly better outcome, but she will not "Do the work" for those who are meant to do it. Not unless things were happening that should NOT be happening already.
The Titan died. Sunset can't change that. His soul had also moved on. Again, Sunset can't change that. All that was left was his lingering will and power.
But Sunset could solidify what was left, infuse it into something... or someone. She could make Luz into the closest thing to a demi-Titan there is, and make her King's sister for real, while also granting Luz a father-figure, one she whole-heartedly wanted.
She won't break her rule. Never break it. But... sometimes she'll bend it. Just a little bit.
Awesome work.
Id still love to see the end result of the Titan's conversation with em, and what happened after