Chapter 22: Changes
Art by Crash X Fusion: Truly, everything's just changed...
Just when things look hopeless for Luz, she unleashes her inner strength and it changes everything for her.
Tropes that appear in this Chapter:
- 11th-Hour Superpower: Right as Boscha declares her duel against Luz over, Luz undergoes a transformation that allows her to turn the tables on Boscha.
- Adaptational Early Appearance: Boscha's parents debut in present day between "Adventures in the Elements" and "The First Day" rather than "Them's the Breaks, Kid".
- Affectionate Gesture to the Head: Jerbo gives Barcus a pat on the head when he hears he passed his duel.
- An Aesop: It's better to pace yourself in order to find the path you want for your life.
- Arc Words: Both the last chapter and this one end on the words "everything changed".
- Battle in the Center of the Mind: Luz ends up having to face her younger self within her mindscape for control over her new form. Luz ultimately wins out.
- Batman Gambit: Upon learning of Odalia's demand for Amity to end her friendship with Luz, Lilith gives her one: either she allows the girls to continue spending time together, or Lilith will order an investigation on Blight Industries under the threat of treason for her Abomitons being used as a personal army. Odalia decides to relent.
- Big "YES!": Once Amity tells her they can keep hanging out after the exams, Luz lets one out that sends birds flying.
- Brick Joke: Thanatos appears to Bump and Anu Bist to return the student who got sent into a portal to Hell in the last chapter.
- Bridal Carry: The second Lilith is allowed into the arena ring, she carries the unconscious Luz out in her arms.
- Bittersweet Ending: In the "bitter" category; Cat ends up having to take remedial courses for failing the exams , Boscha pretty much loses all of her friends and Emperor Belos learns of Luz's condition. On the "sweet" side; everyone else passes the exams, Principal Bump announces the multi-track option for next semester and thanks to Lilith, Amity is allowed to keep being friends with Luz.
- Body Horror: Luz's transformation involves her limbs extending and her feet twisting backwards all to the sound of snapping bones.
- Breaking the Fellowship: Boscha's Girl Posse completely falls apart with Amity renouncing their friendship after what she did to Luz and Skara declaring she'll have to accept her friendship with Bo if they're to stay friends. And with Amelia shaking off her influence and Cat getting sent to the Shadow Realm, Boscha is ultimately left alone.
- Call-Back: Luz's advice to Mabel about taking things slow and Eda's statement about being her own witch is what leads to her decision to study one track.
- Clothing Damage: Both Luz and Boscha's uniforms receive several tears during their duel.
- Costume Evolution: Now that Amity's going to be studying illusions, the sleeves of her uniform are changed to light blue. The Troublemakers also gain their multi-track uniforms and Luz's sleeves are changed to Bard Red.
- Crush Blush: Luz and Amity share one after their moment in the Healing Ward. Luz also has one when Amity says their time together means a lot to her.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: In a reversal of the last chapter, Luz now has Boscha on the ropes.
- Death Glare: Lilith gives one to Boscha before taking Luz to the healer and maintains it when she lays into Craig.
- Declaration of Protection: Upon ending her friendship with Boscha, Amity warns her to stay away not just from her but from Luz, too.
- The Dog Bites Back: Amity punches Boscha hard as her way of ending their friendship. Skara, although timid, also stands up to Boscha to tell her she'll have to accept her friendship with Bo.
- Don't Call Me "Sir": Lilith tells Alador he doesn't need to refer to her as "Captain".
- Establishing Character Moment: Boscha's parents demonstrate how they act and how they treat their daughter; Nicole upholds her family's creed about lying but displays an aptitude towards getting revenge on those she believes wronged them, while Athena plays the part of the peacekeeper trying to rein in Nicole's anger but backs down from her wife too easily.
- Everybody Cries: As Amity starts crying over the thought of losing Luz as a friend, Luz hugs her while she's crying too to assure her that won't happen.
- Eye Scream: Narrowly averted. Luz came close to clawing out Boscha's eye before Amity yelled for her to stop.
- Failed a Spot Check: Neither Principal Bump nor Anu Bist see the remaining test proctor slip out of the room.
- Fainting: Luz once her match is over and her body finally gives out after transforming back.
- Flashback Cut: Two.
- The chapter begins with 5-year-old Luz learning and performing the light spell for the first time and declaring she'll be the strongest witch in the Boiling Isles.
- Later, the aftermath of Boscha ditching school and being scolded by her mothers is shown before leading to her confronting her mothers after the exams.
- Forgiveness: Bo accepts Skara's apology after seeing how much she regrets ending their friendship and they decide to start over.
- Furry Reminder: Barcus is a dog and thus, prone to eating leftover food.
- Hulking Out: Once again, Luz during her transformation.
- "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Amity and Lilith resort to reaching Luz by yelling at her alternate form to stop before she mauled Boscha.
- Laser-Guided Karma:
- Because of Luz gaining her Super Mode, Boscha is left in a worse condition after Luz attacks her being left with a broken nose, dislocated right arm, and bruises. Just after getting checked over and her arm is put into a cast, Amity decks her hard enough to knock her off her feet and ends their friendship.
- For allowing Luz and Boscha's duel to get out of hand, Lilith strips Craig of his rank, kicks him out of the Emperor's Coven and orders he be locked up.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: When Gus questions how he and the troublemakers can't find Luz's match, Jerbo contributes it to plot convenience.
- Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone: As she tries to comfort Amity, Luz takes notice that the nurse watching her left the room to give them some privacy.
- Luminescent Blush: Luz and Amity as usual. Surprisingly, Willow gets one after hearing Skara call her wise.
- Martial Arts Staff: Parodied. Boscha summons a spike she uses as a bo staff against Luz, but it isn't long before Luz bites down on it and yanks it out of Boscha's hands.
- Moment Killer: Played with. Viney believes Gus and the troublemakers interrupted Luz and Amity while they were having a moment.
- Nasal Trauma: One of Boscha's many injuries is her nose being broken when Luz slams her knee into it.
- Near-Villain Victory: Boscha comes close to getting away with beating up Luz while still allowing both of them to pass. Then someone points out Luz is still moving and cue the transformation.
- Nothing Is the Same Anymore: On top of all the Troublemakers passing their duels and becoming Multi-trackers, Principal Bump announces that Hexside will now offer other students the chance to study multiple tracks as well. Amity is offered such a chance to study both Abominations and Illusions and she accepts (with Jerbo lampshading the fact that he and Gus will now be sharing classes with her.) Luz gains a Super Mode and while she's also granted permission to study every track, she ultimately chooses to only study one next semester (later revealed to be the Bard Track) and branch out to other tracks if and when she's ready to handle it.
- Not Worth Killing: Downplayed. Having gotten everything she thinks about Luz off her chest, Boscha decides she's not worth getting angry over anymore.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Viney and Jerbo managed to end their duel and pass, with the battle being so epic they're covered in healing patches. Barcus also manages to beat Mattholomule.
- Oh, Crap!: Boscha has this moment after seeing Luz transform, and another one after Luz prevents her from forfeiting the duel.
- One-Word Title: And a very fitting one with all the changes made to the status quo.
- Post-Treatment Lollipop: After patching up Mattholomule, Bo offers him a suckerpop as an offer to rejoin the Human Appreciation Society next semester.
- Post-Victory Collapse/Power-Strain Blackout: The second Luz regains control of her body and turns back to normal, she passes out from exhaustion and later wakes up in a bed.
- The Power of Love: Hearing Amity and Lilith's voices and thinking about what Eda would think of her is what helps Luz prevent her inner self from killing Boscha.
- Precision F-Strike: Again, Boscha after Luz transforms.
- Primal Stance: Luz walks on all fours after she transforms.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Boscha may have injured Luz and aired out her opinion of her, but Luz makes a comeback that ruined her overall attempt at revenge.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Boscha delivers another one to Luz, calling her a nobody and ultimately deciding she's no longer worth the anger.
- The Reveal:
- Lilith reveals that she's Amity's godmother.
- Barcus mentions that he has a sister who's a cat demon.
- Boscha' mothers are named Athena and Nicole and she's implied to have an older brother.
- Scout-Out: Simon mentions the witch scouts, of which he's a member.
- Sequel Hook: Luz's condition results in the Emperor assigning the Golden Guard to keep an eye on her.
- Shipper on Deck: Puck is shown to be one for Luz and Amity.
- Shout-Out:
- The Shadow Realm from the original Yu-Gi-Oh! series is used for remedial classes, with all the students being trapped in cards.
- When Odalia realizes Lilith is attempting to blackmail her, Lilith says "it's called a hustle".
- The Song Parody performed by Puck is a cover of "They're Only Human" from Death Note: The Musical.
- Super Mode: After suffering from broken limbs at Boscha's hands, Luz transforms into a black-scaled, blue-eyed creature with claws and fangs with Super-Speed and Super-Strength, immediately turning the tables on Boscha.
- Take That!: To the Yu-Gi-Oh series: the Shadow Realm is described as "a realm of eternal suffering for nerds that lost a card game made by evil Egyptian entities."
- Talk to the Fist: Amity's response to seeing Boscha after the duel is to punch her off her feet.
- Unstoppable Rage: Once again, Inner Luz against Boscha.
- Wham Episode: Principal Bump keeps his end of the bargain and allows the troublemakers and other students the chance to study multiple tracks next semester, Amity decides to study both Abominations and Illusions, and Luz, now equipped with a Super Mode, decides to study in just the Bard track for now. Emperor Belos learns of Luz's condition and decides to task the Golden Guard with keeping an eye on her.
- Wham Line: Luz's announcement to only study one track counts as the first. The second is what track she chooses, which isn't revealed until Eda, King and Hooty learn it after Luz comes home.Luz: "I've decided... to join the Bard Track."
- What the Hell Are You?: Boscha asks Luz this when the transformed human stares her down after slamming her on the ground.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: Willow is surprised to hear Simon call her wise and even more so when he tells her Luz said the same. This results in him dubbing her "Wise Witch Willow".
