What if Luz grew up without a family?
She's looking for home.
When Luz Noceda was eleven years old, she became an orphan. After running away from child protective services, she lived on the streets for five years until the system finally caught up with her, and she spent a while bouncing between different foster families until running away again. Now seventeen, she hides away in an old cabin in her hometown. A cabin that is frequented by an old woman who has a door to another world. In this new world, she gains a place to stay, but also has to deal with new dangers, including the risk of being the only human in a realm populated by witches.
HomeLuz
is a The Owl House fancomic created by artist SwainArt inspired by the earlier "beta" character designs of Luz and Amity as drawn by Dana Terrace. It follows a Darker and Edgier Alternate Universe where the main characters are all older, have more traumas and issues to deal with, and the Boiling Isles are a bit more dangerous than the Crapsaccharine World it is in the show.
The comic can be read on Swain's twitter or deviantart.
Be warned that the comic is Darker and Edgier than the show it is based on. Content warnings for blood, realistic depictions of injury, unhealthy family dynamics, child slavery, and implied sexual assault of a minor. As this is a fancomic, all spoilers related to the show itself will be unmarked.
Tropes in HomeLuz
- Adapted Out: There's little to no sign of Willow or Gus even existing in this setting.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: In the show, Hunter is a Grimwalker of Caleb Wittebane created by Emperor Belos as the latest in a long line of Replacement Goldfish. In the comic, he is a witch who was given to the Emperor's Coven by his parents.
- Adaptational Badass: As a result of age and harsher upbringing, Luz is much more physically capable in this, even before learning glyph magic, and it's implied that she beat up Adeghast on her own without Eda's help. Amity's abomination magic is also much more advanced, and she's capable in hand-to-hand combat as well. Finally, Emira mentions that she and Edric can do abomination magic, which there is no indication of in the show (and is unlikely, since the track system would only allow them to study illusions until "Labyrinth Runners").
- Adaptational Context Change: In canon, the "Golden Guard" was a rank exclusively for Hunter and the Grimwalkers that preceeded him, signifying him as a high-ranking member of the Emperor's Coven who reported directly to Belos himself and outranked everyone else. Here, it's not a rank at all, more a term of derision, with Hunter more accurately being Kikimora's slave and not actually a member of the Emperor's Coven, only kept around due to his ability to decipher ancient texts and speak it's tongue.
- Adaptational Nice Guy:
- Hooty in the show starts out as a complete Cloud Cuckoolander with a sadistic streak who gets more considerate and serious due to Characterization Marches On. Here, he gives King a What the Hell, Hero? for being rude to Luz and relates to her due to also having been homeless before meeting Eda.
- Odalia in the show is extremely controlling and abusive, and seems to consider her husband and children more like a business arrangement than a family. In the comic, she still holds her children to impossible standards, but her abuse of Amity is more of Parental Neglect than direct abuse, and she's just as concerned as everyone else when Amity is missing or hurt.
- Boscha seems to genuinely care about Amity, whereas their friendship was more about status and their parents' matchmaking in the show.
- Aesop Amnesia: At the end of arc 6, Eda suggests that they should cover up signs of Luz' humanity to prevent her from being a target. In the very next arc, she walks around Bonesborrough with her ears clearly visible, which is how Amity identifies her.
- Age Lift: Luz is 17 and Amity, based on the fact that she attends Hexside University, is 18 or older. Lilith has two grey streaks in her hair, implying that she's either older, or simply looks more her age.
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Besides not having dark hair, this perfectly describes Amity. She rarely expresses emotion, even in stressful situations, and seems detached from the current situation most of the time. The only time she seems happy is when she's getting affection or approval from her parents.
- Bilingual Bonus: Luz calls Amity "Mamón", a Spanish insult with similar connotations to "arrogant bitch".
- The B Grade: Odalia and Alador are disappointed that Amity got a perfect score on her essay, since they consider perfect grades to be the bare minimum.
- Blood Magic: Eda uses this to kill a massive Sand Worm in arc 19. It only works on her own blood, however, so before she could do that she had to mix her own blood into the soil in the area over a long period, before causing the trace amounts of her blood in the worm's body to explode.
- Bullying a Dragon: Invoked by Amity. Since her parents only ever show her affection when she's seriously injured, she picks fight with much stronger opponents and loses on purpose so she can be cared for by her family when she gets home.
- Category Traitor: When Belos first established the Covens, the various Wild Magic users rebelled for the most part, but some users and their houses instead sided with and pledged fealty to Belos, betraying their own kind. The Blight family was one such example, having aided Belos but denied entry into the Emperor's Coven, leaving them to be regarded as outcasts on both sides. Amity explains to Luz that part of the reason the Blight's are so focused on getting the approval of the Emperor's Coven is to prove they're actually worth something still, though Amity also believes that Odalia and Alador want their children to have what they couldn't by making sure the whole family is accepted into it.
- Child Prodigy: Hunter is called this because he was able to decipher a dead language and use a once extinct form of magic. It unfortunately made him very valuable to the Emperor's Coven.
- Darker and Edgier: The overall setting is a lot less lighthearted than in canon. In addition to Luz's darker backstory of being an orphan on the run, you also have Amity regularly letting herself get injured so her parents will pay attention to her for once, Hunter being sold by his family to Kikimora and turned into her slave, Covenless being treated as second-class citizens that can be sold into slavery, and just a lot more violence that is Bloodier and Gorier. Even Luz and Amity's relationship is given a darker spin, with it being more based on a long term plan of Amity's and Lilith's to try and capture Luz than the canon version of Luz slowly getting Amity to open up and break free of her family's pressure.
- Death by Adaptation:
- Part of the premise of the AU is that, when Luz was 11, Camila somehow died and Luz was left an orphan.
- According to
Word of God, Vee was Killed Offscreen by Hunter.
- Defensive Feint Trap: When Amity headbutts her during their duel, Luz pretends to be more hurt than she is in order to blind Amity with a light glyph.
- Evil Mentor: What Lilith is shaping up to be for Amity, offering her to become her pupil and learn how to "put the Owl Lady and her student down in their place".
- Fashionable Asymmetry: Amity's design is largely symmetrical, down to her hair, but her left eyebrow is dyed and her right isn't.
- Foster Kid: Luz was through three separate foster homes prior to meeting Eda. The exact conditions of these homes aren't detailed, but considering Luz' Trauma Button and the fact that the Loose Lips officer says she "escaped", it's implied that they weren't very nice.
- Freudian Slip: In arc 8, Luz corrects herself after almost calling the Owl House "home".
- Functional Magic: In addition to the innate magic practiced by witches and the glyph magic used by Luz, the comic also features Incantation magic, a type of magic practiced during the savage ages that relies on spoken spells.
- Hates Being Touched: Luz is okay with casual touch from Eda, King or Hooty, but gets angry at Amity for grabbing her arm, and someone trying to remove her clothes is her Trauma Button.
- Homefield Advantage: Attempted by Angmar, who thinks Amity is a fool for trying to fight him near a forest since he's a plant magic specialist. Amity just burns the trees.
- Made a Slave: Hunter was recruited into the Emperor's Coven and given a magical slave collar as a child.
- Manipulative Bastard: Lilith advices Amity to falsely apologize to Luz and play up her own weakness.
- Mundane Object Amazement: Luz is brought to tears when Eda offers her a room with a real bed, instead of a cot or mat or pile of blankets.
- Mythology Gag: Luz and Amity's designs are based on the "beta" concept art, while King is based on his design in the concept pilot.
- Nasal Trauma: Bria suffers this after a single punch from Amity.
- Never My Fault: When Kikimora isn't an Instant Expert after only one month of learning invocations, she blames it on Hunter, a child, being a poor teacher.
- Parental Neglect: Odalia and Alador give all their attention to their oldest twins, leaving Amity neglected.
- Pillow Pistol: Hooty at some point finds a knife that went missing from the kitchen under Luz's pillow. Eda is concerned when she learns, but doesn't try to stop it since it makes Luz feel safer.
- Pun-Based Title: "HomeLuz" is a pun on "Homeless".
- Rape as Backstory: Implied. Luz's reaction to Eda trying to take her jacket off for her while yelling not to touch her, combined with the mention of her having "escaped" her third foster home, suggest that Luz was sexually assaulted at some point in the past.
- Shattering the Illusion: Adeghast tries to trick Luz with a puppet-illusion of Camila asking her to come home. It seems to be working for a moment, untiil Luz knocks the puppet's head off, having long since moved on and accepted her mother's death.
- Significant Background Event: At the end of Amity and Luz' duel, a white bird can be seen in the background watching the aftermath. Two arcs later, it's revealed that it's Lilith's palisman, and she's keeping track of Amity and Luz.
- Statuesque Stunner: Amity is quite beautiful and has gotten a significant growth spurt. She's taller than both her twin siblings, despite being the youngest. This page shows that she's a solid head taller than Luz.
- Third Eye: As usual, Boscha has a third eye in the middle of her forehead, though it's horizontal rather than vertical.
- Trauma Button: Luz reacts extremely poorly to others attempting to remove her clothes, even just her jacket. The implications are rather obvious.
- Your Days Are Numbered: Implied. Eda hopes that giving Luz a home will be the one good thing she does before dying. While saying this, black spots are visible in the gem that regulates her curse, implying that said curse is more lethal in this au.
- You Remind Me of X: Slight variant, but Lilith says that she sees her younger self in Amity.
