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Description
[ID: A digitized watercolor painting of Marcy Wu gaming on their Intento Swap and Luz Noceda looking at her bluejay-colored bat Palisman. Their shadows are brown. Blue rays hinting at a background point up from their bent legs. Marcy wears a light green hoodie, and brown sweatpants. Luz is wearing their purple and white cat hoodie, grey shorts, black leggings, and white shoes. Above them, “Connect and Cut” is stylized. The word “Connect” is written in cursive mimicking a red string of yarn with the stem of the letter “T” being a sewing needle. The word “and” is written like a digital clock. The word “Cut” is written in black and bisected by a dotted line with the crossbar of the letter “t” is a pair of closed scissors. The lower edges of the page are darker. End ID]

This is the cover for Connect and Cut, my Owl House/Amphibia crossover. It takes place after both shows, but was written before Yesterday’s Lie so it doesn’t address Vee.

Here’s a beta version of the prologue and first chapter, but before you read, some housekeeping:

Luz Noceda (Any/All)
Marcy Wu (They/Them)

And I’m likely going to release a final version later, but here’s a taste.

Prologue
The pounding of rushing footsteps was drowned out by unfamiliar sounds as the LA suburbs, its cookie cutter houses and samey yards, receded. A moving van followed a family car from suburb to city to highway. The child of the family didn’t look back, just listened to the footsteps until they couldn’t hear them anymore. They thought they heard panting, but it was so faint that they couldn’t be sure.

As the world opened up, they watched the road with their cheek held in their palm, knuckles pressed against glass. They saw the various pit stops, shops, and businesses hugged by their -often desolate- respective parking lots. This was America after all. The dull grey city veins of urban sprawl gave way to gangly suburban streets threading through shifting flora and landscapes. It would take three days to drive and another to unpack, but, in time, the family would arrive at their destination: Gravesfield, Connecticut.

This Year We Make A New Start
Luz sighed heavily as her mother turned on the TV. Camila watched her daughter with tired eyes tinged with worry. Luz got up from her place at the table and kissed her mom’s forehead instead of sitting where she pat her hand beside her. She said, “Not tonight, Mama. I think I’m gonna go to bed early tonight. I’ll need the extra sleep.”
“Mija,” said Camila, catching Luz before she had left the room, “you aren’t looking forward to school, are you?”
Luz nodded into her neck and replied, “Not really. I found the school and friends I like and I won’t see them.”
“I know you miss them, but now you know how to make friends. Try to make human friends. Who knows? Maybe you’ll learn to love them just as much as your witch friends. Try, for me?”
“Sure, Mama.”
“¿Y Luz? Te quiero.”
“Te quiero, Mamí.”
***
Despite going to bed earlier, she didn’t go to sleep earlier. She lay awake staring at the ceiling. She glanced across to where her phone was charging. She glared at it.
Why couldn’t witches just use phones?

The difference in hardware made communication between phone users and scroll users nearly impossible. She wished she had gotten a scroll as a parting gift. Distance was suffocating when there was no internet to breach it. She knew that much would be the case ever since her internet connection had fizzled out with the door’s destruction the first time.

Luz returned to looking at the ceiling. She wished that Anne girl she had met briefly was anywhere near her. She would have been a good human friend to have. Too bad they were separated by who knows how much distance. It could be miles or it could be lightyears. Though she had her fantasies about returning to the Boiling Isles and failing that portal spell just right to return the wallet she kept safely tucked away in the drawer in her bedside table, she was giving up hope of ever having that sleepover she’d promised.

***

“Welp. Time to try my luck with the normal kids.”
Luz held their head high, answering questions asked by their teachers. They were starting to see the joy of participating in class, now that they had a magical analogue to compare it to. Surprisingly, it didn’t make school seem even duller. It gave them context for what sort of classes were their style and it was the more regulated boring school-type classes. Luz loved Eda, but her teaching style was difficult to get used to. And with human school, they didn’t have to fight to take an eclectic assortment of classes. They were required to take a versatile “common” core. They had a newfound appreciation for that aspect of the American education system, despite their many gripes about it. Luz might have gained a newfound respect for school and for the teachers they had initially believed were only trying to make their life harder, but none of their fellow students seemed to have the same change of heart towards them. Luz was stuck in the same box as they had been the last 9 years of being there. The same old “cooties” or “screwup” excuses to ignore him left him with no opportunities to make the friends his mom wanted for him. Even with group work, he had to be assigned a partner. Not one peer of his volunteered to end up with him, even for just a class period. It was, disheartening, to say the least.

***

The bell marking the end of class finally rang. Across the hall, Luz heard a teacher raising their voice, “And next time, don’t be so late!”

She walked to her locker, exchanged her books for her previous class for the next subject. She mused, “Kinda odd I have time for this,” as she heard a familiar click. She beamed and asked, “Is that a— Watch out!”

The student suddenly looked up from their console and saw the open locker door. They were able to sidestep it before they got a concussion or worse. They stopped and turned to face Luz, though only made eye contact for a glance before staring at the floor, a blush spreading across their cheeks, “Thanks. What were you saying?”

“Is that an Intento Swap?”

Their blush faded somewhat as their eyes sparkled with passion: “Sure is! Do you have one too? Do y-“

“I wish! I begged my Mom, but she wants me to make friends in the ‘real world’ instead.”

“How about both? You be my friend and I let you use mine? I’m always down to help a fellow gamer. Right now I’m playing Creature Passing. You can explore my planet if you want.”

“I do want!” Luz gingerly took the Swap into her hands and pressed around on the cross button, walking back and forth in the game world before stopping abruptly.

The kid, looking over Luz’s shoulder, asked, “Need help with the controls or something?”

“We’ve got to get to class!”

“Oh right!”

“Where are you headed?”

“Um, well, I have Computer Science next, but I don’t know where that is.”

“I can show you. It’s on the way to my next class.”

“Oh! Cool.”

“So what’s your name, stranger? I’m Luz Noceda.”

“Marcy Wu.”

So Luz walked Marcy to their class, and the two continued their conversation. When Luz dropped them off at the computer science teacher’s room, Marcy caught her off guard with a hug. “Thanks a bunch! Maybe I’ll see you around?”

“Of course, friend.” said Luz, going off to band class with a grin.

***

Band class was fun, but they were a little rusty with their flute, having not practiced it all summer. Their mind wandered back to their new “friend”. She was so excited that she finally had a chance to bond with someone at her school, even if it was a new student, that she didn’t even mind Amanda’s jeers.

They waved at each other in the hall but had yet another class apart. Luz deflated at the thought of not having any classes in common with her friend. “Well, at least there’s lunch.” Said Luz as the bell rang. She realized that it was really weird to hear a normal, not-screaming bell. It felt too tinny and grated on her ears. It was also weird to be the youngest kid during lunch again. Full-on seniors were right there in the cafeteria in their cliques. Same with the juniors. Even her own grade had cliques: the jocks, nerds, and popular kids which seemed to just be a synthesis of the previous two, the goth and emo kids, and her. She was in her own category because she always sat alone unless it was too crowded. Only then would someone sit next to her, not talk to her, just sit. The other students had their friends to talk to. They didn’t need her. She looked around for somewhere to put her stuff, and sit, eventually. She was hoping to see Marcy’s face, but they were nowhere to be seen.

“They were having trouble finding their classes. Maybe they’re just late.” Thought Luz. But as he waited in line, watching the entrance, his heart sank as another thought occurred to him. “What if Marcy’s in a lower grade?” The cut off between the different lunch groups was right in the middle of the grade he’d been in last year and the one he was in now. “They did seem younger.” Mumbled Luz as he left the lunch line and sat by his chosen window in the sophomore section of the cafeteria. She blinked as she registered that someone else’s belongs were tucked under the table right next to her backpack. A trans pride pin and a nonbinary “They/them” pin were among the collection of pins on the backpack beside her own, as well as a “it’s Wednesday my dudes” frog pin.

There was an Olaf keychain figurine attached to it too. “Is it official merch or third party?” Mused Luz. She had grown up on Disney, but she had also grown to despise the company for its shady business practices, even if she still enjoyed lots of the shows and movies that they produced. She wouldn’t want to support the company. If she really wanted to show her thanks to the crew, she’d make fanfics, fan art, or donate directly to them, instead of buying official merch. It honestly made her sick thinking of funding their CEO’s kickbacks while the animators (and other creatives) were overworked and underpaid.

A cough from across the table brought Luz out of his reverie.

Luz smiled, “Marcy! I’m so glad to see you!”

“Aww, did you miss me?” Marcy teased.

“You have no idea. I literally had no friends here before you. And I’ve been here for 9 years!”
Marcy laughed. Luz burned with embarrassment. They stopped once they noticed. “Wait, really?”
Luz nodded numbly, looking over at Amanda and Maya laughing with their friends at the table next to theirs.

“Oh,” The two friends munched on their salads in silence before Marcy continued, “B-but, you’re super kind and cool and-and—“

“Weird.”

“Weirdness is normal. Average is strange. You’re the coolest person I’ve ever met, except for Sasha. I just don’t see why anyone one wouldn’t like you.”

“I don’t know either. I just know that that’s the way things have been. I had a horrible first day and every year since then I’ve tried to make them like me, but it’s never worked. I just had to get used to it. Besides, being alone isn’t all that bad if you can live in your own world.”

Marcy chuckled weakly, “Yeah.”

“It’s only started to get to me this year because I found friends during summer break. I really miss them.”

Marcy smiled sadly, “Yeah, I miss my friends too.”

They hadn’t spoken a word after that until the bell rang.

They just sat, chewing, on their food and on their thoughts.

They waved goodbye, with Luz asking, “Where are you headed this time?”

“Gym. I’m not really looking forward to it.”

“Gym? I love gym! We’ll be in the same class!”

Luz bounced on the balls of his feet.

Marcy looked behind themself and turned around to go the other way.

Luz laughed, “What are you doing, silly? The gym’s this way.”

“I’m pretty sure I left something in the cafeteria. I’ll be back.”

“Do you want me to wait for you?”

“No no. I’ll catch up later.”

Luz let their smile fall for a second before waving and saying, “Okay. See ya there!”

Edit: Jan 4, 2022 fixed a typo

Description
[ID: A digitized watercolor painting of Marcy Wu gaming on their Intento Swap and Luz Noceda looking at her bluejay-colored bat Palisman. Their shadows are brown. Blue rays hinting at a background point up from their bent legs. Marcy wears a light green hoodie, and brown sweatpants. Luz is wearing their purple and white cat hoodie, grey shorts, black leggings, and white shoes. Above them, “Connect and Cut” is stylized. The word “Connect” is written in cursive mimicking a red string of yarn with the stem of the letter “T” being a sewing needle. The word “and” is written like a digital clock. The word “Cut” is written in black and bisected by a dotted line with the crossbar of the letter “t” is a pair of closed scissors. The lower edges of the page are darker. End ID]

This is the cover for Connect and Cut, my Owl House/Amphibia crossover. It takes place after both shows, but was written before Yesterday’s Lie so it doesn’t address Vee.

Here’s a beta version of the prologue and first chapter, but before you read, some housekeeping:

Luz Noceda (Any/All)
Marcy Wu (They/Them)

And I’m likely going to release a final version later, but here’s a taste.

Prologue
The pounding of rushing footsteps was drowned out by unfamiliar sounds as the LA suburbs, its cookie cutter houses and samey yards, receded. A moving van followed a family car from suburb to city to highway. The child of the family didn’t look back, just listened to the footsteps until they couldn’t hear them anymore. They thought they heard panting, but it was so faint that they couldn’t be sure.

As the world opened up, they watched the road with their cheek held in their palm, knuckles pressed against glass. They saw the various pit stops, shops, and businesses hugged by their -often desolate- respective parking lots. This was America after all. The dull grey city veins of urban sprawl gave way to gangly suburban streets threading through shifting flora and landscapes. It would take three days to drive and another to unpack, but, in time, the family would arrive at their destination: Gravesfield, Connecticut.

This Year We Make A New Start
Luz sighed heavily as her mother turned on the TV. Camila watched her daughter with tired eyes tinged with worry. Luz got up from her place at the table and kissed her mom’s forehead instead of sitting where she pat her hand beside her. She said, “Not tonight, Mama. I think I’m gonna go to bed early tonight. I’ll need the extra sleep.”
“Mija,” said Camila, catching Luz before she had left the room, “you aren’t looking forward to school, are you?”
Luz nodded into her neck and replied, “Not really. I found the school and friends I like and I won’t see them.”
“I know you miss them, but now you know how to make friends. Try to make human friends. Who knows? Maybe you’ll learn to love them just as much as your witch friends. Try, for me?”
“Sure, Mama.”
“¿Y Luz? Te quiero.”
“Te quiero, Mamí.”
***
Despite going to bed earlier, she didn’t go to sleep earlier. She lay awake staring at the ceiling. She glanced across to where her phone was charging. She glared at it.
Why couldn’t witches just use phones?

The difference in hardware made communication between phone users and scroll users nearly impossible. She wished she had gotten a scroll as a parting gift. Distance was suffocating when there was no internet to breach it. She knew that much would be the case ever since her internet connection had fizzled out with the door’s destruction the first time.

Luz returned to looking at the ceiling. She wished that Anne girl she had met briefly was anywhere near her. She would have been a good human friend to have. Too bad they were separated by who knows how much distance. It could be miles or it could be lightyears. Though she had her fantasies about returning to the Boiling Isles and failing that portal spell just right to return the wallet she kept safely tucked away in the drawer in her bedside table, she was giving up hope of ever having that sleepover she’d promised.

***

“Welp. Time to try my luck with the normal kids.”
Luz held their head high, answering questions asked by their teachers. They were starting to see the joy of participating in class, now that they had a magical analogue to compare it to. Surprisingly, it didn’t make school seem even duller. It gave them context for what sort of classes were their style and it was the more regulated boring school-type classes. Luz loved Eda, but her teaching style was difficult to get used to. And with human school, they didn’t have to fight to take an eclectic assortment of classes. They were required to take a versatile “common” core. They had a newfound appreciation for that aspect of the American education system, despite their many gripes about it. Luz might have gained a newfound respect for school and for the teachers they had initially believed were only trying to make their life harder, but none of their fellow students seemed to have the same change of heart towards them. Luz was stuck in the same box as they had been the last 9 years of being there. The same old “cooties” or “screwup” excuses to ignore him left him with no opportunities to make the friends his mom wanted for him. Even with group work, he had to be assigned a partner. Not one peer of his volunteered to end up with him, even for just a class period. It was, disheartening, to say the least.

***

The bell marking the end of class finally rang. Across the hall, Luz heard a teacher raising their voice, “And next time, don’t be so late!”

She walked to her locker, exchanged her books for her previous class for the next subject. She mused, “Kinda odd I have time for this,” as she heard a familiar click. She beamed and asked, “Is that a— Watch out!”

The student suddenly looked up from their console and saw the open locker door. They were able to sidestep it before they got a concussion or worse. They stopped and turned to face Luz, though only made eye contact for a glance before staring at the floor, a blush spreading across their cheeks, “Thanks. What were you saying?”

“Is that an Intento Swap?”

Their blush faded somewhat as their eyes sparkled with passion: “Sure is! Do you have one too? Do y-“

“I wish! I begged my Mom, but she wants me to make friends in the ‘real world’ instead.”

“How about both? You be my friend and I let you use mine? I’m always down to help a fellow gamer. Right now I’m playing Creature Passing. You can explore my planet if you want.”

“I do want!” Luz gingerly took the Swap into her hands and pressed around on the cross button, walking back and forth in the game world before stopping abruptly.

The kid, looking over Luz’s shoulder, asked, “Need help with the controls or something?”

“We’ve got to get to class!”

“Oh right!”

“Where are you headed?”

“Um, well, I have Computer Science next, but I don’t know where that is.”

“I can show you. It’s on the way to my next class.”

“Oh! Cool.”

“So what’s your name, stranger? I’m Luz Noceda.”

“Marcy Wu.”

So Luz walked Marcy to their class, and the two continued their conversation. When Luz dropped them off at the computer science teacher’s room, Marcy caught her off guard with a hug. “Thanks a bunch! Maybe I’ll see you around?”

“Of course, friend.” said Luz, going off to band class with a grin.

***

Band class was fun, but they were a little rusty with their flute, having not practiced it all summer. Their mind wandered back to their new “friend”. She was so excited that she finally had a chance to bond with someone at her school, even if it was a new student, that she didn’t even mind Amanda’s jeers.

They waved at each other in the hall but had yet another class apart. Luz deflated at the thought of not having any classes in common with her friend. “Well, at least there’s lunch.” Said Luz as the bell rang. She realized that it was really weird to hear a normal, not-screaming bell. It felt too tinny and grated on her ears. It was also weird to be the youngest kid during lunch again. Full-on seniors were right there in the cafeteria in their cliques. Same with the juniors. Even her own grade had cliques: the jocks, nerds, and popular kids which seemed to just be a synthesis of the previous two, the goth and emo kids, and her. She was in her own category because she always sat alone unless it was too crowded. Only then would someone sit next to her, not talk to her, just sit. The other students had their friends to talk to. They didn’t need her. She looked around for somewhere to put her stuff, and sit, eventually. She was hoping to see Marcy’s face, but they were nowhere to be seen.

“They were having trouble finding their classes. Maybe they’re just late.” Thought Luz. But as he waited in line, watching the entrance, his heart sank as another thought occurred to him. “What if Marcy’s in a lower grade?” The cut off between the different lunch groups was right in the middle of the grade he’d been in last year and the one he was in now. “They did seem younger.” Mumbled Luz as he left the lunch line and sat by his chosen window in the sophomore section of the cafeteria. She blinked as she registered that someone else’s belongs were tucked under the table right next to her backpack. A trans pride pin and a nonbinary “They/them” pin were among the collection of pins on the backpack beside her own, as well as a “it’s Wednesday my dudes” frog pin.

There was an Olaf keychain figurine attached to it too. “Is it official merch or third party?” Mused Luz. She had grown up on Disney, but she had also grown to despise the company for its shady business practices, even if she still enjoyed lots of the shows and movies that they produced. She wouldn’t want to support the company. If she really wanted to show her thanks to the crew, she’d make fanfics, fan art, or donate directly to them, instead of buying official merch. It honestly made her sick thinking of funding their CEO’s kickbacks while the animators (and other creatives) were overworked and underpaid.

A cough from across the table brought Luz out of his reverie.

Luz smiled, “Marcy! I’m so glad to see you!”

“Aww, did you miss me?” Marcy teased.

“You have no idea. I literally had no friends here before you. And I’ve been here for 9 years!”
Marcy laughed. Luz burned with embarrassment. They stopped once they noticed. “Wait, really?”
Luz nodded numbly, looking over at Amanda and Maya laughing with their friends at the table next to theirs.

“Oh,” The two friends munched on their salads in silence before Marcy continued, “B-but, you’re super kind and cool and-and—“

“Weird.”

“Weirdness is normal. Average is strange. You’re the coolest person I’ve ever met, except for Sasha. I just don’t see why anyone one wouldn’t like you.”

“I don’t know either. I just know that that’s the way things have been. I had a horrible first day and every year since then I’ve tried to make them like me, but it’s never worked. I just had to get used to it. Besides, being alone isn’t all that bad if you can live in your own world.”

Marcy chuckled weakly, “Yeah.”

“It’s only started to get to me this year because I found friends during summer break. I really miss them.”

Marcy smiled sadly, “Yeah, I miss my friends too.”

They hadn’t spoken a word after that until the bell rang.

They just sat, chewing, on their food and on their thoughts.

They waved goodbye, with Luz asking, “Where are you headed this time?”

“Gym. I’m not really looking forward to it.”

“Gym? I love gym! We’ll be in the same class!”

Luz bounced on the balls of his feet.

Marcy looked behind themself and turned around to go the other way.

Luz laughed, “What are you doing, silly? The gym’s this way.”

“I’m pretty sure I left something in the cafeteria. I’ll be back.”

“Do you want me to wait for you?”

“No no. I’ll catch up later.”

Luz let their smile fall for a second before waving and saying, “Okay. See ya there!”

Edit: Jan 4, 2022 fixed a typo