Work Text:
“Why can’t you be more like your sibling?”
That’s what each twin would hear often. They’d stand before their parents, alone, and watch as their twin’s grades or previous accomplishments were pulled up before them.
“Your sibling aced higher on the test today.”
“Your sibling is working harder on this project when all you do is play.”
“Your sibling doesn’t keep slurping during dinner.”
“Your sibling doesn’t complain as much when we need to discipline them.”
Each twin begins to feel resentment towards the other. They’re tired of being compared, tired of hearing the other one’s name. They’re not LIKE them… But sometimes, they wish they were.
The twins don’t have very many friends. Every time they try to reach out, their parents adamantly say no; That’s not good enough. Here are some other friends… That just so happen to be the children of our co-workers, they mention!
The twins don’t like these new friends. On their own, these ‘friends’ aren’t bad… But they were chosen for them by their parents, when they wanted to hang out with other people. Can they trust these new people? Probably not. So, they don’t really hang out much with them, if at all… They only have each other.
And initially they HATE one another. Each keeps remembering how their parents claimed the other sibling was better, and so they get into fights. They work hard to a better student, a better child, than the other; So maybe they’ll get approval. Maybe each twin WANTS to be told, outright, that they’re the favorite. They know they weren't planned; That only one was expected, but a pair? That came as a surprise to their parents. Each and every time a twin is compared to the other, asked to be as good as them... There's always that little fear in the back of their heads;
Was I even wanted? Was I even asked for?
If our parents had to choose one of us to keep, who would they pick?
It SHOULD be a silly, senseless fear. But with each and every disapproving stare, ever down-turn of their parents' mouths, every shaken head and ever disciplining gesture... There's that thought in each twin's head, that the plan was never to have only two; Just one. And while their parents would NEVER confirm, never say it outright... At least one of the twins was expected to step up and prove themselves as the 'better' one, as the child that was actually asked for.
Which twin was asked for? Every day each would look at the other, and either believe that they needed to justify their parents' choice in them; Or prove them wrong for picking the other twin over them.
…But time passes and they just get lonelier and sadder. Every time one twin does well, the other does better; And so on and so forth, until they’re spending hours a day without breaks, studying just to do better. And their parents just watch, occasionally chiming in, “Your sibling is doing better…!” And then each twin grits their teeth and works harder.
But the work is getting tiring. So is the pressure. Each twin is tired of having to justify their possibly-accidental existence to their parents. They don’t have anyone to confide in; They can’t trust their parents, after all. And there are no ‘real’ friends they’re allowed to have…
The twins only have each other.
Somewhere along the way, each twin steps back and looks at themselves. They see their other twin, and see how tired and unhappy they are. They’re BOTH sad, aren’t they? Sad and angry, frustrated… Their parents keep telling them to be better than the other, but after all this time, each twin is starting to feel angry at their parents instead of the other.
That shouldn’t be allowed- Their parents are perfect and did everything to raise them! They wouldn’t even have the gift of life without them; That if it weren’t for their parents, every happy moment the twins had wouldn’t have happened!
…Of course, if it weren’t for their parents, every terrible moment the twins had wouldn’t have happened, either.
They see each other, and realize; This is who I’m going to be stuck with for the rest of my life. I can’t handle this; I can’t handle being with this person!
…Right? But then they look at themselves and think about how they’re sometimes mean to the other. They’re competing, because their sibling is competing… Because each twin is trying to be better than the other, but why?
“Why can’t you be more like your sibling?”
Their parents, of course- Because their parents kept comparing them, by making a fuss over how different each twin was from the other. Why couldn’t these twins be more similar, they ask?
Well… if their parents WANTED them to be more similar…
One day the twins discreetly meet, when their parents aren’t paying attention. They’re smart for their age, and pretty talented; And they know that they’ll be stuck with each other for the rest of their lives. Two people, in a prison and enduring harshness from outside; So, they may as well learn to get along, right? Because their company isn’t changing anytime soon… Neither twin wants to be thrown out in favor of the other, but neither twin was willing to forsake the other just to stay in the family.
They begin to get along. They stop trying to compete. They open up, and listen, as their deepest and darkest secrets come flooding out; Including their own resentment, sometimes hatred, for their abusive parents.
The twins reach a secret agreement one day; If their parents want them to be so alike, then they WILL be alike. They’ll hang out together. Do the same things, do the same classes and assignments. They’ll get the same grades, fail the same exams, and get into the same trouble at school and elsewhere. Everything they do, they do together.
Then their parents won’t ask a twin, “Why can’t you be more like your sibling?” Because they ARE like their sibling… Practically indistinguishable, if it weren’t for the slight differences in name and appearance. If one twin messes up, they mess up together; And if another does well, they do well together.
Their parents won’t be able to compare them together, set them at each other. The twins won’t fall for that trap; They’ll learn to love the only other person they’re allowed to be with! And they’ll be close, share secrets, and be friends… Because who else can they have? It’s the first time being able to confide in someone that isn’t themselves, and for each twin it’s exhilarating.
So, the twins carry out their plan. Always hanging out together. Doing things together. One goes to the restroom, the other follows. One hangs out at the Slayground, so does the other. One comes with the other; They’re two parts of a whole. To criticize one is to criticize the other, and together… Maybe they can share their pain, and it won’t be as harsh. Either way, if their parents had to choose between the two of them... Both twins had an equal chance, and that was comforting; Because then neither would have contributed to the abandonment of the other. There's no point in deciding between two identical options, after all.
One day, their parents call one of them. They BOTH arrive; And their parents look harshly at the other twin, before remarking coldly, “I didn’t ask for you.”
(Right now, or at all?)
They know, but they still came anyway. They couldn’t leave their sibling alone to face their parents.
Their parents seem to notice how much they’re hanging out together, and it begins to irk them. Maybe they realize there’s some rebellion and defiance going on; Either way, they try to separate the twins. Sign them up for different classes and extracurricular activities.
But by this point, it’s enough. They can’t handle being without each other, because they’ve gotten so addicted to having any company at all, that to be without the other twin… It’s torture. It’s pain, worse than any yelling or even beating from their parents.
So, they get into trouble. One twin skips a class, and so does the other; So they can hang out together. They won’t let anyone separate them, after all. They’re the only people who can trust each other, after all… And this IS what their parents wanted, for one twin to be more like the other, right? It reaches a point where their parents stop asking each twin, “Why aren’t you more like your sibling?”
Instead they ask, “Why aren’t you two better?”
You two- They’re together. Two sides of the same coin… Two halves of the same person. And without the other, they feel incomplete, alone, and afraid. Wondering what the other is like; Because no longer do they just hang out with each other as necessity. Now, the twins value one another; They’ve seen into each others’ hearts. They’ve given each other support, when nobody else has. They’re intertwined, practically connected physically… Put one twin away from the other, and it’d be like slicing a single person in half. Their two halves of the same being; On their own, neither twin is actually a person.
Does that bother them…?
It doesn't matter; Now, to their parents, the twins aren't separate individuals, different choices to compare and eventually choose, while forsaking the other. They came together; Or were abandoned together. And the twins knew their parents wanted children, or at least needed them, to continue the allegedly-esteemed 'Blight lineage'... The twins had become one, and so each succeeded in protecting the other.
...
Their plan eventually begins to fall apart, however, when SHE is born; The third child, the second birth, the first non-twin. Their parents call her Amity, but eventually the twins call her Mittens.
Mittens is annoying. She’s always listening to what their parents have to say, blindly hanging onto every word and command. To her, their parents’ words are the only truth of this world. It’s frustrating to see Mittens fall for the same old, dumb crap about following the rules and being a ‘proper’ Blight, biting that same old bait hook, line, and sinker.
But it gets even worse than that. Together, identical, the twins couldn’t be pitted against each other. But now, with Amity, AKA Mittens?
Now, their parents have someone to compare them to.
“Why can’t you be more like Amity?”
“Why can’t you be more like the twins?”
Mittens gets frustrated and angry with herself, actually taking their parents’ words to heart. It’s both sad and funny; But also frustrating. The twins worked so hard to be so alike, so indistinguishable to avoid these dreaded comparisons. But then comes Mittens, and now it returns; All that hard work, for nothing. All of that sacrificed individuality, all of that codependency… For nothing.
They get mad at Mittens; For sometimes telling on the twins, for not being perfect enough. They know Mittens just wants her parents’ approval, and think she wants to get that by tearing down the twins so she can look better.
If the twins had acted sooner, acted earlier… Maybe they could’ve reached out to Mittens. Gotten her in on their plan, on the identical, uniform appearance.
But the circumstances were skewed the moment she was born after; Because there was always that distinction of Mittens being younger than the twins by a few years. Of Mittens having brown hair, instead of the twins’ green. Besides, it seems like their parents had caught onto what the twins might’ve planned, and made sure to get to Mittens first; Indoctrinating her so that she would believe THEM instead of her siblings. Making Mittens feel insecure towards the twins, and angry at them for being better than her… Make Mittens want to be UNLIKE them.
It’s too late; They can’t get Mittens to join them. She’s a stranger to the Twins by this point, and not somebody they can trust. She doesn’t just want to be different from them; She wants to compete, too.
…And if that’s what she wants; Why not give it to her?
The twins pick on Mittens. They ostracize her, make sure to exclude her. While Mittens struggles with her grades, the twins flawlessly ace their exams, passing classes they barely spent any time in! And of course, Mittens gets angry, and jealous. So she tries to be better than them, to be different by being the perfect student her parents wanted. And that makes the twins angry, because how could she be falling for the same drivel that the twins had barely survived together? Doesn’t she see what their parents are doing to them!?
While the twins are friendly and charming, Mittens is cold and condescending. They see her push away Willow- They’re not sure what happened, but it likely involved their parents. Why couldn’t Amity be braver, and just not listen or care what their parents had to say? Was it because she had no one- Well if that’s the case, then too bad. The twins and Amity were too different by now to truly trust one another, so that rift between them always remained.
Still, it’s frustrating, and sometimes the frustration is taken onto Mittens because the twins could never get away with being mad at their parents; So why not get mad at Mittens, their personal puppet and means of getting back at their firstborne children, for being so disobedient and rebellious? For not being good enough, for being… too similar.
(It’s funny, because being similar is what school teaches them and others to be; Because according to the wise Emperor Belos, conformity and being identical is the key to unity and harmony! They’re just doing what their teachers said… Isn’t that what their parents wanted?)
The twins watch Mittens. They watch her become unhappier, lonelier. Sometimes… They feel bad, because is it really her fault? She doesn’t have a twin, or any friends; She’s suffering, just like them.
So, they try to teach Mittens to be more open. To care less about their stupid parents and their stupid rules. Just lighten up, break a rule or two! Mittens of course is mortified, and this just leads to her tattling on them more, trying to avoid the twins, trying so much NOT to be like them… And that just makes the comparisons even worse.
And then it gets aggravating- Why does Mittens have to be so stubborn? She’s willing to quash her own identity for her parents; The twins did the same for each other! Why can’t Mittens be more open-minded? Why can’t she be stronger?
Why can’t she be more like them?
…
Sometimes they feel bad, sometimes they feel resentful. Sometimes they see Mittens being too much like their parents, and the twins realize they have to step in. They make sure to knock her down a notch, try to humble Mittens whenever she becomes too elitist, too proud, and thinks of herself as ‘stronger’ than other Witches. They know such comparisons are foolish and only result in trouble. It’s harsh, what the twins have to do to keep Mittens from becoming like their parents… But what else can they do? Isn’t this what siblings normally do, teasing one another to no end?
(Not that the twins would do it to each other of course, not as much as they do it to Mittens… But to be fair, their circumstances weren’t orthodox.)
…They can’t say for sure. They don’t have anyone else to ask such questions. They’re defiant to their parents, but not TOO defiant… That would be a disaster. As much as they like to rebel, there’s a certain threshold that’s not to be crossed and they know it. Outright asking someone the difference between toxic abuse and painful lessons is risky… So they can’t really differentiate them. Sometimes, the twins forget there’s even a difference between the two; Because in a way, did their parents not unintentionally make their bond stronger? Maybe if the twins do the same to Mittens, she’ll grow to be close with them as well and vice-versa…
Look at her- She’s so lonely. So cold to other people… And she’s even hurting her own older siblings in her attempts to not be like them, to be better; Getting them in trouble. Mittens needs to learn not to mess with people like that.
…Shortly afterwards, they hear about a newcomer.
Mittens calls them ‘the human’, but some research with their connections tells the twins their real name; Luz. According to Mittens, Luz is someone who gets into trouble, someone who gets Mittens into trouble. Luz broke into Hexside, impersonated an Abomination, and then got permanently banned.
Neither the Mittens nor Twins had any idea what was up with this human- They barely knew anything about humans, beyond this one kid from their track having a club dedicated to them… Still, she’s a troublemaker like the twins. This ‘Luz’ even exposed Mittens as a cheater in front of everyone at the Covention, knocking her down a peg- Forcing Mittens to realize she wasn’t better than anyone else!
If Mittens realized she wasn’t better than people, then maybe she could learn to BE like other people, too! This Luz could be helpful… She wasn’t even at Hexside, or any other school they were aware of. To the twins, it was like Luz just appeared out of nowhere one day; She had no connections, no ties to any official institutions that their parents could influence.
Their parents… Their parents were angry at the human as well as Mittens. Well, serves THEM right! Already the twins were beginning to like this Luz, and they had never even seen her. But she seemed to know how to stick it to the authorities, and she wasn’t someone beholden to them, either; Not someone their parents could hurt…
She could be good; Not just for them, but for Mittens as well!
The twins notice Luz when they visit the library, to drop off lunch because Mittens forgot, too eager to get away. It kind of hurt the twins’ feelings to be regarded so harshly, when all they wanted was for Mittens to be more open to people, to let her walls down a little!
They spot someone who looks unusual; Like a Witch, but with rounded ears. She’s getting into trouble. They don’t know it yet, but this is Luz the human. And whoever she is… They like her.
Then the twins are making their way towards Mittens, when they see Luz beat them there. Mittens calls her the human, and then it all clicks together; The elation. It’s like fate or destiny; And would have it, Luz the human immediately tries to make friends with Amity. She offers friendship- Nobody else does that to Mittens, except the twins. Mittens’ only friends were mostly just lumped together with her because of their parents.
Mittens is mean, cold, and harsh- And yet for some reason, Luz wants to be her friend. She’s making an offer that nobody else has besides the twins… But unlike the twins, she’s doing it from a VERY different position, as an outsider to the family. As someone without magic; As a ‘weakling’, or at least that’s what their parents would call her.
Luz doesn’t really seem to care about rules or conventions, does she? The twins like that. And they see her listen to Mittens’ demand to leave… and Luz kindly obeys.
Oh- They LIKE her, all right!
That’s when the twins step in on Luz’s behalf, finally introducing themselves. They stand up for Luz, vouching for her to Mittens, who of course has to be harsh and mean towards the human for no good reason. Luz seems receptive, and maybe even a little embarrassed; They may have flirted a bit, all in good nature of course!
And… they get into fun! Something about Luz just clicks with them; Her disregard for appearing proper, her genuine goofiness… Something was EARNEST about Luz, like she had nothing to hide from people! To the twins, who always hid everything from a lot of people, especially their parents- This was fascinating. They wanted to learn more, and Luz was happy to provide.
Perhaps they were being hopeful. But when Luz got kicked out of the library with the twins, instead of getting upset, instead of seeing the twins as a bad influence…
She laughs.
She still wants to hang out, even after getting into trouble? It seems like nothing could affect or deter this kid. No disapproving stare or rule mattered to Luz, and she seemed genuinely interested not in Mittens… But the twins, too?
They’d seen people who were interested in the twins- At least superficially. The twins had constructed a fine and proper mask as talented illusionists after all, a mask even their parents were occasionally fooled by. But they couldn’t afford to allow anyone in- Not only were the twins not ready to let their walls down like that, but what would their parents say? Normally THEY didn’t care for their parents… But it seems others did, even outside of the family. The intimidation of the Blight Parents taught many witchlings to avoid their children. Even if somone DID keep trying to be friends with the twins… Well, something would happen to them. Maybe they’d get expelled, or their parents would lose their job. Either way, nobody was willing to risk the wrath of the Blight Parents, and the twins didn’t want to get anyone else involved either.
But Luz? Luz the human, who broke into Hexside and got in trouble with Principal Bump, that old rule stickler? Luz, who challenged their sister, a top student, to a witch’s duel despite not knowing any magic? Luz, who hung out with Eda the Owl Lady, a known criminal, and dueled against the apprentice of the Head of the Emperor’s Coven?
If Luz was willing to mess with their sister’s tutor, and STILL try to make friends… It seems nothing could hold this funky little human down. Maybe not even their parents. Indeed, even after initial rejection Luz still wanted to be Mittens’ friend; It seems her friendliness could be not be deterred.
Maybe the twins were being too optimistic, too hopeful. But on the other hand; This could be a golden chance, and they couldn’t let this opportunity pass. They already had something planned that night, something meant to help Mittens become a better person… if Luz was so interested in being Mittens’ friend, she might be good for their little sister! This WAS in Mittens’ best interest, after all; She needed this! Maybe she needed Luz, too…
Could you imagine? The twins’ little sister, the prim and proper Amity, cold and unassailable and above everyone else… Getting down to the level of a ‘lowly’ human, learning to appreciate and sympathize with them? Learn that there’s more to friendship than strength, learn that there’s more to life than rules? Having access to an outside perspective so against what their parents would teach?
She was perfect… Luz wouldn’t just be a great friend, their first and ONLY friend for the twins… She might just be what Mittens needed, after all.
They extend trust in a way they’ve never done before, and invite Luz to do some troublemaking. It’ll involve an illegal scroll –don’t ask how they got it- to get in… And surely enough, Luz doesn’t even bat an eye! She IS rooming with a criminal, why would she even care?
Along the way, they get into some fun; There were some unforeseen side-effects involving a ‘Wailing Star’. The details weren’t important, but it made the twins happy; And it made Luz happy! She got into dumb fun and pranks with them, they threw snowballs at her and vice-versa… The twins had only had each other’s company and that for so long. It felt strange and alien to have the friendship of another person, and yet here Luz was!
…Okay- They REALLY liked her!
Maybe it’s the emotional high of getting to know someone else without fear of what their parents would do to them; But either way, they’re beginning to trust Luz now. So the twins invite her to help find Mittens’ diary, and post the entries to the school. Doing so would show everyone that Mittens wasn’t any different than them, and vice-versa… Maybe THEN she could learn to let people in, like Luz for example!
…Luz doesn’t seem too fond of the idea. They can’t blame her; She doesn’t know Mittens like they do. She hasn’t seen what their parents have done to Mittens, and the twins as well; She doesn’t know how cruel Mittens can be even to her one and only friend Willow, all those years ago. Mittens needs this- And even if Luz does fight back a little, they don’t hold it against her. It’s not her fault their parents were so cruel, and it’s not Luz’s fault that she doesn’t know. She’s just nice like that, and while that niceness is proving to be a pain at the moment; The twins also don’t regret it, and kind of respect it? At the very least, they’d be willing to mind what Luz was doing right now, trying to keep Mittens’ diary from them, if it meant more of her unconditional friendliness in the future.
Then Mittens arrives, out of the blue- Because of COURSE she does, she always seems to intent on tearing down her twin siblings and getting them in trouble, because of her own inadequacies and self-loathing! It’s equal parts annoying and concerning. Regardless, having her diary and hidden safe spot revealed seems to have done the trick; Mittens runs away with her diary in the end, but she seems humbled. She calls Luz a bully, but after seeing how friendly she is, it’s clear to the twins that Mittens couldn’t be farther from the truth!
She’ll learn eventually, they reason- But for now, they’ve got better things to do, now that Mittens has been taught a lesson. Things didn’t go as planned because of Luz, but in the end, they kind of respected that defiance, even to other troublemakers… That was brave of the human. Even Mittens had to acknowledge that Luz was someone to be wary of; Not that Luz would ever hurt anyone knowingly.
To their pleasant surprise, Luz wants to stay back and comfort Mittens. The twins see an opportunity; An opportunity for Luz to break through Mittens’ walls while they’re vulnerable and let down, maybe explain WHY her older siblings had to do this for her. Either way, they wink, and leave the two be.
…The next morning, Mittens comes home.
The twins ask how her night with Luz was, if the two made out or anything; Of course these questions are asked behind closed doors, so their parents don’t notice. They’ll get Mittens in trouble, but preferably not with their own parents. Their parents can be too harsh, alas… That’s why Luz is useful; An outsider who can show Mittens what the world is really like!
But then Mittens starts yelling. Starts getting angry. The twins get concerned as she repeats the events of what happened last night, they hear about how they accidentally caused a monster to almost KILL their sister; And it’s mortifying! They know knocking their sister down a peg is important, but risking her life…?
And then she starts crying. She starts breaking down, sobbing about how much they’ve hurt her. The twins feel awkward, and try to deflect the conversation, but Mittens isn’t having it; Not this time, not ever again it seems. She lays right into them, everything they’ve done, how unfair it is.
The twins begin to stifle underneath the accusations. A part of them instinctively wants to dismiss it, but as Amity yells at the twins, talks about how they’ve hurt her, made her afraid to reveal herself, made her scared of having friends…
…It sounds an awful-lot like what the twins said about their parents, towards each other. And somewhere amidst the ranting and the screaming and crying, the twins realize that Amity’s words, taken out of context, could just as easily apply to their parents…
They remember how Luz reacted, how she said this was wrong. Initially they dismissed Luz as being wrong, because what would she know? She wasn’t abused….
But that was it, wasn’t it? Luz wasn’t abused. She wasn’t hurt by her own parents, as far as they know- Luz seems too kind and friendly for that to have happened, at least not nearly as bad as it did with the Blight siblings and THEIR parents. With a start, the twins realize that Luz knows what a life without abusive parents looks like. What ACTUAL love is… So she can tell the difference when she sees abuse.
The twins have always known that Mittens was abused and suffering from it, especially from their parents.
But were their parents the ONLY ones abusing her?
Earlier they were afraid Mittens was too much like their parents, but now… Maybe it was the twins who were too much like their parents.
Amity never had anyone to call a friend, did she? There was Willow, but that barely lasted… And when she lost Willow, she immediately moved into becoming the worst she had ever been.
The twins at least had each other. And looking at Amity, crying and sobbing, feeling all alone because she was… They remember how they had befriended one another, so their parents wouldn’t pit the twins against each other. They let one another in, one twin to the other, and became closer for it. They never had the chance to do the same for Amity, because walls had been set up around her, built by her parents and later fortified by Mittens herself.
But it seems the twins had worn down those walls, a little too well… And worn down the person inside. Whereas Luz had the grace to merely open the gates, and allow access to the vulnerable person within.
…Maybe Luz was right. Maybe Amity was right.
…
Later that day, they get Mittens to agree not to tell their parents, and vice-versa. Regardless of their own issues with one another, no sibling would benefit from their parents hearing they were up at night, inside an off-limits location and getting into trouble. They would all get into trouble, and instead of tearing one sibling down with the other… Why not work together? Uplift each other? The twins had experience doing this with one another, why not include Mittens in on it for once?
She’s apprehensive, but Amity agrees. She, too, fears their parents with all her heart. The three agree to let this be a secret between them and Luz, and then Amity goes into her room and slams the door in their faces.
…Maybe they deserved that.
It was scary, seeing how Amity had broken down earlier. The twins had their own moments, crying into each others’ backs and shoulders, hugging one another for comfort as they spilled out their frustrations.
But with Amity… This was something. They asked if this is how she really felt, and Amity confirmed it was ALWAYS how she has been feeling. Going through that, without a twin for support? The twins couldn’t imagine… They couldn’t even imagine being without the other by this point; The memory of what it was like to be alone, compared and contrasted with the other, was dim and distant. Whoever those kids were, those twins who were different from each other; The Twins weren’t them any longer.
They push the thought out of their head, and meet up later. What happened to Amity scared them- And so for once, without prompting from their parents…
They apologize- Not just to avoid getting into trouble. But for the sake of Mittens, to make her feel better… And to make the twins feel better, about what they had done. Because they couldn’t bear the guilt of what they had done to their little sister, the horror of becoming nearly identical to their parents.
They weren’t going to be like that- Not anymore. They vowed to make a change that night.
The next morning, they apologized, and Amity blew them off because of course she would- The twins have never been much for honest, straightforward truthfulness. Maybe Luz could teach them a thing or two.
And, they keep apologizing. Admitting their own faults, telling Amity that she was right; The twins DID mess up! They did hurt her, and… Well, it was up to them to fix it, right? They follow Mittens, keeping an eye on her, making sure she’s all right… Offering to help on homework, keeping her company, even dropping off a snack or two! Of course, the twins will eventually go back to teasing Amity, but this time they’ll be a lot more mindful of how they do it. For now, however… no pranks. No tricks. Just honest, unabashed truth, masks removed and everything.
It makes them feel vulnerable and even naked; But they know Amity must feel the same. Her pain is their pain, they decided for now.
Mittens begins to see that they really mean it, and is confused and unsure, which makes her feel unsafe and MORE reclusive. The twins sometimes feel tempted to break in and keep offering their affection, but if Luz taught them anything, maybe they needed to give her some space.
…But just in case, they still follow Amity whenever she leaves home. If she’s going to be in public, she’s already going to be surrounded by people anyway, right?
Somewhere along the way, Amity’s disposition improves. She calms down and becomes closed-off again, but she also seems a bit different, almost… contemplative…
Their parents seem to notice the siblings hanging out more, but thank goodness they don’t question it, at least not out loud, or at least not to any of their faces. The twins almost badmouth their parents in front of Mittens, but remember that she’s not quite ready for that. Begrudgingly, they put it off, and even avoid getting into trouble… If it means being there for their little sister.
When Mittens wants to meet up with Luz to return a book, the twins are ecstatic- The human must’ve really gotten through to her, more than they ever did, if Amity was willing to accept a book from this stranger, and then go out of her way to return it! They know it’s a ‘Good Witch Azura’ book, which Mittens has always loved, but still. THIS was a major move on her part… Something she’d never done before. And what was the difference this time?
Luz; Luz, being kind. Luz, helping show the twins where they messed up.
The twins LIKE Luz; Far more than they expected. They’d only met her once, but Luz had interacted with Amity a few times beforehand as well. Whoever she is… She’s doing good for Mittens.
(Plus, she’s genuinely fun to be around for the twins, that helps too!)
When they see Luz again, they’re ecstatic and all over her! They want to hang out, and when Luz reveals she’s going to attend Hexside; Well, the twins don’t question it! Maybe earlier they would’ve been concerned about their parents doing something about THAT… But Luz had already proven capable of functioning without a formal education. Plus, if she was able to make a dent in Mittens’ façade, then it seemed nothing could stop her. They may as well support Luz on her journey, then!
And they can see how flustered Mittens is around Luz, drawing herself with fictional characters, trying to be all cool and composed, when in reality she’s confused on her emotions- It’s adorable! The thought enters their head for Amity to get to know Luz better… She’s helping Mittens be more open and confrontational with her actual emotions, and that’s good. Luz is a cool person; They twins would love to hang out with her as well.
So when Luz says she’s going someplace far-away and mysterious, to become more powerful… Well, the twins immediately guess that it’s the Knee, and they’re right; By sheer fate and coincidence, that’s where they had already planned to take Mittens, to help her train for the exam! The twins cross their fingers, and they’re right- Luz is there, with her… unusual mentor, Eda the Owl Lady.
There’s not much to say- She’s unconventional, that Eda, and anyone who can put up with her must be something, the twins reckon; So their respect for Luz only grows. Regardless, they see Mittens actually talking to Luz, confiding things in her about wanting to beat the twins at the exam, and Luz…
Oh, Luz- She looks SO eager and flustered around Amity, it’s like she has a crush on her and doesn’t even know it!
...Actually…
Luz lies about knowing two spells- The twins are surprised but can’t be too mad, sometimes someone as genuine as the human has to lie every now and then… especially since she seems to want to be Amity’s ‘friend’, because DANG, she’s really eager to be around Amity! She really seems to care abouty Amity’s approval a lot, to unchararcteristically lie… And, sure- The twins don’t know EVERYTHING about Luz.
But they see how happy she is to hang out. How flustered. They know their parents, and by consequence Amity, are strict about friends needing to be ‘strong’… It seems Luz wanted to fit that image THAT badly, just to hang out with Amity?
Could it be…? Surely enough, they see Mittens blushing around Luz. When a secret club is offered between the two… Mittens takes it.
Hanging out, after-school with somebody when she doesn’t need to? Mittens never did that with Boscha and Skara and all of those other kids. And yet Amity is here, smiling around Luz… Stopping her training just to waveat the human, indulging in her own interests with this stranger, willing to share a secret together…
It’s out of nowhere to the twins. Unprecedented, even- Mittens is taking forward massive steps, all for Luz… All just to hang out with her…
Of course. How obvious- The only question left in the twins’ mind, is when Luz started crushing on their little sister, and vice-versa?
Normally the twins would be more concerned and critical about Mittens potentially having a girlfriend. Especially after the library incident, could anyone be trusted around their little sis- Could anyone be trusted to let her open up to them, to listen and take her seriously? To support her unconditionally, no matter what- To brave the terror of their parents’ likely disapproval, all just to see Amity happy?
Luz already defied the twins just for Amity’s sake. Defying their parents was just the next step up… And they were happy to help.
What happens next is obvious. After the incident, they tease Amity about being in love with Luz, and of course she’s in utter denial about it, and starts getting aggressive and defensive around the twins. All it does is just prove to them that there’s a crush going on; Because clearly, how else would Mittens feel? This is someone who’s making her feel interested in pursuing friendship on her own… And the twins were in full support of somebody who could make their little sister happy! Plus, they just genuinely liked Luz and enjoyed her as company; She was the perfect match! Luz had the twins’ full support and approval.
The twins themselves weren’t normally ones to trust… Yet here they were, trusting Luz not just as a friend, but as a potential girlfriend to their little sister Mittens. In no time flat, Luz broke records and left an unprecedented impression, which just made her even cooler to the twins.
Then Luz became even MORE awesome- When their next semester began, the twins skipped out because why bother hanging out at school? They already aced their classes and got away with skipping them, always getting perfect scores on exams; And with the help of the occasional illusion, their teachers, many already apathetic, were none the wiser.
(Plus, Amity was so busy thinking about Luz, she couldn’t even be bothered to notice the twins sneaking out! That was ANOTHER plus!)
But while they were gone, something attacked- Apparently it was called a Greater Basilisk. The details were vague, but according to Amity, it was able to overpower and drain her, and even Principal Bump. According to the news, almost the entire school had been trained; And this horrific creature had also attacked other schools like Glandus, single-handedly!
That was terrifying; The twins had dodged a bullet, but they’d have felt better if they dodged it with Amity. Even taking that bullet with her would’ve been preferable, because now Mittens was one of them, it seemed, and her pain, was THEIR pain. They felt bad- They were supposed to be looking after their little sister…
But then Luz did it for them. Luz, that inexplicable stranger, who came from nowhere (seriously, how did she get here?!) and got into their lives through sheer earnestness and kindess alone… She had saved the school, stopping the Greater Basilisk when no one else could! Not even Bump…
(Imagine their parents dismissing Luz as too weak for Amity, now!)
According to Mittens, Luz had saved her life and the entire schools’, alongside some other kids; She wasn’t sure of the details, but she was there when Bump called out Luz for using mixed magic with the ‘detention kids’. To Mittens’ disbelief, Luz had actually defied Bump, speaking up against him and arguing on behalf of her and those Detention Kids, laying into him all of her problems with the school system.
It was… something even the twins had never done, maybe because their parents would’ve REALLY punished them then! And what’s even more amazing, was that Luz got away with it; Not only that, but according to Amity, she changed Bump’s mind!
NOW the twins were certain she was lying, that Mittens’ memories were clouded over with romantic attraction to Luz, a claim that of course angered her and almost warranted an attack from an Abomination. But when the twins checked later that day, and noticed Luz, as well as three other students –two of whom were pretty cute- wearing multi-colored sleeves… It was obvious that Amity wasn’t lying.
Luz had made a change to the system that nobody else had, had done something to Bump’s mind that not even the fabled ‘Lord Calamity’ of decades past had done. Luz had made a CHANGE, not just to the Blight siblings… But to the world itself, it seemed.
She was… something special, all right. Cool, even- Maybe even TOO cool for the twins, they realized with embarrassment. They couldn’t believe they were thinking this, that Luz was out of their league; But they’d done things for Amity that they had never done. Maybe it was time to admit the truth…
So when they caught Mittens writing Grom Proposals to Luz (and got punched out of the Blight Manor for it), they were celebrating as quietly, yet intensely, as possible. Even after the first day at school, Mittens’ disposition seemed to keep improving, and they kept catching her looking out into the distance forlornly whenever the twins met up with Amity, after school, to take her home… Or the library, or anywhere else that wasn’t where their parents were.
They had a bad feeling that Mittens would be chosen as the Grom Champion; They themselves had never gotten this ‘honor’, likely because they were troublemakers. And that was a good thing; They had… fears on their mind they didn’t want to articulate. Thoughts were creeping into their heads, ideas that came about after seeing what Luz was doing, after seeing their own relationship with Amity, wondering who they had become after their abuse towards Mittens…
No- They pushed away those lingering thoughts. But then they’d come back, a burning question that was starting to form;
Who were they, without their abuse?
…It seemed a silly, pointless question. It was like asking who a person would be, without any of the experiences that made them who they were!
…But the twins also believed that some people had inherent traits in them. For starters, they were convinced Luz had an internal kindness within her that would’ve manifested, no matter what happened to her in the past… But more importantly…
The twins had made a point of being just like one another, so they could never be compared by their parents. So they could get along and never have to worry about anything. There could be no questions of why one twin wasn’t like the other, when they WERE alike!
But then Amity came along and ruined that, though now they at least acknowledge it wasn’t her fault. Then the twins were compared to her and vice-versa, and they saw how those comparisons ruined Amity… And themselves as well, as they also began to hurt her and become like their parents.
Becoming like their parents, becoming like one another- This happened, all because they didn’t want to be set at each others’ throats. They were the only people they were allowed to have, one another, thanks to their parents; So they had better learn to get along.
But then, with Amity arriving and the comparisons that came… What had been the point? Each twin becoming so like the other, that they were interchangeable… So close together, they were basically one person when combined; And when separate, each was left an incomplete half?
Did they really work so hard to be identical, only to be compared to someone else in the end? To be just like their parents… All because of what their parents had done?
It wasn’t a pleasant thought, but it was entering their heads… What if Amity hadn’t come along? Or Luz, for that matter- How similar would the twins be, because they needed to be alike to survive? Because when Mittens arrived, the twins eased up a bit on being so identical, and noticed the subtler differences here or there, between Emira and Edric…
After all, why would Emira and Edric need to be so alike, when they were already being compared to Amity in the end? May as well get to enjoy themselves as their own people. Except…
They didn’t. Emira and Edric, even after Amity arrived, never found any new friends. Anybody they DID know and were forced to interact, Emira and Edric became more distant towards; Both because they couldn’t trust such people, and because this distrust was felt mutually. Not to mention, those ‘friends’ parents saw Emira and Edric being bad influences and had ties cut off.
They liked Luz, in part because she was an outsider and new, and it was thrilling to experience another person that wasn’t the other twin. It was like exploring new territory, a certain freedom neither Emira nor Edric had felt since… Well, they couldn’t even remember if they HAD felt it, or if it was all new.
Did Emira and Edric, each… like Luz, more than they liked each other?
NO, that was silly- They weren’t THAT far into such a relationship yet! But maybe they could be…
Amidst her kindness, part of what made Luz so enticing as a forbidden friend was the idea that she was a choice, that she was totally optional to the twins… Something they might’ve otherwise never gotten. But each other, and Amity? They were stuck with each other no matter what.
It was why Emira and Edric chose to be so close, after all- Because they only had each other. They confided in one another’s secrets, bore the issues of the other, and hung out and became indistinguishable, because they were stuck no matter what and their parents wouldn’t allow anyone else in…
…Was that theonly reason why this happened?
It’s a sudden thought that comes into their heads, Emira’s especially- That maybe if their parents hadn’t been so strict, if circumstances of abuse hadn’t necessitated their cooperation and constant interaction… If given the choice otherwise, would Emira and Edric have hung out together so much?
For that matter… Would they have even hung out, to begin with? Would they even like each other?
The idea that their parents’ abuse made Emira and Edric close was… It was a mixed revelation. They weren’t sure how to feel about that. If they were so close to defy their parents, then without their parents, who were they?
It seemed a silly question, but to a pair of twins who had dreamed of one day being free from their abusive parents, it suddenly called EVERYTHING into evaluation. It seemed terrifying, the thought that Emira and Edric were only so close because of their parents, and they did NOT want that influence in their lives!
…But at the same time, being together had helped, right? And being with Amity, supporting her to make sure they weren’t like their parents, to share her pain… That was helping, right?
But did they choose any of this, really? They chose to bear with one another… But that was more of a necessity, a survival tactic. The thing about a choice was that it was optional, that you still made it regardless… That it was something you made on your own terms, and thus it was you.
If the twins never chose anything for themselves… Who were they, as twins? Who were they alone, as Emira and Edric? The closest thing to a choice had been Luz… Luz the human, who they were eternally grateful towards, and despite being older, were beginning to look up to? Especially when they heard, later down the line, that she volunteered to take Amity’s place as Grom Champion, all to protect her?
(Those two HAD to get together. Emira and Edric would ensure that Amity and Luz became a couple if that was what they both wanted… And while that seemed obvious, they also remembered that Luz had to say about respecting privacy of feelings. So for now they’d just sit back and watch, and maybe offer some advice on the side… Not out a person entirely to their crush.)
Luz was… Better than them, honestly. Unlike Emira and Edric, she chose a lot of things, in defiance to what others said; But it wasn’t even as a necessity, it was just because she wanted to! That was why she became friends with Amity, and Emira and Edric right? And Luz felt like her own person; Not something beneath a mask, but a bright, glowing personality that was self-assured and knew who they were, and didn’t have to pretend to be anything else!
Emira and Edric wanted to be like that. They really did.
And, Luz had already taught them so little, and yet so much… Because thanks to Luz, their relationship with Amity had vastly improved. Emira and Edric already took advice from Luz on dealing with siblings; Why not take advice from her, on how to be a person?
They’d already made the first step choosing their own friend with Luz; But that was as a unit, as a duo, as two halves to a whole. What about choosing their own friend… as individuals?
Grom is the perfect opportunity. Emira and Edric had gone a few times before, but only together, and just by themselves, hanging out separate from everyone else; Or casting a prank or two.
Why not, explore…? Have each twin do their own thing, make their own choice, choose their OWN person… And do their own thing for themselves?
…It’s a scary thought. But suddenly, Emira imagines herself without her twin brother, and she can’t- And it’s terrifying, because it’s like she doesn’t even exist.
Edric imagines himself alone; He can’t bear the concept, he can’t see himself as his own person. He needs support, someone to be with… And what if Emira can’t always be there for him?
It’s silly, right- The idea that Emira and Edric should split from one another, to be their own people and find themselves! Right…?
But as much as they toy with the idea of finding who they are, on their own… Without anything else but their own decisions, Emira and Edric wonder who they really are. And while Emira wants to find out, has to find out at any cost, to find peace with herself… Edric is terrified of what the truth may hold for him.
Yet either way, maybe they need to find out eventually; They’ve been doubting their own judgment lately, so why not take a cue from Amity and look to Luz for an answer?
They choose their own Grom dates; But they still sort of do it together. They make plans to go to Grom, together, with their dates, while wearing matching outfits no less! This is bad, right- They need to be their own people! But on the other hand… Emira and Edric can’t forget what the other has done for them. And if they’re wrong… Well, they can always count on each other, more than they can count even on Luz or Amity.
Besides, they were afraid of Amity becoming too cold to others and alone, and how that hurt her- Maybe pushing each other away would hurt Emira and Edric like that, right?
But would it, if they already had their own friends they picked? COULD they live without one another, and even if they didn’t need to… What if they tried, just to see if it was possible? Just to see who they were…!
They shake the apprehension aside. But somewhere along the way, Emira and Edric let it slip, their respective fears; And so uncharacteristically, they choose not to talk about it later with one another.
Or is it characteristically? They’re doing their own thing from each other. Maybe this is what they’re REALLY like, all along, beneath all of the forced conformity for survival. Emira was annoyed at Edric for so suddenly bringing up their worst fears, but then catches herself; Surely she’ll get over this, right? If she doesn’t confide in Edric about this, will she ever reconcile with him? They’ve gone through everything together, this won’t… Making new friends won’t change anything between them, would it?
Edric is afraid that it would. He doesn’t want his friendship with Emira to lessen… But he also wants to make new friends. He doesn’t want to be alone, and he wonders if he really IS with another person when with Emira, when that wasn’t even his choice, when on their own neither really IS a person to begin with!
Emira and Edric had always known that one of them had been an unplanned-for accident, on behalf of their parents. Now they wonder what would've happened, if only the intended twin had been born to begin with? Most chillingly, they each ask themselves; Would it make any difference, which twin was born? And worst of all... Was that not their original plan, from the start? The reason why they had hung out, become so close, so replaceable? They had done that so their parents couldn't justify getting rid of either of them... But now, looking at the two, Emira and Edric wonder if they'd only achieved the exact opposite; If because neither was different, their parents wouldn't lose anything if one of them were to just suddenly... disappear.
Maybe… Maybe splitting off is for the better after all.
…
They get stood up at Grom.
Emira and Edric showed up together. They still hung out together, too, separate from the rest; They weren’t quite ready to break ties yet, and besides, they were siblings! They SHOULD have good relations!
(And also they were scared of making new connections, and when afraid they always found solace in one another.)
But as the dance went on, and their dates didn’t show up… They began to distance from the rest, and get closer again. They began to stand out less as individuals, and more as a cohesive unit, two halves of a whole; A whole that stuck out like a sore thumb, all alone without a date while the rest of the dancers had fun with each other!
That bad thought crept into their heads, that they were better than this as Blights; Before Emira and Edric reminded themselves that no, they weren’t better than anyone else! Nobody was.
…But it hurt to see Amity, who was once so much more alone, vulnerable, and afraid than them, getting a date with Luz. Not that she’d ever call it that, of couse. But when Luz ran out, unable to take Grom on her own, the twins had let Mittens rescue her… They didn’t want to ruin Amity’s moment to rescue Luz, and their faith was correct! Luz and Amity returned triumphant, as Grom Queens and donning the tiaras! Having fun, smiling… Amity so clearly blushing as Luz pulled her in closer, everyone loving the duo…
It was the only solace they found that night; That if anyone was learning to be a person, at least their little sister was. That thank goodness, they could trust Luz to take care of Mittens… Because maybe Emira and Edric couldn’t, when they couldn’t even figure out who they were, when they could’ve even make any basic connections without someone like Luz also initiating it, mutually.
They didn’t want to ruin Amity’s night. But time passed, and still no dates appeared. Emira got cold, and began to shiver, curling up and hugging her knees amidst the bleachers, right next to Edric. And despite previous apprehensions of codependence… Well, Edric still draped his coat around her. He knew her fear about being stuck with him forever, not being her own person. Personally Edric thought that maybe being separate from one’s twin was a bit overrated; Regardless, he wasn’t going to hold anything against her. He could never afford to do it.
And, it looked like he was right! No dates arrived, no potential new connections to form, no new friends to learn to confide in and trust… As always, it was just Emira and Edric, alone together, against everybody else.
Emira tried not to cry. Edric tried to be aloof. They didn’t want to let it seem like it bothered them… But it really did.
Eventually people began to leave. Luz left; Amity still stayed behind, because her older siblings were her only way back home. She saw her twins being lonely, and for the first time in the siblings’ lives… She was the one taking care of and providing support, quietly beside the twins, fiddling her tiara between her hands.
It was both reassuring, but also humiliating. For their own sister, who the twins had once lorded over and looked after, protected, to reverse the roles. It was shameful, that these older siblings had to be taken care of by their own younger sister, as if she could no longer rely on them to take care of her; Like the twins had failed Amity.
They tried to distract themselves, and joked to Amity about her time with Luz. Teased and prodded her about her crush, joking that the two would become girlfriends. Initially, Amity was annoyed and embarrassed, but clearly not against the idea; But she also had her own thoughts, as her own person, and somewhere in her contemplations… Her mood lessened, and became dimmer.
It could’ve easily been because of her own insecurities about Luz –apparently she never had the guts to actually confess- as well as how their parents would feel… The twins would ALWAYS support Luz and Amity, no matter what… But either way, the twins felt a little guilty, wondering if their sour moods had ruined Amity’s happiness. How could they be so selfish?
Eventually, they were the last guests left, with only a few other students hanging behind to help clean up after the dance, and regather the scattered pieces of Grometheus. This was getting sad and pathetic; So, the twins stood up, and silently, without a word, took Amity back home.
The twins went back to their mutual rooms, looked at one another…
And for that night at least, they had one another as company. Huddling with each other, each twin hugged the other, silently and wordlessly confiding their fears and pain, and hurt, that rejection… Wondering if there was something wrong with them after everything their parents had done, if they were too damaged to make their own connections, to even be individuals anymore.
If they could even function well enough to look after Amity, the one person they could come close to trusting, alongside Luz… If such broken, unstable ‘individuals’, if they could be called that, could support those two and their relationship? If they could stand up to their parents? If they could finally be free… Because if one twin was always tethered to the other…
Would any of them EVER be free?
Their silence broke into sobs and messy, ugly crying, just like it always did when they were younger and only had each other; And once again, they only had each other as they cried themselves to sleep. Emira and Edric, two twins, eyes puffy from despair and hurt, rejection and insecurity, unsure of themselves and confused, unable to rely on even each other… They fell asleep that night, holding each other close than ever before.
Because what else did they have, besides each other? The only constants in their lives had been one another, and their parents…And obviously they couldn’t trust the latter. Once, they had feared their parents didn't want one of them; Now, they wondered if anyone could want either of them.
The twins were stuck with each other, and even if their parents were to suddenly disappear… They may never find themselves out of the prison they were mutually stuck in. And neither twin could tell if that was a good thing, or a bad thing… And if they still wanted to escape that prison. If there was anything beyond it for them to find, or nothing; And if they’d regret leaving each other behind, or regret being trapped together for all eternity, stunted and with true friends, decisions, or identities.
Edric didn’t want to be alone. Emira didn’t want to be stuck with only her twin forever.
Yet even with Edric right beside his twin sister, it felt like both fears were realized at that moment, somehow…
The twins didn’t need to fight Grom. They were already facing their worst fears, and unlike Amity there was no ‘Luz’ to help them. Luz was too good for them, and they didn’t want to distract her from Amity. If they couldn't take care of their little sister, then they could at least trust the human to do so where they had failed, and protect Amity; Amity, who was already learning to become her own person, becoming independent and confident in herself, embracing parts of her own identity, and even fighting her own fears with Luz.
…Why can’t they be more like their sibling?