Camp Campbell: 4 years ago

Gwen sat alone in front of the lake with her journal. She looked very focused on her writing. I sat next to her quietly. "Hey, Gwen." I greeted. "Jesus Christ, Peter! You scared the shit out of me!" Gwen exclaimed, jumping in shock. "What are you doing here?" "Just came here to think." I replied. "I've got nothing better to do. What about you?" "Oh, I'm just writing FanFictions. I try to do this on my days off or whenever I have free time." Gwen explains. "Well, what's it about?" I asked. "It's based on this book series called The Good Witch Azura, where my OC insert fights alongside Azura and then they both make out for a couple hours." Gwen replied, showing me a copy of the original book. "Even though the book series is meant for younger readers." "If you don't mind, I'd love to see what you have so far." I said. Gwen handed me her journal and her book. I flipped through the pages and noticed a few things that needed to be edited. I took a pencil and erased some of the mistakes. "What the hell!" Gwen snapped. "It took me weeks to write that!" I opened the book to see how I could apply the edits to Gwen's fanfic.

After I finished writing the edits in, I gave the journal back to Gwen. She opened her journal, without a sound. "Holy shit." Gwen cursed. "This is better than what I originally wrote." "I just took out what you didn't need and added some things you did need." I explained. "Are you still pissed at me?" "No." Gwen said. "In fact, I'm proud of you." "Wow, that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me, Gwen." I commented, giving her back the Azura book. "Keep it, I have a spare copy." She explains, giving me the book. "You know, since you weren't originally signed up for a specific camp, how about joining Writing Camp?" "I'd like that." I smiled. "That settles it." Gwen said. "Welcome to Camp, Asshole."

Present Day: The Boiling Isles

Today, a book fair was being held in the marketplace. Luz and I ran to the stand to share the news with Eda and King. "Guys, you will not believe what's going on!" Luz cheered. "It's a book fair! Where books come to life." I added as a book came to life. "A fair without rides?" King wondered. "A: Ew. B: I'm bored. C: I feel like pickpocketing some dork while they browse." Eda groaned. "No, wait!" I called. "Will you give it a chance?" Luz asked King. "I'll let you ride in my hoodie." "Ooh." King said, hopping into Luz's hood. "This book fair has everything!" I exclaimed. "A zine making workshop, meet and greets, and what's that? A writing competition?! Oh God, I think I might faint." "I've always wanted to be a writer." Luz explains. "Back at home, Peter was always really good at writing, which made him pretty popular." "Writer? What?" King asked. "I thought you wanted to be a witch." "Of course I wanna be a witch, but where me and Peter are from, that's kinda impossible." Luz replied. "So, my runner up dream was to be a writer. I've had this "about the author" picture since I was 7 years old." "We should definitely enter the competition." I suggested as some people shoved us aside in excitement. "Watch where the fuck you're going, you bastards!" "What are these basement dwellers doing out in natural sunlight?" King wondered. "Um, we're in line for John de Plume, most famous writer on the Boiling Isles, famed author of the Realm Warrior series." Tiny Nose scoffed. "I'm gonna have him read my story, and marry me." "Such power. Such command he has over his minions." King whispered. "I must have the same. Peter and Luz the humans, I, too, shall enter the competition." "Really?" Luz gasped. "We could work together. It'll be perfect." "We are best friends, so we should make the best team." I added. "Team. Yes." King agreed. "My name goes first on the cover."

Back at the Owl House, it was time for us to start brainstorming ideas for the writing contest. "Now, let's write down some ideas that we wanna see in our story." Luz explains. "I can write anything?" King asked. "Yeah, we're brainstorming." I replied. "Every idea is a good idea." King wrote down one idea and pinned it to the board. Violence. "Is that all you wanna see?" I asked.

After putting time into our brainstorming session, all of us gathered a few ideas. "Romance. Magic. Heartbreak with shimmer tears." Luz said. "And the main character is, of course... Luzura. I know, kinda cliché, but what's wrong with cliché?" "I came up with a character who got his powers from a mutant alien." I explained, showing them my OC sketch. "I named him Dudley, nothing too flashy." "My main character is the Ruler of Demons." King said. "With this totally original, all star cast, victory will be ours." I found a typewriter in the closet and grabbed it out. "Now, for the easy part." I sighed. "Writing."

Luz, King, and I took turns figuring out the perfect storyline for our writing contest entry. It took a bit longer than expected before we could all agree on something. ""Luzura's tears fell on the frozen prince, bringing him back to life"." King reads. "It just feels a little unrealistic." "I see what you're saying. But in your version, Ruler just destroys everything." Luz commented. "I think a little romantic tension could help the scene." "Hey, there's more to life than shipping." King said. "Oh, shit!" I gasped. "DON'T YOU DARE INSULT SHIPPING IN MY PRESENCE!" Luz snapped. "Apprentices, living room!" Eda called from downstairs. "We'll be back, King." I explained. "We'll figure this out. Okay, writing buddy?" Luz asked, following me downstairs.

Back downstairs, Eda was dressed and ready to leave. "What's up, boss lady?" Luz asked. "I'm popping out for a few days to an undisclosed place to do undisclosed things." Eda explains. "You're both in charge." "Great." Luz said. "I have a question." I raised my hand. "No questions!" Eda explains. "Are you trying to compete with Lilith again?" I wondered. "Maybe." Eda replied hesitantly, shutting the door as she left. "She's definitely trying to compete with her sister." I said.

As Luz and I headed back to the bedroom, our ideas were all blocked by a drawing of a demon. "Well, King, it looks like it's just the three of us for a while." Luz said, but gasped when she noticed the board. "Hey guys, great news!" King exclaimed. "What the hell just happened?" I asked. "I just made a few tiny edits, and this baby is humming." King replied. "Luzura dies?!" Luz gasped. "I know, right? What a twist." King said. "Huh, you have my OC, Dudley, being possessed by Ruler?" I wondered. "That is fucked up." "King, I know you're trying to help, but I think you're crossing a line." Luz explains. "Yeah, into greatness. Don't you want us to win?" King asked. "If this is how you want to win, then maybe you should submit the story on your own." I sighed.

After I got some breakfast the next morning, I went to mine and Luz's room, where I saw her using the typewriter. "Hey, Luz." I greeted. "What are you working on?" "Our book, King's character is just edited out." Luz explains. I nodded. "Hey guys." King greeted. "Guess who won the writing competition and became a blockbuster writing superstar? You're right. It's me. Me! Do you want to touch my scarf? A fan crocheted it out of their own hair. It smells so bad." Luz and I didn't respond. "My publisher is throwing a huge party for my book, Ruler's Reach, and I uh, I'd like for both of you to be there." King explains. I nodded and tossed an invitation he gave us on the floor. "Alright, be that way, I guess." After King left, Luz sighed in disappointment. "Dude, you don't need him." The typewriter said. "But I don't want to be mad at him either." Luz sighed. "Maybe we should be there for him." I suggested.

Luz and I decided to attend King's meet and greet for his book. "Luz, Peter, I'm so glad you guys could make it." King greeted. "Hey, King, Luz and I didn't want to be angry at your success." I said. "You're our friend. So, congratulations." "Great to hear, because I really need your help with my next book." King explains. "Huh?" Luz wondered. "Apparently, I can't write my daring works of genius without rebelling against your gushy fantasy slop and Peter's average writing skill." King continued. "Excuse me?" Luz asked angrily. "You did not just insult my fucking writing!" I snapped. "We make a great team." King said. "So, here's a pen. Clock's a ticking." Luz grabbed the pen and immediately dropped it on the ground. "I'm not writing for you after you made fun of mine and Peter's ideas." Luz refused. "Hey. What the heck?" King asked. "Congrats on your hard earned success." I grunted.

As Luz and I were about to leave, I noticed a poster of King, making me pissed off. "They got his good angle." Luz sighed. Suddenly, we were approached by some bodyguards. "Uh, can we help you?" I asked. The bodyguards stepped aside, revealing someone, possibly King's publisher. "Perhaps." He replied. "I hear you're both aspiring writers."

I woke up inside a huge box with Luz. "What the hell?" I wondered. Piniet, the publisher came in the room with King. "King!" Luz gasped. "Luz, Peter!" King shouted. "That snappily dressed bastard of a lizard trapped us in this shrinking box." I explained. All of a sudden, the box shrank a little more. "You gotta get us out!" Luz begged. "What are you doing with them?" King asked Piniet. "Let them go." "You wrote Ruler's Reach together." Piniet said. "So, if you don't want them crushed, you'll write with them again. Oh, don't give me that look. Some of the best books were written in literal crunch time." The trap shrinks again. "That's a toxic mentality that contributes to burnout and unrealistic expectations." I said. "King, do something." "Set them free now!" King grunted. "Not until I get my best seller." Piniet shouted, putting King in the trap with us. "You'll recall that you are under contract. Make your deadline, or you'll never be able to hold a pen again." He showed us John de Plume and other authors in a briefcase shaped like cubes. "I'll leave you to it. Looking forward to your next volume." As soon as Piniet left, the trap shrank again. "We're not getting out of here until we write a book. And that'll take forever." King panicked. "We're cube meat!" "Well, I have mine and Peter's story." Luz said. "But it's all hugging and crying." King complained. "I can't put my name on that." "King, that is why we're all in here. Because you can't fucking compromise!" I yelled. "Peter and I just wanted to write a dumb story with you." Luz cried. "Guys, you're living your dreams. You're becoming witches." King sighed. "But this celebrity is as close as I'll ever get to my dream. It all went to my head and I hurt my two best friends. I'm sorry. "Hey, being with you is one of my favorite parts of this dream." Luz said as our trap was coming closer. "I have a plan, but we need to work together this time." "Just tell me what to do." King replied.

After going over our plan one last time. King called Piniet over to check our story. "Hey, Piniet, we're done!" King called. "Faster than I expected." Piniet commented. "That's the miracle of teamwork." King explains. Luz gave the draft to Piniet as he skimmed through it, only for the box to shrink again. I felt like my lungs could collapse any minute now. "This is much more gushy than your last book." Piniet said. "Skip to the finale, because it is quite a payoff." King explains. Piniet skips to the end of the book, only to see a light glyph. "Light spell!" I shouted, activating the glyph, blurring his vision. "King, the contract!" King lassos Piniet with his scarf, giving the contract to Luz, destroying the trap. "I made you a star and this is how you repay me?" Piniet asked. "No, this is." King replied, releasing the cubed authors. We were almost free, until the bodyguards came. "You're making this harder than it needs to be." Piniet grunted. "And believe me, I'm being very patient. But let's cut to the finish." Before he could kill us, Tiny Nose barged in the room with her story. "King, I am your biggest fan." She announced. "And I fought my way back here for you to read my story." "I'm sorry, my lawyer advised me not to look at unsolicited work." King apologized. "Ugh, if I read this, will you go, so I can annihilate them in peace?" Piniet asked, grabbing the draft from Tiny Nose. "Of course." She replied. After he finished the book, tears were forming in his eyes. "It's beautiful." Piniet cried. "You must let me publish this. I can make you a star." "Really?" Tiny Nose asked. "Wait a minute, what about King?" King asked. "You're old news." Piniet replied. "She, on the other hand, is the future." "We're good then?" I asked. "Yes, quite." He replied.

Later that night, Eda returned from wherever she went. "Hey, kids." Eda greeted. "Woof. That was a rough couple days." "Yeah, I'll say." Luz agreed, making room on the couch for Eda.  "Well, nothing an apple blood and a good book can't mend." Eda said. "Books?" I asked. "Nope, I don't know nothing about that." King added. "We hate books." Luz explains. "Wow, look at the time." "What's a book?" King lied, following me and Luz upstairs. "Goodnight."

I decided to give you guys a new chapter for my birthday. And I'm still planning on writing the prequel soon BTW. -Mal.