Bzzz. Bzzz. Luz fishes her phone from her pocket to check her message but grimaces s she reads it and shoves it back without a second glance. Willow and Gus, both sat across from her at their usual table in the cafeteria, give her a questioning look.
"What's with the face?" Gus asks. Willow continues after, already having a pretty good idea what's wrong, "It's that strange number again, isn't it? I think you should just block it and be done with it."
"I try that but it doesn't work!" Luz exclaims loudly and groans in defeat, plopping her head down in her arms on the table, "If I block it the texts still come through. When I try and report it to the service number they just tell me the number doesn't exist in their records and they can't see it from their end. It's driving me crazy!"
Willow stills at the word crazy, suddenly she feels pinch of panic run through her. To her luck Gus and Luz don't notice and carry on as usual.
"Well, what's the number saying? Is he calling you slurs or something?"
"No, it's not that bad." Luz takes her phone out of her pocket once more and gives it to Gus so he can see what she's been dealing with for the past few weeks. Gus scrolls through the conversation and scrunches his eyebrows together in thorough confusion as he reads aloud a few of the messages.
"A fox. A box. A pile of rocks. But where is the fishsticks? Anyway u ned to come to the shrine. *Need. Knead? The bread? MY OVEN IS STILL ON11!1!"
He scrolls down and continues onto another message, "CHampion! Do you like yer' entrails? WELL I DO TOO SO GET OVE R ereh! I think he wrote 'here' backwards. Haha, you're friend isn't actually saying this he's still reading what I'm writing. I'm a midget. Hey, rude! Jokes on you, i wrote that too."
Gus finally stops reading and hands Luz her phone back so he can rub his temples to try and soothe his very sudden migraine. "Titan, I can see why you're so upset. Whoever 'sk00mA C4t' is is really annoying. Kinda creepy they knew I was short... maybe they're a seer? That would explain why it's so crazy."
"Maybe... Hey, what's this shrine he was talking about? Maybe I outa' pay it a visit and give this person a piece of my mind!"
Her illusionist friend cups his chin with one hand and looks off in the distance, lost in thought. Back in the old days the Boiling Isle's used to have official temples dedicated to the worship of the Titan. However they were all destroyed by Wild Witches well over a hundred years ago and now no one knows where they're at.
"Sorry, Luz, can't help ya' there. All of the Titan's temples were destroyed long ago. The only place I can think of is the Emperor's castle, but that's not really a temple."
"...I know where it is." Gus and Luz turn to their quiet plant Witch friend. "There's this... club I'm apart of that uses this new shrine as their meet up. It's not far from Eda's house, actually. You're only supposed to go there at night, but it's kinda dangerous."
"How so, and why are you going there if it is? Do your dads' chaperone or something, does that mean I should bring Eda?"
"NO!" Willow suddenly shouts, making Luz and Gus shrink back. They've never heard sweet Willow sound so angry before! Or even angry at all! Willow flinches back in shock at her shout, but settles herself down and continues, "S-sorry, it's just... It's super secretive, something that's only for students. Our parents wouldn't understand. Look, you should talk to Viney about this. She's kind of our defacto leader and she might get mad if I talk about this anymore. Just so you understand, no one except for us three can know about this, alright?!"
Her friends nod in agreement, both of them still more that a little intimidated by Willow. The bell screams, signifying the change of class. Willow says her goodbyes and takes her leave. Gus and Luz share the next class so they walk together while discussing the strange event that just took place.
"Gosh... that was super weird! Has Willow always been so... intense like that?"
"No, not really. You know what, though? She started acting kinda weird after everyone else did a few weeks ago."
Luz knows what Gus is talking about quite well. After the Bendu incident, as she's taken to calling it, things around Hexside have gotten... unusual, and that's saying something since it was always kind of a weird school given that it's like Hogwarts! No, she means that people around the school are just plain different.
She bumped into Boscha a few days ago, and the usual response to that is the bully bearing her teeth at her, calling her a stupid bitch, then sauntering off to hang out with her 'friends' before a teacher shows up. But this time? This time Boscha apologized, complimented her human ears then left with an unusual smile on her face.
And that's just one person! Several kids in all of her classes have completely changed their personalities; Quiet kids are now loud and energetic, loud kids are now quiet with empty stares, and now apparently her bully is nice and her kind friend is scary!
Her first reaction was to tell principal Bump that she thought several of the students were possessed by ghosts again, but the scrying magic he uses to identify spirits said there was nothing there. He gave her a talk about puberty being the probable cause then sent her on her way. Nuh uh, puberty doesn't explain anything! Hormones, if anything, would make Boscha worse than she already is, not nice. And it all happened at the same time, too!
Could it be... Maybe this 'shrine' Willow has been going to is the cause? All the more reason now to stop by and find out!
Classes for Luz crawled by at a snails pace for the rest of the day until the final demon bell screamed, signifying the school day was done. She found Viney by the beast pens after school, but before she even got close to her friend the hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood up and an uncomfortable shudder ran through her body. Her dual track friend has her back to Luz, unaware of her there, and is talking in a hushed tone to something hidden in a bush nearby.
Now curious, Luz stays very quiet and tries to listen in on Viney's strange conversation. It's hard, but she manages to pick out a few words before it's over.
"...s, my...rd. I'll... her tonight... nearby? ... nce, my lord!"
Luz clears her throat after she's done and very nearly cause Viney to jump out of her skin! Her friend whips around with wide eyes, but once she see who it is the strange tension in her body melts away as she takes a deep breath to calm her beating heart.
"Oh thank goodness, I thought you were a teacher! I'm glad you're here, there's something I wanted to talk to you about, actually."
She makes no mention of her secret conversation with the bush which immediately makes Luz suspicious. Is it fair feeling that way about a friend? It makes her feel... uncomfortable to think that way about one of her good friends. Viney wouldn't hurt Luz ever, what's she even worrying about! Still... the feeling persists...
"Is it-" Luz's voice feels raw in her throat for some reason, "-is it about this 'shrine' I heard about?"
Suddenly a very strong pair of hand are clamped onto her shoulders, they squeeze so tightly Luz is genuinely afraid they'll break her collar bones! A great shadow looms over her and Viney's face is now close to Luz's. If it were a different situation she thinks Viney would be about to kiss her, but the frown on her lips and the pin point concentration in her eyes leaves no doubt this is anything but the case.
"Who told you?!" Her voice is frantic, afraid even. Viney's hands slowly crawl their way from Luz's shoulders towards her neck. Luz has seen Viney perform some impressive feats of strength for someone as short as she is. Her friend essentially wrestle Greek Monsters as part of her schooling, Luz believes one hundred percent that Viney could snap her neck without issue!
"Luz, who told you this?!" Hey eyes are wavering, no, they're shaking! What in the hell has come over her friend?! Something has Viney so spooked that she might actually harm Luz! There's no doubt about it, something messed up is going on and Luz needs to find out what it is!
"I-It was Willow! Ask her, she can vouch for me! She made me swear not to tell anyone and I haven't! Just-just please calm down, I'm your friend."
The word friend seems to snap Viney out of her mania. The dual track student takes her hands off Luz and she backs away to give her proper space. Luz sighs in relief while a warm smile works its way onto Viney's face. It's incredibly relaxed given that the girl just nearly strangled her good friend seconds ago.
Luz is now more than unnerved, she's down right terrified, but to save her friends she'll have to play along as though everything is all right.
"Sorry for the harsh reaction, we've just had... some bad apples try and harm us recently. I know this is sudden, but there's something I have to show you tonight. After everyone is asleep in your house you should go to a place in the woods by The Owl House called 'Lookout Point'. But don't tell any adults about it! This is just for us kids, got it?"
"Y-yeah, totally! Mouth zipped shut, not one peep out of me no siree!"
"Good. See you tonight, Luz!"
Without saying anything else Viney wanders off. Luz is frozen in place for a good long while until her brain reboots and she hurriedly makes her way back to the Owl House. She's gonna need a serious plan if she's going to figure all of this out!
Okay, so maybe sneaking out the front door at midnight with a map in hand and Umbra tied to her belt counts as a plan, a half-baked and poorly thought out plan, but technically a plan. Luz is barely a hundred feet from the door when a familiar bird tube suddenly awakens unprompted from his deep sleep and catches up to her in a blink of an eye.
"Heya Luz! Hoot! Sneaking out huh? Oh boy, they grow up soooo fast! I bet Eda would like to know! Hoot!"
"Hooty, wait!" Luz calls out to Hooty before he can wake up Eda and bust her ass. The House demon turns around and stares at her with his signature aloof expression. "Hmm, what is? Does someone maybe want to offer me something to keep quiet?"
Damn that bird! Luz sighs dramatically and takes a second to think of something worthwhile to bribe the demon with.
"How about this? Don't tell Eda or Lilith or King or anyone about this and I'll-I'll convince Eda to buy you new windows, the fancy ones that don't shatter, and I'll even put them in myself! Deal?"
"Hmm, sure thing! Hoot! I was kinda hoping you'd offer me your tasty human soul, but I guess new windows works! See ya Luz! Hoot!"
With Hooty taken care of, Luz continues her midnight journey to this shrine everyone's so caught up about. Willow was right when she said it was nearby Eda's house. About thirty minutes of walking down an overgrown trail in the dark she sees campfire light close by in the distance. A few minutes later and she's pushing her way through some thorny bushes into a clearing lit up by a gigantic bonfire with over a dozen students she recognizes from Hexside, and just as many more that she doesn't!
She sees Boscha and all her friends, Viney and the other dual track students, she even sees... Willow! What is going on around here, they're all laughing and dancing yet most of them hated each other a few weeks ago!
Around the fire most of them dance together, their bodies moving like water as they share small vials of potions between each other and drink it with hearty laughter. They shout and scream and recite poetry; verses and stanzas fill the air with joyous and maniacal laughter. Bard students play their magic instruments, Illusion students conjure strange and colorful shapes in the air and the potion students use their magic to fill the mysterious potion over and over again.
A tall, well dressed stone statue of a grinning man leaning on his cane looms over them all like a father of some demented sorts. This sabbath of the mad is for the man and him alone.
Luz finds her feet moving before she can even comprehend it until suddenly she's moving with the dancing bodies as well. Something in the fire compels her to forget her worries and let her mind dance like water within the sea of bodies for hours, or maybe just minutes? Seconds it very well could've been until suddenly she finds herself being dragged towards the smiling statue by Viney and Willow.
Suddenly her awareness returns to her and Luz finally realizes the actual shit show she's dragged herself into once again. She watches the dozens of students shrieking and laughing like lunatics while downing dozens of tiny potions like they're candy. Is that what's causing all of this? It must be! Is that potion like Witch weed or something?
That would explain why Willow and Viney are so adamant about none of their parents finding out. They're literally getting high in the woods and dancing around a fire like, well, stereotypical witches! At least none of them are naked-and she's wrong! A few of the students have decided to forego their clothes in favor of dancing around the fire in their birthday suits, not that any of their contemporaries mind. Luz sees Willow going for her clothes and that's when she decides to step in.
"Whoawhoawhoa! Willow!" Her friend turns to her with a wide, unnerving smile on her face. She doesn't even recognize Luz as someone she knows in her state! Willow reaches out to touch Luz's face but she gently slaps them away and tries to shake sense back into her bestfriend. "Willow, snap out of it! C'mon, girl, this isn't like you!"
"And that's where yer' wrong." Luz shrieks as a voice suddenly talks inside of her head. Willow steps away and returns to her water dance while Luz spins around like a paranoid lunatic trying to find the voice. Suddenly a tiny bright yellow canary bird flies into her face and startles her.
Chirp chirp! Singing a happy tune the yellow bird flies around her then zooms back to the statue and perches on the shoe of the stone man. Luz follows the bird, then her eyes dip down and meet they slit, cat-eyed gaze of a... grey cat wearing a silly frilly collar while resting on a large and fluffy pillow.
That wasn't there before, what's going on? Luz approaches the silly cat and reaches her hand out to pet it. It makes to aggressive response, but a sudden and piercing gut feeling tells Luz she'll die particularly horribly if she tries so she retreats her hand and studies the lazy cat.
"I guess they've got regular cats here, too? Unless you're like Barcus and you're actually sentient and full of magic power. Do you have a name, little fella?"
She wasn't expecting the cat to telepathically respond with a Scottish accent.
"WRONG. I'm not like yer' dog friend. I'm a cat! Specifically, I'm the Skooma Cat, the lovey benefactor of these mad hounds ye' see before ye'. And you, tiny and puny little mortal, were cordially invited to join us. WEEKS AGO. I've sent you plenty of messages but I guess you didn't want to talk! Fair enough, I suppose, Hircine doesn't talk to me anymore either. And that's thanks to my tiny champion here."
The canary chirps in agreement. If it had a human voice it would speak of the great deed it pulled off. How many canaries can claim to have killed a daedroth infected with lycanthropy without having to hurt it? Only one, and you're staring at it!
Unfortunately the canary has no human voice, so all Luz hears is a long series of chirps with no understanding whatsoever.
"...Right. Wait a second, so you're the once making my friends all crazy! I'll-you won't get away with this, I'll stop you and save everyone!"
She's got another one of those gut feelings again; This time it tells her there aint' squat she can do and she knows it. Still, her optimism and inner heroine keep her from letting those feelings get the best of her. Thankfully, the strange and bizarre cat simply laughs at her threat as it holds no bearing over his decisions.
"HA! Optimism in mortals, no need to swing that sword around, not that it would do ya' good anyway. What I need is a champion! A useful bag of meat to run an errand or two for me. Can't send the bird, he's got no arms! Instead my tiny, birdy champion will be your guide. What do ya' say, mortal? Will you do an old cat a favor, or do I need to do some convincing?"
"I get the feeling I have no choice anyways, but I want something from this too! If I do this favor then you have to leave my friends alone and turn them back to normal and never bother us again!"
"I do so love when the mortals realize they have no choice. Wait! Scratch that! You do have a choice, you'll just have to make do with yer' outsides being inside, and yer' insides being outside! Mortals can live through that, I'm sure. Bartering with a cat god? Why, that's simply mad... I love it! Tell ya' what, mortal, do me this favor and I'll come back to ya' with something to sweeten the deal once yer' done."
Luz's canary champion plops down from the statue to land by her feet. Suddenly Skooma Cat jumps forward in a blink of an eye and catches the bird with his claws. The poor bird chirps tragically before Skooma Cat gobbles it up in a matter of seconds. Luz stares at the cat with her mouth agape, but he licks his paw as though he's savoring the flavor and eyes her with just one slit eye.
"What's the matter, cat got yer' tongue?"
"Dude!" She all but shouts, "You just ate my guide and your champion!"
"Did I?" He coughs out a single yellow feather that floats gently down to the floor, "...I guess I did. Oh well, he had a good life! Now, tell me, what do ya' know about memories here on the isles?"
She squints at the cat, unsure of what he's asking for, "Well... I know they have magic that revolves around it. That they can use tweezers to take a picture of a memory from someone's ear and put it on display. I know at least one person can use magic to enter someone's mind to fix those memories if the picture in the outside world ever got damaged."
Luz recalls having to do that exact thing to save Willow's memories after Amity accidentally destroyed them in class. She can't help but smile fondly as that was the moment that Luz found out Amity was actually a kind person and helped her become friends with Willow once again.
The cat... grins at Luz? He pulls his lips back to show his teeth, but it's certainly not hissing or aggressive, really, so it must be some demented smile.
"Then we're already well on our way! See, a certain someone I've been visiting is hiding some memories from me deep in her subconscious. So deep that she doesn't even remember hiding them in the first place! You'll be bringing me that memory, it'll be important later. Chop-chop, mortal! I haven't got all day. Well, that's a lie, but you really shouldn't make an immortal wait, not if you like yer' organs where they're at."
Before Luz can ask another question a swirling energy of rainbow colors wraps around her body and overtakes her vision. She screams in fear as the rainbow compresses her body from all sides and whisks her away and fast speeds to somewhere unknown.
After a good bit of time the lights disappear and Luz finds herself back in a familiar house. She's in Lilith's room in the Owl House! The raven-haired Clawthorne is fast asleep on her ratty mattress and bundled under a heavy blanket. Luz reaches a hand out to wake her up but her hand passes through the sheets and her body like it's not even there!
Luz stares at her hand in shock and realizes she can see through it. She examines herself more and finds her entire body to not only be see through, but also hovering a few inches off the ground. She's become a ghost! Luz tries to scream but finds she has no voice. She tries to grab Lilith and shake her awake but finds her hands simply pass through her. She tries to feel her clothes and skin but finds she no longer has sensation.
She's in hell! Or at least in purgatory of some kind. Still, that damn cat straight up killed her! Luz's mind begins filling with paranoid thoughts; What if no one can see her?! With all of the Oracle Witches gone she can't get help from any of them either. Is this what awaits life after death?! She's going to be stuck like this for possibly all of eternity!
Chirp chirp! A familiar pleasant chirp shakes her out of her paranoid thought. Suddenly the ghost of the canary is flapping happily in her face. She's not alone anymore!
"Hey, little guy, guess you ended up like me too, huh?" The bird chirps frantically and flies around her, like it's trying to tell her something. "What is it, buddy? Do you have a plan or something?"
It doesn't respond, instead choosing to fly high in the air and divebomb into Lilith's body where it vanishes within her. Suddenly everything makes sense and Luz understands what's going on. The damn cat ripped her soul out so she could possess Lilith and enter her mind! If she weren't deathly afraid of that damn cat she'd have some choice words for it!
With a big sigh Luz follows her canary guide's flight path and flies into Lilith. She remembers Eda's warnings of a person's Inner Person, an avatar of a person's psyche essentially that guards their hosts memories. Surely, however, Inner Lilith will make an exception for Luz? Lilith loves Luz! Sort of? Lilith did try to kill Luz that one time... and spent thirty years hunting her sister, that she cursed mind you, to join the Emperor's Coven to be healed even though they tried to arrest Eda many times for essentially being a free Witch. Then, after making Eda drain her magic and succumb to the curse, she finally saw the light and betrayed the emperor, losing over thirty years of built up status and respect as the face of law enforcement on the Boiling Isle's to become an outlaw she would've hunted down only a few months prior.
...Oh boy, Inner Lilith is going to be so fucked up mentally.
Darkness surrounds her vision for several seconds until it departs, but apparently not all the way. Luz finds herself standing in grey and back hallways sparsely decorated with paintings and vanity furnishings. It's all greyscale, as though she were standing in a real life black and white television show!
The good is at least she has a regular body again. All of her regular sensations are back and she's not floating like a ghost anymore! She seems to be the only thing with color, however, when suddenly the bright yellow canary comes flying down the hall and chirps happily as it zips around her.
"Hey little guy, nice to see you too! So... I guess we're in Lilith's mind? Well, what now? I don't even know what memory we're looking for, let alone where it is!"
Her guide chirps and flies down the hall into an open door on the left. Luz calls out for it to wait and chases after it. She enters through the door and winds up in a great big black and white dinning room with a massive table sat in the middle. Sat alone at that table is a teenaged girl with super poofy red hair, incredibly pale skin and great round glasses hiding a pair of emerald eyes. Luz can guess who the lanky teen is without having to guess, she's seen a picture of teenaged Lilith before, after all.
The canary lads by Inner Lilith's hand but the broody teen barely acknowledges it. The teen sighs deeply and turns to stare at Luz. Her expression is exceedingly empty, like there's no life in her at all. Even if she's in color her soul feels as grey as everything around her.
"...So, you're the one he sent? Skooma Cat said I should expect company soon and tat you could bring color back. Hmph, don't know why he bothers. It's not like you can do anything to fix the memories."
"I don't know about that." Luz tries sounding positive but finds it fairly hard, "My friend Willow accidentally had her memories burned and I fixed them. I can do the same here!"
Inner Lilith suddenly dons a grim smile, "The memories are all intact. This world is just the result of them. Nothing you can do will fix them. You should just go back and leave before I kick you out."
"Wait, surely there's something I can do! My Mami always said it's okay for people to have bad memories, but there's always something good you can take away from them. Something that makes you grow stronger so the next bad memory doesn't hurt as bad! Look, Skooma Cat brought me here to get a specific memory but I do genuinely want to help Lilith! Maybe all she needs is a new perspective on the memories?"
The Inner Lilith tilts her head gently to the side and examines Luz in a new light. She knows what memory the Skooma Cat wants and she's more than happy to get rid of it, but maybe she can get some help for Real Lilith at the same time?
"Fine. I'll send you to the key memories and see if you can find someway to fix them. Now I see why Lilith admires you so much..."
Without another word the world around Luz changes and she finds herself in a room with four massive doors, each intricately carved with a beautiful wooden mural that, like before, is colored grey. Her canary guide lands on her shoulder and chirps at the first door on her left.
The mural on the first door has a scene carved on it that looks like a young Lilith hiding in a box while a large giant looms over her with his hand raised to strike. God... was she beat by her father? Luz swallows a lump in her throat and turns the door handle to enter the memory. It closes behind her and the mural on the door definitely directly relates to the memory.
A featureless shadow looms over a tiny Lilith who seems like she's around Luz's age. Lilith is curled up in a ball, crying on the floor as the shadow of what she assumes to be Lilith's father looms over her, screaming profanities and degrading slurs, only making the poor girl cry even harder.
"Useless! You can't even cast a spell half as well as your sister and she's two years younger! All that training for what?! Look at me. Look at me!" He lifts her up by her hair and holds her to his eye level and strikes her hard across the face with his other hand, "I want you out of my house, you hear me?! Your bitch of a mother isn't around for you to suck on her tit anymore! I'm not letting some waste of space of a Clawthorne ruin our family name!"
He strikes her once more and Luz decides it's time to step in. Even if it's just a memory and there's no way to undo the trauma, Luz can't just stand there and do nothing while an abusive asshole beats on his own child!
Luz reaches down to her belt and sure enough, the soul stealing Umbra came with her into the memory world as well. The sword seems to vibrate with happiness as she unsheathes the evil blade. It's bloodlust practically fills the air and the shadowman drops Lilith and turns around to face Luz.
The shadowman suddenly morphs, growing wicked black metal armor with red lights shimmering through the cracks and joints. A long unearthly sword forms in the one hand and an equally cruel-looking shield forms in the other. A helmet and full plate armor cover the man in thick armor that makes Luz think of it as a walking castle.
It clicks and Luz recognizes the type of armor and sword. Bendu summoned one to fight the Slitherbeast last month! She gulps nervously as she still remembers how impossibly fast and strong it was.
Even with a sword like Umbra it'll be a tough fight!
In an instant the Dremora is swinging his sword to bisect Luz top down like a lightning strike. Faster than she thought possible Luz backs up and dodges the attack before responding with a slash of her own to take the head off.
The dremora brings its shield up and parries the attack. It rushes forward and tries to bash her with his shield but she dodges to the left ad goes to stab its side but once again the shield blocks her attack!
Luz retreats a few steps back and circles around the back knight like a shark in the water. The shield guards from her at all times, but the creature seems to find sick pleasure in waiting for her to attack as it knows she'll never be able to break the shield.
Drat! The backpack with her glyphs that Luz brought didn't come with her into the mind world, only the sword. This is madness! She'll drop dead of exhaustion before she gets through the shield!
Before things get bad for her the canary comes to her aid. The speedy bird zips over her shoulder and flies right into the face of the helmet, chirping loudly and incessantly. The demonic knight quickly gets angry and tries to swat the bird away buy misses every time. It quickly becomes enraged at it's inability to catch the zippy bird and starts swinging it's sword around like a lunatic. The canary deftly doges each sluggish strike. The knight ignores Luz and eventually exposes his back. Perfect!
She lunges forward and Umbra pierces straight through the heavy plate with no issue. Luz yanks the sword free and swings the sword like a club and decapitates the knight in a single blow. With the dremora dead at her feet Luz turns to the memory of Lilith and tries consoling the poor, weeping child.
"Hey-hey, it's okay. See? He's dead, he won't hurt you anymore?" The tiny Lilith sniffles and peeks an eye open to check. Sure enough she spots the body and her wretched weeps turn into maniacal laughter. It's sweet and toxic like poisoned honey as the morbid teen rises to lord over the corpse and laugh.
"H-h-he's dead! Daddy's dead! Daddy's dead!" Lilith continues her horrid mockery, dancing around the body with a wicked, toothy grin on her face. "Daddy's dead! Deader than a pile of rugs! Deader from his drugs!"
Color returns to the greyscale room, and thoroughly horrified by Lilith's childhood, Luz exits out of the door she entered. Back with the other doors she watches as the memory door she 'fixed' becomes color, almost like a children's coloring book. She looks to the other three doors and feels a heavy weight drop on her shoulders. Each memory is sure to be as depressing as the first.
The canary perches on her shoulder and chirps at her in curiosity. "I don't suppose things'll get any easier after this, buddy?"
Chirp!
"Yeah... yeah, I thought not. Damn you, Skooma Cat! I sure as hell won't get you any catnip after this!"