Behind the Lens (the owl house au)

Ch. 17 ~ Witches and Frogs?

Weeks passed by as the cast and crew continued their filming journey. The production delved into various episodes, exploring different parts of the storyline. Dana, committed to ensuring the success of the show, worked tirelessly, providing clear directives for filming. Her determination and creative vision guided the cast and crew through the various scenes and episodes.

Alex worked closely with Dana; they addressed challenges together and made decisions for the overall benefit of the show. As Luz immersed herself in the demanding schedule of filming, her days became a relentless pursuit of perfection on set. The long hours left her with little time for personal moments, and she found herself seeing her mother and her dog, Pickles, only in the late hours of the night when she arrived home and on the weekends.

They did their best to spend time together, but Luz was exhausted and struggled to find the energy to leave the house with her mix of school work and responsibility on the show. Luz found it all too stressful; some days she wanted to rip her hair out. She had a newfound respect for her mother and all the hard work she does for her family. Day in and day out, the cast and crew worked together.

They shared laughs from messed-up takes or funny lines, or whenever one of them decided to enact one of their pranks that day, which Luz was heavily targeted in. Eda, Ed, and Emira were ruthless.

The cast always supported each other when the stress of the shift was too much or the scenes were too hard or they were too tired. Whenever anyone needed to cry, they offered a shoulder. They supported each other's wins and losses. The set felt like another home to Luz; it was the first place she ever fit in and made friends.

On the busy set, Luz took advantage of a brief moment of the adults' split attention. Concealing a spider in her hand, she subtly placed it inside the prop shoe created for the scene where she and Gus determine whether the "human items" were real or fakes.

Little did Luz know, Gus and the new cast member Matt were attempting to scare her. As Luz placed the spider in the shoe, the two executed their plan, jumping up from behind the table.

"Boo!" exclaimed Gus, catching Luz off guard. In her surprise, Luz dropped the shoe on herself, causing the spider to land on her. Luz couldn't help but panic. Gus and Matt burst into laughter as she flung her limbs around, shaking off the spider.

Luz, still flustered, retorted, "Not funny, guys!"

Gus, grinning, rebutted, "Well, Luz, you were the one trying to prank me with a spider. Jokes on you, though—I actually like spiders."

Luz huffed, muttering, "Aw, darn." She then turned her attention to Matt, realizing she hadn't met him before. Gus, filled, said, "Luz, meet Matt. He's our newest addition to the cast." Luz's eyes widened as she took in Matt's presence, genuinely intrigued and eager to welcome a new member to the set. "Welcome to the set! My name is Luz; I'm so happy we have another kid our age on set," Luz exclaimed, her enthusiasm shining through. She extended a hand toward Matt, offering a friendly handshake.

As Matt reciprocated the handshake, Luz couldn't help but add, "Gus over here is our youngest, so be extra careful with him because he's fragile. But hey, I'm messing with you, right Gus?" Luz shot a playful glance at Gus, who chuckled in response.

Matt, still processing the unexpected introduction, grinned and replied, "Thanks, Luz! Looking forward to being part of the fun."

Gus, joining the conversation, "I might be the youngest, but I'm more mature than you." Luz gasped; she was lost for words. "Touché Augustus." Filming with Matt was fun, and they quickly welcomed him into their group. Gus and Luz tended to mess up takes with their jokes and remarks. They laughed when he got stuck upside down in his wire harness and when he ruined a take pretending to be a zombie after they opened a pod, where he was covered in goo.