Luz Noceda is a massive gamer. It’s fitting given that I won’t stop writing about The Owl House and I also happen to be a massive gamer. We are kindred spirits radiating pure gay energy and nothing can stop us. We also have similar tastes in games if her laptop desktop is anything to go by. It is filled with legally distinct bangers that totally aren’t inspired by the real world. Well, except one of them, because apparently Hades is just built different.
Disney released an extended trailer for Thanks To Them ahead of the first special’s premiere this weekend, and fans are already combing over it in search of character moments and plot clues that have already become the foundation of countless theories and pieces of art. This fandom never lets up, but instead of diving into the timeskip or the coming out scene, I want to spend far too long looking at Luz’s laptop. We do very important work here at TheGamer.
First up is Holler Knight, which is a clear parody of Team Cherry’s excellent Hollow Knight. I bet Luz is still waiting for Silksong even after her in-universe timeskip. Given the name change to avoid a cheeky bit of copyright infringement, perhaps Holler Knight involves shouting at random bugs across Metroidvania labyrinths instead of murdering them with a sharp sword and taking in the spooky atmosphere. I still wanna make friends with my fellow bugs though.
Then we have Moonfarm Valley. It’s basically Stardew Valley, except the name has been changed just enough for me to make terrible jokes about it. Instead of stars we have the moon, but to be honest I’ve always viewed those two as a package deal of sorts - you can’t really have one without the other. The farm is still there and your grandad is likely still dead, and it’s not like Stardew didn’t steal all its best ideas from Harvest Moon anyway. I can absolutely see Luz modding in anime portraits for each character alongside custom pets and new romance options. She isn’t the type to make her farm the most efficient place of rural production, but will instead get carried away with newfound relationships and spend hours spelunking in the dungeons. And all of her animals would be named after anime characters.
Hades is just Hades, there isn’t really another way to slice that one. I imagine the Greek pantheon is in the public domain at this point, and anyone can take the characters from Supergiant’s masterpiece and depict them however they like, just like the indie studio did when creating the beloved roguelite filled with sexy gods and goddesses. But can you use the name and likeness of a game that takes from the public domain and that still exists for you to use however you like? Listen, I’m not a lawyer, I’m a gamer - so I’ll leave that to the experts. Luz is also a raging bisexual, and I don’t know a game more effective at drawing us in than Hades. Everyone in it is so hot, with main character Zagreus happy to flirt away with everyone as he tries to escape the underworld. Her favourite ship is Zag x Thanatos.
The Good Witch Azura fanfiction is also present and accounted for on Luz’s desktop. It isn’t clear if she has saved an existing fic or written her own, but I’m guessing it’s the latter. Past episodes have hinted that our heroine is hopelessly in love with certain characters and loves to share fan theories with Amity, so perhaps the two got together in their spare time and put together a super gay AU for their favourite witch. Her wallpaper also appears to be some original art she’s drawn, complete with a very official watermark to ensure some ass on Twitter doesn’t repost it without giving credit. You know the type, we all can’t stand them.
Luz isn’t afraid to hide her fanfiction away - she is braver than I - so I can’t help but wonder what sits inside the ‘Stuff’ folder featuring a cutesy panda poking out the top. Maybe it’s her diary, more personal writing, or random collections of fanart she hasn’t gotten around to sorting yet. Too many questions, and yes I’m totally not a loser for fixating on it this much. Now show us her full Steam library - or would it be Smoke library? - and display her Gamerscore and Trophies for all to see so I can determine whether she really is a gamer. She’s a girl so needs to prove it, that’s how this messed up hobby works. It’s worthless unless we make it our whole identity.
Anyway, I can’t believe Luz spent her entire time in the Boiling Isles waiting for Silksong to come out.
