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Came across an interesting reddit thread that started out with OP wondering why Raelle was not under Cession exemption from serving in the Army. Comments chimed in wondering how the Army was able to work in the Cession, and the difference between the trio being the last of their line, but only Tally (and her mom) legally able to get a dispensation. How would Edwin's family fall under Cession status?

Hello!

Our own MotherMycelium (@tiredmoonslut) said: Since it's been established that the Council of the Great River essentially rents land out to non-Natives, I assume non-Natives can live on the Cession territory, but are still American citizens, which would make Raelle part of the draft. As for why she wasn't given a dispensation, I assume it's because the Imperatrix felt that the Collar line was diluted anyway bc of Edwin, so it was of little difference whether Raelle lived or died since she is already "genetically nonviable" But that changed when Raelle bonded with the Mycelium. Hailed as possessing never-before-seen Work and superpowered vocal cords, she was suddenly valuable. So the Imperatrix changed her mind and wanted Raelle to breed so that they could see if the witchbomb was genetic. It's also possible that being a witch was the changing factor. Maybe, if Raelle was just human, she and Edwin could have citizenship in the Cession but not the US, but since the Salem Accord is in effect, that was vetoed. Edwin took Willa's name, maybe he took her witch citizenship status too, making the Salem Accord apply to any of their offspring regardless of his having lived in the Cession all his life.

Lexi added: If memory serves me right Tally’s mother had to hire a lawyer (the only man to survive coming onto their matrifocal community) and she had several aunts who died in the service. I imagine that Raelle’s family didn’t have the resources to hire a proper lawyer and her family was also probably not heroic enough to be worth considering. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if there is an even bigger class divide between witches then we have seen . Not just between High Atlantic’s and regulars but also between middle class and poor witches.

Maplecroft said: I always assumed that Raelle did not get a special dispensation because her mother didn’t follow protocol, and chose to marry a civilian, and produce offspring with a civilian. That kinda screws up the blood lines, as far as the army is concerned. Also yes, sustainably any which can choose to serve, regardless of the situation. Talley had a special dispensation, but chose to serve. She was not conscripted, but volunteered. I assume that in certain situations there were Cession witches, native or not, who chose to volunteer. The council is obviously going to have its own opinions, and they are probably commonly shared opinions in the Cession, but it doesn’t mean that every witch feels the same. There’s very likely to have been witches who felt like they wanted to serve under Alder, or perhaps even wanted to follow not native witch friends/lovers into the army.

Jalehh added: I'd assume that Raelle is not a Native Citizen/Tribe member... but a Cession resident, and fully falls under American Federal laws which maybe Native Citizens/Tribe Members with(in) the Cession's autonomous statute don't. I mean they even have an internal guarded border within the country.

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Hi! Do you by any chance know which book on witches Laurence referenced while producing MFS? I remember it being brought up, but have forgotten the name. Thank you in advance :)

Yes! The book is called "Witches" by Erica Jong!

It is an interesting read if you are so inclined!

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I don't see enough people point out that when papa Collar says this:

It's not only sad and worrying because it shows that (at least from his point of view) he has already lost a person to military conflict and he could lose Raelle too, the same way he lost his wife.

But, it's also really freaking heart-warming that he says this to Scylla, of all people.

Like in that moment he sees himself. In the moment where Scylla is so worried about the love of her life being out there somewhere. I think you can see the bit of fondness and pain in his face, because he fully understands what Scylla is feeling. And what she'll probably feel for as long as they're together.

He had to stay in the Cession all that time and raise Rae while Willa was out there, getting hurt and ultimately 'dying' in combat. He knows what it feels like to be away from your loved one while she's in danger and worry sick, trying to constantly convince himself she'll be alright.

And I think in this moment, when he recognizes himself in her worry, when he says that Scylla's desperate (self) assurances were exactly what he used to tell himself about his beloved wife, he's both a little happy (just look at the little fond smile when he starts talking) because of course he wants his daughter to be loved by someone just as much as he loves Willa. And also fully heartbroken, because, specially from his point of view, his relationship to Willa didn't really end well, and he understands the pain and anxiety Scylla will, undoubtedly, be exposed to.

He already had an inkling about how much Raelle loves Scylla, if one of the very first conversations they have on screen this season is anything to go by:

The fact he feels the need to ask about Scylla (in a moment where his daughter literally just made a miraculous comeback from the dead) tells a LOT about how and what Raelle has told him about her.

He obviously understands, at the very least, that she's important to Raelle.

But I don't think it's until this moment that he understands Scylla also loves Raelle very much. When he sees that she worries about Rae with the same fear, anxiety and desperation he worried about Willa.

(When Scylla says "she'll be okay", but looks like she might throw up and start hyperventilating at the same time)

(Amalia's little furrowed brows I can't 😍✨)

And the very next day, when Rae calls, Edwin can't help but offer the phone to Scylla. Probably because he very well knows how much they want to hear each other's voice.

He specially knows that Scylla in particular is probably worried sick, even if she tries to hide it, and won't stop worrying until she can hear from Raelle herself that she's fine (because, once again, that's how he felt about Willa).

It probably gives him peace of mind to know Rae is loved and that she has another person to worry about her like this. Specially another witch, who can help defend her, when he probably feels useless from time to time, not being able to protect his little girl from the big witchkind conflicts she's been thrown into.

I definitely headcanon that he's officially adopted Scylla as his daughter in law at this point, if anything because he can't help but love someone who loves Rae so damn much.

But also, I should add that he was the second one of Raelle's parents to recognize Scylla's love for their daughter and that makes my heart so happy.

And both happen because they can see the worry and desperation Scylla shows when Rae's in danger... from Edwin's side, the worry that she can't remedy the situation Rae's in, and from Willa's side, the lengths she'll go to make sure Raelle's safe, even if they might never be together again (a sentiment I'm sure Willa also felt for Edwin and her own daughter quite a lot.)

Honestly I still can't with the absolute soulmatism of Raylla.

But I specially love that these two have each other now.

They're very different characters, but they come together because of their adoration for these military women and I absolutely love that for them ❤

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WITCH ARMY RANKING SYSTEM IN MOTHERLAND FORT SALEM - AN OVERVIEW

Season 2 of Motherland Fort Salem is over so I decided to make a chart of the Ranking System of the Witch Army after two seasons.

@smallfrost have a post explaining the Ranking System in Motherland Fort Salem back in Season 1 and it is very deep. I use their work as a reference while making mine, adding some new details, perspective and characters.

Check out their post if you want a better understanding on this subject, the link is below.

Feel free to let me know your thought and theory!

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The color purple is coursing through her body. IT’S A PURPLE ALDER.

Gif by @studentmyself

"Why is the alder purple?" you ask

"Because Sarah Alder is gonna get ressurected, that's why"

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Season 3 is officially on its way!

We’re so excited we get another season of this beautiful universe (and make sure to sign the petition to have season 3 not be the final season).

To celebrate, we’ve opened our submissions! If you have a theory or analysis, feel free to submit directly to us. Alternatively, make sure to tag us in your posts if you want to be featured on our page (use @mfs-research-institute, #MFSRI, or #MFS Research Institute).

And as always, if you’d like to join the conversations on our Discord server, please don’t hesitate to shoot us a DM or Ask. We’d love to have you to help pass the coming hiatus - we have all sorts of community events to make the time move quicker.

Finally, a reminder that we have MFSRI merch! If you’d like to rep us (and MFS in general), feel free to visit our Fort Salem Exchange Bonfire store – all profits go to various charities (including, Trevor Project, Wounded Warrior, ACLU, and more!)

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Thoughts about the witch plague

So, I’ve been thinking a lot about the witch plague in Motherland: Fort Salem and why it is… like that. What if, for all intents and purposes, it is the anti-Mycelium? I think it would really fit into the world that the show has built so far and might be what the Mycelium was alluding to in 2x07 when talking about a “great war” that’s coming.

Okay, so:

1. The design of the witch plague just reminds me very strongly of the Mycelium. Like, look at the tendrils and the general webbed structure:

Of course, one is light and the other is dark, which seems symbolic as well.

2. We know that the witch bomb only affects civilians and the witch plague only affects witches. This suggest a similarity in the way they operate, recognizing the biological difference between witches and civilians. 

3. We learned in 2x09 that the Mycelium was created by Alder’s grief, can we say that the witch plague was created by the Camarilla’s hatred? Or specifically their leader’s hatred? I would love to know more about the creation of it, and its evolution. The witch plague is obviously not a normal virus, or something similar. It seems to have a supernatural element to it, and seems to represent this pure hatred. I wonder how much the Camarilla are able to control it. I would argue that they don’t, really. They are able to contain it in simple glass (for now), but they don’t direct it, they just release it and let it do its thing.  

4. Both entities are sentient to some extent. The Mycelium has motivations and agency, and is therefore clearly sentient, but with the witch plague it’s not necessarily as clear, but it does seem likely. We do know that it can perceive any nearby witches and will actively pursue them, like in 2x06 when it tries to attack Alder behind glass:

Or during the attack on the train in 2x05 where it seems to pursue Adil and Khalida.

So, if the witch plague can be seen as the anti-Mycelium, what does that mean? Can a civilian link with the witch plague like Raelle is linked with the Mycelium? That would be absolutely terrifying. I want to see it. What I think is interesting is that when Khalida was affected by the witch plague in season 1, it was contained within her for the most part. In any case, it didn’t spread like wildfire, which we’ve seen happen in season 2. Additionally, then it could be cured by Raelle/the Mycelium, which wasn’t the case in 2x07. So this thing mutates, fast. I’m just wondering if the Mycelium can grow at the same rate, as it’s opposite? And what would trigger this growth? Raelle dying? The witchbomb killing civilians and taking over their bodies? 

Now that it has been revealed in 2x09 that the Mycelium is made up of the souls of dead witches, does that mean that it gets stronger when more witches die? If that’s the case, is the witch plague made up of dead civilian souls? Did the spree inadvertently make the witch plague stronger with their terrorist attacks?

Overall, I think I like this idea because it has the potential to subvert this rigid Good versus Evil theme, which we see in media all the time. You have these two forces, that survive by feeding on each other and therefore cannot exist without each other. While in most shows you would expect the message that good always prevails in the end, it’s clear that nothing is that black-and-white in Motherland Fort Salem. I hope we get to see nuance brought into these concepts, and how these forces will coexist in the end.   

Side note: the Mycelium is obviously a mushroom, but what is the witch plague? It reminds me a little bit of algae, it seems… wet. Now, I don’t know a lot about biology in general, but it does seem that these two are in real life able to form a good symbiotic relationship. Maybe the two will combine at some point in the future of the show?

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Raylla, Samhain and the union of life and death

If you haven't seen my post on Scylla and Morrigan click here, it'll make more sense:

As I was doing my research on the Morrigan and looking around random books I have on mythology, I couldn't help but notice that not only does Scylla relate to Morrigan, but Raelle actually shares many similarities to the Dagda.

(He has been described as being fat and comical before but if I'm correct, it's believed that was actually added in there by the Christians as a way to minimize and poke fun at pagan religions, so, for this post, we'll be talking about the traditional depictions of him from norse communities)

The Dagda is described in Norse mythology as a "Good God" and the protector of the nordic people. He was son of Danu, the mother goddess, and Elatha, who was the king of the Fomorians, the same people with whom he'd actually be at war for most his life after he, himself, became king of the Tuath Dè Danann, or "people of Danu".

This, to me, already draws parallels to the fact Raelle is half civilian, yet she fights civilians in the name of the witch army, in some way choosing (or really being given no choice but) to side with her mother's people and defend them over anything else, just like Dagda after becoming king. Eventually, and only with the help of Morrigan, Dagda brings waste upon the Fomorians and peace to his people during the battle of Magh Tuiredh.

Another parallel that came up a lot were Dagda's magical weapons. As a god, he represented fertility, plentifulness, magic and the seasons, as well as being the literal God of Life, and linked to healing magic. The coire ansic was his cauldron that never ran empty, a representation of plentifulness. Then there was his harp, uaithne that commanded the seasons, as well as led men into battle.

And lastly, the one that I think correlates to Raelle the most, the lorg mór, a mighty staff that could "take nine souls with one end, and bring them all back to life with the other", which, idk, reminds me of our good old Mother Mycelium?

I mean, it's been stablished she can just as easily kill a room of people and bring them back to life so I think it checks out.

But what really got me obsessed with these parallels has to be how much Dagda and his goddess of death wife remind me of Raylla. It has to be on purpose by this point.

The union of Dagda and Morrigan is, from the very beginning, a metaphor for the relationship between life and death. Dagda, being so full of light, and seen as the protector of life, doesn't seem like he'd have much in common with the Morrigan, a goddess assimilated to death and destruction. At least if you look at them at first glance.

Their meeting supposedly happened by the bank of a river, and Dagda was instantly enamored as he saw Morrigan singing and washing herself in the water.

According to myth, it was love at first sight, and they were both as fascinated with the other as can be. This meeting is what originated Samhain, and their reunion itself is believed to thin the veil every year on that same day, bringing the taken souls back to the land of the living as a sort of celebration from their union. The marriage itself points to how ancient norse people saw the correlation of life and death, where one only exists with the other.

Dagda and Morrigan actually end up having a lot in common if you think about it, both being warriors and protectors of their people.

The Morrigan is a very complex deity, some say she takes pleasure in the carnage of war and that she is a cruel goddess, only interested in death, but what is most believed is that she acts as a sort of Washer for the Fords, warning warriors that their deaths are near and overseeing battle. She is linked with pain and grief, but also with reinvention and in some ways, forgiveness. Meanwhile Dagda has been related to fertility, happiness and healing, yet he is also ruthless in battle, and known to crush his enemies without mercy.

They're like the same sides on two very different coins, but they complete each other in an union that is believed to bring forth peace to the new year with Samhain.

This transcript from the Cath Maige Tuired (the book that describes all this stuff in Irish mythology) tells their first meeting, honestly, and it just says everything

I mean, are you gonna tell me I'm wrong? It's literally Raylla!

The Goddess of death who is also a protector of the soldiers. The one that reinvents and rebirths herself out of darkness all in the name of love. The queen of everything dark, scary and painful. The one who they call queen of terror, but who actually comes to comfort damned souls.

And the fixer, bringer of better times, (literally brought people back from dead before) and probably the reason Scylla hasn't burned the whole world at this point (we all know she could). The one that fights for the innocent, even if it means losing her own life, the one who's got so much light when the world does so much to extinguish it.

They're opposites but they still fell in love, because believe it or not, life and death are not enemies, as we've been told. They're lovers, allowing themselves to end and begin and end again, over and over, in the name of the other. And when they truly, actually, collide as physical things in this world, they'll win a thousand wars, be born a hundred times over and still find their way back to each other.

These two are star crossed lovers with the power of fucking gods of life and death. Their love will bring this war to an end and I will not hear a word otherwise.

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The fact Scylla is now related to a Celtic goddess as cool as the morrigan literally makes me so happy, and it makes so much sense!

Morrigan is seen as the Celtic goddess for death, destiny and war. Sometimes represented as a single deity, and sometimes as a trio of goddesses (some believe she was both at once), Badb, Macha and Nemain (or Anand), which reminds me of one very special trio to the show... It's also a nice callback to Norse and wiccan mythology in general, since both see three as a sacred number.

(I also have a theory that each of them represents one of our unit girls as rebirth, war and fertility but that's another post)

Morrigan can bring horrible deaths upon people but above all, she's the protector of the land, who strikes fear into the hearts of the enemies just as much as she fills heroes with great courage and strength. Legends say that you would see her washing your blood stained clothes as you were about to die, and that once the battle was over, Morrigan would fly through the field as a conspiracy (yup, that's the plural for it 😅) of ravens to collect the souls of the dead.

Very reminiscent of necromancy in general but also of the Mycelium, since we learned last episode that it collects witches souls just the same.

Morrigan's reign over battle gave her the title of "Ghost queen", and the very name Morrigan derives from a harsh translation of the celtic "queen of terror".

This all makes me think Scylla and her "whisper" will have a big role to play in the final battle. Maybe she will even become a leader of some sort to the Dodgers. Specially if we take the legendary battle of Magh Tuireadh into consideration, a well known war of celtic mythology that featured the gods and goddesses against the Fomorians, who were described to be horrible, cruel monsters who only wished to kill (reminds me of someone, but idk 🤔).

According to the myth, Morrigan meets her love (Dagda, who is also referred to as her husband and I might even write a whole post on the correlations he has to Raelle later bc it's surprisingly a lot) on Samhain and they have a "tryst" over the river Unius right before battle.

(Dagda is an immortal God that represents magic, protection and wisdom and can control the ways of life and death? Where have I heard that before... 🤔)

After they do the deed, Morrigan promises to summon all the magicians of Ireland (cofcofdodgerscofcof) to bring an end to Indech, the Fomorian king. She even says, and this is a quote: "I'll take the blood of his heart and the kidneys of his valour". And bitch did JUST that, she even came to the same river later along with handfuls of Indech's blood to dump into the water (lord knows why)

(We all know if anyone on this show is gonna be that much of a savage, it's the murder nugget)

It's told that during the battle, Morrigan sung a song over the battlefield in her raven form that immediately turned the tide in their favor, since the Fomorians started throwing themselves at sea. Again, almost TOO on the nose 😅 it makes me think Eliot had this correlation in his head all along even before the show started since he just straight up gave her Morrigan's mind control powers.

I don't really know what all this means for the series finale or S3 but I hope with all my heart and soul that Scylla's gonna live her best mythkin life as a reincarnation of a war goddess and tear the camarilla's hearts out, and she's gonna do it all with the help of her new friend and her military wife.

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I have a theory that is influenced by this MFS Research Institute Post by @smallfrost so thank you for your amazing analysis. So beware of possible spoilers.

“A beach named labour and pain...I went there once as a kid just for a week but I never forgot it. There is an abandoned lighthouse, and I would sit on the beach for hours. Watch the ships leave for far away lands. I think that was the last place I felt free". - Scylla Ramshorn in 1x05

Who else is connected to a beach and a lighthouse?

A lighthouse with a beach is important for Scylla and Alder (and now Raelle).

Why would Alder be painted in front of a beach with a lighthouse, for a formal portrait about the Mexican war? Usually, the background of a war is a reimagining of the war front, as propaganda/ reverance.

Labour means birth, which is associated with pain.

Who becomes birth-ed as a child?

Elders!

The Tarim revere their elders, who become birth-ed as young children, probably because they are innocent, hopefully without grief or suffering and have a full life to ahead of themselves to learn. They clearly have knowledge of the past and some inkling of the future, or at least a prophecy.

However, with the birth, they endure pain and lose a sense of freedom because of their new responsibilities to their family, to their people/ tribe/ coven.

"Watch the ships leave for far away lands" -

Like when Alder and her sister migrated to America from Europe? Alder's family migrated to the USA to keep safe. Using ships back then, they likely landed.... on a beach. The purpose of a lighthouse is to warn mariners of danger and to bring wanted people to land safely. A place of unity. So a beach became important to Alder's family... a sacred place for safety and unification. Especially when they were being hunted by the Camarilla.

"I went there once as a kid... I think that was the last place I felt free".

Scylla was a child when she visited Labour and Pain "just for a week". It was the last time she felt free.

Because it was the place she became an ELDER...

a person linked to their families memories and responsible for their families future.

But Responsibility comes with “having a collar around you neck without even knowing” like Alder, Raelle, Abigail, Anacostia, Petra and Khalida have too.

At a place sacred to her family...

A place notably sacred in Alder's past - to her family.

Because Scylla is Alder's descendent... the last of her family line (direct lineage or just to the family in general like Alder’s cousin)

Raelle: "Is your family on this thing [wall displaying witch heritage]"

Scylla: It's.... complicated"

Yeah, I bet being related to the person responsible for signing away witches freedom and enforcing conscription through violence, resulting in the death of your parents.... is complicated.

Scylla is the last link to Alder's history.... The last family member. The last Elder/ Alder....

Like Khalida.

"The last of a powerful line" - Adil to Khalida

However, it is also a place linked to loss and grief... because Scylla and Alder believe they have no family to be responsible for... to keep safe. What do you do when their family is gone.. when they have no future, no purpose, to responsibility. Lost, without family.... Like Scylla, Alder and Raelle.

And who went to a beach in their loss and grief? Raelle.

Because the Beach with a lighthouse is a place of family. A family who believe have lost their connection to loved ones and are in grief.

But also a sacred place for love and safety when a family is united and free.

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What. The. Fuck.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Motherland: Fort Salem is a masterpiece! Every episode just keeps getting better and better!! Kudos to the writers, seriously. They really didn’t spare any brains going into this. Every detail is just like a puzzle piece meshing in so smoothly, to create a perfect picture.

Episode 9, bloody hell… I was literally at the edge of my seat not even a quarter of the way into it.

Warning: Spoilers! And major rambling ahead!

Let’s start with Alder.

Since she “puppet-ed” the President, I never trusted her, but when she stepped down, I felt for her. She let the Spree be the enemy and carried that burden of knowing that lives are lost because of her actions, so that civilians and witches could “try” and live harmoniously. Obviously, that was a fail, but the intent was there. She lost so much, and she’s seen so much pain. That song of grief… imagine how much pain she had to have had for it to actually trigger the birth of the mycelium.

The reveal about the mycelium being a collective being of all dead witches…kinda like an underworld of sorts… just wow 🤯

Scylla did say that the mushroom was like the king of plants in the underworld. That was a great foreshadowing from Season 1 that we didn’t even realise until this episode.

But damn! Of all the witches out there, all the dead witches collectively chose our little rebel Raelle. It makes sense now how the mycelium is so powerful. It must be so overwhelming, holding the powers of all dead witches. And kudos for Raelle finally accepting what was entrusted her. She’s gone full circle now, from not even wanting anything to do with the army and kind of resenting being chosen by the mycelium, to now having a purpose and taking it to heart. She now knows the weight of the responsibility given to her. It’s not just about her, she realises that. There was a great war coming.

This scene was so aesthetically pleasing, by the way. The photographer in me is just to satisfied with this shot.

Anyway, moving on… I’m glad Abigail is finally able to sway her mother’s decisions for her. She finally moved on from being the daughter always eager to please and follow rules, and to a soldier with purpose. She’s seeing the bigger picture now and not just chasing for glory. I love the character development.

And speaking of character development, Tally has got to be the most developed character this season.

She went from a pawn to a straight up queen in a chess game. She was a girl with high hopes for the future, a girl who was too nice. She saw the goodness in people, and so everyone was quick to dismiss her, to think her too tame. Now, she’s THE soldier who managed to change the whole game, with her chase for the truth. She stood up for what she’s always believed in and she’s just put herself on a pedestal for generations to be inspired by. I’m not gonna be surprised if she becomes the General by the end of the show.

Then, there’s the Sekhmet coven. I love this group, especially with how they all backed each other. This was an iconic shot, too.

And then, of course there’s Raylla.

Raelle the soldier and Scylla the army wife at home. They are so freakin’ flirty, I love and hate it at the same time, lol. I love that they’re sweet on each other, I missed them so much… but I kinda lowkey wanted a slower burn. But I guess, with chemistry like theirs, it wasn’t too hard to fall back to old habits. They really are the fastest among all wlw ships. From strangers to lovers to breaking up to making up to meeting the parental and u-hauling with a kid and now having LDR, lol. Kinda disappointed that Tiffany was sent off with a dodger family.

Raylla and being sexy weird. Birds and mushroom are their thing. In season 1, we have Scylla with death cap mushrooms and Raelle with her bowerbird combat charm. Now in season 2, we’ve got it flipped. Raelle is now connected to the biggest mushroom in the whole world probably, and now Scylla bonded with a bird. These two, seriously…. Everything they do is like an extension to the other.

And speaking of birds, Scylla is not a witch to be messed with, really. She has so much power on her own, and so brilliant that she managed to learn Nicte’s work involving animals. At least, I think she just learned that after the capturing of Nicte and seeing how she worked with bats. And even so, she did it with so much ease with one bird. Imagine what she could do with more birds.

Last side note, btw. I still don’t like that Vice President. He seems so dodgy. At first, I find the scene with Anacostia and the bodyguard so irrelevant, but then the bodyguard said he’s off for the weekend. I feel like there’s more to that information.

But I’ve been rambling for more than an hour now. There’s still so much to say, but alas, this post is too long now. Lol. I’m so so so excited for the last episode of season 2. I’ve seen some sneak peeks and they better not kill off Scylla or any of our favourite trio, I swear I’ll riot.

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Scylla's boutonnière, Bird Skull Reveal (Warning! Don't read if you don't want your romantic image of the gift RUINED!)

With the recent introduction of Scylla's new bird friend, the long discussion about what bird Scylla's Skull boutonnière (we have been calling it wrong all this time! Thank you @neuralhandshake for the correction!) has resurfaced. This post is inspired by bowerbirdboy and I will just continue from there.

bowerbirdboy makes a great list of noticeable details of the boutonnière especially the curve beak. I will just add other traits that I considered in this research to further identify the bird like the size and placement of the nasal aperture (for reference its the big hole in the beak) and its proportion to the beak. It's so difficult to see the bird skull closely in the show

Join me in this journey of learning the Bird skull anatomy These are images from bowerbird so we can compare it closely

Bowerbird Skull

It fits the size and shape of the skull but the nasal aperture is smaller (takes up only half of the beak and is oblong shape) compared to the boutonnière(where the nasal aperture takes up almost 3/4 of the beak and looks more circular) and it lacks the curve, as mentioned before.

We now bring in Scylla's new bird friend, raven/crow.

Raven skull (left); Crow skull (right)

It still doesn't fit. The beak is too long or too big and the nasal aperture is too small compared the beak.

I tried to search for other common birds that is somewhat related to the bowerbird, crow, and raven

The sparrows, rooks, pigeons, etc...There are some parts that are similar but not fully the same to the boutonnière.

Sparrow skull (left); pigeon skull (right)

Then it hits me

You know what else is common, abundant, and easy to acquire?

You can still turn back and never learn about this discovery

Here We Go

FREAKIN

CHICKENS

IT FITS!! LOOK AT IT.

THE SIZE AND SHAPE OF THE NASAL APERTURE, THE PROPORTION, THE CURVE BEAK

CANNOT UNSEE!

RAELLE GIFTED SCYLLA A CHICKEN!

No wonder our fixer was so nervous.

HAHAHAHAHA

Don't worry Raelle! It's the thought that counts!

STAY SEXY WEIRD RAYLLA!

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Did it ever occur to the Army or the Spree that the reason the Camarilla know so much about witches “workings”, phonology and anatomy and can create weapons out of them for their own use is because they may have a witch providing them with the intel and ability to do so? Kind of like those apes that were working for the humans to enslave other apes in the Planet of the Apes series. I really want to know who developed this “witch plague” because I’m willing to bet it wasn’t just a civilian. 

Also, they most definitely have people in government as well. Eliot mentions in one of the After Shows from last year that the Camarilla were commissioned by Henry VIII. They had the Monarchy after them back then so why wouldn’t our current US government (and law enforcement from what we’ve seen ) be on some witch-hunting bullshit too? Most likely the Vice President is one of them. I have ruled out the President for now simply because I can’t see the Camarilla being led by a black woman as they seem to be some sort of White Supremacist/ Proud Boy allegory for the writers. Most of the Camarilla we’ve seen so far have been white and mostly white men at that. 

The Army and the Spree are too busy fighting each other to realize the real threat is getting stronger. They are kidnapping kids and doing all sorts to them. They need to pull their heads out of their asses instead of jockeying for power.  They are going to in-fight their way out of either disbanding the Army or removing Alder from power and setting themselves up to get picked off by the Camarilla. Petra is VERY pro-military and we’ve seen how controlling she is with her daughter’s military career. Even at the expense of her friends. Do you really think the Army is going to be that much better under her leadership? I’m skeptical. And if they do kill Nicte, well then good luck getting the rest of the Spree on board after that. We all know if they joined together the Camarilla would be no match for them. Hell, if they were truly devious and didn’t want to play fair they could Spree-suicide all those motherfuckers once they found their leadership. If not, tornados work just as well. Just saying. That’s what my villain ass would do. Fuck diplomacy. But I’m dark like that. I guess I would have been a Spree in this world, lol.

Addendum:

We are all assuming, and Petra probably is as well, that she would become the new head of the Army with Alder gone. But what if the government(who are definitely up to something) chooses someone else? What if they put a Camarilla in there next season as a double agent? Oooh, that might be interesting to watch.

[mfs-research-institute]

Another thing I've been thinking about - or how singing is accidentally really spiritual and how this might work in Motherland Fort Salem.

So in my last post I talked about face shapes.

Another thing that really influences the colour of the sounds one can produce, as well as the intensity, is age. And this makes me a little excited in relation to MFS because Alder has the power to vary her age.

Disclaimer: you might have already noticed in my previous post that the perspective that I'm using in regards to singing is a classical one. That's what I was trained in and I think that there are a lot of merits to looking at singing from that vantage point. I would argue that classical singing is at the same time the most technically challenging kind of singing - it has to be; classical singing is supposed to reliably fill concert halls just with your voice without ruining your health after a week, no microphones - and the way of singing where you need to understand your voice so well that you can then, using this knowledge, protect it better from overuse.

Also - and this is the way it was for me but I think this happens generally in the classical approach - classical singing allows you to go to your lesson and then you and your teacher try to figure out what your voice is like exactly, what your weaknesses and strengths are and then how to allow all your different potential to shine. We think a lot about face shapes, voice projection and breath support - and age.

The colour of your voice changes naturally as you age, and I'm not speaking of the voice change in puberty, I'm speaking of the maturation of your voice in your 40s.

For sopranos in the classical world (I'm a soprano so this is what I know) this change is quite important, very, very generally one can say:

- children: naturally have a lot of higher frequencies in their voices, they can be very light and aethereal and bright. They usually don't have a lot of natural vibrato, so their sound is slimmer, sometimes flute-like. I'm thinking of a young Jean-Baptiste Maunier:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1XQjrq3Vck .

He starts singing at around 1.25.

-young sopranos (ca. 14/5 to 35) - (usually) lyrical sopranos: retain much of the brightness and lightness of the child voice but - see voice change - they have a lot more natural vibrato and their voice is a little darker than a child's voice. A really nice example of the kind of sound I'm talking about here is this recording by Lucia Popp:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDUyA-fVie8 .

She sounds like a bell, it's quite extraordinary.

- older sopranos (ca. from late 30s on) - lyrical sopranos can become dramatic sopranos: some lyrical sopranos gain sufficient dark colours and weight in their voice to be able to sing what is called "dramatic repertoire", i.e. pieces that we usually associate with 'operatic divas'. These older sopranos are able to sing pieces that require both more vibrato as well as more volume and fullness of sound - you can't sing Wagner satisfactorily, you might not even make it through his operas, if you are not a dramatic soprano. Funnily enough, the recording by Lucia Popp that I've just mentioned is actually a miscasting - the Queen of the Night is a dramatic soprano, her arias are intense, passionate and somewhat violent, you need a dramatic soprano for this. (Lucia Popp's recording is very beautiful but aesthetically, and for this role in the opera, it's not right).

A fitting Queen of the Night would be someone like Diana Damrau: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuBeBjqKSGQ

Now what has that got to do with Motherland Fort Salem.

The witches are not classically trained (and frankly, the workings don't make sense mechanically, sound production does not work the way it's envisioned there) but that aside they do use their voices and the development I've described for classical singers happens to everyone - if you sing or not, classical singers are just really attuned to noticing and using this changing of the voice.

Age-wise, Alder would be in the age bracket for a dramatic soprano; which is interesting to me because Alder is depicted as being able to wield powerful, momentous kinds of magic; and in the classical singing world this power to raise a storm and make the sea boil is very much dramatic soprano. Not saying that a lyrical soprano couldn't do it but it wouldn't have the same energy and power.

I think this might be quite a nice counterweight to 'witches must be young and sexy' (which we thankfully don't have in MFS). If it's about singing and power, the middle-aged witches are MOST definitely the most powerful hands down. They'll need to have taken care of their voices in their youths and trained properly but if they have; well, dramatic sopranos are terrifying.

So, if this was applied to MFS the shape of the face would not be the only thing the trainees would be paying attention to. They would also be very invested in taking care of themselves and in making the best out of their already existing vocal talent. To be fair, having only dramatic soprano types would be a little boring (I'm actually more of a sucker for warm, lyrical sopranos), but then again, I suppose workings don't actually have to only be about war, violence and destruction (and sorry dramatic sopranos but this is you).

Also (caution: bad joke): you do need to be a certain age to fully understand the weight of your actions (hence, for weightier actions, older age and weightier voice is more effective). To wreak destruction, you must understand it. This is the burden, pain, and wisdom of age. (Cue Alder being really powerful, no surprise.)

If I were Alder, I would let my age vary depending on what kind of working she has to perform - for all the powerful, aggressive stuff, her age is perfect. But for more subtle workings, or more serene and peaceful workings, her voice would sound better younger. And now isn't it interesting that Khalida, head of the Tarim, a pacifist witch clan, seems really old but is in a child's body with a child's voice.

I like to imagine two things:

- child Alder - because sometimes you need other kinds of workings, too - walking around Fort Salem, her biddies in tow, and giving dubiously looking recruits or recruits who dare squat down and ask her if she is lost an absolute death glare.

- and child Alder and her biddies standing in a field, under a sky full of stars and singing long lost seeds of her family. And any nosy recruits who whisper: what is she doing there? - are shushed. "She is capturing the light of the stars, ephemeral and bright."

[mfs-research-institute]

so fun fact, I’m a bit of a bird nerd, so I know that all of the species of crows and ravens that live in America are purely black, whereas the corvid that Scylla…befriends? has a white marking around its neck. so I did a little googling and, y’all……the species of crow Scylla’s using in her Working?

it’s literally called a Collared crow.

excuse me while I scream because Scylla’s pretty much dedicating her newly-acquired Working and basically her entire fight against the Camarilla…to Raelle.

bye.

[mfs-research-institute]

the whole magic balance reminds me a lot of the witcher. where they too brought up the “act of balance” in their magic.

I’m sorry it took so long to answer this, but I wanted to check something before answering off the top of my head and work has been hell. 

Anyways, yes! Adil’s explanation on how magic affects the world around them (without the military caring too much about the effects) is a very modern (and sort of influenced by climate change) take on “magic always comes with a price”. Which is an almost universal trope when it comes to fantasy. 

Most magic systems, since they’re created by people who want to make them realistic to the reader, tend to come with structure and laws and, especially, limitations. If you don’t give your magic system limitations, it will seem inconsistent, chaotic, badly written. Like you’ve given it little thought. 

One way to make magic systems consistent is having them be subject to precise rules the entire world/nature works by (in a way, it is very similar to how hard science fiction works, when creating alien environments and species). Not everything about worldbuilding needs to be extremely realistic or possible or plausibile, but it has to feel that way. It needs to be believable. 

Therefore, one of the preferred limitations of most magic systems in fantasy is basically FMA’s “law of equivalent exchange”:

“Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy’s First Law of Equivalent Exchange.”

I know this is Alchemy, which is very different from magic, but they do have similar traits in common. Which is: they give humans a kind of power that has no equal (magic is often a birthright, while alchemy is learnt, but the basics are similar).

Whatever this power stems from, it must be subject some kind limitation. This is mostly for a lot of reasons, a few of which are:

limitations create conflict;

no limitations would create boring Deus Ex Machina situations;

limitations make you root for a character to overcome an insurmountable obstacle;

gods are different than powerful humans; this means that a power without limitations and rules is usually that of a God;

unstructured worldbuilding feels lazy and unrealistic;

At the same time, the rules cannot be too limitating. It needs to be in a fair ammount, in a believable amount. Therefore, the only way to make it believable is to give something to receive something, reciprocating a gift received with something of equal value (in a sort of Maussian giving ritual with nature and the cosmos). 

Limitating a certain power by asking for something of equivalent value in return creates a lot of narrative opportunities. Including quests, sacrifices, finding new ways to overcome obstacles, coming to terms with not being able to do something, etc. 

It also brings to light many ethical and moral issues the characters could be facing during the course of their adventures. If magic is free, then where’s the struggle? Where’s the moral dilemma? Where’s the humanity of said characters? Showing what a character is willing to exchange in order to obtain power and how they use that power is a very quick way to let the audience know what kind of character you’re presenting (like Yennifer and her fertility). Exchange tells you a lot about the character (Raelle sacrificing her health for her patients is an example). 

So, in this light, regulating magic makes it more realistic. 

When is anything free in our world? If we want a fit and healthy body (physical power) we must excercise and give up certain types of food (sacrifice of time and gluttony); if we want kids (creative energy) we must give up parts of our social life and our symbolic youth (community and energy force). In real life, to obtain something we must always give something in return. 

Also, if we look at our physics system, our way of thinking is very much subject to the first law of thermodynamics: “energy can neither be created nor destroyed; energy can only be transferred or changed from one form to another.” This means that, in western culture, a realistic magic system must somewhat resemble our way of life, our way of thinking, our science. 

If you look at Motherland’s magic, it is disciplined more than ruled. It is treated as a muscle to be trained (the seeds could very well be seen as a musical form of art in this same magic system, but perception of music is subjective and, in Fort Salem, they aren’t taught seeds as a musical performance, but as an exercise) and as science (necros): biological, physical, military. They use different methods of experimentation, so much that they haven’t developed certain technologies because in this universe magic invented something similar first.

So, it would make sense that they would try to emulate consequences that remind us of the consequences of our own scientific progress: climate change. It symbolizes that the military only knows and cares about one way of doing things and because it doesn’t affect them directly, they don’t really care of the consequences. There could be other ways to keep the balance of magic without hurting others but it would cost too much and it’d completely revolutionize the current way of life (mirroring the progress made by our science on renewable energy but the reluctance of corporations and institutions to use them). 

EDIT: I was scrolling through the tags and noticed this post by @smallfrost Which gives another interesting analysis of the balance and the exchange in MFS’s magic system. 

[mfs-research-institute]

I haven't seen anyone analyze the song Raelle sang in ep.6 so I just had to.

Disclaimer: the English major in me REALLY came out during this analysis so watch out for some ridiculously in depth thoughts

I hadn't heard that song before the episode so I initially thought it might have been made for the show, but after Googling I eventually found out it's "The book of love" by Peter Gabriel.

The first two parts is what we actually hear her sing on the show.

The "book of love" is a pretty interesting expression to start with. It's a surprisingly difficult thing to interpret for just being the title of the song, and it could mean a whole multitude of things. In my interpretation I like to think it means the way we are taught to love by the people around us, how we see them love each other and feel them love us. In moments like that, those people are reading the book of love to us.

I specially like how it's described as being full of "charts and facts and figures", like maybe as we grow we collect all these things about love, about how to love, how to "read" those books to other people. Like the way our parents loved each other and loved us will affect how we form relationships and love other people. And then it's also full of "instructions for dancing", which could be referencing flirtation, or the very act of a relationship to someone else as well.

The fact it calls this book "long and boring", and allude to it being so heavy "no one can lift the damn thing" at the very first verses really reminds me of the impatience of youth, and being too young to understand the importance of any of this (of the book itself) at first. It's very reminiscent of Raelle, who I can see as not being someone who has quite grown enough to be placid with her feelings, to say the least. And she specially hadn't before she met Scylla.

But when she was with Scylla she let herself be "read" this book of love. When she finishes with "you can read me anything" I just can't help but think of how Raelle was so hurt and heartbroken after (supposedly) losing her mother, how she didn't think she'd ever have - or even want - something like Scylla ever again but she just couldn't help it when it came to her.

Raelle couldn't help but fall in love with her, and what she'd been too impatient and sad to understand at first, what she thought was "long and boring", transformed itself through Scylla.

The rest of the song plays over the credits at the end of the episode (as we sit there trying to figure out wtf just happened). I think it just mostly reinforces what I already said, but it also deserves a mention for saying the book of love (love itself) created music, because that is adorable and very interesting for a show where music itself is their power and how witches can even do their work. It also alludes to how love (and raylla's love specially) can give you so much pain and be so incredible at the same time, when it says the songs that are written in this book can be transcendental or really dumb.

Again, a reference to being too young to understand, and I love the connotation that we can only learn from the book from the people who are meant to teach us. The "flowers and heart-shaped boxes", alluding to the gifts and mementos of a relationship, which we know Raylla have a few of... the battle charm, the S in Raelle's hand, now the picture.

And to finish off with that last verse, I will just have to leave you with the mental image of southern romantic gentlewoman Raelle singing this song and thinking about marrying Scylla, even when she knows she shouldn't, because she just can't help but love her still.

Thanks for coming to my ted talk