#I’m watching covenant and I think I may need to turn this episode off

[hopeful-bat]

*watches Gul Dukat centered episode* *-5000000000 psychic damage*

[stiles-o-dylan24]

You Calm My Chaos Chapter 1 - Always and Forever

Author: @stiles-o-dylan24​​​  Pairing: Klaus x Rosie (eventually) Word Count: 2.5k Warnings: language, canon violence, mentions of needles, blood, pregnancy, hints of unwanted pregnancy, A/N: officially in the originals episodes, let's do this! This episode was really just an extended version of what happened in the TVD episode so I'm sorry it's short! SERIES SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

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After Elijah leaves to go and talk to Klaus, more of the witches from her coven show up in the Mausoleum with us to talk to Sophie. 

“Marcel and his vampires are out of control– something has to be done” Sophie tells the others and Agnes scoffs lightly “And the solution is to bring in more vampires?”

“These aren’t just any vampires, Agnes. They’re the Originals.”

Agnes shakes her head at her and continues “What makes you think you can control the hybrid?”

“She can’t” Elijah’s voice says from behind us all of a sudden and we all turn around to look at him while he continues “I’m not entirely certain that I can, either,” he walks closer towards Sophie “But now that your coven has drawn his ire, I have a question– what prevents my brother from murdering you instead of cooperating?”

Sophie makes a face and reaches over to grab a needle, lifting it up to show Elijah. She sticks the needle into her hand and I immediately gasp, lifting up my hand and seeing the blood appearing on my hand “Ow!”

Elijah looks over at me, his eyes taking in the blood on my hand and I glare over at her “What the hell is this?”

Sophie forces a smile and explains “The spell my sister performed, the one that got her killed? It didn’t just confirm the pregnancy. It linked me to Rosemary– so anything that happens to me, happens to her, which means her life is in my hands. Klaus may have made his decision that her and this baby don’t actually mean to him what we thought they did, however it’s very clear what they already mean to you. If I have to hurt Rosemary– or worse– to ensure that I have your attention, I will.”

Elijah looks over at me, slightly amused before he directs his words towards her “You would dare threaten an Original?”

“I have nothing to lose” Sophie shrugs, shaking her head like she fully believes those words to be true “You have until midnight to get Klaus to change his mind.”

Elijah walks over to me and pulls me off to the side, holding his hand up towards one of the witches who wants to argue this “I just need a moment to speak with her.”

They back off and I cross my arms over my chest, trying to breathe out all of my nervousness and Elijah softens his face “I cannot excuse his behavior but I want to ensure you know that he is acting out, letting his anger take control because he is scared– this has nothing to do with you.”

I nod my head softly, shrugging my shoulders “I mean it has a little to do with me.”

“The most happiness I’ve seen from Niklaus has been since he’s known you– there’s peace in his eyes when he looks at you,” Elijah says and I slowly look up at him, watching as he softens his face and continues “I saw it that first night at the ball and I saw it even more in his eyes just now before he shut you out– he wants this... he wants this with you.”

I’m not sure exactly what to say to that because I saw the same thing tonight, there was a moment where he was looking at my stomach and the look in his eyes was something I have never seen before. I also watched his walls go up before he so easily threw me away– which stung and even if Elijah can convince him that he does actually want this... I don’t know how ‘in this’ I will be with him. 

⋇・.・゜゜・.・゜゜・.・゜゜・.・゜゜・.・⋇

Midnight comes entirely too quickly for my liking and Agnes is all too happy to point that out “His time is up– what’re you gonna do now, Sophie?”

“I’m gonna do what I said I was gonna do” Sophie answers and I sit up a little straighter, looking over at Sabine when she says “What, kill the girl? Kill yourself?”

“Klaus does not care about the child” Agnes states and Elijah’s voice thankfully chimes in “I do.”

Elijah walks into the mausoleum and he’s carrying a body wrapped in a blanket, continuing to direct his words to Sophie “And I bring in proof of my intent to help you– the body of your fallen friend, which I procured from Marcel himself.”

“Jane-Anne” Sophie mutters and Elijah nods his head, the look on his face genuine “May she be granted peace. Klaus will agree to your terms. I just need a little more time.”

“You had your time– it’s passed” Agnes remarks angrily and Sophie turns to her “Shut up, Agnes!”

Elijah looks between them, his eyes flashing over to me for a moment before he looks back at Sophie “For now, accept the deal– Rose and the child remain unharmed, or Klaus will kill you all,” he starts to walk away, nodding once at me before he turns around again “And I will help him.”

Once Elijah has left the witches start to prepare to lay Jane-Anne’s body to rest. Her body is clad in white and they lay her down, surrounding her body with flowers before Sophie starts to perform rituals around her sister’s body. 

I feel like I really shouldn’t be here, however, I can’t stop watching what the coven is doing to lay Jane-Anne’s soul to rest. There is sadness to everything they’re doing but there is also a beauty to it all. It’s very peaceful and comforting to see.

Sophie kisses her fingers and presses them to her sister’s forehead, holding her fingers there for a few more moments before everyone is silent.

Elijah arrives a little while later and he has a triumphant look on his face when he stops in front of Sophie, the rest of her coven standing behind her. 

“Klaus has agreed to your terms and says that you have yourself a deal.”

✦⋆⋇⋆⋇⋆✦⋆⋇⋆⋇⋆✦⋆⋇⋆⋇⋆✦⋆⋇⋆⋇⋆✦⋆⋇⋆⋇⋆✦⋆⋇⋆⋇⋆✦⋆⋇⋆⋇⋆✦

After my graduation and saying my see you later, if I'm ever able to leave New Orleans again, to everyone in Mystic Falls, Elijah drives us to a massive white house outside of the city.

He rounds the middle of the circle driveway and parks in front of the house. I lean forward to look out the windshield at the house at the same time I open my passenger door. Elijah moves to stand in the open door and holds his hand out to help me out of the car.

I set my hand in his and while I stand up out of the car I look up at the house and raise my brows towards him, asking slowly “So who lives here exactly?”

He just smiles and nods his head towards the house, stating simply “You do.”

With that revelation we walk inside and I slowly look around, shaking my head at the expanse of the inside “Umm, I don't think–”

“This way, Rose” Elijah interrupts and has me follow him up the stairs. On the way I notice how every piece of furniture in every room is covered with white sheets and I can't help but wonder who used to live here.

Elijah leads me into one room in particular and indicates I should pull off one of the sheets. I do as he silently directs and immediately start coughing from all the dust that is disturbed from the sheet. I move my hand over my mouth and cough again while I look at the crib that the sheet was previously covering. 

Elijah looks over in concern, asking “Are you alright?” and I cough again, waving him off “It's just dust– when's the last time anyone was here? This place feels ancient”

Elijah smiles softly, nodding his head as he looks around the room “Yes, it's been quite some time, however, it should serve our purposes," he looks at me again, continuing "It’s a sanctuary from our business in the Quarter. Right now, you are the most important person in this family, Rose and you need a good home.” 

I quickly look back at him with his words and he slightly tilts his head to the side “Forgive me but I’m curious… in all this time, has anyone asked you how you feel?”

“About having some miracle baby with my psychotic soulmate?” I try to joke, Klaus' conversation with me the other night not really making me feel better about the whole thing... even if he did seem genuine in his apology. I told him I needed to think everything over about this while I went to my graduation... however, the past two days didn't really give me any more clarity.

Elijah barely smiles, correcting what he truly was asking “About being a mother.”

Silently I breathe out deeply, looking down for a moment before I look up at him again “Klaus actually asked if this would be something I wanted once”

“He did?” Elijah asks and I chuckle softly “Yeah, it was brought up when I asked him if he would ever want the cure so he could have kids of his own– wasn’t aware he had his own loophole on that topic but anyways” I shake my head, looking back at him “I was abandoned as a baby, did you know that?”

Elijah shakes his head and I nod slowly, continuing “I was brought to my dad’s doctor office by some firefighters–" I chuckle sadly, admitting "Or well, that's what I've been told followed by there isn't anything else my parents knew about me... not even the day I was actually born." I clear my throat and continue "I had amazing parents– the perfect family for the next sixteen years until they died but I have always been terrified I would never be able to live up to how good of a mom she was, even more so now that she's gone and she wouldn't be here to help me do this–" I pause, feeling the ever present wave of hormones hitting me and making me want to cry even more than usual.

I sniffle and cross my arms over my chest, trying to keep my voice strong while I look at him again and tell him honestly "So to answer your question… I really don’t know how to feel about becoming a mother because I never thought I would be one. I have never actually thought I would be a good mom and ever since I’ve been told I have this baby growing inside of me I have this terrible feeling in my gut that I’m going to fail this baby– that I’m not going to be able to protect them from everything bad in our lives, including me.”

“That’s exactly why you’re going to be an amazing mother, sweet Rose” he says and my brow twitches with his words, the wave of tears threatening to move even stronger. Elijah smiles softly and continues “I will be here to help you through motherhood every step of the way. Like it or not you have me as a brother now," I chuckle gratefully with his words, reaching up to wipe under my eyes and he smiles, continuing "And I will always protect you, Rose– you have my word on that.”

“And noble Elijah always keeps his word” Klaus’ voice interrupts our bonding moment and we look over at the doorway. Klaus is leaning against the doorframe, smiling hesitantly towards me.

I spin away from his soft eyes and hesitant smile, walking towards another sheet to pull off and revealing a dresser underneath.

“Is it done?” Elijah asks and I look over my shoulder at them, watching as Klaus nods and slowly looks away from me to look at his brother “As a matter of fact, yes– your underhanded deal worked quite well. Marcel was only too happy to accept my blood even as he accepted my heartfelt apologies. His man, Thierry, yet lives and I remain a welcome guest in the French Quarter. My only concern now is this coven of impudent witches.”

“I believe them to be honorable” Elijah says, lifting his hand out to indicate towards me while he continues “They did release Rose to me, although they haven’t been entirely forthcoming. Marcel obviously has something they need– they don’t want him dead and there must be a reason why.”

"Yes, well–" Klaus nods, looking at me quickly before looking back at Elijah "We will figure it out easy enough."

Elijah looks between us and makes a noise, offering "I will grab your bags from the car–"

"Oh I can do that" I interject, however, he's already moving towards the door "Not in your condition– I have them."

"My condition?" I scoff "It's two duffle bags Elijah" I grumble unhappily that he's already leaving me alone and watch through the railing as he waves me off and descends the stairs.

When I look over at Klaus again I see that he's brave enough to smirk towards me, teasing "Afraid to be alone with me, love?"

I glare at him, setting my hands on my hips "You really think this boils down to me just not wanting to be alone with you?" I say and his smirking face falters a bit while he admits "No, I imagine there's a bit more to it than that."

I laugh once with no humor behind it and look away from him, my eyes settling on the crib once more "It's been two days, I'm sorry but I need more time."

Klaus steps further into the room and leans back against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest "I told you to take all the time you needed, love and I meant it," he pauses and I slowly look over at him, seeing him smile sadly before he continues "I need you to stay in this house and make sure you never leave or ever go into the Quarter" I make a noise, however, he doesn't let me say anything while he finishes with "And you cannot tell anyone, even Caroline or Elena that you're here."

"What?" I draw my brows together harshly, scoffing in the back of my throat "You want me to stay here alone? For nine months? Without telling my family? Are you insane?"

"For the time being yes I need you to do this" he corrects, keeping his unwavering eyes connected to mine while he informs "It's not safe for you in the Quarter and you won't be alone in the house all the time– I will be staying here with you–" he pauses, continuing on a little nervously "If you'll have me that is."

"It's your house" I remark with just a hint of sarcasm and he tilts his head to the side "This is your home now, Rosie– if you want it to be."

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A/N: Thanks so much for being here and reading! As always let me know what you thought– comments & reblogs give me life!

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Please do not copy and paste my writing anywhere without my consent. This work is property of @stiles-o-dylan24​. Also posted on wattpad under the same username and ao3 under stilesodylan24. These characters aren’t mine but this fanfiction is.     These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited.     No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author/publisher.

Posted: 11 September 2023

[jacksgreysays]

some more Cherry Magic thoughts/brainstorming/spring cleaning (2023-03-16)

previous Cherry Magic spring cleaning post, not required reading

As the title implies, this is just me doing some digital spring cleaning of my files. I should also clarify that I haven't watched the movie yet so, most of these thoughts are based on the series, the bonus Valentine's and Rokkaku eps, and sooome of the manga...

Here we go:

1) Adachi can see the future independently of his virginity induced telepathy—aka, he’s always been a magician but the whole “reading people’s minds” is a sudden and new ability that he doesn’t like and can’t control.

Again, based on the very first bit of episode 1 where the 29yrs 364days Adachi is in a crowd and turns to watch his future Christmas Eve self biking past. And maybe as a way to fill in some plot holes, like how did Adachi know where Kurosawa would be for the confession? And also, how did he know that 7 years ago Kurosawa was going to black out from drinking and would need some help? (Although, the idea of Adachi just hovering worriedly just off screen of Kurosawa’s drunken stumbling is a funny idea)

Seeing what his future self does? That’s normal. He grew up with that. It’s fairly manageable and doesn’t really impact his life much so long as he doesn’t overtly react to a vision (possibly why he keeps his expressions blank when he knows there are people around even though he’s naturally very expressive.) He’s already an imaginative and quiet person, people probably used to think he was quite the daydreamer.

But god forbid he suddenly get literal intrusive thoughts from other people. Do not want. Cannot control.

Some independently and slightly related thoughts:

1a) I say this not having read all of the manga and not having watched the movie, but, given Adachi’s canonical only non work contact besides Tsuge is his mother who only texts, may I posit: She’s a witch. Like, out in the countryside with her coven of witches. And Adachi was raised by the coven but he never really showed much talent or drive for magic—besides his natural talent to see limited slices of his own future—and he wanted to go to college and live in the city. But obviously they love him even if they don’t quite understand him.

All I’m saying is, eventually, when Kurosawa meets his in-laws its out in some Ghibli-esque forest town with a dozen or so witches who all treat Adachi like a treasured nephew or little cousin.

… And only his mom has a mobile phone to text him happy birthday because she only uses it to contact Adachi anyway and, I dunno, maybe they contact him off screen in little magical ways that he doesn’t bring up because he does canonically forget these sorts of things (ie “I’ve never received Valentine’s chocolate from anyone before” even though last year Kurosawa literally gave him some, although, to be fair, Kurosawa did it in the most calculatedly nonchalant way.) All I’m saying is that maybe sometimes he gets little origami creatures that are messages and messengers both or one of his cousins can set up the astral projection equivalent of a zoom call or he has a little compact mirror that is linked with several other compact mirrors that his various aunts/cousins can also have or they have cat familiars that visit sometimes (which is why Adachi is best friends with a cat person)

((And maybe the younger ones also have Switches and they play Animal Crossing together because it is very similar to the idyllic magical life they lead and Adachi does get homesick))

1b) Much shorter but: Adachi, bewildered by the telepathy and the fact that Kurosawa has a crush on him, didn’t realize that “Kurosawa’s fantasies” (ie, the bits with the angelic chorus and soft lighting and Adachi looking cute and/or sexy) were actually visions of the future.

—

Also, why is Kurosawa icon pic a goat?

I know fanon is such that the Kurosawa parents are rich and elegant (and mean?) But maybe Kurosawa grandparents have a farm and on that farm there is a goat (EIEIO)

It’s just a picture his grandma sent him because let’s be real, Kurosawa would be the kind of boy who loves his grandmother very much and also maybe learned how to cook from her?

—

Okay, here's a proper idea number 2:

As a little omake to the first chapter of the manga, Toyota-sensei drew the goddess of love giving telepathy to Adachi as a birthday present on a whim/because he hadn't noticed how loved he was by Kurosawa.

And I just want to say, what if the goddess of love is Adachi's mother?

Consider: there were only two texts for Adachi’s bday, one from Tsuge because they’re the kind of friends who prefer to have stable hangouts so they only meet up on the same day of the week regardless of holidays and don’t really talk to each other on the other days of the week, and the other from his mother because she’s very busy what with being the goddess of love and she can’t always manifest a physical form so she sends a text instead. And also a gift. Of telepathy. [[see pic]]

So kinda like a worse cupid, I guess… almost literally. Does tsuge also see… something? I just really love their friendship and the idea that they both already have powers and then get virginity induced telepathy on top of that is hilarious. Or maybe Adachi can see who are meant to be (like the red string of fate) but he’s so bad at getting people together.

God I just really love Adachi and Tsuge’s friendship so much. I don't have an idea particularly related to this either, I just wanted to reiterate it.

[sepublic]

Wing it like Witches!

           Let me tell you- I was WORRIED this episode would make me sad and angsty, but instead it just made me happy and all warm inside! I know that sounds super-corny but like…

           I LOVED this episode! I was worried from the promo pic that Boscha’s bullying would really get to Luz, Gus, and Willow, but… It didn’t! I mean, it still got to WILLOW hence the entire episode, but otherwise Luz and Gus were less “Wow I’m really being reminded of my insecurities from bullying” and more “I can’t believe she ACTUALLY did that. She wasted her entire school day doing that. This girl is NUTS, is she okay back home?”

           (The more I see of Boscha, the more I have to wonder if she IS okay back home… Obviously not crippled with self-loathing to the extent that Amity is, but never mind.)

           What’s really surprise to see though; LILITH IS A RED-HEAD!?!? I remember seeing that first pic of young Eda with two other classmates, one of whom was obscured and the other had glasses; And I thought, is THAT girl Lilith, could it be? Is the girl with the obscured face the one who stole Lilith’s lunch money, potentially that favorite character from Season 2 that Dana alluded to? My mind is racing, but either way young Eda and Lilith are utterly adorable! I do have to wonder if what Lilith had to say about Eda’s bad memory was just a jab, or something more… Given that the show has alluded to Eda possibly having amnesia with MORE than just her curse…!

           Speaking of which; LILITH AND EDA GETTING ALONG! Well, sort of- I mean they’re technically adversarial by the end of this episode, but only technically. Lilith knows where the Owl House is, finally; And we get to see in this episode just how capable Hooty really IS as a security system, surprisingly enough! He even manages to capture LILITH; Though to be fair, she may not have been super-invested in the mission given this was her sister we’re talking about, but still! Coupled with Hooty mercilessly tearing apart those toys in Adventures in the Elements, and I have to wonder if he’s ever, like… KILLED people before, y’know?

           …Maybe I don’t want that answer. Regardless, I love Luz’s little cheeky interference with Eda’s game, but Eda still manages to win by her last trick; Just pure, genuine skill and talent! That was a twist, I was expecting Eda to have another cheat or to be caught by Lilith, but as I said before… Eda isn’t humble, and for a GOOD reason! Lilith ain’t no slouch either, and I love that King willingly donned a cheerleader outfit just to offer support! I mean, maybe Eda MADE him, but otherwise he didn’t seem to have much of an issue so long as it was just at home!

           And… I LOVE the little small moments between Eda and Lilith, where… Lilith KNOWS she has to turn her sister in, she’s getting desperate, but it’s also low-key breaking her heart to do this! And when she loses the match and just… FALLS on her knees in despair, questioning herself, and Eda picking her up? Giving her that signature ring, just to make Lilith look better? I… I LOVE these sisters, why can’t they make up?! Lilith isn’t even aiming to imprison Eda, she just wants her to join the Emperor’s Coven and continue doing stuff alongside her, like old times!

           And Eda… Eda still needs her autonomy, but she knows that Lilith isn’t some cruel person. She knows that Lilith loves her sister and wants the best, that she’s in a terrible position; Eda knows how stifling the Coven System is, and while being beneath Belos provides a lot of power… It also provides a lot of PRESSURE as well! Sure, Lilith chose this… But Eda still believes that Lilith is deserving of kindness and compassion!

           (Let me tell you, considering I don’t think we’ve seen any Eda clips past this episode, I was LEGIT afraid she’d get captured by the end… thank goodness!)

           What’s also fascinating to note is that Emperor Belos was in charge since fiftyyears ago; Given the speculation that Eda isn’t as old as she looks, this indicates Belos is PRETTY old himself, by a large margin; Especially when one considers how long-lived Bump is! It’s a small moment telling us how he established the Coven Heads five decades ago, but I really appreciated it; And in general, this episode seems to be our final, light-hearted breather before we get into the REALLY heavy stuff… Keep in mind, our last two episodes were originally planned to air side-by-side, like a two-part season finale! On a lesser note, we see the Heximal System teacher giving a History lesson, confirming what I suspected earlier; That some subjects include students from all tracks, simply because the subject-matter applies across any and all covens, and History is one of them! Love the small world-building here!

           Given how we don’t see anything else of Willow and Gus past that scene in Belos’ treasury, I have to wonder… What if those two get captured, and only Luz can escape? Amidst King –and possibly Eda- being taken as well, Luz might be looking at a one-man operation here! Which just makes her all the more impressive… Like looking at her now, even if she DOES lose against Lilith; She’d still have been going toe-to-toe with the Head of the Emperor’s Coven, even if only briefly! Luz has come a far way away from where she started as just a powerless human, and has amassed FOUR glyphs; Light, Ice, Plant, and Fire!

           And BOY HOWDY is she good at them! Seriously, I bet she could’ve easily beaten Boscha in a Witch’s Duel if she wanted; Though it’s worth noting that according to Willow, Grudgby is apparently the only language she speaks… Given that shot of her room at the beginning, I have to wonder if that’s where her MAIN self-worth lies in! In the beginning Boscha acknowledges to herself that she’s hated, ‘so long as she is feared’; And her monologue low-key gives me, “Doesn’t know how to make friends so copes by putting herself above everybody else and overinflating her own self-importance under the impression that people are just secretly jealous!” vibes. (In some ways she’s like Grace from Infinity Train…)

That aside, I just get a sensation of pride from seeing how adept and adaptable Luz is, and the way she learned Fire from Boscha of all people –Which I called!- is both hilarious but goes to show what kind of a learner she is… I feel like Eda, like we’ve watched our kid grow and get stronger and I can’t WAIT to see what she pulls off next! Amidst her learning Magic and then defying the Coven System… you go Luz, YOU GO!

           And, it seems I’m not the only person who shares this sentiment! Even after Boscha’s bullying, we don’t see anybody beyond her gang make fun of Luz and co.! When Willow gets trashed poured on her, some students are watching, but… They seem kind of disturbed by it all? They’re not outright vouching on her behalf like Luz, possibly because Boscha is watching; But still! It is SO cathartic to see Willow being beloved by the entire school like that, even if she’s keeping her friend-circle to a select few; People LIKE her, and it’s what she deserves! Like Luz, I’m SO proud…!

           I’m still disappointed we didn’t get the names of Boscha’s other friends, but I really like their inclusion here! I liked how they all seemed rather uncomfortable with seeing Luz forfeit, only to be made Boscha’s target practice; And how Luz is so bright, bubbly, and infectiously-cheerful, spreading her good will to others! Like, this girl is TOO kind, and so loving… She has no bounds and I love how those other girls are even affected by Luz, genuinely enjoying her and wanting to be friends, alongside having Willow as a teammate! I have to wonder if they’ll ditch Boscha after this… Or at the very least, try to talk her down as friends of Boscha that she actually cares about and vice-versa (compared to Amity, who has always been cold towards Boscha, hence why her talking wouldn’t have made a difference)!

           Speaking of Amity… C’mon, girl. Your CRUSH is showing, the way you’re getting flustered, imagining seeing Luz in a ‘cute’ uniform and everything… Gus being utterly confused, but you can tell that the gears in Willow’s head are turning and honestly; She’s all for it, likely! I think this is the first time Amity has had an ACTUAL crush on someone she can talk to, instead of some distant figure or a fictional character! It’s so heartwarming seeing her navigate it, getting to actually deal with feelings like a kid is supposed to be allowed to do! And Luz being clueless… That, or she thinks Amity is into WILLOW, which makes a lot of sense too!

           (After all, Luz knows that her parents wouldn’t approve of her being Amity’s girlfriend… But Luz, you have NO idea how much she cares, she literally loves you more than she fears them! And Amity, knowing that her parents wouldn’t approve and struggling with this no doubt, but her love for Luz is really shining through over all of that!)

           To put it simply; Luz is FRIEND-shaped, she’s lovable, there’s no escaping liking her! Maybe Boscha will always be a bully, and I know one might call it ‘cliché’… But honestly I’d love to see Boscha eventually warm up to Luz and HER infectious positivity as well! Also, I saw that twist with the Rusty Smidge coming from a mile away, and I love how Luz low-key gets into a genuine rant over it! Although the loss doesn’t matter, as Luz’s team was clearly more adept and Boscha’s friends don’t seem interested in forcing Luz and her friends to do all of that other stuff…

           Anyhow, I love seeing Amity stand up for her friends, and when she says that her social life has improved because she’s with Luz, in spite of Boscha’s claims… I really CAN see her standing up to her parents, sometime later! I speculated a while back that depending on how her and Luz’s relationship in Enchanting Grom Fright goes, it’d really impact what Amity does later down the line, and I was right! But it IS worth noting that Amity may not yet know that Luz has to leave… King and Eda know, and the former mentioned this in front of Willow and Gus! It’s possible that Luz has laid out her plans to return every summer (and during winter break and whatnot), which would definitely lessen Amity’s angst by an infinite amount! And seeing as how she has instantaneous access to the Demon Realm, who’s to say she can’t pop in every day, after school! Sure she might not be actively living in the Owl House anymore, but otherwise…!

           On another note with Amity, I love her and Luz getting to geek out over The Good Witch Azura, and it’s funny to see the show confirm what I wondered about earlier; About Amity secretly making Azura references in public, under the knowledge that nobody would recognize them and realize she’s a nerd… But LUZ does now, and the two can bond! Also, Amity getting to have fun with Luz and co. at the end, being CARRIED by Luz, fully accepted into the home… I know you also have the library as a safe space Amity, but you’ve also got the Owl House as well! And it seems Hooty bears no grudges, either!

           Also, someone speculated recently that Amity has her goth-sense from Lilith… and given the implication that Lilith dyed her hair, I can REALLY SEE IT! I’m disappointed we didn’t get any interactions between the two… But the way it was set up, I feel like if Eda and Lilith were there they’d be too busy cheering on their kids respectively! Or not, we’ve seen them prioritize their feud in Covention… But back then Luz and Amity weren’t on the same team!

           Back to Amity, it’s interesting that she used to be on the Grudgby team, and was good at it, even being CAPTAIN when Boscha wasn’t; But then explicitly quit when she accidentally hurt some of her ‘friends’ merely once. Even if she never cared for them in the past, even if this was before she met Luz and learned to be kind and open again… She was ALWAYS someone who was self-conscious of her actions! And sure, the issue is that Amity is a LITTLE too self-conscious, constantly berating herself, holding herself accountable for every mistake… But regardless, it says a lot how guilty she feels to have hurt her teammates, even if it was an accident and a one-time incident that resulted in victory!

           I’ll probably do ANOTHER post about it later, but it says a lot; How Amity feels like she should step up as a Blight, and she DOES outshine the others… But because of that inherent guilt but also compassion, she actually quits Grudgby out of guilt! Which leads me to the idea that even if she tolerated Boscha and co., she wouldn’t have wanted to hurt them; Again, because she’s critical of herself, but also because Amity isn’t cruel and it may have reminded her of how she treated Willow! I have to respect and fear for Amity on quitting Grudgby after that…

           Again, I think she has the issue of being too overtly-critical of herself, and that it’s honestly THE issue that defines her problems; But on the other hand, I feel like Amity’s parents would’ve been displeased to see their star child quit the team, just for hurting some ‘lesser’ witches? I’m scared for what may have happened to Amity, but it also says a lot that she made a potentially defiant move simply because she didn’t want to hurt yet another friend…

           (That, or her parents wanted Amity to focus on Abominations and other studies, and coupled with Amity’s guilt, it was the perfect opportunity to get her off the team. Which would be sad, but not surprising.)

           Anyhow, I just think it’s interesting that Boscha and co. don’t ever seem to have any resentment towards Amity until recently. It’s possible Boscha DID dislike Amity up until she stepped down… But it makes me wonder if Boscha, like, looked up to Amity and wanted her approval and attention? Given how she’s always framed as following Amity… Perhaps Amity stepping down led to Boscha taking the spotlight, and so Boscha feels indebted towards Amity for her fame (and potential source of self-worth)?

           Last but DEFINITELY not least; Somebody else (I’m sorry I keep forgetting) alluded to how in Understanding Willow, there was the issue set up of Luz meaning the best for friends… But also sometimes invading their privacy, or overriding what they want, so she can live out her fantasies at the same time! And, like- A big part of her IS doing this for her friends, that much is clear… But Luz does have an issue sometimes with clearing fantasy from reality! It’s a more advanced lesson from the one she learned in Episode 2, continuing off of that, and I LOVE it!

           Like, I really do LOVE how Luz recognizes in this episode that even if a part of her is motivated in helping Willow, she’s also using this as a chance to live out her underdog Azura fantasies, and how Willow points this out to her… and Luz realizes that she’s right! She actively MAKES a change to her behavior, and makes up for it by fixing Willow’s hairclip and even forfeiting on Willow’s behalf and taking all the punishment… All because she doesn’t want her friend to be uncomfortable! Man, Luz is SO ridiculously kind, I keep saying she’s my favorite but she REALLY IS! What a lovable dork, no wonder Boscha and her friends are falling for her!

           (Also RIP Skara, you were the fourth one in a team of three. Although given how she helped carry Luz and Amity in the previous episode, amidst already having more screen time… I can see this as a way for the writers to give more of a spotlight to Boscha’s other friends, while subtly acknowledging that Skara likely has gotten over her bias towards Luz and the others. I wonder if Boscha also noticed and that’s why she was left out; That, or she’s the least-skilled? I dunno, but it was neat to see and I’ll overanalyze the moment regardless!)

           On a lesser note; Willow’s last name is Park, which is a Korean surname! Coupled with her VA’s ethnicity and Willow/Tati Gabrielle being listed amongst other Asian rep characters and VAs, and I think it’s safe to say that she’s the Boiling Isles equivalent to Asian; Which let me tell you, is VERY nice to see!

           Overall, this was an AMAZING episode! It was a heartwarming, feel-good episode that reaffirmed character relationships and love while still expanding on them, adding in more friends to the group… It was pretty much nothing but happy moments and revelations! Obviously things are setting up in the next two episodes to go REALLY crazy, especially with Luz potentially getting banned from Hexside for defying Lilith and Belos… But it’s clear to say that she’s left QUITE the good impression on the administration and students! And I can see some even vibing with Luz’s ideas even after she gets kicked out… Perhaps Luz will unknowingly start a rebellion of sorts?

[pizzaboat]

So I've seen alot of people give their theory's and opinions on what's going to happen to Lilith in season 2 of the owl house, whether or not she's forgiven, where she's going to stay and how she'll act I guess, and the major thing being if she's redeemed or how redeemed she is.

I'm just going to throw my own thoughts out there and say that obviously there's still alot to do with her character. I also have no intention of bashing her character, I actually enjoy when she's on screen. I do like her but she's still problematic. So buckle up this is a long one.

To get my thoughts straight I'll break what I have to say down into parts, cause I get distracted easily.

First up im going to say I think she is far from redeemed. My impression of her is that she regrets cursing her sister, but she also finds some sort of sick pride in it too, as shown in agony of a witch when she screams " then why were you so easy to curse!?".

She also has no problem hurting literal children to get what she wants either, but that's another issue I'll discuse.

Lilith seems to resent her younger sister to an extreme, unhealthy degree. I could sit here and theorise about her child-hood and teen years wondering what could have created such insecurities in her, but im not going to. That is irrelevant to the point im trying to make. What's important to keep in mind though is that she was "perfect prissy Lilith"- the covention growing up, Eda was good at almost everything, and that Lilith cursed Eda to secure a spot in the emperors coven when Lilith was 18-19 and Eda was 16-17.

Is she redeemed ?

No i don't think she is even half way there. She cursed Eda in her sleep to win a fight. Lied for over thirty years to Eda about that curse. Mocked Eda for the symptoms of a curse she put on her "Why don't you go home and rest wouldn't want you breaking hip"- sense and insensitivity . she kidnapped Luz to use her against her sister, used Luz as a human meat shield in her and Eda's battle during agony of a witch, was generally quite rude to Luz when she wasn't dangling her over a pit of spikes, and also SPIKES.

Taking on half of a curse she put on her sister in the first place doesn't begin to cover the trauma and pain she's caused in the name of healing her sister, enforcing the emperors laws and joining said emperors coven.

I would also like to point out that she had a way to elevate her sisters pain all this time but she didn't. I've seen arguments like she trusted the emperor to heal her sister but I can already point out so many things wrong with that.

even if she did trust him, no normal person could sit by and watch any family member they claim to care about suffer, if she trusted the emperor so much she would have split the curse sooner, (providing Eda would have let her of course) and had him heal her or Eda both.

But she didn't do that she lied to her sister for years, partly because she was scared of losing Eda and also Eda's reaction which was, and would always be unbridalled rage. but also to an extent it suited her, it suited her to be the successful sibling, the sibling doing things "right" Lilith seems to be as I said before extremely insecure, and I think that just going off the episodes she was in and the impression the show puts forward.

If what I've noticed is correct, Lilith has spent her life in her sisters shadow, bullied in school as revealed in the end of something ventured something framed, nobody took her seriously due to her appearance and probably being a late bloomer in a lot of ways. She would have jumped at the chance to be given the same respect that Eda and other talented witches or well off, higher up witches recieved.

In other words the emperors coven fed Liliths' battered ego, telling her what she wanted to hear.

It makes sense that she wouldn't want to let that go, but in the context of what has happened and the fact she seemed to still try and stick with the emperors coven before Belos sent her to be executed along with eda and king.

She isn't redeemed, she probably doesn't see much wrong with how she's behaved up until now(besides cursing Eda) and there's still alot of work for her to do. She only split half the curse because her expulsion from the coven forced her to address a mistake she made for once.

Season 2 and maybe more seasons looks like where she'll be earning her redemption. Hopefully she'll be forced to face more of her flaws and short comings and work on them.

Will she be forgiven?

Lilith from what has been shown has hurt;

Eda Luz, King, Amity, Willow and Gus. They all have different reasons to be hostile towards her.

Eda

She cursed Eda and almost subjected her to a faith worse than death, lied to her, mocked her. Kidnapped her apprentice and almost got Luz killed a number of times,using her as a sheild. She dragged Luz into the whole messed up rivalry. I don't think Eda will forgive her emediatly, after all, even if she can forgive Lilith for what she did to her, she would also have to forgive her for what she did to Luz.

She essentially kidnapped Edas' surrogate daughter, Eda was much angrier about Luz's suffering than her own "you hurt luz, you cursed me. before anything turns me to stone I'm going to tear you apart!" - young blood, old souls

Yeah Eda was fit to murder her sister, taking some of the curse probably only got rid of her homicidal desire towards Lilith, thats it.

Luz

I've seen some people make fan content in which Luz immediately forgives Lilith or comes round eventually to her when Lilith acts nice around the house.

That seems super out of character for Luz, sure Luz is characterised to be kind and sweet but if the final proves anything its that she has a ruthless streak that comes out when she tries to protect the people she loves, her family. Lilith has threatened the people she cares about. I don't see Luz letting that slide, and she would probably still be on guard. Luz may have accepted her help in young blood old souls, but that was only because she wanted to save Eda she told Lilith she didn't like her "whole deal" and she meant it.

Lilith would have to prove she's really changed for the better for luz to begin to for give her.

King

I like the idea of King and Lilith becoming friends simply for comedy perposes, if King were to forgive her and I think he'd be one of the closest to it out of the main characters.

They'd be a force of sheer stupidity and ego they'd be bad and good for each other, King weirdly enough would be more emotionally mature since he's learned things like you can't be posesive over people in really small problems it's a lesson Lilith needs to learn since she seems to resent Luz to an extent, thinking Luz was taking her sister from her "Edalyn is with her family, her real family. Go back to your world human this one is ours" - agony of a witch

Of course before this she needs to also earn his forgiveness, he wasn't there for agony of a witch but he did experience the fear and worry of losing eda in young blood, old souls the only person he had up until then was Eda " King and I, we don't have much in this world. we only have each other"- A lying witch and a Warden. Lilith helping rescue Eda might have helped improve his opinion of her, but Lilith would have to get over herself first to begin her redemption.

Hooty

I don't think Hooty would hold a grudge, mostly because he's comic relief and weird. Since I personally think no one in the owl house would be bothering with her, and I see her being forced to live In the shed. I think Hooty would be her only company and I think it would be unexpected and really funny if he's the first person/bird thing to open her eyes to her awful behaviour. You gotta start somewhere and Hooty is it.

Amity, Gus and Willow

I think Gus and Willow will be stand-offish until Luz and King forgive Lilith.

Once Lilith has developed more as a person she owes Amity an apology for how she behaved as a teacher. Amity would be mad after the covention episode, but almost killing her crush would make her protective of Luz, and wary of her in general.

Conclusion

Lilith hasn't been redeemed in my opinion, there's still alot of growth she needs to go through, she's made alot of terrible mistakes and decisions, its what makes her so interesting. I like her but she's a sh*t person, but she can learn to be less of a sh*t person.

I'm aware this is a kids show and she probably won't get all this development or she could get different character development and that would be awesome, its just my thoughts and opinions and I'm really excited for season 2.

[k7l4d4]

Midnight Striga: Fairy Tail/Owl House Cross Fic Episode 5 Part 10

Hello, and once again, I welcome you to Midnight Striga. Please, enjoy.

Perry Porter strode into the Covention Center, eyes easily panning across and compartmentalizing the tragic sights around him, a skill he picked up by virtue of sheer experience. Clinically, he noted the amount of bodies present, living and dead, as well as the brow-raising sight of what could only be human corpses, if the ears were any indicator. He felt a sinking sensation within his stomach; whatever had occurred today would rock the Isles to its core, of that he had no doubt.

Shaking his head, Perry scanned the crowd again, eyes widening at the sight of a hand waving him over. Rushing over, he slid to a stop in front of his son, Augustus; his silly, energetic, passionate, brilliant son, Augustus, alive and well. “This is Perry Porter, on the scene saying,” He started, before pulling Gus into a hug. “I am so happy you’re alright.” He sighed, relieved, feeling Gus relax into his grip.

“I-I am really glad you got here so quickly dad.” Gus choked out, a light sprinkling of tears in his eyes. “A lot’s happened, and I really, really want to talk with you about it, but something more important came up, and I think you can help out, you know?” He put on his bravest smile, trying to hold in the scream that was building ever since he had managed to process that yes, everything that had happened to today was all but over.

“I really think it would be best that I try and talk with you about what happened here,” Perry began, before noticing the stubborn expression on his son’s face, “But I can see that you won’t budge on this. So, shall we?” He calmly asked, gesturing for his son to lead the way, which he did with a beaming smile.

As they walked through the clinic, Perry idly noted the general behaviors of the people around him; there was his son’s friend, Willow Park, tearfully talking with her parents, a relieved smile on her face. There were the Blight Children, the two eldest tightly squeezing themselves around their younger sister, a baffled look on her face. He saw the crowds of crying, pleading, nervous faces all around. As his son led him into a backroom of the small clinic that had been established, Perry came face to face with three figures; the Emperor’s Coven Head Lilith Clawthorne, Eda the Owl Lady, and a human girl, all seated around a central table, gesturing for him to sit. As his son quickly saw himself out of the room, Perry had the sinking suspicion he was in a bit over his head.

After they explained the situation, as much as they could at least, Perry took a deep breath, holding in a sigh. They wanted his help to spread this information, which he could see the basis behind it- a group that invested this much effort into an attack wasn’t going to just stop and people needed to know about them- but the sheer depth of this reveal would completely change the social landscape of Bonesburough. “Very well, I agree to help with this. Do you have a plan for how we go about this?” He asked Lilith, who seemed to be trying a bit too hard to hold authority over this meeting, despite the lack of resistance from the other two.

Lilith nodded. “We have two real options at this point.” She said, holding up two fingers for emphasis. “We can either do multiple takes and present them later, or we can have this meeting broadcast live as breaking news.” She ticked off the options on her fingers, a grave look of contemplation upon her face. Lilith pursed her lips. “Personally, I favor the second option.”

That caught the group by surprise. “Huh, I honestly thought you’d prefer to get this all perfect and have it presented later.” Eda commented, arching a brow.

Lilith snorted. “Please, sister, give me some credit. The longer we go without addressing this, the more severe public unrest and hysteria will become. While the release of this information will certainly have its own consequences, those are still preferable to the people being left in the dark, and drawing more unsavory conclusions.” Lilith calmly stated, gaining impressed looks from the others.

Perry calmly assembled the equipment he would need, adding in his own take on the situation. “While an official report would normally be prepared by the Emperor’s Coven,” He carefully ignored Eda’s derisive snort, “that would be contingent on them possessing factual information to present. Without it, anything they provided would be woefully inadequate for informing the people. While a Live Report of this interview will most certainly cause a stir, it will ultimately be a mere fraction of what would result if the Emperor’s Coven issued a report that ultimately proved to be false in some capacity.” The group blinked, but, after mulling it over, agreed with what he said; it made sense, if people placed trust in an organization and it failed them, whether as a result of malice or otherwise, there would be backlash.

Perry clapped his hands. “So! Let’s begin, shall we?” They all shared a look, and nodded.

As they gathered around the table, Lilith leaned forward. “Now then, human, it’s time for you to answer my questions. The People of the Isles are dying to hear what you have to say.”

Luz gave a challenging grin. “Ask away. I’m all ears.”

Taking that as his cue, Perry started up the broadcast. Turning the camera to himself, he began, voice grave. “To all the citizens of the Boiling Isles, this is Breaking News, Live from the Covention. I am Perry Porter, reporting on behalf of Emperor’s Coven Head Lilith Clawthorne.” He paused, allowing the prepared footage to play across the crystal balls of all watching; the broken walls and shattered stands, the caged prisoners held under guard, and the bodies of all those who’d died, some gathered together for examination, others… not so much. He continued. “Today, tragedy has struck. For the first time since Emperor Belos’ ascendancy, an organized attack on our people has been committed. Of the over 2000 attendees, approximately half have been slain, and a third of the remainder have sustained moderate to severe injuries. Many of them were children. Of the 300 Coven Guards assigned to the Covention, over half of them have died, with all but a quarter sporting severe injuries.”

“What is most shocking, however, is that those claiming responsibility, a group known as the Black Dog Squadron, working on behalf of a group or individual known as Oroboros, are humans. That’s right, humans!!” Perry exclaimed, milking the drama a bit more than he liked, but needing to keep the audience invested; tragedy could only captivate for so long. “During the attack, all displayed some form of magic, but none, bar a handful who commanded Plant Magic, utilized any of the Nine Magics. How is this possible? Why did this happen? What will we, as a society, do next? To help answer these questions, Lilith Clawthorne has initiated an interview with a human who fought on behalf of our people, one Luz Noceda.” He knew that the girl’s image was now emblazoned across every crystal ball on the Isles at this very moment, leading further weight to his broadcast, in theory at least. “I am here with Coven Head Lilith herself,” He indicated the prominent Witch, who raised her hand to the audience. “To broadcast the interview to you all. Please be advised, some of what may be discussed may be shocking to some viewers.” With his part finished for the moment, Perry fell silent, allowing the broadcast to focus on the interview, more of an interrogation really, going on in the room.

“To ensure that what you say is true,” Lilith began, cutting right to the chase. “I must insist that you swear an Unbreakable Vow to that effect. This way, none can claim you are attempting to deceive us. Is that acceptable?” She asked, holding her hand out to begin forming the spell.

Luz raised an eyebrow, but saw no problem with the spell. She shrugged. “Sounds fine to me.” She said bluntly, prompting a nod from Lilith as she formed the spell. When the circle was completed, the two shook hands through it, sealing the oath. Luz was blissfully unaware of the shock rippling through the Isles, as now none would be able to refute or deny her words without looking insane or foolish. She had effectively solidified her legitimacy irrefutably in a single instant.

“Excellent.” Lilith replied, a grim smile playing across her face. She began. “First of all, I must ask, for how long have humans been capable of magic?”

Luz gave a shrug. “I can’t give you an exact figure, but at least 700 years, most likely more.” She said, unaware and uncaring of the shock that erupted at her statement. Even Lilith wasn’t totally immune, managing to school her features, expertly concealing the bewildered shock at the girl’s reply.

Lilith cleared her throat, forcing her instinctive urge to dive into the historical implications of that statement. As calmly as she could, she continued. “I see. How is magic utilized in Human Society?”

Luz tilted her head a bit. “You’re gonna have to be a bit more specific than that. There are a lot of Human Societies, all of whom have magic capable individuals, and all have their own ways of doing things. A benefit of being the dominant species in our world, is that we can afford to divide ourselves into a LOT of individual cultures and communities.”

Lilith paled at that, unable to stop the question that bubbled up in response. “Just… how many humans are in existence, exactly?”

Luz pondered that for a moment before replying. “I can’t give you an exact number, but I’d say there’s about several hundred million of us. Our world is big, and there are very few places we can’t survive on it.”

Internally shaking her head, and forcing herself not to focus on all the implications that came to mind, Lilith continued with her questions. “What is this Oroboros that the attackers claimed to be working for?”

Luz’s eyes sharpened, a burning hate filling her eyes, enough that even those watching at home suddenly felt very unsafe at the moment. “Oroboros is a criminal organization; specifically, they are the single largest Dark Guild active in the world right now. Oroboros prides itself on its ability to seize control and orchestrate things to its own benefit, without any regard for the harm and chaos that erupts in their wake. Cruelty and brutality are prized and cultivated among their members, almost as much as magical power is. No crime is too heinous, no line too sacred for them to cross.” She hissed out, the pure malicious hate coloring her tone forcing Lilith to gulp in nervousness.

“I see.” And Lilith did see. She had personally borne witness to the aftermath of that cruelty and indifference; however, Luz’s response brought another question to mind, one she felt she needed an answer to. She narrowed her eyes. “Edalyn told me you would be an excellent source of information for this. So far, you have proven to be so, even if my questions have not been exacting enough to gain satisfactory answers as of yet. But that response of yours has me thinking. How do you know about Oroboros, Miss Noceda?” Lilith inquired, eyes focused.

Luz raised an eyebrow, stood up, and turned around. After ensuring her back was presented to the broadcast, she reached back, and pulled down at the back of her outfit. Seared into her flesh lay a symbol, a serpent arranged into a Sideways eight, biting its own tail. “I used to be a member.” Luz said, voice dead and hollow. She turned a heartbreakingly sad smile towards Lilith. “Specifically, I was a member under protest.”

“Elaborate.” Lilith ordered, voice hard and unrelenting. She could feel the urge to bring out her staff and blast this child into oblivion, but tamped it down. She didn’t have all the information yet.

Luz gave a chuckle, bitter and full of the kind of spite that made people glad for what they had. “Oroboros has no limits to what they are willing to do, and that extends to what lengths they are willing to go to for recruits. Whenever someone with a useful skill or magic appears in their information network, they send out recruiters. For those with a few too many morals, such as myself, they like to employ a more… decisive argument.” She turned an empty smile upwards, oblivious to the daggers Lilith was glaring her way. “Oroboros kidnapped my sister, and used her as a hostage to keep me in line.” Lilith froze, unblinking.

Luz continued, oblivious. “Whenever I talked back, Vee was beaten. Whenever I failed an assignment, she had a bone broken. Whenever I completed a job, she got a good meal, after having been starved and deprived of water to just short of death that is.” She smirked, an angry, tired thing. “I hated myself. I wanted to die. I only kept living for her. And then she died; one of her guards decided they wanted to have a little fun with her, and the next anyone knew, the guard was dead, and my sister had a knife in her liver. I was free in the worst way possible.”

Stunned silence rang throughout the Isles, such that even Lilith herself was rendered speechless. Forcing herself to speak, Lilith asked the next question on her mind, one she felt the Isles would wish to know. “Should we consider this an act of War from the Human Realm?”

Luz blinked. Then, she laughed; a deep, cackling laugh filled with so much loathing and misery it was genuinely astonishing a living being could make such a sound. “No. Or at least, not the way you’re thinking. Oroboros is in no way affiliated with any form of Government or Ruling power. It’s a criminal organization that supports itself alone.” She gave a poisonous smile. “While I have no way of knowing if any Human Governments know about the Isles, I can assure you that none of them were involved in this.”

“Well, that’s something good at least.” Lilith said dryly. “What can you tell us about Oroboros in regards to how it is structured?”

Luz leaned back, gathering her memories on the subject. “Oroboros originally began as a Dark Guild that took jobs that other Dark Guilds shied away from, stuff that was extremely messed up and depraved in what was involved to go about them. When the big three Dark Guilds were dismantled, Oroboros clawed its way to the top of the heap after all the infighting died down. After that, they started breaking down and assimilating other Dark Guilds that they thought might be useful. You actually met one of them out there.” Luz offhandedly mentioned.

“Truly?” Lilith broached.

“Yup.” Luz nodded. “Before they became the Black Dog Squadron, the Squad was originally a guild in its own right, Barghast. Barghast was a mercenary guild at first, selling the services of its members as soldiers and fighters to the highest bidder, with an emphasis on fighting in wars. But when the local groups started fighting less, Barghast decided it would be better to start the wars they fought, and sell their services to both sides to keep the conflict going longer.” Luz smiled at that. It was not a nice smile. “When their little scheme came to light, they were branded a Dark Guild and went on the run, before being absorbed into Oroboros.”

Luz leaned forward. “Oroboros likes to present itself as one big unit, and while it can act like one in the field, Oroboros is full of splintered factions and units. The Black Dog Squadron is one of the neutral factions, actually; they don’t care which faction is using them, just as long as they can cause as much suffering and bloodshed as possible. I was an unaligned member, mostly because none of the Squadrons trusted a conscript like me not to stab them in the back, so I didn’t really work with any of the Factions or Squads outside of being paired with them for missions. My jobs were assassinations, thefts, and… less savory things.” Luz admitted, eyes downcast. Tears pooled in her eyes, dripping onto the table.

Lilith pursed her lips, feeling unwilling to judge the girl for compromising herself in the name of her loved ones; if anything, she was impressed the girl had the sense of self not to justify the atrocities she had done as anything other than what they were, a means of sparing the life of her loved one at the expense of others, and felt remorse over having done so. Still, she had two pressing questions to ask. “I must ask, you keep referencing Oroboros as a Dark Guild. Just what is a Guild?”

Luz slumped, feeling spent from the roller-coaster of loathing that always came when she thought about… all she had done. “Guilds are the Human Version of your Coven System, if far less restrictive. I won’t go too far into it, that would take way too much time, but Dark Guilds are essentially guilds that flout the laws that govern what Guilds can and cannot do, and actively have their members engage in crimes. If I had to give a close equivalent, Dark Guilds are basically for us what an Assassin Coven or Thief Coven would be for you. An organized effort to commit crime with little to no regard for who would be hurt as a result.”

Lilith felt a chill run up her spine at the thought. The idea of the Coven System being twisted like that, perverted into a warped, criminal mirror of itself, made her shudder; the implications of what such a thing could do, producing criminals whose magic was specialized to enabling criminal acts… it was a horrifying thought. Lilith swallowed, before jumping into her last question. “I thank you for agreeing to this; some of what you’ve revealed could not have been easy for you. But… I must ask you this; can we count on you to aid us against Oroboros?” She peered forth, unknowingly mimicking the apprehension of many of the citizens watching.

Luz gave her a smoldering glare. “You don’t have anything to worry about. I’ve already seen enough misery because of Oroboros. I won’t let them do as they please anymore, not while I can do something about it.” Luz paused, a thought coming to mind. “Huh, this reminds me of something my teacher said while I was training.”

Lilith raised any eyebrow. “Oh?”

Luz gave Lilith a soft, tired smile. “Yeah.” She reached up, rolling back her sleeve; Lilith recoiled at the sight. From her elbow to her shoulder, Luz’s arm was a maze of scar tissue, deep gouges and rents woven through the veil of poorly healed flesh; the fact she could use her arm without issue was awe-inspiring, when one considered the pain she must feel every day from such an injury. “I got this when I first tried using my Magic in a combat situation. I was fighting a monster that was bothering some of the fields near the village I was staying at during my training. I had barely been training for a week, having only just barely made a proper spell for the first time less than a day ago. The monster dashed me against a cliff, driving my arm so deep against the stone that it started scraping bone. If my teacher hadn’t intervened, it would’ve eaten me.” She turned to Lilith, sober eyes burning with shame. “I was an idiot. My teacher made sure I remembered that. What they said to me that day, I’ll never forget.” Luz leaned back, before reciting something with the air of quotation. “‘Magic is an unreasonable force. It is wondrous and horrific. It cares nothing for good or evil, or the intentions of those who use it. If you wish to put your skills to such a task as fighting for truth and justice, grow strong. Otherwise, you’ll never be anything more than prey for those with less moral compunctions than you.’” Luz gazed fondly at the ceiling, tears pooling at the memory. “Ever since that day, I swore I would never let myself be too weak to stand up for myself, or what I believe in. I would be strong enough that I could protect others, but also to protect myself.” She gave a chuckle. “Things didn’t work out too well for that promise.”

Lilith just looked on with pity, before turning to Perry. “I think that would be a good point to end the interview. At least for today.”

“Indeed.” Perry nodded. “Well then, you heard it here first, Citizens.-”

“What are you doing?” Lilith queried.

Perry blinked. “I’m… ending the broadcast.”

Lilith shook her head. “Not yet. I still have one thing left to do.” She beckoned her sister forth, who had been silently looking on as the interview went on. Eda’s mind was brimming with questions for Luz, but she was willing to put it aside for when they got back home. For now, she had her sister to deal with. Lilith gazed upon her sister, an unreadable look in her eye. “Earlier, when you defeated me in a Witch’s Duel, your request for your win was that I would tell the truth about your curse to the public, dispelling the official story. We even swore an unbreakable vow over it.” She held up her arm for emphasis, her arm flashing with a white ring. An ominous smile graced her features. “Well, I do believe a live broadcast all across the Isles is certainly public, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yeah, it is. And I’m glad you’re not putting it off, I am! But… are you feeling okay sis? You seem a little out of it.” Eda asked, genuine concern coloring her voice. The hysterical laugh Lilith gave just added to that concern.

“Oh Edalyn, if you only knew.” She said, wiping away a tear from her outburst, before sobering. “But then, I suppose you will in a moment.” Turning to the broadcast, Lilith braced herself, fully willing to bear the backlash her actions would cause against herself and the Coven from this. “Citizens of the Isles, I, Coven Head Lilith Clawthorne, stand before you to reveal a bitter truth. For years, the story of the Owl Lady has been told, how her defiance and dismissal of the Coven System was punished by the Titan. That story… it is a lie.” She bluntly stated, almost feeling the gasps rippling through the Isles. “The Emperor’s Coven itself has no knowledge of how Edalyn was cursed, but it was most certainly no work of the Titan, or its will.” A mysterious smile, almost beatific were it not so filled with pain, crossed her features. “The one responsible for Eda Clawthorne’s curse was a witch. Specifically… the one responsible was myself.” Lilith felt more than saw Eda freeze up beside her. She could see it now on Perry’s own face, the look of horror, accusation, dumbfounded shock. 

Lilith turned to Eda, feeling an almost spiteful glee at the look of horror, denial, and hurt that crossed her features. “Y-your lying, Lily. You-” Eda stuttered (Edalyn stuttered!), denial and shock filling her voice. Lilith slowly stroked Eda’s cheek, an almost tender gesture.

“Edalyn, we both know that, for all your hatred of the rules and authority, you are far smarter than this. You know I can’t be lying.” Lilith said, just barely loud enough for the broadcast to pick up. “Think about it, you’ve surely pieced it together after all this time. Who else could’ve gotten into your room to curse you? Who else would’ve had reason to curse you?” Eda shook her head, denial still burned across her features, backing away from Lilith.

“Why?” Eda hissed out, forcing it through the denial. “Why would you do this!? To me!? TO YOUR FAMILY!?!?” She screamed, hurt and rage finally making themselves known in full.

Lilith chuckled, the same bitter, empty laugh Luz herself had used previously when discussing her failings. “Because you were going to win, dear sister!” Lilith cried, almost relishing the horror on Eda’s face, were it not for how sick she felt at it all. “We were set to fight for a place in the Emperor’s Coven, and you would win!! I knew you would!! You were the prodigy, the gifted genius that everything came so easily to when you bothered to try, the powerhouse who could already level buildings at the age of TWELVE!!!” Lilith felt the tears coming, the bitter, hot tears of her own weakness surging forth. “I was the one who wanted to serve the Isles, I was the one who wanted to help people!!!! You only cared about joining the Coven so you wouldn’t have to give up any magic! So why should I have given up my dream, my future, for you!?”

“I ONLY WANTED TO BE PART OF THE COVEN TO SUPPORT YOU!!!” Eda cried, her own angry, hurt-filled tears flowing. “All I wanted was to support you, to give you the future you deserved!!” She shook her head, anger and shame filling her heart.

“I KNOW!!” Lilith shrieked. “I Knew it then, and I know it now!!” The tears were like waterfalls now, bitter pain coating her every word. “But I couldn’t accept it, the idea that you, someone who so effortlessly and deliberately flouted the rules, would have what I wanted, what I dreamed of! How could I have known that you would forfeit, how could anyone!? A position in the most prestigious and influential of covens, and you throwing it away for me!?” She shook her head. “No. I didn’t believe you could be that selfless.”

Eda gave a bitter snort. “And I didn’t believe you could be that selfish. I guess we were both surprised.” Not staying to hear another word, Eda grabbed Luz, who wordlessly followed her, and stormed off. Luz shot Lilith a look of empty disappointment. It was exactly what Lilith deserved.

Lilith turned to the still running broadcast, a blank smile on her face. “And you’ve heard it here first, folks.” Lilith mockingly imitated the standard reporter line. “The Enforcer of the Emperor’s Will is a cheat, scum who would betray her own family, and a fraud. What a shocking revelation, is it not?” She wandered off, tears still streaming. Perry wordlessly cut the broadcast. He suddenly felt the need to give his son the biggest hug of all time.

All across the Isles, people were reacting to the horrifying news. Some focusing on some parts over others, of course, but none could deny that the Special Report was on everyone’s minds.

“This is unacceptable!!” Kikimora cried, frantically pacing in front of the Emperor’s Throne, heedless of her standard deference. “How could Coven Head Clawthorne reveal such sensitive information through a broadcast of all things!? Your Highness, this mutiny cannot stand!!” Normally, Kikimora would never be so blatant and emotional in front of her lord, but she felt now, of all times, was the best moment to voice her worries.

“Hmm… it seems I must adjust some of my plans.” Belos murmured. While Lilith publicly revealing the secret she so fervently guarded was certainly a surprise, if anything the revelation of her obsession should make her even more fervent in her future attempts to apprehend her sister. The revelations of Human Realm Magic now infesting his realm… oh he would definitely need to broach this carefully, but his ultimate goal remained unchanged. Wild Magic would be PURGED from the Titan, that was non-negotiable. But the revelation of Human Magic would certainly prove a useful tool for later…

“My lord!?” Kikimora frantically pleaded.

Hunter contemplated the revelations he had just witnessed. Humans were capable of magic, something deemed impossible. If it was possible for them… could it prove possible for himself? Something to think about for later. Right now, he had to attend to his Emperor. He owed the man everything, and this did not change that fact. He would probably have to keep a closer eye on Lilith though,

Alador calmly adjusted the latest adaptation to the Abomiton project, carefully tuning out his wife’s frantic screams and rage. She would burn herself down, if not out, in a little while, and then he would intercede. For the moment, he needed to properly calibrate the Coiled Composition System, truly a marvel really; if it worked properly, even the lowest quality of Abomitons would be a force to be reckoned with.

Odalia slammed herself down across from Alador with a huff, blistering rage burning in her eyes. “Well, at least now we know who our mysterious clients are.” She bit out, forcing herself to calm down with a cup of tea. Alador merely raised an eyebrow. He would see what she said in full, before replying. Odalia chuckled, a nasty, angry sounding thing. “It truly makes sense, you know. Such mysterious customers, wanting such a variety of goods and supplies! And they turned out to be murderous criminals. Fitting.”

“Will we stop supplying them, then?” Alador faux-absentmindedly asked. He had a feeling as to what she would say, but it was still imperative he hear it in truth first.

Odalia snorted. “No. We’ll keep selling to them. We’ll just covertly sabotage the goods we grant them, and use our dealings to pump them for information. Once we’ve gained everything we can, we use the resources we’ve acquired in our dealings to crush them.” Her eyes sharpened. “They endangered our children. Our FAMILY. They will not be allowed to survive for this offense.” Alador gravely nodded. Oroboros had made a crucial mistake already. They’d tried to challenge the Blight family, and harm their children. There would be a reckoning for this sin, of that neither Blight had any doubts.

Raine Whispers was conflicted. On the one hand, they now knew who had cursed Eda, and their heart went out to their old flame about what she must be going through. On the other, more clinically minded hand, the revelation that Humans could wield magic was in itself a massive blow to Belos’ authority, particularly in regards to his edicts on magic and the Titan. It was certainly something to explore for the future. For the moment, they had to get to their meeting. If all went well, they would finally, finally have prospective members willing to step out of the shadows with them. To be honest, that Katya girl had seemed almost too eager to join up, but they would at least give her a chance to step back and explain before making… hasty judgments.

Eda slammed the bottle of Appleblood back, her tears pouring down as fast as the heavy beverage went down her throat. It still hurt. Luz cuddled up to her, lending a comforting presence, King sitting on her lap. Words could wait. The three of them had enough pain to work through. Eda allowed a small smile to cross her features. At least they had each other to share the burden.

[amphtaminedreams]

Farewell to Spooky Season, AHS Style: Lookbook no.12

Hi to anyone reading,

Happy belated Halloween!

I capitalise it because if I'm gonna recognise any day as sacred, it’s the spookiest one of the year! Halloween 2020 obviously hasn’t been as exciting as usual, parties and club nights being banned has meant there’s been far less opportunities to dress up, but I still managed to get out for the night before they announced the upcoming second lockdown and do a couple of spooky movie nights (and carve a pumpkin!)!

I originally intended for this lookbook to be last minute halloween costume inspo but I was lazy and didn’t manage to get it out on time-a lot of these looks minus the makeup and maybe an accessory or two could work on any day or night out so I thought I’d go ahead and post it now anyway. Celebrating the fashion moments of American Horror Story is something I’ve wanted to do for a while; it’s probably not the first show you’d think of for sartorial inspiration but Mr. Ryan Murphy has fucking fantastic taste in stylists and the first five seasons of AHS in particular, which I’ll be focussing on in this post, have given us SO many amazing looks. The man may be guilty of many things-subjecting us to the character of Will Schuester, trying to turn Richard Ramirez into a thirst trap, embarrassing everyone who raved about how good Scream Queens was when he wrote season 2-but costume related laziness is not one of them. We see more consistency in a Ryan Murphy character’s wardrobe than we do in their story arcs and I respect that because honestly, as much as I love joining in when it comes to ripping into his ability to cohesively bring an AHS season to a close when it airs, I’d probably be the same; if you put Lady Gaga in front of me and told me to write her lines I’d probably end up getting overly invested in what her character was going to be wearing in the scene too. 

So! Enough Ryan Murphy bashing from me! I’ll get on with it! Starting with 3 season 1 inspired looks:

Murder House: Elizabeth Short, Tate Langdon and Violet Harmon

-striped jumper from caitlinlark on Depop, kick flare jeans from ellagray-

When it comes to reflecting on season 1 of American Horror Story, all I can say do is thank the internet overlords that Tumblr has moved on from the romanticising school shooters and wearing normal people scare me tops phase to instead collectively taking the piss out of the “GO AWAY, TATE!”, “YOU’RE ALL THAT I WANTTT! YOU’RE ALL THAT I HAVEEE!” exchange. 

In terms of fashion *moments*, whilst season 1 doesn’t stand out as much as the seasons that come after, Violet and Tate’s wardrobes did give birth to a bit of a 90s grunge renaissance with their oversized knits and faded jeans and layering of textures. It did also give us good costumes in the form of Alexandra Breckenridge’s Moira O’Hara and Mena Suvari’s portrayal of the Black Dahlia, Elizabeth Short; unfortunately, I didn’t have a slutty maid costume lying around so I did the best I could at giving the outfit Elizabeth wears when she makes that fateful visit to the Murder House a modern, more party appropriate update.

In terms of season rankings, Murder House isn’t my favourite. It starts off really great but lulls a bit towards the end and I could never get behind Violet and Tate as a couple because you know, one of them is a school shooter who sexually assaults the other’s mum, and that’s a hurdle that I think most couples might struggle to get over irl. That being said, it was the season that started it all and showcased some of the most innovative writing and directing on TV, and it opened up a spot for horror on primetime television which as far as I know was kind of unheard of before then. Back when I first watched it, I had no idea what to expect not only because I’d never seen horror in a serial format but also because it seemed to be able to get away with the kind of storylines you’d expect network executives to fire people over. It introduced us to Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters and Denis O’Hare who would go on to make the show what it is today and more importantly, through Jessica’s glorious portrayal of Constance Langdon, provide us with an endlessly versatile meme format for this trying time.

Asylum: ‘60s Lana Winters, ‘70s Lana Winters, and Sister Mary Eunice McKee

-afghan coat from louisemarcella on Depop, red AA skater dress from julietramage, pink gingham co-ord from zshamim-

I think we can all agree: Asylum would’ve been a perfect series of television if it wasn’t for the completely unnecessary alien storyline. Like, I get that they fit in with the whole good vs. evil theme as a kind of non-biblical alternative to the idea of a higher, all-powerful being but there was already so much going on that it just wasn’t needed. Aside from that, I think the general consensus amongst watchers of the show is that Asylum has the best writing of any season and I think I’d tend to agree. It’s not my favourite because it’s too depressing to rewatch but if we’re talking the first time round, this is the series that had me hooked. Lana Winters?

Iconic. 

Sister Mary Eunice? Iconic. The Name Game? Iconic. Remember when you couldn’t go a day on Facebook without seeing that one photo of Naomi Grossman as Pepper used as the go to “what I really look like” photo in one of those “expectation vs. reality” style posts on your newsfeed? Those were simpler times.

Because this season was mostly situated within the hospital, we didn’t get that many proper outfits but when we did, they were stunning; if I had to state my absolute favourite AHS character of the entire show I’d probably go with Lana Winters and the part her wardrobe played in her characterisation would 100% play a part in that. The late 60s/early 70s was such a wonderful period for fashion and through her character we get to see both of those explored a little. Of course there’s also *that* Sister Mary Eunice scene with the red slip dress and suspenders too which yes, could be a perfect halloween costume, but I also strongly believe should be a perfectly acceptable outfit for any day of the year. 

Coven: Misty Day, Madison Montgomery, and Zoe Benson

-chiffon dress from rags_to_riches on Depop, pinstripe corset from hanpiercey, and tennis skirt from mollie_morton-

I hate to be a basic bitch but I have to say it: Coven is my favourite season of American Horror Story. Once you get over the complete waste of Evan Peters’ acting capabilities that resulted from the *choice* to have him play Kyle, the unnecessary rehash of the Evan/Taissa pairing from season 1 in what I can only assume was an attempt to capitalise on the popularity of the questionable Tate/Violet relationship, and the subsequent sacrifice of any interesting character arc we could’ve foreseen for Zoe Benson beyond her obsessing over a resurrected, non-verbal frat boy, it’s a perfect season. A supreme (heh) balance of horror, humour, and character drama, as well as the stunning aesthetics and forever quotable dialogue, make it my go-to season if I’m ever considering a rewatch. And if you disagree, let me jog your memory with the most mainstream (not to get all “normal people scare me” and suggest AHS is not a mainstream show, I literally just mean in the sense that even those who have never watched the show will have seen this)  reaction GIF set any FX show has even spawned:

Buzzfeed employees had a field day, Emma Roberts enthusiasts (I mean me) finally saw her cemented as the pop culture icon Scream Queens has since showed us she deserves to be (because not enough people have seen Unfabulous, Nancy Drew or Scream 4) and the gays everywhere rejoiced at the year’s worth of meme fodder they’d been provided with. It was Madison Montgomery’s world and we were truly just living in it.

And the fashion! I mean, Stevie Nicks meets 21st century teenage witches! Come on! 

Freakshow: Dandy Mott, Maggie Esmerelda and Elsa Mars

-olive green satin skirt from morganogle on Depop, headscarf from tonijordan, platform sandals from elliefewt, PVC skirt from bethpin_, corset top from sadieflinter, beret from house_of_erotique, flame detail platform boots from mad_rags_vintage-

When people talk about the declining quality of AHS, they usually point to Freakshow as the beginning of the end, but I have to completely disagree. I wasn’t a fan the first time round but on rewatch it’s probably the most emotional season of them all; no, there aren’t as many “horrifying” moments as in other seasons and Elsa is probably Jessica’s worst performance (which is still an incredible one by anybody else’s standards), however it makes up for it with the most sympathetic bunch of characters yet, and on the flip side, also one of the most amusingly depraved with Finn Wittrock’s Dandy Mott. Fans usually argue that the season went downhill once *SPOILER* Twisty the Clown was killed off but for me, he really primarily served as the catalyst for the far more interesting devolution of Dandy, who, imo, is the show’s strongest villain to date, rivalled only by Bloody Face. Then there was the episode Orphans too which made me cry buckets, the sole AHS episode to do so. 

We got a lot of great fashion content in this season too: the theatrical opulence of Elsa Mars’ wardrobe, “Maggie”’s nomadic fortune teller costumes, and all those twee suits we saw Finn Wittrock in. Highly underrated if you ask me. It seems an odd choice for me to use Elsa’s Dominatrix look as an inspiration for one of my looks here when we have that Life on Mars performance outfit and all the extravagant robes Jessica got to waltz around in for reference buuuut I didn’t really have anything to do the vibrancy of either of those justice so I went with the black leather option which is much more me. Am I saying I moonlight as a dominatrix? Maybe. Lol, no. I wish. It’s not for lack of trying. WHERE ARE ALL THE GENUINE TWITTER PAYPIGS AT!? Your girl wants to insult creepy men and get some new clothes out of it xoxo

Hotel: Hypodermic Sally, Liz Taylor, and The Countess

-silk white bralet from xlibby_maix on Depop-

Hotel is another season that I liked a lottttt more upon rewatch, once I knew I was okay to tune out the (completely predictable and utterly nonsensical) Ten Commandments Killer storyline that so much of the season initially seems to hinge on. I love Chloë Sevigny but the fact that her and Wes Bentley’s wooden John and Alex Lowe are positioned as the protagonists at the expense of the far more interesting Liz Taylor, James March and Hypodermic Sally really does a disservice to what is an otherwise great season upon initial viewing.

The visuals this season are magnificent and I think if I had to pick one character’s wardrobe to steal from the entire cast of AHS characters, it would be The Countess (a toss up between her and Misty Day tbh, so I kinda just settle for low-key channelling both). No fucking idea where I'd wear any of her clothes to but I’d make it work. Liz Taylor and Hypodermic Sally have some amazing looks too-there’s just honestly so much to choose from; that being said, this post wouldn’t be complete without a specific ode to the vampire goddess Elizabeth Bathory, who is everything I want to be in life minus the murderous qualities:

Everything. EVER-Y-THING. LOOK AT HER!

Lady Gaga is really a fucking goddess isn’t she. And people were claiming before they’d even seen it that she couldn’t act? A patriarchal society doesn’t like women that can do it all. Just saying. 

Anyways!

That’s it for now! I hope you enjoyed the post if you did read til the end! Sorry I couldn’t get this out before Halloween, I was typing and Picmonkey-ing madly from 2 in the afternoon on the 31st but I taking fucking forever to get ready and had to abandon all hope of getting it out on the day by 4PM. I’ve got so much content planned and it sucks because a couple of them are lookbooks which now feel completely redundant given we’re heading into a second lockdown, but maybe I should just do it anyway? The grunge inspired moodboard I just did seemed to get a good reception too so I’ve got some more of them planned. 

As always, hope everyone is keeping well, and feel free to inbox me with any suggestions, queries or even just to say hi if you need someone to talk to! I check here quite a lot so I should see it. Lots of love to everyone in this time!

Lauren x

[mollyscribbles]

Owl House rewatch thoughts

* Hard to say from what little we see of her, but I think Luz' mom might have been less worried about her daughter reading fantasy and more about the "multiple incidents of bringing uncontained live animals and explosives to school" thing.

* If Eda considers Luz' Azura book as being only useful as kindling, it means she's not inclined to view human books as something she can make snails on.  Considering how unique her portal to the human realm is treated, where did Amity get her Azura books?  I've seen people suggest the author travels between realms, but if that were the case, Amity would've been able to get the latest volume from a local store rather than needing to borrow Luz' copy.

* Suggestions for other species that escaped from the Boiling Isles: the platypus and peacock mantis shrimp.

* "Weak nerd arms" ok really identifying with Luz here.

* Really love this take on Chosen One stories.  Because yes, there is an appeal in being told you're special, you're unique in the best possible way, but ultimately this is a story about people who aren't "special" so much as outcasts who do their best with the situation they're in.  Which is something that a lot more people can aspire to be.

* The fact that this was a set scheme(as the multiple fake maps would indicate) rather than a trap specifically designed for Luz indicates that even people who've spent their lives on the Boiling Isles would be drawn to the idea of being a magical chosen one. I bet Amity's not the only one to have an interest in fantasy literature around here.

* Oh wow Amity's first appearance outside the credits is . . . something.  It's easy to forget just how far she grew in one season.

* Eda's not a *bad* teacher, so much as she has yet to learn that teaching requires expanding on a concept you introduce and explaining your reasoning.  "Here is what you can learn from tasting snow" instead of just "here, taste these different kinds of snow"

* Hm.  For someone who despairs at the concept of the school teaching blind obedience, her teaching style kinda relies on it.  Bit of a hypocrite there, Eda.

* Gonna be honest, the first time I watched this and King mentioned Eda sneaking a drink of elixir, I thought it was going to turn out to be a magic-looking flask.

* It seems slightly odd that King's apparently known Eda for a while but didn't have any idea of the curse.  Maybe she was just REALLY good about keeping up with her elixirs pre-series.

* Really like the metaphor for a chronic illness that's kept under control by medication.

* If the Emperor's Coven provides access to all forms of magic, you'd think others aspiring for a spot would be permitted a multi-track education at Hexside.  That might be why none of them seem to be that impressive at magic when they're supposed to be the "best of the best" -- even if they have *access* to all forms of magic, they've only had training in one specific field during the bulk of their education.

* lbr, Lilith's cheating was worse because at least Eda told Luz what she was doing.

* You'd think Willow and Gus might have caught on that Luz didn't have permission for them to come over when she told them to hide from Eda.

* It's nice that Eda realizes raising a kid with a "screw the rules" mindset will result in a kid who breaks her rules sometimes.  Cleaning up the mess she caused is really the correct punishment for Luz; directly dealing with the consequences of her actions but otherwise considering it a lesson learned.

* Reading to kids in the library is an A+ way to shift Amity from "Jerk" to "Jerk with a heart of gold" territory.

* Prediction: At some point, Luz will return to the human world (probably only briefly but Eda won't know at the time) and Eda will come across the "Coping with empty nest syndrome" book Luz got her from the library.  She'll cry.  King will cry.  Hooty will cry.  Every viewer will cry.

* Pretty sure that, given what the world is like, if any of them ended up questioned about their actions during the body swap episode, they could just say "Oh yeah I was body swapped that day. What'd I get up to?" and everyone would consider this a perfectly logical explanation for them acting out-of-character.

* HC that Hexside is fully aware some illusion-track students skip class by having an illusion of themselves attend in their place, but they figure a student maintaining a decent replica of themselves for the duration of the class period requires enough effort to count as a form of class participation, so they just let everyone think they're getting away with it.

* Gus and Willow are really ride-or-die friends.  Always nice to have.

* Probably some of the mystery appeal will be gone from the Human Appreciation Society once a legit human is just attending classes on a regular basis; being able to get definitive answers to questions rather than spending your time speculating would cut back on the draw.

* I love all the details they include on this show -- a lot of other shows would just stick in scribbles while panning past pictures instead of writing out all of Eda's incident reports.

* The pallisman is a neat concept; sort of like a mix of a wand and a familiar, a magical control that will have opinions of its own.

* Given Bat Queen apparently has enough of, um, a biological aspect to have kids, I wonder if that means Owlbert is capable of laying eggs.  Or having eggs with another owl/pallisman if the male pronouns are anything to go by.

* I mean even Phineas and Ferb didn't question Perry laying an egg when he uses male pronouns so could go either way in terms of what Disney would allow.

* Reading the book fair signs, it looks like sci-fi is a popular genre in the Boiling Isles.  Makes sense, since what we'd consider Fantasy would be more contemporary/urban fantasy to them.

* Getting the vibe that someone on staff had a less-than-amicable experience co-writing with a friend to inspire this one. And/or experience with shitty contracts.

* The Hexside requirements also required knowledge of basic runes, but given Luz apparently had no issue with that I'm guessing she just picked those up offscreen.

* "I've seen worse" is the ideal admissions response tbh.  Like . . . she pulled off the required spells and the headmaster has seen decades of students' awkward first attempts.  It probably counts as a good day when no one's admissions test resulted in needing to bring in someone from the Construction Track to repair the building.

* It's very reminiscent of D&D that the majority of the cast has the response of "This is clearly a trap.  Let's check it out!"

* You'd think that carnival fortune tellers wouldn't have the same appeal in a world where it's something you study at school.  Unless it's viewed the same way as those "magic" shows they have sometimes where the tricks all involve chemical reactions.

* Kinda surprised a school that teaches kids fire spells doesn't have some kind of fire suppression system in place.

* Hrm.  Guessing the mind guardian went back and undid their own damage offscreen; otherwise they'd have had to go re-do the repairs before leaving.

* Good they had the wifi and charging cable coming through the portal to explain why Luz' phone still has service and the battery's not long dead.

* Luz, how have you survived this long with your instinct for pushing buttons.  The same as the rest of humanity in a world full of buttons, I suppose.

* Probably if they thought about it, the best criteria for picking Grom royalty would be less who's the most skilled at magic and more who has the most low-key fears. . . . nvm, having a Stay-Puft incident would cause them to reasonably scrap that approach.  Maybe appointing someone who obsesses over grades would have better odds of producing a relatively-simple-to-combat exam paper.

* I'm thinking the letters are written by Eda, who doesn't intend anything sinister by it so much as being the type to cover her bases when pulling off a scam and realizing Luz' mother would need some evidence to indicate her daughter was safely at camp.

* The band-aids clearly have some healing spell built-in, considering they've been used to heal inanimate objects.

* someone on the writing staff has a long-standing rant about Quidditch they've been holding back on.

* I know that normally the humor in the cut from "she's finally growing up." to Luz planning the heist would be that she's doing something that sensible adults would consider to be a bad idea, but if Eda saw her just then she'd wipe away a tear of pride and go "Her first self-planned heist! They grow up so fast!"

* Eda's the one who talks about cheating at stuff, but Lilith has a habit of playing *dirty*.

* I would like to say I appreciate them going with a more serious credit sequence because it was disconcerting with Star Vs when a dark ending was followed by "I THINK EARTH'S A REALLY GREAT PLACE"

* Lilith may have made a 30-years-late attempt to redeem herself, but I really don't trust her.  I don't quite want her dead, but she DID spend decades trying to force her sister to join the Emperor's Coven as a prerequisite for curing her curse.

[serenlyss]

The Long Night

Fandom: The Owl House Rating: Gen Relationships: Eda&Lilith, Eda&Luz, Luz&King Summary: After returning to the Owl House from Belos's Castle, Eda and Lilith have a much-needed talk, and Eda realizes just how important her self-made family really is to her. Crossposted to AO3: The Long Night

Last week's finale had me crying, it was a really nice way to wrap up the series. I'm glad that Lilith is getting a chance to dive deeper into her potential as a character instead of being relegated to an evil antagonist, and I'm really excited to see where she goes from here, so here's what I imagine might happen after the events of the finale. Spoilers for the last episode, obviously! I hope you enjoy it c:

---

Eda doesn’t feel like she’s exaggerating when she thinks that these last few days have been the longest, most exhausting days she’s ever experienced. Her head hurts, her whole body aches, and she feels drained of power in a way she hasn’t felt since she was a young witch. It’s hard for her to tell if the tiredness is a result of the curse, or her nonstop last few days, or a mixture of the two. Probably a mixture, she tells herself as she carries a passed-out Luz through the Owl House’s front door.

The poor kid had conked out almost immediately after returning to the house, before they’d even gotten the chance to go inside. It’s understandable after everything that's happened. Going head to head with the Emperor would tire out even the most powerful of witches, and Luz is only an apprentice. Eda can't begin to imagine how she must have felt.

“Is she alright?” Lilith asks from over Eda’s shoulder, a hint of concern breaking through her normally perfectly kempt facade.

Eda can't help but scowl a little in response to her sister’s voice. “She'll be fine. I know my kid, Lily, she just needs to sleep it off. She'll be back to her obnoxious self by morning,” she replies. “She's just exhausted after single-handedly taking on the most powerful witch on the Isles. Can't say I blame her.” She shuffles up the stairs, annoyed to find that Lilith continues to stick close. Too close for Eda’s liking, if the goosebumps on her arms are anything to go by. When she reaches the top of the stairs, she pauses outside of Luz’s closed door. With her arms full, she has no way of opening the door.

What she wouldn’t give to have her magic right now. Instead of potentially dropping Luz, she casts Lilith a withering glance. “Mind grabbing that for me?” she sighs, surrendering her pride momentarily.

Lilith blinks, gaze flicking from Eda to the door and back again. “Oh, of course,” she says hastily, and moves a little more quickly than is necessary to push open the bedroom door. She flashes Eda a tiny, uncertain smile.

Eda’s answering smile is tight-lipped and sour, but it's a smile nonetheless. She quickly turns away from Lilith’s unrelenting gaze and steps into the messy attic that Luz had turned into her bedroom. Moonlight shines in through the stained glass window at the other side, casting the room in a dim rainbow of color that illuminates the room just enough to navigate. Slowly and with great care, Eda makes her way over to Luz’s sleeping bag and kneels down on the ground to lay her sleeping student on top of it.

Asleep, Luz looks incredibly young and vulnerable, her mouth hanging half open and her face smoothed of frowns and wrinkles. She’s still just a kid, a teenager. How cruel was it, that she’d been forced to make such big and important decisions by herself? Frowning, Eda reaches out and smoothes her apprentice’s bangs away from her face, combing her fingers briefly through Luz’s hair. Things would be much tougher for her from now on. For all of them.

“Your apprentice was quite impressive. She held her own far better than I’d expected her to,” Lilith speaks up softly from behind, immediately breaking the mood of the moment.

Eda sighs, retracting her hand from Luz’s head and sitting back on her heels. She gathers up a discarded blanket and lays it over the sleeping girl, tucking it around her shoulders, then pushes herself to her feet and turns to address Lilith. Her sister hovers in the doorway, keeping her distance. “Of course she did. Any apprentice of mine has to be able to hold her own. I just wish she didn’t have to,” she replies curtly, her expression still stony.

To her credit, Lilith looks appropriately chastised, averting her gaze from Eda and instead focusing on the ground in front of her feet. “I understand, and I hope you understand me when I say that this was never what I intended to happen-”

“It doesn’t matter what you intended!” Eda snaps, cutting her sister off before she can say anything further. She struggles to keep her voice down, anger bubbling close to the surface. She shoots Lilith a piercing glare, and revels momentarily in the way she flinches away in response.

Lilith bites her lip and wraps her arms around herself, and Eda can’t help it, she feels a twinge of sympathy for her. After all, she’s been affected by this, too. She had, at least somewhat willingly, given up her place in Belos’s society, a society in which she’d reaped the benefits of being in a position of power and authority. Eda takes a breath and holds it for a few seconds, forcing her anger back temporarily. “Look, Lily, I get that you want to make things right,” she begins, “but it’s not that easy. You took too much from me to be able to earn my forgiveness with a few trite displays of heroics. I can see that you’re trying, though, so I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt. For now.” She gives Lilith a pointed look.

“Of course. Thank you, Edalyn,” Lilith murmurs, and the little hopeful smile that comes to her face, tinged with a mixture of guilt and relief, makes Eda’s heart yearn for the days of their childhood, before they’d grown so far apart.

Eda casts a brief glance at Luz, still fast asleep inside her nest of blankets. “Let’s take this downstairs. We can figure out what our next move is going to be, and how we’re going to deal with… all this.” She gestures vaguely, in an all-encompassing manner, then raises a hand to her head with a groan. “Ugh, my head hurts. I need some coffee.” She brushes past Lilith to head down the stairs, treading carefully on the squeaky steps. She doubts Luz will wake even if she were to go to the kitchen and start banging pans together as loudly as she can, but she takes the extra precaution anyway. She shuffles into the kitchen, rummaging through her cupboards for her coffee grounds.

Lilith, somewhat unsure of what to do, takes a seat on the living room couch after following her sister downstairs. Idly, the fiddles with the new grey streak in her hair, frowning. “You’re not going to sleep?” she asks.

Eda shakes her head. “No point, it’s practically morning. Besides, you and I need to talk,” she replies firmly as she works. “You have some explaining to do, and we need to figure out what to do with you now that you’re covenless. You’re gonna have a target on your back from now on, same as me.”

“I understand,” Lilith sighs, glancing down at her lap. “You can do with me what you will. It’s only fair.”

Eda raises an eyebrow at Lilith as she walks into the sitting room, a mug in each hand. “You make it sound like I’m gonna kill ya,” she snorts, though there’s very little amusement in her voice. “Relax, Lily, I’m not going to hurt you. You may have cursed me, and I will get you back for that someday, but you’re still my sister. You’ve made some pretty stupid decisions, but you’re not a bad person. I think you’ve had enough for one day, at least, what with being kicked out of the coven, and all that.” She shrugs her shoulders, as if going from top of the food chain to wanted criminal is no big deal, and holds out one of the mugs to Lilith. “You still take your coffee with sugar?”

Eda watches the gears turn in Lilith’s head as she wrestles with her disbelief. She’d always been too easy to read. “I…” she starts, and has to pause to swallow. Eda can only guess how overwhelmed she must be feeling. Eventually, she settles on, “Yes, I do,” and accepts the mug from Eda’s outstretched hand. She takes a small sip. It’s a bit sweeter than what she prefers nowadays, much closer to the kinds of drinks she liked as a teenager. It’s both touching and guilt-inducing that Eda still remembers her childhood coffee preferences. “I thought you would’ve thrown me out of here by now,” she admits after a moment.

Eda smirks, though it’s half-hidden behind her coffee mug as she goes to take a big gulp of it. “Nah. Luz would have my head if I tried to pull a stunt like that. Besides, you took on half of my curse. You’re stuck with me until we get this mess cleaned up,” she says. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not forgiving you, not even close. But I am giving you a chance to make things right. Or at least, as right as they get.” She sets down her mug, expression turning somber. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to trust you again, Lilith. You’re my sister. I loved you, and you betrayed me. When things didn’t go your way, you chose to cover it up instead of taking responsibility. You hunted me for years under a false promise that someone else could fix your problems for you.”

Lilith grimaces, quickly averting her gaze from her sister. Everything she’d said is true, of course, but that doesn’t keep it from stinging.

“But,” Eda continues, “I can see that you’re finally trying to own up to it. You took on half of my curse, knowing full well what it would do to you. It’s not a solution, but it’s a start. I’m choosing to give you the benefit of the doubt because Luz and King vouched for you. Do not betray me again.”

Lilith nods her head, face set in determination. “Of course. I promise I won’t disappoint you,” she says.

To her surprise, Eda’s expression softens some, and she offers her sister a small but genuine smile. “Okay,” she says, as if it’s as simple as that. “In that case, I want you to stick around here for a while.”

Lilith glances up from her coffee. “Here? Are you sure about that?”

Eda nods. “It’s not like you can go back to the castle, after all. Besides, it’ll be easier to figure out how to break this stupid curse if we stick close and work together,” she replies. “Besides, you have some serious kissing up to do if you want to get on my good side again.” She punctuates her jab with a wide grin, only half-teasing. “You’ll need to update your witchling, too, and explain to her exactly what’s going on. If she saw the news, she’s bound to be confused. Best to do it sooner rather than later, too, or Luz will get to her before you do.”

Lilith stiffens immediately, eyes going wide with horror. “Amity! I completely forgot,” she groans, letting her face fall into her open hand. “With everything going on, I didn’t even consider her… she’ll be furious when she hears what I did.”

Eda chuckles; at least Lilith has no intention of trying to hide it. Not that she’d be able to if she wanted to. “I think you’re underestimating her. I dunno what she was like before she became friends with Luz, but she’s a good-hearted kid. She’ll understand. At the very least, she’s not gonna want to murder you or anything like that.”

“I’ll speak with her first thing tomorrow morning,” Lilith sighs, raising her head once more. “There’s no point in making her wait, and she’ll need to find a new teacher as soon as possible.” She’s struck with a sudden stab of guilt over the whole situation. Amity is an incredibly gifted student who’d had to work extremely hard to become the apprentice of the leader of the Emperor’s Coven. She’d have a hard time finding another teacher who could keep up with her quick rate of progress. “I hope this doesn’t interfere with her training too much. She doesn’t deserve to get wrapped up in all of this.”

“Like it or not, she’s already involved,” Eda points out. “She’s your apprentice, and a member of a very influential family. Not to mention, she’s Luz’s friend. She won’t be able to separate herself from this, so we need to keep her updated, make sure she stays safe. Someone else could try to use her against you the way you used Luz against me.” She scowls at the reminder of Luz’s kidnapping. “Which is another thing I’ll never forgive you for, by the way!” She lifts her mug to her lips to take another drink, muttering something under her breath that sounds suspiciously like, “Seriously, spikes?”

Lilith grimaces. There’s nothing she can say that could justify child endangerment. Not even her own confidence in Eda’s powers could have guaranteed that Luz would be spared. She’s lucky no real physical harm had come to Eda’s human apprentice, from her or from the Emperor--she has no doubt in her mind that Eda would not be giving her this chance if Luz had been in any way injured. The idea of having to bear the full brunt of her sister’s unbridled fury makes a shiver run down her spine. “I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t forgive me, either,” she replies softly. She could try to make excuses, blame it on the Emperor for holding Eda’s capture and subsequent healing over her head, but that wouldn’t change the fact that she’d chosen to do everything she’d done. No, there would be no begging for forgiveness over this. “You don’t ever have to forgive me, Edalyn. No one does. But I will be taking steps to make things right with the people I’ve hurt, if they’ll let me. If we… Once we find a way to heal this curse, you have every right to tell me to leave.”

“Don’t think too far ahead,” Eda snorts, setting her empty coffee mug on the table. “We’ll get to that when we get to it. For now, get some rest. Sleep, if you wanna. I’m gonna go check on Luz, make sure she’s doing alright.” She pushes herself to her feet with a grunt, then raises a hand to her mouth to stifle a yawn as Lilith watches her. “G’night, Lily.” She grabs her empty mug from the table and deposits it in the kitchen sink, then trudges back up the squeaky stairs to check on Luz. Faintly, she hears Lilith wishing her good night back.

Quietly, Eda inches Luz’s bedroom door open. It’s quiet save for the faint sound of Luz’s even breathing, and lit only by the faint light of the setting moon through the window. She sneaks her way inside, light on her feet. Luz has shifted in her sleep, curled up on her side with her knees bent and her hands jammed under her pillow. Beside her, King is curled up with his back against her stomach, fitting himself into the curve of her body like a guard dog. Smiling, Eda reaches out and strokes the soft hair of his back. “Good boy. You make sure nothing bad happens to her while she’s resting, okay?” she murmurs, mostly in jest.

Perhaps she was a bit too loud, because Luz begins to stir in response to Eda’s soft voice, blinking her eyes open lazily. “Eda? What’s wrong?” she asks, her voice unusually quiet and muddy with sleep.

Eda turns her smile to Luz, holding a finger to her lips and nodding her head to King. “Nothing’s wrong, kiddo. I just wanted to check on you,” she answers, keeping her voice at a whisper to avoid disturbing King. “Get some more sleep, Luz. You deserve it.”

Luz smiles back, a sleepy smile that makes the corners of her eyes crinkle. “M’kay. Good night, Eda. I love you,” she mumbles, closing her eyes and burrowing deeper into her blankets. She’s out again almost immediately, one hand resting against King’s side as he sleeps dutifully beside her.

Eda’s heart swells with warmth and fondness. There are very few people in her life that she’s comfortable expressing this kind of affection for, and somehow, in only a handful of weeks, Luz has managed to worm her way into her life and make herself right at home. She doesn’t regret a single thing that’s happened since she’d opted to take the human girl in. “Love you too, kiddo,” she whispers to her sleeping apprentice, the words foreign but incredibly meaningful on her tongue. She’d be lying if she said that Luz isn’t a part of her family now, as nontraditional and strange as their little group it. She hesitates to call her bond with Luz maternal, but it’s certainly something along that line. Eda would be remiss to ignore the relationship that’s formed between the two of them. When it comes down to it, there’s no mistake. 

Losing her magic was definitely worth it, if it means she can continue to see Luz’s peaceful expressions like this. She wouldn’t trade her family for all the magic in the world.

[colemacgrathtkz]

Treachery over here

Previous. Next

Disclosure: I decided to take another look at where my contributions were headed, here. We got a lot of new stuff from the second season. For me, that means more to work with. That being said, it also means some ideas get scrapped.

[ Two weeks after "Crashed course"]

Down in what they called the "Owl bunker", Luz was kept under tight watch. They didn't think the owl house was the best place to keep her. Prior to her arrival, the gang had made a bunker only known to original rebels. Eda, Willow, Lilith, Gus, King, and Amity. Even with her sitting in chains, they were still afraid of her. They each took turns trying to talk to the girl that brought them together.  When Eda and King were with her, she'd talk about her homesickness. With Willow and Gus, she'd deflect interrogations about the Empress with inquiries about them. With Lilith, she'd just sit there with sullen eyes; not saying a word. The few times Amity chose to see her, she didn't say anything on the way out.

Eventually, Willow asked the "New Coven" leader to help make a hard decision. It had been something floating over their heads since they saw the crystal balls. Amity was about to leave the bunker when Eda blocked the door.

Eda: "Just a minute, kiddo. We need to talk."

Lilith pulled up a chair for her former student. The youngest Blight hung her head and fixed her gaze on the ground. Once she finally sat down, Gus was the first to speak.

Gus: "Look, I don't like this anymore than anyone else does. But what are we going to do with her now? We all saw what she tried to hide from us. That's some messed up human work she had cooking up!"

Willow: "She still won't talk about what she was up to or how she was going to do it. But, I can't believe I'm saying this, I'm more afraid of who isn't here. Amity, you said the Empress and Luz are two different people?"

Amity: "Something like that. Whatever Belos had, it wasn't natural. It burrowed into Luz and made that... horror."

Lilith: "I've been researching everything I could get my hands on this ritual you performed. But it appears you have bonded it to her soul. I'm afraid there's still very little we or anyone else knows about it. Where did you find it?"

Amity: "I'd really rather not go back there."

Twiddling their thumbs, everyone was still nervous to say it. King couldn't stand to just sit there, uncomfortable, and wait for them to stop beating around the bush.

King: "Are you really going to kill her?"

Finally, the real debate.

Eda: "Woah, woah, woah, put a sock in it! No one said anything about--"

Lilith: "Pardon me, sister..."

Eda(agitated): "No! You are not going to say, ' let's consider this, Edalyn'?!"

Gus: "Maybe we should give it a fair say?"

Eda: "You too, dweeb?!"

Gus: "She messed with our heads. It wasn't an accident like with Willow. She was up to something and still won't even talk about it."

Eda: "Last time, she didn't have a parting gift, from Belos, sloshing around inside her!"

Gus: "And now, she's stuck with it. She isn't who she used to be. We've had to make sure she isn't using illusion magic to trick us again.

At that moment, King threw a stuffed animal at Amity's head.

King: "Just checking."

Willow: "You're right. She isn't who she used to be. But that doesn't mean we go down that road. I don't think it was all an act. This might be wishful thinking. But maybe she really is still Luz. It's just this other fake that's got her hostage."

King climbed onto Amity's lap to get a better stance on this argument.

King: "So, what do you want to do?"

Willow: "We keep her here until we're absolutely sure there's nothing else in Belos' old archives. He lived with it, too. He's got to have had something."

Gus: "Meanwhile, Luz could break out at any moment. The conformatorium isn't going to work. I don't like suggesting this either. But we already tried sending her away."

Lilith: "Correction! Amity Blight sent her away. It was a decision made out of desperation and fear. Much like the one you're suggesting. May I speak now, dear sister?"

Eda looked mildly impressed as she gestured for her sister to take the floor. Lilith had sat quietly. But now, she made her way to Amity's side. She kneeled down and placed one hand on the young girl's shoulder.

Lilith: "I know you cared for her. And despite everything, we all still do. What you did was to save the girl you fell in love with. But we all charged into that last battle without knowing all the details. The fact that the former emperor Belos was human, for instance! Much less that he had a trap like that waiting for whoever replaced him. This isn't your fault. Of course someone was going to pay for our ignorance. While binding the both of them to that staff bought us some time, it was just a young girl doing something because she was scared. Now, we must find a way to clean up this mess. After all, she's counting on us. She's stuck with it, but she isn't that beast. Once we break that chain, we can move onto killing the beast. Properly, this time."

Everyone kept glancing at one another after Lilith's little speech. Eda stood proud of her sister. 

Eda: "Dang, Lily, that was great.”

Lilith: "I know a little something about this. Your student has been teaching us about second chances, even me. Especially me."

Amity petted King before taking him off her lap.

Amity: "Thank you. I didn't know you'd say that. I'll remember that. We both will."

A double take was done at her last comment. But an unfamiliar melody was beginning to play just outside.

Amity: " Finally!"

With both hands, the "New Coven leader" immobilized Willow, Eda, and King. Her abominations rose and held them from behind. The door burst open and scouts from the old coven rushed in. Lilith and Gus were detained. Once the scene had calmed down, Kikimora strolled in.

Kikimora: "I wasn't sure a brat like you could pull this off. You may have a sprinkle of my respect."

Amity( glaring): "She's in the room down the hall. Think you manage to move a girl in chains?"

Eda(furious): "Traitor!"

Amity: "It's not like that, Eda."

Kikimora gestured for scouts to retrieve the captive waiting for them.

Eda: "What was your price, huh? How'd they get to you?"

Amity: "Actually, I found them. Wasn't hard. I figured they'd take the bait. But I think you're not getting the whole picture."

The scouts returned with a Noceda, still in chains.

Luz: "Eda! That's not me!"

A little confused, "Amity'' cleared up the misunderstanding.

Amity(Luz): "Body swap! The only thing to do when friends can't see eye to eye, right, Eda?"

Gus: "Those chains should have kept you from using magic. How'd you do it?"

The imposter signaled the intruders.

Amity(Luz): " I think it's pretty clear I've got help."

Willow: "Why would you ever work for her?"

Kikimora: "I would never debase myself so much that I’d work under a human! This is for the true ruler of the Boiling Isles."

Amity(Luz): "I'll switch us back soon, Amity. I don't want to keep my awesome girlfriend in the dark any longer."

The scouts at the door stepped aside for the last party crasher.

Lilith felt utter dread as her blood ran cold.

Belos stood there, in the moonlight.

Amity(Luz): "Surprise, witch! I bet you thought you'd seen the last of him?!"

Bonus:

Amity( Luz): "Not to sound creepy, but it's pretty cool to hear your voice talk like me. Oh, I can totally teach you some anime songs now! Hang on, I need to reach into my pocket for a sec-"

Luz( still in Amity's body) personally escorted her girlfriend to her new chambers.

Her prisoner flinched as her hand came near.

Amity(Luz): "I know it's weird hearing 'you' say this, but couldn't you say something, please? You've been quiet since we left the others."

An elegant room was presented before them.

Amity(Luz): "I'm not going to let them hurt you or any of them, ok? So, come on, don't leave me hanging, Blight? There are worse places they would have picked. But your loving Luz just wants us to be happy. I promise, I'm going to show you what Luz Noceda can do."

No response, and someone was getting restless.

Amity(Luz): "There's got to be something you want to say? Or maybe hear me say, hmm? Last chance?"

Nothing.

Amity(Empress): "Will you just-"

A faint red glow appeared on the witch's pale skin. But unlike before, it flickered. She clenched her heart as the pain sent her tumbling to the floor. With her free hand, she started up the spell. 

Amity(Luz):" Ok, I need my body back."

Finding herself standing, she noticed Amity hadn't made a move to her side. She watched her girlfriend get off the floor and sit on the bed of her "nice" prison.

Luz tried to reach out to her. With her arms closed, Amity jerked away; not even looking.

Luz: "I hurt you, I get that. But I do want to talk. I'll be close by, when you're ready. I just want to see my awesome girlfriend, then I'll go. So, will you turn around, please?"

Luz had seen her enraged before. She braced herself for what face she'd see this time.

After a couple of seconds, the look on the witch's face wasn't one she could prepare for. There was nothing. No pity. No rage. And worst of all, no love. Just nothing.

Luz stumbled back from the memories of her old school life. The way her old classmates had rejected her. Seeing the look on Amity's face, she couldn't spend another second in that room.

Author's note:

I was really looking forward to Lilith's little speech. And, yeah, I was just looking for an excuse to use that "Surprise, witch" line. 

As for the body swap, I wanted to clear something up. Thanks to Uberduck.ai, people have been having alot of fun.

I set the format to be: a person's body along with the voice people hear( person inside).

It might be confusing, but I did it this way because of the Owl house body swap episode. While we, the audience, can still hear Alex Hirsh play King. I wasn't sure if the characters could hear the same voice coming out of Luz.

Sarah-Nicole Robles: "I've got some very confusing emotions right now."

Just a personal note, but I thought it would have been funny if the actors had to perform these lines like their co- stars would have.

[that-shamrock-vibe]

Round-Up Review: WandaVision (Spoilers)

Spoiler Warning: I am posting this review the Monday after the finale of WandaVision drops on Disney+, so if you haven’t yet seen the entire series don’t read on until you have.

So I was going to do a fully fleshed out review of the entire series of WandaVision, but just as I’m about to finish…Tumblr decides to freeze on me and I lose a day of work so I have now decided to work this review a different way and rather than giving a general reaction and going into a character analysis, I will be breaking it down into what I loved, what wasn’t there for me fully and where I feel we are going next.

General Reaction:

So I could of very easily gone through this series episode by episode...but based on the fact that not only was this a play-by-play mystery with a lot more questions than answers each week, but also as the series progressed, particularly after Evan Peters arrived at the end of episode 5, the fan-theories and potential spoilers almost made me not want to know what was going to happen because the theories were becoming so grand that the series could surely never live up to expectations, which is why I feel the director of the finalé stated that fans may be disappointed...because ultimately I don’t think the finalé did live up to expectations. But these were expectations built up as an culmination of fan-theories, comic-book insight and also MCU baiting.

By MCU baiting, I mean that the creatives of WandaVision decided to be creative, and possibly playful, by including several red herrings that went absolutely nowhere but were the main conspiracy theories driving the fan-speculations and fake spoilers throughout the latter half of the series.

Dottie...who was she? Nobody important. Evan Peters...was he Quicksilver? No. Was he Mephisto/Nightmare? No. Was he important? Not really. Monica’s mysterious engineer contact, a fan-favourite character? Not even a character from the comics, I think.

Now that’s not to say this series asked questions that weren’t answered satisfactorily, but a lot of them seemed to build up to what is to come rather than giving us all the answers in this series. Is that a good thing? Yes because I feel this will make this series more rewatchable than I feel it already is. I for one of re-watched each episode at least twice sometimes three times each week leading up to the next episode and having just seen the entire series as a whole product I can safely say that characters and elements from this series going forward may have call-backs to the events of this series which will make for clicks, more views and more plays.

Speaking of watchability, can we talk about how interesting it has been to watch half-hour scheduled programming for 9 weeks like the olden days, and the fact we can call television life before streaming “the olden days”?.

But honestly sitting down, for me on a Friday morning at 9:30am without fail, to watch what began as a 25–30-minute MCU sitcom before turning into a 30–40-minute MCU mystery every week harkened back to my childhood and coming back from school to watch my shows which only aired once a week at that time. Feige’s and the creatives in the MCU brought back that feeling of nostalgia for me which I never really expected from a comic-book property.

Speaking of classic televisual viewing, I really enjoyed the standard sitcom setup of this series. I knew of all the referenced shows going in like The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, Malcolm in the Middle and Modern Family, but it was also nice to see some standard sitcom tropes seen in the majority of sitcoms utilized throughout. From Agatha posing as the nosey neighbour to the fashions of each sitcom era and even the fourth wall breaks both from Billy in the Halloween episode in a Malcolm in the Middle spoof to the following episode literally titled “Breaking the Fourth Wall”.

Also, I will say here that all those MCU “stans” who are complaining they didn’t get the big grand beginning of Phase 4 that was promised to us by Feige as “something different”, the guy’s mantra is to keep it simple and the finalé was hardcore Feige. “Something different” was the set up and delivery of this slice of the MCU and some fans are still moaning about that so some people are just never satisfied.

What I Loved

Scarlet Witch

Give Elizabeth Olsen awards for this season! Make gold rain down upon her! Honestly, I have loved Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff since her formal introduction in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but now we have formally been introduced to the Scarlet Witch she is not only the most powerful female if not character in the MCU but also the best character in the entire MCU to date.

Not only is this series personifying how an individual deals with their grief, but when you consider the fact that Wanda, who is by all accounts a 29 year old woman due to being blipped for 5 years, and has lost her parents at a young age, her twin brother at 25-26 so still a young age and then the first love of her life twice, first by her own hand and then by the Mad Titan so that initial sacrifice was for nothing, it’s just a lot to put on one individual with this level of raw power without expecting her to finally snap and create an alternate reality where everything is under her control.

The creation of her twins, who I will get into further down, was well done and, for want of a better word, organic for the series. But I did like how they showed the real-life struggle of not just having a new-born but having twins. Wanda is trying to maintain control of this world she has created as well as keep Vision in check, but also because the twins are seemingly not under her magical control, she must juggle maintaining the world and its people with being a new mother.

But the biggest crisis for Wanda comes in when Fietro shows up, I still do not believe she ever truly thought this was her dead brother resurrected. It wasn’t until he said “long lost brother” that he asked “Pietro?” and she spent the entire next episode interrogating him until the façade finally slipped and she decided he wasn’t.

After this, everything falls apart for her. Not only is her reality literally slipping with Vision at odds with her, the world constantly shifting between eras and her not understanding what is happening.

This is of course when she is confronted by Agatha Harkness who has not only taken her twins but also been fooling her by being “Nosy Neighbour Auntie Agnes” for this entire time when in reality she is a with from the days of the Salem Witch Trials who wants to understand Wanda’s true potential and then absorb all of her magic.

But when we got to see Wanda’s true potential as she went “Beast Mode” as the Scarlet Witch complete with stunning new outfit and crown, this levels the character up to that top spot in the MCU as the best and most powerful character.

I am excited to see where the Scarlet Witch’s potential will take her next.

WandaVision Love Story

I also really loved the fact that as well as a personification of dealing with Wanda’s grief, this series was truly a love story between Wanda and Vision.

From the first episode when we see them getting “married” and being that unusual suburban couple trying to fit in with seemingly everyday suburban life when the entire set-up is Wanda’s idyllic dream world.

As Darcy said to Vision, the love these two have is real. I did an entire post on why Scarlet Witch and Vision are the best MCU couple, and this series amplifies that. It becomes clear that these two are not actually married and in fact this Vision isn’t even the Vision we have seen developed through the movies, but he is a replication of Wanda’s true love and this is how she chooses to show it.

The fact they go through all of the typical newlywed couple goalposts of marriage, homemakers, kids, a dog, domestic disputes. It’s all there and feels so natural even though we are talking about the relationship a potential Nexus Being and a Synthezoid.

Their final goodbye in the series finale is honestly as heart-breaking as any love-lost in a tragic romance movie. Seriously how many more times is Wanda, and by extension the fans, supposed to say goodbye to Vision?

Agatha Harkness

I love Kathryn Hahn, this series has solidified that for me. Not only is this the first live-action appearance of Agatha Harkness but also the way in which she was modified from the comics is in a way that I would be annoyed with any other way if not for the fact that it was Kathryn Hahn playing her.

Now yes, fans of the comics knew “Agnes” was really Agatha Harkness from the casting announcement, but the actual reveal wasn’t epic because we already knew, it was epic because of the way it was revealed.

“Agatha All Along” has honestly become one of my new favourite songs, it is such a catchy tune, incorporates a couple of classic sitcom nods and is very memorable.

But also, even the fact that the final line of “…and I killed Sparky too” has become so memeable without overshadowing the overall song is such an impressive feat.

The Lopez’s not only capitalise on their Frozen success but also Kathryn Hahn gets to show her musical talents by singing the actual song…it was just incredible.

But yes, Agatha being a villain, as she has been in the comics but not on this scale, was a great decision for this series because Kathryn Hahn managed to inject her own brand of cynical dry comedy with echoes of Cate Blanchett’s Hela to create a fully rounded menacing villainous character.

Not only do we learn about her origins of how she can absorb magic by murdering her entire coven, mother included, but also that she elevates that by being able to steal any magic, even that of the powerful Scarlet Witch, truly makes this witch a threat within the magical realms of the MCU.

Even though she was defeated I am thrilled she didn’t die, she has simply been taken off the board for now but is still able to be put into play if and when she is needed again, maybe in Doctor Strange 2 maybe sooner, who knows?

Monica Rambeau

I have to say, I do not know much about Proton from the comics and genuinely though Maria Rambeau was a bigger character than she was, but considering they killed her off-screen during this series I don’t think she actually was.

I loved how the effects of the blip are still showing their repercussions as Monica returns after being victim to the blip and is immediately thrust into a chaotic post-blip world that echoes the real-world COVID-19 crisis I imagine.

From the start once outside of the Hex, Monica hits the ground running as both a SWORD operative and a self-assured hero trying to do the right thing by saving the town of Westview and Wanda while thwarting Hayward.

I really loved how her “Boss Lady” persona that Agent Woo grants her was very well realised because she did not take any nonsense from anyone. She got the Space Rover so she could attempt to re-enter the Hex, she attempted to reason with Wanda not once, not twice, but thrice.

And when the rover couldn’t penetrate the Hex, she decided to re-enter unprotected knowing what the barrier would potentially do to her physiology…and it did not disappoint.

Monica got powers, she got powers in a spectacular way. I loved how while she was physically struggling to break through the barrier, she could hear the voices of her nearest and dearest (archive footage from Captain Marvel) which spurred her on until she finally pulled herself together and became the superpowered individual she was always going to become.

But she didn’t stop there, not only did she try to once again confront Wanda who at this point was rather unhinged, but she didn’t take her threats lying down and instead tried to break into Agnes’ house before getting caught by Fietro.

However, once she worked out Fietro was really Ralph and was able to free him from Agatha’s control, she wasted no time in running off and making herself useful and just in time as she stopped Hayward from shooting the twins and assisted them in subduing the rogue SWORD agents.

As for Monica’s future, she has been drafted by that Skrull to join Nick Fury’s new team and may return to honour her late mother’s position as director of SWORD. All I know is her future is as bright and vibrant as the energy waves she can now see.

Twins

I love Wiccan and Speed so much, I love the Young Avengers so much, I love Wiccan and Hulkling’s relationship from the comics that is inevitably going to happen hopefully, but the fact this was the origins of all of that gave me everything.

Even before their birth, I loved how the pregnancy was making everything in the house go crazy. Some fans believe this was Wanda’s powers out of control due to pregnancy, I think this was actually Billy’s reality warping powers either acting from inside the womb or amplifying Wanda’s reality warping powers.

When the twins were in existence, I feel Wanda wasn’t prepared for what was going to happen. Billy and Tommy had their own minds and weren’t afraid to show them. Not only with finding Sparky but also with revealing their powers.

It’s fascinating as both these characters have the powers of either their mother or uncle, Billy has reality warping powers and Tommy has super speed. But while both got great chances to show them both in the Halloween episode and also in the series finale, I do believe we have only just scratched the surface of particularly Billy’s powers.

Of course they were always going to be lost at the end of the series, as they were in the comics when they were reabsorbed into Mephisto, in this instance they were seemingly deleted along with their father and the Hex…but then we hear them calling out to Wanda while she’s examining the Darkhold? Is this really them? Multiverse variants? What does all this mean? We need answers!

Darcy Lewis

I was thrilled when I heard Kat Dennings was not only returning to the MCU but being part of different characters’ stories rather than just Thor.

I loved how Darcy was on it from the start by firstly identifying that she and the other three scientists in recruitment didn’t share any common field so that meant SWORD had no idea what they were facing, but then being the one to identify the broadcast of WandaVision.

It did truly feel like we were watching Darcy be us while she was watching the series, seeing her get so invested in the hijinks and the plot twists was very relatable. Kat Dennings sold that relatability just as she does in every performance for me.

Then her fan-girling over the wider MCU, Kat Dennings is a fan of the MCU outside of her own appearances, so the fact she confirmed Vision did not get blipped but actually died and also had that moment in first meeting Monica was adorable.

Also, the fact that Darcy was the one who figured out not only that Monica’s cells were being re-written but also that Hayward had nefarious intentions with wanting to track down Vision, it just gave Darcy a purpose in the series and almost made her invaluable. Monica and Jimmy don’t have the backgrounds to be the “person in the chair” but Darcy does, and I was happy she finally got the chance to showcase it.

Even when she was taken into the Hex and temporarily became the Escape Artist, she was still Darcy in a way, then she became Vision’s source of information and road trip buddy before being left on the side-lines only to then return and help defeat Hayward.

What Didn’t Work:

Too Many Red Herrings

As I said this series and the series creatives had far too many red herrings planted to either fool us or tease us without any solid resolutions.

The biggest one is definitely “Fietro” who as it turns out isn’t Multiverse Quicksilver from the Fox X-Men movies but is instead an in-universe actor named Ralph Bohner who was enthralled by Agatha to play the part of her husband and be her spy and lackey.

Honestly not only am I annoyed that Evan Peters was used for what was ultimately a boner joke, but also it does throw dirt into the wound as to the fact we may not be getting Mutants or the X-Men for a while yet in the MCU.

Then there’s Dottie...similarly to Fietro this could have been a smart way to bring Mutants into the MCU. While yes Dottie was believed to be Mephisto or a witch of some description, I was actually onboard with the idea that this was the MCU Emma Frost. It would have been poetic for Agatha Harkness to be working with Emma Frost to not only maintain her manipulation but also with Emma’s telepathic abilities but also potentially have Emma working as a double agent for the Hellfire Club who also want to harness the powers of the Scarlet Witch similarly to how they wanted to control the Phoenix Force.

Wanda in the MCU has already been compared to Jean Grey, so how about Scarlet Witch becoming the Black Queen of the Inner Circle?

Next, Ultron. A namedrop as many times as this deserves some sort of payoff. Ralph got his and it may have been disappointing but at least we got resolution. So why, when Ultron was named numerous times and we as fans even had Avengers: Age of Ultron being the next recommended watch for us at the end of every episode except the finale, did nothing come of it? If White Vision was voiced by James Spader I would have been happy.

Finally, there’s Monica’s engineer “guy”. We didn’t find out who this was because the contact Monica met with was an Air Force contact delivering the Space Rover, but who was the engineer who designed it? Why didn’t we meet him?

I personally feel this engineer is Reed Richards, there is obviously a rich history of space being connected to Reed’s origins as Mister Fantastic, we know the Fantastic Four are coming to the MCU, it would simply make sense to first introduce Reed as maybe a scientist for SWORD or Nick Fury’s team before bringing in the full team.

I know the other option is Hank Pym, but really if it was Pym then why couldn’t they just pay Michael Douglas for a cameo?

The Future of the MCU

So, what does WandaVision set up for the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Well, we know that this is the start of the Multiverse Arc that will continue with Spider-Man: No Way Home later this year and conclude with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness next year. It is confirmed that Scarlet Witch will show up in the latter of those two movies, but we have no idea what role she’ll serve in Spider-Man.

The other story this series sets up is Secret Invasion which will happen during the series of the same name starring Nick Fury and the Skrulls and also Captain Marvel 2 which will not only feature Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau but also the upcoming Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel. This puts three superpowered women in the same movie and possibly will be the nexus of the Secret Invasion storyline before the concluding movie being an Avengers level event.

Then there’s also Falcon and the Winter Soldier starting in a couple of weeks, that series will most likely connect to Black Widow due to including Yelena Belova but also because that was originally supposed to come out before WandaVision it is tough to see if it or any other upcoming series except for Secret Invasion will connect to this series.

And of course, there is the upcoming Young Avengers project, we have yet to get confirmation of if this will be a movie or a TV series but we know we are having the players put onto the board in Disney+ shows and MCU movies. We have Wiccan and Speed, we know we are getting Kate Bishop and America Chavez as well as already having Cassie Lang just recast for the upcoming Ant-Man 3 to hopefully finally become Stature, and while we have yet to get confirmation of Hulkling it is possible he will appear in Secret Invasion given the Kree-Skrull elements.

Overall, I rate this series a solid 9/10, this series gave me practically everything I wanted and there were many times particularly in the finale that I felt this was the best Marvel Television series. I still stand by the fact that I think it is but the red herrings of Fietro, Mephisto, Ultron and Monica’s “guy” meant I couldn’t call it a solid 10/10.

Regardless of that, I felt this series gave us something different in an MCU mystery, formally introducing witches into the MCU, the love story of Wanda and Vision was intoxicating, meeting Wiccan and Speed in the early years was glorious and honestly Wanda embracing her destiny and becoming the Scarlet Witch…if the entire series was at that level it would be a 10/10 across the board.

So that’s my Round-Up Review of WandaVision, what did you guys think? Post your comments and check out more Marvel Reviews as well as other TV Reviews and posts.

[iron-feather]

I'm starting to get a little tired of Kikimora being canceled in the Owl House fandom. Yes, as anyone can understand, I'm a fan of this... little trouble. DISCLAIMER: I relate well to both characters. From each of them, you can understand. But yes, I want to speak out in defense of Kiki - there are a lot of defenders of the Hunter.

Just look, who is this jealous and envious here? And who is jealous for an important reason, and who is a trifle? A trick question. We understand perfectly well that the Hunter is afraid of losing Belos' trust and being "replaced". And that's reason enough to interfere with someone else's mission while substituting Kikimora. What did he want to do? Take away her prey, bring in teeth to Belos. Good boy - dancing on his hind legs affectionately. What, in turn, did Kikimora do to try to hear the Emperor's attention? Take away his prey, bring in teeth to Belos. A good girl - she dances touchingly on ... ah, excuse me, this is no longer touching."Why was I replaced once"? Why not, blond angel?

Well, she was the first to set him up and he had the right to do the same! Hmm, what if we remember that the Gold Guard replaced Kikimora before the  Palismen series? Remember the end of the first season - who is tasked with spying on the house if there is a clear initiative from Kikimora? Who single-handedly wants to accompany the Emperor? And if we remember the words of Lilith about the Golden Guard? Does she love and respect him for his good character? She seemed to be saying something about the upstart and "beloved brilliant child." Looks like the Hunter was quietly sitting in the closet and was a kind guy? Did the conflict only happen in Episode 6 of Season 2, or did they have problems before?

One way or another, nobody cancel the Hunter. Who's better? Nobody, but more on that later.

And this is where my favorite part begins. Kikimora tried to kill the Hunter. She tried? And how. The hunter, being a sweet blond agel, suffered from her attack. Did he suffer? No, but he was almost eaten. But what does the hunter himself do in a situation when he realizes that his status before Belos may be shaken? He does the same, but he just wants to take away without violence what he was not sent for. Well done - he acts secretly. Only now Kikimora also wanted to stealthily kidnap Palismens. Of course, attempted murder does not count as a plus for her. Different methods to remove a competitor, but do you know what unites them? They both violated the chain of command. In fact, they can be lynched for this, not pat on the head. But either Belos is a hidden sadist and he likes to watch as subordinates pull out pieces of another's flesh with their teeth, or he is not aware that children are ready to kill each other for his attention. But guess who's not exactly being lynched? At least until the Day of Unity? Blonde angel, you are cherished like a damn expensive vessel. Just sit in the closet and don't crash.

Bad idea with the Titan Blood loot? Kikimora can finally let off steam and benefit the Emperor, while the Hunter is safe and not scalded by Kikimora's “steam”. No, it seems to an expensive vessel that it will be replaced. Will Kikimora be replaced? Indeed, what difference does it make to him - he will not be useless. Nice and not selfish.

Is it the sun, is it a fire, is it a light bulb? No, this was the second wave of Kikimora's cancel and, Titan, caught fire brightly. Our hearts are firmly occupied by the Rain and we remember how it was colorfully removed after its first full appearance. It was a pity for them. Kikimora cold-bloodedly ... put them to sleep? Sealed the magic? She's the only one who knows, but press F to pay respect. And this is Amity - a character that everyone has known for a long time, but loved no less. What is it put to her head? Oh, under what circumstances did she give the key? After threats to find her and her girlfriend and do something bad? But who will be remembered for bad actions in relation to the protogonist? Obviously not a blond angel. He did it for the Emperor, he wanted the best for him, he does his job (no) and wants to be recognized. Well then, what was Kikimora doing? Not the same?

But the bottom line is that they are both unhappy. We can only guess what plans the Titan has for the Hunter and what will happen to him next. But Belos needs him. Yes, it “will be hassle to find a replacement” for him, but something tells me that the logical emphasis in this sentence on “hassle”, and not on the “replacement”. While Kikimore can find a replacement faster in case of disappointment in her. Personally, I am a little worried about her and her emotional state is as frightening as the grave of a hunter.

They both became hostages to their obsession with being the best. Who is to blame for this? We will not point a finger, but here we all have a familiar system in their coven. They are not just afraid - they know very well that they need to meet expectations and be the best. Any means for the sake of an end. To kill someone, betray or curse = this is all for a good purpose. But the irony is that I'm not even looking for examples -  Eclipse Lake was almost a direct reference for the Hunting Palismen .

What do I want to say? Let's cancel the Hunter. Ahah, a joke, of course. But I just wanted to share my thoughts and I'm glad if I'm not the only one who thinks that the behavior of Kikimora and the Hunter is ambiguous. I would like to see a happy ending for them. Both. Thank you for your attention, Devil's Advocate.

[butiaintgonnaloveem]

Presents and Prizes and Sweets and Surprises

Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Reader, Jack Kline, Mrs. Butters

Word Count: approx 1600

Warnings: Spoilers for episode “Last Holiday” and language

A/N: This is just my way of venting my frustration with the episode. I was going to do a kind of fix-it fic, but this turned more into a reader insert as concerned spectator kind of thing. No one edited this, so sorry for any errors. This is frustration and crack.

Poking holes, making fun, wishing they were doing better things with the last few episodes - you know, the fangirl business.

“There’s a what living here? And what does it have to do with your underwear?”

Dean rolls his eyes, “A wood nymph. She was folding them for me.”

“Since when do you fold your underwear?”

“Since Mrs. B. started doing it for me,” he shrugs.

Speak of the devil, or nymph - she scurries in from the hall.

Her eyes are wide as she looks you over, a disapproving scowl on her face.

“Dean, we do not bring lady guests into the Men of Letters bunker. Ms. Sands was an exception, but it should not be the rule.”

“Lady guests? I live here,” you glare as you over-enunciate each word.

Clearly caught off-guard, she splutters, unable to reply more than a few cut-off words as she looks helplessly at Dean. “A-a woman? IN the Men of Letters bunker?”

“Times have changed, lady. And I don’t know if you’re aware, but you are also a female.”

“I am a wood nymph,” she says haughtily, “Friend of the goddess Artemis, and not subject to the problems a woman may bring to this bunker.”

You start to move on her, but Dean steps in, gently keeping you back with a hand on your shoulder, “Okay, I think this could be going better. Mrs. B., she does live here. We don’t really subscribe to the whole ‘fairer sex’ thing. I was just getting ready to find you for introductions when you walked in. Now, I think we can all get along, right?”

He looks between you with a shit-eating grin as though he just solved the easiest riddle, even though he didn’t do shit. Mrs. B. stands there wringing her hands and staring at you with trepidation, while you eye her up, looking for any signs of malice.

“I know!” Dean says with all the excitement of a ten year-old, “Mrs. B. how about you bring out some of those butter cookies you whipped up earlier and we kick this off right?”

She turns to fulfill his request just as you answer, “No, thanks. I don’t mind fending for myself. In fact, I prefer it. Dean, can I speak with you? Alone?”

He shakes his head and looks at her apologetically. She just waves him off and leaves.

“What the hell?”

“Yeah!” you throw your hands up, “What the hell?! You need to tell me everything that happened since she showed up.”

Days pass. Once Dean had told you what happened to make Mrs. Doubtfire appear, you went to Sam, hoping for some reason unfortunately, it seemed to be a lost cause. Once she highlighted the monster radar, they were constantly on the run. A quick vampire nest here, a coven there. In between Dean nestled himself in his purple huggy nightgown and drowned himself not in alcohol, but in mashed potatoes and pie. She even had Jack drawn out of his new soul-based depression thanks to her smoothies.

_____

“Won’t you join us, dear?” her sickly sweet voice invites you as the guys line up pumpkins for carving. She wears a forced smile as she clasps her hands in front of her, still uncomfortable with your presence.

“Nope,” you pop with an obnoxious ‘p’ sound, “I’m super right here.” You wave your deli-bought sandwich in the air and look back to your laptop.

“C’mon!” Dean groans. He looks up from the face he’s drawing on the huge, out-of-season monstrosity. “Relax a little, Mrs. B is even gonna roast up some pumpkin seeds - salty and sweet!” He looks at her with an excited and expectant nod.

She looks back like a proud grandmother, “Of course, dear!” As though there were no other option, making your eyes roll into the back of your head.

“Like I said, I’m good. You guys enjoy your...whatever over there.”

They shrug and ignore you, laughing like children and throwing pumpkin goop at each other until she scolds them. Until now, Halloween was despised by Sam, and only an excuse for slutty costumes for Dean. Not that it hadn’t been tried. There were attempts at parties, birthdays, Christmas; Jody invited you all over plenty, especially after the mess with Mary. But no. Suddenly Stepford Granny appears and it’s all hands on deck for celebrations. Something wasn’t right, and for some stupid reason, the guys didn’t notice or care.

_____

Your research on wood nymphs doesn’t offer a whole lot, they are pretty rare. More kindly disposed toward men according to a source, which explains her reaction to you, and summoned to attend the gods on Olympus, which also explains her service kink apparently. Other than that, it was a whole lot of crap.

On occasion you find her in the library, staring wistfully at the photo of the Men of Letters who previously occupied the bunker, but once she notices your presence, she shakes herself from her reverie and starts puttering about, lamenting the state of things around her.

Dean is blissful. Sam had been reluctant, but even he seems to be walking around without his usual dark cloud. You want them to be happy, to have the memories others take for granted, but the way she side-eyes Jack, the way she passive-aggressively speaks about you even when you are in the room, it won’t stop nagging at you.

“What do you miss most about them?” you ask her one day after she sends the boys off with their crustless sandwiches.

“Oh, well, it’s hard to miss them much when they’ve just left,” she laughs, stiff with discomfort.

“Not Sam and Dean, I mean them,” you tip your head in the direction of the photo on the wall.

“Oh.” She takes a half step toward it, but stops. “It’s - they gave me purpose, a home, and a family.”

“What about your real family? The other nymphs?”

She straightens out her stupid, festive apron then, looking at you dead on, “Mr. Sinclair and those gentlemen were no less a real family to me than my natural brethren,” she pauses for a deep breath, then for a moment longer until a tight smile pulls across her lips. “Now, have you eaten? Are you sure I can’t get you...”

“No,” you cut her off for the millionth time she’s asked. 

“Well then, I best get back to work,” she mutters and wanders off.

_____

When you finally get the chance to corner Sam, he’s rushing while getting ready for his date and really only half-listening.

“And I just think that it’s really telling that Cuthbert Sinclair was the one to bring her on, I mean, he wasn’t always on the level with his magic and acquisitions and what the hell are you wearing?”

He turns around, smoothing down the brown sweater vest, “What? Mrs. Butters set it out for me. Said it makes me look dashing.” He smiles and shyly tips his head to the side, the way he does before giving his puppy eyes. All lost on you.

“You look like a sitcom dad. You’re just going out with Eileen, right?”

“Nothing wrong with looking your best.”

“Sure,” you agree with uncertainty, “But Sam, didn’t you look into this?”

“She was right about the first vamp case, she’s powered up the radar, and the bunker is on full blast, what’s wrong with that?”

“Because Sam! Magic also comes with a price, and when has a monster ever really been so thrilled to live in servitude? Or anyone for that matter? You think this is all out of the goodness of her heart?”

He looks at you, confused, “Yes?”

You throw your hands up, just as Sam checks his watch and curses under his breath before hastily leaving the room.

“What the fuck. Fine, you guys don’t care? I don’t care. I am fucking out of here.” No one stops you.

_____

Two days later, you’re called back to the bunker and very apologetic Winchesters, and cake.

“So she was a Nazi murder monster who also liked serving milk and cookies? Cool. Cool, cool. And Jack found this out? Jack?! I mean, no offense buddy, but Sam! You’re the lore genius! You’ve got this place set up with your own fucking Sammy decimal system, and you missed this!”

“I mean, if she was doping up all our food, like she was doing to Jack - “

“And you wondered why I didn’t want to eat her turkish delights! She had you guys running around with sack lunches like fricken four year-olds, all dopey smiles and rice krispy treats. I mean, I can’t believe you even knew how to spell ‘happy birthday’ all on your own and didn’t pull a Hagrid with how high you were flying on her nymph edibles!” You throw your hands up, nearly throwing your slice of birthday cake right off the plate, as Sam laughs.

“And you,” you point to him, “Mjolnir! Where did she pull that from? You weren’t thrown off with that? And don’t think I am letting you live down that sweater vest or birthday tiara. If all it took to make you guys so docile were a few parties and home-cooked meals and giving in to some praise kinks you seem to hae, then someone would have locked you both down already, it’s not like they haven’t tried. I cringed, you guys, cringed. My shoulders are still sore from it.  In fact, I think you guys really owe me for having to put up with watching all that crap go down. For being so right, right from the start.”

They both roll their eyes, Jack for his part just sits and smiles while eating his own birthday cake. Dean flicks his fingers in a ‘bring it on’ motion while pursing his lips in displeasure.

“I want a party. With drinks and store-bought cake with that really good frosting, and a banner that says ‘you were so right and we were so stupid and we’re sorry and we will do better next tim-’”

“Alright, Veruca we get it,” Dean groans.

“Just do better, and don’t forget my golden goose,” you smirk.

[qsdblogging]

10 More TV Shows You Need To See

This is the second installment of my recommendations of shows for you to add to your own lists. I watch a lot of television and I’ve got, what I consider to be at least, a wide variety of shows under my favorites. 

If you haven’t seen the first list, you don’t need to unless you want to see another list of ten shows you may want to check out if you’re looking for anything new to watch.

Warning, though, some of these don’t end the best way and may end up more as a disappointment. I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

I. Warehouse 13.

Pete and Myka, U.S Secret Service Agents, are deployed to South Dakota’s Warehouse 13 with a new assignment from an authority above and outside the government. 

Intrigued?

With the Warehouse comes assignments regarding objects that hold some sort of abilities that can cause people to do wild and crazy things. It’s their job to find the artifacts (as they all hold significance to history) and bring them back to the Warehouse for safe keeping.

Things get wild and some serious topics get handled, but the show isn’t alone. It’s connected to another on this list, Eureka. More on that when you get to Eureka.

Some familiar faces are Eddie McClintock who played a part in Bones, one episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Joanne Kelly who played a role in The Dresden Files television series, Allison Scagliotti who played roles in Stitchers, The Vampire Diaries, and Drake & Josh, Aaron Ashmore (twin brother to Shawn Ashmore, who has been in the X-Men movies alongside appearing in The Boys, and voicing Conrad in Man of Medan) from Killjoys, Lost Girl, and Smallville, and Jamie Murray from Castelvania, Gotham, The Originals, Once Upon a Time, Defiance, and Dexter.

I highly recommend, especially because the dynamic of the characters is really interesting and covers a lot. 

II. Eureka.

As mentioned above, this is connected to Warehouse 13. But only in the last two seasons of this show are the two connected. 

Eureka is a town full of geniuses and advanced technology that the government funds, and when a new sheriff comes to town, he’s exposed to all the daily occurrences the locals get up to. And maybe a couple instances of time travel that may or may not have to do with the connection.

The town is full of faces you may recognize. Colin Ferguson who has roles in Haven, The Vampire Diaries, and Maytag commercials, Erica Cerra who has roles in The 100, Supernatural, Deadly Class, and the first Percy Jackson film, Felicia Day who has roles in The Magicians, Supernatural, Con Man, The Guild, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Trevor Jackson who has roles in Grown-ish, and a couple Disney productions.

It’s a huge science fiction show and if you’re into that, give it a watch.

III. Alphas.

Now, like the two above is, Alphas is a science fiction packed drama. And it’s rumored to be connected, like be in the same universe, as Warehouse 13 and Eureka. It’s never been confirmed, but there is one character (same name and job) that plays a part in both Alphas and Warehouse 13, which is the stem for the theory. (Plus, some other ideas floating around). 

But Alphas focuses on a team that investigates people with supernatural abilities while they, themselves, have abilities. These powered people are referred to as Alphas, due to their nature.

Unfortunately, this show ends on a cliffhanger in its second season.

Yet, I still recommend giving it a shot because it truly is an interesting show and it’s got some people you may recognize. 

IV. Haven.

If you’re a fan of Stephen King’s “Colorado Kid”, you’ll most likely enjoy this show since it’s loosely based off of it. 

Set in the coastal town of Haven, Maine, FBI Agent Audrey Parker comes to town to find that the residents have dormant curses, or rather troubles, that can be triggered at any given moment. She, along with the Sheriff and the town’s black sheep, must deal with the troubles’ deadly effects. And a few things may be revealed about herself too along the way.

It’s pretty interesting and I enjoyed it quite a lot when I first watched it. I’m not the biggest fan of Stephen King, and the connection seems to barely be there, but I wouldn’t know given my dislike for King. 

I highly recommend giving Haven a shot, however, especially if you’re a crime and fantasy fan. 

V. Lost Girl.

Lost Girl focuses on the gorgeous and charismatic Bo, a supernatural being called a succubus who feeds on the energy of humans, sometimes with fatal results. Refusing to embrace her supernatural clan system and its rigid hierarchy, Bo is a renegade who takes up the fight for the underdog while searching for the truth of her own mysterious origins. (Taken from IMDB). 

Plus, there a lesbian romance or two. 

Now, the show itself is pretty strong holding in its own storyline and lore, but the last season does get a bit rocky feeling. It could’ve been better, and it definitely feels a little rushed, but it wasn’t too bad of an ending. However, it’s not a show that got cancelled before it could wrap things up and it leaves things pretty open-ended.

In my books, that’s a point. I highly recommend this is if you’re a fan of fantasy.

VI. Almost Human.

Unfortunately, this is one of the ones in the list that only has one season (that seems to be out of order and frankly I’m not entirely sure of the order myself, so rely on googling it yourself and hopefully you find the right order) and was cancelled not long after airing. 

BUT, it’s a good watch. It’s set in the distant future, where cops are assigned an android partner to protect and serve. Things get pretty wild and I’m quite sure there are some bombs involved at some point, but there’s a bonus to all the madness of Almost Human.

Minka Kelly and Karl Urban. Two incredibly beautiful human beings.

I highly recommend bingeing this single season show. 

VII. American Gods.

This shows feels very confusing. But it’s still a good watch. 

It centers on a recently released ex-con named Shadow Moon. He runs into a man full of mystery named Wednesday (and you’ll later come to find out who he really is, or you may already know given your knowledge on the book of the same name or just how well you know mythology) who seems to know more than Shadow about his own life and past. 

There are Gods, mischief, and a lot of crazy shit in this show. So far it’s on it’s third season as far as I know (I have to rewatch the first two before I pick it back up).

You should give it a shot, but I won’t blame you if you feel way too confused about the whole thing.

VIII. The Boys.

Now, there’s a lot of controversy regarding this Amazon Original Series, but honestly, I think everyone should at least give it a chance. I know a lot of Tumblr users were put off on trying to due to the advertisements on the site. 

If you don’t know what this series is about, it follows a group of vigilantes set on taking down the corrupt superheroes that are abusing their powers and status.

It covers a lot of ground. Murder, sabotage, terrorism, capitalism, and a lot more. Feminism and sexual harassment occur, but there are warning before each episode for what you may see in the contents.

Some familiar faces include Karl Urban, who’s known for his roles in Thor: Ragnarok, the newer Star Trek movies, Almost Human, Lord of the Rings, and more, Erin Moriarty from Jessica Jones, Laz Alonso from The Mysteries of Laura, Chace Crawford from Gossip Girl and The Covenant, and Jensen Ackles from Supernatural has been confirmed to be joining the cast for its third season.

The Boys is currently on it’s second season, being released on a weekly schedule. So, if you like superheroes and graphic content, this show might be it for you.

IX. Chuck.

Chuck is the result of when a twenty-eight year old computer geek inadvertently downloads critical government secrets into his brain, the C.I.A. and the N.S.A. assign two agents to protect him and exploit the knowledge, turning Chuck Bartowski’s life upside down. (Taken from IMDB).

This is one of the shows I cannot recommend enough to people. It’s the right mixture of action and comedy, plus a little romance. Spies, love, and murder, oh my! What more could you want? 

Plus, Zachery Levi plays Chuck. If you don’t know him by name, you probably would recognize him from some of his roles with the most recent being in Shazam!, Fandral in the second and third Thor films, voicing Eugene Fitzherbert (or Flynn Rider) in Tangled, and Heroes: Reborn. 

If Zachery Levi playing a lovable computer geek turned spy doesn’t interest you, maybe some more familiar faces will. 

Yvonne Strahovski from The Handmaid’s Tale, The Astronaut Wives Club, acting as Daenerys in a Princess Rap Battle on Youtube, and Dexter. Adam Baldwin from Firefly/Serenity, Bones, Angel, The Last Ship, and Independence Day. Brandon Routh who plays Ray Palmer from the DC Shows. Matt Bomer from Doom Patrol, American Horror Story, White Collar, Magic Mike, and True Calling.

X. Deadly Class.

Unfortunately, I have a truly bad streak with new shows. Deadly Class, like others that have been mentioned in these lists of mine, got cancelled and on a cliffhanger no less. However, that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the action-packed coming-of-age story set in the 1980s. 

Following a new recruit for a high school training assassins, things get pretty wild when you pair death and teenagers. 

[tardisman14]

Enchanting: Chapter 1: Royal Announcement

A novelized version of Enchanting Grom Fright, told from Amity’s pov. A look into what was going through her mind in that episode, with snippets of happenings in-between scenes. Told in 4 parts (3 main chapters, plus the prologue), rated to be safe, and obviously Lumity.

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Hexside School of Magic and Demonics,

Mid-morning

The halls of Hexside were even more lively than usual as students and faculty alike helped set up decorations for that night’s festivities. There was also, of course, various students working in last-minute Grom-posals, ranging for simple to elaborate.

But right now, Amity’s mind was somewhere else. As she made her way towards Luz’s locker, note in hand, she went over the plan in her head again:

Step 1: Write a note to give to Luz asking her to Grom. Done. Step 2: Find the right place and time to give Luz the note. In progress. Step 3: If Luz agrees, go to Grom together. If she’s just happy to be around Luz, strong friendship. If she feels something more, ...she’ll work that out later. Step 4: If Luz turns her down, ...she’ll know based on how she takes it.

It was a simple plan. Not too complicated. She had her note in hand ready to deliver it. ...But that last part really gave her a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

It didn’t make sense. Amity was the top student in her class. She had a clear path towards a future in the Emperor’s Coven. She was the envy of practically every student. So why did ONE hypothetical scenario have her this worried?

*BUMP* That worry, however, was soon replaced with irritation towards whoever had just collided with her.

“Watch it, nitwit!-”

But once Amity sees who she bumped into, she backtracks.

“Oh. Hi, Luz... and co.”

Wow, she REALLY needed to work on not snapping the moment she bumps into someone. Especially considering that this time Luz was just off to the side talking with Willow and Gus. It was her not paying attention.

“Sorry about that.”

“No problem, let me help you!”

At least Luz was kind enough to help pick up her books and-

“Here, your note.”

WAIT, WHAT?

Amity quickly snatches the note from Luz’s hand.

“Man, you got some quick grabbers.”

“It's just- it's private.” What was going on with her today? Part of the plan was making sure Luz got the note. And yet… she couldn’t let Luz see it. But why? Didn’t she WANT to know what Luz would say?

Just then, there’s a screeching sound coming from the speakers. All around Amity, the other students were muttering.

“Attention Hexside students. This is your principal speaking.”

This had to be it. Bump HAD to be announcing who has been selected to be Grom royalty. And knowing her luck that day, Amity had a bad feeling about what was coming next.

“This year, I have the privilege to bestow our highest Grom honor to... Amity Blight. Our Grom queen!”

With that, all the uneasiness she had felt not a minute before had just been made even worse.

“WHOOOO! Amity, get it, queen!” she had heard Luz shout just then.

She needed to get out of there. For some reason, she couldn’t be around anyone right now, especially not Luz. She quickly ran off towards her first class.

---

Amity was a wreck that morning. She did her best to pay attention during her first few classes, but her teachers and classmates had noticed that she hadn’t even volunteered to answer a single question. Although they weren’t too surprised given her current position.

Lunch time rolled around, but Amity wasn’t feeling all that hungry. She decided to go somewhere less crowded to think. She figured the gym would be her best bet. There weren’t any classes in there that day due to Grom being set up. She knew that Principal Bump as well as some student volunteers would be working on preparations, but she figured they would be too busy with that to notice her just sitting in the bleachers.

Amity knew what being chosen as Grim queen meant. She supposed it only made sense that she would be selected, given her status as top student. But still, based on what she had heard from her siblings about previous years, it was a challenge for even the BEST students. And given how tense she had already been that morning…

Amity wondered. She had already dreaded the thought about what would happen once she gave Luz the note. And for some reason, it felt stronger than anything else she could rationally think of. Even stronger than her chances of joining the Emperor’s Coven being put at risk or anything her parents threatened her with over the years. She was still trying to figure out exactly how she felt about the human. But could the idea of Luz not reciprocating any potential feelings really be her worst fear? And if so, would that mean that those feelings would be confirmed?

Amity was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a rumbling and looked towards the source. She saw that Luz had apparently stumbled across the arena.

“Medieval torture seems like a strange theme for Grom, but hey-”

With that, Amity recalled Luz’s reaction from earlier. She supposed it would only make sense that Luz didn’t know about Grom tradition. Any dances in the human realm would likely be different than those in the demon realm. Deciding that Luz should know the truth about what would be happening that night, she spoke up.

“They're not for decoration. This arena is where I'll make my debut as Grom queen.”

“Right. Why don't you seem excited?”

“Because this isn't just some dance party.”

As if on cue, that black gloop that would be Amity’s opponent for the evening decided to make itself known.

“That's Grom. Short for Grometheus, the fear-bringer. It's a monster that lives under the school. Every year it tries to break out, and a student has to defeat it before it invades the town. Ever the optimist, Bump holds a party and calls it tradition. The worst thing is that Grom can read minds and shape-shift into your worst fear.”

Amity then looks back on her thoughts from a few minutes ago.

“And mine is... very embarrassing.”

“If it worries you so much, then why don't you tell Principal Bump you want out of this death match biz? *GASP* Unless talking to Bump is your greatest fear.”

Amity let out a small chuckle at Luz thinking THAT would be what she fears the most.

“No, but that's a good idea. Thanks, Luz.”

Maybe Luz was right. Maybe if Bump knew about how stressed she felt, he could find a way to get her out of it. With that, she left the gym to go find him.

---

Amity took a deep breath as she approached Principal Bump’s office. If talking with him really was her best chance of getting out of being Grom queen, she could not afford to mess this up. She knocked on the door and waited.

“Come in”

Amity entered the office, hopeful that Bump would hear her out.

“Ah, Miss Blight. What can I do for you?”

Amity hesitated for a few seconds. But she knew what she needed to say right then and there.

“Principal Bump, I’m aware what a huge responsibility it is to be selected as Grom Royalty. But the thing is… I don’t know if I’m entirely up to the challenge. If there’s any way you can get me out of it, I’d be willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen.

Bump was silent for a few moments. Amity knew that couldn’t be good.

“*SIGH* I can’t say that I’m entirely surprised. In my time as principal, there have been many students chosen, even those who have been considered the best, who have been unsure about their chances. Unfortunately, you know as well as I that if Grometheus isn’t kept in check each year, it WILL cause havoc throughout Bonesborough. I get that the prospect can be terrifying. But as Top Student, you statistically have the highest chances among the student body of being able to keep Grom at bay.”

As much as Amity dreaded to hear it, she knew Bump had a point. The risk of Grom escaping was too great to be left to chance. She was about to leave when Bump spoke up once more.

“Look, I understand your worries, so I am willing to make a deal. If you can find anyone else willing to take your place before tonight, you’ll be relieved of your duties as Grom queen. Otherwise, I wish you the best of luck tonight.”

With that, Amity left Bump’s office and decided to get ready for her afternoon classes. Although for the rest of the day, there was only one thing going through her mind. She was doomed.

---

The moment the final bell screeched, Amity couldn’t get out of the school fast enough. She didn’t care where she was going, just that she needed to get out of there as fast as she could. She saw a set of woods not too far by. At least she knew no one would go looking for her there.

It seemed like a good idea from Luz at the time. But who was Amity kidding? Grom was too dangerous to be left unattended. Of course there was now way that Bump would allow the top student to get out of this. Sure there was one solution brought up, but that required someone to WILLINGLY agree to go up against a monster that can bring your fears to life. What was she going to do?!

*BUZZ* She pulls out her scroll to see a new group message from Ed and Em. Great. Just who she wanted to hear from right now.

Ed: ‘Hey Mittens. We saw you bolting out of the school earlier.’

Em: ‘Listen. We may mess with you from time to time, but we get what you’re going through right now.’

Ed: ‘We remember how our J felt when they were chosen as Grom royalty 2 years ago. We can’t imagine you feel any better about it.’

Em: ‘So, we figured that the least we could do is help you prepare a little. Ed and I can use our illusion magic to help you practice facing your fears. Let us know once you get home.’

Oh yeah. How could she forget? At this point, she wasn’t sure what made her feel worse. The idea of the entire school seeing what she feared the most, the prospect of what she felt that fear might be, or the fact that because of all of this, she likely wouldn’t have a chance to give her invitation to-

“LUZ CHOP! AAAAAAHHHHHH!”

*WHACK*

“Ow!”

Great. What now?

“Oh my gosh, Amity! I'm so sorry!”

Wait. Luz?

Amity then saw her clear as day thanks to that light spell the human had become known for. And just like earlier Luz helped her up.

“And here I thought this day couldn't get any worse.”

“Did you talk to Bump yet? Was it as terrifying as you imagined?”

“*SIGH* He said no. I'm Grom queen, unless I can find a replacement. And who'd want to switch with me?”

There was nothing Amity could do at this point. Why bother to hide it?

“I would.”

“What?”

Did she hear that right? Could Luz be serious about this?

“Amity Blight, I'll do it. I'll take your place and face Grom in the arena. I'll be your fearless champion!”

Was that a large spider on Luz’s face?

“GAAAHHH!!!”

Aaaaaaaaand Luz was face down in the mud.

“fearless... champion…”

Amity wasn’t sure this was the best idea.

“Luz, are you sure about this? I mean, I told you earlier what this means.”

Just then, Luz gets up and places a hand on Amity’s shoulder.

“Listen. I know how much this has been bothering you. I can’t just stand by and watch my friend go through something that makes them feel that uneasy knowing that there’s something I can do. I WANT to help.”

Amity knew that determined look in Luz’s eyes. She had seen it plenty of times before. When Luz first challenged her to that duel, when Luz tried to save her from Otabin, when they were going up against the Slitherbeast, and when they were fixing the damage she had done to Willow’s memories. Knowing that look, Luz wasn’t going to back down anytime soon, no matter what anyone would say.

...plus, if it meant that she wouldn’t have to face Grom, it couldn’t hurt to try.

“Well, if you really are going to take my place, you’ll at least need to be prepared.”

“Great! I’ll go tell Bump that I’ve volunteered. We can meet at the Owl House in an hour to start training. See you then!”

As Luz ran off to see Principal Bump, Amity was still unsure about letting Luz do this. But for now, she needed to help her friend get ready. And she knew just the annoying siblings to help her.

---

Upon making it back home, Amity opened the door to get inside, only to find Ed and Em waiting for her. ...well at least they could be convenient when the situation called for it.

“So Mittens, ready to train to go up against your worst fears?

“Slight change of plan. I’m not the one who’s gonna need your help preparing.”

[stevenuniversetanzanite]

Someone Must Get Hurt (Cordelia x Reader (Part 2))

This is set during around and through coven so she’s still Cordelia Foxx technically.

Summary: Reader joins Miss Robichaux’s swearing she would keep her main power to her grave. She doesn’t expect to fall for the Headmistress.

Note: This story was inspired by my vague memory of the soul eater in the x files episode the gift. Subconsciously also inspired by a great fanfic which I will insert the link as soon as I find it.

I’m not American so any odd spelling, phrases or inaccuracies. I apologies for in advance. This is my first Cordelia x reader.

Part 1,  Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

Cordelia’s mother forced all the students to go to some holy place that our order. They never made it to the fountain because Nan walked off. None of the students were invested in seeing some holy water feature, so a free tour of some famous racist woman’s house that was cooler than outside didn’t seem to bad. If your going to stay in New Orleans for a while might as well know the culture behind it even if it’s disgusting to hear about.

 Walking back to the school, you lagged behind hearing a boy crying out for his mother. You slipped away from the group scoping around for the child. People were passing him paying the boy any mind. You crouched down to the boy who was clutching his arm close to his body.

 “Are you alright?” Of course, he isn’t, why would you ask that? you thought. “Where’s your mother?” The boy shrugged. “Can I see your arm?” As you suspected, it was broken. You looked around for someone who looked like they could be his parent. Your attention when back to the wailing boy. “Shh~ It’ll be okay,” you weren’t sure you should do it. How were you going to explain your mysteriously broken arm? The child looked so broken and he doesn’t have his mother to help him. Screw it. “I can help you with your arm.”

 You rest both your hands on his wrist. He flinched. You closed your eyes, focusing on the wound on his hand and wishing it away. You knew you alleviated the pain from him when your arm aches. You blinked back the tears that threatened to fall. “Thank you,” the boy pulled into a hug, squeezing the living daylights out of you. “You’re a superhero.” you chuckled.

 “Now let’s find your mother.” 

 You stumbled into the school half an hour later, welcomed by the sound of the Headmistress shouting at her mother. You shut the door quietly wanting no one to catch you sneaking back in. You had no idea what that’s about, but you wanted no part of it. Your bed sounds wonderful right now. Wrapped up in a blanket watching some YouTube sounded good.

 “She’s back,” Nan notified them.

 You cursed under your breath preparing yourself for the wrath. The clomping of high heels approached you. You froze as the younger blonde rushed over to you to make sure you were okay.

 "Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you?" 

 You giggled out in response to her checking over you.

 Her mother at the end of the hall with the other girls crowded behind her eavesdropping. Fiona was unenthused but it didn’t appear to be directed at you.

 "Jesus Christ, Cordelia," Fiona said. "She's not a child. She can take care of yourself."

 "It is my responsibility to look after these girls. Yes, she may not be a child but that doesn’t mean she should be left alone. She doesn’t the people or her way around. What if she went to the other side of town?”

 “She’d be fine,” Fiona said. “She knows more than she lets on.” Oh god, what does she know? "So why did you sneak off?" You can’t leave it at that, you thought. How else am I meant to figure out what you know?

 “A kid lost his mother; I was just trying to help. I’m sorry I caused so much concern.” That last part was for Cordelia. No one else cared about your absence.

 “Of course, you go missing doing something boring,” Madison said. 

 “Was the kid returned?” Cordelia asked.

 “Yes.” Cordelia smiled pleased with what you did. "The woman gave me her business card." The woman looked less happy at that but tried to hide it. "She owns a florist in town. She said if I ever needed flowers for something, she would make me an offer I couldn't refuse. Anyway, everything turned out fine, I'm back at the school unharmed. Now what's for lunch.” You say as a distraction to spot Cordelia from checking you over, you couldn't let her find out about your arm. Cordelia nudged you in the direction of the other girls. She wanted to talk to her mother some more. 

 Later that day, you were in the greenhouse snooping through the books for pain relief. You had found one on natural medicine. Ibuprofen wasn’t strong enough to kill the pain of your now bruising arm. The book was poorly written leading you to believe it was terribly translated to English. You always had a fascination with herbal medicine but had never had the chance to give it a go until you moved here. You found on for a potion that could be stored up to year after making it. It could be convenient to have some around for when the pain came back- that’s if it works in the first place. 

 You began to collect the ingredients when you heard your name. You were too jumpy for your own good. It didn’t help that you had gotten so involved in what you were doing.

 “Shit Delia, you scared me.” Delia? You’ve never called her that aloud before. That’s one of those things that’s meant to stay in your head. She barely knows you. You can’t go calling people by nicknames. You’re not Madison. 

 Being so in your own brain, you didn’t notice her freeze in place after calling her the shorten name.

 “You could say it was payback for earlier.” Cordelia said after a second closing the door behind her. You were in a room alone with her alone. Oh god, what do you do? How do you act normal? She’ll notice something is up for sure. “I didn’t expect you to be here.”

 You stared at her blankly. An awkward silence fell among the two of you. “Yeah,” You said still making direct eye contact.

 “Do you want me to go?” she asked. 

 “No!” you squeaked. You leant forward to try and stop her, but you tripped over a pot plant. Great. Just great. She wasn’t close to you, why did you try and stop her. She appeared next to you. You couldn’t tell if she teleported or if you spaced out long enough for her to get there. Time was slipping away from you.

 “Good because I didn’t really want to,” she admitted. “You’ve been here for almost a year and I know nothing about you.” She offered to help you, but you declined. Instead you picked up your freshly picked leaves and headed over to wash them off.

 “There’s not much to know.” You turned your attention to the plant you got the leaves from; you didn’t have enough if you were making twice the batch.

 If you didn’t look at her, maybe you could get through this. 

 “Don’t say that,” she said. “I’m sure there’s more to you.”

 “Thanks?”

 She grabbed you by the chin and forced you to look at her.

 BOUNDARIES. BOUNDARIES. Your mind screamed, but you didn’t mind. All you had to do was lean in, she was so close. You were probably a blushing mess; thank god the others aren’t seeing this. She’s so much prettier up close. Her lips were probably soft and tasted like Chapstick. You bet you could run your hand through her hair and for it to be tangle-free. It wouldn’t stay that way for long if she was yours. There was so much you would love to do to her, but she’s your teacher and married!

 “Y/N?”

 “Hmm~” You shook yourself out of your thoughts and out of her grip. You cleared your throat. “Sorry.”

 “No need to apologise, sweetheart,” Sweetheart? Why did she call you sweetheart? “What are you making?” You nod your head towards the book on the workbench. “A pain reliever?” Her tone conveyed worry. “Did you get hurt? I swear if you lied earlier I-” She would go nothing and you both knew it. The worst that would happen is she would scold you and then she would fawn over you. Has she done that to anyone else? You couldn’t recall.

  To ease her concern you fabricated a lie, “I thought about having a natural alternative to the pills inside.” You took your collection ingredients to the workbench and started to prepare them. “They never seem to work on me,” the last part was muttered but Cordelia heard. “Do we have ginger?”

 “I have half of one from this morning or would you prefer a fresher one?”

 “Half should be fine.”

 “What do you need done to it?”

 “Diced.” Going back to the recipe you scanned the method, “Is this going to be chunky? Eww.” Cordelia laughed. She pulled out a knife and started to chop the ginger. “You don’t have to, I can-”

 “I’d like to.”

 She made you scoot over so she could sit on the wooden crate turned highchair. You didn’t want to stand the whole time, so you made do with the materials around. Your shoulders were pressed up against each other. You were glad she was on your left if she touched your right one your true incentive for doing this would be revealed. She helped you prepare the rest of the ingredients while you tried to work as best as you could with your left hand leaving the other rested on the book.  You led her through what to do as you had the book and she had never made this one. She helped you set up a beaker to cook it in. You joked saying you expected her to pull out a cauldron or something. As time went on, you grew more relaxed in her presence. 

 “How do we know if it works?” You asked. 

 “Someone will have to try it.”

 “Well, bottoms up,” you downed a serving of the potion. There was too much ginger for your liking. You waited a minute for it to kick in. Your arm began to feel numb. You hummed as you re-read the book. You landed on some fine print at under a picture. Cordelia was eager for a response. “I think tingly,” you cringed at your word choice. “Oh~ They shouldn’t have put that in the fine print.”

 “What?”

 “You’re meant to strain and say the chant in reverse, otherwise it becomes a numbing agent. How the fuck does that work?” Cordelia shrugged. “Still useful though. Do you have anything to bottle this up in?”

 The two of you bottled the concoction and placed them aside.

 “I had a lot of fun doing that with you, would you consider taking lessons on this if I offered?”

 “I don’t think the other girls would enjoy it.”

“I was thinking more on the lines of one on one.”

 “Sure. Make it a date.”