#ask ian lightfoot

[lightfoot-bros]

any Father’s Day headcanons involving both Wilden and Colt?

For Wilden, the Bois would try so hard to impress their father with gratitude by going out with him on adventures. For example, they would do father-and-sons’ bonding activities like fishing, sports, or hiking. But what both Ian and Barley most look forward to is their one-on-one conversations with their father about life advice.

To Wilden, as long as he spends quality time with his favorite Bois that is what he asks for.

For Colt, after the Phoenix Gem incident the Bois do appreciate Colt for being there for them; likewise, Colt would be nicer to Barley.

Barley would invite Colt for Quests of Yore night and Barley would be ecstatic to show him how to play, while Colt would try his best to understand the enthusiasm of the game.

Ian would be more open to Colt by having a little more one-on-one conversations. Eventually there would be a time when Ian will graduate from high school and Colt would be proud to see his son-in-law walk on stage.

[twisting-echo]

i'm curious, for your ship moodboards, why are the right character's corner photos on the top, and the left character's on the bottom, instead of right on right and left on left?

I suppose it's because, in my mind’s eye, I always envision my moodboards horizontally rather than vertically. For my moodboards, I always pick a 3 by 9 grid and select 9 pins in total. I specifically choose three pins that match the character's aesthetic. I place these pins in the top and bottom rows, reserving the middle row for the characters. Additionally, I include a central pin that reflects an aesthetic or quote representing both characters.

I honestly have the other mods of the @onceupona-crossover blog to thank for inspiring the direction of my moodboards and helping me grow as an editor. My moodboards and editing have come a long way thanks to this blog.

In the top row, you can see the three pins representing Felicia: the full lips with green lipstick and nose piercing, the lily pads (because she lives in a swamp), and the red hair with the half-up bun. In the bottom row, the pins represent Ian: the blue hair with the glitter, the wizard cosplay staff, and the red sneakers.

But now, looking at the rows vertically, I have adjusted the pins that represent the characters on the right and left sides as you suggested. It honestly looks just as good as the first one. It's all about perspective, I guess.

Thanks for the ask, anon; it made me look at my moodboards in a different light. It was interesting to explore and might be something I incorporate into future moodboards.

[onwardmagicprincessselfship]

What do you find attractive about Barley?

Also do you have other headcanons for him you haven’t mentioned yet?

Okay what I find most attractive about Barley BESIDES his sweet, loving, and funny personality….

Well there’s….

His gorgeous and luminous hazel puppy-eyes

His hot bod (most liked features would be his beefy arms, strong yet soft hands, and his adorable belly)

His gorgeous flowing hair (especially when it’s seen beanie-less)

His cute chubby wubby cheekies

And those soft looking full lips that look absolutely kissable

Other Barley headcanons I haven’t mentioned:

He has a light purple pegasus plush that he’s kept since he was three that he named Guinevere that gotten slightly tattered and worn out as the years went by who looks like a spitting image of the Pegasus on the side of Guinevere I complete with a bright blue lightning bolt on the side of her left rear

He has a special memoir box dedicated to Guinevere I that is painted in the EXACT same color scheme as her that has special memorabilia in it such as small pictures of him proudly working on her, the first time he got her, and himself proudly posed with an embarrassed Ian dropping him off on his first day of sophomore year as well as the orange gem shaped reflector that he still kept as the one thing that he’ll remember Guinevere I by as well as a special message on the front that reads “Onward to Valhalla, my mighty steed Guinevere”

Whenever there’s a moment where Barley needs to go to the hospital (for a checkup, to put a cast on a body part of his that he broke yet again, etc.) he gets triggered by the heart breaking fourth memory of his dad that he ends up having a panic attack at the idea of going to the hospital so Laurel tries to coax him into going but usually that doesn’t help so Ian comes up with a clever idea to get Barley to try to go to the hospital by telling him that he shouldn’t think of it as going to the hospital but rather a very dangerous and perilous quest that he must overcome which DOES calm Barley down a bit at the idea and Ian also brings along Barley’s light purple Pegasus plush Guinevere “as his mighty steed by his side” to help him cope at the hospital

When Ian’s working at Burgershire, Barley usually likes to come in as different personified customers (One of them notably being Clarence) as his plan to hang out with Ian much to his dismay

Barley as “Clarence”: Hello 😉 fellow Burgershire cashier I’ve never seen before 😉 My name is Clarence

Ian, knowing very well it’s actually Barley in disguise: 😑 *exasperated sigh* 😑 🙄😑 What can I get for you “Clarence”? 😑🙄

Barley as “Clarence”: I’ll have what they call the “Ian Special”, 😉 fellow Burgershire cashier I’ve never seen before 😉

[onward-magic-princess-barista]

How do you think Barley’s and Ian’s relationship with Colt has changed since the events of the movie? I felt that there wasn’t any on-screen closure for that.

I think it’s canonically proven towards the end that Ian has grown a lot closer in his relationship with Colt but Barley ,on the other hand, even though he’s gotten used to the idea of Colt being in a relationship with his mom after the closure between him and his dad he might have taken some time getting used to the idea of himself growing closer towards the relationship between himself and Colt due to the conflicting notion between the two when it comes to his protesting and reckless driving however I do think Colt took the time and effort on his part in taking an interest towards Barley’s interests in Quests of Yore and history to try to grow closer in his relationship towards Barley

[sleeplessdreamer14]

𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓯𝓮𝓬𝓽 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓶𝓮

fandom: Onward (Pixar)

relationship: Barley Lightfoot x GN! Reader

summary: You and Barley are perfect for each other. Now if only you could see that for yourselves.

additional tags: pining, pre-relationship, friends to lovers, unresolved romantic tension, self esteem issues, y’all are massive dorks

a/n: this fandom is seriously lacking in x reader content, we need to step it up. divider provided by @cafekitsune

Barley fell first, you fell harder.

The two of you had been close friends for a few years. He realized his feelings for you around the time he turned eighteen.

He definitely has a music playlist dedicated to you. It was initially made on a whim, but then the discography grew increasingly more affectionate.

You have the same tattoo on your left arm that he does on his right.

Play wrestling is definitely a thing for you guys.

One of his favorite things to do is going for snack runs with you in his van in the evening. Sometimes he’ll take the long way home just to have a few more minutes with you.

He honestly felt honored the first time you fell asleep while he was driving.

Believe you me, Barley is way too good at making you smile and laugh, even when you don’t want to.

Even if you’re super bummed or stressed out, his Medieval Voice works like a charm on you.

Barley feel like a million bucks whenever he gets you to laugh.

But he does know when to get serious.

Like this one time when you were just stuck in a major funk, and despite the small laugh Barley got out of you, it didn’t get rid of the hurt. So he stayed and waited it out with you so at least you weren’t alone.

Having him there did make it easier.

Yes of course Laurel loves you.

She and Ian have listened to Barley talk about you so much that it felt like they already knew you by the time you first came over to meet them.

Frankly, it boggles their minds that you two aren’t going out. (yet)

Trust me, Barley wants to ask you out, so bad, more than anything. He’s thought about it a hundred times by now. But he just… can’t. Not yet.

You potentially turning him down wasn’t even half the reason for his hesitation, no, it was the thought that you’d say yes, but then he’d screw it up somehow.

Barley isn’t afraid of very much, only a handful of things. Those include; anything bad happening to his mom or brother, and letting you down.

Speaking of which, you never stand for anyone talking to/about Barley like that, even before you realized you had a crush on him.

Whether it be with a death glare or some choice words, you would make your displeasure clear.

Officer Bronco is honestly kind of scared of you at this point.

The way you’ve always had his back and treated him with the respect and dignity that most people deny him makes Barley feel like if he really did his best, he could be a good boyfriend to you.

Chances are, you may have to be the one to make the first move.

[yandereonward]

Losers Stick Together

Cw: Headcanons Pairings: Ian Lightfoot x Reader

You aren't a loser, per se, but you were more on the nerdy/geeky side

Ian wanted to be your friend soooo bad. He would hear your conversations with your friend and he wanted to talk to you guys so bad

You were so cool in his eyes, so when he ended up accidentally running into you, his whole world change

^ He stuttered over his words, while you looked at him confused. He does eventually get out an apology and you end up asking for his name

^ "Footlight- No Lightfoot... But you probably want my first name. Sorry, I'm iAn." He mentally cringed when his voice cracked

^ You lightly chuckle, before putting out your hand, "Y/n"

^ He wants to say he knows, but he thinks that will probably be weird

You end up inviting him to hang out with you and your friends and he thinks he's died and gone to heaven. He's ecstatic and he brags to his mom about it

He's an awkward cutey patootie :)

Thankfully, your friends are warm and welcoming and don't even notice his awkwardness

He mainly sticks with you, but does end up becoming friendly with your other friends

You two become really close and end up spending time together alone

You meet his mom and he stands behind you slicing a hand over his throat while shaking his head [Pretty much trying to tell his mom to stop talking when she starts to go on about what he's said about you]

Barley gets way too comfortable with you, much to Ian's annoyance

Barley is just very extroverted, but he makes you feel right at home

And you always feel at home when you're with him. It helps bring you and Ian closer

[megamagimugi]

Hey there, my twin! 👋🏻❤️

I've been meaning to send you this ask for a while! I know that Onward is your favorite Pixar movie, and it's an absolutely AMAZING film 😍 My second favorite as you know! So, would you like to go on and tell us in detail what are the things that you love most about it? The animation, the characters, the story... Feel free to write an entire essay if you're down for it hehe, you know that I'll read every single word no matter how long or short it is 😁

And of course, take all the time you need 🥰❤️💚

What's up, my twin, nice to see you here again👋💚

Ah, Onward, my beloved. Come to think of it, I'd love to rewatch it with you someday, Zahra (your favorite/my second favorite, Coco, as well!). Buckle up, I'm gonna yap a little bit😊

Well, where do I even begin? Perhaps the characters as they're certainly one of my favorite parts of this movie. I love how none of them is annoying or useless, and there's no actual "bad guy" - like, everyone's motivations and feelings are clear and understandable in their own way.

The Lightfoot brothers, the main character Ian and his big brother Barley, are both really fun, endearing and relatable in their own ways - though for me, Barley especially so😃 Favorite Pixar character for sure. I love how good of a brother he is to Ian throughout the movie, how he is never jealous of his little bro's magic abilities but instead is very proud of him and eager to teach him what he knows. How he loves fun and adventure while not being dumb or completely irresponsible as Ian seems to think of him to some degree at first. Ian is a bit of that classic nerdy and socially awkward teenager trope, but still feels authentic and not one-dimentional. I absolutely love how he sacrifices his main motivation throughout the movie: to meet his father, so that Barley can properly say goodbye🥲

Their mother Laurel is also a great character and I adore how such a mundane thing as working out at home at the beginning of the movie comes back later as something she uses to help her sons in the climactic battle. I love how proactive she is, looking for her boys, finding help and then actually helping them. She's also a very sweet mom to their children, understanding their different personalities and needs, and willing to speak their language.

Corey is mayyyybe borderline annoying but not quite, and she's a fun companion to Laurel at least. Colt Bronco, Laurel's boyfriend, might seem a little uptight and too exasperated with Barley's antics at first, but it's easy to see he's generally a good guy and he thankfully loosens up a bit by the end of the film. As for the dad... it's fascinating how much personality they could give disembodied legs, all things considered. I find his role in the story and the little ways he manages to connect to his sons as, y'know, JUST A PAIR OF LEGS, very unique.

And, well... I always tend to gravitate towards stories about brothers as you know. They're interesting and in most cases touch me really deeply. Barley and Ian's relationship evolves so beautifully in the movie, with Ian coming to understand his brother and his true role in his life🥹 It hits me so hard and genuinely hurts me to hear him call Barely a screwup, but the following scene where he realizes that everything he's wanted to do with his father he's already done with Barley is so darn beautiful🥲❤️ It's always very satisfying to see them hug after Barley spends that short moment with their dad, and perhaps even more so to see them get along so well at the end of the movie🥰

The story itself is also really cool in my opinion. The adventure being based on a D&D-like quest is quite a unique and very fun concept. Admittedly, at first I wasn't sure if I was going to like the premise of them trying to bring back their dead father but only managing to do so with his lower half. However, it actually really worked well! I also love how the ending is somewhat bittersweet when Ian doesn't get to meet their dad after all, and Barley only gets a short moment with him. Also, it's amazing how Barley's van Guinevere is almost a character of its own and how the scene where Barley sacrifices it is somehow sad and hilarious at the same time. And also... I honestly love how the director Dan Scanlon's own life experience is such a big inspiration for the story🥺

Another thing I love is the worldbuilding! A typically medieval fantasy world blended with the modern world we all know today is, I think, a great idea - and quite well executed too. The types of creatures you can see and how some of them have been affected by the technological progress, the magic system, including the way the curse works... I think it all works very well and creates a pretty fun setting for this story😄

The art, animation, music and voice acting are also very good. It was thanks to Chris Pratt's role as Barley that I believed he could do well enough as Mario in the Super Mario Bros. Movie😁 Another protective and caring older brother... who also gets shrunk to a miniature size and his voice becomes cute and comically high-pitched🤔 Hmm...

In any case, I hope this answer satisfies you😌 Love, love, LOVE this movie, and I'm pretty sure I could talk about it even longer🤭 I mean, look, I even own the art book:

Thank you so much for the ask, I had fun answering it😊❤️💚

[hooked-on-elvis]

"Early Mornin' Rain" (1971-1972) + "Aloha From Hawaii" bonus performance (1973)

Recorded by Elvis Presley on March 15, 1971 at RCA's Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee · First released on the album Elvis Now on February 20, 1972.

RECORDING SESSION Studio Session for RCA March 15, 1971: RCA’s Studio B, Nashville. With a three-album agenda before him, Elvis arrived on the first day of the sessions with a runny nose and aching eyes. Yet he was determined to go ahead, and his enthusiasm seemed inspired by an unlikely source: contemporary folk music. The spate of home taping he’d done during the soundtrack years reveals that Elvis had been tuned in to the folk boom since the mid-’60s, and it was through the sweet harmonies of Peter, Paul and Mary that he was introduced to songwriters like Bob Dylan and Gordon Lightfoot. With Charlie and Red he’d harmonized for hours on songs like “Blowin’ In The Wind” and “500 Miles”; now Elvis had been listening to Peter, Paul and Mary’s interpretations of songs like “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” “Early Morning Rain,” “(That’s What You Get) For Lovin’ Me,” and Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” and “I Shall Be Released.” Eager to work with similar textures himself, Elvis picked up on a suggestion from Charlie Hodge and brought in a male-female quartet, the Nashville Edition, to help on the sessions. The rest of the evening was devoted to Peter, Paul and Mary’s two Gordon Lightfoot numbers, “Early Morning Rain” and “For Lovin’ Me,” both grounded in the same sound: Restrained brushes from Jerry Carrigan’s drums, blended with a simple, effective bass line from Norbert Putnam. “Are you gonna play something with me?” James Burton prodded Chip Young, initiating a friendly duel between the two on acoustic guitar licks. Charlie McCoy (“the fastest harp in the West,” as one of his later solo albums dubbed him) took the solos. Each of the songs was true to its genre, but they lacked the feel the singer brought to any song when he was at his best. Elvis was having trouble. “Give me a Kleenex or something,” he asked Charlie, snorting in every pause, struggling to keep his nose clear and his voice open. After the evening sessions he checked into a Nashville hospital for treatment of what turned out to be secondary glaucoma. Elvis had been having problems with his eyes for the last few years, and no one who watched him record that night was surprised at his hospitalization.

Excerpt: "Elvis Presley, A Life in Music: The Complete Recording Sessions" by Ernst Jorgensen. Foreword by Peter Guralnick (1998)

--

"Early Mornin' Rain" PRIOR RECORDINGS AND RELEASES Gordon Lightfoot wrote “Early Morning Rain” in 1964 but only recorded the song himself later, releasing his recording on the 1966 album "Lightfoot."

Before Lightfoot released his own recording, the song was recorded and released in 1965 by Ian and Sylvia, a Canadian songwriting and performing duo. Source: thesongbook.org

Peter, Paul and Mary, also folk revival stars, had a hit with Lightfoot’s song that year, as it reached No. 91 on the Billboard Top 100. Source: thesongbook.org

Peter, Paul & Mary - Live on the "Tonight In Person" Show (1966)

HONORABLE MENTIONS Going to more experimental recordings, more Rock and Roll was put into the tune by the groups The Grateful Dead and We Five. The Grateful Dead recorded the song in 1965 but their recording was only released in 2001 on the album The Golden Road (1965-1973) and again on the album The Birth Of The Dead in 2003. Here's their version:

We Five released their cover still in the 70's on the album Catch The Wind (1970).

ELVIS' VERSION (1972) With Elvis’ version, Gordon Lightfoot’s most famous song features the male-female quartet The Nashville Edition. The studio version was recorded in March 1971 and released almost a year later in February 1972 on the album Elvis Now.

ALOHA FROM HAWAII (1973 — U.S. AIRING) "Early Mornin' Rain" is one of the inserted songs on the Aloha From Hawaii TV special. A live performance of Elvis' 1972 release was specially taped onstage at the H.I.C Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii, following the January 14, 1973 concert, with no audience at the venue anymore. The footage - along with 4 more bonus tracks - was requested for the US airing by NBC (April 4, 1973). In total 5 songs were live performed by Elvis in January 14, 1973 in addition to the concert setlist itself. They were almost all Hawaiian-themed songs taken from the soundtrack album "Blue Hawaii" released in 1961 ("KU-U-I-PO", "Hawaiian Wedding Song", "Blue Hawaii" and "No More") with the exception of one, "Early Mornin' Rain". However when the concert aired in the U.S. on April 4, 1973 (NBC), the live performance of "No More" was left unused while "Early Mornin' Rain" apparently was a definitive track for the American airing of the 1973 Elvis special, for some reason. Director Marty Pasetta used split screens to show Elvis singing (he is alone on screen, no musician was shown behind him as usual for his live performances) while the rest of the screen was completed with scenes filmed in Hawaii - from staged romantic scenes to Hula dancers - showing the peaceful beauty of the island. Below we have the raw footage and then the final edit that aired in the U.S. television post concert.

MUSICIANS: Guitar: James Burton, John Wilkinson, Elvis Presley, Charlie Hodge. Bass: Jerry Scheff. Drums: Ronnie Tutt. Piano: Glen D. Hardin. Vocals: Kathy Westmoreland, The Sweet Inspirations, J.D. Sumner & The Stamps, Joe Guercio and His Orchestra.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Since "No More" was the only other non-Hawaiian-themed song to be taped for the Aloha From Hawaii airing in the U.S., I wonder what made Marty Pasetta decide to chose "Early Mornin' Rain" to complete the final cut of the Aloha special for the U.S. audience. Considering "No More" has the Hawaiian feeling present in its sound, which would make the song fit very well on that TV special and the vibe of the 3 other songs selected as - per say - bonus material, why it was left out? Perhaps it was a request from Elvis? Or either a request from the Colonel Parker and RCA Records, in a try to boost the sales of Elvis' last contemporary album released previously, in 1972, in which that song was released? I haven't read any books specifically about the Aloha From Hawaii yet, so if you happen to know something about the selection of the songs for this extra portion of the Aloha From Hawaii special, please, share it in the comments.

All I know it that I was really happy to see "Early Mornin' Rain" performed live on the Aloha From Hawaii special because I absolutely LOVE Elvis' recording of this song. I think Elvis' cover of that classic Gordon Lightfoot penned-tune remains oddly underrated.

[herrenxenoberg]

Introducing my fanschool project...

I have two TWST fanschools in progress but I want to show the one I have been developing for a long while...

Luxglow Prep (Fanschool based on Pixar)

Location of the school (Pinpointed on the game's map):

The school is situated in the Land of Dawning, a distance away from Sage's Island but still relatively close.

Description of the School:

"A magical academy that has the same long-standing reputation as Night Raven College, its door are open to students of all backgrounds who wishes to learn and familiarize with the concept of balanced morality."

This school is founded much later than Night Raven College, but has gained an equal amount of recognition by scholars who are given options after their elementary graduation for its highly advanced facilities and utilities, as well as a very well-organized study environment. Thanks to the advancements of magitech, Luxglow Prep is the first ever arcane academy that adapted the use of the technology into their navigation, organization and power source management. At the core of this academy, lies a highly advanced artificial intelligence going by the name "Lampi", who is tasked with managing the student body, the school network and the dorm sorting process. Unlike Night Raven College, their historical inspirations come from spoken tales about each dorm's motto and theme.

How the school system works:

Because it is more advanced technologically, the school system is vastly different than the other arcane academies in Twisted Wonderland. The admission process revolves a transportation vehicle (similar to MVR-A from WALL-E) arriving at the student's residence, before being asked to rest inside a special pod designed with soft cushions like the NRC coffins. They'll be put into a slumber within the pod by a specially-programmed sleep mist administrator.

Once they arrived at the academy, they'll be placed in a stasis chamber, which is where the sorting ceremony will be held, and will be awakened when the time calls for it. Once awoken, they'll be dressed in the ceremonial robes by automated androids situated in the chamber and brought to the sorting area. The sorting area is where Luxglow Prep's sacred magitech artefact resides, a massive enchanted lamp that is said to sort mages by illuminating them with the light that befits their aptitude and their dorm.

The dorms in Luxglow Prep are labeled as "houses" instead (like sorority houses in colleges), and instead of travelling by mirrors, they travel by doors (similar to ones from Monsters Inc), enchanted doorways that can lead a person to a desired location or contains a dimensional pocket space upon entering.

Luxglow Prep Uniforms:

For the uniform look, I wanted to capture the feel of more rich type of school uniforms with the sweater vest and long sleeve shirts. The PE outfit is mostly a full-body tights and a jersey set they can wear. For the alchemy/lab fit, I took some reference inspirations from the CDA hazmat suits from Monsters Inc as a base. And for the ceremonial robe, I picked the one fit Merida is dressed in from Brave, and made it androgynous enough to work as a ceremonial fit. As for the standard wand they'll use, I went for the staff Ian Lightfoot wields from Onward. (Yeap, a lot of pixar references are packed in one go here).

Staff Members and Dorms will be revealed soon.

[dustedmagazine]

Listed: Niko Stratis

Niko Stratis is a Canadian writer who spent the first decades of her life living in the Yukon and working there in the family business, as a glazier. Between 2007 (when Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky got tagged derisively as “dad rock,” one origin point for her book) and now, she came out as a woman, moved to Toronto, became a writer (in publications like Spin and Paste), quit drinking, and then wrote a book on (as the title says) The Dad Rock That Made Me a Woman. In his review, Dusted’s Ian Mathers described it as “a book about how we grow up with, live entwined around, and learn from art.” Here, Stratis gives us a list of ten songs that almost made the book, and what they mean to her.

Almost Dad Rock

Gordon Lightfoot — “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”

This was a song I really wanted to put in, but I had written about it for a newsletter. I had grander ideas about writing more longform on this song, and my weird obsession with shipwrecks and fear of the water. My dad is a huge Gordon Lightfoot fan, and I was lucky to meet Gord once at a party celebrating a book about him. I asked him to sign a copy of the book for my dad, and told him about how much of my childhood was shaped by the sound of his records spinning in the corner of the living room. Gord laughed and said, “your dad sounds fucking cool.”

Pavement — “Spit on a Stranger”

When I wrote about The National, I wrote about the time a woman I went on a date with told me I looked like someone who listened to Pavement, which led to a prolonged period where I tried to work a Pavement song into the book. I tried to marry it with the Springsteen chapter to A/B this idea I have that Stephen Malkmus is a kind of Wario version of Springsteen. It was too boring and grand for the book and I nearly lost my mind trying to make it work, but it was a fun period of psychosis while it lasted. I maintain that I’m right about the Malkmus/Springsteen theory.

Dinosaur Jr. — “We’re Not Alone”

Dinosaur Jr.’s comeback feels very poignant to me, and very in line with the idea of dad rock I built when I came up with the structure for the book. I think a lot of J Mascis’ work is very sincere, thoughtful even, and it’s just that it is always buried behind a Marshall stack and the ringing in your ears after the drums are thoroughly blown. Dino is a dad rock band, and given my druthers I would have had them listed in the book as such; it just wasn’t working for the flow of it all. This song is exactly it for me though; it pulls back, never lets go, it’s tender but not without teeth.

Simon & Garfunkel — “The Only Living Boy in New York”

Paul Simon was such a presence in my house, and it was hard to not include a song from them in the book, it just felt like it wasn’t right. I love this song in particular, Paul Simon writing about Art Garfunkel leaving New York while they were supposed to be working on a record in order to be in Catch 22, and the haunting feeling of being so suddenly alone while trying to hold on to a tether that is stretching to its limit. It’s a beautiful, sad song that will always make me cry just a little.

Mazzy Star — “Fade Into You”

I was at the drug store the other day and this song was playing on the radio, and I just think they should warn you at the door. “The radio in here will fucking wreck you if you’re not careful.” I think Hope Sandoval has such a beautiful voice, and I love a song that is so tender and haunting, sad but not really, happy but only kind of. It didn’t work for the book, but I tried for a long time to make it happen.

Otis Redding — “Cigarettes and Coffee”

When I came up with the idea of what I thought Dad Rock is, I made an effort to divorce it from gender/genre. This song is such a perfect little moment of clarity and beauty. That moment when the night is fading, and the morning is still to come and time means nothing. No matter how bad things were, and they were often bad, there was always that little bit of time and sometimes I would hold on just to feel it once more. This song is on almost every playlist I make.

Dwight Yoakam — “Streets of Bakersfield”

My mom loves Dwight Yoakam. She calls him Dwight, first name only, very familiar. I wanted to put a Dwight song in the book, and there kind of is towards the end, but nothing focused. I learned to tell stories through music with my mom. She would bake on weekends and I would sit at the counter in the kitchen and listen as she told me about Dwight playing punk rock clubs in California because he wasn’t making it in Nashville. How he fought to make his own way. This song always makes me think about the spring air that filtered through the windows of my memories.

Veruca Salt — “Shimmer Like a Girl”

When I wanted to break Dad Rock out of genre and gender, Veruca Salt was one of my first choices. I love this EP they did with Steve Albini (Blow It Out Your Ass It’s Veruca Salt), it’s much harder and scrappier than some of their other work, but still has the charm and bite of so many of their best songs. It reminds me of my sister, who always played “Volcano Girls” in the car when she drove me to school. A song that smells like cigarettes smoked in secret in between home and other places.

Grandaddy — “‘Yeah’ Is What We Had”

Spoiler I guess, but this is one of the essays I wrote for the book and cut at the 11th hour. It didn’t flow, but I really wanted to keep it. Granddaddy is one of my all-time favourite bands, and it was important to me for a good long while to keep them in the book. I love the beautiful and haunting way they approach a kind of honest apprehension about the future, technology, all things. I love that Jason Lytle was almost a pro skater until he tore his ACL and then went on to make beautiful pop songs about alcoholic robots. A band that deserves to be considered one of the greatest bands to ever do it.

Death Cab for Cutie — “Steadier Footing”

This song is very important to me, because I can barely remember the first time I heard it. I know it was on a patio, I was smoking a cigarette and drinking stolen red wine. I was making a mix tape with a friend. We were talking about our lives, our fears, the lives we wanted to have when we got older. It was before friends started to die, before life started to feel hard. The cusp of forever. This song kind of feels like that too, this moment before everything changes in good and terrifying ways and instead just sits and breathes out. There’s a lot of bombastic beauty in DCFC songs, but for me, this moment of quiet exhalation is it. Perfect.

[lightfoot-bros]

Any Mothers Day headcanons?

I would see them always appreciating their mother by spending quality time with her while the Bois try their best to make breakfast/dinner.

It would also be neat when the Bois were younger they gave her sentimental gifts like handmade cards or a cool rock that looks like a Phoenix gem. Laurel would definitely save all of those gifts for years as priceless gifts from her children.

[twisting-echo]

Curses? I’ve Had Worse~

In the heart of Mirrorforge Crater, under the cosmic canopy of shimmering stars, the stellar guardians had gathered outside of Mirrorforge Castle. The air crackled with anticipation as Jack Sparrow stood face to face against Beast. The crater echoed with the murmurs of the crowd, each guardian’s breath held in suspense.

Ian Lightfoot was the first to voice his skepticism, his concern evident as he looked on. "I still don’t think this is a good idea, you guys." He said, shaking his head. Sulley, standing beside him, nudged him playfully, trying to loosen him up. With a hearty chuckle, he joked, "I know, right? Why would Beast want to give up all those good looks? I mean, the fur, the claws, the horns—he'd be considered a stud where I'm from."

"Well." Belle said with a soft laugh. "I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Though I must admit, Sulley, if horns and fur were all it took to be a 'stud' in your world, Beast might just have some competition." She glanced up at Sulley with a twinkle in her eye, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Sulley froze for a moment, his wide grin faltering as a hint of pink crept up beneath his fur. "Uh, thanks, Belle," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He let out a nervous chuckle, glancing away before their eyes met again.

For a fleeting moment, the two chuckled softly together, filling the space. It wasn’t until Ian cleared his throat—clearly unimpressed—that Sulley and Belle finally remembered he was there. Belle straightened up, her expression shifting to something more composed. "Good looks aside." She murmured, clearing her throat as well, ready to move the conversation forward. "This could also be a good way to chronicle Jack's curse-collecting abilities and how curses react to the person it's not meant for." Belle mused aloud. "If Jack can relieve Beast of his curse, it'd give him more time."

"Time for what?" Ian asked.

"It'll give him more time to learn to love and one day, hopefully, be loved in return. Those are the conditions of his curse," Belle explained.

"That’s great!" Olaf’s familiar, jovial voice chirped as he bounded towards Ian, Sulley, and Belle. “Beast already learned to love and be loved in return because we're the bestest of friends in all of the Mirrorverse! We love each other. He told me so himself,” Olaf said with pride. Then, as if struck by a sudden realization, his little wooden hands clasped his cheeks in shock. "Unless... unless he doesn't know it, and that's why his curse isn't broken yet!"

“No, Olaf, that's not how…” Belle started, but Olaf had already spun around to look over at Beast and Jack.

"Beeeeast!" Olaf called out, his enthusiasm unwavering as his little stick arms waved animatedly. “Everyone here already loves you so much! Me included! If the thing you're trying to do with Jack doesn't work, just know I'm here to support you and give you all the hugs you need! I promise I'll break your curse and end your self-loathing suffering because I believe in the power of our friendship!”

Jack and Beast exchanged an awkward glance. Beast managed a sheepish, toothy smile, while Jack raised an eyebrow, his lips pursed in uncertainty.

Belle crouched down, gently turning Olaf to face her with a soft chuckle. "No, Olaf. That’s not how it works," she said gently, trying to explain. "The love has to be... well, deeper than just friendship."

"OOOOOH!" Olaf's eyes widened with understanding. "So you're saying that 'only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart.' Does Beast have a sister? If he doesn't, I know a sister he can borrow!"

Before Belle could clarify, Olaf whirled around and shouted, "Anna! Come over here!" Anna, hearing her name, started making her way toward the group.

"Anna! We need your help! You have to be Beast’s sister so you can thaw his frozen heart!" He declared, as if it were the most obvious solution in the world.

Anna blinked, taken aback. "Oh." She said, a slow grin spreading across her face as she caught on to Olaf's train of thought. "I wouldn’t mind thawing his heart. In fact, I’d thaw his heart in a heartbeat!" She said, winking playfully.

The group—Belle, Sulley, Ian—all froze, staring at her with varying degrees of confusion. Even Olaf tilted his head in puzzlement.

Realizing how her words had landed, Anna’s face turned crimson. She waved her hands in a frantic attempt to clarify. "But not in a sisterly way, of course! Because that—that would be weird! Umm… what are we talking about?"

Sulley let out a low chuckle. "You, uh, might want to work on your phrasing there, Anna."

Olaf, oblivious to the awkwardness, clasped his little hands together and said earnestly, "So you'll do it, Anna? You'll be Beast's sister and save him with your amazing warmth and love?"

Anna laughed nervously, rubbing her elbow. "Uhh, Olaf, I think there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding here..."

Belle gently stepped in, placing a reassuring hand on Olaf's shoulder. "Olaf, Beast's curse can only be broken by love that’s, well, more romantic than sibling-like." She explained, a kind smile on her face.

Olaf frowned slightly, looking thoughtful for a moment. Then his face lit up again. "Oh, I get it now! So Beast doesn't need Anna as a sister… He needs a girlfriend!

He looked to Belle, taking her hand into his. “Belle! You’re perfect! You should be Beast’s girlfriend!”

Belle’s eyes widened as she took a step back. “Uh… well, I don’t know about that.” She said, her voice tinged with nervous laughter.

Ian chimed in, nodding thoughtfully. “It makes sense, though. You’re from the same universe, right? It’s a logical match.”

At this, Sulley unexpectedly cleared his throat, scratching the back of his neck. His usual laid-back demeanor wavered, and he spoke up, almost bashfully. “Well, uh, Belle doesn’t have to be with Beast just because they’re from the same world.” He said. “That’s not how it should work.”

Belle, sensing an escape route, latched onto Sulley’s words immediately. “Exactly! That’s what I was going to say. Thank you, Sulley!” she agreed, her tone a bit relieved, as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

Anna suddenly perked up, an eager glint in her eye as she jumped into the conversation. “Yeah! You know, Beast could find someone who’s not from his world. Someone who goes on Tower Quests with him all the time. Someone who’s also a guardian of knightly attire and, uh… someone who admires his dreamy blue eyes and his deep voice and his, um… very fit physique…”

Anna’s voice trailed off as she realized everyone was staring at her again. Her cheeks turned bright red, and she nervously brushed her bangs to the side. “But not me! Of course not! I mean… I wouldn’t mind or anything, but this is about Beast!”

Sulley and Belle exchanged an amused glance, while Olaf tilted his head, still clearly perplexed. Before anyone could respond, Belle took charge. “Anyway, that’s why we’re doing this exercise with Jack Sparrow—to see if we can help Beast avoid all of that relationship stuff and focus on breaking the curse instead.”

Ian crossed his arms, frowning. “Which I still think is a terrible idea! What if someone gets hurt? This is dangerous. I really should go talk to Mickey about it. He needs to know!”

Before Ian could march off, Tiana stepped into the group, a small potion bottle in her hand. “That’s why I’m here.” She said, her calm voice cutting through the commotion. She held up the potion. “Just in case the worst happens. Better safe than sorry.” She smiled lightly, trying to reassure Ian. “Besides, Mickey doesn’t need to sign off on everything we do.” She added with a chuckle, hoping to ease his worries.

Jack Sparrow and Beast strode over to the group; Beast's heavy footsteps betrayed his mix of anticipation and unease.

Jack stopped in front of them, tilting his head with a sly grin. “Are we ready to do this, then?” He asked, his voice laced with an easy charm.

Olaf bounced forward, his eyes wide with curiosity. “Beast! How are you feeling? Nervous? Excited? Both?” He asked, his voice teeming with concern.

Beast shifted, his massive frame towering over the group—except for Sulley—but his voice came out soft. “Both.” He admitted, his claws flexing slightly. “I’m nervous… but excited, too. The chance to be human again—it’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

Belle stepped forward, her voice calm and encouraging. “Then let’s not waste any more time. Back to the center, both of you.” She politely instructed, gesturing toward the open space ahead. “Take your positions!”

With a dramatic flourish, Jack extended his skeletal arm toward Beast, his bony fingers shimmering faintly in the light. “Ready, mate?” he asked, his grin widening.

Beast hesitated for only a breath, his weary gaze meeting Jack’s. With a deep, steadying exhale, he extended his clawed hand to meet Jack’s. “Yes.” He said firmly.

The instant their hands locked, a visible shiver of energy coursed between them. The curse began to stir within Beast, rippling beneath the surface of his clawed hand. It shifted and twisted, taking on an almost fluid, malleable texture with a deep black and purple hue that pulsed faintly, as though alive. The air between them shimmered, crackling with an electric charge as the curse floated free from Beast’s hand, circling and zipping through his fingers like a restless, living entity.

It hovered for a moment, a swirling mass of otherworldly energy, before surging forward toward Jack. The skeletal fingers of Jack’s hand seemed to absorb the curse like a sponge soaking up ink. As it seeped into his arm, Jack’s body stiffened, and a visible shudder ran through him, his face contorting with a mix of pain and exhilaration. The curse left a faint trace of its purple glow across his arm, disappearing as quickly as it had come.

Beast let out a sharp gasp as the transformation swept over him. His hulking frame began to shrink and morph, his fur fading away to reveal smooth, human flesh beneath. When it was over, Beast—now Adam—staggered backward, his hands quivering as he stared at them in disbelief. They were human—truly human—for the first time in what felt like an eternity. 

“I… I can’t believe it,” he murmured, his voice trembling with awe as he turned his hands over, marveling at the change.

Meanwhile, Jack stood motionless, his body eerily still, as though the curse were lying in wait, ready to awaken when the time was right.

The crowd of Guardians, who had been watching intently, collectively gasped at the spectacle. A wave of cheers and applause broke out as they celebrated the miraculous transformation, their voices echoing through the space with excitement and wonder.

Anna couldn’t contain herself. She bolted toward Beast—now Adam—her eyes wide with wonder and excitement. “Oh wow, this is amazing! You’re… you’re gorgeous!” she exclaimed, circling him as if to take in every detail of his transformation. “How do you feel? Do you feel different? I mean, you must feel different. Oh, this is incredible!”

Adam blinked, startled by her enthusiasm, but a small smile broke across his face. “It’s… overwhelming,” he admitted, his voice now smoother and less growling. “But it feels… right.”

Before Anna could bombard him with more questions, Jack Sparrow interrupted, his skeletal hand raised dramatically for attention. “Well now, my charmingly curious companions!” He began, flashing a charismatic smile. “Does anyone else have a curse—or blessing masquerading as a curse—they’d like me to, ah, alleviate? I’m feeling generous today!”

Frank Wolff stepped forward. He raised his bark-like jungle arm, the natural texture of vines and moss catching the light. “What about this?” He asked, his tone as casual as though he were asking for a second opinion on a minor inconvenience.

Jack tilted his head, scrutinizing the arm with interest. “Hmm, now that’s an intriguing one. A curse, or a curious case of jungle rot? Either way, I’m inclined to lend my... uniquely dubious expertise~”

Frank chuckled, flexing his wooden limb with a creak. “Sure, Captain, let’s see if you’ve got the magic touch—or if I’ll need a new arm to grow back afterward.”

Rapunzel stepped forward, holding out the golden strands of her magical hair. “My hair—it’s always been a gift,” she said, her voice warm yet uncertain. “It’s healed all kinds of things before, but sometimes it feels more like a curse than a blessing. I don’t even know if it’ll fit with what you’re doing here or if it’ll even work for Belle's research… but maybe it’s worth a try?”

Jack’s gaze lingered on Rapunzel’s golden hair, a mischievous spark lighting his expression as he took a small step closer. “A blessing, a curse, and golden to boot.” He said, his tone both teasing and thoughtful. He reached out as though to inspect the shimmering strands but stopped short, letting his fingers hover just shy of touching them. “You know, love, I seem to recall you mentioning you’re actually a brunette. The thought keeps me up at night more often than I’d like to admit—I imagine it’d suit you rather nicely.”

Rapunzel’s cheeks flushed a rosy pink as she tucked a loose strand of golden hair behind her ear, suddenly very aware of his scrutiny. She let out a nervous laugh, her wide eyes darting away for a moment before finding his again.

Jack’s lopsided grin softened as he noticed her reaction, a rare flicker of sincerity breaking through his otherwise exaggerated demeanor. “But your hair as it is… well, it’s nothing short of extraordinary,” he said, gesturing with a theatrical sweep of his skeletal hand before stepping back with a flourish. “Let’s keep it in reserve, just in case my particular brand of… expertise doesn’t quite do the trick.”

Rapunzel smiled faintly, her blush deepening as she glanced down at the golden strands draped over her hands, her fingers absently twining through them.

Belle’s brow furrowed as she watched Jack’s display, his offer to take on more curses hanging in the air like a daring gamble. “Oh no,” she said, half under her breath, her voice tinged with concern.

Tiana, noticing Belle’s sudden reaction, stepped closer. “What’s wrong?” she asked softly, her calm tone steadying.

“I don’t think Jack should take on any more curses until we’ve made sure he can handle this one,” Belle explained, glancing over at Adam, who still seemed dazed from his transformation. “I really want to check on Adam, so, um, Sulley, can you…”

Before she could finish, Sulley raised a massive paw, cutting her off with a knowing grin. “Save Jack from himself? Already on it.”

Belle smiled gratefully, her tone warm. “Thank you, Sulley.”

He turned to Ian, giving him a friendly nudge. “Come on, Ian. You’re my wingman on this.”

Ian blinked, startled, but quickly straightened up. “Uh, coming!” he said, trotting after Sulley as they made their way toward Jack.

______

Anna, who was still hovering near Adam, tried her best to keep the conversation going. “Wow, look at your hair! The color—what is that, auburn?” She said, her voice bright and filled with genuine curiosity.

Adam smiled warmly as his eyes softened. “Actually,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “I think it’s Titian, you know? A color closer to yours.” He gestured toward her bangs, which made her blush slightly as she self-consciously touched her hair, sweeping her bangs to the side.

“Oh,” Anna mumbled, her cheeks now rosy. “Well… uh, do you like sandwiches?”

Adam blinked, momentarily caught off guard, but then chuckled softly. “Yeah, I do.”

“Good, because I was wondering… only if you wanted to… would you—” Anna stammered, the words tumbling out faster than she could think, but before she could finish her sentence, Olaf appeared, his bouncy energy cutting through the moment.

“Wow, look at you!” Olaf said joyfully, waddling up to Adam with his stick arms waving. “I was honestly expecting more facial hair, but you look great! You should really consider growing facial hair, though—I know the ladies, myself included, will appreciate it.”

Adam laughed, his tension easing as he looked down at the enthusiastic snowman. “I’ll think about it,” he replied warmly.

Belle and Tiana arrived just behind Olaf, and Belle stepped forward, her expression gentle but full of concern. “Adam, are you okay?” she asked, her voice soft.

Adam nodded, though his posture wavered slightly. “I’m okay… just a little dizzy. Probably from all the excitement.”

Tiana reached into her satchel and retrieved a small bottle filled with a softly glowing, yellow liquid. Holding it out to him, she said gently, "Here, take this. If you feel your head pounding or your stomach turning, drink it. It’ll ease the pain and help you feel steady again."

Adam took the bottle with a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

Belle, still watching him closely, added, “Maybe you should go lie down for a bit, just to be safe.”

Adam turned to her, his expression kind. "I promise, Belle, I’m fine. If I start to feel unwell, I'll go lie down right away. Really, you don’t need to worry," he assured her, his voice calm but firm, hoping to ease her concern.

Woody and Elsa approached the group. Woody tipped his hat, his easygoing demeanor cutting through the tension. “Well, don’t you look like a brand-new man,” he said with a grin.

Elsa smiled softly, her cool presence somehow calming. “How are you feeling, Adam?” she asked, her tone sincere.

Adam turned to Elsa, his expression steady but thoughtful. “I’m feeling better, thank you. A little overwhelmed, maybe, but… it’s hard to describe. Everything feels new—almost like waking up from a very long dream.”

Elsa nodded, her gaze empathetic. “That’s understandable. Take your time adjusting. There’s no need to rush.”

Woody clapped a hand on Adam’s shoulder, his grin widening. “We’re all here for you, bud. If you need anything at all… just let us know.” He chuckled, lightening the mood.

Adam chuckled along, appreciating the gesture. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Olaf, seemingly unable to stay quiet for long, jumped in with his usual cheer. “Ooh, what about a snowball fight? Or, or a group hug!” His eyes sparkled with excitement.

Tiana let out a soft laugh, shaking her head. “Let’s maybe hold off on snowball fights for now, Olaf. Adam’s had a big day.”

Olaf nodded earnestly, as though this was the most reasonable suggestion in the world. “Good point! But the group hug offer still stands.”

Adam chuckled, his shoulders finally relaxing as the tension melted away. "A hug sounds nice... maybe later," he said softly, his gaze flickering with gratitude.

As the group shared a quiet moment, the faint sound of laughter and chatter from the rest of the Guardians reminded them that there was still a celebration going on. Belle glanced toward the crowd and then back at Adam. “Why don’t we head back? A little company might help you feel more grounded.”

Adam nodded after a beat. “That sounds good.”

With that, the group began to make their way back toward the heart of the gathering, the warm glow of companionship settling over them.

______

Sulley and Ian approached Jack, who was standing near the center of the gathering, looking particularly pleased with himself. As they reached him, Jack turned with a dramatic flair, his skeletal hand gesturing grandly in greeting. “Ah, Sullivan, Lightfoot!” he exclaimed, his grin as sly as ever. “Here to offer your heartfelt congratulations on my rather dazzling success with the curse extraction, are you?”

Sulley raised a brow, crossing his arms as his tail flicked behind him. “Not exactly, Jack. Belle asked us to talk to you—she’s, uh, a little concerned about your… enthusiasm for taking on more curses.”

Ian nodded quickly, adjusting his staff as he stepped forward. “Yeah, she just thinks we should make sure you’re okay before, you know, piling on more. I mean, not that we think you can't do it, but…” He trailed off under Sulley’s sidelong glance.

Jack’s grin faltered for a moment, but he quickly recovered, throwing an arm around Ian’s shoulders—his skeletal grip noticeably lighter than expected. “Ah, a fair point, lad,” Jack said with a dramatic sigh. “No need for panic, though, I assure you. I’ve navigated far murkier waters than this!”

Sulley snorted. “Yeah, well, let’s keep it that way. You’re good at causing chaos, Jack. But maybe try not to end up on the receiving end of it for a change?”

Jack waved his free hand dismissively, though a glimmer of agreement sparked in his eye. “Very well, Sullivan, you’ve convinced me to—temporarily—postpone my magnanimous offer.”

He turned to the crowd with his signature theatricality, raising his skeletal hand high in the air. “My dear Guardians!” he called out, his voice echoing through the space. “It is with a heavy heart that I must retract my previous offer to absorb your curses—temporarily, mind you! I’ve been advised to ensure my exceptional form remains intact.” As his gaze drifted across the crowd, he spotted Frank in the corner and gave a quick, apologetic nod. “Sorry, mate,” he said lightly, before resuming without missing a beat. “However! To raise your spirits, I hereby invite you all to drinks and carousing in the Mirrorforge Castle banquet hall, should that be your preference. The first round is on me!”

A mix of laughter and cheers rippled through the crowd as the tension eased, the Guardians quickly warming to the idea of celebrating. Sulley chuckled, shaking his head. “Classic Jack.”

Ian grinned nervously. “Well, at least he listened… sort of?”

Before Sulley could respond, a familiar giggle rang out from behind him. Rapunzel had climbed effortlessly up Sulley’s broad back. She perched herself with ease, hanging her arms loosely around his neck as if she’d done it a hundred times before.

Leaning forward so her head was level with his, she smirked. “You know he’s going to cause some trouble before this night is over, right?”

Sulley let out a low chuckle, shaking his head. “Yeah, I know. Babysitting Jack has officially been added to my job description, thanks to this whole curse business.” He gave her a sideways glance over his shoulder, his expression sly. “Wanna help me keep him in line?”

Rapunzel pretended to think it over, then grinned mischievously. “But—just to be clear—if something explodes, I’m blaming you,” she teased.

Sulley laughed. “Fair enough. I’ll take full responsibility... as long as it’s a small explosion,” he replied with a hint of humor, pinching his forefinger and thumb together to emphasize the tiny amount.

Ian, shifting his staff slightly, added with a nervous smile, “I think it’s best if we try to prevent any explosions altogether…”

Rapunzel leaned back, still perched comfortably on Sulley’s shoulders. “True, but where’s the fun in that?” she quipped lightly, before adding, “Relax, Ian—we’ll just keep Jack too busy to blow anything up.”

Sulley nodded, his expression amused. “That’s the plan.”

Ian sighed in mock defeat but couldn’t help smiling. “Why do I feel like I just got volunteered for something?”

The three of them followed the shifting crowd toward the castle, Jack’s theatrics still echoing in the distance. The promise of revelry mingled with the inevitability of Jack’s mischief, and the atmosphere buzzed with lighthearted anticipation.

____________

Notes:

Well, that's what I've got so far. I hope I wrote the characters well and made the interactions funny and cute. Originally, this was meant to be a silly little crack fic about Jack absorbing Beast and Frank Wolff's curses, alongside Rapunzel's blessing, transforming into a beast with golden hair, a wooden jungle arm, and his skeleton arm—all while causing chaos. But, as I kept writing, it turned into a concept worth exploring and an excuse to dive into character interactions.

Yes, there are a few not-so-subtle shipping moments (because I’m a shameless shipping slut). But my main goal was to highlight character interactions, and I think I’ve achieved that. If you enjoyed this, let me know! I’d absolutely consider writing another chapter. This took a lot of time, so please be kind, whoever’s reading this.

Oh, and there is no Mirrorforge Castle in Disney Mirrorverse canon—it's just something I made up because I feel there should be a magic and sentient castle at the center of Mirrorforge where the guardians can live together when they're not in their own universes. Just think of it as being like Casita from Encanto.

[onwardmagicprincessselfship]

Is Barley a slob or disorganized?

I would say that he’s more disorganized considering that he had a bunch of parking tickets stashed in the glove box of Guinevere I and the fact that he doesn’t take showers often, but I wouldn’t say he’s a slob considering the fact of the responsibility he took on as Ian’s father figure

[destinyc1020]

can we even put tom and timothee in the same category though, I feel like there very different and I feel timothee has now found the perfect balance which I feel tom really hasnt

Tom can bring people to theatres and insanely popular like r+j sold out within two hours and of course spiderman but outside of spiderman the quality of the projects are more miss than they are hit and really struggles with finding good scripts or working with directors. Timothee while a vastly different journey and its not until recently he found blockbuster success hes no doubt a draw while simulataneoulsy still working on quality projects and working with the best directors and also having found a ton of success in independent film world even something like bones and all while finacially poor I would say the genre is more to blame at least it was a good movie, with great performances and critically successful whereas cherry and chaos walking were bombs but horrendously awful films.

I feel timmy has found the perfect balance and knows how to pick roles that suit him whereas tom is financially successful but a little iffy if his name attracts the best directors or stars tbh.

Though I do think his move to theatre is great perfect for him especially a well known play like r+j and jamie llyod and a opportunity tp hone your craft.

Ohhhh....here we go yet again....

*Checks date on Calendar*

Yup.... Every 10 days, I swear....we get SOME variation of the usual "Worried about Tom's Career" ask.

🤦🏾‍��️

Anon, I think you and other fans who constantly worry about Tom's career need to realize that actors all have different journeys in the industry. Every actor doesn't have to do EXACTLY what their acting peer is doing, nor do they have to have the same exact path?? 🥴

whereas cherry and chaos walking were bombs but horrendously awful films.

HOLD UP..... Now, I'll give you "Chaos Walking" (which...in Tom's defense, was supposed to be released YEARS before it actually came out, and he signed on to that project early in his career), BUT "Cherry"?? 🥴 I don't care what anyone says, "Cherry" was NOT an "horrendously awful" film. Was it maybe not your cup of tea? Okay... sure. Was the narration throughout the film unnecessary? Okay....yes. But let's get REAL here. Both Tom and Ciara acted their butts off in that film. I feel like Tom really transformed himself in that film, and played a drug addict extremely WELL. That was the first film where I was like: "Geez man...you're an AWESOME actor!" That car scene!?? Like, come on. That was peak acting right there.

I feel timmy has found the perfect balance and knows how to pick roles that suit him whereas tom is financially successful but a little iffy if his name attracts the best directors or stars tbh.

Tom has worked with awesome directors. He's about to work with Paul King on the FA biopic, JUST like Timmy worked with him on "Wonka". Tom has also worked with Akiva Goldsman on TCR who's also famously known for films such as "A Beautiful Mind", "The Da Vinci Code", "A Time to Kill".....all AWESOME films.

How come it is, when Timmy does something, it's amazing, but when Tom does the very same thing, it's: "Idk...kinda iffy!" 🤔

Some of you all are letting Film Twitter run your minds instead of thinking for yourselves.

Have I liked EVERY single project that Tom has chosen to do? No... Not necessarily.... But I would put Tom's diverse filmography over Timothee's at the current moment, because Tom has at least shown me that he can play a wide range of characters and roles. He's gone from Arvin in TDATT, to Ian Lightfoot in "Onward".

Timmy is a decent actor (don't get me wrong!), and he's done great work over the years... But Tom has done more DIVERSE work imo. Timmy is just now starting to branch out and do blockbusters, children's films, etc (things that Tom has already been doing for years).... Just saying! 🤷🏾‍♀️

Actors don't have to follow one set path. They can go in and out from whatever filming roles they wish. Tom doesn't have to follow the same path as Timmy or any other actor out here. Most actors just focus on their OWN work, and admire the work of others that they personally appreciate. But it's not some competition.

I definitely think Timmy getting nominated for an Oscar at such a young age definitely put his name on the map for a lot of directors and such. Just being nominated for massive awards helps a LOT. You don't even have to win.

One day, Tom will be accepting an award for "Best Actor", and he will have all of Film Twitter eating their words.

I personally can't wait for that day lol 😊

[serendipizzy79]

Frodo herself is a ghostwise halfling rogue thief, just like Uncle Bilbo! Noble background.

Samwise Gamgee is a healing halfling paladin with an oath of devotion... to Frodo. He has the farmer background.

Meriadoc Brandybuck is a Strongheart halfling fighter, battle master as he turns out to be in the books. Also noble background.

Peregrin Took is a Lightfoot halfling bard, college of swords. My Pip is a bit different from source but Billy Boyd sang so beautifully in RotK it inspired me to pick bard. She's also noble.

Gandalf Gale. Human polymaath which is a mod class designed for centuries old vampires by the maker of Vampire Origin. I think it fits nicely for a maiar in disguise as a human wizard. I selected a range of spells that Gandalf uses, like firebolt, where I can. I gave him the guide background and gave him the canon beard and long hair, and Ian McKellen's twinkly blue eyes.

Aragorn Wyll. Human ranger hunter. I might multi class to paladin and/or fighter. Wyll is sort of Baldurian exiled royalty, and has an innate sense of goodness and justice that I feel Aragorn shares. I kept Wyll's darker skin and brown eye, just settling for changing his hair. When Mizora did her business, I just used debug to change him back.

Gimli Karlach. I made her smol. She's a halfling tiefling rather than a dwarf proper. She's still taller than the halflings so that fits nicely. And she's still a barbarian but I chose berserker rather than wild - I usually pick berserker anyway for Karlach tbh. They both love axes so weapons were an easy choice.

My Frodo (not-so) Challenge! I downloaded a load of halfling and LotR mods for classes and equipment before I started this run. If you see anything you want, ask and I'll see if I can remember which!

Legolas Astarion. The obvious choice. Blond hair and blue eyes and woosh we have Legolas. I decided on dual wielder class, but will probably multi class later too. I debated wood elf over high elf... But kept high elf in the end, improper as that is! Meh, I can change it later if I change my mind.

Boromir Lae'zel. I had Shadowheart originally but it was bugging me... Lae is a much better fit. Oath of Conquest paladin, will multi class to fighter later. Staunch belief in the rightness of their own society and structure, fanatical belief in their goddess/father's rule only for this to be stripped away and reversed on proof of the real, exiled, ruler being presented to them. Instead of dying at the end of Act 1, Lae will take on attributes of Faramir.

And finally, Smeagol Shadowheart. I made her a Kender way of shadow monk. She will specialise in unarmed combat but the shadow side was too good a fit for Smeagol/Gollum/Slinker/Stinker. I changed her eyes to blue and gave her corpse-pale skin. I'm still playing around with clothes... It does not seem quite right to have a bald mini-Shads toddling around in a loincloth. They both have a 'precious' that is more than it seems, and holds a dark secret. They both have memory issues. Shar is scarily similar to Sauron too, and Smeagol Shadowheart will have to choose between dark and light at the end of Act 2.

The no party limit mod actually does have a limit of 16. And we have Halsin, Jaheira and Minsc to pick up yet. Halsin reminds me of Beorn so that would be a throwback to the Hobbit I guess.

Jaheira is... Galadriel?

Minsc... Ahh I'm not sure. I can make Arwen, Eowyn and Eomer as Companions. Maybe Minsc can be King Theoden?! Wait. Would Boo be Wormtongue in that case?!

[halfawitch-willow]

We'll Have Tomorrow ❁ WSoH Epilogue

After the events at the Garden Grove on Halloween night, the ragtag group make their way to Eilonwy's house to recover. There, Willow explains exactly what the hybrid plant was and how it ended up in the restricted greenhouse in the first place. As well as reveals the truth about herself and her own origins... Takes place October 31st (Nobody look at me, okay) Willow Shop of Horrors Finale and Thread List @eilonwy-notjustgirl, @foreverydinger, @edward-andalasia, @blight-magic, @winndeavor, @thegcldenguard, @darius-dues, @ianthedisastrous TW: mentions of blood, mild gore, injury, neck trauma, abusive dynamic with a plant, mentions past child abuse and bullying, triggers, Willow Has Goop Trauma ((LOOK. There are 9 characters in this thread and it's nearly 30 pages long, it took forever to wrap up. But it's done, it's here, and thank you again so much to everyone who participated and helped with this monster - heh- plot!))

WILLOW

When they made it to Eilonwy's house, Willow sort of just let herself be moved around. Winston carried her in and to the master bath at Eilonwy's directions, and Eilonwy and Amity stayed with Willow to help her clean all of the blood off and get her wounds washed and wrapped. She could feel the pixie dust getting washed away as well, and by the time she was wrapped up warm and dry in some of Laurel's old pajamas -- including a pair of tattered sweatpants that Eilonwy promised Laurel wouldn't want back, so Willow could tear open a hole in the back seam for her tail -- Willow felt almost empty. All of her strength had disappeared down the drain, right as she was about to face the hardest part.

They were going to have questions. And she was going to have to answer them.

Eilonwy and Amity helped her out to the living room, where there was a weird sort of energy amongst those who were gathered. Like they hadn't quite worked off all of the adrenaline, but now there was nothing to put it towards. The three girls made their way to the couch and the moment Willow was seated, she reached out for one of the potion bottles Hunter had placed on the coffee table. She cracked the wax seal in an easy, practiced motion and knocked half of it back before anyone could blink. The blood loss was making her head pound, and her whole body felt like one big gash.

She set her bottle down with a small sigh, before opening another bottle with the same blue liquid and gesturing to Eilonwy. "It's a Lesser Healing potion," she said, voice still rough and croaky. "It'll help with pain and any minor wounds, and there's four doses in each." Willow looked around the room. "Who else needs some?" she asked, scared of the answer. If anyone had gotten seriously injured because of her mistake, she didn't know what she'd do. 

"We probably need some glasses..."

EILONWY

It probably wasn't exactly a good thing that Eilonwy was relatively used to ignoring her body's pain signals at this point, but considering it kept coming in handy, she was the last person to complain about it. Remnants of adrenaline and sheer will got her back to the Lightfoots house where she let everyone in so they could start cleaning up Willow. 

She told Tony to raid Ian and Barley's closets for clothes for the boys and figured they would make themselves comfortable as she and Amity went up to care for Willow. She grabbed sweats of her own for herself and Amity considering they were close in size and then she focused on each step. Getting Willow clean. Getting her new clothes. Getting her downstairs. Getting food and tea into everyone. 

Her left arm and her side were pounding dully in a way that she knew she would hate later, and she didn't realize she had pulled her arm in close to rest along her side. 

As they walked in, she had to comfort herself with little touches - a hand on Hunter's arm as she walked by, a squeeze of Tony's hand, a moment of leaning against Edward - and then got Willow to the couch. The question made her jump back up again, too fixed on needing to take care of everyone else. 

"I can get some glasses." She moved back towards the kitchen and began to pull them out to carry back over, using her light to make a sort of floating tray since she didn't trust her left arm right then.

TONY

Tony had already profusely apologized to Ian, knowing that this was precisely the kind of thing that Ian hated. People he cared about running off and getting themselves in danger without him able to help. "Hey, at least I didn't actually get hurt!" Tony had hoped the sentiment would help but he wasn't entirely sure it had landed the way he wanted it to.

Willow was being cared for by others and Tony raided Barley's closet for some items (making sure to be choosy and pick dark colors in case anyone was still bleeding) before grabbing some food out of the pantry.

"I can cook some warm food too, if anyone wants," he announced as he set crisps and cookies and all manner of snacks down for people to grab. "Laurel must've just gone to the store before this so we're in luck." There was also a lot of Halloween candy still laying about but sweets and junk weren't exactly the best for everyone here.

"Any allergies?"

IAN & EDWARD

Ian hadn't taken long to get to his mom's house once he knew what was going on, and spent most of his time, post-outfit change, with Edward in tow, since the latter was unharmed, or at least already healed if he had been harmed, and helpful, with a little direction. 

Most of that had involved redirecting Edward to where things in the house were that the people who were injured needed. 

"Catch your breath and please sit down for a minute," he reminded Eilonwy in passing, because the slight flicker in her light was too familiar for Ian not to notice and she wouldn't, in fact, slow down otherwise. 

"Blazey, bed," he mumbled in passing with a scratch at the dog's ears, sending her off to her bed in the corner of the living room with Cai trailing behind while he pulled open the closet door in the hallway and handed off a stack of pillows and a few blankets off to Edward to take to the couch. 

"It's fine, don't worry about it right now," he pressed a kiss against Tony's, vaguely dusty, hair and absently untangled a leaf from it. He never won the 'stay out of trouble' conversation, with either Tony or Eilonwy, and as unsteady as he felt right then over the situation that was really a sidebar to the bigger problems right then. 

He wanted to suggest Tony sit down too, but didn't, he wasn't injured and cooking would, hopefully, calm some of it. 

"Okay, mom isn't going to be here for a while," Ian returned to the living room, glancing at the collective group of misery occupying the couch and surrounding area, "but Edward's-" where was Edward? Ian glanced around, spotting him in the kitchen getting bottles of water for people, right, okay, "has the first aid kit, mom has an Arcadian first aid kit too if you need more than your potions." 

Otherwise, most of it was just damage control, wasn't it, and giving everyone a chance to relax after...well, Ian still didn't know what had happened but he figured he'd ask later.

AMITY

"I don't need any," Amity said quickly when the offer came. She gently nudged the potion back toward Willow. "You can have my share."

She wasn't without injury, persay-- but the worst of Amity's pain was all internal. Her own shame, her own guilt gnawing away, like a splinter embedded deep within the skin. She couldn't help but think about the ways she could have prevented this if she had just been fucking smarter. She hadn't seen the danger in the hybrid. She hadn't realized how much pain and fear Willow was still holding inside. Or maybe...she hadn't wanted to see it, because she knew so much of it had been Amity's doing. She still hadn't made up for it. Would she ever? 

She probably should have just gone back to the dorms. 

But Amity was selfish, and worried, and couldn't leave Willow alone (not again.) And so she'd gone with her, along with Eilonwy and the rest. Though she knew she was a stranger in this house-- not part of the family like Eilonwy or Tony or even Edward-- she stayed planted next to Willow's side. She'd stay quiet, nearly invisible if she could manage it. Only there for Willow.

WILLOW

Willow shook her head, and the moment Eilonwy came back with the glasses, she gently tugged the other girl down to sit with them on the couch and set the glasses down herself. "Both of you need some," she whispered, trying to ignore the shaking in her own arms as she tried to pour out some of the potion into the glasses. Winston quickly came over to help hold her hands steady, and she gave him a tiny, grateful smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Winston helped passed the two glasses to the girls while Willow picked up her own bottle and curled up on the couch between them, her tail curling around her feet. "Papa still makes it with scaberry extract," she told Amity, "so the taste isn't as bad as they normally are." There were still two glasses on the table for anyone who needed some, and a few more unopened bottles besides.

She took another sip of her own bottle and leaned against Amity's side, hoping that she'd at least have a little more time for the potion to work on her throat before she had to start talking in earnest. She'd gotten a look at herself in the mirror earlier and the bruising was... gruesome, so say the least. Some of it still peaked out over her bandages.

HUNTER

"I'm fine," Hunter said reflexively.

Hunter was fine. He was always fine. That was his job, right? To be fine, to wear the helm of the Golden Guard with his head held high? He was fine. He had some bruises, but nothing serious. He'd had far worse scrapes. He wasn't about to let anyone see him as anything less than capable. 

(His heart wouldn't stop racing. He didn't know why. He couldn't get it to stop.)

Not for the first time, he felt like maybe he shouldn't be here. He didn't belong here. He barely belonged here. 

He stood at a distance, back pressed against the wall, watching everyone. His eyes flickered to Amity and Willow on the couch, and he wondered what his life might've been like if he'd gone to school with them. He dismissed that thought quickly, and shifted his weight from one foot to another, wincing slightly. Perhaps he'd sprained something, or just got a bad bruise, but he could take care of that later.

DARIUS

Well, it's not like he'd been doing anything else for Halloween. He'd gotten dressed up, as per the custom, but wasn't planning on participating in any other significant way. No, he was just planning for a night in, looking fabulous, grading mediocre papers.

And then he got a text.

First, was the arduous task of decoding what was either a ciphered message or just a slew of typos. He managed to get as far as "Garden Grove", heading over there to try and assess the situation. What he found was...concerning to say the least. The fact that there was no Hunter, along with nobody else, was doubly concerning. Then it was another stretch of time of doubling back, asking around, and tracking, before he finally found the abode he was fairly certain was housing the young Golden Guard, along with anyone else who got caught up in this unfortunate scenario.

He ascended the porch stairs two at a time before knocking, sharply. He didn't bother waiting for an answer before knocking again and calling in, "Hunter?" It wasn't often he used his name outright, but this seemed like a situation that called for it.

When someone finally bothered to open the door, he looked to them before over their shoulder. "Is everyone alright?"

WILLOW

Willow wanted to protest -- no one who ever said they were 'fine' was actually 'fine', Willow would know -- and try to get Hunter to come to the couch and take a dose. If he even wanted to be near her. He hadn't said a word to her until that short reply, and Willow knew it wasn't the potions that made her feel squirmy and sick and guilty.

The knock at the door interrupted her before she could even begin to speak, and Willow quirked her head curiously until the familiar voice called for Hunter and she went deathly pale. Horror splashed across her features and Willow grabbed the sleeve of Eilonwy's shirt in a death grip as she sunk further against Amity's side. Praying to a distant Titan that Head Witch Daemonne wouldn't notice her. She was trembling like a leaf, and the few house plants in the Lightfoot's living room -- who had gone quiet after Willow had ignored their attempts to sooth her -- started to writhe and fluff up defensively.

EILONWY

Eilonwy was concerned. She couldn't leave Willow, not with the way the girl was pressed up against her, but she didn't like Hunter being so far away and sounding so distant either. She looked towards Edward and tilted her head towards Hunter, hoping he would be able to go over and bring him in closer so they could see if he was really all right. Amity at least she was planning to just shove the potion down her throat if she had to (she was better at enforcing care for other people than herself.)

But the knock had her head whipping around towards the door as she began to reach for one of the glasses. The name had her looking back towards Hunter, and she was about to say something as Ian pulled the door open when she felt Willow gripping her tightly. 

In the corner of the room, Cai came to attention at the same time she did, motes of light rushing towards her as little bits began to spark again along her hair. She didn't know who this man was, but Willow was scared. That's all she needed to know. 

"Stay back," she barked at the stranger. Yes, she was in pajamas with her sore arm curled against her side, but that didn't change the steel in her tone as she glared at him. "Who are you and what do you think you're doing here?" She hadn't directed her light - yet - but she was ready to shove him bodily back out the door if she didn't get answers soon.

TONY

Tony started toward the kitchen, beginning simple things like mac & cheese or some soup that was sat frozen in Laurel's freezer. Easy and warm, Tony could handle making a spread that would feed this motley crew. It helped with his own nerves to get away from the rest for a moment, to focus on a task once again.

Ian would handle things in the living room, this was his home after all, and Tony doubted that anyone here would be reckless enough to leave when they had only just arrived.

He heard the sound of a door opening, an unfamiliar voice following that, and finally Eilonwy's demand filling the air. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he tried to listen in, still standing at the stove.

IAN & EDWARD

With all the motion in the house Edward had opted to remain in the living room after seeing to what all needed to be gathered. And while Willow had a cluster of attention at the time looking after her his gaze quickly searched everyone else, who by the large looked well enough, except Hunter, unsteady on his feet. 

"Perhaps you should sit," Edward coaxed, gentle in his approach given how tense Hunter was, lifting a hand slowly to the other's arm to, hopefully, ground him a bit. "Are you alright, I think-" his words were cut short by that knock, and moreso Hunter's name and the sudden shift in the mood in the room, his gaze instinctively drawn to the door with a step between that direction and Hunter, just in case, given Willow's reaction and Eilonwy's outburst. 

Ian, already at the door, stood there, what was initially a passive expression thinking this was simply another person involved in the situation quickly shifted to scrutiny of the brightly-costumed individual standing there. He didn't know exactly what all was going on but he wasn't too eager to let anyone inside until he knew why everyone was so upset over the newcomer. 

"I really think that's a valid question right now." Ian regarded the stranger evenly, remaining in the doorway for the moment; nearly half the people in the house were already injured, he wasn't taking a chance on letting just anyone through that door. Which was why his hand twitched faintly, easily overlooked but a pointed gesture, while he waited for an answer.

AMITY

Titan's tit-- "Darius Deamonne?!" exclaimed Amity from inside the house. 

But how? No, that was a dumb question. Why? Was it the same reason that Hunter Belos was now in Swynlake? What about Lilith Clawthorne? Dread, as cold as ice, washed through Amity. Once, Darius would have been one of the sorcerers that she'd want to impress but now all the Emperor's crows were flocking to Swynlake, one by one, and there had to be a reason.

Naturally, Amity's paranoid brain thought first of Odalia.

But Odalia and Darius Deamonne fucking hated each other. 

Whatever-- first, Amity had to deal with the fact she'd just blurted his name and now everyone had looked at her. "He's-- he's the head of the Abomination Coven," she said, feeling her cheeks colour. "I have no idea why he's there though."

DARIUS

Alright, he'd clearly stepped into something here. Hunter had barely given any information in his poorly composed text, so he'd not been expecting such a large crowd to be waiting for him, not to mention waiting to pounce.

He put his hands up innocently to show he meant no harm. Luckily, he didn't need to introduce himself, as it seemed to be done for him. "Thank you, Ms. Blight," he said, nodding in her direction.

"I was summoned with a message warning of a "minor disaster"," he said, air quotes and all. "I'm merely here to make sure everyone is alright. Help heal any injuries. Subdue any threats. Though it seems that's been taken care of, if the state of the Garden Grove is any indication..."

His eyes flickered between all of the children, taking stock of their injuries and general state. His gaze settled on both Willow and Hunter for a bit too long before he looked to the only other adult in the room. "Is this your home? I don't mean to say you don't have the situation handled, but I'd like to help, if at all possible. Some of these children are under my care," he explained, despite none of the children referenced knowing that.

HUNTER

In this time, Hunter had forgotten that he’d texted Darius. 

It had been in a panic. There had been no other adult that he felt could handle this caliber of magical disaster. Mistress Clawthorne resented him, after all. He did not know the other sorcerers in town. So, Darius it was.

But he shouldn't have had to ask anyone at all! He should’ve been able to handle this, a simple plant!

Now, Darius was here and Hunter was embarrassed, but he had to save face.

“Darius!” It came out like a squeak. He cleared his throat. “I mean. Master Deamonne. Welcome! I, uh, texted him.” This was for the benefit of everyone else in the room. “On the way to the Grove, before we knew the extent of the damage.”

He turned back to Darius. “But, as you can see, we are all in one piece, albeit a little battered, so we clearly handled everything and you can definitely not mention this in any reports you might be giving.” 

He swung his arm jauntily, the visor of his helmet falling on his face as he did so. Quickly, Hunter scrambled to shove it back up, before his breathing started quickening again and he flashed an all-too-bright smile to indicate just how well he was handling this situation!

WILLOW

Willow had watched everyone react to Darius with the stunned, horrified silence of someone watching a train wreck. How the fuck had she managed to drag them all to this exact moment of time!? It was a nightmare. 

She bit back a squeak when Darius looked her over, wanting to disappear, but he glanced away quickly to look at Winston who was already shaking his head and gesturing instead to an annoyed-looking Eilonwy. Before that situation could devolve any further, Hunter jumped into the conversation.

Her heart jumped to her throat when it started to sound like Hunter might get in trouble for texting Darius. To save her pathetic ass from a monster of her own creation. Hunter looked like his face was about to crack from the force of his smile, and Willow was scrambling to lean over the back of the couch before her brain could catch up.

"It was my fault!" she croaked, voice wrecked and eyes wide and scared. "I'm the one who made the plants go crazy at the Grove. They just came to help bail me out when I lost control. They saved my life, please just-" Willow was horrified and embarrassed to find more tears trailing down her cheeks.

"Please don't report this, o-or tell my dads," she begged. "They don't know."

EILONWY

It appeared at least a few people in this room knew who this man was, and Hunter apparently trusted him enough to text him for help, so she would have to take that as a recommendation. Even if he did call them 'children'. 

Although she didn't care for the sound of reports one bit.

As Willow began to cry again, Eilonwy reached out to wrap an arm around Willow's shoulders from where she was standing, expanding the light around her so it provided a gentle warmth and pressure on the other girl. 

"This is my home. You are welcome inside," for now. "Willow had already gathered some healing potions that everyone will be taking," she gave both Amity and Hunter mild glares at that because she knew they had a tendency to downplay things, "and then if you feel up for it Willow, you can tell us what happened with the plants. But only if you want to." 

She turned to look back at him. "As you said, the issue at the Grove has been handled. Which means I'm assuming the reports in question won't be an issue." She raised one eyebrow, assuming he would get the message. 

Or Ian could still kick him out of the house pretty easily she was sure. Head Witch or no.

DARIUS

Oh boy. There was a lot happening here. He watched Hunter and opened his mouth to reply before he was cut off by Willow's cries and the blonde's remarks. His lips tightened in annoyance but he took a deep breath before replying calmly.

"Nobody needs to worry about any reports. It wasn't even in the question." He did not, however, make any mention of Willow's fathers. To promise that he wouldn't tell them in this instance seemed… irresponsible at best. At least, until he learned more about the situation.

Still, he was granted entry, so that was something. He stepped inside, the heels of his boots clicking against the floor. "Now, I have the capabilities to deal with any cuts, open wounds, sores, lesions, or damage directly to the skin, if needed. Don't be humble, I didn't come here to just stand around and look pretty."

WILLOW

Willow leaned a little into Eilonwy's embrace, being sure not to put too much pressure on her ribs and tried to wipe her cheeks dry. If she had been in her right mind, she would have caught how Darius had dodged the topic of her dads, but the relief from his reassurance was so great Willow visibly relaxed.

At Darius's offer, Willow looked around the room to check everyone. She knew, objectively, that her injuries were the worst - her blood loss hadn't made her that fuzzy. Hunter's armor meant she couldn't get a good look at him -- and wow, it was weird seeing him in the armor she knew so well from watching the news with her dads -- but everyone else was mostly in pajamas and costumes now, so she felt pretty confident she was the only one at risk of bleeding out any time soon.

"I think the three of us need the most help," she admitted softly, gesturing to Amity and Eilonwy. Hunter was still breathing kind of fast, and after a moment of hesitation, Willow held out her bandaged hand towards him in invitation.

"Come get some healing potion, Lony's orders," she said softly, voice almost a coarse whisper. "Sit with us, please?"

HUNTER

Hunter was fine.

He was fine.

Darius was here and he was fine. 

Everyone was looking at him now. 

He took a deep breath.

There were no reports, Darius said. Eilonwy said he should drink a healing potion. Willow agreed. Hunter didn’t want to do that, because he never liked the taste of healing potions. Not that the flavor itself was bad, but because the feeling down his throat was a reminder of —

What was it a reminder of?

Hunter couldn’t remember. His head was fuzzy. He was tired. He wanted to slump down on his knees and lean his head on someone’s chest.

He didn’t do that, of course. He shuffled forward slightly and took a hesitant seat on the edge of the couch.

“Pass the potion,” he said, holding out a hand.

DARIUS

Darius kept an eye on Hunter as he moved over, recognizing the nauseous look on his face. The kid was more wound up than Adrian's hair piece (on a good day) and he was fairly certain that a single mishap at this stage would completely unravel him. So he merely needed to keep things calm.

Looking over the three indicated ladies, he nodded. "Right. Before we begin, I want to preface by saying this is a perfectly sanitized procedure and there are no untoward side effects." With that explanation out of the way, he raised his gloved hands, and from underneath his cape, a stream of purple ooze shot out, suspended in midair before splitting between the three. It hovered before spreading and wrapping around the scratches and cuts, stopping any bleeding and healing the skin. Unfortunately, any internal injuries and pain would remain.

For Eilonwy and Amity, the process would be fairly quick. Willow's wounds were much more prominent and numerous, so he moved closer to her to keep an eye on the process. One cut at a time. He looked among the others. "So. Does anyone want to give a more detailed account of what happened?"

AMITY

Amity didn't want to take the potion either. She actually-- didn't want to be here at all. Now that Darius had arrived, she felt on edge. Her eyes kept darting to the door. She had this weird feeling like, somehow, she was betraying Alador by just being in the same room as him. Which made no sense of course. In fact, if she could talk to her dad (which she couldn't), he'd probably laugh at her for the thought. I haven’t even thought of Darius in years.

Still, he was a reminder of Amity's father. And the Boiling Isles. And her own magic. 

Her hands were still sticky with golem, which helped dull the pain from the burns on her palms, and up her arm. Titan's blood, she wanted to leave. 

But it was Willow's soft, croaking voice that kept her from bolting like a stray, injured cat. Carefully, without even saying a word, she moved with Hunter over to the couch, then sat down. She waited until the potion was passed and she took a swig from it obediently. 

Then her eyes tracked back to Darius. She glanced at Willow and leaned in. "What do you want to tell him?" she murmured. It was so inconvenient that he had showed up here so quickly... it would have been better for all of them to get their story straight. 

WILLOW

Willow let out a tiny sigh of relief as Amity and Hunter both sat on the couch, and she quickly -- or, well, as quickly as she could move -- poured them both doses of the healing potion. She looked up at Darius curiously as he approached, leaning in towards Amity to hear her whisper better. But before she could formulate an answer, or even open her mouth, Darius raised his hands and Willow watched in horror as abomination clay swam through the air and wrapped around her neck, arms, and legs.

She hadn't realized this was what he meant. Stupid half-wit.

Willow went stiff as a corpse, her head tilted back as she tried not to scream at the feeling of goop on her skin. She couldn't even feel relief from her wounds being treated, there was just the scent of clay and rot crowding out her thoughts. Her tail lashed out and twitched wildly until she grabbed it and held it down in her lap, trembling. She breathed in and out carefully. In for four beats. Out for four beats. Try not to cry.

This wasn't Hexside. This wasn't the Boiling Isles. She was fine. She could breathe.

In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four.

EILONWY

As Hunter sat on the couch, Eilonwy passed him the potion, passing one to Amity as well so that they would both take a sip and hopefully feel better. She couldn't be sure exactly how injured either of them were, but this was one thing she could do to help. 

This also finally brought Hunter close enough to her that she could slide her hand in his and hold it tightly, ignoring the way her sore arm throbbed in that moment, trying to pull him a little bit closer to her. She wanted her people close until she was sure they were okay, and there was only so much she could do. 

Once again, she was reaching for the potion with her free hand to take a swig when she paused as the swirling purple ooze shot through the air. Her light pulsed for a moment reflexively and she had to bite her lip to stop it from expanding outward. 

Until Willow reacted. 

"Stop it! Stop it right now!" Ignoring the potion (again), she reached out to try and lay a hand on Willow. She didn't even realize that she was getting warmer, the ooze that had wrapped around her own wrist beginning to dry out slightly as the light gathered more intensely around her.

WILLOW

"It's fine," Willow said, voice cracked and shaky. "I trust him. J-just don't get any near my face."

She was tapping out counts of four on her lap, lips pressed firmly together as she tried to tough it out. He was helping her. This was meant to heal. She could breathe.

TONY

Tony listened quietly through this Darius’ entrance and introduction, allowing those close to the door to react even as his muscles clenched in anticipation of another fight breaking out. Instead of saying anything he used that feeling, that anxiety, to finish making the mac and cheese and the soup so that he brought it out into the living room with a slight clearing of his throat so as not to startle anyone (especially Darius who was using abomination magic around the injured???).

“Hot food’s ready,” he murmured, eyeing up the stranger. Tony had only begun to trust sorcery and what was happening to Willow certainly didn’t ease any of that suspicion. “I know you’re taking potions but.. eating helps. If not immediately for your wounds it’ll still help settle your nerves.” He set the tray of bowls, forks, and spoons down on the table.

He hesitated there, unsure if he should join Ian at the door or try to take a seat near those on the couch as well. Tony ultimately decided on the former both because he wanted to be near his boyfriend and because most of the people on the couch weren’t people he knew how to comfort, how to help. They probably wouldn’t even want it aside from Eilonwy.

“So this is a total shitshow, huh?” He whispered to Ian as quietly as he could.

IAN & EDWARD

Ian's lips were drawn to a thin line, he couldn't say he liked anything that was going on in that room. It was Eilonwy’s home, it was his home, and Tony’s, and as far as Ian viewed the situation that extended to the people there he barely knew but clearly needed it to be that evening. He couldn't imagine his mom would mind that, although she might have had a few interesting words for the stranger who wandered in and set everything, and nearly everyone, off. 

She wasn't there, and Eilonwy was fueled by her own anxious, angry energy right then, which left Ian shutting the door and keeping a scrutinizing eye on the man, cautious. He was going to assume, for the moment, he was trying to help. 

But that magic didn't do much to settle Ian's opinion on the matter and he bristled, fingers twitching, at that repulsive outburst of intrusive sludge. 

He glanced to Tony in silent agreement, but his attention didn't sway far from Darius.

Even Edward was uncomfortable, although, already healed from his injuries, he was skirting the edge of the room. Ian noted the reflex, the way his hand dropped to where his sword would have been had he had it with him, at Eilonwy's sharp words. 

He waited, equally perplexed and unsettled by the display, pushing that aside until whatever was going to be accomplished by it had, before speaking. "I think everyone would be more comfortable if you stepped back a little," he addressed Darius, the lingering tension on that couch was obvious even without his natural sensitivity to the presence of people. And a few steps was breathing room, that wasn't unreasonable.

AMITY

Amity glanced toward Willow and instantly felt terrible-- remembering how she'd gone to her in the shop, covered in golem, and hadn't thought twice. She'd just wanted to make sure her friend was okay. She just wanted to hold her. She just wanted...

Amity looked away again, feeling shame crawling up and down her spine. It sucked that this thing that Willow hated the thing that made Amity... Amity. (Didn't it? She had a weird relationship with abomination magic this day. But at the same time, it was the only magic she knew. It felt impossible to separate that magic from who she was as a person.)

She didn't say anything, just looked back at Darius. Her gaze was guarded, bordering on hostile. If he tried anything else without a proper warning first, at least she could, maybe, stop him.

WINSTON

Winston didn't know what to do, felt like he was at a loss. The only other adult in the room and, unlike the shorter man, one who had neither magic nor the know-how to fix any of it. So, he did the best he could to comfort, to hunt for things that could make the kids feel better - blankets, warm drinks from the kitchen, help Tony get the food - anything to feel useful. 

He, to be quite honest, doesn't even notice when the children start to protest at Darius's actions. He's in the kitchen, leaving a voicemail for his office to let them know he'd not be in for a day or two. 

At the...purple goop that was meant to help, meant to heal Willow, however, he has to put his foot down. There's terror there, true terror, but before he can, Willow tells them its okay, just don't go near his face. 

Winston still didn't like it. 

"That's enough," he says, voice calm, but quiet, firm, and gaze unwavering from Darius. "You're trying to help. I understand that but they've...they've been through a lot tonight. Give them space, please. Willow," he says, no longer addressing the other adult but gaze never leaving him. "You're okay, darling. Breathe. He's done."

HUNTER

Suddenly, Hunter felt defensive of Darius.

He wasn't sure what came over him. But everyone bristled, ready to lunge at Darius, all on the defense, and Hunter just felt -- well, he'd been the one to call Darius, hadn't he? 

Hunter cleared his throat.

"He's just trying to help," he said. His fingers tightened around the health potion, and he could still taste it on his lips. He gulped, feeling eyes on him, and trying to look anywhere besides Darius. "I'm the one who called him, and I didn't do it on a whim; I did it because we needed someone who's dealt with magical incidents at the level. Or, I thought."

And then, because he still felt like this was his fault -- Willow's outburst, the sudden metaphorical daggers thrown at Darius -- 

"I'm sorry. If you have any issues with him, direct them to me."

DARIUS

Darius was attempting to focus on the task at hand. After all, healing through abomination magic was not a widely practiced technique, as one needed a deft hand to keep control while speeding up the body's natural processes. 

He didn't notice Willow's panic at first, only the first voice calling out at him to stop. Then step back. Give them space. All of these commands and distrusting looks being hurled at him while he was trying to concentrate.

Before he could speak however, Hunter did first. He didn't look away from his work but the words settled upon him, upon everyone, leaving a blessed silence that allowed him to finish what he started. Pulling his hands back, all of the ooze pulled off of Willow, coalescing over his palms.

"Thank you, Hunter. That should be enough. I could be doing more," he said pointedly, "but clearly some space is required." With that, he took a few steps back. Another faint glow came from beneath the gloves as the ooze, now streaked with dried blood, began to spin rapidly, seemingly cleaning itself.

"You'll likely need supplementary healing in the coming days, but at the very least, all of your wounds have closed and there should be no more bleeding."

WILLOW

The moment the abomination ooze pulled off of her, Willow slumped like a puppet that had all of its strings cut and curled into herself. Her arms wrapped around her stomach tightly as she breathed through her mouth, forehead pressed to her knees. 

This, more than anything, made her feel exposed. Weak. She felt like Willow the Half-Witch. Willow the Mudbreather. Weeping Willow. All of the false-courage she'd gathered over the months fled and left her trembling.

It was the press of Amity's knee against hers and Eilonwy's flickering light at the corner of her eye that made her reach out and snap her courage back up before it could disappear completely, dragging it back by the metaphorical tail.

She took a deep breath, let it out, then slowly uncurled until she was upright again. "Thank you," she said softly, voice a little raw and shaky. "I feel better now. I'm sorry I freaked out, I should have understood what you meant to do and prepared myself better. I apologize for worrying everyone."

It was almost clinical, and she knew she sounded like she had when she was sat in front of Principal Bump's desk, coughing up abomination slime her teacher had shoved over her mouth when she failed to make her own lump of clay so much as twitch.

Willow was still hugging herself tightly, mostly to hide the way her arms were still shaking. "I'll answer any questions you have, now," she said, meeting Darius's eyes but speaking to the whole room. "The best I can, at least."

EILONWY

Eilonwy could feel the clawing edges of her temper wanting to break free. She wanted to let the light go, wanted to shove Darius back until he was far away, the rest of them safe inside a shield of her own making until Hunter stopped shaking and Willow could breathe and Amity relaxed and she felt like she had the space to let everyone calm down in their own way. She didn't. But the temptation was there. 

She was still running hot enough that the abomination clay couldn't fully settle against her, cuts closed but only barely so it wouldn't take much to open again by the time it was pulled away. 

Darius's comment made her want to snap back at him that next time he should know to explain what he was doing before using unfamiliar magic around people. But Hunter's own defensiveness and his defense of Darius had her swallowing those words back as well. (Darius could probably read the sharp glare in her expression.)

But Willow was still the priority, and she gently rubbed her hand along Willow's back to try and provide a little bit of comfort. 

It meant that even with the way she had to swallow back the temper that burned just under the surface, her voice was gentle as she said. "It's all right. Can you tell us about the plant? It seemed to care about you." Even as it was killing her, but that wasn't that strange to Eilonwy.

WILLOW

It did care about me, Willow wanted to say, and another rush of grief came over her. All those plants in the greenhouse, all gone because of her stupidity.

"It was a hybrid," Willow started, "between the Whisperers and Vampire Roses we kept in the restricted greenhouse. We keep all the more dangerous magical flowers back there, and I was in charge of them while Flower was away." Because I'm a Garden Talent, she added mentally, but couldn't bring herself to say aloud. Despite knowing she would have to.

"We usually take precautions to keep them from hybridizing, but I... I cut my hand on the watering can, and it got in the Whisperer's bed. I came back the next morning and it was there. And then it started talking. It wasn't violent or anything like that," she defended weakly, "at least not at the beginning. By the time it got bad enough for me to notice, it was too late."

TONY

Tony Rydinger had grown a lot in the decades but mainly over the last few years. One of those growing pains was learning to trust magic, particularly sorcery. He had been a Mundus and the curse had wrapped around him in ways he had had no ability to fight and he had seen time and time again how magic could cut people deeply. Especially those he cared about. 

Willow was now one of those people.

He bit his tongue for most of the conversation but as Willow explained what had happened with the plant he grew restless, a sort of twitchiness seeping into his bones that he couldn’t quite contain. Composure be damned, he was scared.

“So it started… feeding off you?” He didn’t know much about magical plants, only that the name ‘Vampire Rose’ gave a particular conversation and he’d seen the way the hybrid had clung and cut into Willow

“Willow, I don’t know if you should go back to the greenhouse for awhile.” Or ever. “Though we should probably call Flower…”

IAN & EDWARD

Edward had made his way steadily closer to the couch, the entire bounce back and forth of the conversation and the tension drew him to the obvious action; making certain he was closer to the people who were injured, just in case. 

He remained silent, most of the questions that crossed his mind were answered without his voicing them, but he wasn't comfortable. There really wasn't any way to be right then, so he settled for lingering at the side of the couch since he couldn't do much else. 

Ian was listening, he didn't know most of the people in the room more than in passing, but there were a lot of things he could see weren't being said; between Hunter, Darius, Willow, Amity. 

He decided not to focus on that. 

Magic flowers and bloodthirsty plants probably weren't as outlandish as they might have been elsewhere, but he still felt uneasy hearing the bits and pieces of that story. 

"At least not for now," he added to Tony's suggestion; he'd have to text his mom anyway so she didn't walk into the situation unaware when she got home, but she wasn't going to bat an eye at how occupied the house was. "Everyone looks exhausted and I don't know everything that's going on, but if nobody is in immediate danger it's better to just stay put and rest some." He reasoned, although he still wasn’t sure about Darius, given the push of his efforts, but he was less suspicious than he was cautious. 

Ian nodded to the mention of Flower, acutely aware of how tense Tony had gotten as the conversation had continued, and stepped away from the door to give him a little nudge, grabbing his hand an instant before he called Blazey over from where she was pacing at the scent of that strange magic.

WILLOW

"There's nothing left in the greenhouse anyways," Willow said quietly. "I-" she choked on her tongue, tears welling up in her eyes. "Sorry," she murmured, wiping them quickly. 

"It wasn't feeding on my blood until the end, we have bloodmeal for the Vampire Roses that was working. It... The roots went deep. I could feel it at the end, it was pulling magic from the ground and-"

Willow clasped her hands together tightly, watching them tremble in her lap. "And from me," she said softly. "I've... I was sleeping in the greenhouse a few nights a week. I think that's why it got so attached." Her tail curled into her lap and Willow held it tightly, like a child clinging to their teddy bear. "When I... I was getting ready for the party, a-and I got nervous, and it didn't want me to go where it didn't know I'd be safe. It freaked out and- and that's when I called Eilonwy."

Willow looked to the group. "I'm so sorry I put you all in danger like that," she said wetly, tears rolling down her pale cheeks. "I can't repay what you did for me, but I'll try to be deserving of it."

EILONWY

Eilonwy remembered the feeling of dry dust swirling in the air as she picked up her stolen sword and was sure that was true. The devastation they'd left behind would be a conversation for another day.

For now, it was more important to stay focused on Willow, on making sure she was steady. 

"Hey, you did exactly right. I'm glad you called me and that we could be there for you. You don't have to do anything to deserve it - we're your friends. That's what we're here for." 

What was a little life threatening danger between friends after all? This was Swynlake. They were lucky that no one had died this time around, and they were already sitting together afterward. That was what mattered more to her. She wanted to be the person that people called for help and knew that she would come. 

She wanted to ask about the pixie dust, but she couldn't help glancing towards Darius, not sure if that was the kind of thing he should know.

DARIUS

Darius didn't realize the full extent of Willow's panic until he finally pulled away, his lips twitching into a frown as he watched her curl in on herself. He didn't understand what had necessarily caused the reaction--after all, he knew Willow had taken abomination courses at Hexside. However, he also knew from her parents that her experience at the school had not been the most pleasant.

"You're fine," he replied simply. "I will be more communicative in the future."

From there on, he hung back but listened carefully, taking in every detail and trying to fit the puzzle together. Unfortunately, elemental magic was not his forte. And he certainly wasn't going to approach Head Witch Terra Snapdragon of all people to fill in the blanks. He'd rather let the "Vampire Roses" have their way with him.

But finally, he did ask, "Is this your first time discovering a natural talent in earth magic?" After all, this was the first he was hearing of it. But you would have to have a certain level of specialty in order to bring life--a seemingly sentient life--to something like that.

WILLOW

Willow almost burst out laughing.

It was the exact same thing Amity had suggested, back in August after they faced the fear demon. It was the obvious answer, and the easiest. To have an earth specialty, like her Dad. But no, nothing was ever that easy for her.

"Not... not quite," Willow said softly. Instinctively, she reached out towards Amity, bumping her fingers against the other girl's thigh and breathing a little easier when her thin fingers laced inbetween her own. "I, um. I discovered recently that the information my fathers were given about my birth parents wasn't... entirely accurate." She took a deep breath. 

"I was born on the Boiling Isles, but only one of my birth parents was a sorcerer," Willow said, voice trembling. With her free hand, she tucked her curls back and behind one pointed ear. "The other one was a fairy. I have a Garden Talent."

TONY

"Never apologize for what happened," Tony added to Eilonwy's sentiment. He didn't want Willow to think that she'd done anything wrong by asking for help. He stepped forward slightly, not fully leaving Ian's side but enough that he felt a little better about the distance. "You needed us and now you're going to be okay. That's all that matters here, Willow."

Knowing that Willow was a mixture of sorcery and fairy magic caused Tony to send Ian a sidelong glance. It wasn't quite the same, of course, but he knew that if anyone could understand what Willow was going through it would be Ian. Being a mixture of two seemingly opposing sides that caused one's magic to act strangely to both halves. "Once again I'm the most boring member of the group," Tony joked quietly, not even sure anyone but Ian would hear him.

Now he was sure she would be okay.

"Now if you people don't start eating food and drink your healing potions I'm gonna actually have an aneurysm. Forget monster flowers, that'll be what does me in."

WILLOW

Willow looked up at Tony with wet eyes and after a moment, gave him a small giggle and a smile. Then more giggles came, that turned into gasps, until Willow was stifling little sobs into her palms, trying to catch her tears with her fingers. Her tail coiled tightly to her knee and Willow wanted nothing more than to curl up in a little ball on the couch. It felt like she was a dam that had cracked and fissured finally starting to crumble. The pressure was agonizing, and though she knew (hoped) she'd feel better once the wall came down, the weight of it all threatened to crush her first.

"I-I'm sorry," she whimpered. "I shouldn't have lied, I just- I was an awful sorcerer, and I thought maybe I could be an okay Mundus." She laughed, wet and tinged with almost-hysteria. "I was pretty awful at that too, huh?" 

She was clearly a terrible fairy as well. It had never been an issue of her magic, it was just Willow. The half-a-witch Mudbreather who was destined for failure.

TONY

Tony winked at Willow when she started to giggle but blanched slightly as she started to sob. It hadn't been his intention by any means to make her cry but the dam had to burst at some point. It wasn't sustainable to hold everything together with white knuckles and trembling fists, as he knew all too well. There were times that you couldn't be perfect, couldn't keep the pieces together all alone.

Tony crossed the room to kneel in front of Willow, ignoring everyone else in the room then. "You lied to protect yourself, that's nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes there are no perfect solutions, sometimes lying's all we've got, but you're going to be okay."

He reached a hand up to squeeze her knee, a saddened smile gracing his features. He wasn't the best with advice but he knew that feeling, knew how much of a vice grip telling lies and half-truths could have. He'd done it for over half a century both willfully and not.

"You weren't awful, Willow. You just weren't doing what you're gonna be best at. We'll get this all figured out."

IAN & EDWARD

There was a little too much familiarity in that story to be comfortable, Ian noted, which was all the more reason he felt like he needed to listen. He didn't know Willow, not nearly enough to understand how to comfort her yet as well as he would have liked to, people weren't the same in needs like that, she had a bubble of people who did know her there around her. But there was a part that, best intentions and all, they didn't understand entirely. 

"You're not an awful sorcerer," Ian ventured, leaving the door, Blazey taking that as the signal to cross the floor and sit herself down right next to Tony, big brown eyes on Willow waiting very patiently in case she was needed there, resting her nose on the edge of the couch just within reach. 

"Or an awful anything, really, you're just something a little different and it's hard to piece that together right at first," he offered a smile, but it was a hint somber, "you're just not...a human sorcerer; you don't have to apologize for things you didn't mean to happen because of it." 

Ian chuckled, softly, trying to keep his tone level, delicate. "If I still did that I'd be exhausted all the time," he reasoned, "you're really not alone in that, trust me, I went through that same feeling for a long time, and a lot of mess and magic going sideways because of it." 

He paused, not wanting to crowd her with so many people already there. "You go from here, right, you've got a lot of people who want to help." That's what made the difference, didn't it? Not being alone.

EILONWY

Eilonwy shifted closer to Willow, sliding her hand around until she was able to hold Willow a little bit more as she started to cry. She was also familiar with those moments when feelings exploded beyond the barriers you had in place to control them. It felt like it happened to her all the time, although the number of people who witnessed it were still incredibly small and mostly in this room. 

"I'm pretty sure everyone in this room has lied about at least one important thing sometimes. Sometimes you have to until you know it's safe enough to tell the truth. Especially an important truth. This was big and important."

She couldn't help glancing at Ian, Tony, and Edward. After all, they knew some of her biggest secrets, and even they didn't know everything. Some things were too big to share until there was no chance of hiding them anymore. 

"But Ian and Tony are right - you weren't awful. You just weren't those things. Human sorcerers work with magic one way and mundus live around magic a different way. You're brand new to finding out how your magic does work. If what we saw tonight is what you can do when you're brand new, the magic you can do once you've had a little time to learn and experiment is going to be incredible. Give yourself time, okay? We're here to learn with you. I promise."

WILLOW

By the time the three of them had finished talking, Willow was crying so hard she'd gone mute. All she could do was take little gasps of air as she wept, each breath shaky with the weight of all the emotions from the... well, from the past several months, honestly.

She didn't know how badly she needed to hear all of that until someone had said it.

Willow leaned into Eilonwy's embrace, tucking her face against her shoulder to try and hide the way her face went all splotchy with color when she cried. Boscha had mocked her enough times about what an ugly crier she was. Her hand stayed laced tightly with Amity's, while the other fisted tightly on the couch. Blaze nudged against her fist with her nose, licking her pale knuckles softly, and Willow released some of the tension. She could feel the crescent-marks she was digging into her palms with her own nails, and tried to relax a little more.

"I'm sorry," she warbled again, voice weak, because every time she tried to say ‘thank you’ it got caught in her throat. They were being so much kinder than she deserved. ‘Thank you’ didn't feel like enough.

EILONWY

"It's okay," Eilonwy said, leaning more into Willow to try and provide as much comfort as she could. The light that had been so angry and defensive earlier had softened, wrapping around Willow like a gently warmed blanket. 

"Now, come on, if we don't eat something Tony's going to give us all the saddest eyes and it's both annoying and effective," she teased gently, squeezing Willow yet again. 

She wasn't really hungry herself, but she knew sometimes it was easier to do these things with company. It felt tough to let go of Hunter's hand, but she made herself do it so she could take the bowl of food that Tony handed over to her. 

In what, for her, was a gesture of conciliation, she looked over to where the adults were still standing. "You're welcome to join us as well, if you wish." But she wasn't moving from this couch until Willow was okay. She didn't care if that took all night.

WILLOW

Willow tugged weakly on the hem of Eilonwy's shirt. "Drink your potion," she muttered wetly.

HUNTER

Hunter listened. That was all he could do really. He was in no place to make any judgment about magical ability. He knew he was nowhere near as strong enough as he needed to be, and the longer he stayed in Swynlake, the weaker he seemed to get. So, when he looked at Willow he didn't see a failed sorcerer, or a strange mixture of magic.

He saw his friend. His crying friend, who pressed her face into Eilonwy's shoulder. 

Okay, technically Eilonwy was between them and Hunter couldn't really see anything or even really offer any consolation. 

"I don't think you need to apologize," said Hunter, once Eilonwy had let go of his hand. (He stretched his fingers out a little, the absence of her touch magnified.)

"Magic isn't as black and white as we sometimes make it out to be, you know? You're not just good or bad at it." He shook his head, then added earnestly. "I must say, though, this is a fascinating turn of events -- your magic sounds very special."

DARIUS

Well, the news was certainly surprising. But other than a pair of raised eyebrows, he did not betray this in his expression, which remained neutral throughout. If anything, an insightful individual might be able to notice the tensed muscles and darted eyes of someone who really didn't know how to handle a crying child. He hadn't been able to when they'd first met, and he certainly couldn't now.

Luckily, her friends seemed more than capable. It was good, to know she was surrounded by so many supportive people. When Hunter spoke, he finally looked back, watching him. What he had to say sounded familiar--very familiar. Something similar had been said to Darius when he was growing up and struggling in Hexside. By someone he'd been close to.

At last, he cleared his throat. "Hunter is right, as is everyone else. While an unexpected development, it's not something that can't be worked with. Magic, no matter how unconventional, can always be mastered with the right tools."

He took a step forward. "That being said, it's nothing to be concerned with right now. For the time being, everyone should eat and rest."

AMITY

Once again, Amity was useless.

There was so much she wanted to say. In her head, she turned to Willow and an epic speech came out, and each word was a powerful incantation, which would heal Willow’s wounds, smooth over her scars, wipe her cheeks, and turn back time. She could stop Willow from ever thinking those things by– telling her way way way sooner that she wasn’t useless or weak. That she was strong, in her own special Willow way.

It’s my favorite way. I missed it, so much– I missed you, I love you, you’re my Willow, and you don’t have to be like anyone else– 

The speech didn’t come out.

Everyone else’s did. It was easy for them, because they hadn’t let Willow’s hand slip from their grasp when they were young. They hadn’t turned their back on her. They hadn’t ignored her in the halls. They hadn’t walked past her, when Boscha was throwing insults. They hadn’t grit their jaw and said nothing over and over and over…

Here she was, saying nothing.

Who really was the useless one, huh? Amity was. Who really was the weak one? Amity was. 

She swallowed, her eyes falling to her own burned hands. She pressed her fingers into her palms. When she finally looked up, Willow was sniffling, but looked relieved, and Darius was taking up the reins again as the adult in the room. There was a moment of silence, for Amity to fill. She desperately wanted to fill it. She wanted to tell Willow something, anything. Please, something, anything.

She glanced at Willow. “We’ll be here for you, Willow,” she murmured– her eyes falling again shyly, and she knew it wasn’t enough and she knew that Willow might not even believe her. 

At least she had better friends now. Friends who had never hurt her. Friends she deserved.

WILLOW

Willow had honestly expected the worst from Hunter and Darius. It wasn't anything they had done wrong, it was just... they were from the Isles, just like her and Amity. 

When she'd told Amity, the discovery had been fresh and she'd been desperate to tell someone, anyone, who might understand her confusion and her fear. Fairies were pests on the Boiling Isles, and the ones who did try to survive on the Titan were much different than fairies like Flower or any of the others Willow had met. The librarian from Hexside had been a fairy and she was terrifying, crueler than several of the teachers. 

(Willow wondered now if that's what she would have turned into if she'd stayed in Bonesborough. Bitter and vicious and mean. Deeply and desperately alone.)

Willow had regretted telling Amity almost the moment the words had left her mouth, but Amity had stepped up and reacted... well, as well as she could have considering how awkward things had been between them then (and still kind of now). It had turned out okay. Now...

Hunter told her she didn't need to apologize. That her magic was special.

Darius had agreed, and treated it like she'd just chosen a new specialty that she could perfect. Not a lost cause at all, just a -- forgive the pun -- late-bloomer.

Amity promised to stay.

And Willow let out a relieved breath, somewhere between a laugh and a sob, and smiled. It was small, and her face was blotched with ruddy color from crying so hard, but it was genuine. The plants in the room, few as they were, brightened as Willow took a deep breath and felt the pressure wash away. They sung to her, wordless and gentle, and she let it fill her up.

She'd been caught at the end of her free-fall, and now she could sink into the arms that had caught her.

"Thank you," she said earnestly, voice wet and rough. She sniffed, reaching for some of the napkins Tony had brought over and wiped her face off before she delicately blew her nose. It didn't help much, but she felt a little less gross.

Okay, she still felt like she'd had a significant amount of blood drained from her by an evil sentient plant, followed by an absolutely exhausting emotional gambit, but like, her nose wasn't snotty any more.

The napkin got tucked into the pocket of her borrowed hoodie and Willow looked over the spread of food Tony had made and actually saw it for the first time. It looked amazing, and she was starving. She rested her hand on Tony's and gave him a small smile. "Thanks," she said again, meaning more than a few things. While she reached for a small bowl of food, her tail wrapped around the glass that held Amity's dose of potion and held it up to her. "You need to drink too," she said softly, rubbing a hand over Amity's knee before passing the other glass to Eilonwy. 

"If you think Tony's sad eyes are bad, I just cried mine out so they're really effective," she tried to joke, but her voice was still strained and wet so it probably didn't work. Willow nodded to herself when she saw most of Hunter's dose gone, giving him a soft, gracious smile before passing the bowl in her hands to him and grabbing another one for herself.

EILONWY

Hunter and Amity's support was something Eilonwy had never doubted because she trusted in them after everything they'd gone through. Darius...surprised her a little bit more. She wouldn't soften her stance on him for awhile longer, but it was enough to make her a little bit less defensive of his presence. 

The joke did make her chuckle and she gave Willow one last squeeze before unwrapping her arm so she could take the glass. Finally, she drank the potion, feeling the way it trickled down her throat and along her veins to continue the work of patching her together. 

It would still be a long time before her ribs stopped aching. The potion helped. 

She glanced over at Edward, giving him a small smile to try and communicate that it was okay for him to relax and come closer. Ian wasn't far, and she knew he would be by Tony so they would be fine. The rest of her friends were here with her. 

She could live with that. 

Quietly, she began to dig into the food in front of her.

TONY

Tony’s shoulders relaxed a hair as the others piped in. Willow needed that, needed the support, and Tony needed to see the light enter her eyes again. There were people that Tony had known for longer, of course, but the little time that their paths had crossed was all he needed to know that Willow was one of those people who would leave a lasting mark on him.

Now that the curse was broken he hoped he could return the favor.

“If you don’t like the food I need you all to pretend you do,” Tony joked. “I may have gotten off scot-free but a wound to my pride I don’t think I could survive.” He turned his head to wink at Ian and smirk at Eilonwy as he caught her eye as well.

“You all need to get better, dammit, because this is gonna be a killer goddamn story someday.” Levity thy name, tonight, was Tony Rydinger. At least now that the danger had passed and Willow seemed to be accepting she might be on the mend. The road wouldn’t be smooth, no, but it would be long.

IAN & EDWARD

Edward moved near enough to offer Willow a smile, there was very little left unsaid so he didn't have much to offer other than his presence, and he wasn't straying, but he did relax once it was clear everyone else was beginning to settle, there, together. 

He of course was sound enough on his feet to tend to whatever was needed to let them relax, and that was what he intended to do. 

"Tony is quite right," Edward mused, and it would, once the long night was behind them. Hopefully a story to look back on as a catalyst. 

Ian turned his attention to quietly texting his mom, gathering a blanket or two for once fatigue set in to gnaw at everyone, casting a glance towards Darius and Winston in passing. "You should sit down too if you're staying," he suggested evenly; the weariness and sharp emotions needed time to lull. 

"If anyone needs anything else I think we can handle it between the three of us," Ian gave a nod to Edward and Tony and another encouraging smile to the battle-worn cluster on the couch; a moment to catch their breath was probably the best thing he could offer to help at that point.

AMITY

The Blights used to have family dinners. But they were conducted like business meetings. Everyone sat and before you could eat, you had to report about your day. You had to share the good and the bad. Odalia liked to interrogate you too, if she felt that she had to– question after the twins about why they weren’t getting better marks in class– bother Amity about exactly how long she was spending in the labs, or what social events she was getting invited to. There had always been something to criticize. Either she wasn’t putting in enough effort to network with other important families, or she wasn’t spending enough time assisting her teachers, or practicing for grudgby, or in the labs, or the studio–

Dinners were exhausting. And this strange little affair was nothing like them.

Even though they were all tired, even though Willow was still sniffling, the atmosphere was warm. Amity didn’t even eat at first, mostly because she was distracted, her eyes flickering from person to person as she peered at their reagents. They smiled and those smiles brought new colors to life. Eilonwy’s hope and comfort glowed like embers. Tony’s words had texture– fuzzy and soft. Like a soft animal that curled up on your lap.

Amity didn’t even want to eat, honestly. She would be fine watching, and wondering if this was how it always was when Tony, Ian, and Eilonwy got together to eat. Like a real family. 

She ducked her head though when she thought she saw Darius looking at her, and she didn’t want to be scolded for not eating. So she just ate quietly, having nothing else to add. But she was happy to be there, even if it was a happiness that she kept all to herself.

HUNTER

Hunter hadn't realized how hungry he was till he started eating. He needed to pace himself, but it felt like there was a ravenous black hole in the pit of his stomach. It was also then he realized how tired he was. The health potion must've hit, surging over the adrenaline rush and calming his frayed nerves. All he wanted to do now was close his eyes and rest his head on Eilonwy's shoulder.

He did not do that of course. Because there were two other people on the couch, though the idea of just resting and having all that warmth and weight around him was tantalizing almost. But he did sigh, leaning back and letting his always perfect posture slack for just a second. 

"Thank you," he said, holding up the bowl in acknowledgement. "This is... nice."

DARIUS

As everyone began to eat and turn their attention away from him, Darius began to relax. But just as quickly, a shiver of awkwardness traveled up his spine as he realized he didn't know what to do with himself. He wasn't much interested in the food--he'd already eaten and simply did not desire mundus food--but he also didn't want to just sit down. Despite the boy's (whose house this was?) insistence, he was fairly sure he would not be able to just make himself comfortable. It was becoming obvious, from his unscathed body and his extravagant outfit, that he had not truly been a part of this experience. That he didn't belong.

Not that he needed to, but it did make his remaining presence a bit strange. With all eyes off him and the danger passed, he slipped away into the kitchen to give everyone their much needed space.

WILLOW

Willow still grieved.

Silently. She grieved the hybrid, whose only crime was loving too much. She grieved all the plants that had died in the greenhouse, burnt to ash with the scorching intensity of her magic.

Most of all, Willow grieved herself. 

She grieved for the little girl alone in the back of the class with a useless wand, tears gathering silently in her eyes. She grieved for the teenager pressing herself as close to the wall as possible as the boiling rain came down, crying through each stinging touch against her back or calves. She grieved for the woman too scared to go out into the market on her own, frightened at the thought of being out in the world as such an obvious easy target.

She shouldn’t have had to live through all of that for Willow to be where she was now, but she had. Willow had survived it all to end up on this couch, surrounded by friends.

And now that scared, helpless little girl was no more.

‘Thank you for making it this far,’ Willow thought as the conversation went on around her. The familiar feeling of her Papa’s healing potion kicking in and picking up where Darius’s abomination clay left off lulled her into a sort of half-sleep, and Willow curled up against Amity’s side as soon as her bowl of food was done. Her awareness drifted in and out as the night went on, and soon the room was quiet. Willow could hear a distant conversation happening in the kitchen and someone had draped a blanket over her. Amity had curled around her back protectively, one arm around her waist, and Eilonwy had ended up draped over her front with one hand out towards Edward curled up next to the couch. Hunter had slumped over so his head was resting on Eilonwy’s shoulders and Willow had managed to throw her legs over Eilonwy’s lap and shove her cold toes under Hunter’s thigh. Tony and Ian were on the nearby couch, tangled together, with their two dogs splayed out on the floor between them all.

For the first time in almost six years, the idea of falling asleep surrounded by so many people didn’t terrify her into restlessness. She felt safe and sleepy, instead. Willow nuzzled into Amity’s shoulder, a small smile on her lips, and stroked some of Eilonwy’s blonde hair back from where it was tickling her nose.

Surrounded by her friends, Willow fell asleep, and in the morning, the house was surrounded by vibrant fall blooms, and not one of them could speak.