#except in this case it's misfortune and there are no horns or wings or evil intentions

[risarchives]

the way freelancer is written makes me so sad.

characters with bad luck are often ignored and left alone as if they were a contagion due to the cruel beliefs about, well, their misfortune that are widely spread in whichever setting they exist. they're solitary and, most of the time, don't receive even a little bit of sympathy. they're bringers of doom and as such and suffer the consequences of it.

and it's all the more easier for the minor characters to ignore them because in most cases, those characters with severe bad luck themselves have accepted their fate and hardly make an effort in convincing people to converse with them at the very least. they're used to living in isolation and have given up in trying to externally be seen as something in contrary to what they evidently are.

(much like with the freelancer, the beliefs of other characters can be solidified by observing what's happening around those unfortunate characters. with fl, you can see it with caelum and the vega situation; with the almost-friend xavier; with gavin possibly being excluded from the inversion and not suffering what he had to suffer if he had no lover to be in the audience for; with hux losing his captain; with everything freelancer personally experienced)

but freelancer is so generous. they're warm, selfless, and friendly. they help, they reach out, and they're not afraid to trust people. how can people see the misfortune that's been happening when this person shines so brightly and has so much love stored in their heart? how can you stay from misfortune when freelancer themself physically manifests the very opposite of it?

if freelancer was like darlin’ who purposely pushes people away, it would have been easier. but oh ho ho ho no! it's in their nature to be a shoulder to cry on and to be a helping hand. it's in their nature to stay, as if it were inevitable. it's just. it's so tragic. it's like being a witness to all the tragedy they—possibly—cause and personally experience and still staying with them despite of it all because—they love. their love can't save the story, but they make sure it's never thrown away. even in the imperium, they remain kind and helpful. those two sides of the mirror have very different atmospheres and yet the freelancer is so unmistakably tragic in both. freelancer—however undeserving of all things bad and ugly they are—is what happens when tragedy and love are mangled in one broken whole.

i'm just. uhhhh haha kindly give me a moment please *lays down. turns to one side. weeps*

[elementalist-kdj]

Theory Master Post:

We already know that Eda disdains the idea of Covens and being forced to join one from episode 5. While she was explaining her feeling about magic in episode 3 she believes that magic should be wild and unpredictable; definitely something that should not be controlled. But I would like to dive deeper into the potential lore and significance Eda may actually have in the Boiling Isles/Demon Realm.

Emperor Belos ordered the Blight Family (one of his most trusted Coven Members) to place the ‘CURSE’ on Eda all those years ago. The Night Star/Diamond Shape is in their Family Crest as seen at the Blight Manor. I am associating the BLIGHT Family with what seems to be their specialty; applying what their name means: AFFLICTION - CURSE, Infect, Disease, Misfortune, Woe, Scourge, Plague, Bane, Menace, Calamity, Evil, Trouble, Ordeal, Trial, Tribulation.

Just like the BLIGHT Family, the CLAWTHORNE Family probably fulfills a great role within the Emperor’s Coven as well. CLAWTHORNE sounds like a family name that enforces and upholds the Emperor’s will through FORCE.

Emperor Belos is named strategically as such because in latin: the word BELLO means WAR.

A clue to the CLAWTHORNE Family crest is the Giant Owl Deity on Eda’s Ceiling with the massive talons, the thorns on its horns and the Crown over it’s head. It is safe to say that the crown would symbolize the Emperor and the Clawthorne Family’s servitude to him. Expanding on that, can we expect that the triangle shapes and diamond shape on the Giant Owl’s body represents LILITH and the ranks of the Coven Guards? If so, that makes a lot of sense; LILITH has the Diamond Shaped Teal Stone over her chest and since she is the LEADER of the Coven Guards, it would symbolize the body of Emperor Belos force. Lastly, the shape of the Giant Owl Deity itself and its horns; does that symbolize Eda? ( @sepublic this might be a clue to a secondary form that Eda’s Owl Beast Form may have to take up after all, minus just having one eye. What if Eda’s Owl Beast form progresses further and becomes more feral/grows even larger?). @fermented-writers-block I can see your theory where Eda may have been destined to inherit the power of this Giant Owl Deity since she litteraly transforms into one. Is this Giant Owl Deity some sort of power the Clawthorne Family controls? Did Eda invoke its power too early? Did her mischevious/rebellious personality and chaotic nature have her prematurely inherit the power of the Owl Deity in their family or something else? If she inherited the power correctly, would she have control over the Owl Beast Form? Did she inherit this power outside of the Clawthorne Family? Maybe the curse that the Blight family and Emperor placed on her is affecting her control over this power and turns her into a feral, wild and dangerous beast. There must be another connection between the design of the Owl Deity on Eda’s living room ceiling and Owlbert’s crowning features on the wanted poster. Both Owlbert and the Mural of the Giant Owl Beast share details. Owlbert has outlined wings and in addition a FLAME OVER HIS HEAD? Judging by its placement, it is almost like a place holder for a certain crown.

On to the symbol of the Emperor’s Coven and the Crown over the Giant Owl’s head; it really feels like Eda would have represented the big set of wings with the sword as the Emperor’s enforcer/hunter. Lilith would be the defender/leader, symbolized by the smaller set of wings with the shield. Also because Lilith is consistantly reminding Eda about how they were going to join the Coven together ‘defending the dreams they had since they were younger’. Eda always ‘cut’ that mindset when she scoffs or laughs about it.

Since one of the two sisters (Eda) may have already been predetermined to join the Emperor’s Coven because of their family’s position/legacy, it would make sense that Eda would have been cursed right before she could graduate from Hexside when she rebelled (explains why Eda said she didn’t finish school. Besides, that’s why she crafted her own staff and made Owlbert 🦉). Take it like a family of knights that have been serving the King and Queen’s court for generations with family members joining straight out of squire training, knight training, ect. But in this case the Emperor’s Coven really wanted Eda for her natural talent and power despite Lilith’s hard work and dedication.

There are probably some communities of Giants, Demons, dezidens that oppose the Emperor. Because of how powerful Demons can seem to be on the Boiling Isles according to King’s Demons 101 class; Emperor Belos needs the Clawthorne Family to keep the demons and dezidens that violate/threaten his will/rule in line. Does Emperor Belos need the Clawthorne Family to be the Sword and Sheild in his court to fight them? What if Eda found out that she was going to be heading down this path to continue doing what her family has been for generations? What if this path took away what she thought was what she wanted for herself?

What she thought the Emperor’s Coven was like:

• Keep access to all types of magic

• Be part of the Elite force in society

• Have the freedom to perform any magic because she proved that she is privileged enough based on school performance.

What Eda really found out:

• The Emperor lets you have all access to magic, but you have restrictions and limiters because your magic will be used under his terms.

• You have to fight through the ranks to earn certain privileges and follow the rules like you would in law enforcement or a military like structure.

• You are not privileged to express your identity unless you are the Emperor’s Ideal model among your peers.

• You have to bring in dezidens that do not fit in society. For example: any bizarre or off-standish behavior or habits deemed offensive to the Emperor must be conformed. Anyone who resists will be punished.

Maybe Eda didn’t like the idea of becoming an obedient monster to enforce Emperor Belos authority. If anything she could probably relate to the Demons and other dezidens because she is just as mischievous and wild like they are. In addition, Eda cannot conform to their social system: being forced to learn magic the “proper” way. Eda is a naturally powerful, talented prodigy; she just is so in tune with it. According to Eda: “Magic isn’t proper, it’s wild and unpredictable. And that’s why it’s so beautiful.” Another potential fact is that, Eda herself knew that she is considered to be a primary candidate to the Empoeror’s Coven over Lilith. How was that fair to her younger sister? To be predetermined to join as if it was her right and responsibility? Lilith who wanted this responsibility so much more than Eda made it even worse. So how does the Older sister place the needs and desires of her younger sister first? Rebel, reject the responsibility and make herself as unqualified to join the Emperor’s Coven. Eda finally understood what it means to be part of the Emperor’s Coven, she defiantly went against what society (her family, the school, the community and the Emperor’s Coven) expected from her as she understood how rigged and autocratic/totalitarian the Coven system truely was. Eda concluded her decision about joining the Emperor’s Coven; if only one of them can join, it would be Lilith that really deserved it and Eda can live her life as she wants; covenless. Because of that decision, Eda was punished, Emperor Belos gave the order; the Blight Family opened a portal with that specific door and cast the CURSE on her with a specialized set of runes, a sigil or an artifact provided by Emperor Belos himself. So that means; if they cursed Eda with unique magic Emperor Belos provided, then that means that the Blight Family can’t break or undo it themselves in the future even if they wanted to. Say that they want to help Eda later down the road; even though they may have cast it, Emperor Belos may be the only one that could break it.

Irony of fate: Either way, Eda is fated for DOOM, it will only be a matter of time before LILITH will have to also take the role EDA was initially going to inherit. EDA was going to become the HUNTER as LILITH, the LEADER, pointed the way. Because If Eda’s CURSE took COMPLETE hold, she would become a DEMON just like in King’s lesson and be HUNTED by the Emperor’s Coven, on the receiving end of what her role was to be.

Now when Eda started to show signs of changing (hair starting to grey, the golden fang prominently sticking out of her right side of her mouth), she tried to hide it. But it was only a matter of time before her parents found out (Lily probably found out first but kept it a secret in respect for Eda). But when the rest of the Clawthorne Famliy realized that they couldn’t do anything to lift Eda’s curse; especially if it involved Emperor Belos, they placed Eda in the tower to contain it.

They did this to try and convince Eda to reconsider her choice. They wanted Eda to reflect her decision and give in to joining the Emperor’s Coven so that she may be pardoned and have her curse lifted by Emperor Belos. They justified that they did all of this to ensure that she wouldn’t be a danger to those around her if and when she fully transformed into the Owl Beast. What was worse was that they probably used an enchantment to hide this tower from plain sight (can you imagine how embarrassed they must have felt and how angry Eda must have been?). However, her rage, her determination to stay by her resolve was what destroyed the tower and she experienced her first full transformation into the Owl Beast. When she came to, she probably built the Owl House with pieces of the Tower she was imprisoned in, transported it somewhere else on the Boiling Isles and began her lonely life there; fortefying the enchantment afterwards so that no one (especially her own family) could find her again... Well maybe except King.

To support that the tower had significant value to Eda, the stained glass window of the eye that was part of the tower is now part of Eda’s bedroom. So at the end, Eda may be a person as what Luz said has: “A predetermined path of greatness”. When Eda was telling Luz about how how if everyone waited for prophecy to make them special, they would die waiting. Eda’s voice and body language gave off a sense that she is a chosen one that never wanted to be, as it was a life that was chosen for her but not for herself. Something tells me that Eda, no matter how much mischief and chaos she causes to retain her freedom, is a lonely witch that is avoiding her responsibility of being the next head of the family and her destiny as a chosen one.