#source: the demon's covenant

[tdc-incorrect-quotes]

UrVa: What part of 'completely terrified' did you translate as 'Show me your knives, skekMal'? Don't show me your knives, skekMal. I have no interest in your knives.

SkekMal: This is a knife with a sword handle. I like it because it has a good grip for stabbing.

UrVa: Why do you say these things? Is it to make me sad?

#urva #urva the archer #skekmal #skekmal the hunter #urru #mystics #skeksis #tdc incorrect quotes #source: the demon's covenant #mod quotes #tdc | aor #q

[sepublic]

            I’ve already brought up how the loss of glyphs is deeply tragic for Luz on an interpersonal level, given her relationship with the Titan as being kinda found family in a spiritual successor to Manny sorta way…

            But on a larger, cultural level? It’s straight-up genocide. Because glyphs were an ancient practice; They were a tradition at one point, as Eda explains. The earliest witches used to learn glyphs from the Titan on her knee, and eventually stopped when that became redundant with the more convenient source of their bile sacs.

            But it was still an important part of their history; It was how witches and demons first communicated and interacted with the land and nature, and their ‘god’ in a mutualistic way. It was how they respected their world.

            So even if glyphs were evidently forgotten by the Deadwardian Era, they were still available for those who needed them… And in comes fucking Philip, the racist colonizer, and because of his possession of the Titan’s heart, she finally dies and glyphs can no longer work. They’re obsolete now.

            They still happened, but now that part of magic, of history and this world, is gone forever. It’s cultural erasure, it’s what Luz alludes to when she mentions how scars from Belos’ reign still remain, like the left arm being permanently shifted upwards; Who knows how many were displaced, how much the local flora and fauna and ecosystems were devastated, with the desert of Palm Stings now colder than even the knee itself?!?

            It’s just so deeply painful because Luz really helped to bring back an ancient, lost tradition and unlike Philip, breathed new life into it; Glyphs could be used to help people without bile sacs, who didn’t utilize spell circles as well. We actually saw Luz experiment with using individual glyphs, and figure out the combos; Things she did on her own. She shared knowledge of glyphs with her loved ones, like Eda, King, Lilith, Gus, Amity, etc.

            There really was going to be a return of something lost, but now it’s gone forever because of a bigoted old white man who was too bitter about things that are different and needed to feel big and important by standing on the shoulders of others. It’s cultural genocide. That memory where Belos' destructive lies about wild magic drive witches away from the knee that they still had the potential to learn from, leaving behind only ruins in the present-day? With some murdered via the coven sigils that cut them even further off from their own magic they forgot glyphs for? It's truly symbolic of the final nails in the coffin.

            And it’s also desecration of the dead, too; Caleb is not the only one to have had his corpse bastardized by Belos, misused against everything he stood for. Belos also misused that corpse, first by stealing the Titan’s name, then misusing her magic, her resources such as Palistrom wood… And finally possessing that body literally, which is what murders the Titan. It’s like colonizers bastardizing and salting the land that locals carefully maintained a proper relationship with, and keep in mind this fucker is a literal Puritan colonist. There’s no respect, not for the dead and/or past. Compare that to Luz, who lives on in Manny’s memory and makes him proud.

            I’m just imagining Caleb and the Titan watching, in agony, as their bodies are used to create a vicious mockery towards their actual kin, who remain totally unaware, and in the case of the Grimwalkers, it’s another lineage that is also abused. Meanwhile the Clawthornes remain unknowing of their past because colonialism erases history, hence Belos hiring Flora, and hell even getting Lilith to participate in her own historical erasure, as both Clawthorne and witch!

            Meanwhile, King remains oblivious and unconnected to his own heritage. And most of that can also be attributed to the Titan Trappers and Archivists, themselves perpretrators of genocide. So King and Eda go without knowing their heritage for so long, in Eda’s case she may never find out entirely, because it’s part of the many voices who are lost and silenced due to genocide, buried in the past to be forgotten.

            And you know one thing more that fucks me up? It’s that I genuinely suspect that Philip initially had it easier with glyphs than Luz, and that he made them more difficult for her. Because based on his dialogue by finding the Ice glyph in a snowflake, and his diary and memory portraits showing him arriving in the isles via Eclipse Lake, at the Knee…

            Philip was probably shown his first spell on his first day in the Demon Realm. And it makes sense; The first human, the precedent that the Titan would’ve known by this point, was Caleb; Himself Philip’s brother, who was also raised to be a witch hunter, yet learned better. We know people can view both worlds from that in-between realm, but the Titan still isn’t omnipotent and can only watch through a limited number of cubes at a time, while having to know what and who to look for.

            But even so; With Caleb’s precedent, there could’ve been hope that Philip would follow in his footsteps, that he would learn and be more, and actually choose to be better instead of defaulting to Puritan predestination and the like as an excuse to stay the same and absolve him of responsiability. But we know what happened; Philip started off easy, but then made things difficult by rejecting the Titan’s compassion, by misusing her magic for evil and murder and genocide. The Titan showed Philip compassion first and this was how he responded.

            I really feel as if there’s an implicit reluctance with how Luz is taught glyphs, one at a time, in separate scenarios, usually as a result of character development and/or engaging with the world around her, which are things the Titan would really need to see to start trusting another human again (and if he knew Luz gave Philip the last glyph, that would also add to the wariness that Belos caused by manipulating her). Luz didn’t learn her first spell until a few days into her journey, and Luz had already had a few perilous encounters by that point! But she continued to brave her way through everything, continued to accept the isles and its messier side.

            And so the Titan showed Luz her first spell, and only that, in response to Luz needing it, wanting to learn magic, and most of all humbling herself to be kind to the Titan’s own son, and listen to him; Because neglecting King was what low-key led to Eda’s transformation placing everyone in danger, since he only told Luz about the elixir and agreed to steal it for the sake of getting her attention.

            So that makes Luz listening to the Titan for the first time, intentionally, with her second spell –Ice, Philip’s first- so much more hard-hitting. The way she wanted to live out her dream so she went for the wand behind people’s backs, but then recognized and owned up to her mistakes. And she really was just a lonely kid in need of guidance, and not a stubborn adult committed to his cruelty; Luz always had an open mind! She always wanted to learn!

            And she got to! She learned each glyph at a time… And that’s all the Titan could do for her, something the Titan had already done for so many others, long ago, before they realized they had bile sacs and didn’t need to rely on the land around them as much. Luz still experimented even when she just had one glyph; She understood how intent mattered. She and Lilith built off of each other’s knowledge to collaborate and create combos. Meanwhile Belos, he agonized because he made things pointlessly difficult by refusing to adapt to the ways of another land, and only got his first and last glyphs by taking the compassion of someone who knew them and betraying it.

            Plus there’s what I said about Lilith, her whole thing as Caleb’s descendant, directly abused by Belos and belittled by him, made to participate in her own erasure loss of past, separated from that… Really, one could argue the Clawthornes are like the Boiling Isles equivalent to the Irish; Yeah they're white but that doesn't mean they aren't victims of British colonialism that sought to 'conquer the land' and all that.

The Clawthornes are generally known for big orange hair, with Lilith's curly hair being straightened and dyed dark-blue in an attempt to assimilate within the Emperor's Coven's (AKA Philip's) standards of conformity. They worked with the land via the Palistrom carving and began to lose that because of the trees being endangered by Belos' gluttony, as well as the curse disabling Dell; The very curse created by the Archivists, who also invaded this world, the very curse cast by Lilith because the coven system influenced her to feel shame over wild magic and embrace hierarchy instead.

The curse leads to Eda's loss of bile magic, something very important to her and witches in general, and Lilith loses her own trying to mitigate her own mistakes. So not just glyphs are taken from witches, but even their own bile magic they initially replaced them with, and the other resources of the land. And Lilith is cut off from her family, her real family, as she's taken in by an ancestor who has deliberately distanced himself and loathes her on multiple levels as something to be 'fixed'.

But Lilith gets her hair back and re-embraces it, she gets her family back. She still manages to somewhat retain her past; After all, Lilith gets to go to the Deadwardian Era herself! And she meets, as much as it loathes anyone to acknowledge it, an ancestor, and influences history in a subtle yet personally meaningful way. And Lilith helps re-establish contact with the lost practice of glyphs by figuring out how to combine them, which goes hand in hand with her passion of being a historian, and her additional function as both parallel and especially foil to Philip.

             Just… Luz and the Titan. And Caleb. And Lilith. There’s dead people and there’s history and there’s land, there’s bodies and respect. There’s compassion and actually working with people and finding no shame in that, instead of stealing and taking credit. And in the end, even though they manage to regain some things, a lot was still inevitably lost to genocide, and possibly gone forever.

            But the effects and legacy still linger, Luz still remembers and holds dear what the glyphs did; And she honors not just Manny’s legacy, but Caleb’s, by bridging the gap between humanity and witches, and showing both can co-exist in harmony. She helped his descendants, and even the last Grimwalker, find happiness and reconnect with their heritage, even if they don’t know just how close it is to them in particular. Luz honored the Titan by clearing his name, finding his son, and ensuring the last of the Titans is no longer alone and in understanding of his heritage. Luz even made amends with the Titan’s other greatest regret, harming the Collector, by making peace; And she proved glyphs were still useful, they were still kind, and that compassion wasn’t wasted.

            So even if the Titan’s glyphs are gone now, Luz still honored their memory by sharing them freely and helping, teaching, cultivating. The Clawthornes are rebuilding the Palistrom forests, among them is Hunter who as a Grimwalker was one of the purposes for which Belos devastated those natural resources for. And King… King is beginning to develop his own glyphs! And Luz is learning her first one, Light, from a Titan all over again, because she showed King kindness.

            That honors the Titan’s memory by keeping it alive through her son; Who keeps the memory of glyphs alive through the ones he’ll sustain and share with everyone else, and those glyphs will spread to those without and even with bile sacs. And a lost art is brought back, irreversibly different but still intact in the important ways. People are relearning old practices to apply to a new world, because the past is gone but it still lingers and is simply… reborn. Despite the scars and changes it survives and is still itself.

            And with how all of this loops back to Luz’s relationship with her father Manny, who passed away, and how all that was based on Dana’s own relationship with her deceased father, who left her a final gift in Pokemon Red that she chose to cherish to this day, and embrace her own creativity and keep it alive. It’s a story about things dying but still managing to live anyway.

#the owl house #meta #luz noceda #boiling isles titan #lilith clawthorne #caleb wittebane #glyphs

[macrolit]

NYT's Notable Books of 2023

Each year, we pore over thousands of new books, seeking out the best novels, memoirs, biographies, poetry collections, stories and more. Here are the standouts, selected by the staff of The New York Times Book Review.

AFTER SAPPHO by Selby Wynn Schwartz

Inspired by Sappho’s work, Schwartz’s debut novel offers an alternate history of creativity at the turn of the 20th century, one that centers queer women artists, writers and intellectuals who refused to accept society’s boundaries.

ALL THE SINNERS BLEED by S.A. Cosby

In his earlier thrillers, Cosby worked the outlaw side of the crime genre. In his new one — about a Black sheriff in a rural Southern town, searching for a serial killer who tortures Black children — he’s written a crackling good police procedural.

THE BEE STING by Paul Murray

In Murray’s boisterous tragicomic novel, a once wealthy Irish family struggles with both the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash and their own inner demons.

BIOGRAPHY OF X by Catherine Lacey

Lacey rewrites 20th-century U.S. history through the audacious fictional life story of X, a polarizing female performance artist who made her way from the South to New York City’s downtown art scene.

BIRNAM WOOD by Eleanor Catton

In this action-packed novel from a Booker Prize winner, a collective of activist gardeners crosses paths with a billionaire doomsday prepper on land they each want for different purposes.

BLACKOUTS by Justin Torres

This lyrical, genre-defying novel — winner of the 2023 National Book Award — explores what it means to be erased and how to persist after being wiped away.

BRIGHT YOUNG WOMEN by Jessica Knoll

In her third and most assured novel, Knoll shifts readers’ attention away from a notorious serial killer, Ted Bundy, and onto the lives — and deaths — of the women he killed. Perhaps for the first time in fiction, Knoll pooh-poohs Bundy's much ballyhooed intelligence, celebrating the promise and perspicacity of his victims instead.

CHAIN-GANG ALL-STARS by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

This satire — in which prison inmates duel on TV for a chance at freedom — makes readers complicit with the bloodthirsty fans sitting ringside. The fight scenes are so well written they demonstrate how easy it might be to accept a world this sick.

THE COVENANT OF WATER by Abraham Verghese

Verghese’s first novel since “Cutting for Stone” follows generations of a family across 77 years in southwestern India as they contend with political strife and other troubles — capped by a shocking discovery made by the matriarch’s granddaughter, a doctor.

CROOK MANIFESTO by Colson Whitehead

Returning to the world of his novel “Harlem Shuffle,” Whitehead again uses a crime story to illuminate a singular neighborhood at a tipping point — here, Harlem in the 1970s.

THE DELUGE by Stephen Markley

Markley’s second novel confronts the scale and gravity of climate change, tracking a cadre of scientists and activists from the gathering storm of the Obama years to the super-typhoons of future decades. Immersive and ambitious, the book shows the range of its author’s gifts: polyphonic narration, silken sentences and elaborate world-building.

EASTBOUND by Maylis de Kerangal

In de Kerangal’s brief, lyrical novel, translated by Jessica Moore, a young Russian soldier on a trans-Siberian train decides to desert and turns to a civilian passenger, a Frenchwoman, for help.

EMILY WILDE’S ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF FAERIES by Heather Fawcett

The world-building in this tale of a woman documenting a new kind of faerie is exquisite, and the characters are just as textured and richly drawn. This is the kind of folkloric fantasy that remembers the old, blood-ribboned source material about sacrifices and stolen children, but adds a modern gloss.

ENTER GHOST by Isabella Hammad

In Hammad’s second novel, a British Palestinian actor returns to her hometown in Israel to recover from a breakup and spend time with her family. Instead, she’s talked into joining a staging of “Hamlet” in the West Bank, where she has a political awakening.

FORBIDDEN NOTEBOOK by Alba de Céspedes

A best-selling novelist and prominent anti-Fascist in her native Italy, de Céspedes has lately fallen into unjust obscurity. Translated by Ann Goldstein, this elegant novel from the 1950s tells the story of a married mother, Valeria, whose life is transformed when she begins keeping a secret diary.

THE FRAUD by Zadie Smith

Based on a celebrated 19th-century trial in which the defendant was accused of impersonating a nobleman, Smith’s novel offers a vast panoply of London and the English countryside, and successfully locates the social controversies of an era in a handful of characters.

FROM FROM by Monica Youn

In her fourth book of verse, a svelte, intrepid foray into American racism, Youn turns a knowing eye on society’s love-hate relationship with what it sees as the “other.”

A GUEST IN THE HOUSE by Emily Carroll

After a lonely young woman marries a mild-mannered widower and moves into his home, she begins to wonder how his first wife actually died. This graphic novel alternates between black-and-white and overwhelming colors as it explores the mundane and the horrific.

THE HEAVEN & EARTH GROCERY STORE by James McBride

McBride’s latest, an intimate, big-hearted tale of community, opens with a human skeleton found in a well in the 1970s, and then flashes back to the past, to the ’20s and ’30s, to explore the town’s Black, Jewish and immigrant history.

HELLO BEAUTIFUL by Ann Napolitano

In her radiant fourth novel, Napolitano puts a fresh spin on the classic tale of four sisters and the man who joins their family. Take “Little Women,” move it to modern-day Chicago, add more intrigue, lots of basketball and a different kind of boy next door and you’ve got the bones of this thoroughly original story.

A HISTORY OF BURNING by Janika Oza

This remarkable debut novel tells the story of an extended Indo-Ugandan family that is displaced, settled and displaced again.

HOLLY by Stephen King

The scrappy private detective Holly Gibney (who appeared in “The Outsider” and several other novels) returns, this time taking on a missing-persons case that — in typical King fashion — unfolds into a tale of Dickensian proportions.

A HOUSE FOR ALICE by Diana Evans

This polyphonic novel traces one family’s reckoning after the patriarch dies in a fire, as his widow, a Nigerian immigrant, considers returning to her home country and the entire family re-examines the circumstances of their lives.

THE ILIAD by Homer

Emily Wilson’s propulsive new translation of the “Iliad” is buoyant and expressive; she wants this version to be read aloud, and it would certainly be fun to perform.

INK BLOOD SISTER SCRIBE by Emma Törzs

The sisters in Törzs's delightful debut have been raised to protect a collection of magic books that allow their keepers to do incredible things. Their story accelerates like a fugue, ably conducted to a tender conclusion.

KAIROS by Jenny Erpenbeck

This tale of a torrid, yearslong relationship between a young woman and a much older married man — translated from the German by Michael Hofmann — is both profound and moving.

KANTIKA by Elizabeth Graver

Inspired by the life of Graver’s maternal grandmother, this exquisitely imagined family saga spans cultures and continents as it traces the migrations of a Sephardic Jewish girl from turn-of-the-20th-century Constantinople to Barcelona, Havana and, finally, Queens, N.Y.

LAND OF MILK AND HONEY by C Pam Zhang

Zhang’s lush, keenly intelligent novel follows a chef who’s hired to cook for an “elite research community” in the Italian Alps, in a not-so-distant future where industrial-agricultural experiments in America’s heartland have blanketed the globe in a crop-smothering smog.

LONE WOMEN by Victor LaValle

The year is 1915, and the narrator of LaValle’s horror-tinged western has arrived in Montana to cultivate an unforgiving homestead. She’s looking for a fresh start as a single Black woman in a sparsely populated state, but the locked trunk she has in stow holds a terrifying secret.

MONICA by Daniel Clowes

In Clowes’s luminous new work, the titular character, abandoned by her mother as a child, endures a life of calamities before resolving to learn about her origins and track down her parents.

THE MOST SECRET MEMORY OF MEN by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr

Based on a true story and translated by Lara Vergnaud, Sarr’s novel — about a Senegalese writer brought low by a plagiarism scandal — asks sharp questions about the state of African literature in the West.

THE NEW NATURALS by Gabriel Bump

In Bump’s engrossing new novel, a young Black couple, mourning the loss of their newborn daughter and disillusioned with the world, start a utopian society — but tensions both internal and external soon threaten their dreams.

NORTH WOODS by Daniel Mason

Mason’s novel looks at the occupants of a single house in Massachusetts over several centuries, from colonial times to present day. An apple farmer, an abolitionist, a wealthy manufacturer: The book follows these lives and many others, with detours into natural history and crime reportage.

NOT EVEN THE DEAD by Juan Gómez Bárcena

An ex-conquistador in Spanish-ruled, 16th-century Mexico is asked to hunt down an Indigenous prophet in this novel by a leading writer in Spain, splendidly translated by Katie Whittemore. The epic search stretches across much of the continent and, as the author bends time and history, lasts centuries.

THE NURSERY by Szilvia Molnar

“I used to be a translator and now I am a milk bar.” So begins Molnar’s brilliant novel about a new mother falling apart within the four walls of her apartment.

OUR SHARE OF NIGHT by Mariana Enriquez

This dazzling, epic narrative, translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell, is a bewitching brew of mystery and myth, peopled by mediums who can summon “the Darkness” for a secret society of wealthy occultists seeking to preserve consciousness after death.

PINEAPPLE STREET by Jenny Jackson

Jackson’s smart, dishy debut novel embeds readers in an upper-crust Brooklyn Heights family — its real estate, its secrets, its just-like-you-and-me problems. Does money buy happiness? “Pineapple Street” asks a better question: Does it buy honesty?

THE REFORMATORY by Tananarive Due

Due’s latest — about a Black boy, Robert, who is wrongfully sentenced to a fictionalized version of Florida’s infamous and brutal Dozier School — is both an incisive examination of the lingering traumas of racism and a gripping, ghost-filled horror novel. “The novel’s extended, layered denouement is so heart-smashingly good, it made me late for work,” Randy Boyagoda wrote in his review. “I couldn’t stop reading.”

THE SAINT OF BRIGHT DOORS by Vajra Chandrasekera

Trained to kill by his mother and able to see demons, the protagonist of Chandrasekera’s stunning and lyrical novel flees his destiny as an assassin and winds up in a politically volatile metropolis.

SAME BED DIFFERENT DREAMS by Ed Park

Double agents, sinister corporations, slasher films, U.F.O.s — Park’s long-awaited second novel is packed to the gills with creative elements that enliven his acerbic, comedic and lyrical odyssey into Korean history and American paranoia.

TAKE WHAT YOU NEED by Idra Novey

This elegant novel resonates with implication beyond the taut contours of its central story line. In Novey’s deft hands, the complex relationship between a young woman and her former stepmother hints at the manifold divisions within America itself.

THIS OTHER EDEN by Paul Harding

In his latest novel, inspired by the true story of a devastating 1912 eviction in Maine that displaced an entire mixed-race fishing community, Harding turns that history into a lyrical tale about the fictional Apple Island on the cusp of destruction.

TOM LAKE by Ann Patchett

Locked down on the family’s northern Michigan cherry orchard, three sisters and their mother, a former actress whose long-ago summer fling went on to become a movie star, reflect on love and regret in Patchett’s quiet and reassuring Chekhovian novel.

THE UNSETTLED by Ayana Mathis

This novel follows three generations across time and place: a young mother trying to create a home for herself and her son in 1980s Philadelphia, and her mother, who is trying to save their Alabama hometown from white supremacists seeking to displace her from her land.

VICTORY CITY by Salman Rushdie

Rushdie’s new novel recounts the long life of Pampa Kampana, who creates an empire from magic seeds in 14th-century India. Her world is one of peace, where men and women are equal and all faiths welcome, but the story Rushdie tells is of a state that forever fails to live up to its ideals.

WE COULD BE SO GOOD by Cat Sebastian

This queer midcentury romance — about reporters who meet at work, become friends, move in together and fall in love — lingers on small, everyday acts like bringing home flowers with the groceries, things that loom large because they’re how we connect with others.

WESTERN LANE by Chetna Maroo

In this polished and disciplined debut novel, an 11-year-old Jain girl in London who has just lost her mother turns her attention to the game of squash — which in Maroo’s graceful telling becomes a way into the girl’s grief.

WITNESS by Jamel Brinkley

Set in Brooklyn, and featuring animal rescue workers, florists, volunteers, ghosts and UPS workers, Brinkley’s new collection meditates on what it means to see and be seen.

Y/N by Esther Yi

In this weird and wondrous novel, a bored young woman in thrall to a boy band buys a one-way ticket to Seoul.

YELLOWFACE by R.F. Kuang

Kuang’s first foray outside of the fantasy genre is a breezy and propulsive tale about a white woman who achieves tremendous literary success by stealing a manuscript from a recently deceased Asian friend and passing it off as her own.

#new york times #100 books #reading list #2023 #books #reading #have you read any of these titles?

[creature-wizard]

Hey! What are some good safety rules for joining covens. I know how easy it is for people to fall into cults and the new age pipeline. What are some good tips?

Watch out for the same kinds of red flags you'd watch out for anywhere else.

Do your own learnin' from reputable sources to get better at recognizing misinfo. Justin Sledge, Digital Hammurabi, Angela Puca, Andrew Henry, and Bart D. Ehrman are all great to check out.

Watch out for conspiracy thinking/conspirituality of the witchy kind; EG "long ago everybody worshiped the Goddess but then the Patriarchy demanded everybody worship a male god," "Lilith is actually a demonized Sumerian goddess," or "the Catholic Church is intentionally hiding the true religion from people." Here's a longer list of conspiracy theory stuff to watch out for.

Watch out for 'em getting caught up in apocalyptic UPGs, like "On X date the Old Gods will return and overthrow the Christian world order" or something.

If they act like you have to engage in some kind of edgy or sexual practice to progress, get away.

If they have a magical grindset (IE, basically acting like if you don't intend to become THE MOST POWERFUL PRACTITIONER then you might as well not bother), get away.

If they claim to be incarnated deities, get away.

If they're quick to throw around spiritual diagnoses (EG, "you have a shadow entity attached to you" or "that girl is possessed by an evil spirit"), get away.

If they're constantly complaining about dealing with negative entities or people with bad vibes, get away. Like you know the saying "if you meet one asshole you've met one asshole, if you met assholes all day then you're the asshole"? It absolutely applies in witchy matters.

If they make you feel like they're the only people you can trust to learn and grow, get away.

If their lore is obviously influenced by White Wolf tabletop games, Dungeons & Dragons, or other pop culture, and they expect you to take it very seriously, get away.

If they very seriously believe that hypnosis can help you uncover past life memories or repressed traumas, get away. (See hypnosis is unreliable for memory recovery, and this is one way we know.)

#answered #witchcraft #covens #red flags #red flag #spiritual red flags #spiritual red flag #witchblr #baby witch

[sergeantsporks]

I'm sharing my Ideas and Concepts for the Swap AU, actually

Phillip and Caleb are modern day

They're orphaned brothers still, but Caleb is 7-10 years older than Phillip in this AU

Caleb and Phillip were "They are A Set, Do Not Separate" in the system, kicking up a fuss and generally making themselves unadoptable if someone tried to only adopt one of them. Once Caleb aged out (he'd already gotten a job at 16 and had been saving up), he said "Okay, I'm next of kin, taking my orphaned brother with me :)"

As previously mentioned, Phillip is into witchhunting as a concept. Caleb's like "Okay, harmless enough, he understands magic isn't real and most of this was fearmongering/politics/paranoia." It's not your average interest, but it makes him happy, and that's what's important.

Caleb befriends and eventually starts dating a young woman called Evelyn. Phillip thinks she's sketchy, but he doesn't actually have any proof or reasoning other than "vibes" and he's like 93% he's just jealous that his brother is connecting other people which is CRINGE of him, and she makes Caleb happy so whatever. He has a sort of [side eyes] relationship with her. She's trying to befriend him. He's trying for Caleb but thinks she's suspicious still

Caleb tells Pip he's planning to propose. Phillip freaks out at the idea of that change and inviting someone else so completely into their lives, and he runs off

He spots Evelyn hanging around at the old house and follows her, thinking "wait, maybe she really is up to something"

He follows her into the demon realm

Oh, his brother's fiance is a witch

Oh, his brother's fiance is a witch

He makes a grab for the key, bolts for it to get home and leave her in the isles forever, but he sorta. Loses the key in the chaos that is "First Time In The Isles Is Disorienting and Dangerous." Oops!

Now they're both stranded from Caleb/Evelyn's main source of income (human stuff stand, not Caleb, lol)! Well, too bad, Evelyn, you've been roleswapped with Eda. Added intrigue of having already known and having a funky relationship with your new kid. You two WILL learn to get along.

The coven system isn't REALLY a thing? Like, there are different kinds of magics, and tracks are taught separate as their own fields rather than mixed, and there are still "coven heads" as experts (the hexsquad, mostly, plus assorted other Hexsidians for the remaining uncovered tracks) but you can multitrack and learn a little of everything if you want

Evelyn is a wanted criminal on the isles just like Eda; Luz needs the key for the titan's blood so that she can free the Collector, rather than needing the door itself

#searching for a neat name for this au #toh #the owl house #phillip wittebane #caleb wittebane #swap au #evelyn clawthorne #witch switch au

[captainmera]

Besides all the human world talk and differences what are some deamon world things you think the witches use that we've not seen already? We see they have phones and lockers but what else

Oh gosh oh dear okay uuuhhhh... SO WORLD BUILDING THEN? ALRIGHT. AH YES, WORLDBUILD LOGIC, MY THIRD LOVE IN STORY TELLING. OKAY.

The slight (or not so slight actually) problem with ToH is unfortunately the lack of making sense of the demon realm in favour of it just looking interesting, different and whacky. It does leave room for a lot of interpretation, but as soon as you try make sense of it, it begins to show it's holes. So I think ToH is better left untouched from SENSE.

However that never stopped me before!

I think they use fire and acids for energy. It's a natural source and it's easy for magic-using inhabitants to conjure fire. Possibly mecha that keeps fire looping in the house to funnel the light. And when the lights "pop" in the house you just gotta put fire into the machine again. Or something.

Because it looks like they have some kind of energy to light lamps and stuff, but not electricity. And by the looks of Eda's kitchen, it's still stuck in an era of using heat from fire. Stone ovens and iron, etc. I place their technology on the level of human Gregorian era?

I don't think they have internet. I think they use libraries for that. Their penstagram I think is, literally, just for distant-sharing and communication like apps. Basically photo albums/blogs you can connect with.

They use the glass orbs as TVs so they're not using penstagram as video-watching. (I think? I might misremember here). Though, King did send a live video on it once, so I guess that's possible? But live videos seem to be very widely broadcasted even on the platform. So idk how that system is set up. Maybe you pay a fee to be able to live something. Idk how the interface is like. I doubt King/Eda/Luz has a ton of followers, so there must be a way to broadcast

So I conclude it's just.... photo/blog albums. They don't use penstagrams for calling each other, text messaging sure but not calling.

Which I guess makes the bird-phone kinda redundant actually. THOUGH, I guess it would be like how the 80's 90's phone and internet worked? Kinda? You have one big chunky phone at home you call from. Or a brick you bring with you (Like Hunter did lol).

So phones I think are at the level of the 80's-human realm.

Their mode of transportation, in the show, became the palisman staffs. But not all witches have that, it actually seem to be a level of privilege to have one in the modern day demon-realm.

There was a... Bus... slug? thing? that curled people up and rolled away? I--- I mean okay. I guess that's the public transportation.

But that's a living thing. yeah? Which means there must be a stable of sort where these beasts go to rest and are cared for. So that must be a job/coven that exists. Probably a sub-section of the beast coven.

They have a lot of steampunk looking mecha, especially the abomination coven, so it is a given they must have some sort of piping system on the isles. Possibly for sewage?

Where does it go? The boiling sea, probably, or an acid pool where it all dissolves.

Possibly the butt of the Titan...? Imagine living there. o-o;;

ANYWAY, that's all for now asdfghjkl Or I will go on forever.

#tgb

[breelandwalker]

hi Bree! I am currently doing research on modern paganism as a whole, and have come across a few passages about how some practitioners claim to follow an 'old' or 'the old and true' religion. I know Margot Adler mentions this briefly in "Drawing Down The Moon" (page 77) - but I'm wondering if you've seen any other sources on this? I want to learn more about the origins of this 'old and true' religion, but none of my regular resources are turning up anything of substance.

-gasps in Witchstorian- Is it time? I think it's time. Excuse me while I put on my very best hat.

Today, we're going to have a chat about MARGARET FUCKING MURRAY and her thoroughly discredited theories about a Great White Western Witch-Cult. (I have plans to do a wholeass podcast episode on this nonsense in the coming year, so consider this a warm-up. I should also note that debunking claims of an Ancient Unified Religion of Witchcraft is part of how I first earned my stripes as a fledgling Witchstorian. So this be my wheelhouse and I welcome ye to it.)

In her 1921 book, The Witch-Cult in Western Europe, Murray put forth the theory that the ceremonies and rituals detailed in witch trial documents were actually descriptions of practices utilized by a matriarchal pagan fertility cult whose adherents had survived in secret following the Christianization of the British Isles. She pointed to a number of historical personages accused of and/or executed for witchcraft as members of this alleged "Old Religion," presented the idea of "flying on broomsticks" as a ritual activity involving a leaping dance with brooms held between women's thighs (the handles being smeared with a hallucinogenic salve), and claimed that the "Horned God of the witches" was later twisted into modern artistic depictions of Satan as a method of quite literally demonizing these supposed pagan ways. Furthermore, according to Murray, the cult had survived into the present day in the form of a certain secret groups in rural areas of Britain. (It should be noted that while Murray did not invent this theory, she was its' biggest and arguably most legitimizing proponent in her day.)

If any of this is sounding familiar, you get a cookie.

Gerald Gardner was a big fan of these theories and further bolstered the claims when he touted the New Forest coven as a surviving group from the "Old Religion." He incorporated many of Murray's claims into the early framework of his own myth-building. If you read Witchcraft Today (1954), you'll see a lot of Murray's work repeated as a framework for Gardner's own theories on contemporary witchcraft practices, which later became the basis for Wicca.

The issue here is that Murray was working with both a flawed premise and a really terrible use of source material. Repeatedly, she cited superstition, prosecutorial arguments, and confessions from accused witches from 16th-17th century trial records as fact, completely ignoring that none of this had any physical evidence attached to it and that confessions were often made under torture or the threat thereof. She also cited a lack of evidence as alleged evidence of a coverup by the Church and the Crown, or the cult itself covering its' tracks. Even her contemporaries viewed her work as fringe theory and it's largely because she was invited to write the Encyclopedia Britannica article on Witchcraft and the later use of her theories in the creation of Wicca that she's taken seriously by anybody at all.

While Murray's claims are thoroughly discredited, almost literally laughed out of academia during her own lifetime, certain sectors of the modern witchcraft and pagan communities still cling to this idea of a secret surviving pre-Christian goddess cult. I can fully understand why this is tempting, given the romantic notion of clandestine meetings and bonfire dances out in the woods, as well as the need of some modern witches to feel connected to some form of borrowed martyrdom as a mirror for their own feelings of disenfranchisement. No serious scholar of the early modern period or the history of witch trials during that time considers Murray's work credible and modern historians are prone to cringing whenever her name is mentioned.

So yeah, if you see a work on modern paganism or witchcraft referring to "the Old Ways" or "the Old Religion," that's very likely what it's talking about. Margot Adler and Ronald Hutton, both noted and credible authors writing about the modern witchcraft movement, mention Murray's witch-cult hypothesis in their books....but mostly only to say what a crock of shit it was.

For further reading, I recommend Jacqueline Simpson's 1994 article, "Margaret Murray: Who Believed Her And Why?," Ronald Hutton's "Triumph of the Moon," and the Wikipedia article on the witch-cult hypothesis (purely for a condensed version of how the theory came to be and how it has affected modern thought).

I'll leave you with this quote from A New History of Witchcraft: Sorcerers, Heretics and Pagans (Russell and Brooks), regarding Murray's work:

"That this 'old religion' persisted secretly, without leaving any evidence, is, of course, possible, just as it is possible that below the surface of the moon lie extensive deposits of Stilton cheese. Anything is possible. But it is nonsense to assert the existence of something for which no evidence exists. The Murrayites ask us to swallow a most peculiar sandwich: a large piece of the wrong evidence between two thick slices of no evidence at all."

#sonicyooth #traegorn #tagging my senpai in case they want to add anything from a Wiccan perspective #witchcraft #witchblr #pagan #history #history of witchcraft #Margaret Murray #Bree answers your inquiries

[mythorhuman]

would you write for Bonkai? I know you prefer Klonnie but do you have a Bonkai plot in mind

I'm so bad at replying to asks. Sorry that I'm just getting to this! I already partially answered this I think but I can expand.

Would I ever write Bonkai? I feel like my perspective on Kai isn't seen in a lot of Bonkai fics. I think he's mentally ill (sociopathy/ASPD) and his parents neglected to give him the care he always needed. I'm not sure I'm capable of writing that in a way that feels right. I'm a happy ending girlie (mostly). I don't think Kai can really be redeemed (does he need to be?) without some serious healing.

Do I have a plot in mind? Yes, I've been sitting on this idea for years now. Imagine Bonnie and Kai in the 1994 prison world. Bonnie recognizes that her sanity and emotional stability is slipping. Out of desperation to escape, she makes a deal with Kai for them to work together and leave.

What's the deal? Kai can leave the prison world with Bonnie ONLY if he agrees not to seek revenge on his family or attack innocence. This wouldn't fly with Kai and he would want more than his freedom. He wants his coven. All Bonnie has to offer him is her family legacy. She promises that they can re-establish and rule the Bennett coven together. Of course, this leads to a marriage of convenience.

Naturally, Bonnie and Kai can't trust each other to follow through on the agreement. They seal the deal with blood as a compromise. This all leads to Bonnie and Kai traveling the world to recruit Bennetts. Kai has to face his demons while struggling to understand the enigma that is his new wife. Bonnie manages to find him a power source that won't leave him defenseless without the presence of other magical beings. Bonnie gets a husband who worships the ground she walks on. They work through trauma as they build a coven and a family. I'll probably never write this but I think about it all the time. I could go into more detail, but I'm not sure you want to read more of my rambling.

#bonnie bennett #kai parker #bonkai #the vampire diaries #lee answers

[valeskafics]

Bel's American Horror Story AU's

Apocalypse - Ettore x Reader (Apocalypse AU)

The nuclear apocalypse isn't the end of the world for everyone, least of all you and Ettore.

Asylum - Osferth x Demon!Reader (Asylum AU)

Osferth takes a job at Briarcliff Manor and meets you, a young woman allegedly possessed by a demon.

Bend Or Break - Abraham x Reader (AHS Freakshow AU)

You're drawn to the mysterious new worker at the circus.

Haunted House - Tom Bennett x Reader (Roanoke AU)

Not everything is as it seems in your and Tom's new home.

Hi, I'm Billy. I'm Dead. Wanna Hook Up? - Ghost!Billy Washington x Reader (Murder House AU)

When your parents move you halfway across the world during your senior year to fix their imploding marriage, you find comfort in an unlikely source.

Nang Tani - Genyen/Shawn x Reader

Karma comes for Shawn. Or Genyen. Or whatever the fuck he's calling himself.

Revolution - Politician!Aemond Targaryen x Reader (Cult AU)

Getting a job working Aemond Targaryen's presidential campaign is a dream come true. Or is it?

The Countess Who Loved Me - Billy Taylor x Vampire!Reader (Hotel AU)

You check in at the Halcyon and a certain bell boy is completely enamored of you.

The 80s Never Die - Aegon Targaryen II x Reader (1984 AU)

Your boyfriend nags you to sneak out for a secret hookup on the lake before the kids you're going to counsel arrive...

Zombie Boy - Jacaerys Velaryon x Reader (Coven AU)

Alpha Beta Sigma frat president Jace Velaryon takes a shine to you, the new witch at Miss Strong's Academy for Exceptionally Talented Young Women.

#masterlist #collection masterlist

[ultrainfinitepit]

Town of Puddle: Witches

Last updated 08/14/2023

Witches are born from humans but can be considered their own type of creature. A witch could have one or both biological witch parents from whom their magic is inherited. This is a hereditary witch. Or they could have a witch parent who uses magic and a human surrogate to create their child. 

Witch magic is reliant on reagents and rituals. Common reagents include crystals, herbs, and bones. Rituals may be dictated by seasons, constellations, or lunar cycles. Magic potions are originated by witches, though others have learned to make them. Witches require lots of prep time, but in exchange they have very safe, stable magic. Contrary to popular belief, a witch is rarely corrupted by their own magic unless by choice.

Witches are unique in their ability to create new life from the inanimate. A witch’s first spell is usually to create a familiar. A familiar is a creature who serves the witch and is their close companion. So long as the witch lives, the familiar will always return to life. A witch and her familiar have a very strong bond. It is very rare but possible for a witch to have more than one familiar.

While some witches can do without, most witches use a spell focus to direct their magic, particularly for targeted or combat spells. This focus is typically a wand of their own construction but might be another object such as an orb or staff.

There are different types of witches, each drawing their power from different sources. Listed here are a few.

Green witches, who derive power from nature or fey, are the most common type. Green witches are quite a broad category, because nature is quite a large thing. 

Brown witches are a subset of green witches associated specifically with the household, and include kitchen, hearth, and house witches. 

Blue witches are another type of green witch, associated with water. Moon witches are a type of blue witch specifically associated with the sea and the Moon, who controls the tides.

Purple witches are yet another type of green witch who derive power from the night and the stars.

Outside of green witches, we have: red witches, who consort with demons for their power. 

Black witches, who commune with ghosts and other undead.

Pink witches, also known as love witches, draw their power from their emotions or the emotions of others. They are particularly talented with love spells or other magic to do with relationships.

White witches draw their power from two or more sources, and are so named because they can encompass many colors just as the color white contains all the colors of the rainbow. White witches result from the union of two witches with different powers. A white witch will never be as strong in a specific magic as a witch devoted solely to one type, but have the advantage of more easily using hybrid magic. 

If the colors are difficult to keep track of, that is alright: the classifications are rather arbitrary for witches and are more helpful for witch-hunters than anyone else!

Most witches are female. A few witches are male. And some male witches prefer the term warlock. And some are neither or both and don’t or do.

Witches must wake - that is, become aware of their magic. Many witches go their entire lives without ever performing witchcraft or learning their true nature. After waking, a witch must perform tasks to fully come into their abilities. A few witches sacrifice human life to do so. This is where much of the hatred against witches comes from. 

Most witches are solitary nowadays. In the old days, witches were more inclined to form covens. Covens were groups of witches who combined their powers to manifest bigger spells, or perform group ceremonies or rituals. However after centuries of witch-hunting, witches are so scattered it is difficult to form covens. It can also be dangerous if the coven is found. Many spells and other parts of the collective witch culture have been lost because they require covens.

Below are my named Puddle witches so far.

Lily Teek is a green witch, specifically a blue jay witch. She has an ancestral memory like how birds know migration patterns. Usually her witch knowledge comes to her in vivid dreams. Lily has a biological human mother, whom her witch mother used as an unsuspecting surrogate. Lily’s familiar is a horrendous gryphon named Bernard. Were it not for the curse on the town of Puddle interfering with Lily’s fledgling magic, Bernard would be a cute little blue jay.

Lily’s witch mother is Morgan, a raven witch. On each shoulder she has a foreboding raven familiar. Morgan has three other witch children: Corvus, Raveena, and Maggie.

Amanita is a black witch, specifically a grave witch, who lives in Louisiana. She hunts other witches who disrespect graves by taking bones from them, and returns the bones to rest.

Harriet “Hattie” is a brown witch, specifically a bread witch. She lives in Puddle and once she starts to wake, Lily helps her navigate being a witch.

Kokebe was a mischievous strix witch, who married Hajari and started Zipporah’s maternal bloodline.

Lilith “Lily” was a red witch and Sam’s friend in a past life.

#town of puddle #ocs #lore post #master post #refsheet #worldbuilding #witches

[yieldfruit]

: ̗̀ I desire to whisper one little truth in your ear, and I pray that it may startle you: You are submitting even now. You say, "Not I; am lord of myself." I know you think so, but all the while you are submitting to the devil. The verse before us hints at this. "Submit yourselves unto God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." If you do not submit to God you never will resist the devil, and you will remain constantly under his tyrannical power. Which shall be your master, God or devil, for one of these must? No man is without a master. Spurgeon

: ̗̀Resist the devil and he will flee from you: To solve the problems of carnality and the strife it causes, we must also resist the devil. This means to stand against devil’s deceptions and his efforts to intimidate. As we resist the devil, we are promised that he will flee from us.

: ̗̀ Significantly, James does not recommend that demons should be cast out of believers by a third party. Instead, James simply challenges individual Christians to deal with Satan as a conquered foe who can and must be personally resisted. “He who, in the name of Jesus, opposes even the devil himself is sure to have speedy and glorious conquest. He [Satan] flees from that name, and from his conquering blood.” (Clarke)

: ̗̀Resist comes from two Greek words: stand and against. James tells us to stand against the devil. Satan can be set running by the resistance of the lowliest believer who comes in the authority of what Jesus did on the cross.

: ̗̀"Resist [i.e. comply not] with his [Satan's] motions and temptations.” (Poole)

: ̗̀ "And he will flee from you; as to that particular assault in which you resist him; and though he return again, and tempt you again, yet you still resisting, he will still be overcome; ye are never conquered so long as you do not consent.” (Poole)

: ̗̀Draw near to God and He will draw near to you: The call to draw near to God is both an invitation and a promise. It is no good to submit to God’s authority and to resist the devil’s attack and then fail to draw near to God. We have it as a promise: God will draw near to us as we draw near to Him.

: ̗̀“When a soul sets out to seek God, God sets out to meet that soul; so that while we are drawing near to him, he is drawing near to us.” (Clarke)

: ̗̀ In one way, this text illustrates the difference between the old covenant and the new covenant. In the old covenant, God told Moses to not come any closer to the burning bush and take off his shoes. Under the new covenant, God says to the sinner: “Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you.” Now the ground between God and the sinner has been sprinkled with the blood of Jesus, and we can come close to God on the basis of that blood.

: ̗̀ This also shows what God wants to do for the sinner. It doesn’t say, “Draw near to God and He will save you” or “Draw near to God and He will forgive you,” though both of those are true. But what God really wants is to be near man; to have a close relationship and fellowship with the individual.

Source: Enduring Word

[khaire-traveler]

Spiritual Red Flags I've Noticed

***NOTE: This is all UPG type of stuff and is not meant to be a firm statement as to what is right or wrong. You would know what's best for yourself, so if something feels wrong to you, trust yourself. Feel free to use this as a guide, though, if you'd like!***

Here are some things I've encountered in spiritual spaces that, more often than not, are red flags. Once again, I do not know better than anyone else, nor am I claiming to; this is all just based on my personal experience.

Lots of spiritual drama

Lots of drama with gods

Comparing oneself to gods often

Believing they're the reincarnation of a god or demi-god (includes angels and demons)

Claiming to have fought gods and won (roughhousing excluded)

Shit-talking gods, especially those of closed practices

Delving into closed practices without proper permission (if they're not part of it, obviously)

Talk of shifting dimensions or realities (this is not a healthy or safe practice; here is an article that talks a bit about it)

Claiming to have immense magical powers, such as changing the weather or telekinesis

Claiming to have power over free will

Claiming to be a "vessel" for the gods (this is different from channeling)

Being culturally and/or racially insensitive

Constantly misgendering others, especially behind their backs

Constant talk of "imposter spirits"

Interpreting everything as a major sign or omen

Consistently harming others with their practices, such as lying, manipulating, or appropriating

Getting caught in a spiritual lie (in my experience, this includes even small lies)

Proposing a coven that emphasizes hierarchy and/or blind devotion

Taking advantage of those in vulnerable positions, especially those grieving a loss

Every opinion that isn't theirs is wrong

Every practice that isn't like theirs is wrong

Constantly trying to exert power over others

Trying to accomplish drastic magical feats, such as hexing the moon or "killing" a god

Refusing to do individual research

Refusing to accept criticism for their opinions, especially if it's constructive

Claiming to know information that requires research and having no sources

Having very narrow-minded views on gender

Enforcing that they know better than your intuition or know what's best for you and your practice

They give you bad vibes (always listen to yourself and your body)

-

A link to watching out for cult behavior can be found here. Here's also another good post about spiritual abuse red flags. @pondering-the-kaiju also has another good post about general red flags here.

#spiritual red flags #red flags #spirituality #paganblr #witchblr #pagan blog #baby witch #baby pagan #witch blog #upg #witches of tumblr

[sepublic]

My eerie theory is that the Titan Trappers are Collector(The Species) descendants.

It would explain their appearances somewhat.

I jus wannts to share it w/ u nothing else.

...Hold on-

The Collector and Tarak have similar eyes, and it wouldn’t be so shocking if other Collectors’ had different color combinations, corresponding to those we see in the Trappers...!

After all, they had to come from somewhere, right? Mayhaps a dead Titan from a previous generation long before the Collectors arrived... But then there’s the question of this enormous Titan Trapper we see, who seems to have been the first and, if his size isn’t exaggerated for artistic purposes, must’ve been enormous;

Did he and some Collectors, y’know... leading to the Titan Trappers, with Bill coming from one of the first generations? Or was the Trapper created by the Collectors? Given the similarities between witches and Titan Trappers, are they just the same species? JBO did release an in-universe poem a while back, written by a witch speculating on the origin of their species. Despite imploring King’s father for an answer, they get nothing, as usual. This could indicate the writers plan to touch up on this soon (that or it’s an unlived concept due to the shortening, so may as well share it here if nowhere).

It’d be interesting if demons were born of the Titans, and witches descended from Titan Trappers, born of the Collectors! After all, Hooty does create a distinction when mentioning that bipedal demons can also perform magic like witches, which suggests bile is more of a witch thing. And they say Titan magic cancels out that of the Collectors’... Is the magic of glyphs that of the Titans, and the magic of the bile from the Collectors, whom witches inherited this feature from? Quick I need an X-day for the Collector, stat-

Of course, we don’t see glyphs or the presence of the isles really do anything to counteract witches’ magic. Unless their magic used to be Collector-level, but over generations they evolved and acclimated to the Titan’s, which weakened it over time to our mortal scale. That’d be interesting, if demons started off using glyphs, and the switch to bile was introduced by witches, who probably had kids with demons, which led to the bipedal variants.

That’d be interesting, if Collector magic basically overtook that of the Titans’ through their descendants, creating a posthumous victory of sorts? Or not, since witches and demons naturally co-exist, possibly representing reconciliation in future generations as is foreshadowed with King and our Collector.

Since Luz’s glyphs are framed as a solution and work around to stuff like Eda’s curse, which is itself Collector magic, that could be rather symbolic... Esp since glyphs can bypass the coven bindings, which are likely Collector-derived too! The author of that ‘Unauthorized History of the Boiling Isles’ book speculated witches evolved magic from exposure to the Titan, but in reality they probably didn’t evolve to use the Titan’s, but instead worked from another source entirely! The reintroduction of glyphs might serve as a way for the Titans to live on past the Collectors’ genocide, as does the survival of King!

Also, our poem from JBO speculates that witches came from the eyes of King’s dad. And since we last ended off here, with the Collector...

Who knows? We might get some lore on the origins of witches after all (as well as Grimwalkers for Hunter, directly below), with the Collector able to explain how his disc was imprisoned in the skull! Maybe...

#the owl house #the owl house collector #titan trappers #speculation #ask #reply

[ananad1]

I have just watched the School For Good and Evil movie and I have feelings:

Spoilers ahead obviously.....

If I had never read the books then this movie would be great and something I would enjoy at lot, but I have read the books and so it is an ok movie at best.

There are a few things I enjoyed about the movie

Anemone- her character was funny and stayed fairly true to the books

The beginning scene of the School Masters fighting, while unnecessary, was interesting and kept with the book in everyone believing Good had won out over Evil

At lot of the cast did a good job of making their characters work on screen given what they had to work with

Seeing Soman was a nice surprise and a fun nod with him being an Evil professor

Unfortunately the things I didn't like vastly out weigh those I did

I love all most all of the characters in the books and so many of them were done dirty

Other than Tedros and Tristan (and Gregor) the Ever boys were not given name and only a very limited number of the Ever Girls were as well. And all of the Evers were just straight up rude, bnot passive aggressive and acting with like 'southern charm' type of insults.

The Never boys had no mention, accept for Hort, and the Never girls had almost no better. The Nevers also all seemed to be closer to just regular teens rather than Evil, with the kill them all the time and nothing else.

Honora was already married to Sophie's father which is a big source of Sophie's problems in the future, and Honora is shown as being cruel or at the very least mean, which even in Sophie's POV in the books she is not.

Poor Hort somethings that really bothered me about his portrayal were that he came off as really creepy, which I feel like was not a bad in the books.

He also mentioned being Captain Hook's son, which is very much not the case, his father worked on Captain Hook's ship and Hort did know Hook, but Hook wasn't his father.

In the books it is explicitly stated several times that Hort is a MAN WOLF and not a werewolf (and that there are specific distinctions between the two).

Hort also did not come off as nerdy as I would have liked as well, but that may just be me.

The Coven's portrayals also bothered me a lot. They are the only Never girls other than Sophie who have names and it doesn't give them much. Yes they kept Hester's Demon and Dot's chocolate powers, but that is barely enough to separate them from one another. There is no power dynamic between any of them and they almost immediately fall to Sophie's feet.

In the book Anadil and Hester never did Sophie's makeover and though it was stupid, they were first in line in the movie.

I am plus sized and was looking forward to the representation from Dot, which just wasn't there. She was only slightly bigger than Hester and much smaller than Anadil, which takes away from her character and future development.

Anadil's casting did not fit for me, not because she was black, but because in the books she is albino. I feel like the albino community is underrepresented in movies (I could be wrong). And they could still have cast someone black, who is albino.

Hester had no real leadership role and was never shown to be the best and what Sophie needed to beat. And not including her in the Trial By Tale was a huge mistake.

Making Lesso 'in love' with Rafal was just stupid and didn't work for her and took away from the established relationship she had with Dovey through all the books.

Dovey was a differnt character and was not at all who she was in the books

Cutting some of the teachers was another mistake, specifically Sader, Princess Uma, Castor (and Pollix), and the Man Wolf (who I am counting as a teacher because)

Sader is massively important to the first book at the very least, but his overarching character is necessary for every other book. Whether it is for established characters or establishing new characters.

Princess Uma is also an important character, she comes in to play in several of the very crucial scenes in almost all of the other books.

Castor is a fan favorite and if you have him Pollix would need to be there too, but given how some of the CGI wasn't great maybe not having them was better than seeing them butchered.

Without the Man Wolf Sophie's character missed out on a major emotional and tide turning moment.

There were some scenes that needed to be included and some that were there that could have been so much better. And some that were added that should not have been there at all.

The Circus of Talents is a major part of the book and shows everyone Agatha's true power, as well as, showing how cruel the School Master is. Agatha's power also reveals what actually happens when you fail.

I wanted my animal stampede. Having it be Gregor that Tedros kills is fine, but only have it be him and no other animals realizing Agatha's power after the Wish fish sucked. Also they destroy the school which then needs to be dealt with and is a great backdrop for the rest of the story.

The Candy hall and Agatha eating it and getting in trouble (further ostracizing her from everyone else) is also important.

Tedros seeing Sophie's reflection and realizing what she is and then pulling Agatha further away from her is something I wanted to see.

Agatha's dress for the Snow Ball was clearly laid out (and something I would like to buy if anyone wants to make it for me) in the book and beautiful. The movie gave her a very simple, more simple than anything else she had worn up to that point, Cinderella like dress and called it a day and it was very disappointing.

Agatha wearing pants and a jacket, with colors other than just black, also didn't make sense to me. She only ever wore black until she was forced not to in the books.

By that same token, why were none of them in uniform, that would have been an easy way to keep things clearly defined and not get confusing as to who is Good and Evil.

I also did not understand why they were eating inside and all together, when in the books they were extremely separated.

And one of the only times they were not separated in the book was Forest Groups which was just all of the Evers instead, with no fun challenges.

Giving everyone the same finger glow (for the most part) was lazy and made it even more difficult to tell them apart. All of the main characters in the book had laid out colors that were all different.

Dot was never ostracized from the Coven and did not have any issues presented to her at all.

There were no School Crests which is another big piece in the book since you can't cover them up in any way.

There was almost no Morgfifing at all which was sad.

Anadil's rats were pretty much nowhere to be found.

Since Agatha only went to Evil once, there was no

Frog Pajamas

Barrier

Cockroach

They took away all off the mystery of the Head Master by having him talk to the students. And then Agatha was immediately believed when she said she spoke to him. And no one ever found out that their story was being told.

Agatha and Sophie did not already know about the school and kids did not get kidnapped every four years, which is very clear in the books.

Sophie was also way too nice and did not come off nearly as mean as she was supposed to. And she wasn't using Agatha as a good deed, they were friends since they were kids which doesn't make sense.

Sophie never failed so we didn't get to see her F is for Fabulous dresses or her teaching the Nevers how to improve themselves.

Agatha's casting bothered me too, again not because she was black, but because she was way too pretty automatically. Agatha learns to accept herself the way she is and is never out right conventionally attractive. (Speaking of I'm mad they cut that scene with Dovey)

They didn't do the side kicks, which takes out some of the fun towards the end with Sophie and Beatrix and what their sidekicks are sent to do to Agatha.

The addition of Blood magic was unnecessary and should not have been added.

I honestly think if they really wanted the narration then it should have been Soman doing it, but it wasn't really needed.

Agatha and Tedros liking each other right away pissed me off because they start by hating each other and then slowly see each other as who they really are.

Excalibur being magic was weird and didn't need to happen.

Sophie kissing Rafal also didn't fit (him popping up all over the place was stupid too) and is just going to make any sequels confusing, since in the book it didn't happen until the end of book two for the first time.

I have more thoughts if anyone wants to hear them, but my hand hurts and it won't let me type more on this text box.

#school for good and evil #sophie of woods beyond #agatha of woods beyond #agatha of camelot #tedros of camelot #sge movie #soman chainani #sge #hort of bloodbrook #anadil of bloodbrook #hester

[sergeantsporks]

Witch Switch: All of Part 3

Part 1 Part 2

That's a wrap on Episode 1! Episode 2 should start coming out around May 1st; see you then!

Transcript underneath the cut

Cover: Portal Door

[Open on Phillip, waiting outside school with Jacob Hopkins]

Jacob: [completely unprompted] So I was watching this video—

Phillip: Oh, god, here we go.

J: —about underground witch rings that still exist throughout the world—

P: They’re called neopagans, and they aren’t underground. Also, witch “rings” aren’t a thing, they’re called “covens.” Which you’d know if you got your information from literally any reliable source.

J: Yeah, well, anyway I was thinking, what if there are some in Gravesfield? I mean, how would we know? I’m pretty sure the museum curator is a witch, so we should investigate the—

[Cut to Phillip, exasperated, holding his arms in an “x”]

P: There’s no “we” here, don’t rope me into this. Leave Masha alone. So what if they’re a neopagan? There’s no such thing as a “real” witch with “real” magic. They’re not hurting anything.

[Cut to Jacob, incensed]

J: You might not believe it, but I know what I saw! Witches and demons walk among us, and—

P: [disembodied] Oh, look, my ride is here, bye, Jacob.

[Car pulls away from the curb, leaving a fuming Jacob]

[Inside the car]

Caleb: Aw, was that one of your friends?

P: No. Just Jacob.

C: Seemed like you guys were having a nice conversation!

P: He was suggesting breaking and entering so that he could collect evidence that the museum curator is a witch and should be burned at the stake, because he’s an idiot who doesn’t even know that witches in America were hung, not burned.

[Cut to just Caleb, worried]

Caleb: Oh. Um. Don’t do that, please.

P: [disembodied] I’d drop dead before going along with him. He just hangs around the guys, he’s not really our friend.

C: Ah.

P: [perplexed] Hey, you missed the turn.

C: Yeah, you’re coming to work with me today. You can do your homework there.

P: Is this because of what happened on the field trip?

C: No, no, nothing to do with that. It’s just…

[Cut to tense, worried Phillip]

C: [disembodied] There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.

[Cut to inside of Robin Roast. Caleb sets a coffee in front of Phillip and sits down]

Caleb: So, Phillip… What do you think of Evelyn?

Phillip: Eh. She’s fine. I guess. If you like her.

C: You’re not just saying that?

P: Did she snitch about me not letting her in right away? I swear I couldn’t hear her. (lying).

C: It’s not about that, Phillip. Although you need to be more aware of your surroundings when I’m not home—especially if you know someone’s coming.

P: Yeah, okay.

C: I know you didn’t use to like Evelyn very much, so I just wanted to know what you thought of her now.

[Cut to Phillip drinking his coffee]

P: Mhm.

C: [disembodied] And… I wanted to know what you would think of inviting her to join our family

P: [spits out his coffee]

[Phillip wipes his mouth, incredulous]

Phillip: WHAT?! You can’t marry Evelyn!

Caleb: [disembodied] Why not? We’ve known her for 4 years now, and I’ve been dating her for 2.

P: Uh—no. She knows us. We don’t actually know anything about her!

[Cut to floating cartoon heads of Caleb and Phillip, Caleb going from confused to varying levels of defensive while Phillip grills him]

Caleb: What are you talking about? Sure we do.

P: We don’t know where she works—

C: She works in a pawn shop… or thrift store or something… I think.

P: —we know nothing about her family—

C: Oh, come on, you know better than anyone that family can be a touchy subject.

P: —She disappears for weeks at a time-!

C: She’s visiting family!

P: The family we’ve never met?

C: They live far away! And… I think they have bad reception out there? (I can never get in contact with her when she’s gone…)

P: You’ve never even seen where she lives! Probably because she keeps the ripped-out-hearts of the other guys who proposed to her under her floorboards!

C: Don’t be gross, Pip. I thought you were fine with her?

[Cut to regular style Phillip]

P: I’m fine with her as she is now, because you like her. I don’t want her to live with us. Ever. Besides, we don’t have the space for it

[Cut to Caleb, amused/apologetic/cunning]

C: Well… if we did get married, we’d probably move into a two bedroom. You’d get your own room! That would be pretty great, right?

P: [disembodied] Oh, so this is all for my benefit now? Not because it’s something you want?

C: No, it’s definitely something I want, I just figured… you might like to know some positives for you, to see how it’s good for both of us. Oh, hey, you wouldn’t be alone at home so often.

P: I don’t want company if it’s her. And I don’t need a babysitter—geeze, this is about the field trip, isn’t it?!

C: It’s not! Hey, look, I already talked to Manny about it, and he doesn’t think it’s a bad idea, in case an outside opinion helps. I know it’s a weird new thing to think about. But I’m not going to jump in right away, I promise. Let’s give the idea a couple of days to simmer, give you some time to get used to it, and—

[Cut to Phillip, who’s stood up abruptly]

P: It doesn’t need to simmer! I’m not okay with this! I will never be okay with you marrying her, even if everyone in the world thought you should!

[Cut to Caleb, who looks hurt and annoyed]

C: Oh, yeah? Even if your “friends” dared you to be okay with it? [his face immediately drops]

[Cut to upset Phillip whirling around]

[Cut to Phillip running out the door of the café while Caleb stands in the door, reaching towards him]

C: Phillip, wait!

[Phillip is gone from frame, and Caleb pinches his nose]

C: …Shit.

[Phillip runs through Gravesfield, upset]

Phillip: He can’t marry her, he can’t, he can’t, he can’t!

[He finally stops near the old, abandoned house, hiding behind a tree and clutching his head]

P: Ohhhhhh what was I thinking, storming out like that? Having a screaming match in public like a toddler? What if the guys find out? Stupid, stupid, stup—

[Phillip hears a rustling sound]

P: What…?

[he peers around the tree to see Evelyn with a big bag, looking around, very suspicious. Phillip gets a lightbulb moment]

P: Oh, I knew she was shady! I knew it!

[Buzz from his pocket]

Text from Caleb reads: Pip, please come home. We can talk about it later, just please stay safe until I can get to you.

[Phillip sneaks up to the house, peering inside holding his phone]

P: I just have to get proof she’s breaking the law, and then Caleb won’t even think about letting her in the house, let alone marrying her! Evidence, then home, then…

[Cut to the portal door]

P: [disembodied] What the…

[Manny and Camila are taking a walk through the neighborhood. Suddenly, Manny pricks up, taking a turn down to the old house, leaving Camilla behind]

Manny: Hey, Phillip what are you doing out—

[Cut to the inside of the house. Phillip glances behind him at Manny’s call, then pushes forward through the portal, which closes behind him just as Manny reaches the house]

M: …here…

[Camilla catches up]

Camilla: What’s going on?

M: [confused] I thought I saw…

[Cut to empty room]

M: [disembodied] …ah, never mind. I’m sure it’s nothing.

[Cut to Phillip, absolutely flabbergasted. Wide shot of the Isles, Phillip very small in it]

P: Where the HELL am I?

[End Part 3]

[End of Episode 1]

#toh #the owl house #witch switch au #witch switch comic #toh au #phillip wittebane #caleb wittebane #wittebane brothers #manny noceda #camila noceda #evelyn clawthorne #my art #long post

[asherisawkward]

Before "For the Future" came out, I came up with an idea for AU. Even then I suspected that Belos would be given a stupid death, so I came up with an alternative ending in advance. I suddenly remembered this and decided to ask what you think about it.

So, Belos is defeated. But a piece of him falls into the time pool and ends up in the past, before Day of Unity. A piece of Belos crawls to the castle and merges with Belos from the past.

Knowing how it will end, Belos decides to speed things up. As far as I remember, I was thinking that he was destroying the entire population of the Boiling Island with his own hands, but now I think the option where Day of Unity goes according to plan from beginning to end looks much more logical.

He keeps the Collector’s tablet with him until the very end to make sure that no one frees the Collector. He petrifies Luz and then kills the HexSquad. He leaves King alive, because he knows that he is a Titan. He needs a source of Titan's blood.

After making sure that all the witches who were in the covens are dead, Phillip uses the Abomatons to finish what he started. This is how children and teenagers die. After that, he throws away the Collector’s tablet and goes to the human realm, where he kills Vee and Camilla.

Standing in the middle of the blood-soaked living room, Philip thinks about what to do next. He has achieved his goal, the last victim of the witches and almost the last magical creature are now dead, their bodies are lying on the floor. The last magical creature, King, is now sleeping in his bag, drugged by magic.

He begins to explore the house and the things in it. He quickly understands how to use a computer and begins to look for the information he is interested in. He quickly learns that the witch hunt ended three centuries ago, no one believes that magic and witches are real, and witch hunters are considered bloodthirsty maniacs.

Philip doesn't know what to do. After a couple of days of living in the human realm, after reading a lot of interesting information, he returns to the demon realm and finds a time pool. He returns to the past, without King, and finds his version from this time to fuse again.

And so, the whole idea is that Philip returns to the past several times, merges with himself to avoid time paradoxes, and lives in an attempt to figure out what to do. After he found out that his goals are meaningless, he reluctantly decides that ruling the devil's spawn was more pleasant than being nobody in a world where your deeds are considered a terrible evil.

So, returning to the past once again, he cancels Day of Unity, saying that the witches upset the Titan. I don't really remember exactly what time Philip got there. Perhaps he came before the events of the Hollow Mind. Since Unity Day is canceled, this episode just doesn't happen. Hunter is still loyal to Belos.

I don't remember exactly how many times Philip goes to the past, and what exactly he does there, but the idea is that he is gradually changing, because he knows how the human realm has changed. He tries to study every possible situation, like Flowey from Undertale.

I remember for sure that one time he got into the past before Manny Noseda died. Philip cured him, because at that time he knew that Camilla is a wonderful person, and Noseda's family moved to the Boiling Isles.

Another idea is that Philip was once in Gravity Falls. And the third idea is that eventually Philip will get tired of this chronofantastic. He decides that he will not go back to the past anymore. However, Luz and Amity die, and he decides to rethink his decision. He makes grimwalkers out of their bones, seven grimwalkers out of Luz's bones, and seven grimwalkers out of Amity's bones. He plans to go back in time, erase his memory of time travel and live everything like the very first time. And the grimwalkers will have to make sure that he dies, and does not go back to the past. He uses the memory gun he took from Gravity Falls.

Returning to the events of For the Future, Luz stumbles upon a group of witches in cloaks who catch Belos. She follows them. These witches were grimwalkers mentioned above, who did not dare to let Belos die. They restore his memories and he is not happy. And Luz is in shock.

I don't remember how or why, but Belos and Luz go to another world. Due to the fact that Philip merged with his versions from the past, he did not change the past, but created new timelines. A bunch of worlds came into existence thanks to him, and time in them goes synchronously.  Like, "For the Future" is happening in all these worlds, and there are even Philips there. If I remember correctly, in the finale, Philip somehow forced all these timelines to come together into one, like in Rick and Morty.

What do you think about this concept?

I think it’s absolutely brilliant! The idea of Philip learning the futility and brutality of his own goals through their success is tragic and horrific! Combine that with his slow descent into madness as he tries to control all the variables and get the “good” ending where everyone survives, and it’s absolutely fascinating!

There are almost limitless ways this could be explored or worked upon. He could go back and try to stop himself from killing Caleb or undo the Coven System entirely! I adore the idea that he eventually becomes fond of the Hexsquad due to their position in both his downfall and his growth. It’s because of them that he does and learns the error of his ways. And, the human who has been so insistent that he’s wrong about things has turned out to be right.

He would be devastated when he started losing people and kept having to try to make things perfect again. Philip’s mental state would be so fascinating to study and monitor over this time, and I’d be mesmerized by the way that he changes as he lives through various timelines!

I mean, he’s get to grow and develop, change and live, learn, and forgive. He’d get the opportunity to make better choices, but he’s still incredibly human and makes mistakes. It would also be fascinating to watch him track what Time Pools go to where and at what time/place they are in.

And Philip wanting to settle down somewhere peaceful and forget about what happened with his time travel powers would be deeply sad. He’d be forgetting g the cause and journey that led to his growth in the first place, and it’d be a shame.

Luz would be incredibly confused by the whole situation and the vastly different lives that Philip has lived. This is a man who has done horrible things and attempted to (and, in some cases, succeeded) commit genocide. Worlds where he is good or less of an awful person wouldn’t make a lot of sense. Still, I think she’d be a bit disappointed when they had to fix the timeline. After all, he’s changed so much that he hardly seems like the man she knew before.

This is such an incredible, creative idea, Anon!!!! Thank you for sharing it with me!

#The Owl House #TOH #The Owl House AU #TOH AU #Philip Wittebane #Emperor Belos #BelosFansTakeover #King Clawthorne #Alternate Dimensions #Bad Ending AU #Good Ending AU #This needs a badass AU name #Maybe something like “The Fractures AU” #Ask