#these fics also make her into a 'reward' for Willow when that was the exact kind of familial trauma she grew up in to begin with

[lightdancer1]

The last of my three Buffyverse ideas:

I've had these on the back burner for a decade and waited until the Buffy comics were done to avoid having to constantly reinvent the wheel to do the full thing, but it all started with the old-model 'Wish to resurrect Tara Maclay' fics that are the worst part of shipping culture making the ship overshadow the people involved.

These five stories can essentially be said to be 'the last five seasons of Buffy if Tara Maclay came back in Season 8 and got to deal with the death of magic and the magic concentration camps like everyone else did.' They are both a reconstruction and a deconstruction of elements of the Buffyverse idea of soulmates, of a lot of tropes in Tara x Willow fanfics, and simply put an excuse to write Tara Maclay and Willow having their own badass adventures separately and then together and not do the racist thing of throwing the obnoxious Latina under the bus while the obnoxious demon gets a pass because she's played by a white woman.

Also featuring my idea that absent pesky actor contracts the First Evil very much did appear as Tara and that this would be a complicating extra shadow over all the other trauma, and that without the ultimate longer-term effects of the Twilight War.

The irony, too, is that in this case all of Willow's actions in Seasons 8 and 9 ultimately stem from loving Tara enough to want people to remember the actual human and to give her time to adjust to being alive again on the one hand, and loving Kennedy enough to not simply discard her for not being Tara because their dynamic, while vastly different, very much does have its own recommendations.

Also going to feature, along with my series rewrite, the idea that the world of Buffy had at least a bit in common with that of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in that Dracula is not the only classic literary character to have been real (and not just the Cthulhu Mythos ala the Order of Dagon and Yog-Sothoth, aka Dawn Summers). One of them also has some support from the earlier episodes of the show and that one episode with the formula, as the Mk. I model makes its reappearance and with it the full-blown effects.

#buffy fanfic #the witching hour #tara x willow #willow x kennedy #buffy continuation fic #I really don't like how a lot of 'resurrect Tara' fics make Willow shallow enough to drop Kennedy like a hot potato #and Tara in turn either a doormat or basically a fixed point in time who forgets all their other existing issues #they would have lasted five minutes of that and then had actual life stuff happening again #these fics also make her into a 'reward' for Willow when that was the exact kind of familial trauma she grew up in to begin with #so in short Tara and her own issues get to exist #and Willow and hers get to #and both get actual complete healing arcs before their future getting back together does happen #I am also going to enjoy writing Angel getting repeatedly whacked in the nuts

[k7l4d4]

Midnight Striga: Fairy Tail/Owl House Cross Fic Episode 5 Part 2

Hello all, it’s me, back again with another chapter of the Midnight Striga!! I hope you all enjoy. Thank you.

“... And that’s everything I know about human anatomy.” Luz finished, as Gus eagerly wrote down her answer while the others watched in amusement. She quirked her eyebrow at the younger boy’s enthusiasm. For the past 20 minutes she’d been answering his questions as best she could, and each answer got her a huge grin, a bear hug at one point, and frantic scribbling across a notebook he had produced. It was like having a little brother, really, but less annoying… for now.

Clearing her throat, Willow decided to broach a topic that had been on her mind since they started this trip. “So, Miss Owl Lady, is it true that you’re cursed?” Willow carefully asked.

“Yup.” Eda bluntly replied. “One hundred percent.” She shrugged, unbothered by the question. “Not much I can really do about it, but I’ve learned to live with it.”

“So the legend is TRUE!?” Gus exclaimed, eyes wide with shock, and a little excitement.

Eda snorted. “Not hardly.” At the confused looks she got, even from King and Luz, Eda elaborated. “The general idea is right, but the whole thing is skewed.” Eda paused, glancing up at the sky. “I don’t know where the part about the Covens clambering for me in school came from, ‘cause it’s the first I’ve heard of that, unless they’re talking about the times they ambushed me to join at the early Coventions; that honestly just annoyed me, and it’s partially why I don’t like the things. If I’m gonna make a decision like that, it’ll be by myself, thank you!” She huffed, getting soft snorts from the others.

Grinning at her audience, Eda continued. “As for the whole ‘ego’ thing, I was already well-known troublemaker around Bonesburough, so even if it did go to my head, my behavior wouldn’t have changed at all.” This got nods of agreement from Luz and King, and looks of dawning understanding for Willow and Gus. Knowing what she would have to share next, Eda took a deep breath. “For my curse, I can tell you for fact that it wasn’t the Titan, or whatever cockamamy story the EC spread; a Witch cursed me. Specifically, they broke into my room and cursed me the day before try-outs for the Emperor’s Coven.” She said softly, provoking gasps from the group; shock from Willow and Gus, and outrage from her roommates, something that brought a smile to her face. Clearing her throat, she continued. “As for me denouncing the Coven System,” she said, making air-quotes, “All I did was say that Covens weren’t for me and forfeited my match for a spot in the EC.” She finished, gaining bewildered stares from the two Hexside Students.

“You gave up a spot in the Emperor’s Coven?” Willow breathed out, unsure if she was appalled or impressed.

“Why!?” Gus exclaimed, utterly flabbergasted by Eda’s decision.

Eda shrugged, indifferent to their confusion, but willing to explain. “Because I only cared about joining so I wouldn’t have to have any of my magic sealed. Plus,” She sheepishly rubbed her head, blushing lightly in embarrassment. “The other person actually cared about joining the Coven to help people. I could get the same outcome I wanted by not joining a Coven at all, but they wanted to make the world a better place. I’d say I made the right call.” She finished.

Willow and Gus were amazed. They still couldn’t really wrap their heads around her worldview, but the fact that she was willing to give up such a prestigious position that would’ve given her exactly what she wanted because her opponent had more selfless reasons… It was inspiring. King was bewildered; Eda’s motive for forfeiting went completely over his head, as he just couldn’t understand giving up power so someone else could get it, but he perfectly understood her view of being herself, no one could challenge the mind of the King of Demons. Luz… Luz was shocked, face gone white at what Eda had just said.

“Okay, wait a minute, back up. What did you mean, ‘seal your magic?’” Luz demanded, shaking with barely repressed anger.

Eda blinked. “Uh, I did tell you that joining a Coven means you can only use magic associated with it.” She pointed out. She was honestly a little shocked about how viscerally the kid was reacting, with Willow and Gus actually looking a little frightened at her reaction.

“You told me that, yes, but you didn’t tell me they actually made it IMPOSSIBLE!!” She shouted. She was furious. She had already thought the system here was pretty twisted, but this was beyond the pale.

“Well, how does the Human Realm do things?” Willow broached, hoping to change the subject. Gus nodded his agreement to her question, though more as a result of genuine curiosity. Eda herself was a little curious; the kid had mentioned offhandedly that the way the Boiling Isles did things was very different from back home, but never elaborated.

Luz snorted, feeling bitter. “That’s an understatement.” She inhaled, taking a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. Slowly dragging a hand down her face, she elaborated. “Back home, we have Guilds. Guilds basically act as a way for Mages to get work reliably; as part of a Guild, missions and requests are sent in, which a member can take to complete in exchange for a listed reward. Joining a Guild is neither permanent nor mandatory, it’s just a way to make things more convenient for Mages, that’s all.” She raised her head, looking them all in the eye. “Also, being in a Guild has no bearing on what type of magic you can use or know; while some Guilds may have certain requirements for joining, they are rarely, if ever, connected to what type of magic you know.”

“But how do you keep everything from falling to Chaos!” Gus exclaimed, mind whirling at the influx of information.

Luz shot him a flat look. “It’s not anarchy; we do have an overarching organization that deals with magic-related matters and crimes, but we don’t have anything cementing an absolute structure to things. If you break the law, whether you do so using magic or not, you still have to answer to law enforcement and will be punished. There’s just no reason to suppress or control magic to such an extent. Most people, whether they have magic or not, just want to live their lives, so forcing them into a particular system or group makes no sense.”

“But what about people mixing magic?” Willow asked.

Luz blinked. “What about it? It’s no different from using magic any other way.” She shrugged, not seeing the big deal.

“Well, some kids at school tried mixing magic, and caused chaos! They trashed a bunch of stuff and hurt some of the faculty!” Gus argued.

Luz raised an eyebrow, folding her arms. “And that’s different from any other day, how exactly?” She challenged, causing the two to blink. She continued. “The way you phrased it, they were being reckless; that’s a problem regardless of whether you know or are combining forms of magic. It honestly just sounds like they were trying to show off and went too far.”

“B-But, they wouldn’t have had those problems if they stuck with the magic of their track!” Willow insisted, though she would admit that it sounded fake, even to herself.

“And you know that how exactly?” Luz asked. When Willow clammed up, she added a little more. “Accidents happen, and people get hurt. Those exact same things had to have happened when your people first started practicing the magics that would form the Coven System.” As Willow and Gus seemed to fold in on themselves, Luz relented a little. “Look guys, nobody’s forcing you to learn more than one form of magic. Most people back home don’t learn more than one, either.” As the two perked up at that, she elaborated. “Just because you technically can learn every type of magic, doesn’t mean somebody wants to. People are always going to gravitate towards their personal interests, and that’s just a fact of life. That’s why I think the Coven System is crazy, because it’s putting an unnecessary restriction on people. But that’s besides the point, let’s talk about this sometime else, okay?” She pleaded, wanting to move on from the increasingly frustrating conversation.

“Yeah, as fascinating as this is,” Eda drawled, genuinely being fascinated by the debate, but wanting to get going, “We should really be moving along.”

With that, everyone started heading out.

A sickening crunch ripped through the air. A squelching sound and chewing could be heard as a lumbering figure peaked out of the shadows, teeth stretched into a bloody grin. A shadow darted across the area, silently slicing through the throats of unsuspecting Coven Guards. A Guard uselessly struggled in the air, a long coiled shape contorted around their body, slowly twisting their head to the side as it pulled at them, a snap soon being heard. Figures slowly prowled towards the Covention center, weapons gleaming.

Boscha growled, fighting the urge to snap at the elbows jabbing into her as she walked through the Covention, steadfastly ignoring the glares and whispers aimed her way. Trying to distract herself, she pulled out her Scroll. There were no new messages, aside from another blistering rant from Bo; it made sense, seeing as all of her old clique had blocked her. She snorted at that. It made sense after all, who wanted to deal with the psycho who spent nearly a week beating any and every demon they could find near senseless and had burned the throat of their “best friend.” 

Covertly palming her lighter, she subtly raised it to her lips, sucking in the delicate flame with a relieved sigh, the minty flavor balancing her nerves. She wondered if she might be forming a habit. At least she wasn’t lunging at fires to eat anymore, that had been pretty embarrassing. Glancing around, utterly disinterested in the bevy of Covens, she didn’t notice as she crashed into someone.

“Oof! Watch it you- YOU.” A familiar voice growled out. Glancing down, Boscha spotted the furious form of Amity sprawled down in front of her. Boscha slowly backed up, giving the girl room to pull herself to her feet. “Just what are you doing here?” Amity coldly demanded, crossing her arms. Her voice almost, but not quite, concealing the burning malice within. “I thought you always said Coventions were lame?”

“They are.” Boscha bluntly stated, relieved to be on a familiar topic. She shrugged. “But I’ve got nothing better to do, so I thought I might as well come and check it out. Nothing else going on today.”

Amity raked her gaze up and down the other girl’s frame, feeling a little frustrated at just how nonchalant she was asking. “You really don’t care, do you?” Amity muttered, feeling a smidge of disappointment. She turned a painfully steady gaze to Boscha’s face, locking eyes with her. “Do you really not care about what you did to Skara?”

“Since when do you care?” Boscha asked, feeling surprised. As much as she had previously claimed that she and Amity were friends, Boscha was painfully aware of how detached the girl was from the rest of the clique. As Amity’s face gained a dangerous look to it, Boscha winced at how, well, Bitchy she had sounded saying that. “Sorry, that came out wrong. I mean, since when did you really have a relationship with Skara that would make you ask like that?”

‘Boscha… apologized?’ Amity thought, feeling flummoxed. Steeling herself, a familiar indignation filling her, she focused on the rephrased question, answering it. “Since she came to my house bawling her eyes out into my shirt asking what she did wrong.” She uttered gravely, taking a bitter satisfaction at Boscha’s flinch.

“She-?” Boscha started, feeling a little shocked. She knew that she had hurt Skara, but this? Eyes turning downcast, she morosely uttered. “She’s better off without me in her life.”

“At least you recognize that.” Amity scathingly replied. She stepped close to Boscha, chin to chin almost. “I… have more regrets about my life than I’ll willingly admit, and have done things that kept me up at night from guilt. But you? You betrayed the trust of the person who cared about you the most in the world, not in your right mind or otherwise. So I’m only going to say this once.” She carefully tilted Boscha’s chin down so their gazes were level. “Stay. Away. From Skara.”

Pulling back, lightly dusting herself off, Amity turned on her heel. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a presentation to take part in.” She gave Boscha a backwards glance. “Have a nice day.” She said, almost as an afterthought.

Boscha sighed, morose at the confirmation that, yes, she was an awful friend. Still, at least she could use the Coven to distract herself from how crappy she felt. And hey, maybe Luz was here? ...Pfft! Nah! Chuckling to herself in a bitter tone, Boscha wandered through the Covention, steadfastly ignoring the looks, the whispers, the sneers. It wasn’t any different from her dreams really, just less graphic.

“And here we are!” Willow said, forcing a note of cheer into her voice. The conversation they had had prior still weighed on her and Gus, but they didn’t begrudge Eda or Luz any. It was just… a lot to take in. “The Bonesburough Covention center.” She stated, hands on her hips as Gus made an expansive, showy gesture next to her. She felt a hint of pleasure at the snort of amusement Luz gave at their theatrics.

As they made their way through the Covention, Luz quickly picked up on something. “Wait a minute, are these all, like jobs or something?” She asked, feeling bewildered.

“Uh, yeah?” Gus replied, feeling confused. “Isn’t that how those Guild things worked?”

Luz shook her head, still feeling a little surreal at the sight as she processed it a little more. “Not really? A lot of these Covens flat out don’t need magic at ALL! Heck, there’s a Baking Coven, why would you need magic to bake!?” She exclaimed, gesturing to the Coven stand in question.

The two Hexsiders glanced at each other, neither having ever really thought about it. They shrugged. Luz waved them off. “Forget it, I’ll just chalk it up to another reason why the way things work around here confuses me.”

“Yeah, that’s probably for the best,” Eda mused, honestly puzzled herself as she thought about all the Covens and how little some of them had to do with magic, or, in some cases, magic just made things more difficult. But the way Luz phrased it… She shook her head, not letting herself get sucked down the drain following that line of thought. “King already left to start squeezing these clowns for freebies, so what do you two dweebs want to do while we’re here?” She asked, lightly scratching at the bundled cloth holding her hair in place, turning to Gus and Willow as the target of her question.

The two turned to each other, starting up a whispered debate. This hadn’t really turned out how they thought it would. They had been so excited to show their friend some of their world… and she didn’t like it, moreover she nearly hated it! But, they could still have some fun, even if things weren’t how they expected. Turning back to Eda, a woman they had gained some respect for after learning a bit more of her past. “We could go see the Emperor’s Coven exhibit?” Willow offered, knowing that it would most likely be the most directly exciting thing here, even if Eda didn’t like the group. “I hear they have a special guest!”

“Maybe I’ll be able to get some members to sign my forehead!” Gus cheered, heedless of the sheepish looks from Willow and Luz, as well as Eda’s annoyance. The boy was utterly unshakable in his enthusiasm.

Eda snorted. “Ugh, fine! But if this all turns out to be boring, the three of you are manning my Stand for a week, got it?” She faux-threatened; she wasn’t really going to go through with it, but seeing them squirm was good for a laugh, even if it didn’t phase Luz.

With their plan set, the four headed into the center of the Covention, unknowing of the group creeping through the center, malicious grins all around.

#the owl house #fairy tail #owl house au #fairy tail au #owl house crossover #fairy tail crossover #luz noceda #willow park #gus porter #king the owl house #eda clawthorne #boscha the owl house #amity blight #magic