#✨mim ambrosius

[stellabfly]

[ Based on a discord conversation saying both Stella and Mim would totally do a Lisa Frank-enstein costume. Did both color palettes (but mostly bc i started coloring based on the reference pics and forgot i was doing a lisa frank thing lmao)]

@madmagicmim

[halfawitch-willow]

NAME: Willow Park (36)

MAGICK STATUS: Half Garden Talent fairy, half sorcerer (OUT)

OCCUPATION: Owner and Event Planner at Swynlake Botanical Gardens BUSINESS DESCRIPTION: A public botanical gardens dedicated to the care and preservation of magical plants from around the world, also open for events

CURRENT LOCATION: Swynlake

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Engaged to Mim Ambrosius CHILDREN: Her step-daughter, Adria Ambrosius

BIOGRAPHY:

When asked, Willow would say with a laugh that she did not find her calling. It found her instead and dragged her into the trenches until she stopped struggling and accepted it.

It took time for Willow to accept her magic, the Talent that she had with plants of both the mundane and magical varieties. Time, therapy, and a lot of help from her uni friends and mentors, but it all paid off. Willow was renowned around the world for her skills with sentient and dangerous magical plants, her unique heritage and upbringing giving her Talent a certain ✨spice✨ that lent itself well to wrangling the more bloodthirsty of flora into submission. As her magic grew, so did her confidence, and soon Willow was once again her old bright, curious, goofy self. Instead of hiding her magical heritage, she displayed it with pride, and where she once was frightened by her own shadow, she now ran fearlessly after her goals. She even finally worked up the courage to go back to the Boiling Isles, returning to Swynlake with her new palisman, Clover.

(Graduation had tempered that boundless enthusiasm once again, the loss of so many of her closest friends - whether they left Swynlake to explore the world on their own or were ripped away when their hearts just couldn't hold on any longer - burying her in her own grief. She drifted listlessly between the Grove and the home Winston had graciously opened up to her for nearly a year, and it was only her renewed friendship with Amity that pulled her back out of the ground.)

Willow stayed at the Garden Grove until her talents outgrew it, and with the help of some grants and all the money she had once saved for her Great Escape Into Mundanity, Willow bought an old manor home at the edge of Atlantis Lake and turned it into the Swynlake Botanical Gardens. Wild magical plants blossomed in every corner of the gardens, taken from around the world - and even a few from the Boiling Isles once she got them to successfully acclimate - and brought to flourish and be studied in their new home. Though her own plan when she had come to Swynlake had fallen through, Willow found a talent as an event planner and opened the botanical gardens to be used as an event space for the town; hosting weddings and parties of all sorts. They even opened classes and summer camps to the citizens of Swynlake alongside the daily tours they offered, teaching the town about the magical flora that surrounded them.

(It was at one of these camps that Willow reconnected with Mim Ambrosius and her daughter Adria, a burgeoning young sorcerer with a talent for plant magic. Willow hadn't expected to be swept up by them, but she found herself falling more and more in love with the small family as the summer went on, and now she's proud to call herself a part of it.)

Willow is excitedly preparing for the Gala, happy for what the changing laws mean for the future of her town and her beloved stepdaughter. Swynlake is her home, but a call from her dads has her torn between the life she made for herself and the one she left behind in the Boiling Isles. Will her Papa's failing health put her wedding planning on hold, or will Willow be able to convince her family that Swynlake is where they all belong?

[stellabfly]

❤️ 477 likes

starburst: Happy birthday wifey <3<3

@madmagicmim

[stellabfly]

Swynwrimo Task 4 - Instagram Stories

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@madmagicmim

[stellabfly]

"Thanks, Mim," she smiled. She didn't know if she would do it, but if it came to breaking in to find answers, she'd do it. Part of her wondered if she should give her mom a chance, but part of her knew she hadn't earned that.

Still though, to jump right to crime... while Stella wasn't opposed she just had that shred of naive hope that wondered if they could just talk about it.

Stella leaned forward and gave Mim a hug. "You're literally the best, you know that?" said Stella. "Thanks for having my back. If I come up with a plan for that, you'll be the first person I tell. Probably the only person, too, since i shouldn't be going around telling people we're breaking and entering."

@madmagicmim

Something has Changed Within Me || Stim

[stellabfly]

There was Mim, always with another good idea. Stella didn't know what she would do without her. She probably would spiral into a lot more unknowns, stress about more things.

"Good thing we're both pretty creative," Stella smiled. There was still a tiredness to her face, that hint of fear and trepidation still lingering.

"True," she nodded. "I probably won't tell her. Not any time soon. Not that we're really... talking all that much, but still..."

Mim mentioned breaking in. She'd broken into places before--usually abandoned ones or her own house when she forgot her keys. Breaking into her mother's apartment would be difficult. But not impossible.

"I'd have to plan it out. Figure out when she wouldn't be home and if she'd even have those sorts of things in her place in town," Stella said. "But I don't hate that idea." It's strange that it feels easier than just talking to Moon about it.

@madmagicmim

Something has Changed Within Me || Stim

[stellabfly]

Stella watched the way Mim prepared the spell, she watched how her eyes seemed different as she examined her in a deeper way than anyone else ever had.

"It's not even sorcery?" Stella almost couldn't believe it. She did, of course, but it was just weird to hear. No curse, no sorcerer.

Stella glanced over her shoulder to look at what she could see of her back. There was nothing there. Why would there be a hotspot there?

"You don't think the one on my back could mean if I keep polymorphing, it could happen again, do you?" Stella tried to keep her tone calm, but the panic was creeping in. "I... Okay. Not a spell, not a sorcery quirk. But probably something genetic..." she tried to think of her history lessons, if there was anything she learned about that could provide answers.

There was nothing.

"Maybe... Maybe my mom knows something?" she sighed. "Not that I want her to know about this. After what happened on my birthday--after she saw, um, a little more of my magic where I looked a little less than human--I don't think she'd have a good reaction to these." Stella pointed at the horns. "What am I even supposed to do about that?" 'that' being her mother and her mother's reaction.

@madmagicmim

Something has Changed Within Me || Stim

[stellabfly]

"Yeah, that's... it was probably a long time ago," Stella nodded. How long ago, though? Most of the Commission were ancient, some even seeming ageless. They must remember. Glossaryck must remember. Was her mother in on the secrets? Had any of her grandmothers known?

Her hands fidgeted in her lap as she thought about it and as she realized how little she knew about her family's history. She knew her mother taught her history even when she was no longer allowed to teach her magic, but the things she learned about were always so... mundane. The history of the family and the history of Mjaunie and how they intertwined, but rarely in so much detail.

Stella waited patiently for Mim to return. Maybe it wasn't some deep family secret. Maybe the Commission cursed Stella for being such a failure--honestly that would be an easier pill to swallow.

"Okay," she nodded. "I'm okay with it. I trust you-- do whatever you need to." And she meant it. She placed her arms at her sides to open up a little more, to show she was okay with this.

She didn't think there was anyone in the world she would trust more than Mim to do something like this. She didn't know if there was anyone in the world she trusted more, period.

@madmagicmim

Something has Changed Within Me || Stim

[stellabfly]

She nodded, feeling a little like she was being scolded, but not in a bad way. She knew Mim was just looking out for her, and she needed to hear her say that. She would keep it in mind. And she needed to be better about opening up. And though she knew reasonably that it wouldn't be a bother to Mim, hearing her confirm that was good. Hopefully it did make it easier for her in the future.

"Thank you," she said with a small smile, appreciative of her friend.

Mim's look made Stella give her a quizzical one in return.

She knew the cheekmarks were magic, but... she just figured it was part of her family's magic. But that's apparently not a thing? Why couldn't the Commission taught her about this kind of stuff?

Well, probably because it was some secret, she realized.

"I... no, that doesn't--" she felt a little sick and for a moment she wonders about her mother. But no, all the portraits in the Grandma Room had different Butterfly matriarchs with their own marks showing. This wasn't a recent thing.

"I don't know what it would be. My mother has her own marks, and I know her mother before her did as well," she furrowed her brows as she tried to think. "I don't think I'm an elf--I think there would be other traits that showed up before these--" she motioned between her cheeks and her horns. "And nobody has ever mentioned anything about this. Not my mother, not the Commission. They act like it's just... part of how our family's magic works. Like how my mother's eyes change colors when she's casting magic. That's--"

Star shook her head. "I have no idea what it could be. But I guess checking for a curse couldn't hurt, right?"

What if this was why the Commission frowned upon her chosen specialty so much? What if they knew it could lead to her uncovering some secrets?

She shouldn't give them that much credit. But really, what was going on here?!

@madmagicmim

Something has Changed Within Me || Stim

[stellabfly]

Honestly, she wouldn't have cared if Mim touched them. This was already so strange, that wouldn't make it any stranger.

"I..." she should've gone to someone, she knew that to be true. She couldn't look at Mim for a second. "I don't know. I got into a fight with my parents. I-- I lost control and hurt my dad. He's okay now, but I just--I was running away from that when it happened. I was not doing, you know, super well... in my head. I just felt... I don't know. I didn't want to bother anyone else. And now I know that was stupid, hence me being here now, but I just... It was not a great time when it all happened." Star took a breath. She hadn't been thinking of the consequences. She hadn't been thinking at all. It was like that primal part of her brain was fighting for survival and if it showed any sign of weakness to anyone else that would create more of a risk.

Of course, once she'd calmed down from the panic attack, she realized it was stupid and she could've been seriously hurt. She knew she should've gotten help right away, but after feel so... wrong in front of her parents--after seeing the look in her mothers eyes when her hand had turned clawlike and sharp--she couldn't bear to be looked at like a monster by anyone else.

Her brow furrowed. Could that be what it was? But... "but my family only has sorcerers and mundus's in it," she said. Unless that wasn't true. But based on everything she'd ever heard about her family either from her mother or the commission--which, granted, was never a lot--there was nothing that could have caused this.

"I mean... I guess anything is possible, right? Maybe I had a curse put on me or... or there was something in my family--" she stopped, one of her hands going to her cheek-- "The hearts? My mom's side of the family has always had the cheek marks. Different shapes and colors, I think, but... I don't know I thought it was some weird kind of birthmark/mark of the Butterfly family thing?" Could it be connected somehow? Why would it be? That was the only hint of something different about her that she could think of.

"What do you think could've caused this? Like... most likely explanation?" she asked.

@madmagicmim

Something has Changed Within Me || Stim

[stellabfly]

It isn't permanent. Yeah, she knew that. She'd always known that. She just hoped that maybe there was some weird exception to the rule.

Mim's reaction made her nervous as first, but it shouldn't have. Mim thought they were cool. Of course she did--honestly, Stella kind of did, too, but she was just still too in the confusion stage to embrace them.

"Yeah, it happened when my parents came over for my birthday. We, um, got into an argument. And things escalated and..." she thought about how she had hurt her father. "I left. Turned into a bird and flew away. And when I was flying I started getting a headache and then... this happened."

She nodded at the confirmation. It's something else. Stella didn't know what, though. "I think I kind of figured that. It, um... it hurt? It felt like my skull was splitting open and there was, like... a lot of blood? It... felt permanent. But I don't... I know what it could be or why or how it happened. And you're like the smartest person I know, especially when it comes to magic stuff, so I was hoping you could maybe help me figure it out?"

@madmagicmim

Something has Changed Within Me || Stim

[stellabfly]

Stella couldn't help but feel a little proud when Mim praised her, but she has to remind herself that that's not why she's here.

"Oh, okay," she nodded. Cool, good, so this was probably not normal--she already knew that it wasn't normal, but she had hopes. "And those side effects when you do have them... they're not permanent are they?"

She knew her questions were vague and she knew she shouldn't feel embarrassed, but there was something that felt like she was stripping away all her clothes when she thought about dropping the glamour. Honestly, that felt less embarrassing than dropping the glamour.

"After I did the spell last, something... happened. And that was on New Years so... it's been a while and it hasn't gone away." Not to mention it felt like her bones were changing form and her skin had split open in a painful way--it hadn't felt like a temporary change.

Stella puffed out a breath, and dropped the glamour, feeling so ridiculously exposed. The horns came out just above her hairline, with a slight shine and reddish hue to them. At first she'd thought that was blood, but no matter how much she cleaned them, the color seemed to stay.

"I've also gotten pretty good at glamours recently, too," she added, as if its a positive to all of this. "But like... is this a normal thing?" she knew it wasn't, but she almost wished Mim would lie to her.

@madmagicmim

Something has Changed Within Me || Stim