#3x08: smoke on the water

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[piperholmes]

Ash

piperholmes

(Spoiler speculation—more like fantasy 😂—for 3x08)

“Anne!”

“Anne!”

The sound of her name broke through the mad, frantic fear roaring within her. She looked around, everyone had stopped.

“What are you doing?!” She screamed. “Keep going!”

She reached for another bucket of water, but Gilbert stepped in her way.

“Move!” She demanded.

“Anne! It’s too late,” he shouted back, the cracking and groaning of the enflamed schoolhouse nearly drowning out his words.

Her heart had dropped when she’s awoken to the terrible clanging of the bells. She’d only just managed to slip into slumber, the excitement and tragedy of the day warring inside her, leaving her exhausted.

Still, the thought of some beloved neighbors home burning had spurned Anne our of bed and downstairs where she’d met Marilla and Matthew already quick at work.

“Gilbert just came by,” Marilla had said by way of greeting. “It’s the school house.”

Anne felt as if she’d missed the final step on the staircase. Her mind and body out of harmony as she waited to hit the ground.

“The schoolhouse?” She whispered.

“Anne, we have to get back,” Gilbert insisted, reaching for her hand. “It’s going to collapse!”

Anne looked about her. She’d seen Diana’s sparkling, heartbroken eyes in the crowd when she’d first arrived, she’d seen the hesitation and confusion glittering with firelight as their eyes met, before Diana turned away, burying her sadness against her mother’s neck. Mrs. Berry now stood with her weeping daughters, their backs to the flames.

Ms. Stacy, with black soot smeared across her cheek, stood huddled between Rachel and Marilla, loss and grief etched in each track of tears that forded down her cheek.

Josie and Ruby huddled together with the other students, shock and sadness reaching across the awkward, adolescent uncertainty, as hands interlinked.

Anne couldn’t bear the thought of her beloved schoolhouse being devoured, ravishedly consumed by heat and smoke and char. She’d gained a voice within that small building, and she felt as if a hand was sliding over her mouth.

It wasn’t fair.

It was all too much. The victory from earlier today suddenly felt hollow and worthless. No schoolhouse, no bosom friend, no romantical kindred spirit—

She shook her head. She refused to accept this. There must be something she could do. She wouldn’t fail them.

“We mustn’t give up!” She cried, yanking her hand free from his, trying to keep the line going. The heat of the flames seared into her skin, but still she made to dash around Gilbert.

He turned towards her, his hands sliding about her waist, and Anne felt her world shift as he spun her up and away from the fire.

A deafening crack sounded as the roof gave way. Screams erupting from the crowd, but Anne’s own cry was buried, as Gilbert tucked her more fully against him, shielding her from the destruction.

All the heartache, fear, anger, disappointment, frustration, exhaustion, and grief of the last few days fell in on her. Anne didn’t even realize she was crying at first, not until she felt Gilbert’s hold on her tighten, his hands cradling her close, her own fingers gripping tightly to his coat. The smell of smoke clung to him, to them.

She felt more than heard Gilbert’s words, a deep rumbling in his chest where her ear pressed, but it didn’t matter what he was saying. She knew he was there. She couldn’t stop the tears, the hard shell of embarassment and humiliation that she’d used to perfect herself burned away—at least for now.

She was raw and red.

And, in his arms, she felt safe.

[twyllodrus]

OH TOP FIVE MAGICIANS SCENES GO

oof this is a tough one

in chronological order:

that one scene at the end of 1x02 when q is coming back from the appointment w/ eliza and is greeted w/ margo & eliot barbecuing in the rain (have an entire essay on that scene). every time gives me such warm fuzzy feelings uwuwu

oddly, that time emily & quentin got drunk on wine and wandered around the city in their stifling office suits, and then sat near some body of water making that one smoke bending spellget me some sloppily sad decadence in formal wear like that

zelda and harriet’s 10 minutes-long scene in 3x08. just such a mesmerizing lapse of time. and the format gosh. getting to see the backstory of these two. plus it has this amazing fit of continuity when harriet asks for the principles of conjuring elementals – makes me all kinds of emo

margo being pronounced the new high king and eliot pledging his loyalty to her w/o a second’s thought / closely followed by that scene on muntjac, when these two think they’re on the brink of death and eliot declares his love for margo and she replies with ’i know.’  e n d  m e

alice, for the first time in a long while, rediscovering the good in magic by purifying the water w/ sheila for the locals in modesto. and then just sitting down & eating some gummy bears bc she deserves it :’)

bonus: the cinematic finesse of the entire egg heist in the previous episodejust high art. 37/10. would imprint on the backs of my eyelids again

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Uh, I do have... one other song, but... I don't know. I haven't played it for anyone yet.

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