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shepherds-of-haven · 3 years

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So I follow MANY interactive fiction blogs and I just have to say that you're my favorite by a long shot because I just love answers that you give in response to hypothetical scenarios and AU's for your characters. Like you actually put in effort and give well-thought out answers, so I thank you for that. As for AU's I have one of my own if you don't mind please. What would be the RO's for a murder mystery a la Cluedo? Bonus points that they can't leave the mansion for extra chaos. Thank you!

Ah, thank you so much for your kind words! 💖 I'm lucky to be a part of such a great community of talented creatives and kind, genuinely awesome people! Interacting with readers is such a pleasure, even if I do fall behind on messages and such I'm so sorry

I'm in North America, so I was genuinely like "what on Earth is Cluedo" gkljglfdjgd only because it's called Clue where I'm from! But I, uh, never played it, so I'm just going to go off of my knowledge from Knives Out 😂

SETTING: a Southern Gothic mansion in an undisclosed location, owned by a woman only referred to in jest as The Autarch by her adopted children. It is a stately manor, richly furnished and glittering with wealth, though imposing and dark-windowed during storms.

CONTEXT: a powerful and wealthy tycoon referred to only as "The Autarch" or "The Iron Lady" was once feared across the country for her ruthless business dealings and formidable empire. In her middle age, a mysterious experience and the sudden death of her husband caused her to have a change of heart, abruptly abandoning her empire to her only son and devoting her life to adopting six orphan children. However, stopping her business dealings did not completely change her personality: she was a hard, unforgiving woman, and her relationships to her children (now all grown) can be described as "strained" at best.

In her declining age, the lonely Autarch in her high mansion somehow came to befriend a psychic by the name of Mimir of the Silver Eye. Only the servants were witness to what was said between them, and even then, they never had the full story. The most that anyone knew was that the Autarch began to express more interest in resuming her business activities again, to the disconcertion of her only biological son, Enik, who had helmed the empire on his own for the last twenty years. Meanwhile, Mimir moved into the mansion to keep her older friend company, and to help advise her on matters both business and personal.

One stormy night, the Autarch calls all 7 of her children back home in order to discuss matters of great importance, including her decisions about her will. Some came eagerly, and others with great reluctance--there were arguments had that were years in coming, and there were private talks between siblings who hadn't interacted in years. But the matter that the Autarch was keen to discuss was postponed: the storm knocked out the power in the mansion, and all turned into bed, sleeping fitfully in rooms they'd abandoned decades earlier.

They never discovered why the Autarch had called them to their old haunting grounds, either, for in the morning, she was found with a knife buried in her heart.

CHARACTERS:

- Riel Syndran. A world-famous private detective and consultant famed across the world for his ability to solve any mystery, no matter how old or tangled. He is known for being comfortable with ruthlessly manipulating interrogation subjects and suspects in order to extract the truth and solve his case no matter what; this obsession and willingness to massage the rules--although he claims the truth is his only goal, above all other things--is what makes him unsuitable for conventional police work, but his results speak for themselves. He arrives on the mansion's doorstep mere minutes after the Autarch is found murdered and is claimed to have been hired by an anonymous party, casting suspicion on his timing and the pre-planned nature of the death. His signature move is being recognized by various people as "the detective who solved the Apple Killer case" (or some other famous case of his) and replying in irritable tones that it was actually "the Orange Killer case, but you were close". He abhors smoking and has doctorates in body language analysis and psychology, as well as a law degree, and is gifted with a photographic memory. He picks invisible lint off of his sleeves while he thinks.

- Blade Bronwyn. An FBI agent (think Agent Cooper in Twin Peaks) who has been in the town of Old Haven investigating a string of serial killings across the country. He hears about the murder of the Autarch from the local police and arrives at the manor a mere hour after they were alerted, keen to investigate the murder as part of his ongoing case. He plays the straight man to Riel's more eccentric detection methods, and is seen more as a serious, by-the-books rule-follower determined to get answers. The suspects in the manor find him to be emotionally-insensitive, blunt, and grim-faced. He has a better sense of smell and sight than Riel does, as well as more combat experience, and is the only person in the manor acknowledged to be carrying a weapon. He takes his coffee black and very strong.

- Enik Goldenson. The Autarch's only biological child and the oldest. He was granted full control of her holdings and business empire when she retired in order to focus on raising her new family. He has made his disdain of his adopted siblings very clear, not least because he resents having to share his future inheritance with them. He has historically been a bully and cruel towards his mother. Rumor had it that he was once studying to become a priest. He has avoided returning to the mansion ever since Trouble knocked his lights out at fourteen years of age. He was once briefly engaged to fellow heiress Lavinet Naveen, who eventually spurned him, finding him "repulsive." He has the most bad blood among anyone in the family and is considered one of the prime suspects in the Autarch's murder, as it was possible that she may planned to cut him out of the will. Blade places his suspect status as RED while Riel believes he is at an ORANGE: Enik may be far too clever to kill his own mother under such suspicious and bloody circumstances.

- Trouble Alder. The first of the Autarch's adopted children, he was once an urchin running a street-fighting racket on the streets of New Haven. He was nicknamed Trouble for his surly temper and quick ability to get into fights and settle things with his fists, necessitating being sent off to a military boarding school in an effort to curb his violent tendencies as a teenager. He is extremely protective of his other adopted siblings, and while he resented the Autarch in his youth, he has begrudgingly come to respect her more for taking him in as an adult. He now works as a decorated sniper in the military and is working to earn his pilot's wings. The revelation that he kept military weapons in his room casts suspicion on him as a murder suspect, though Riel quickly dismisses him as not being a good enough liar to get away with it.

- Tallys Ironwood. The second of the Autarch's adopted children, she made her hatred of the old woman very well known, and had an even poorer relationship with her than Enik did. Tallys's parents were victims in an accident caused by one of the Autarch's manufacturing plants, and she has always felt that her subsequent adoption was mere lip service to atonement for the Autarch, while she would have rather stayed with her more impoverished aunts and uncles. She ran away multiple times in her youth and has not spoken to the Autarch since she was 18. Her overt hatred and reluctance in coming back to the mansion casts suspicion on her as a murder suspect. She has a degree in plant science and works as an environmental activist, particularly targeting products and campaigns by Enik's company, creating unspeakable friction between them.

- Ayla Aescar. The third of the Autarch's adopted children, nothing is known about her biological parents. She was adopted from a neighboring country and has since returned to it as an adult, making an effort to reconnect with her origins and culture. Her relationship with "the old woman," as she calls her, was more neutral, though it comes out that the Autarch frequently bailed her out in secret whenever Ayla ran into trouble, such as trespassing on Jalis government grounds. Nominally, she works as a photographer for a travel magazine, but secretly, she is an investigative photojournalist looking into various covert practices by the Jalis government. This brings up a question of whether the Autarch's killing was political, and whether it was actually meant for Ayla.

- Chase Trinaeste. The fourth of the Autarch's adopted children, it's joked that he was intended to replace Trouble when he was sent off to boarding school due to having a more charming personality and sweeter face. However, he ended up being the most troublesome one of the bunch, having multiple run-ins with the law from a young age and displaying various tendencies towards larceny, grand theft auto, and more. He had no shame about stealing and pawning off valuables from the mansion and was a well-known skirt-chaser, leading to constant stress in their household about what he was getting up to when he snuck out of the house at night. At eighteen, he disappeared from the mansion, and no one has heard from him in the intervening years since. He completely ducks any questions from Riel or Blade about what he does for a living, leading most to conclude that he has gotten himself deeper entrenched in the criminal underworld. This has cast obvious suspicion on him and his involvement in the murder, as he was known to steal from the Autarch herself. He seems to feel some measure of loyalty and possibly remorse towards his adopted siblings, but hides it well under a polished veneer of charm and casual swagger.

- Briony Stormbreaker. The fifth of the Autarch's adopted children In a dramatic fashion, she was discovered as a young child swept away in a huge flood caused by a storm, with no ability to communicate (or seemingly remember) anything about where she could have lived or who her family was. She was subsequently adopted by the Autarch and is one of the few who had a fairly good relationship with her, always expressing gratitude for giving her a home and family (though this brought her into conflict with siblings like Tallys, as she usually tried to defend the Autarch when she wasn't there to speak for herself). She was the sibling who always tried to unite the others, and their constant arguments and conflicts constantly broke her heart. She was an easily-upset child who tended to be babied by Trouble and Chase, but after constantly bullying from Croelle and Enik, she toughened up and began taking martial arts classes, abruptly displaying her own ferocious temper and violent streak as well as unusually powerful physical strength. She currently works as a passionate public prosecutor. She was heard conversing with the Autarch privately with raised voices, on the night of the murder, and is known to sleepwalk during violent storms. She even had a phase with an imaginary, sword-shaped friend as a child, as well as repeatedly claimed that she's seen ghosts in the manor. This perceived paranoia has led some to wonder whether she could have harmed the Autarch in her sleep. As Riel says, "It's always the nice ones." Blade: "Not in my experience." Riel: "Not in mine, either, but in some continuity, it must be true."

- Croelle. The last of the Autarch's adopted children. He was by far the most anti-social and troubled part of the family, refusing to speak to those he deemed beneath him and breaking Trouble's arm in a disturbing display of dominance as youths. Unlike Enik, his cruelty is more ruthless and matter-of-fact, the way an animal might treat another animal, rather than pointed and manipulative. Regardless, he was a terror to all of the other siblings, and he was eventually thrown in juvenile detention (and later prison) for killing members of a gang, seemingly in self-defense. However, he never cared to divulge the full details of the story, and has been serving his sentence ever since. No one besides the Autarch knew that he was coming until they arrived at the manor. Croelle claims that he and the Autarch had been exchanging letters for the last few years, and that he has begrudgingly allowed her back into his life, which was why she decided to invite him to this gathering upon his release from prison. However, there is currently no evidence that any such letters exist. As an adult, he is currently quieter and more mellow and has shown no particular proclivity towards violence, but there is always a sense of danger lurking in his eye regardless. His social skills have not improved by much. He is considered one of the absolute top suspects for the old woman's murder. His feelings on his adopted siblings or really anything are extremely unknown. He keeps asking everyone about free will, which annoys everyone except Riel.

- Shery Acquell. A longtime maid for the Autarch and one of her closest friends and confidantes. She alone has been caring for the Autarch in her declining health, ensuring that she has been receiving the proper medical care and dietary attentions, and even reading her books in the evenings. Their closeness has led some to speculate that the Autarch may have bequeathed a part of her inheritance to the maid, or that perhaps Shery was motivated to ingratiate herself to the Autarch to attain said inheritance. She was the last person to see the Autarch before her death, knows something about what transpired between her and Mimir, and ultimately reluctantly admits that she believes in the ghosts that Briony has seen, too.

- Halek Prince. The manor's live-in chef. He is one of the few non-family members staying in the mansion the night of the murder, and suspicion is cast on him when his cooking seemingly gives Ayla, Briony, and Red an allergy attack, leading some to posit attempts at poisoning. Mimir claims to have seen him in places where he shouldn't be or even couldn't be, and he is generally someone viewed as a good suspect for the murder. Riel thinks something else is going on here.

- Red Antiqua. Ayla's journalist partner who accompanied her to the mansion, partly to serve as a buffer for the family awkwardness and partly because he was curious to learn more about the reclusive Autarch. Nominally, he is a travel writer, but secretly, he is working as the same kind of investigative journalist that she is. His secret photographs of the manor prove to be a key piece of evidence in uncovering the murder suspect. He is forced to be confined to the manor, the same as everyone else, to prevent information leaks or runaways. He uncovers a secret doorway in his room and is too curious not to duck into it...

- Caine Tavadon. The son of the manor's groundskeeper, he is often seen with his dog, peeping into the windows of the manor because he's incorrigibly nosy. His witness statements lead Blade and Riel to key footprints on the grounds. He claims to have seen a strange figure staring down at him from the windows of the mansion before.

- Prihine Naveen. Enik's current fiancee, she accompanied him on this odious visit to his mother's manor and is a witness in the proceedings. Although they can barely tolerate each other, their shared ambitions for wealth and power keep them together as a polite though distant couple. A file in the Autarch's study reveals that she has been watching Prihine for some time and discovered that she was having a secret affair. The file indicates that she planned to tell Enik face-to-face, leading others to speculate that Prihine may have murdered the old woman in order to preserve her engagement. Enik remarks that there was a period of time where Prihine was not in bed.

- Lavinet Naveen. Prihine's older cousin, and Enik's ex-fiancee. They've technically known each other since they were children and were schoolmates at the same prestigious institution. The Autarch and Lavinet's father initially had designs to marry the two to forge a powerful alliance between their business empires. However, Lavinet quickly backed out of the engagement, finally admitting that she couldn't stand Enik and would never marry him. Although this has generally caused relations between the two families to become frosty, she has strangely remained on good terms with the Autarch herself, who always admired Lavinet's chutzpah and steely will. (This was just another reason for Enik to hate his own mother.) Lavinet was free to come and go to the manor as she pleased, and dropped in on the Autarch once every few months, as her family's manor is nearby. She only recently discovered that her own cousin, Prihine, is now engaged to her ex, and rushed over on the night of the murder in order to dissuade Prihine from the marriage or convince the Autarch to put a stop to it. This led to a four-way argument (between Lavinet, Prihine, Enik, and his mother) of epic proportions, meaning that Lavinet is not clear on suspicions of murder, either.

- Mimir. The psychic who somehow came into contact with the Autarch and began to convert her to the ways of the supernatural. She has been the Autarch's closest friend and confidant for months, even going so far as to move into the mansion. Many point out the obvious designs on the Autarch's inheritance and possible sinister intentions for taking advantage of the older woman, especially since no one but Shery knows what Mimir has actually advised the Autarch to do. However, Riel points out that there has been no traceable financial irregularities when it comes to Mimir; the Autarch doesn't seem to have paid her for her services, only providing Mimir with food and a roof over her head. The psychic speaks in extremely cryptic tones and lapses into trance-like states. Riel in particular scorns her for her supposedly psychic abilities, insisting that she is a fraud, until she comments on aspects of his past that no one could possibly know, shaking him. She is a prime suspect for the murder until it's discovered that Mimir insists on being locked into a windowless room, only being released by Shery in the morning, to protect herself from the ghosts that haunt the grounds...

#Shepherds of Haven #AU #cluedo #clue #murder mystery #murder mystery AU #knives out #knives out AU #long #long post #all characters #<3 #if anyone can actually guess who the killer is i'll send you a sticker #jk i'll reblog the answer sometime

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smallfrost · 3 years

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The Source of Spree Compulsion Work

HELLO! Oh my goddess. So much information in the first episode alone. And in the clips and trailers. Where even to begin!

I think the thing that stuck out the most for me during our RI rewatch was Tally’s lucid dream at the end and what it provides for a) the military history of this timeline and b) the source of the Spree’s compulsion magic. Disclaimer; I am certain these thoughts have been chatted about here on Tumblr, Twitter, and Discord. I apologize if I do not properly credit people but with so many convos going around, things have been swept up in the storm. But I wanted to highlight some thoughts to share with the world. So these are my interpretations but shoutout to those who have made these associations before me, I always encourage people to write their thoughts and share them with all of us. (And feel free to @ me or send any my way so I know of them please!).

Specifically, though not yet mentioned in the show, Eliot reveals in interviews that the flashback is from a “dirty colonial war” about 25 years prior to when the show takes place. So… this would then be during the Proxy wars (ongoing) but before the rise of the Spree. So are colonial wars “Proxy wars”? Is it a resistance to previously sovereign people to being conscripts if America colonizes, forced into service? Keep notepads out, ears and eyes ready.

Next, and perhaps the most important: The contained compulsion sound work of the Spree was/is Military canon.

In the flashback we see Alder, biddies, and Co. getting attacked by giant insects, controlled by the colonials.

apologies for the horrible quality. iTunes gimme my HD when? (still won’t let me buy my season pass). They’re helpless against them until a soldier smashes a bottle which releases work that causes the colonials to stop controlling the insects and start attacking themselves. It’s the exact same effect the Spree attacks had on civilians.

Now, military canon had to come from somewhere. It is entirely possible that the Spree learned this work from the same source the Military learned it from, or, a different source. BUT this flashback makes it seem as though Eliot is hinting that this work more likely came from a Military deserter as witches (in America at least) only learn military canon work AFTER they take the oath. Military canon is kept under lock and key otherwise.

I think of this scene and flashback as a: Alder is Dumbledore looking through his memories in the pensive for clues about horcruxes sort of deal. She’s searching her memories for the leak. The source of the Spree to try and route it out from the inside. 25 years ago… that may be too early to be Willa (though we don’t know her exact age). Is it someone else? Are they still in the military?

Petra as head of intelligence may just, well, have access to intelligence collected by spies, but it definitely seemed like a perfect coincidence that she found out about the Belgium attack by the Camarilla EXACTLY at the same time Willa reveals this to Scylla.

Now... this was BEFORE Anacostia cast the Fetch to creep on Scylla and Willa... A favorite theory floating around since last season? Since Petra was Willa’s CO on her last drop... did she help Willa defect? Did Petra help Willa fake her death so she could become a Spree operative behind Alder’s back? Perhaps Petra was behind the leak of the Military canon magic to the Spree and Alder is searching through her memories to make the connection? What do you guys think?

Remember, the @mfs-research-institute Discord Server is always open! Please feel free to DM me or the official account for an invite.

#motherland fort salem #motherland: fort salem #motherland season 2 #MFS 2x01 #sarah alder #willa collar #petra bellweather #MFS theories #mfs analysis #mfs research institute

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kendrene · 3 years

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Abigail worked her way through this wing slowly, reluctantly, the objects she walked among exuding malice. A few were replicas, put there to educate new witches about the ugliest side of their shared history, but most of the things on display had been used. To flense flesh off the muscle and maim the body. To torture. To kil.

Abigail was staring at one such — an iron maiden, with its spike-covered interior specked in dried blood — when she heard it. A muffled sob that made her spooked. She twisted around wide-eyed and when her hand fell to her side in search of the scourge she’d left next to her bunk she told herself it was natural. Anyone would be on edge in this horrific place.

“Tally?” She called, taking an uncertain step in the direction of the sound. “Tally, is that you?”

Silence.

“Tally, this isn’t funny.” But it was going to be such a relief if it turned out that Tally, having been alerted to her presence, had decided to play a prank on her. Proof that she was coming back to herself, leaving her haunted, ghoulish doppelganger behind for good.

Abigail rounded a cabinet in which the mannequin of a witch hunter hunched in eternal ambush and she saw her.

Tally must have heard the scuffing of her boots by now, but she didn’t turn. Her eyes were fixed to a shadowy corner of the room, where some of the oldest objects were kept. Abigail didn’t need to see any of them to guess what Tally stared at; because of Petra’s status she’d walked these halls many times, long before conscription, and her mother had taken great care to illustrate even the smallest object to her. It was interesting and, for a six year old that could not sit still if tied down, it had been supremely boring, but this part of the exhibit had given her plenty of bad dreams.

Fragments from the scaffold on which Sarah Alder and her sister stood, awaiting judgment. The rope that had wound tight around their necks.

As Abigail watched, too stunned to call out her name again, Tally clutched at her throat too, as though she felt the rope’s abrasive bite from three centuries prior. She was crying, silent bar the one sob that had drawn Abigail to her, tears and snot leaving shiny tracks on her cheeks and chin.

“Tal?” Abigail took care to keep her tone gentle. Knowers were reported to sleep-walk during intense visions, and she didn’t want to jolt Tally out of it too violently, if that was the case. “Tal, it’s me, Abigail. Do you remember where you are?”

Tally’s nails dug bloody gauges into her neck, and her mouth fell open.

“Can’t breathe.” She rasped, and the sheer agony of those two simple words made Abigail shudder. “I can’t—”

“You need to wake up.” Screw gentle. Tally was gonna hurt herself unless she did something. When Abigail grabbed her hand to pull it away from her throat, she was met by cold skin. As cold as Charvel’s was after—

Abigail ripped herself away, but the brief contact was enough to shake Tally free of her vision.

Triptych - my first ever Motherland Fort Salem work! Beware the angst and read now on Patreon.

#Motherland fort salem #raylla #talder #dren writes #patreon update

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things-i-read-and-collect · 3 years

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Motherland Fort Salem season 2 episode 6

Oh my god! What an episode and so much going on with everyone and all BIG stuff too!!

I loved seeing our girls out of uniform (not that there is anything wrong with them in uniform!). Loving Raelle back in her red plaid. I’m glad Tally went home with Raelle too, as I like seeing our girls interacting and Tally has been so lovely this season, such a loving, caring character. And she’s so sweet, her picking up that broken wing mirror was funny and when she seems to have gotten a little merry on that drink, what a cutie! The place Raelle lives seems a lot nicer than I imagined it being from the small glimpse we got of it in the very first episode, but her dad is as lovely as ever.

Gotta say I’m glad I’m not Abigail, I could not deal with all that shit! I’m glad she left at the end and did what her and Adil were going to do. It is nice to see three generations of military women and family, though and I’m glad the grandma was like ‘you do what you have to do to be a Bellweather’, because Petra would never say that.

I did figure that Nicte Batan was behind the spree, but that attack on Alder was BRUTAL (but as always played excellently by Lynn Renee) I felt so bad for her. That bit at the end with Anacostia, where she wanted her to stay with her was nice. I like that although her methods are very shady the writers are bringing out Alders human side as well.

I do wonder if Nicte has a spy in Fort Salem (or maybe I don’t get how that magic worked where she could see what was going on) or even if the Camarilla do, how else would they know about Raelle and what she can do? and if there is a spy of any sort I wonder if the vice president has anything to do with it? I think he’s a bit dodgy to be honest. But also why had Nicte suddenly targeted Alder? I thought the Spree were only really interested in stopping conscription and hitting civilians?

But holy shit, that ending! Gotta say I was suspicious of those people watching Raelle, but obviously they weren’t the problem! What the fuck is going to happen now? I can’t wait for the next episode (though I’ve seen the advert and good god it looks so harsh, I swear if Scylla and Willa aren’t the ones to suddenly appear and save Raelle I’ll be surprised and disappointed! haha! Talk about potential drama)

Is anyone else thinking that the military aren’t coming out of these fights very well?

Such a good episode, with extra singing - 9 out of 10

#motherland fort salem #raelle collar #Tally Craven #Abigail Bellweather #general alder #Anacostia Quartermaine #scylla ramshorn #willa collar #Film Review #tv review

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rivertalesien · 3 years

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Did you watch MFS tonight? I mss your reviews.

I did. I thought this was a good one, though I found the Imperatrix to be a little OTT. Like, no subtlety at all. This is a culture that will not be questioned. Things will probably start to unravel pretty quickly from here on.

I'm enjoying the mycelium mythology they're cultivating, too and hope it leads somewhere. Tonight was the first explicit suggestion of a connection between the mycelium/Raelle/Scylla, but to what end? Alder is thinking this is a weapon, but I'm not sure. Seems to be using Raelle specifically to expand itself (also: is there some possible connection with the missing Nicte? If I had to pull up a theory, Alder exposed Nicte to the mycelium years ago, and it “colonized” her, but doesn’t cooperate with Alder. Now she is reaching out again through Raelle).

One thing I find a little annoying is how easily President Wade has been used as a puppet by Alder and hope there's some payback for that.

The VP certainly raises a lot of red flags: no idea yet if he's Camarilla, but the show certainly wants us to believe he probably is. Wade being sidelined with a "bug" after being a puppet, again: let's have some payback. Also, he really doesn't seem like a VP Wade would have picked for herself. Wish the world-building could go into more detail, but they just don't have enough episodes.

Kind of worried for Abigail as she pushes herself to live up to the Bellweather legacy and find her own place as well. She's clearly more powerful than anyone realizes and I wonder if, in the end, its her work that makes the difference, not whatever is going on with Raelle and the mycelium.

Also kind of think Tally's role being able to see into Alder's past (randomly?) isn't giving us anything we could already guess at, so I hope there's a bigger point to it (something to do with the Camarilla?).

And Anacostia and Scylla are a great undercover duo. Wish they went for more antagonistic banter between them. We never get to see women in roles like that, so its really fun. And what are they going to do about Jack? I don't think he's dead.

So, yeah, enjoyed it. What about you?

#questions #motherland fort salem #season 2 episode 3 #spoilers

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arbitrarygreay · 4 months

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Hmm I feel like that was a missed opportunity by the showrunners personally. Adler and her biddies kinda fascinate me. Imagine have 7 people in your head for decades (albeit different biddies rotating), losing them all violently, dying, then getting resurrected and suddenly for the first time in hundreds of years having privacy.

Recently I’ve been trying to look through the show to see if canonically Adler actually mentally communicates with them and they’re not just emphatically mirroring her emotions through the bond.

Love your theory on Adlers pre biddy life extension plans. The timeline of MFS often makes little sense to me.

I have no issues with fandom taking a more passionate interpretation of the Bond. Just that the showrunners, who are themselves living a life of rotating through close artistic partners through different productions, did not break any contract with the audience with the more detached approach they took in the show.

As for what we do actually see of the Biddy Bond in the show, here's some observations!

From 2x1: [Could you hear her thoughts?] Sort of? Surface stuff. Like, directives, I could hear loud and clear. Not so much memories.

This doesn't tell us if the Biddies are obliged/compelled to follow said directives. However, the next two points indicate that something about the Working does facilitate them to coordinate with each other more easily than they would otherwise.

We see the Biddies reacting in tandem to express Alder's disapproval at people.

Tactically, we see that Alder uses the Biddies to pull off complex workings that require many voices to layer waves in the right sync. (Compare to how Raelle's post-Mycelium voice is described: "The sound you made is composed of thousands of layered voices, one on top of the other. I've never heard anything so complex before.") But that's not impossible for other groups to emulate, like Anacostia, Sterling, and Gregorio doing the Rings of Saturn storm together in 3x10 (chosen because there's a fast tuning and wind-up phase, something the Biddies' sync can bypass/make even faster).

The only case where we see involuntary sharing is pain/injury. Although, given that Alder takes on all of the years back when a Biddy dies (not re-distributing to other Biddies), I think there is an extent to which she can control, that, too. So e.g. she can choose not to share the scourge scratch Tally inflicted on her in 2x9 with the Biddies.

In 1x3, they express their own opinions on Beltane and their choice to serve. In 2x1, Tally in her Biddy state asks Alder if she's done something wrong (a feeling Tally repeats to Abigail later in the episode), indicating that she couldn't predict that Alder would offer her the chance to de-Biddy, or read any thoughts/emotions on if Alder was doing it because Tally was not up to snuff.

The description a Marshal Biddy gives from 3x7: "He's been hard to reach lately. Very secretive. But our link spans the length of the Cession. Unless he's outside our borders, I should be able to locate him." This disproves the fanon that Alder can't be far away from the Biddies. It also shows that Alder can choose to project nothing, having privacy for herself if she wants, though the Biddies can still get a sense of her location.

So, my guess is that the level of autonomy a Biddy has at any given time is dependent on Alder's will, but even when obeying her directives, they don't get true insight into why she is making those commands, unless Alder chooses to project those thoughts. If we go back to Tally's description of the bond as a roadtrip with no privacy, it's not like you automatically know everything about the people you're in the car with (and Alder is driving the car, obviously).

Obligatory:

youtube

#motherland fort salem #sarah alder #the biddies #category: tv

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leverage-ot3 · 4 years

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to all the leverage fans out there, I thought I’d throw out some recommendations of other shows that y’all might like

this is completely centered around the lgbt aspects of leverage (how none of the characters are straight, how there is a canon ot3, etc), because I know other people have recommended white collar and stuff but I haven’t personally seen that and I’m just a humble lgbt wanting to share more gay shows with y’all

1. wynonna earp (my sideblog is @angelicearps)

just renewed for a fourth season after two years (this feeling is very familiar to leverage fans)

the first episode of season four aired last night and IM SCREAMING the writers served us a five course meal

the main love story includes waverly earp, a CANON (officially as of 4.01) bisexual girl falling in love with nicole haught, a lesbian cop-turned-sheriff (that’s a slight spoiler, so sorry about that) and both of them are main characters

wynonna earp, another main character, has a complicated relationship with two different men and is not slut shamed for it and is never put down about it

I’m serious- the healthiest and most stable relationship in the show is between waverly and nicole, so wlw nation rise

wynonna and waverly are descendants of the great gunslinger (and demon killer) wyatt earp, who ended up getting a curse on his future generations. the story of the show is centered around wynonna being the chosen heir having to fight demons and try to break the curse for good

doc holiday is another main character- yes, that doc holiday. he’s one of wynonna’s love interests and he has such a pure and loving relationship with waverly. he’d literally die for her and move heaven and hell to make sure she’s safe (that’s literally canon)

jeremy comes in around season two if I remember correctly. canon gay. gets in a relationship with another canon gay character whose name I am blanking on. they are very loving and very pure

literally, in 4.01, when armed military men are breaking into the earp homestead and he doesn’t know what to do, he literally says: “gays only?” lol they didn’t respect that answer

the show has so many good quips and one-liners. so many hilarious lines. it can be an angsty show at times but they definitely balance it out with humor and wlw softness between waverly and nicole

wynonna has a baby in season two and literally calls herself a milf

it also made fans faint because they have been calling nicole “daddy” for like six years and nicole was referred to as daddy three (3) times in 4.01

this show is NOT AFRAID to say things like gay, lesbian, etc. at one point someone tweeted at emily andreas (the writer) asking her to amp up the gay energy and she responded that she would

literally, emily andreas is on the same level as john rogers with trustability and dedication to fans

emily andreas heard of the bury your gays trope and did us one better: unkillible gays trope. the gays are unkillable.

2. motherland: fort salem (my sideblog is @fortsalem)

(HELL YEAH I WAS ONE OF THE FIRST IN THE FANDOM AND I GOT THE HANDS DOWN B E S T URL)

au where during the salem witch trials a witches named sarah alder made an agreement with the government that witches would serve for the us army in exchange for not being systematically hunted down and killed

THIS IS NOT MILITARY PROPAGANDA. sorry, I just had to make this point early on because it’s not even though it might seem like it in the beginning. literally by the end of the season you see it’s very corrupt

since this is an alternate history of the united states, in this universe there are no heteronorms. literally, there’s literally no words for lesbian and bisexual that they use because it’s so normalized and common and accepted that there’s no need for terms like that

the main love story is of star-crossed raelle and scylla. raelle comes from a poor family and is a talented healer, and (this isn’t technically a spoiler because you find out in episode one) scylla is a member of the spree

the spree is a terrorist organization of witches that protests the compliance witches are forced into by having to join the military or die/be imprisoned

scylla is supposed to turn raelle to the “dark side” but falls so deeply in love with her that she can’t do it (THATS TRUE LOVE FOLKS)

the students at fort salem (the military school) are divided into groups of three: the main group being focused on is composed of raelle, tally, and abigail

tally craven is a pure-hearted baby and I’d die for her. she is very idealistic about fighting in the military (but don’t worry that’s fixed by the end of the season)

abigail bell weather comes from a high military family and is kinda really stuck up about it, but she’s humbled a lot by the end of the season. this girl has LAYERS (they all do, but abigail goes through a lot and goes from very stuck up and stuck up the military’s ass to questioning everything she knows)

the trio starts off rocky, especially between raelle and abigail, because raelle blames abigail’s mother for her mother’s death (her mother’s unit was led by abigail’s mother)

the beltane episode literally hits you in the face with how there are literally no heteronorms whatsoever. they do this sacred dance where by the end they will end up with the people they are destined to spend the celebration with (“trust the dance”). raelle makes friends with a gay guy and they spend the celebration making fun of the sex noises around them and become gay friends for life. abigail has sex with two (2) guys who kiss each other. a group of four girls went off together. a group of two girls and a guy went off together. and sex isn’t shamed. at all. in fact, it’s respected as a part of life. and y’all, literally this representation was OFF THE CHARTS

the witch’s most powerful tool is their voice,,, think about that for a minute

it’s an all girls school so there are like no guys whatsoever minus the beltane episode and a couple others

EMPOWERED WOMEN (of all ages and ethnicities too)

3. siren (my sideblog is @polymarinelove)

imma start off by saying that season three doesn’t exist. don’t watch season three. don’t do it. the disappointment is real

ANYWAYS

the central love story is between an interracial couple (a white guy and his black girlfriend that has a native american stepfather) that turns into a loving polyamorous relationship

maddie, the girlfriend, is amazing and incredibly smart and the first two seasons (and the beginning of the third) accentuate that and they never downplay her because she’s a black woman like many shows and movies do. she’s a smart stem woman and we stan her so hard. she’s also bisexual.

ben, the guy, comes from a rich family that are basically the hotshots of the town and own the fishing company that the community works for. his dad is hella untrustable. ben doesn’t trust him and neither should you. he is kindhearted and smart and respectful, and at one point teaches a merman about consent after being kissed by him (and he didn’t even #nohomo it which was AMAZING)

now to the mermaids

mermaids are apex predators. they are very dangerous. they are very strong. they’re also wickedly smart, canon smarter than humans

the story begins when donna, ryn’s sister, is captured by a fishing boat and carted off to a military facility. ryn comes to land to try to find and save her. (she literally choses her name because she sees a character on a kid’s tv show saying “I am ryn” which is also the first thing in english that she can say)

she ends up being helped by ben and maddie and legit is like these humans are hot imma learn english for them

there’s a lot of really cool and thought out lore as well as TONS of thoughtful marine biology science that makes sense

oh and transforming from mermaid to human? painful as FUCK. realistic depictions of having your body literally transform into something else

humans are wrecking the oceans and that’s a heavy theme of the show

oil rigs are poisoning the water (making them infertile) and killing mermaids with their sonic drilling

so ben and maddie lowkey commit an act of ecoterrorism but it’s chill

“ben and maddie are love” they’re poly, bitches

they come together in a natural, organic way

very healthy and communicative

ben’s alright but ryn and maddie are amazing

don’t watch season three if you don’t want to be majorly disappointed. the writers listened to the homophobic trolls on instagram and broke up the polyamorous relationship and I’ll NEVER forgive them for that. seasons one and two are amazing though. just don’t watch the third one.

#leverage ot3 #leverage #reccommendations #my recs #siren #siren freeform #motherland fort salem #fort salem #wynonna earp #mine

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goodobservationshirley · 4 years

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ok, here’s a list of information that is in After the Storm but hasn’t been made clear in the show itself. some of it might have been in the show and i just missed it and some of it you can guess anyway, but these are the things that when i heard them in the after-show i was like ‘oh... ok!’:

witches have an extra set of vocal chords that allows them to create sounds that human beings can’t make (idk if it was clear to you guys but at first i hadn’t realized there was an actual physiological difference between humans and witches)

the spree have been around for 20-25 years

sarah alder and her family were stewards of a very ancient song (weather related) that was never really supposed to be released into the world. when they hanged her sister, she unleashed this song and created a powerful storm. the humans saw the potential of it and that’s how the salem accord came to be. btw that song was so powerful it sort of changed her body a bit (?) and that’s why she never had children

a lot of witches from other countries don’t approve of what Alder did (no shit) and consider it a betrayal/ look down on her for it (no shit)

when a witch makes an agreement, it’s binding in both legal and magical ways

this one is essential to understanding what might happen to Tally going forward: when we talk of the biddies we often refer to it as Alder sucking the life out of them, but the way they talk about it in the after-show hints that it works the other way around: she doesn’t really take anything from them as much as she gives them and makes them bear the weight of her years. hence why she needs more and more biddies as time goes on, there are just more years to pass around. and i suspect that’s also why biddies go back to being young just before they die, they never actually become old themselves, but the effort of bearing Alder’s years for her kills them pretty quickly (you can’t be a biddie for more than five or six years, imagine Alder’s body count...). becoming a biddie is also very similar to linking in some ways, so Tally is gonna have access to some of alder’s memories and feelings

not all magic is actually sound-based. it’s the case for the US military because most of what they learn is based on Alder’s ancient family songs. and it’s why most of what the US military do is weather related. but other witches in other countries do different stuff

that’s obvious in the show itself but: there ARE witch armies in most countries out there. what’s not obvious, even in the after-show: why? and how? do witches everywhere chose to join their own military as a response to the US having that kind of power? are witches free in these other countries?

sexuality kinda charges witches’ magic. i know it’s something that we do understand in the show itself but i’m mentioning it because it’s not clear how or what counts as sexuality. (btw, in a world where sexuality is as liberated as it seems to be here, you can’t tell me there’s not A LOT of sex happening at fort salem. like... it makes them more powerful and you’re trying to tell me they’re waiting for men to get there to get some of that? pls...)

the whole ‘marriage lasts only 5 years’ thing is because there aren’t enough male witches to go around

the Camarilla are an ancient sect of witch hunters who were funded/created by Henry VIII and Philip II (so like around 1550, more or less a decade or so). they were always all about removing a witch’s vocal chords. though it’s only more recently that they started using these vocal chords to sort of replicate a bastardized version of witch vocal magic

and finally, the mushroom thing: it’s actually a kind of sentient fungus that lives under fort salem. the necro witches are taught to sort of communicate with it as part of their work (the show has hinted before at mushrooms being a kind of connection between life and death). when raelle touches the mycellium, she actually exchanged DNA with it. so there’s a connection between them that is not gonna go away. the explosion at the end that saves raelle and abigail is definitely thanks to that link

#the last few aftershowsare more about the emotional stuff which is as it should be #though i wouldn't mind having more answers lol #motherland fort salem #long post

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hotcoffeecoldmornings · 4 years

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(This shit is long so bear with me.)

Can’t Eat, Can’t Sleep, Reach for the Stars

I haven’t felt this way in awhile. This ‘can't eat, can't sleep, reach for the stars, over the fence, world series kind of love.’

It’s hard to describe. The last time I was all-consumed like this by a TV show and a ship, that TV show was The 100, that ship was Clexa, and my world was, quite honestly, turned upside down by it.

I used the first two seasons of The 100 as background noise as I wrote my Master’s Thesis in 2015. To be honest, I didn’t really know exactly what was happening until Bodyguard of Lies (an episode anyone reading this post probably remembers well) came on. And a passionate kiss between two world leaders left me speechless and shocked. I was blindsided by it, unaware that that kiss would be the beginning of not only finding myself, but also accepting myself, and then finding a chosen family I never knew that I needed because of it.

There’s been alot of (okay, not a lot, but more) f/f ships on TV since then. Maggie and Alex. Nicole and Waverly. Elena and Syd. Kat and Adena. Anissa and Grace. Stef and Lena. Karolina and Nico. And the list goes on… While each of these ships is equally important, and each one represents another push towards more inclusive storytelling, there was never a ship that hit me as hard as Clarke and Lexa did.

Until now.

Harold, They’re Lesbians

Gay. Witches.

Motherland: Fort Salem said the words. And I fucking came running.

Okay, so it took me a few weeks… Thank you, twitter timeline, for finally getting my ass on board. It’s not that I didn’t want to start the show. It’s that my anxiety-ridden brain had other plans for me in mid-March. Like spending the majority of my time researching a global pandemic and then crawling into a depression hole because of it… Or something like that.

But nonetheless, I’m here now. And I’m fucking staying.

I knew I’d love this show. The concept of witches peppered with the idea that sexuality is irrelevant is honestly my one and only weakness. So I went into episode one with high hopes. And I sure as hell was not disappointed.

Episode 1 gave me even more than I could’ve asked for. We meet three uniquely powerful individuals, who all come from three uniquely interesting backgrounds. Abigail Bellweather, born into a lineage of the most powerful and elite witches Fort Salem has ever seen. Tally Craven, the last one standing in her family’s long-line of service, selflessly choosing to say the oath when she didn’t technically have to. And Raelle Collar, who has an unparalleled set of powers, combining her mother’s Christo-Pagan ways with those of the seeds learned at Fort Salem.

Rounding out that already brilliant cast is Scylla Ramshorm, the ‘sexy weird’ Necro who may or may not be evil (but we love her all the same). General Sarah Alder, the original witch who signed the Salem Accord, selling out every future witch to the United States Army, and whose ego quite often gets the best of her. And Anacostia Quartermaine, the Bellweather Unit’s Drill Sergeant who has a peculiar fondness (and leniency) for Raelle Collar.

The fact that this television show is entirely female centered (like, we’re talking 60 seconds of male screen time in the pilot), is what separates this show from most. Men exist in the world of Fort Salem as characters to exclusively propel the female leads forward, which is a stark contrast to the majority of shows right now. And not only is the entire main cast female, the main lead is gay. And honestly, the sexuality of every character on the show is questionably debatable as well. Except for Abigail, who quite clearly is into any and all men, and Tally, who grew up on a Matrifocal Compound and ended up in Fort Salem as a virgin. Which, of course, no shade to her, but it did strike me as odd when Abigail immediately assumed Tally’s virgin-ness when growing up in an all-female world was brought up.

So let’s start there, shall we?

The Heteronormative Narrative (or not…)

Something I did find puzzling about Motherland: Fort Salem (and the only thing, really) is how they portray sexuality, relationships, and love. In regards to sexuality, Eliot Laurence, the creator and executive producer, has been incredibly forward in interviews with the narrative that ‘your sexual preference doesn’t matter in this world.’ Which I appreciate to the fullest, trust me. But pardon my slight hesitation when I hear that line, because I think we’ve all been burned by it once before.

Motherland: Fort Salem has done a tremendous job of this. They’ve allowed characters to own their sexuality without question. It was never a thing when Raelle started dating Scylla. At Beltane, everyone went off with whomever the dance paired them with - even if that meant the same gender, and even if that meant three or four or five of them. Sexuality, in regards to same-sex partners, is never a character arc in this show, and it’s never there to create a plot point.

HowEVER, there were a few things I noticed that confused that fact.

Like I said about Abigail in the very first episode, when the Bellweather Unit is meeting for the first time, why was Abigail so quick to question Tally’s virginity after learning she comes from a Matrifocal Compound? If there are no heteronorms in the world of Motherland: Fort Salem, then why is it assumed that losing your virginity is related to relations with a man? Even though Tally is (well… was) a virgin, why would that question be brought up? If roles were reversed and it was Raelle living on the Matrifocal Compound, the conversation would’ve gone strikingly different, and it would’ve supported this heteronormative narrative that I thought we were trying to avoid. I’m just going to blame this one line on how badly Abigail wants the D, so sleeping with a woman wouldn’t even cross her mind.

But then what about the idea of this ‘five-year marriage contract’? It’s simply about producing a child, so I assume a woman could never have that sort of thing with another woman, and that those women could never add to their lineage (unless they entered into a five-year marriage contract simply to reproduce). Doesn’t this, alone, signify a heteronormative world without even meaning to do so? While they accept LGBTQ+ relationships, how do they actually fit into the society and culture that this show has created? Wouldn’t the gay witches be seen as almost inadequate in carrying on the gene if they don’t have a child? (AmI just thinking too much into this...?)

But then again, the whole concept of ‘love’ in Fort Salem is rather insignificant itself. As Gerit mentions, no one is supposed to spend their life with just one person. Witches are committed to one another in five-year partnerships to reproduce, and then that’s it. So in a way, I understand that nobody, no matter what their sexuality is, really gets to experience this fairytale ending that we’re used to seeing in a (*cough* heterosexual) ship on TV. And in a way, I also think that’s what makes this show all the more fascinating. Eliot Laurence gave everyone a level playing field by just removing the idea of a happily ever after altogether. In Laurence’s world, witches are meant to train and fight and die for their country. Love is their weakness. But what’s so compelling about that is even though love is their weakness, he made sure that love also manifests into their greatest strength.

From what I’ve seen in interviews for Laurence, every single thing has a purpose. So I’m quick to let this go, and see where he takes us. He’s been building this world inside his head for nine years, so I know that there’s so much more to this story than what can be told in a 10-episode season.

But Back to the Lesbians

Anyway, back to love. Specifically gay love. I wish I could put into simple words my obsession with Raelle and Scylla.

From the incredible chemistry that Taylor Hickson and Amalia Holm share on-screen together to the directors and writers who’ve portrayed their love story so magically, Raelle and Scylla are truly something special. They’ve taken the place of a ship this queer fandom lost when Lexa was killed. It’s a ship that you want to hate, because every part of this story tells me to hate Scylla. She’s Spree. She’s vindictive. She’s dangerous. Yet every part of my brain tells me to love her. And to love them together.

I don’t like easy stories. I want stories that make the ending worth it. I want hardships and pain and hurt and work when it comes to love. Which is why I like the story of Raelle and Scylla. There was a spark between them in their very first scene together- a spark you could feel through the TV. It was believable and real. They come from similar backgrounds of loss and solitude, and that’s what originally bound them together. And over the next seven episodes, we watched their relationship grow. We saw their vulnerabilities, their growth, their passion. But now we’re going to see the hardship. The pain, the anger, the betrayal.

I appreciate that they’re not skimping on telling any part of their story. The two are special together, and so far, this show has proved that.

She’s Special

I want to break down Raelle Collar before bringing up anything else, because, well, obviously she’s the main character, but she’s also got a lot going on. The fact that Raelle channels her power through something other than the typical ‘seed’ is something that will be of importance to why she’s so powerful. Petra Bellweather, herself, claims that Raelle’s mom, Willa, used unconventional methods that delivered incredible results. “She was the fixer every unit wanted to deploy with.”

While all witches in Basic Training are learning about utilizing their extra set of vocal cords to create magic songs, Raelle can do it in a way that’s reminiscent of where she grew up- Chippewa Cession. In the very first episode, she makes note that her family was there before it became a Cession. Aka, before the land was given to the Chippewa tribe in exchange for their magic.

Raelle comes from a line of witches that all have more unique abilities than what’s taught at Basic Training. She uses a combination of Native American spirituality/Christo-Paganism skills during her days at Fort Salem, which brings up questions (and judgment) from other witches. It seems as though that kind of magic was the way witches used to do things before Sarah Alder released her song into the world and created a vocalizing army with it. Raelle’s peers look disgusted when they see her still using the same ways witches once did. It’s particularly noticeable when she heals people, and recites Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” The entire theme of the Book of Matthew, in regards to Christianity, is about prayer. Asking and receiving. That God will provide you with what’s needed, and nothing more. But when it comes to Paganism, it’s about the law of attraction and return in our universe. It outlines that there is no life without balance - that all prayers can be answered, but they’ll be answered with things that are taken from elsewhere. All prayers almost have a consequence. Just like all magic has a consequence.

Raelle’s power, at least what she knows of it up until now, is based on a consensual balance, bringing the theme of Paganism’s Matthew 7:7 into the type of witchcraft she practices. She can heal someone, but what she heals them from will be transferred onto her. Balance. Consequence.

Bringing General Sarah Alder back into this, this is the same type of magic that she traded for back in the 1700’s when she granted the Chippewa Tribe the entire length of the Mississippi River. In exchange, she gained the magic that could keep her eternally young. But just like the magic that Raelle does, this age defying practice has consequences too, and requires balance. Every 50-60 additional years that General Alder adds on to her endless life, a young witch must be sacrificed to take on those years, and must stand by General Alder the rest of her short-lived life.

But where does the balance go?

Adil is such a great addition to the cast because he sheds a light on something so crucially ignored on campus. All magic has balance. This is teased throughout the season, like when General Alder hits turbulence on her way to The Hague and jokes (but not really jokes), “I assume I have one of you to blame for that.” Or how Raelle soaks up her ‘patients’ illness. But it’s not truly smacked in our faces until Adil says it.

As Abigail is flaunting her ability to *one day* “grind iron into ore and mountains into dust,” Adil drops a truth bomb on her. “All that weather you fight with has a cost. Floods. Failing crops. Famine. Every war, people starve.” She’s quick to reply that the good they do far outweighs the bad. But to who? Certainly not to Adil and his people. Meeting him is going to give our recruits a serious insight into just how consequential their ‘work’ can be. He’s going to play a crucial role in realizing how manipulative and egotistical General Alder has been.

Not only is weather an issue, but plagues. “Like the one attacking my sister.” Adil and Khalida come into the storyline because Khalida is sick with a deathly black webbing wrapped around her body. When they first make it to the Military Outpost (somewhere in the dessert between Russia and China?), the Soldier who meets them at the gate yells, “they’re here.” So were they expecting them?

Raelle eventually is the one who heals Khalida, (by using her Christo-pagan means) but instead of taking up the illness like it usually does, instead, it infects the giant mushroom that Raelle touched earlier.

The balance of Mother Mushroom.

I go back and forth between theories for the giant mushroom growing under Fort Salem. But today, I’m convinced the mushroom is attached to General Alder’s vitality. And consequently, the entire vitality of Fort Salem as well. In one episode, Berryessa reminds us that all life on campus is directly connected to Alder. And if what Scylla says in My Witches, that “life becomes death, which becomes life again,” is relative to the life on campus and how General Alder parallels that, then this theme of balance throughout the series is more prominent than we realize.

The giant mushroom living under campus is clearly important. It has hands and replicates faces and takes on diseases and Izadora is not a fan of anyone touching it. So yes, you could say this fungi is a main character now.

But. Why?

“In the kingdom of plants, mushrooms occupy the underworld. Nothing ever really dies.” Mushrooms have an entire underground network of language to one another. And they are responsible for the breakdown and decomposition of death so that organic matter can become something else. Necros have an obvious connection to this ecological process too, so they must have a connection to the continuous process that General Alder goes through to support and sustain life on her campus.

I think that the “Mother Mycelium” signifies each and every consequence that Fort Salem has accumulated. It holds the hurt and death and pain and regret of everything General Alder has created. And now that the Mushroom is infected with whatever plague Khalida had, I think it’s going to wreak havoc on Fort Salem. Magic is based on balance, and I think massive consequences are coming to make up for years of disparity.

One last thing on my mushroom-thoughts, is when Helen Graves said “the dead make excellent eyes and ears.” An underground network of mushrooms all connected to recently dead organisms would certainly be a great way to gain insight too. Scylla mentions that she needs something recently dead to grow her deathcap, so does this Mushroom need to be constantly “fed” with death to continue the creation of life?

Does Alder know about that? Are the mass-murders that the Spree are doing related to this? Killing hundreds of people at a time would definitely be a good way to keep the mushroom o’ death fed. Is Alder behind the Spree!?

Sexy Weird

Speaking of Spree... Can we talk Scylla now? First of all, what the hell is this girl’s timeline? When we first meet her, she’s a cadet (second year) in War College already, meaning she would’ve had to enlist on Conscription Day the year before Raelle. Yes? In Mother Mycelium, we see that she *might* (still don’t believe it) have been the person behind that first Spree attack on Conscription Day of this year (so when Raelle, Tally, and Abigail enlisted), so was she at Basic Training for an entire year before deciding to become Spree? Did she enlist knowing that she would eventually be Spree? Does this ever get addressed in the show?

Since we’re here, I might as well say there’s no way Scylla did that. I’ll never believe it. And I’m using my one semester of Greek Mythology in college to tell you why (who knew that class would eventually come in handy)

In My Witches, when Tally, Abigail, and Glory first meet Scylla, Tally makes it clear that ‘Scylla’ is a Greek name. Okay. Greek. Cool. Mythology. Let’s go. I already knew that Eliot Laurence doesn’t waste any minute of screen time when it comes to plot development and storytelling, so my meta brain did a little digging.

In Greek Mythology, Scylla was a sea-monster who haunted the rocks of a very narrow strait, opposite of the whirlpool of Charybdis. The monster’s purpose was to lead ships and boats towards the whirlpool, which was lethal to all who attempted to pass. Scylla was used to lure boats towards Charybdis, but was never meant for actually destroying them. Scylla was a fear tactic, not a murderous monster. In poetry, it’s often said that Scylla isn’t a monster at all, just born into a monstrous family. In conclusion (from my 4 months of Freshman-level Greek Mythology and a little refreshment on Google) I think Scylla is simply being used to lure people to the Spree, but not actually doing the mass-murdering that is being shown in the episode.

What I do know is that Scylla Ramshorn is absolutely Amalia Holm. Mainly because I refuse to accept that Raelle is falling for the red head (sorry, red head). But also because at the end of the Pilot, when Scylla (in red head disguise) looked into the mirror, the balloon was her reflection, and it followed everything that she did. But in other scenes, when Scylla’s face is the normal Scylla face, she can see her own reflection. So the redhead girl is unimportant. Plus, IMDB says she never appears again this season...

We Are The Spree

As much as I hate to believe that Raelle’s mom (or Aunt!) is alive and leading the Spree, the connections between the two entities do add up. Both (Spree and Collar’s) are against the authority and power that the Witch Army has over populations of witches. They’re both against General Sarah Alder. I believe they both use spoken word magic rather than just vocalized magic. When the Spree carry out their attacks, they’re whispering words under their breath, not singing any song. Which is reminiscent of how the Collar’s do magic. Additionally, it would make sense as to why the Spree would want Scylla to bring them Raelle. And I still can’t get over the conversation between Raelle and Tally when Raelle explains her family’s combat charm. “A bowerbird’s foot. They love anything blue.”

Blue? Why. WHY.

Maybe Willa Collar was captured by the Spree? Or the Aunt was? Or the Spree needs Raelle to heal someone?

One last weird very unthought out theory goes with the other Biblical verse Raelle recites - Isaiah 43:2. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” The fact that all Spree attacks have happened with something to do water- in the snow, at the pool, on a cruiseship. And the fact that the last line of that verse is literally, “you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” This type of witchcraft has to relate to how the Spree does magic. Right??

Now I’m re-talking myself into the fact that the Collar’s might be somehow leading Spree...

But who’s ‘we’?

If the Collar’s are in charge of Spree then this next theory would actually check out.

Anacostia has been a little more over-bearing with Raelle than any of the other girls. On multiple occasions, she’s said how Raelle is gifted. In fact, they all have. Even Abigail in Hail Beltane mentions that “Raelle didn’t go outside of canon, she’s naturally gifted.” They all know she’s gifted. It would make sense if the Collar’s were the ones running Spree, and that Anacostia, aka. General Alder’s head bitch, was sent to protect Raelle from ever joining them. Alder wants to capitalize on the powers that Raelle has, and keep them in the Witch Army.

But I also think Anacostia could be playing General Alder. There have been too many times where she stares at Alder just a little bit too intently, and I can’t stop thinking that she might be in some sort of rebellious group too. Maybe a certain cell of Spree?

Because you can’t deny that Anacostia has also taken in interest in Scylla, particular to keep her away from Raelle. When Anacostia first caught them flying high on Salva, she told Scylla to stay away from Raelle, and it seemed as though she (tried) to use some sort of coercion magic while doing so. When Anacostia then saw them together at the Bellweather wedding, she almost sounded shocked, “I expressly told you to stay away from her.” Did Anacostia attempt coercion magic on Scylla and it didn’t work? And if she did, why didn’t it work?

That entire exchange felt odd yet familiar. Like the two have history. “Your name wouldn’t have been on the list. You’re not supposed to be here.” Particularly the “you’re not supposed to be here.” Did Anacostia know about the attack on the Bellweather’s? And did she think it would be threatened with Scylla there? Or did she know that Scylla was supposed to bring Raelle to the Spree at 6pm. And was sent to make sure Scylla never completed that task.

I found it interesting that Anacostia was never seen fighting off the balloons like every other Witch was when they appeared. And her being at the actual wedding felt odd too. Especially if she’s General Alder’s right-hand (wo)man, because last time I checked, Alder and Petra Bellweather weren’t on the greatest terms. In fact, none of the General’s are on great terms with Alder.

Since we’re now on Bellweather season...

Camarilla. No, not Carmilla.

There’s certainly a second threat in this show. And they were the ones behind the attack at the Bellweather’s. Not only has this already been proven by Jessica Sutton on Twitter (lols) but the clues were literally all there. They didn’t use any magic to fight. They had to use a mechanized sound machine to stop Abigail and Petra from using their powers. Then they covered themselves with gasoline and lit themselves on fire before the mother-daughter duo blew them away. It wasn’t Spree. But it was meant to look like Spree. And I think the balloons were simply a distraction, so all efforts and power would be outside fighting off the balloons while the civilian waiter’s could attack.

But who is doing this?

It’s been brought up that there are alot of humans who don’t agree with the Witch Army that Alder leads. Even the President of the United States is hesitant about them. “You, too, are bound by rule of law to the will of the American people, who have elected me to represent their interests and protect them. Don’t you forget it. Or you may find yourself reminded.” Then Tally gets confronted later in that episode by a civilian who says, “It’s witches who are committing these attacks. It’s your kind of people .” And then even later in the series, there’s talk of a “growing debate in congress to revoke the Accord and disband the army.” So you could say there are definite opinions about this Army by civilians.

In A Biddy’s Life, there’s a shot when Raelle and Scylla are in the room with weapons once used to kill witches. There’s an undeniably important shot of the Camarilla Scythe. Camarilla, itself, is defined as a small group of people acting as private advisers to a ruler or politician with a shared and nefarious purpose to carry out secret plots.

Since civilians are the ones that are most opposed to the Witch Army, it makes sense that maybe the President, herself, is the one behind these attacks. She’s trying to take down the most Elite of the Witches (the Bellweather’s), hence inhibiting the Army from being as successful as it’s been in the past. And what better way than to kill the most elite witches of child-bearing age.

While this theory checks out, I can’t help but to also think that Petra Bellweather could be behind the attacks. I know, it’s a stretch, (specifically because it’s her own family that’s being targeted) but I do love that ‘good powers, bad people’ trope. And what better way to make sure nobody questions your efforts if you’re the last one they’d suspect? Petra Bellweather has been itching to boot Alder from head witch honcho for awhile. Since killing Bellweather’s is the ultimate attack against witches, this would be a great strategy to showcase that Alder is inept in dealing with these enemies, creating a fall in power. And eventually, a rise in another. A Bellweather.

Okay, I know what you’re all probably thinking. “So you’re saying that she wanted her own daughter killed!?” Not necessarily. When you watch Bellweather Season, and specifically the wedding scenes, they put an insane emphasis on timing. And I don’t believe that that’s just because of Scylla trying to get Raelle out of there by 6pm. When you watch the sequence back, the Bellweather Unit was supposed to be having their interview with the Dean of War College, starting at 5:30ish. If the interview took a good bit, say 30-45 minutes, this would strategically put Abigail not in the line of fire (aka Charvel’s room) at 6pm when they struck.

But on the complete other hand, Abigail was supposed to be up with Charvel at that time helping her get ready. Meaning if it wasn’t Petra Bellweather, someone perfectly timed both Bellweather’s of childbearing age to conveniently be in the same place at the same time.

Then the fact that Scylla was meant to leave with Raelle at 6pm (the exact moment the waiter’s and balloons struck), can’t go unnoticed. Did they want her to leave with Raelle at 6pm because the Spree knew about the attack? Did someone warn them? Does this explain why Anacostia was shocked to see Scyalla. “You’re not supposed to be here.” Why wasn’t she supposed to be there????

I’m just going to tap out of this theory now.

But One More Thing

This might be a totally aggressive theory, and I have to credit the initial spark of this idea to my girlfriend, because during my 67th rewatch of this show, she brought up something I’d never thought of before. She asked me what Scylla’s purpose of attending the wedding was, and if the person she was supposed to bring to Penelope Road at 6pm really was Raelle?

This got thinkING. What if it was someone else???

When you look back at all the times Scylla spends talking to her balloon mirror, they never actually say Raelle’s name. Sure, we’re meant to believe that Raelle is the obvious target. But what if that’s a cover?? What if she’s using Raelle to infiltrate something else and get to someone else??

It would make sense to use Raelle to target Abigail instead- an elite Bellweather. Like I said, this is a very unlikely theory but it would definitely be a shock to literally everyone (except my girlfriend apparently)...

Has the entirety of the show been leading us down a path to distract us from something else going on!? With every other ounce of brilliance here, I wouldn’t even doubt it.

In Conclusion

I went into this show expecting to be seen and represented as a queer woman, but what I actually got was so much more. What I got from this show is the realization that me being queer doesn’t have to have anything to do with me being a woman at all. My strength, and will, and mistakes, and growth, and grace, and support, and passion, are what make me a woman. Each of our stories are deserving enough to be told just because we are women.

I’ve struggled with that fact my entire life - my womanhood.

Femininity, feminism, and female empowerment are all things I’ve only recently connected with. I was raised in the culture of traditional gender roles. My dad went to work and my mom stayed home. It’s not that I was necessarily taught that men and women must occupy those roles; it’s just that’s all I knew. To even further confuse my adolescent existentialism, not only was my mother a stay-at-home mom, she was also in the Marine Corps. And she never really understood the fact that not all women are as strong as she is.

My mom’s a badass, don’t get me wrong. She’s one of my hero’s. She came from a family who didn’t have much, and after realizing that she couldn’t afford to go to college, she enlisted instead. Six years later, she went to Penn State on a full-ride. She’s worked for every ounce of success that she’s seen, and she’s worked her ass off for it. But because of that, she struggles with the idea of feminism.

I can’t blame her too much. I understand the mindset she’s coming from. Growing up with that being instilled in my mind was hard though. Because it was expected that I, too, grow up to be a strong independent woman.

I graduated in the predominantly male industry of agriculture (I want to be a farmer, okay!?). All through college, grad school, and post-grad school, I worked on farm after farm after farm. And it was there that I was introduced to the idea of toxic masculinity. I tolerated comments that I won’t even say out loud. I’ve “accidentally” been touched in more ways than I care to count. And what I hate the most about it all, is that I fucking tolerated it. I’d laugh it off, and then I’d walk away, mortified at what I’d actually just put up with. And while by no means do I blame my upbringing and home life on this, I do blame the upbringing and home life on the female characters I saw on television. If Brooke Davis was constantly and overly sexualized in high school then I guess I was supposed to, too. Right??

Sure, I still hear comments that I wish I didn’t. But I’m also surrounded by people and characters who taught me to never put up with the shit I once did. Female characters are portraying a storyline that people take more seriously now. They’re persevering. And that jumps off the screen in Motherland: Fort Salem.

It’s taken me a while to realize how Raelle and Scylla have affected me as much as Clakre and Lexa did (two characters who literally awakened my sexuality). But I think I get it now.

I love both Raelle and Scylla. Each one. Individually. As witches. As warriors. As females. As humans. As strong female characters. So, in a way, watching this show has awakened something else in me that I’ve also been suppressing all along. My femininity. My strength. My perseverance.

Sure, Raelle and Scylla are my favorite ship right now, but it wasn’t them being together that made me fall in love with this show. Oddly enough, it was them being apart. It’s the fact that each one stands on her own as a unique and beautifully complicated story. And it’s the fact that I, too, am deserving of a beautifully complicated story.

Last Section, I Swear

Motherland: Fort Salem is a magical mix of intense story building, relatable character development, and fascinating cinematography, all while being told through a gender and sexuality normative opposite of what we’re used to seeing. It’s a show that encompasses female strength unlike anything I’ve experienced before, where men are the background noise who aid in pushing the plot forward. It’s a show that deserves another season. And another and another and another and another.

It’s a show I needed ten+ years ago, at 18 years old, freshly out of high school and wondering why the fuck I never had crushes on guys like everyone else my age did. It’s the show I needed so I didn’t always wonder why I was so obsessed with Peyton Sawyer and Summer Roberts and why I was the only one I knew who thought Torrance and Missy should’ve ended up together. It’s the show I needed to learn that my femininity doesn’t make me any less tough than my male counterparts. It’s the show I needed so I never put up with anyone’s shit. It’s the show I needed to teach me that I am storm and I am fury.

It’s the show I needed then. But it’s also the show I’m so happy that I have now.

#motherlandfortsalem #motherland fort salem #raylla #clexa #motherland fort salem theory #scylla ramshorn #scylla #raelle #raelleandscylla #raelle collar #lgbtq #this is so long i'm so sorry #abigail bellweather #tally craven

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jaybear1701 · 4 years

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It was supposed to be a simple spell.

At least, that’s what Tally had said. One sprig of mistletoe and an easy-as-pie incantation:

Love is precious Banish your woe Love is found ‘Neath the mistletoe

It had sounded fake, if Raelle was being honest. But she had no reason to doubt her fellow Gryffindor and was willing to take the chance. But, like with many things in Raelle’s Collar’s 16 years on earth, nothing was ever that simple.

Perhaps she had said the words wrong or emphasized the wrong syllables. Or perhaps the intensity of Raelle’s emotions had given her magic a little too much oomph. Or maybe she didn’t use the right mistletoe. “It had to be picked on the night of a waning gibbous moon,” Tally had exclaimed only after everything went to hell. Whatever it was, it backfired. Spectacularly.

Instead of the enchanted mistletoe appearing above the archway leading to the greenhouses—where the object of Raelle’s affections would go every morning to help Professor Sprout with all the magical plants (the mushrooms, especially, were her favorite)--it now appeared above every archway, in random locations and times, catching students and professors and even ghosts unaware.

What made it even worse: the nefarious mistletoe trapped unexpected couples underneath it until they kissed. (Raelle didn’t think she’d ever be able to purge from memory the sight of Headmistress Alder locking lips with Peeves the poltergeist.) Anyone who dared to defy its mandate were forced to have their deepest crush announced to every corner of the castle by multiple Howlers--which is how everyone now knew that Libba Swythe, a Slytherin, had a thing for a Gryffindor. And not just any Gryffindor. Her sworn nemesis: Abigail Bellweather.

At lunch, the Great Hall was decorated like it always was during the winter holidays. A massive Christmas tree with all the trimmings sparkled at the front of the hall. Giant wreaths adorned the walls, and a flurry of snowflakes floated above their heads. The air smelled of pine and sugar cookies, and Raelle would have enjoyed it if not for the calamity she had brought down on Hogwarts and all its residents.

Sitting at Gryffindor’s table, Abigail’s scowl was dark and furious. She stabbed at her meal with more force than necessary, glaring at Raelle as she vigorously chewed.

“This is all your fault,” Abigail said, very much heated.

“Keep your voice down, will you?” Raelle lowered her head, glancing to the left and right. The last thing she needed was for Professor Quartermaine to find out that she caused everything. “Besides, it was Tally’s spell.”

“Um, excuse you, it was not my spell.” Tally looked offended. “No one forced you to use it, Rae.”

“She’s right,” Abigail grumbled. “And now everything’s the worst.”

“For what it’s worth, I think it’s the best,” Tally sing-songed, high on a dreamy cloud after sharing multiple kisses with Gerit Buttonwood all over the castle. “As do a lot of people. Nothing wrong with a kiss here and there.”

Abigail rolled her eyes. “None of this would have happened if you just told Ramshorn the truth,” she said. “And what's worse is that you haven't even tried to catch her under one of those vile weeds."

"I'm working on it," Raelle said.

"You are the most cowardly Gryffindor in the history of Gryffindors,” Abigail stressed.

“Look, it’s not that easy, okay?” Raelle stole a glance over at the Ravenclaw table, where Scylla looked as effortlessly gorgeous as ever, head buried in a thick tome, as usual. She was probably crafting all sorts of new spells and potions in that brilliant mind of hers. Uncertainty washed over Raelle. Even if she managed to kiss Scylla under some mistletoe... how would she go about telling one of her best friends that she's in love with her? What if Scylla didn’t feel the same way? Would Raelle ruin their friendship? She couldn’t imagine life without the bright, witty, and rebellious Ravenclaw.

"It’s not like you’re running to Libba even though she loves you too for some reason," Raelle deflected.

The blush on Abigail’s face was brighter than the red on her robes. “This isn’t about me.”

Raelle watched as Scylla stood from her table and made her way out of the Great Hall. At the Hufflepuff table, Porter Tippett also stood. He only had eyes for Scylla, as well. Oh hell no. On instinct, Raelle shot to her feet. The last thing she needed was for Porter to try to rekindle anything with Scylla because Raelle’s spell had gone awry.

“Where are you going?” Tally asked, eyebrows raised.

“I don’t know,” Raelle said. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Abigail shook her head.

Raelle ignored them both to follow Scylla, who had some free time before her next class--not that Raelle had memorized her schedule or anything. Perhaps she was going back to Ravenclaw Tower. She had to find Scylla before Porter did.

Raelle walked quickly down the hallways, shoes clacking against stone. She bounded up the moving staircases, two sometimes three steps at a time, drawing warnings from several of the portraits to be careful. She hoped she was taking the right path to Ravenclaw Tower. No matter how often Scylla told her the way, Raelle found it confusing, as if it was an ever shifting puzzle that only the Ravenclaws could figure out. Thankfully, Porter apparently found it just as mystifying because Raelle lost him somewhere between the third and fourth floors.

Skidding around a corner, Raelle’s heart lodged firmly in her throat when she saw Scylla underneath an archway, alone thankfully, staring up at a bundle of leaves and white berries. Raelle willed herself to be calm and approached slowly, not wanting to startle Scylla.

“Looks like you could use some help,” Raelle called out. Nerves made the tips of her fingers number and she rubbed her hands together.

Scylla’s head snapped toward the sound of her voice, shoulders visibly relaxing when she saw it was Raelle. “Thank the goddess it’s you,” she breathed out.

“I guess you could do worse,” Raelle said as she joined Scylla, pulse ticking ever upward.

“Not by much,” Scylla teased.

“Ouch,” Raelle said.

Scylla’s gaze returned to the mistletoe. “I can’t believe some idiot botched this spell. I mean, a first-year could do it. Whoever it was probably picked the mistletoe during a waxing gibbous moon.”

“R-right.” Raelle rubbed the back of her neck. “What an idiot.”

Silence stretched between them, awkward and thick.

“Well, I guess we should get this over with.” Scylla looked at her expectantly, but Raelle found she couldn’t move. She was frozen in place, as if someone had hit her with an Immobulus charm.

“Are you okay?” Scylla’s brows furrowed.

“Yeah, I just…” It was hard to speak with the way her mouth suddenly dried out.

“It’s just a kiss.” Scylla moved closer and touched Raelle’s elbow. “No big deal.”

Raelle’s stomach dropped. Because of course . It wasn’t a big deal to Scylla because she didn’t feel the same as Raelle. And in that moment, Raelle knew she had messed up. Royally. Why had she thought some mistletoe would miraculously lead to Scylla returning her unrequited love. She should have never cast that spell.

She was so stupid .

But she had a chance to fix it now. To bury her feelings and give Scylla a quick peck and be done with it. But...

“I can’t,” Raelle whispered, tired of hiding.

Scylla’s face fell and that made Raelle’s heart crack. “Would kissing me be that terrible?”

“What? No!” Raelle covered her face with her hands. This was a disaster. “That’s not…”

“Rae,” Scylla gently pulled down Raelle’s hands, blue eyes as clear as the shimmering waters of the Great Lake on a cloudless day. “It’s okay. You don’t have to kiss me, if you don’t want to.”

“That’s the thing.” Raelle’s chest throbbed. “I do want to. More than you know. But not like this.”

“Like what?” Scylla asked, baffled.

“Like it doesn’t mean anything.” Raelle took a deep breath. It was now or never. She’d prove she wasn’t the most cowardly Gryffindor in the history of Gryffindors. “Because, Scyl, it’d mean everything to me. Because you mean everything .”

Scylla licked her lips. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying, I love you. I’m in love with you. Have been for as long as I can remember. But I understand if you don’t feel the same.”

Closing her eyes, Scylla ducked her head down, shoulders beginning to shake. Raelle couldn’t tell if she was laughing or crying.

“Scyl? Say something. Please.”

When Scylla finally looked up, Raelle for sure thought her heart stopped. Tears shone in her eyes, and her mouth curved up in a trembling smile.

“You know what Muggles say about assumptions, right?” Scylla said.

Raelle watched dumbfounded as Scylla stepped away and out past the perimeter of the mistletoe’s reach. Howlers appeared out of thin air, and their screech was deafening. They flapped to all corners of the castle. Even with her hands clapped around her ears, Raelle could hear the message clearly:

Scylla Ramshorn, Seventh Year, Ravenclaw, is in love with Raelle Collar, Sixth Year, Gryffindor.

The message repeated for what seemed like eternity before it finally ceased, leaving Raelle in stunned silence, facing burning.

Scylla shrugged helplessly.

In less than a fraction of a second, Raelle erased the gap between them and kissed Scylla, cupping her jaw and burying her fingers in soft, auburn hair. Scylla wrapped her arms around Raelle and brought them even closer. Raelle melted into the softness of Scylla’s lips, warmth spreading throughout her entire body as her heart expanded to the point of bursting.

“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Scylla whispered when they broke apart, foreheads resting against each other.

“Why didn’t you?” Raelle countered, smiling so widely her cheeks were beginning to hurt.

“I guess we’re both idiots.”

“Guess so.”

Scylla nuzzled the tip of Raelle’s nose. “Speaking of idiots, I’ll have to thank the one who bungled the mistletoe spell after all.” Her gaze traveled up to the archway. The mistletoe had already disappeared to claim its next victim.

“Lucky for you, you don’t have to search very far,” Raelle confessed.

Scylla’s eyes widened. “It was you?”

Raelle nodded sheepishly, and Scylla could only laugh, pulling her in for another kiss.

#raylla #motherland fort salem #mfsweek #raelle collar #scylla ramshorn #hogwarts au #mistletoe trope #bc why not

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gldngrl7 · 4 years

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Motherland: Fort Salem

Character Round up.

Where to begin?

Let’s start with the three members of The Bellweather Unit....

Abigail Bellweather

Abigail carries the weight of Family greatness upon her shoulders. Back and back her ancestresses have distinguished themselves as powerful witches and her mother Petra will never let her forget it. Petra reminds Abigail that the first Bellweather witch to fight for her country did so as a slave, no less, and that she owes it to her to be all she can be. (It’s unclear in this alternate history how or when slavery ended). Abigail is determined to be a leader, though her leadership skills are untested and leave something to be desired when we first meet her. She’s arrogant and as a “High Atlantic”, she’s exceedingly privileged. But when her cousin Charvell is murdered by the Spree at her own wedding, Abigail becomes the last of her matriline of child-bearing age. She is tough and no-nonsense and isn’t about to let anyone get in the way of her ambitions.

Abigail has mad hand-to-hand combat skills and is scary with the scourge. I guess she’s a Blaster, but unlike with the others, her specialty isn’t made clear.

Tally Craven

Tally Craven is human sunshine and I love her. She’s like if Kaylee Frye and River Tam (Firefly) had a love child.

Like the others, we meet Tally on Conscription Day, but in sharp contrast to Petra’s pride when Abigail answers the call, Tally’s mother is begging her not to. All of Tally’s aunts (four of them) died in combat and she is an only child, making her the last of her line. Her mother has gone to great pains to secure a dispensation for her only child. But Tally can’t see the reports on the Spree and look away, it’s just not how she’s built. So when the call comes, she speaks the oath and goes to Salem with wide eyes, determined to be of service.

Tally was raised on a “Matrifocal Allotment” near Sacramento, which means she was raised entirely separate from men (“No dudes. Like...ever.”) She comes to Fort Salem a virgin and perhaps more naive about the world. But don’t mistake her sunny disposition, open heart, and naïveté for being a pushover. She’s not about to allow herself to be manipulated and she’s not afraid to call you out when you break the rules or disappoint her. Not even if you’re a legendary General.

Tally is a gifted Knower who doesn’t require the use of a scry (a reflective surface) to see things. Early in training she far outstrips the other recruits in this ability.

In the beginning as they find their way, Tally is the glue that holds the unit together.

Raelle Collar

Raelle Collar is the kind of recruit that makes everyone look twice. She was raised in the Chippewa Cession by her civilian father, her only knowledge of military life coming from the few letters she received from her deployed mother.

Raelle is the last of her matriline. Are we sensing a pattern here?

Anyway...apparently it’s a big, fat no-no to water down your witch blood with civilian blood, but Raelle’s mother did it anyway and was punished for it by being repeatedly deployed to hot zones, far away from her only child. A year ago, she was deployed to a hot zone under the command of Petra Bellweather and never returned. Raelle blames Petra for her mother’s death and enters Fort Salem resigned to her own death. Not surprisingly, she’s nonplussed to find herself assigned to the same unit as the daughter of the woman she blames for her mother’s death. Expected tensions arise especially when she shows little respect for military protocol or even for those in her unit.

In the first episode we see that Raelle is a gifted Fixer who uses non-canon “Christo-pagan” Bible phrases to heal her charge. The cost is that she must take a part of the affliction into herself.

Within days of arriving at Fort Salem, she meets Scylla Ramshorn. The attraction is immediate and she quickly falls for the beautiful, vivacious recruit who seems to share her penchant for flouting the rules.

Though Raelle may appear tough and “street-wise” on the outside, her center is soft and gooey. All too quickly she completely loses herself to the relationship, frequently choosing her own desires over the needs of her unit. It isn’t long before Scylla becomes her Achilles Heel.

The others:

Scylla Ramshorn

When first we meet Scylla Ramshorn, she’s murdering thousands of people while wearing the smiling face of someone else.

She is Spree, and we come to learn she’s tasked with gaining the trust of her mark, Raelle Collar - which she does with alarming skill and speed. Raelle falls in love with her, practically at first sight. Scylla manipulates her throughout, frequently forcing Raelle to choose between her and her struggling unit. She even goes so far to crash a High Atlantic wedding to abscond with Raelle (Per her orders).

Scylla is a Necro — gifted in the many uses of the dead, including questioning them for intel. I’m sure it’s no accident that Scylla’s gifts center around death, while Raelle’s are rooted in life and life-giving. There’s a definite yin/yang to their relationship, which may, in part, be why they’re drawn to one another.

As they grow closer, Scylla appears to reciprocate Raelle’s deep feelings, but she’s been nothing but deceptive from the off, so there’s little hope of this ever being a healthy relationship at this time. Especially when Raelle inevitably learns and accepts this painful truth.

I’m sure there’s a redemption plan here and I wish the writers luck with that. It’s hard to see anyone redeemed of mass murder in any way other than total self-sacrifice. For now, her first instinct seems to be deception, even when she has a chance to come clean with Raelle she just tells her not to believe what they say. Which in itself is a big red flag.

General Sarah Alder

Alder is 300+ years old. What? She is the original author of the Accords. The Crosser of The Delaware and leader of an untold number of battles. How is this possible?

Though not explicitly explained in the show, I did some digging and learned that in this timeline some Native American tribes had knowledge of works that could extend life. And so they traded that knowledge in exchange for a large swath of land now known as The Cession. To its east, the original colonies and those that were settled at the time. To the west were states that would come later. Unclear, but presumably The Cession is its own sovereign nation, although its witches must serve. Not sure how that works.

TBH I’m not sure where Alder stands. She talks a good game about ending the Spree, but all her tactics against them seem to fail time and time again. I mean even a broken clock is right twice a day, amirite? The law of averages says that a 300+ year old military commander would luck into winning a few battles. But no. So here I am wondering if Alder has had enough of winning wars for civilians that are perhaps less grateful than they should be, and maybe she’s the architect of the Spree, running it all from behind the curtain, so to speak.

I could totally see this being the ultimate twist. She proves in later episodes that she’s not averse to crossing lines witches are forbidden to cross by law.

Anacostia Quartermain

Sergeant Quartermain is as by-the-book as they come. Orphaned as a child when her parents were killed in a car accident, she was raised in Fort Salem as a fosterling. Orphaned witches don’t go into the federal system, they are raised at FS by male caregivers. She grew up very close to General Alder and to this day maintains a tight relationship with her.

She’s the quintessential Drill-Sergeant-with-a-heart-of-gold, complete with the soft spot for those under her command. Disciplined with her work, she is not a witch to be trifled with.

Not to mention, she’s breathtakingly gorgeous.

If you’re looking for your next quarantine binge and have acces to Freeform or Hulu, you should definitely have a watch. Especially if you’re looking for something unlike anything you’ve ever see before

#motherland fort salem

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