#it might not necessarily require the use of the same spell that Eda or the CaTTs used to enter Willow and Belos's mindscapes

[findmeinthefallair]

Mindscape, based on this post I made weeks ago

The yellow light is Flapjack's life force 😭😭😭😭

[sepublic]

Lilith didn’t intend for Luz to be truly hurt (but she was still awful)

           So, a lot of people rightfully give Lilith flack for… well, just about everything she did! This woman is low-key a screw-up in life and a lot of her issues come from acknowledging this, but then either doing nothing to address it, or handling the problem in a rather non-productive manner, for fear of further guilt and retribution for her mistakes; The way a child hides the vase they broke, even if they fully admit in their head that this was their own fault and the result of a mistake they no longer intend to commit! They’re still leaving the person who also suffers from this to deal with the pain on their own, even if they pretend to be innocent and buy a new vase! And that’s even assuming Lilith doesacknowledge/notice that she did something wrong.

           And while Lilith using Luz as a human shield IS pretty sus, and not gonna lie, part of why Agony of a Witch is so genuinely painful to me is BECAUSE of Lilith’s treatment of Luz in that episode (legit it really riles me up)… But once I step back to acknowledge the way things were working from her perspective, I don’t think she intended THAT much harm? That isn’t to say Lilith STILL didn’t mess up big time and she deserves to be called out for this, on-screen or at least implied between events. It’s just that…

           Lilith didn’t intend to harm Luz? I don’t think she did, at least, there was no reason to… At worst, she may have been operating on the ‘bluff’ of hurting Luz, but I don’t think that was ever her intention. To her, it may have just been a matter of keeping Luz and Eda separate that would’ve compelled her sister to arrive- I’m not sure if she actually intended to hurt Luz, and it’s worth noting that Lilith makes a major point to Luz that the magic bubble was meant to protect her.

           Which, given it was cast by Lilith- I think that says a lot about her original intention! The worst she planned could’ve been just to imprison Luz, or at least ‘rehabilitate’ her and/or send Luz back to earth. Which, that IS messed-up as well, but it’s not outright child murder, and more akin to what Camila almost did. Still wrong- But at least a lot more understandable…

           Then later in the duel, when Eda is clearly going to overwhelm and kick Lilith’s butt, as she always did? THEN Lilith begins using Luz as a shield, but at the same time… She operated from the very beginning, under the original assumption, that Eda cares a lot for Luz; Even if Lilith doesn’t understand why, she can’t argue with this reality at least. Especially with Belos’ threat of execution, more on that later…

           Lilith could’ve easily set up any other kind of shield to protect herself; Luz’s bubble was strong, but not THAT strong, given how Luz herself was able to puncture it. So it stands to reason that when Lilith puts Luz in front of her, it’s not necessarily as a meat shield meant to tank damage; It’s under the impression that Eda, who cares for Luz, will redirect her attacks in response, and by consequence miss Lilith! Lilith’s cowardly tactics admittedly hinged entirely on the –correct- assumption that Eda would not hurt Luz, no matter what. So again- No intent for Luz to actually be hurt, if anything Lilith’s life kind of dependson that?

           Then there’s Lilith shoving Luz into a spike- And THAT is very much sus. But again, I don’t think Lilith necessarilyintended for Luz to actually get impaled; I think she just wanted Eda to assume Luz would, or act to prevent this anyway just in case and ‘fall for the bluff’, so to speak. In doing so, Eda would drain her magic, and then she’d be defeated, allowing Lilith to capture her sister and have her cured by Belos! In other words, I’m not sure if Lilith would’ve actually, fully gone through with impaling Luz had Eda done nothing to stop this- It’s possible she would’ve stopped in realization and maybe concern, but then go back to fighting Eda traditionally.

           And Lilith already knows that Eda is willing to risk her victory in that duel for Luz’s sake, as shown when she maneuvered around Luz and went out of her way to protect the girl! So she knew that Eda was going to save Luz, that LUZ likely wouldn’t be in any real danger… And finally, it’s worth noting what Belos said. How earlier that day, he basically threatened to executeLilith, to kill her for failing him.

           This is a different Lilith than one we’ve been used to. This is a Lilith who is stressed-out, more than she’s ever been, a Lilith who’s terrified for her life- A Lilith who is low-key being held hostage herself, because her own life is being threatened? It wasn’t literal, but it’s the Boiling Isles equivalent of holding a gun to someone’s head, unlike when she cursed Eda way back when. And as Head of the Emperor’s Coven, Lilith likely knows ALL the horrible things that Belos can do, he knows how unstoppable he can be once he sets his mind to things…

           (More on her knowledge of the Emperor’s messed-up stuff later.)

           And, if Lilith dies? Then Eda isn’t going to get captured. Eda won’t be cured, Eda will remain cursed forever… And so Lilith isn’t just doing this because she’s being threatened, she’s also doing this for Eda’s sake! Under the impression that if Lilith dies and fails, Eda will never be cured… Eda will never get to embrace her full potential in magic, and with how the curse has accelerated her aging, Eda would likely have a shorter life as well- So to Lilith, this is all a matter of Eda’s life too! Not to mention Lilith wants desperately to be with Eda a lot, so there may have been some resentment towards Eda for caring more about Luz, a stranger she’s known only for a few weeks, over Lilith, her own sister since childhood…

           Especially since Lilith never thinks to ask Eda just to come join the Emperor’s Coven, under the knowledge that Belos will kill her otherwise! Obviously this speaks to Lilith’s knowing guilt… But to her, Eda doesn’t know that Lilith cursed her! So to Lilith, it’s a bit frustrating that Eda really doesn’t seem to care for her own sister… Because Lilith is operating on the idea that Eda would rather continue to be a Wild Witch and let her sister be executed, than join the Emperor’s Coven to save Lilith’s life! Even though Eda said she’d go out of her way to rescue Lilith beforehand, as seen in Sense and Insensitivity… Lilith is doubting how much Eda would care for her.

           This of course, DOES make me question if Lilith would’ve gone that route, of mentioning Belos’ execution; Had Luz not gotten captured! How would Eda have reacted, if Lilith was honest and admitted that her own life was on the line, otherwise? I can only imagine… And of course, if Lilith is under the impression that Eda would prefer being a Wild Witch even if it meant Lilith’s demise… Then maybe she should’ve asked herself why that was the case? Why Eda would be so distant to her, if Eda didn’t know of the curse? Perhaps there was ANOTHER reason for why Eda hated the Emperor’s Coven so much, maybe something related to her disagreements with the system? Maybe Eda had motives unrelated to the curse for not joining Lilith?

           This is Lilith we’re talking about here, so of course she doesn’t bother to consider the implications of this… Amidst being distracted by Luz’s sudden arrival, as well. Regardless, if Eda really hated the kind of environment that the Coven System offered THAT much, to disregard Lilith- Then maybe it says a lot about how horrible the Coven System is to her, rather than Eda simply not caring for Lilith! But this is Lilith, so instead she focuses on how her relationship with Eda is defined by this, because clearly to her, everything Eda does has to be with Lilith’s own best interests in mind. How DARE Eda prioritize her own life over Lilith’s?! Eda already has so much in life, why doesn’t she ever consider what Lilithneeds or wants?

           It’s Lilith’s narrow-minded, tunnel vision; That in this world, only her relationship with Eda and vice-versa matters! That Eda doesn’t have any thoughts or dreams of her own, no other relationships (as Lilith herself claims at first), no personal beliefs against the Coven System or anything! It’s all about Lilith, it’s all about being sisters… And no doubt Lilith is projecting a lot of insecurities, but. STILL, that’s kind of messed up, Lily!

You already know what the Emperor’s Coven does to other Wild Witches, are you really not considering Eda’s own compassion for others to be enough reason for her NOT to support Belos? Or did you secretly think those other witches deserved it while Eda was special as someone you knew… Which of course, I can’t blame Lilith for being biased towards her own sister, but still. It’s all very selective stuff, it’s Lilith ignoring everything else, or attempting to justify it despite the unfortunate implications.

           Which, gets me back to another point… But before I can do that, I need to return to the main discussion. Namely, back to that specific scene of Lilith trying to shove Luz into a spike… This is just speculation on my part. But if the Grudgby cards are any indication, it’s that Witches have an inherent healing factor that allows them to regenerate limbs… Possibly it’s the result of the bile naturally flowing through their veins, and thus not something that would require active Healing Spells to pull off, although those always help with the process! Though it DOES make me wonder how this would effect Eda, whose bile sac is no longer producing magic… But given all of the weird stuff with HER, how her survival of dismemberment could be due to the curse, or what she’s done to herself, or her own species’ abilities…

           Eda might be fine anyway, and the latent effect of bile on her healing abilities might still exist, even if they can’t overcome the curse- Not that anyHealing Magic was capable of that, as far as we know! Regardless, my point is that while impalement would no doubt hurt a lot… It might not be nearly as serious of an injury to Witches, as it would be to humans! It’d definitely suck a lot, but it might be more akin to breaking your leg, VS outright death. STILL messed-up, but not irreparably so…

           Of course, Lilith knows that Luz is human. But she may not be aware of the full differences, or at least forgot to take this into account… Understandable, Gus is a ‘Human Expert’ and even HE is baffled by human anatomy and has a lot of wrong guesses, among them being gills! Skara also apparently knows that humans are more ‘fragile’ than Witches… But that sounds like street knowledge and not a definitive fact she could’ve outright researched and confirmed. And given Lilith is Head of the Emperor’s Coven, I think her brain is full of other important information unrelated to humans… Such as how to cure a curse you cast decades ago!

           Which, leads to a morbidly-hilarious scenario of Lilith having no idea why Eda is so insistent on protecting this human, clearly this won’t hurt her THAT much, it’s like losing your mind over someone getting their toe stubbed! At the very least, a broken ankle wouldn’t necessitate losing all of your magic! And then Lilith finds out that oh, that WOULD have actually killed Luz, because humans aren’t as sturdy as witches… And then she has an utter dilemma, because this realization would’ve occurred post-YBOS, and thus when Lilith was making an effort to actually take other people into account as well.

           So in the end, I don’t think Lilith actually expected Luz to get hurt at all that entire fight… Or at least not seriously, especially since she might not realize that humans are more fragile than witches! She DID make an initial effort to protect Luz at least, before the desperation of her losing duel forced Lilith to resort to dirty tactics, especially since her own life –and maybe Eda’s- was on the line if she lost. That’s another point to consider… that if Lilith dies, she knows that Eda will never join the Emperor’s Coven without her sister to convince her, meaning inevitably Belos WILL track her down and kill her!

           …But at the same time, even if she never expected Luz to be genuinely hurt, or at least not killed; It’s still reckless endangerment of a child. Even if Lilith didn’t decide to hurt this random kid just for the sake of it, she was still low-key taking out a lot of her resentment onto this poor child, just because Luz was a better person to Eda and thus more loved than Lilith by her for it! It’s still showing little regard for Luz’s safety, and even if Lilith never thought she would get seriously injured, she still played around with Luz’s life too lightly, and took too many chances.

          Those chances paid off in the end, sure… But regardless, it’s like my past comparison of Lilith to a gambler who keeps making the same mistake in the hope that things will finally pay off, that previous failures and losses won’t have been for nothing! Even if Lilith saw her and Eda’s lives being on the line, that doesn’t excuse kidnapping and taking a child hostage, and Eda would never consent to that either! Maybe Lilith needs to consider how Edawould’ve felt… But she didn’t really, because she seemed surprised at how much Luz meant to Eda. Obviously she adapted to this …

          But once again, it shows how Lilith refuses to acknowledge any other motive besides the curse as a reason for why Eda would be distant with her. And it’s not JUST because you failed to go after her the first time Eda transformed, and even if you did try to ‘make up’ for this by finding a cure for Eda… Again, it’s obvious there’s more to Eda’s issues than just holding a grudge over that kind of abandonment after the duel, especially since she went out of her way to save Lilith in Sense and Insensitivity! It’s funny how Lilith mocks Eda for having poor memory because of the curse… Because Lilith’s memory is even worse, because of how selective it is! And that’s her own fault…

          Which is another recurring theme of this show, of people who have the ability to do better, of having the privilege to avoid a failing, going ahead and doing that mistake anyway! Just as Odalia is rich and powerful enough to let her kids be their own individuals without concern for their futures, yet goes out of her way to abuse and indoctrinate them more than anyone else would… Lilith has the power to change what she’s been doing at any moment, to alter her circumstances- But she doesn’t. It seems those in the position to do the most good end up either being irresponsible and negligent with that power, and/or using that power to make things worse.

           The thing with Lilith isn’t that her memory is selective, either; She has a poor grasp not just of the past, but of the presentas well! She expects Eda to abandon her after getting attacked by a monster, implying Lilith knows there’s a reason for such callousness besides the curse; Or that Eda isn’t THAT selfish and apathetic… After all, she did abandon her spot in the Emperor’s Coven for Lilith’s sake! That, or Eda really DOES have an issue with the Coven System and what’s why she left the spot… Lilith really is full of contradictions and holes in the logic of how she views the world. A lot of her world-view consisted of accepting whatever was most convenient to her, or even making those kinds of facts up!

           …Though, I WILL give her credit; Lilith seemed intent on letting Eda join the Emperor’s Coven at her own pace, on her own terms, as revealed in Sense and Insensitivity. Obviously there’s the assumption that Eda will eventually do so because clearly there’s no other choice and that’s why it’s an inevitability… But at least Lilith DID try to respect Eda’s feelings, to an extent. Even if she did so in a way that was more flattering to her own expectations in the end, she at least couldn’t outright deny that Eda clearly didn’twant to join the Emperor’s Coven. There’s still the expectation that Eda would ‘get over’ whatever ‘silly’ reasons she had for not joining Lilith, but Lilith wasn’t a lost cause for a reason!

           After all, Lilith had that change of heart at the end, even if she was low-key forced into doing so because Eda would’ve straight-up died otherwise, which again ties back to her cowardly nature, only doing the right thing when there’s literally no other feasible option she can turn to. It was a LONG time coming, finally admitting the truth –more by accident honestly- and sharing the curse with Eda… But hey, better late than never, am I right? And it’s a pretty big reason why I’m no longer as mad at her as I was post-Agony of a Witch… Though I’ll still give her the stink-eye in general for that, because that episode messed me up and Lilith contributed the most to that.