#the witches' road

[aboutcustardcreams]

So it's true, a Door appears

Hiii, I’m back from the dead! As I mentioned before, life’s gotten much busier than it used to be, and I’m truly sorry it’s taken me so long to wrap up this chapter. But I haven’t forgotten about this story, so no worries—there’s still more to come! Let me know which trails you’d like to explore from here. As I’ve said, I’ll be stepping away from the series’ main trajectory, so if you have any preferences: Agatha’s trial, reader’s journey, or anything else, you name it, and I’ll be here to shape it <3

Summary: The path through the Witches' Road begins, defying all odds.

previous chapter

“Uhm a little more to the left, no, no right–”  you instructed, your head tilting as you followed the festoon Teen was trying to hang above the chimney in your lounge room.

“Does it look centered?” He asked, glancing back at you.

You studied it for a moment, then nodded, “I s’pose.” as if drawn by instinct, your gaze shifted to Agatha, standing quietly behind you. Perhaps too quietly. “What do you say?” 

The witch did her best to stifle an eye roll at your question. Why you were indulging the kid was beyond her, in all honesty. You even set out a few snacks on the table, as if this was supposed to be some kind of party. She sighed, her tongue peeking out as she walked up to the festoon. “Let me see…” Agatha’s nerves weren’t about snacks or decorations, though. Time was running out. In a few hours, the sun would set, meaning that if Rio was right, the Salem Seven would pay her a visit. And not a courtesy one. 

Before either you or the boy could stop her, she made a swift, deliberate movement, tearing the paper off the wall with precision. “There. Much better,” she grinned, stepping back satisfied.  

The boy snorted, opening his mouth as if to protest, but quickly thought better of it. Arguing with someone like Agatha was a losing battle. You dropped your hands, with a weary sigh, offering the boy a sympathetic glance.  

Turning back to Agatha, you gave her a playful but exasperated look. “Did it bother you so much you couldn’t hold yourself?” 

She nodded, “it was giving me hives.” 

You rolled your eyes. 

“You should’ve left it up.” You three turned at once and found Jennifer Kale roaming in the lounge room. “It made the environment look less… gloomy.” 

“Jennifer! You made it–” Teen’s face lit up. “Please, take a seat.” 

“He acts like he owns the house,” Agatha drew closer to you, her sweeping coat touching your legs as she did. 

You leaned into her, an amused twinkle flashed in your eyes. “Only a couple of hours ago, you were ready to give it away, so.” 

“Please–” She scoffed and pulled you closer by wrapping an arm around your middle. “You know, I didn’t mean it.” 

“Did you?” You asked sarcastically, fingers moving softly, tracing delicate, flowing patterns across her arm. 

She huffed, as she buried you deeper against her chest, “don’t push it, my love.”

“You’re bound, aren’t you?” It was Lilia to speak. 

Both you and Agatha looked between Jen and Lilia. 

It was clearly an awkward question to ask, and not much appreciated by the potion witch, who gave her a fake smile in return. “Woah, aren’t you clear-sighted?”

The older one nodded proudly, missing the sourness in Jen’s tone. “Lilia Calderu. Divination. Nice to meet you,” she bowed her head in a form of courtesy that wasn’t exactly reciprocated. 

“Jennifer Kale. Potions,” she began. The corners of her lips turned up, when she added, “by the way, you need a chemical peel.”

Agatha whistled, clearly enjoying it, “witches being witches, huh?” she mused, as fingers rubbing at your hips, absentmindedly. You couldn’t help the grin crossing your lips. “Well, at least one is easy to rile up,” you tumbled, referring to Jen. 

Agatha’s eyes drifted off to the open window to her left. The sun was setting. “It’s almost time…”

“Yeah,” you swallowed and tried to hide the slight worry manifesting in your eyes. 

“This is never going to work…” Alice commented, as she stepped in the living room at a careful pace, as if she was walking on eggshells. Or.. on a battlefield. 

You were surprised, and so was Agatha. Three witches joined the meeting! It was going better than you expected in all honesty. 

“Alice! You made it!” Teen exclaimed, his excitement pulling him forward. The younger witch tensed up when he opened his arms to hug her. It was brief and awkward. “Sorry, I-I got carried away. I’m just glad you all showed up.”

She stepped back, with a tight smile. “No worries,” she waved him off, then turned, looking at you and the others. “Hi everyone–”

You gave her a nod of your head and so did Agatha. Jen and Lilia introduced themselves, second. 

“How did you find the house?” Teen asked. “I didn’t give you any address.”

Alice shrugged with her hands tucked in the back pockets of her black jeans. “I’m an ex-cop, kid. I’ve got some experience up my sleeve.” 

It made sense, so he nodded. “Right. Cool.” 

You witches exchanged a glance, then. It struck you that, against all the odds, a Coven had been formed. For a fleeting moment, you allowed yourself to entertain the fantasy that those witches could really become yours and Agatha’s sisters. A family, perhaps? No hate, no deception, no manipulation. Just pure, unbroken sisterhood. But the reality of the situation soon hit you, because you and Agatha gathered them with a purpose, to suck away part of their magic and allow Agatha to get back on top. It was very unlikely that they would have stuck around after figuring out the truth. 

“Well, the gang's here,” Agatha announced in thrill anticipation. “Let’s hit the Road, shall we?” 

“Wait, wait,” Jen interjected, with a frown. If an eyeroll could make a sound, Agatha’s would scream. “Where’s our Green Witch?” She inquired. 

You winced. Of course, that know-it-all witch would notice. 

Agatha scoffed, playing naive. “Oh, do we really need one of those?” 

“Of course we do,” Lilia pointed out, supporting Jen on this. 

How nice, they were already picking sides, you thought.

Alice remained silent, likely deep in thought. She was the skeptical one, though her reasons were different from Lilia’s and Jen’s. Part of her doubted the Witches’ Road even existed, dismissing it as nothing more than a myth—a clever con. By extension, she saw you and Agatha as little more than liars. And yet, curiosity had won out in the end. That’s why she was here. She had nothing to lose, only something to gain. 

“I assure you, we don’t, Lilia,” you moved from Agatha’s grip, much to her displeasure, and walked up to the other witches. “We can manage just fine.”

“The Ballad clearly says wake thy power, earthly and divine,” Agatha’s eyes clenched for a moment at Jen’s lofty tone. 

If you were to make a ranking, you’d put Jennifer on top, as the most irritating of the three. Alice was your favorite for now. 

“I’m willing to take over,” you said confidently. 

Lilia, Jennifer and even Alice faced you with their eyes squinted. Teen was the only one showing a bit of trust, apart from Agatha obviously. 

You sighed. “You’ll agree with me when I say that I am a kind of Green Witch, after all.” 

Jen licked the inside of her cheek. You could sense her question before she had time to spill it out. “From which perspective are you saying that, exactly?” 

Yes, she was definitely the most annoying of the three. 

 You stepped closer, trying to keep your frustration at bay. “Are you for real? I can create life.”

“You can reverse death, yes,” Jen corrected you. “There’s a difference.” 

You rolled your eyes, an amused scoff slipped from your lips. “No, there isn’t. And, with all due respect, what would you know about my skill?”  

“Everyone knows what a necromancer witch can and cannot do,” she argued stubbornly. 

“Ugh!” You groaned. The nerve. “Well, everyone’s knowledge is a bit sketchy, I dare to say. Nobody knows what I’m capable of better than myself.”

Jen puffed her cheek skeptically. “You can’t make anything from scratch, can you?” 

Your nostrils flared, then. What did she know about you? About the life you had painstakingly pieced together from nothing? The life that truly mattered—now gone. Agatha, Rio, and you had created something beautiful together: your son. But they couldn’t see that. They were blind, clueless in their ignorance.

Agatha’s sharp eyes caught the tension in your jaw. She walked up to you and touched your shoulder, in a both comforting and firm way. “See, that’s where you’re wrong, you dolt. Because she can. She did that once–” she began, her voice trembling a bit. Your brows furrowed as you faced her, eyes dimming in concern at the memories she was conjuring up. Those being the same as yours. 

The potion witch sighed. “I’m just saying that Earth magic is the most important skill set for an attempt at the Road, that’s all.”

“And I’m telling you I possess that,” you insisted. 

Agatha ignored Jen’s mumbling after that. “If you’re sure.” 

You nodded, searching for her eyes, “I am. You can trust me,” your voice came out gentler. 

It wasn’t hard to understand their skepticism toward you. Agatha wasn’t the only one carrying the weight of a reputation. Yours was there too, etched into you, much harder to explain. You had been marked by the deities of vengeance, after all. But the truth as to why that happened was known only by Agatha and Rio. 

“Her power is unlike any other. It doesn’t fit neatly into your categories of ‘earthly’ or ‘divine.’ It transcends both. So please—” Agatha intruded, “unless you truly understand what you're talking about, I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself.”

No one dared to argue after that. 

You ran your tongue over your lips, a slow smile tugging at the corners of your mouth. The surge of emotion rising within you was impossible to ignore—a potent mix of gratitude and something deeper, something more primal. Desire, perhaps. There was no denying it: Agatha was undeniably sexy when she acted all protective towards you. 

“Thanks, Aggies,” you whispered. 

Her eyes softened as she took in your features. 

“But, wait-” Teen tumbled out, brows furrowed, “I’m not saying she can’t take over but there was one more name on the list, wasn’t it?” 

You didn’t say whereas Agatha preceded you with a lie. “There really wasn’t.”

He didn’t buy it. His eyes darted from her to you, his expression begging for a more honest answer, but you kept quiet, unable to say that name. 

He glanced at Lilia, then. “What was the last name?” 

She pursed her lips, in thought. “Uhm.. I think it was Spanish or maybe Catalan, I’m not sure–” she began, as she gathered her thoughts. It was really on the tip of her tongue. “Rio, perhaps?”

You clenched your eyes, letting out a deep sigh through your nose. Teen’s smirk grew as recognition flashed across his face. The name said it all. He remembered it. Remembered her. No wonder you and Agatha had been so reluctant to include her in the trip. She wasn’t just anyone—she was the ex. And not just any ex, but the kind who, on top of everything else, wished you dead. Who in their right mind would willingly sign up for a journey with someone like that? 

“Ah– Rio, yes. She’s out of town,” Agatha hurried to say. 

Liar, Teen thought, but he kept it to himself. 

“She’d be more trouble than anything, honestly,” you explained, looking at each of them alternately. 

“She is telling the truth,” Teen replied. 

“Okay so everything is settled,” Agatha rubbed her hands, and swept her tongue over her lips. She was dying to feel her power flowing back in her body. “Teen, be a dear and be sure Señor Scratchy has enough lettuce. Sammy tends to eat it all.” 

You scoffed at that. “Again with this story? Stop assuming my turtle is a thief, Agatha.” 

“I’m not assuming,” she quipped. “I’m certain of it.” 

Teen gave you and Agatha an uncertain smile. “With all due respect, I don’t think it’s relevant that I do that. Shouldn't we get going?” 

“Teen, the Road is conjured,” you explained calmly, placing a hand over his shoulder. How cute and naive could he be? “We don’t physically go there by car, broom or something.”

“Oh,” he nodded, a tad flustered to have assumed it the wrong way. “Haven't thought of that.” 

Agatha’s head lolled to the side, her bottom lip popped out kinda mockingly. “Isn’t he the cutest pet we have ever had, love?”

You giggled. “Agatha, he isn’t our pet. Quit calling him that.” 

“Such a spoilsport you are,” she fake pouted, flapping at your arm playfully. Her eyes darted to the boy after. “Let us just do our thing, okay? We will call you once we’re done.” 

“Fine,” he muttered with a nod, before walking up the stairs. 

“So, just to be clear,” Alice interjected. “We can still walk the Witches’ Road without a Green Witch.”

You nodded, “correct.”

“We will summon one on the Road, if it’s really really necessary,” Agatha added, eager to get started. 

“‘kay, but you never said–”, Alice began. “What’s the rush?” 

You kinda preferred her when she was quiet and indifferent. 

Agatha was doing her best to maintain her composure. There wasn’t much else she could do, so for now, feigning cordiality was her only option. “Uhm.. well, you see-” Her voice was laced with that falsely sweet tone that made it hard for you to keep from laughing. She gestured toward you, and when her palm met the small of your back, you glanced at her with suspicion. What was she cooking up now? “Her parents are visiting and I really can’t be bothered with that, if you catch my drift.” 

What a low blow. Undoubtedly a good excuse, but still. 

“Fair enough,” Lilia commented. The others seemed convinced, too. 

“I can’t believe you said that,” you pointed out.  

She leaned closer and whispered in your ear. “You know, in extremis…”

A soft laugh escaped your lips, and before you could say another word, you felt her lips—plump and soft—press gently against your cheek. The warmth of the touch silenced any objections that lingered on the tip of your tongue. Oh, she knew she had you wrapped around her little finger. 

“Come on now, let’s hit the Road!”  

*

“It cannot be–” you stuttered, voice barely above a whisper. Your eyes were locked on the carved outline of a door embedded in the basement floor. It hadn’t been there before. You were certain of it, absolutely certain. So… how?

The others didn’t notice, too caught up in their heated argument to see what had just appeared. But it couldn’t be, could it? The Road wasn’t real. The Ballad was just a song, you, Agatha and your son made up once upon a time. So what was that? 

Agatha let out an exasperated growl. “I really don’t have time for this–” 

She didn’t even glance in your direction, oblivious to your fingertips brushing over the strange, impossible surface of the door. 

“Just blast me, you bitches!”

“Enough!” You snapped, finally catching everyone’s attention. Your magic vibrated like a sudden summer breeze, it swayed your hair and turned your eyes silver for a moment. Choked gasps slipped from the others, their gazes dropped over the floor, where now there was a door. The same door you’d thought couldn’t exist, let alone be summoned. 

Agatha was speechless, as she drew in a breath with wide eyes. 

“Are you seeing this too?” If this was another cruel trick played by the Furies, you weren’t sure your mind could withstand the torment again. “Tell me you are,” your voice came out almost as a plea. 

“Yes–” Alice breathed out. “We did it.”

“So it would seem,” Lilia chuckled nervously. 

Jen’s brow furrowed, eyes drifting to Agatha’s. “Why does she look so shocked?” 

When Agatha didn’t respond, you did, “It’s been a while, can you really blame her?” 

When she lowered herself beside you, her lips pressed into a tight line, a clear sign of her inner turmoil. Knowing her, she was probably spiraling into a quiet panic. Without hesitation, you reached out, your hand gently rubbing soothing circles on her back. “Hey,” you murmured softly, your voice laced with concern. “Are you okay?”

Agatha gave you a faint nod of her head. “I’ll admit,” she began, her gaze drifting off to Jen. “I’m surprised you’re not the hopeless bunch of rejects I thought you were.”

“You’re the worst,” Jen groaned, in an accusatory tone. 

You sighed. “Will you cut it out? Help me–” You gritted your teeth as you gripped and tugged at the door’s handles, straining against its resistance. Jen shot Agatha one last glare, which Agatha met with a smirk, before they both finally stepped forward. Along with Lilia and Alice. 

With a sharp, resonating creak, the door burst open. Your eyes fixed on a flight of stairs leading further down the floor. Where precisely you didn’t know. A greenish blow came from it, illuminating the path to the… Witches’ Road. 

“Agatha!” Teen’s voice came in a panicked squeal, as he rushed down the basement exactly where you were standing, “is that it? Cause we should really get going. Like right now!” 

You heard an explosion, coming from upstairs and sensed magic. It was ancient, angry and just for a change, very powerful. 

“The Salem Seven…” you whispered, eyes widening a bit. 

The other witches didn’t need to be told twice and hurriedly took to the stairs, leaving you and Agatha behind. You stalled, before half yelling, “What the heck is this?” 

Agatha waved her hands and stuttered out. “It looks like a door to me.” 

You scoffed incredulously, “well, obviously it’s a door. But I meant–”

Before you could say another word, one of the Salem Seven began crawling down the stairs toward you and Agatha. Each movement sent an unsettling chorus of pops and creaks through her bones, as though her very body was possessed by a demoniac force. 

You used your magic to shove the woman away. The witch let out an ear-piercing shriek, her lips curling to reveal jagged teeth. Your stomach twisted as you stumbled back, unsure if you were facing a witch or some feral, inhuman creature.

 “Go, go, go, go!” Your eyes widened as you prompted Agatha to take the stairs. 

Agatha grasped your hand, pulling you with her, “you don’t have to tell me twice, my love.”

[zipadeea]

something something Agatha and Nicky were homeless, they were nomads, coven-less wanderers accepted by no one, loved by no one but each other. The road was their home, the road was their home and Nicky wrote a song about it, he wrote a song about his home as he walked the road with his mother. And then he died, Nicky died and all his mother had left of him was a lock of his hair she wore close to her heart and a song that he wrote that came from his heart.

And his mother turned that song into a con and used it to kill people.

No wonder Agatha still isn't ready to face her son.

[agentem]

"So this trial [The Earth Trial] is very bare bones. He’s no longer doing hair, makeup, wardrobe because, on some level, he recognizes how distasteful that is, given that people are actually dying. And so it’s a very bare bones trial, and they just have to grow something. It’s the earth trial. So it’s very simple. They have to grow something in a space with no soil or water or seeds. It’s Agatha who’s able to finally make that click, and so she, ironically, is the one who gets off the road having played by the rules." -- Jac Schaeffer, The Wrap (x)

Agatha Harkness: Only Witch to survive the entire Witches' Road. She passed every trial.

[nyoclosmom]

btw i have both the ballad of the witches' road's (the witchy one and the rock one) sheet music and midi files if anyone needs them

[disregardcanon]

a few ways others influenced how Billy manifested "The Road"

the conversation about "taming your fears" and then "trials" and agatha claiming that they would face a trial for "each skill" shapes not only the setup as A Series of Four Trials, but also the emphasis on PERSONAL GROWTH. Billy ends up focusing in on what he knows about these different women whose minds he can read and who he keeps getting to know more and more as they go around

"i thought this would be obvious, but we should stay on the road" and then teen adding "I STRAY NOT FROM THE PATH!" happily like a student eagerly raising their hand in class. and then agatha is able to say "hello yes favorite student PLEASE make our situation go by what happens in the song i made up with my son. if you believe it then that'll become our reality! yay!"

agatha keeps asserting that billy is the familiar because oh boy! if he doesn't think of himself as Part of the Coven in the same way maybe his brain won't turn on him and get us all killed! yay!

For the first trial, Jennifer says that she "looks like one of her customers", and her business and clientele are BOTH something that Billy is familiar with. From the different versions of the Ballad, he already considers Personal Trauma to be something that's confronted on the Road, so of course he subconsciously chose something that created traumatic hallucinations, and then Agatha is still figuring out How This Thing That Shouldn't Be Is Going to Work so of COURSE she's reticent to drink the weird ominous now surely poisoned wine. she knows that the road isn't a real, cosmic entity that has set rules the way that others think. she fights against the idea that they all have to drink because if she had convinced billy that they didn't... she wouldn't have to! but with the combination of his preconceptions and the rest of the coven, who thinks that this is One Hundred Percent Real... he stays set on the idea that them, the Coven Members, all have to drink.

agatha stops fighting for HEY NO WE DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS as soon as billy decides if she doesn't, he will. she doesn't want to die for this, but she's also not stupid enough to have The Kid That Almost Definitely Is Making This Happen drink the wine instead of her. it actually IS better for her to be incapacitated and them have a chance to get out than to poison the kid who's clearly Doing The Magic Here,

For the second trial, Billy has some information from Alice about how her situation with her mom went via Being Right By Her During Her Hallucination and Alice Telling Him Things. from the hallucination: we get lorna playing with the cigarette lighter, saying she could feel alice's grandmother die thousands of miles away, smoke, and "I CAN'T PROTECT YOU!" he was right outside the door, where i'm sure he could hear her thoughts. this gives him enough to clearly connect Alice with fire in his mind. the rest of the trial was just... him knowing that alice has issues with her mother and her mother's version of the ballad, and creating a circumstance where she'd work through that issue. he really lucked into it being a protection spell for a proper generational curse.

other bits of trial number two: "seriously, we're an album cover waiting to happen!" teen exclaims. the walls of assorted Bad Things That Happen to Witches and then lorna wu merchandise.

he doesn't actually know nearly as much about agatha as the others, because he can't read agatha's mind. i think that the ouija board trial was the first one where his brain was just "huh, okay... what are the vibes of talking to spirits?" lilia establishes that spirit magic can't be hers because it was a con and establishes herself as divination for later, and then RIO is the one that makes it agatha's. i haven't totally figured out why, though. or what his subconscious had in mind for what "passing" the trial would look like. evanora and nicky were definitely the real ghosts pulled in with the help of the ouija board, but the reasoning behind it is a lot less... clear to me than the others.

the outside of the road was treacherous enough to keep sharon inside, but it didn't kill him and i don't think that it would have. the goal of that subconscious bit of magic was a fence, vs the subconscious use of the Trials, which according to the ballad, being used to construct it, COULD be deadly. (if one be gone we carry on, spirit as our guide). then of course when agatha, lilia and jen got sucked under it, despite how angry he was... it was a conscious enough use of magic and he didn't ACTUALLY want them dead.

the divination trial was pretty clearly set up in his brain for lilia. the tarot, the old timey european aesthetic of the set, and then the different witch costumes assigned to different witches to represent how he views them. it also makes sense that they couldn't figure out how to "pass it" before lilia got there because neither billy nor agatha are very good at tarot and they were just sniping at each other about how to do it, vs lilia who divined her whole life and was able to use the power boost billy's powers gave her to go out with a bang.

the green trial, i think, was a desperate last moment brain attempt to just shove them in a room and get results. the aesthetic was Scary Morgue because he finally had rio/death to slot into the green witch part of his brain. the idea, then, became Give the Survivors What They Came For, then they can leave. they got jen unbound and she got to disappear. agatha guided him through getting tommy a body and then he got to disappear, and then his brain kept agatha there until she was able to get at her own reason for being on the road: starting anew. then it let them all out.

[air--so--sweet]

Spoilers for Agatha All Along

Been thinking about Agatha's trial, and I don't think it was her trial, but I think I might know whose it was.

All of the other trials are about the witches facing something from their past and embracing part of their powers.

Jen had to face the fact she feels powerless since being bound and realise that she is still a capable witch because she still has her knowledge, and that can't be taken from her.

Alice had to face the family curse she's been pretending isn't real, make peace with her past and understand that her mother really was trying to protect her and embrace the fact she actually is a witch and has powers.

Lilia had to face that she couldn't prevent her mother and coven's death, accept the fact that everyone must die eventually, and embrace how her power allows her to see past the illusion of the flow of time and to live her life out of sequence.

When they enter the slumber part trial, they realise it's about communing with the dead due to the blood moon and Rio links it to Agatha because 'who better to commune with the dead than someone who's put so many in the grave'. I don't know, maybe the actual personification of Death? It was the road's attempt at a trial for Rio but there was one problem, Rio isn't part of the coven. Agatha presumed she was as she said that her heart is black and it beats for Agatha Harkness and instead of a fifth name on the list Lilia had drawn a black heart. But Eddie, Billy's boyfriend uses a black heart emoji in a text message when referring to Billy. Because of the sigil Lilia and Agatha couldn't read Billy's name and so when they look at the list all they see is a black heart (Billy says there were five names on the list, it's Lilia who say the final one was a heart, not a name).

After all, Rio has no reason to walk the road, there's nothing for her to get out of it. She simply wants '[her] bodies' as she put it when speaking to Agatha . She does not need to walk the road to get bodies. She loves Agatha, but again, she does not need to walk the road to get Agatha either (after all Agatha was ready to kiss her, it was Rio who stopped it). She also isn't denying her past with Agatha or that she hurt her.

And so what the road created was a messy hodge podge that made little sense. Rio's powers are related to the dead so the trial had the theme of communing with dead. Rio loves Agatha and hates ghosts and so Agatha was in danger because of a ghost. And Rio wants bodies, and so when Alice dies the exit opens. However, as Rio is not a member of the coven, completing her trial didn't bring them further down the road which is why the exit to her trial is the only one that leads upwards.

Edit: I've realised that the exit for Lilia's trial leads upwards as well, but once she flips the tower card that would cause the steps to then lead down. Tbh I think I'm bring a bit delulu with this, but it's what I'm going with for now.

[thenightling]

Marvel's released another version of The Witches' road. This is the fifth version for people keeping score.

First there was

The Winding Road (Country style version)

The Witches' Road (Sacred chant version)

The Witches Road 70s Glam Rock version.

The Witches Road 70s Glam rock Agatha's coven cover version.

And now Japanese pop style version. (In English). Same lyrics as the 70s Glam version.)

I'm starting to collect them because honestly... The song is the best thing about Agatha All Along.

[danawinter]

someone else has probably already brought this up, but, what is the end of the witches' road? does it even exist? or at least, does it exist in the way the show has suggested its existence until now?

as the show explained the road in the first few episodes, i assumed that the road is a path you walk, facing the fears and struggles of you and your coven, and in the end you get to claim your reward and go home. and initially i was focused on how this reward works; do you get to decide what you want, or does the road decide for you? but now i'm wondering what the end of the road consists of. is it a location, or a person/spirit/creature?

and then i started thinking about how agatha is supposed to be the only survivor of the witches' road. but, and i say this with all the love in the world for our coven of chaos we've come to know in this show, that cannot possibly be right, right? was there never a coven of witches more capable than the coven we've seen in this show?

so, if no other witches have survived the witches' road, what happened to prevent them from reaching the end of the road? unless, they did.

my current theory is that there is no end of the road. or, more specifically, there is no final destination that you reach and then get a prize and then just walk into your old life again. i believe the witches' road will give you what you are missing, however, it will be followed by your death. you could call it a "glory at the end", as the ballad does.

(this started running a little long so i'll continue with my reasoning under the cut)

let's go through our deaths so far. first up is mr shart sharon. it's hard to know exactly what her truest heart's desire was since we knew only a little of her. and since she wasn't a witch, the road's rules might not even apply to her. but we do know that she seems to have been very lonely since her husband died. and then on the road she got to live her final moments as part of a group of women having a nice time, hanging out, with a bottle of wine. however, as she found what she was missing - a sense of friendship - she had reached her end of the road and died.

then we get to alice. she entered the road hoping to find out what happened to her mom; and connected to that there seemed to be a desire to understand her own protection magic. through her own trial she finds out what her mother was trying to accomplish with her music. and i think this also cemented a better understanding of her identity as a protection witch. and so when alice had found what she was missing - answers about her mother and powers - she had reached her end of the road and died.

and most recently, lilia. initially, lilia's desire was a bit vague, i think the closest we got was her wanting to gain control over her shop again. but i think we can see in the seventh episode that lilia's actual desire was much more about her understanding the point of her powers, especially in a world that did not seem to care for witches - a world that would just hunt them or mock them by misrepresenting them in movies and other stories. and throughout her trial she finally gets to understand both her powers and the meaning of being a witch within a coven. and so when lilia found what she was missing - an understanding of her life - she had reached her end of the road and died.

and an additonal moment i found interesting in episode 7 is when lilia describes how her powers have become more erratic recently. when jen asks her why, lilia suggests that it might be because she's 'close to the end'. jen thinks she means the end of the road, when we already know that lilia means the end of her life. could this be a hint that they are one and the same?

the main obstacle i could find to this theory, is of course that there is a survivor of the road in agatha. however, firstly, a lot of us have been wondering if agatha ever walked the road to begin with (which now has also been mentioned by billy within the show). and secondly, agatha being the exception to a death rule, when she's literally in a centuries-long back-and-forth relationship with lady death, does not seem impossible.

so the main thing i'm wondering about now, if this is true, what does that mean for the end of the show? does everyone have to die? if agatha did actually survive the road once before, can she do it again? also, if agatha did survive the road, and knows that this is how the road works, is she just willingly leading everyone to their death? i mean, she is a witch killer, so i shouldn't be shocked, but she does seem to care about them now. then again, that could all be an act.

and then of course, where does wiccan come in? i highly doubt they're gonna be killing him in this show. and i do have a feeling jen might survive this show as well. does that mean there is a way to cheat out of dying on the road? or maybe it just means this theory is crumbling before my eyes so i guess i'll just leave it here

[hecksilver]

OH MY HECKING HECK GUYS!!!! WHAT IF SHARON 'Mrs. Hart' COMES BACK IN THE LAST EPISODE AS THE PERSONIFICATION OF HECATE THE TRIPLE GODDESS TO GRANT THE COVEN THEIR WISHES?!?!!?!??!??!!?

and then it ends with something like "oh, the witches' road is the friends we made along the way or smth..."

[belanekra]

The way Agatha really said "the one good thing in my life is dead, time to immediately be evil."

[thembo-x]

Like, witches who walk The Road undergo trials where they must face their fears under the very real threat of death, but those who can finish the Road will find what they want the most or what they are missing.

Did that not happen to Wanda, Agatha, Billy, Jen, Alice, and Lillia? Is that not why Jennifer emerged right by the entrance to Westview?

[soverymediaaddicted]

A lyric quiz I just made for Agatha All Along and The Ballad of the Witches’ Road.

Are there any real witches on this site? Or just has-beens and could’ve-beens?

[agentem]

Westview

In the first episode ("Agnes of Westview"), Agnes says the town is important. That it's about this place and these people.

What if there is something about Westview that has drawn all these witches to it? I know Agatha said there would be "witchy enough" people in a two mile radius but the only one who is "witchy enough" and not outright witch is Sharon Davis.

Maybe THAT'S why the Witches Road opened for them? I thought the timing of it was weird. It doesn't seem like the song opened the road like it was supposed to?

(What if the Road really is in Westview, New Jersey and that's why their public transit system failed? LOL.)

I don't know. In the trailer there is a shot of Jennifer Hale seeming to come up out of someone's lawn. Like she burrowed from the Road back to the surface somehow...?

[burninblood]

Down, down, down the road, down the witches' road...

[xmascritter]

Hello tumblrinas!

As someone who read Scarlet Witch: Witches' Road as well as its sequels World of Witchcraft and The Final Hex, the main marvel comics covering the witches' road as a concept,

Heres all some things in the First Two episodes of Agatha All Along that were potentially/ are references

Agatha being a cop: while Agatha is a ghost in the actual comics (long story) with Wanda being the main character, the book witches road itself honestly gives the energy of a buddy cop mystery (that Im still really sad they didnt continue into the second book, by far the weakest of the trilogy) in some ways since agatha is always there, with wanda acting almost as magic police and going around to solve problems and fight evil magic users or creatures. Starting off with her trapped in a crime scene drama might be reference to the original tone of the book

I thought Id have more but I was so distracted by alice actually being there I lost it. Anyways, if I had to bet, heres some things I think will happen later on in the show:

Lorna Wu and Alice Gulliver!: In the witches road trilogy, Alice Gulliver aka The Wu is introduced and appears a couple times, her whole schtick is she infuses weapons with magic. Sound familiar? Her mother was The August Wu of the Coral Shore, who died and dissapeared under mysterious circumstances, which may sound familiar since thats also Lorna's title. In the book shes a hong kong policewoman, but I understand the change since we needed her to be accessible to agatha, and honestly her being a hot topic security guard is maybe the funniest thing.

They meet Hecate. This ones pretty self explanatory, they meet hecate in the books, comics love having hecate be around cause theres literally 3 different roles she could play in the story, hecate appears in the comics, if I had to guess she will probably make a direct appearance at some point since theyve already made their maiden mother crone reference speaking of which

Maiden, mother, crone. They meet Wanda on the road. This may seem like a weird guess, but time is incredibly wobbly on the road. Its actually a major plot point in the comic inspiration that they meet Wanda's mom on the road (which I have some beef with but thats for a different rant), a feat which wouldnt be possible if not for the fact time ain't linear on the road. Its like the tower from The Boy and the Heron/How do You Live. So long as they've been on the witches road, you can meet them on the witches road, alive or dead. And wanda was certainly powerful enough to go on the road solo, even in this version. And we just so happen to have a teen whos name is blocked by a mysterious protection spell who Agatha serves as an aunt figure to. Billy literally gets reincarnated into a normal kid the comics, I would bet money thats billy and he realises who he is because they encounter wanda on the road.

Possible Declan Dane/Dían the Emerald Warlock cameo, we see his backstory in the witches road as well, he gets mad at wanda after she breaks his curse on the entirity of ireland (long story) and I would not put it past agatha to have done that

The goddess at the end of the road. In the actual witches road, no ones made it to the end until the end of the 3rd book when wanda, her mom, and agatha make it and see the goddess of magic at the end of the road being strangled by chaos. Considering theyve established wanda being so heavily tied with chaos magic, I would not be surprised if this time the blame is on wanda for doing it.

Anyways, looking forward to seeing how the story evolves

[disregardcanon]

Up the Witches' Road

Fandom: Agatha All Along

Summary: The website W.I.T.C.H. Talks posts its newest addition: a video by Jennifer Kale recounting her time on the Witches' Road.

A.N: hey so i haven't stopped thinking about what happened to jen after she crawled her way out of the ground in westview