Chapter Text
Em: We’re getting our own apartment. We’re gonna be 18 soon, we’re going to move anyway so why not start now?
Amity: But, everything’s changed. But-you-Dad just started trying. You won’t ever see him. You hardly see him now.
Ed: Look, Mittens, it’s great that you have a relationship with Dad but we. . we don’t really care. We went this long without his input in our lives and legally, we’re not going to need one so-
Amity: But he wants to have a relationship! He asks you to share meals all the time.
Ed: I don’t see him knocking down the door. It’s you asking for him.
Em: Besides, he spends all his free time with you.
Amity: But-
Em: It’s not about you. We’re not jealous. Even if we leave the house, we’ll still see each other. Our apartment has a guest room, you’ll live with us!
Amity: But Dad-Dad’s trying. He’s a good Dad, and he wants to make up for before.
Ed: Have you’ve noticed he hasn’t apologized for putting us against each other? He probably still thinks he was right to do that.
Em: Amity, we’re serious. We’re not interested. And don’t say he’ll apologize, it doesn’t count if you have to tell him to do it.
Ed: And it doesn’t count if he has to and not because he knows he was wrong. And when if he does that, what next? We’re going to hang out like nothing's wrong and he was good this whole time? Face it, Mittens, he hasn’t changed that much.
But after a talk with Luz and believing people can change, Amity lets the plans slip to Alador to encourage him to talk. She comes home to him forbidding the twins from moving.
Ed: We’re going to be legal in a few months! Let’s make it easier and let us go now.
Alador: Don’t you want to be a family?
Ed: Sure, I do. But you don’t. You just want to be with your favorite child.
Alador: I don’t have a favorite.
Ed: Yeah, right. Then why do you spend all your time with her? It’s because of the abominations and inventions. She’s the only one you care about.
Alador: I didn’t want to push you into spending time with me. I was giving you space.
Ed: Bullshit! When the genius Alador Blight wants something, he doesn’t stop till gets it. Patience and inventions and reinvention until he gets it. Goes into every part of your life. If you don’t care to have a relationship, you wouldn’t try. That’s what’s happening here.
Alador: You’re not trying either!
Ed: I shouldn’t have to! I have spent my whole life trying and you made me feel like a failure the whole time.
“Illusions aren’t as difficult to master as abominations.”
“I’m not using my brain.” If I didn’t understand your work right away, I’m stupid. If I didn’t care about your work, I was lazy. Wasting my time. You know, you’re the one that first said I was too dependent on Em.
“A sign of slow growth” you said. It was a liability and I should be stronger than that. A true Blight. If I tried hard enough, I wouldn’t be such a burden.
You and Mom- “You don’t want to be a burden, Edric.” “You don’t want to be a failure to be abandoned while your sisters make something of themselves.” “If you stopped playing tricks, you might be more.”
Combining illusions and potions is not nothing. But to you it is. Everything and everyone is beneath you because it’s not how you would do it. It’s not your work so it’s useless. I’m useless. And I don’t want to feel that way. I’m done with you. I don’t care. . I don’t want to care about your opinion anymore so I’m putting myself first.
I shouldn’t have to do all the work when you’re the adult. You’re my Dad, I shouldn’t need to try harder. This is all on you.”
Emira enters and is quickly (and loudly) updated on the situation. Emira(under her breath) I take one night off and everything goes to hell.
Alador: Emira, be reasonable, I’m not-
Em: Okay, here’s the thing, Al. I agree with Edric. Let’s start with how you act like everything not related to your work, let’s say the illusions we’ve been training most of our lives for, is a waste of your time and intellect.
Ed: I already covered that.
Em: Oh? Then let’s discuss how you think you’re a good father now. That you can just make up the neglect like it never happened. Like you don’t recognize that you didn’t just dismiss us, you hurt us.
You can’t put everything on Mom. You didn’t just stand by all the time. You agreed with her! You thought it was right. You still do. You haven’t apologized, yiu don’t think to because it was okay. It was okay to turn us against each other so we’d try to do better, to compete against each other for your attention. It was okay to give Edric and Amity anxiety attacks over any potential failure because it makes them stronger in the long run. You made us earn everything-earn your respect, earn your pride and earn your love. Do you not see how screwed up that is?
Ed: You didn’t care about what we were doing or our illusion competitions or tests. Not unless we dropped from an A+ to an A, then you yelled about how we’re ruining the family legacy and the company’s reputation. You only brought up our accomplishments to tear Amity down. Or to warn us not to slip up. Anything else we did, you were a ghost.
Em: And I’m sure this will be hard for you to believe. But if I had to choose a parent I’d rather “hang out” with—it wouldn’t be you!
Mom may be a controlling, manipulative narcissist but at least, she thought more of us than you do. Like when I broke up with my girlfriend, and you asked what I expected. “Illusions won’t keep her for long, at some point she would have gone looking for stimulating conversation.”
Newsflash, just because you’re uninterested when I talk doesn’t mean I’m boring to others. At least Mom thinks I’m too good for my exes and I can do better. At least she saw some advantage in illusions. At least she thought we were worth something even though it was for a role we had no desire to fulfill.
If you want to be a better parent, try to act like you think were special and not that we’re too boring and superficial for you to talk to. It’s just hard to believe that you really want to try this “good Dad” idea.
All your actions and inactions have made it clear that you have no respect for us as witches worthy of notice. You don’t know us and now you want to play Dad.
Why should you even get that chance?
You never gave us second chances!
“Life doesn’t give second chances when you fail.” Remember saying that? So no, I don’t want to live with you and pretend to be happy to stick it to Mom or whatever.
Alador: I-I- do you hate me that much?
Em: No. that’s the worst part. The stupid, childish part of me still loves you because you’re my father. But. .I don’t like you. I don’t respect you and I don’t trust you and your newfound desire to bond.