This month's news from Alternative Views News

[brightwitch]

Front page article in the London Lambast Daily, 21st March

Mother of Witches announces new Magical Innovation Centre in Richmond
By Daisy Connell, Witch Correspondent

Yesterday Samantha Okeke, the Mother of Witches, officially announced the chosen location of her much-vaunted new Centre for Magical Innovation in Richmond. The selected venue is an impressive, modern building on a university campus in Teddington, Richmond, better known as a hub for scientific research.

The venue boasts state of the art facilities, including several laboratories, and was selected based on a combination of its cutting edge technological equipment, high security and excellent location.

Speaking on-location at the site for a press conference, the Mother said: "I am delighted to announce the location of our first new Centre for Magical Innovation. This inspiring and modern environment will enable us to be forward thinking, creative and rigorous in the application of new magic to address the challenges we face in today's society."

Refurbishment of the venue will take place over the next month, with the centre due to open by the end of April.

Summoning magic to become legal again?
The Mother also hinted that the Night Council is set to soften its stance on the use of magic relating to fae. She appeared to confirm rumours that Circle Daybreak have submitted a petition to the Night Council requesting that summoning magic no longer be classified as dark magic.

The previous Mother of Witches and current President of the Night Council, Sylvia Redbright, has always been known to be strongly against the use of any magic relating to fae.

At the time of writing, President Redbright was unavailable for comment.

For more on this story, go to page 5.

Article buried on page 9 in the London Lambast Daily, 21st March

Shopkeeper disappears
The proprietor of the dress shop Pins and Needles disappeared yesterday. "Mrs. Lotus" owned the dress shop in Harrow but did not turn up to open the premises on Monday. Believed to be a Seelie, local residents reported that it was typical for the rather odd shopkeeper to close up shop during summer months.

"I'd usually expect her to go when the clocks go forward, you know," said Alex Farley, the business owner next door, "which would be this weekend, so maybe she decided to take the time off a bit early. She forgot to lock up on Sunday afternoon too, so the shop was left open and empty all day. I don't know what that's about."

A request was put forward to the Night Council to investigate, and received the following response: "It is common knowledge that Seelie and Unseelie move back and forth between this world and the Other Realm. We do not believe this matter to be of any significance."

Front page article in Worldly Weirdness Weekly, 25th March

It's official: the Mother of Witches DID submit a petition to make summoning magic legal again!
By Charlene Pinter, Night Council Correspondent

Worldly Weirdness Weekly can officially confirm that the rumoured petition to the Night Council to make summoning magic legal WAS submitted by the Mother of Witches, Samantha Okeke. We can also exclusively reveal that:

• The Mother has already informed Circle Daybreak that summoning magic is not only allowed, but ENCOURAGED.
• She wants to train young witches to summon and control fae.
• She wants ALL witches to have their own familiar.

Go to page 4 for the full story and to find out why the President will HAVE to accept the petition.

Front page article in the London Lambast Daily, 31st March

Night Council makes U-turn in law on summoning magic
By Daisy Connell, Witch Correspondent

Today the Night Council announced that it has formally accepted the petition put forward by Samantha Okeke of Circle Daybreak to amend the definition of dark magic to no longer include summoning magic.

"Summoning magic is about protecting ourselves," said Peter Vrinak, the Night Council Vice President. "There has long been a hole in the law where spells to banish and trap aggressive fae have technically been counted as dark magic, even though they are absolutely vital for self-defence. We have seen fae activity in London especially increase over the past year and I for one welcome the opportunity to ensure that witches are trained to defend the supernatural community from these creatures. Efforts to contain the infestation in Bromley and Bexley have so far met with little success. This is a wise move from a new Mother who is unapologetic about putting London's needs first."

The revision to the law means that the following magic will now be allowed by both the Night Council and Circle Daybreak:

• Summoning fae
• Banishing fae
• Commanding fae (once summoned)
• Entering a contract with a fae (once summoned)
• Travelling to the Other Realm

Dark magic is still forbidden – but summoning magic no longer counts
After more than fifty years of summoning magic being forbidden by Circle Daybreak, much of the craft has been lost. It is expected that the Mother of Witches will seek to train young witches and build up expertise in this tricky and delicate area of magic.

When asked if she believed that dark magic should be allowed, the Mother responded: "I am against dark magic. I fully support the Night Council's efforts to ensure that dark magic is not practised in our community, and that we do not damage the hearts and souls of our young witches by encouraging them to practise it. I am proud to lead Circle Daybreak and to continue to use our magic for good, for the betterment of the community, and to improve the lives of thousands of witches up and down the country."

For more on this story and rumours of the Maiden's involvement in the original petition, go to page 4.

[OOC: This post is open to anyone who wants to react or talk about any of the news! If you want to grab an NPC, just say so in your comment.]

Comments

[stauncherhearted]

she shakes her head. "It's not him. he would have told me." she had faith in him, in that regard. "we tell each other everything, Eames."

[falsify]

Uh-huh.

He doesn't say anything, just raises his eyebrows and gives her a look that's the facial equivalent of "mhm, sure," because even the best, most trusting of couples isn't completely open about everything.

[stauncherhearted]

She sighs. "You don't believe me."

Of course he doesn't.

Nancy takes a moment to take a nice long drink. When she's done, she looks up at Eames. "Fagin's completely done with me, you know." Dodger had told her a few weeks ago.

[falsify]

"Surprised it took him this long," he's glad for the topic change, and he sighs. The casual dismissal of her problem isn't because he's without sympathy, but he knows Fagin better than most. People who aren't useful to him aren't his friends.

He gives her a thoughtful look, thinking about what the final straw would've been. "Because of your career change?"

[stauncherhearted]

"I think? It's not like I'm not still giving him money for the boys." She settles back into the couch, wrinkling her nose.

"He assumes things are going to go bad and I'm going to come crawling back to him. Dodge said he's hoping for it, just so he can say no. Wasn't it enough to put me in the hospital?"

[falsify]

"It's never enough with Fagin."

That should be lesson one with the kids, he takes everything until they've got nothing and then tries to take some more. Eames has seen hundreds of kids drained over the years and then left out to dry.

But that's not useful. Eames tilts his head, considering. Fagin's a waste of breath and energy, look to the future.

"How's that going-- the job?"

[stauncherhearted]

He took and he took and he'd take as much as he could. It was awful, so Nancy nods. "never will be. My mum upholding her end of the deal wasn't enough, either." Which was what brought her into Fagin's service to begin with.

"it's good! nice to wear jeans to work, not have to put a hole in the O-zone with hair spray every night. I like having a real job. It's fun."

[falsify]

'Fun.' Eames laughs softly, that says a lot about how vastly different her life experience is to most people.

"Cash in hand, yeah?" It's a roundabout way of asking if she's a Real Girl where the law's concerned.

[stauncherhearted]

Well it's not like freezing your ass-cheeks off on a street corner is necessarily fun.

"All cash," she says. No, she's not a Real Girl. She's got a file at the Night Council, but that's it. "Gotta have a bank account to get a direct deposit."

[falsify]

"Do you want one?" He asks it like it's a simple question, though for someone who's lived under the radar and basically not existed for 20 years, it might require some thought. But forging identities is probably one of the first things Eames learned to do in the mortal world, so it's simple enough. "I can sort that if you're interested. Get you a birth certificate, a surname. Passport too if you want."

[stauncherhearted]

Nancy nearly spits out her tea. "You- you could do that?" She blinks at him, her voice tight.

"You'd really do that for me? Oh my god- yes! oh please!" Then she could finally stop using Fagin. Get rid of him as much as she possibly could. "Eames, that would be amazing! I could kiss you!"

[falsify]

"It'll take a few weeks, but I'm fairly certain I can manage that for you." It's not as easy as it used to be, but it's still not exactly difficult. Just time-consuming. But honestly it'll be a welcome distraction.

[stauncherhearted]

"Can I hug you?" Nancy asks, looking up at him over the rim of her tea cup. She knows he doesn't really do affection, and she's trying to accommodate him. But she really wants to hug him for this.

"This is so huge, Eames. Thank you. Thank you so much."

[falsify]

Eames nods, sighing as he puts his mug aside and stretches out an arm for Nancy to bring it in. She can have a hug. This time.

[stauncherhearted]

Nancy tries not to squeal with delight as she takes herself off the couch. She moves over towards Eames in a few quick strides and wraps her arms around him, clinging to him tightly. Before he can say anything else, she gives him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you. Thank you so much for believing in me and helping me. You have no idea how much it means."

He was more of a father to her than Fagin had ever been.

[falsify]

Despite being someone who avoids physical affection at all costs, Eames is a good hugger. He wraps his arms around Nancy tightly and combs his fingers through her hair, shaking his head at the kiss.

"Told you I'd take care of you, didn't I?" He might not be a good person, but at the very least he's true to his word. And often without exploiting loopholes.

[stauncherhearted]

Eames is a really good hugger. It doesn't take much for Nancy to feel safe in his arms in a way that she usually doesn't feel.

She nods into his chest. "You did. And you do. You're one of the kindest people I know. I don't know what I'd do without you." Still be under Fagin's thumb, no doubt.

[falsify]

"So." He says, bypassing her calling him 'kind' as he brushes her hair back with his fingers and lowers his arms, thus ending the hugging period, "ever considered what surname you'd like?"

[stauncherhearted]

Aww, hugging period was so much fun, they should do it again some time.

Nancy takes a step back, twisting her lips to one side as she considers this. "If you'd asked me this three years ago I'd have told you Sikes without a moment's hesitation. Now..." she casts a look over at the dog for guidance.

"Now I've no fucking clue."

[falsify]

Eames narrows his eyes, giving Nancy a thoughtful look. Most of the names he picks for himself are nondescript and common, but this isn't an alias she's going to shed in a year or two so maybe it should be something a little less boring.

"Bellrose?" Nancy Bellrose is a nice enough name, he thinks.

[stauncherhearted]

"Ooooh," Nancy smiles. It sounds so fancy, and so... pretty. It flowed right. Nancy Bellrose. It made her sound incredibly Victorian, but it was a million times better than awkward and clunky Fagin.

"Nancy Bellrose. I'll need a middle name, too." She looks at him with a smile. This was the most exciting thing!

[falsify]

That gets another thoughtful frown from him, and Eames taps his lip in consideration. She loves Shakespeare, he knows that much, and honestly a lot of the names of women in his plays would sound right between those names, but the beauty of getting to choose is a little more meaningful than just what sounds good.

"How about Viola?" He suggests after some thought, "like in Twelfth Night?"

Somebody strong and adaptable, two of the qualities he respects most in her. Plus he suspects Nancy loves that idealism in doing what's "right" instead of messing with people's lives just to make her own station better.

[stauncherhearted]

"Nancy Viola Bellrose." Nancy says it with a smile on her face. Twelfth Night had always been one of her favorites. Or, She's The Man. "It sounds like the name of some dreamy maiden." Which is to say, she likes it.

No, she loves it.

"Oh my gods- Eames- Thank you. I love that name so much. I can't wait to use it, I really can't!" it didn't occur to her that he now had something of great power: her name.

[falsify]

Eames gives her a bit of a wary look, anticipating another hug, but she likes the name at least. So it's easy enough to move forward from here.

"I'll need you to get me a few photos for ID during the week, but otherwise your birth certificate, national insurance number, and your passport should be ready in... Let's say three weeks." And it's amazing how many steps you can skip in other things when you have a passport. She'll be set to open a bank account, pay taxes... Register with a GP. All the fun stuff.

[stauncherhearted]

Nancy nods. "Done, I'll text you a few." SHe had some pretty great selfies that would work for a passport. Gosh, she was getting so many things it was amazing. She could actually go to a doctor. Willingly.

"November 21st is my birthday," she reminds him. "And we think I'm twenty." Just in case he forgot.

She pauses.

"I don't know any information about my parents, though. For a birth certificate..."