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primal-slayer · 3 months

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2002 Julian McMahon Centennial Charmed interview

JULIAN MCMAHON Quenching Julian's Fire XPosé Issue #76 By Steven Eramo

He's the demon who came in from the cold, saved by his love for a good witch. But now his days are numbered as Charmed's Julian McMahon tells Steven Eramo.

As the old saying goes, "All good things must come to an end," and that goes for bad things who are trying to be good as well. The 100th episode of Charmed, rather straightforwardly entitled "Centennial Charmed," sees the final reckoning for the reformed demon who's stolen the show for the past two and half years. Sometime in late January, Julian McMahon will make his last appeareace as Cole Turner, to the dismay of the many fans who campaigned to keep him on the show last spring.

It was the actor's own decision to leave, and it was not one he took lightly. "This past summer I began thinking that I needed to push myself more as an actor," he notes. "That sort of spun off into 'What else can I do as Cole?' I thought it was best that he go out with a bang as opposed to a whimper, you know? This character has been so good to me and producer Brad Kern and the show's writers have been just terrific that I felt I had a duty to leave them in a way that made them feel 'Wow, that was good. I wish Cole was were still around to write for.' That's a great place to be at with a character."

"After discussing things with Brad, we both thought that we would be drawing things out if we kept Cole around. I not only believe that it was unjust for my character, but also for the three girls. I didn't want to hold them back in any way. After all, Cole has dominated their characters' lives for the past three years. I also didn't want the viewers to get bored with him. So Brad and I decided that it was time for my character to move on and we more or less set in motion his demise from episode one to episode 12."

That plot arc brings to the end a rocky romance that began in the third season opener "The Honeymoon's Over," and has endured even more upsets than even Liz Hurley's lovelife. Phoebe Halliwell didn't find it hard to fall for devilishly handsome district attourney Cole Turner when he first walked into her life, but then she had no idea that Cole was, in fact, a half-human, half-demon assassin hired to dispose of the Charmed Ones by the evil Triad. Luckily for Phoebe and her sisters, Cole's human side fell in love with her, and after renouncing his former evil joined forces with Phoebe and her bewitching siblings in their fight against the forces of darkness.

"When my character was first introduced at the start of the third season it opened a new chapter for the show as well as the cast, producers, writers, etc," says McMahon. "It was one of those things where everyone was running on a 'this is all brand new for us' type of energy. My concern was whether or not this could sustain itself for the rest of the season let alone beyond that. I needn't have worried though. Little by little, Cole pulled away from being so oriented towards Phoebe and began to establish his own identity. He became almost an antithesis to the three girls. This continues into the fourth year when they were also bringing in a new sister, Paige, in the fold. Even then, I felt like the writers and Brad Kern [executive producer] continued to work really hard at maintaining my character's initiative and steadfastness. I owe them a lot."

They certainly gave McMahon challenging material to work with. Cole was finally stripped of his demonic powers in the fourth season episode "Black as Cole," and had barely adjusted to being fully human before he was taken over by the Source of All Evil. Yet even after he assumed his place as the new ruler of the Underworld, Cole's love for Phoebe was in no way diminished, as the small part of his human self that survived cared about her more than ever. As Cole struggled with his feelings for Phoebe he continued his reign of terror as the Source.

"As for the Source," comments the actor who had to bring off this dual role, "the most challenging part about playing him was that he had a dynamic to him unlike that of any other entity ever on Charmed. First of all he was in love and had a relationship with one of the witches. Second, here's a demon who is part human and experiencing inner conflicts that none of his kind had ever struggled with before. He had to find a way to cope with and understand what was happening to him while at the same time try to maintain his place in the world. Cole was originating this path if you will for a situation that had never been explored on this show. This gave me so much to experiment with as an actor, and I took it like a fish to water. I mean, who wouldn't want to play the Source. Give me a role like that any day."

Although he was all-powerful, one gift that the Source did not possess was that of second sight. For that he needed a beautiful demon called The Seer to advise him on matters pertaining to the future. First seen in the fourth season story "Charmed and Dangerous," this character was played with snake-like charm by Debbi Morgan. "Working with Debbi is fantastic," says McMahon. "She's not only a real professional but also a warmhearted and beautiful individual. Best of all, she laughs at my jokes. So that's a recipe for a great person in my life.

"With The Seer, you had this wonderful dichotomy of my character being omnipotent but having to work with an entity who was, in some ways, even more powerful than him. The relationship as originally concieved was, I felt, extremely well-written. There were so many levels to play with and Debbi and I had a lot of fun fleshing it out. We were quite lucky, too, in that the directors we worked with on the show gave us a fair bit of leeway to try a number of things. I just loved how the dynamic between our two characters turned out."

But there was only one woman for Cole, and after a severe case of cold feet, Phoebe finally agreed to marry him in the fourth season story "Marry Go Round." However, unknown to the bride-to-be, her marriage is not a holy one. Prior to the ceremony, The Seer told Cole that if he married Phoebe in a "black wedding" it would ensure that their future son would be even more powerful that he is. So that's exactly what he arranged to do. This episode is a particular favorite of Julian McMahon's.

"Once I picked up the script and started reading it, I couldn't put it down," recalls the actor. "I kept thinking, 'How are we going to get around this? How is this going to work? How do we manipulate events in order to get where these two people are finally married?' There were so many different things for Cole to do in it. The writers gave me such a wonderful expose of my character in which to work with. I really tried to push the boundaries as far as I could with it. Again I was fortunate that Chris Long directed this episode. He's directed Charmed before and the two of us get along very well. Whenever I come to him with a suggestion he takes the time to listen and think about what I've said. He give me the tools I need as an actor to do my job.

"I remember one scene in this episode where the Seer is explaining to Cole that he must conduct the ceremony as a black wedding. As she's doing so, I'm walking in a big circle around the cave that we're in. I made the camera look at every part of the set, which meant it had to be lit in a very specific way. That's not an easy thing to do on a TV show. If you're shooting a feature film then you have days to set things up, but on the small screen you're talking about having to do a big task in a short period of time. I went to Chris and asked 'Can I do this? I know it's going to be difficult but I think it'll create a certain level for the story that we need to start off at.' He agreed with me and was totally supportive. Talk about a great way to work."

Most brides and grooms promise to love each other "until death do us part," but that moment came sooner than anyone could have expected for the Turners. Before the season had even reached its end, Phoebe was forced to do the unthinkable and vanquish Cole. When the first rumors about the episode hit the 'Net, Cole's fans deluged Xposé with letters calling for a campaign to save the character, so what was McMahon's initial reaction when he received the script for "Long Live the Queen"?

"Brad actually called me beforehand and said, 'There's an episode coming up in which Cole is vanquished. I want you to know it has nothing to do with you leaving the show. We're just creating a story arc we feel is necessary.' I told Brad I wasn't worried at all and he said, 'I know, I just don't want you hearing from someone else that you're being killed off the show because it's not true. You'll be coming back in another story.'"

Sure enough, the fourth season finale "Witch Way Now?" revealed that Cole is still alive but fighting for his life in demon limbo. When Phoebe paid him a visit in this hellish netherworld he asked for her help to escape, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Instead he absorbed the powers of other vanquished demons in the show's fifth season's opener "A Witch's Tail," and returned to the real world on his own. Now stronger than ever, Cole told Phoebe that he planned to use his powers only for good, but it's a promise that the ex-Source found difficult to keep.

"Going into this [fifth] year we knew we had a certain amount of episodes in which to achieve a specific goal," explains McMahon. "That gave the writers a lot to write and the ability for me to play my character in a far different way than I had up to now. I started out the year being the most powerful demon there is but choosing not to use any of my powers. I don't know if the audiences noticed, but during the first five episodes, I tried to keep Cole's hands in his pockets the whole time. I knew that if he brought his hands out he might do something wicked with them. If that were to happen it would have been destructive to my character's ultimate goal, which was to maintain his relationship with Phoebe.

"Basically I took a page of the old fifties type movies when portraying Cole this season. I've tried to create a Cary Grant-type of gentleman who, circumstances notwithstanding, is a guy that audiences are still going to root for."

Having Cole back in her life was the last thing Phoebe wanted, and his promise to "be good" did little to change her mind. "With Phoebe it's the classic scenario of a woman scorned," says McMahon. "That's made Cole all the more challenging for me to portray this season because Alyssa has had to be kind of non-responsive to him. In some ways, his desire for them to be together tends to border on the psychotic. All of us have at one time or another been told 'no' about something and had to move on. Well, Cole can't move on, and as such he pushes himself to the edge. I especially enjoyed working on the episode "Y Tu Mummy Tambien" ["The Mummy's Tomb"], which happened to be directed by Chris Long. In that one Cole goes over the edge and there ain't no coming back."

McMahon shot his last scene as Cole on Monday, December 2, 2002. Not surprisingly, it was a bittersweet moment for him. "As scary as it is to get back out there in the world and book the next job I was excited about the prospect," he says. "On the flip side, I was really sad about leaving this cast and crew. I'm not the best at goodbyes, so it was tough to think that after being with these people for three years and twelve hours a day that I was leaving and didn't know when, or if, I'd see them again. I truly feel that I've been blessed being a part of Charmed."

When it comes to what he'd like to do next, McMahon has this to say. "I just want to do good work. It doesn't matter if it's on TV, the big screen or even onstage in a little theatre here in Santa Monica. I'd like to continue to challenge myself as an actor. That's what I'll be striving for." https://charmeddestined.proboards.com/thread/1041/julian-mcmahons-departure-charmed

#Charmed #charmed season 5 #julian mcmahon #cole turner #phoebe halliwell #alyssa milano #holly marie combs #rose mcgowan

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thegreymoon · 4 months

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Black Wedding

I'm so sick with some bullshit virus and trying to gauge whether I will feel better tomorrow so that I can get back to work, but. Ugh.

In the meantime, I will try to get back to the Black Wedding. It's been months, I think, since I put a pause on all drama-watching. Unfortunately, my concentration has been shot to hell. I've been finding it so hard to focus, even on the things I like, but I am going to try tonight.

This show doesn't deserve this. I'm only two episodes in, but it has been fantastic so far. So dark and atmospheric, they are doing a brilliant job with the characters and it is easily the best I've seen so far from any ex-Yu production (or at least the most tailored to my taste).

The goal is one full episode tonight! Let's see how far I make it.

***

This show is stupid gorgeous. So beautifully filmed.

***

LMAO, of course 🤣🤣

So typical of a Balkan mother. When doctors don't help, turn to mystics and wayward priests. Even though my family is Christian, they fully believe that a Muslim imam has the power to lift black magic. Even had one of my aunt's in-laws ask my mother to get her in touch with one, but mom sent her to one of our own scammers instead. Fun times.

***

LMAO, the communism didn't stick even when everyone was supposedly communist 🤣🤣 People may have been willing to renounce religion, but they were never willing to renounce superstition.

***

This went well 😅

***

Aww, they are friends.

But you just know that she is fucking that jerk cop. There is zero chance a Balkan show is going to pass up on the opportunity to illustrate how the rabid feminist is nevertheless gagging for that bad boy misogynistic dick 🙄

***

LMAO, I love her, she is such a queen (albeit with potentially terrible taste in men) 🤣🤣

***

Well, shit.

***

SHIT, SHIT, SHIT AND EVEN MORE SHIT.

HE'S UP AND AWAKE AND TALKING. YES, DOCTOR, WHAT DID YOU DO??

***

LMAO, so foul.

***

Anyway, yeah. A full episode in one sitting didn't happen. Continuing with the second half two days later 😢

***

WHAT HAS BEGUN

Anyway, I love this priest and I love Orthodox churches in general. They have good energy, even when the priests are criminals.

***

Oh? He's been excommunicated?

I knew I liked him.

***

Who?

Super creepy. Hoping for a witch.

***

She's so happy, this does not bode well.

That deranged pregnant girl has something to do with all this.

***

Yeah, this is bad. Very, very bad.

***

NOOOO, DON'T FOLLOW THE WITCH INTO THE MURKY DEEP WATER

***

IDK, she doesn't look particularly pregnant to me.

Anyway, yeah. He's going to die. Let's hope that's the worst that's going to happen to him.

***

Apparently not 🙄 I was so sure she was going to drown him.

Anyway, what is even the point of a devil-worshipping ritual if you don't get to sacrifice the mediocre dude who abandoned you to marry some city girl in the process. Disappointed.

#crna svadba #black wedding #bw spoilers #bw ep03

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somedaylazysomeday · 2 years

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Bodyguard (Part One)

Alpha-17 x fem!reader. Reader is an unwilling political aide to a controversial politician. Said politician irritated some dangerous people and needed an equally dangerous bodyguard. Enter Alpha.

Rating: This part is rated mature. The next part will have adult material in it. Minors DNI!

Word Count: 6,200

Warnings: obtuse politician, attempted shooting, transport crash, wilderness/cold survival, falling through ice, abandoned cabin tropes

Next | Masterlist

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"Senator, you do not seem to understand the danger in which you have placed yourself," the Jedi said. He had introduced himself as Mace Windu, a member of the Jedi Council. His dark eyes traveled to you and he added in his stern tone, "And the members of your staff."

Senator Julgum waved a careless hand. "What concern is it of mine if certain groups can't handle someone saying what must be said?"

"It should be a great concern," Master Windu insisted, "considering we have already intercepted a dozen threatening messages and an assassination attempt."

Immediately, Julgum's tone shifted from one of proud strength to one of whining fear. "Why are they targeting me? I am just a mouthpiece, the figurehead of a larger movement-"

"Yes, and they see their attempts to assassinate you, the figurehead, as a symbol of their own movement," the Jedi countered calmly. "We will do our best to ensure it does not happen, but there are no guarantees considering that you have left yourself in such a delicate position."

"What are my options?" Julgum asked.

"Limited, but they do exist," Master Windu said. "First, you could renounce your declaration in light of recent events-"

"Never," Julgum swore passionately. "My staff and I are fully dedicated to our ideals. We will not sacrifice them, even in exchange for ourselves."

You fought not to visibly react as a tide of revolted disbelief swept through you. You had been assigned to Julgum from the pool of Senatorial aides, largely due to the fact that there were no aides who shared his politics. If he thought you were going to sacrifice your life in exchange for a chance at rising through the ranks, he was sadly mistaken.

With effort, you managed to keep any of that from showing on your face, but you got the sense Master Windu knew it anyway. He subtly glanced at you before focusing his attention on Julgum, and - though he didn't smile - you felt like he was amused.

"With that in mind, I think our best option is to assign you and your team a bodyguard," Master Windu concluded.

"I suppose one of your Jedi may accompany me," Julgum said with a negligent wave of his hand.

You treated yourself to a slow blink as you processed the depth of Julgum's arrogance.

Master Windu seemed to share your disdain. His voice drier than you had heard it up to this point, he said, "Unfortunately, Senator Julgum, the Jedi are currently busy leading the war effort and planning the Republic's battle strategy. You will be assigned a clone trooper."

"A clone?" Julgum asked, sounding disappointed. He leaned in slightly towards the Jedi. "I know they're our men, but… I've seen the casualty numbers. Are they really any good?"

Master Windu's expression tightened almost imperceptibly. "Considering that your enemies will be living beings attacking one at a time rather than an overwhelmingly large army made up of droid soldiers, I think he'll hold his own."

"He?" you asked, speaking for the first time in an effort to cut off whatever inanity Julgum would spout next. "So you already have someone in mind?"

"Yes, I do. He's an ARC trooper and a captain. He normally lives on Kamino, but he'll accept the occasional mission. He's one of the few I trust to think so quickly in a civilian situation."

"Well, who is he?" Julgum asked impatiently.

"I just told you," Master Windu said coldly. "If he accepts the mission, he'll report to your office tomorrow, Senator. Until then, be careful."

And then the Jedi swept from the room, brown robes billowing behind him. You were left alone with Julgum, who fell into muttering about when exactly clone troopers had started being able to choose their assignments.

The next day, you were hard at work on a speech Julgum would give to affirm that he hadn't been frightened by the attempts on his life. It was one of your least favorite duties, but the sheer insanity of writing a speech about Julgum's dedication to the cause was faintly surreal when you knew that he wanted to go hide in one of his family's many safehouses until the votes for his cause had been counted.

As it turned out, the Julgum family had a habit of angering the public.

Go figure.

The door to the hallway opened, the frame filled with a fully armored trooper. He stepped inside without prompting, his voice disgruntled even through the modulation of the speakers in his helmet. "The least you could do is lock the door."

You donned your most sickeningly helpful voice. "Senator Julgum places a high importance on being accessible to his constituents."

"Does he place a high importance on staying alive?" the trooper asked. "If so, being accessible is the last thing he should focus on."

"Please feel free to pass your insight on to the Senator," you offered. "I'm sure he will take it under advisement. He will be with you in a moment."

"Of course he will," was the skeptical response. The trooper took off his helmet, nodding at you when you glanced at him in surprise. "Captain Alpha-17."

You introduced yourself in return, then went to get the captain access to Julgum, tucked away in his private inner office. The trooper gave you an appreciative nod as he walked in and closed the door behind him.

Thus began a period of wary companionship with Alpha-17… or just Alpha, as he preferred to be called.

The two of you ended up spending way too much time together, both assigned to the unpleasant senator and unable to refuse that service for various reasons. While Julgum delivered speeches that managed to be both inflammatory and self-congratulatory, you and Alpha worked to keep him safe and successful.

You had learned quite a bit about personal security from Alpha and he had reluctantly learned quite a bit about politics from you. The arguments that erupted between you two when you were trying to find a compromise that would keep Julgum safe without sacrificing his ability to keep in touch with his constituents - mostly the wealthy citizens of his home planet - had left you and Alpha with a decently deep understanding of each other.

The first time you had been surprised by Alpha came when shots rang out at one of Julgum’s speaking events. He had left the stage and was safely ensconced in a blaster-resistant holding area that had been specially installed for politicians. You and Alpha, however, were still in the wings. You were hidden from the crowd, but still within easy firing distance for an assassin, with or without a high-powered blaster rifle.

In an instant, you had found yourself knocked to the ground, slightly stunned by the way you had landed flat on your back. Just as you were starting to wonder if you had indeed been shot, a weight settled over you. You blinked up, feebly trying to extricate yourself, but a hand settled under your head.

“Were you hit?” a familiar voice demanded, modulated through helmet speakers.

It was Alpha. Of course it was.

You gathered your intelligence and took careful stock of yourself. Shock might have made you miss something, but you were reasonably sure that you were fine.

“No, I don’t think so,” you reported, still sounding dazed.

“Good,” Alpha told you, settling heavier on top of you. “Keep still. Julgum is safe in the back room with a trooper keeping watch. I have the Coruscant Guard searching for the assailant now. Until he’s captured, we’re just going to stay here.”

It was a good plan, and you were flattered that Alpha was actively risking his life to protect yours when his assignment had just been to keep Julgum safe. Simultaneously, you recognized how very bad it was that you were staying like this for such an extended time.

Somewhere in the last few weeks, you had started to trust Alpha, look forward to spending time with him. And now, with the weight of his body lying heavy on yours, you could admit that you found him attractive. Not just attractive, you realized suddenly, but nearly devastating.

Thankfully, Alpha took your attention away from the throbbing of your body by growling, “Can’t believe I’m doing all of this for a senator I can’t stand.”

Alpha’s head was slightly over your shoulder in an effort to better shield you, otherwise you would have stared into the visor of his helmet like you always did. Still, this position left the speakers of his helmet beside your ear, and you couldn’t complain about the sound of his voice emanating from such a close position.

You huffed out a laugh, looking up at the ceiling of the venue. “You think you’re the only one? I can’t wait until after this vote. Then maybe I’ll get a chance to work with literally anyone else.”

When he spoke again, Alpha sounded surprised. “You don’t support Julgum?”

“That’s the rudest thing you’ve ever said to me,” you told him, dropping the air of professionalism you had worked to keep since first being assigned to Julgum.

“Why are you risking your life for a cause you don’t believe in?” Alpha asked, starting to sound angry. You wished he wouldn’t - the way his roughened voice sounded in your ears made you want to start squirming under him.

“Because it’s the only way for me to move up in the Senate.” You sighed, trying to ignore the way the deep inhale pressed your breasts against his solid armor. “None of the aides wanted to work with Julgum. His policies are made for those with entrenched wealth, and those are the only people who support him. But he needed an aide and the department randomly assigned me to him. If I said no, I wouldn’t have been formally reprimanded, but I would have gotten myself blacklisted. No networking, no promotions, no opportunities.”

Alpha shook his head - you could feel the gentle motion of his helmet beside your face. “You’re better than that.”

“You’re the only one who thinks so,” you refuted. The smile you used to soften your own bluntness was wasted since he couldn’t see it, but it made you feel better.

“I’m sure,” Alpha said dryly.

“Well, doesn’t this look cozy?” another voice asked from above you. Your eyes darted over to find the visor of another clone trooper. This one was wearing armor that had been mostly painted red, the symbol of the Senate painted in the same shade on his sternum.

“Shut up, Fox,” Alpha told him, rolling off of you. “Have some respect for your elders.”

You had never thought you would be able to tell when a trooper rolled his eyes under the protection of a visor, but Alpha had taught you otherwise. Fox proved that you could use the skill on other troopers as well.

“You’re maybe two years older than me, vod,” Fox argued. “And I didn’t tell you we were clear.”

Alpha rose to his feet, moving with a liquid grace you never could have managed, especially not wearing the heavy plastoid plates that covered Alpha. “No, but you know that I would kick your shebs if you stopped to have a chat while there was an active assailant who hadn’t been apprehended.”

Fox nodded. “We got him. He’s on his way back to the Guard’s headquarters for questioning, but we’re pretty sure he was working alone. Looked like an amateur - nothing like the previous assassination attempt.”

Alpha helped you to your feet before glancing pointedly from you to Fox. He gave your name, then introduced Fox as, “Commander Fox, head of the Coruscant Guard.”

“Nice to meet you, sir,” you said politely. “Thank you for your work in tracking down the assailant. Amateur or not, he was dangerous. I hope none of your men were injured while capturing him?”

Fox stared at you hard enough that you felt it through the dark visor of his helmet. “...is she serious?”

The question clearly wasn’t meant for you, but you cut in before Alpha could answer. “Yes, I am serious, actually.”

Your back was to Alpha now and you heard a noise like he had just nodded, but you didn’t turn around to check. Instead, you kept your eyes fixed on Fox until he spoke. “No, ma’am, no one was hurt. Like I said, he was an amateur, so he was easy to catch.”

You had your doubts about that. Even if he hadn’t been a professional assassin, the assailant had fired off a shot that hit the stage close to where you had been standing. He knew how to aim and had proven that he was willing to shoot. Catching him wouldn’t have been easy, and you were grateful the Coruscant Guard had managed it with relatively little fuss.

“Or, more accurately, your men are very good at their jobs,” you mused. “Please pass our thanks along to them.”

“Our?” Fox repeated. “Whose thanks, exactly?”

“Well, mine and…” you trailed off. Given his political stance, Julgum’s thanks - even if he didn’t know they were being offered - may be considered insincere, if not outright offensive.

“And mine,” Alpha finished, saving you from the awkward silence that was looming. “Tell them that my ARCs couldn’t have done a better job.”

“I won’t lie to my men,” Fox told him.

Then Fox was stared at once more, this time by Alpha. “I don’t give false compliments. Why would I need to lie to the men? To make them feel good? No. It’s the truth. They did a good job and they should know that.”

“Yes, sir,” Fox agreed, giving a crisp salute to Alpha and nodding at you before turning on his heel.

Alpha glanced sideways at you before ushering you toward the room where Julgum was hiding. “Come on, little one. I’m sure we have a lot more work to do for our favorite senator.”

You let him push you along, secretly relishing the feeling of his hands against your back. Distantly, you wondered if he liked touching you, too. If only his hands weren’t encased in gloves…

But your attention was quickly drawn to more important matters. Julgum was shaken by the attempt on his life, but immediately announced his intention to continue on to the last section of scheduled appearances. The vote for his bill was coming up in a few weeks and he needed to drum up as much support as the galaxy would give if he had any hope of succeeding.

Did you especially want to travel around the Inner Rim, writing Julgum’s speeches and standing in the wings as he spoke in support of a bill you actively didn’t believe in? No, of course you didn’t. But it did mean nearly a week spent in extremely close quarters with Alpha. Maybe you could use that time to find out if he felt the same attraction to you as you did to him. If he did, you could act on it, get each other out of your system before the vote. After the results were announced, you two would part ways for good. Better to take this chance now.

Or, you reflected, this attraction could be a mental reaction to the danger of nearly getting shot. It could be situational and fleeting, a form of hero worship. But as Alpha immediately began planning for the necessary security measures on the trip, he paused to glance over at you, watching you steadily until you gave him a slight nod to assure him that you were fine. Your heart pounded from that miniscule interaction.

Yes, these feelings might be temporary. They may fade… But you had your doubts.

Senator Julgum's route took him through Bogden first. Bogden was a tricky planet for the Republic. While many planets had retained their original identities even after coming into contract with the Republic, Bogden was diverse in every way. Beings had filtered in from planets across the galaxy, as varied as Bogden's landscape.

And, to Julgum's way of thinking, that meant it was filled with potential voters who would agree with his position.

To be fair, he wasn't entirely wrong. Not many of Bogden's residents were from wealthy families, but there were a few. Julgum was doubtless hoping he could influence them to speak to their representatives and guide more votes toward his side.

So you were on a private transport in the lower atmosphere of Bogden. Julgum was in his quarters in the front of the ship, sitting just below his pilot. You and Alpha were in the back of the ship, working in the passenger bay. You were writing yet another speech while Alpha cleaned his weapons. The two of you were chatting idly while you both worked, the moment peaceful in its simplicity.

Then Alpha tensed. You glanced over at him "What's wrong?"

"We're taking a different path down to the surface than we planned," he said with a frown.

"I'm sure we just needed-"

Before you could finish guessing the reason for the deviation, the transport gave a lurch, dropping sharply before equalizing itself.

"Brace yourself," Alpha ordered.

"What's going on?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm going to find out." Alpha stood, covering the darkly intent look on his face by putting on his helmet. He had taken only a few steps toward the cockpit when the transport lurched again.

This time, the drop went unchecked, the red emergency lights switching on automatically. Your frantic brain tried to remember the threshold for that. Was it five hundred feet? A thousand? Either way, it didn't bode well for you, and you clung to the table you had been drafting the speech on.

The next thing you knew, you were trying to open your eyes. They were working just fine, as far as you knew, but every time you had them open for more than a few moments, your vision would go white until you blinked a dozen times.

"What happened?" you tried to ask. All that came out was an inarticulate noise that managed to sound vaguely curious, but it was effective all the same.

Alpha's helmet appeared in your field of vision, seemingly immune to the white swirling that dominated most of what you could see.

"You're awake. Good."

You tried to ask for more clarification, but all that came out was another simple noise.

“Stay awake,” Alpha instructed. You were already doubtful of your ability to do that in such a dark, cozy space, but a sudden motion cut short any urge to disappear back into the darkness.

You got a sense of movement, then Alpha ducked his head toward you slightly. You stared up at his helmet, wishing inanely that he had taken it off because, for some reason, your mind had determined that he was going to kiss you.

Instead, he ducked through a large hole in the durasteel wall of your transport and into the freezing cold.

You blinked as you stared around. It was dark here, and the part of your brain that was still processing information informed you that the entire southern half of Bogden was experiencing the planet’s winter, as well as a period of prolonged darkness. Snow wasn’t uncommon, and you were being pelted with flakes. It was only then that you realized the white specks in your vision hadn’t been due to some damage, but because it was snowing so heavily that flurries had even been making their way through the damaged hull of the transport.

“Wait, Alpha,” you demanded, struggling to sit up in his arms. You didn’t make much headway until he obligingly pulled you up slightly. “What about Julgum? And the pilot? We can’t leave them there!”

“We aren’t leaving anyone anywhere,” Alpha reassured you. “I checked the wreckage. There’s no sign of them, living or not. Looks like they got out okay and went searching for shelter. The same thing we’re doing, by the way.”

That was comforting, if only slightly. But you had fixated on one part of his explanation: “Wreckage?”

“We were shot down,” Alpha told you grimly. “The transport is in pretty bad shape. We’re lucky everyone survived. Really lucky.”

That was undoubtedly true, but you couldn’t claim to feel very lucky as Alpha trudged through the snow-covered landscape of Bogden.

In the vein of being unlucky… You eventually built enough courage to ask, “How do you know where you’re going?”

"I don't."

Alpha's tone was so steady and sure of himself that you found it immediately comforting, though that changed when the words processed fully.

"I'm sorry, what?" you asked, sitting a little more tensely.

Alpha shrugged, and that movement managed to underscore the fact that he was carrying you. "My HUD was damaged in the crash. It only has minimal power left, and I already used most of that on the med-scanner."

"Are you hurt?" you demanded, suddenly terrified.

Alpha's helmet tilted down at you. "No, I was wearing full armor. But you weren't. I had to make sure you didn't have any internal injuries."

"You were worried about me?" you asked, touched by the idea that he would divert so much power for your sake.

With a shrug, Alpha said, "It's my job."

And you came crashing back down from whatever half-concussed high you had been floating on.

Of course it was his job. He had been hired to protect Senator Julgum - and, by extension, you - in a situation exactly like this one. And you had been hired to help assist your assigned senator in any way possible. The idea of indulging in some kind of workplace romance was ridiculous, especially given how serious your current predicament was. This wasn't some trashy holonovel.

You rested your hand on Alpha's forearm where it was wrapped around your waist. "I think you should put me down."

He kept walking like you hadn't spoken. "We can move faster this way."

"Faster, but not safer," you countered. "Without your HUD analyzing the terrain, we don't know what you're walking on. In this weather, it's possible that we're standing on a snowbank as high as you are tall and a layer of ice is the only thing supporting us."

Alpha didn't stop, but the silence was thoughtful. Eventually, he slowed and set you gently onto your feet.

You regretted your choice as soon as your shoes sank into the thick blanket of snow covering the ground. The icy chill of the wind bit into your skin, and you realized just how much heat Alpha had provided, even if it was only seeping out from between the gaps in his armor.

"Are you sure you don't want me to carry you?" Alpha asked, reading your face or your hesitation or something else you didn't even know could give you away.

You shook your head. "Want me to go first or follow you?"

There were times when you would have given a lot to see Alpha's face when you said things. This was one of them. Instead, you had to content yourself with the way his helmet stayed pointed in your direction for an extended moment before moving in the slightest shake. He didn't bother to answer you, just kept walking and let you trail behind him.

There were clear benefits to walking this way. You did your best to step in Alpha's footprints, minimizing your contact with the snow. Also, if you walked close enough, his broad body served as a windbreak.

Of course, you couldn't see anything around him and had no idea where you were going. So, when the ground disappeared from under Alpha's feet, you were taken completely off-guard.

He didn't fall far, but the same ground started to tip alarmingly under your feet. You took a step back, but the ground broke and you let out a short scream.

Instant, piercing cold shot up your legs, emanating from everything below mid-thigh. After the single instant when you managed to catch yourself, you leaned backward uncontrollably, arms pinwheeling as you tried to keep your balance. It didn't work.

Your foot hit what you presumed was a piece of ice broken into a smooth plane behind you, slid just as easily as you would have expected, and landed you up to your shoulders in icy cold water. Immediately, your clothing was soaked, the frigid fabric pressed directly against your skin.

While you were still trying to breathe past the panicked thudding of your heart in your chest, a hand wrapped around your arm, pulling you to your feet and further.

You were back in Alpha's arms as he determinedly made his way back onto the ice of what you now realized was a frozen pond.

Or was it?

You clutched at Alpha's chest plate. "Wait! What if we're walking out over deeper water? If we break through again…"

"Calm down, little one," Alpha soothed. "I'm using the last of my HUD's power to find shelter and plot a safe path there."

You trusted Alpha, but you couldn't stop staring out ahead of you, uselessly scanning the dark lack of path ahead like you would be able to see any danger. Alpha sighed, switching on a light attached to his helmet. It threw a thin beam over the falling snow and sparkling white of your path, just as devoid of information as the darkness had been.

Finally, the lights on his helmet flickered once… twice… and went dark. He lowered his face toward yours. “I can’t see anything now. Take the helmet off for me.”

You obliged, though the movements were slow and clumsy. Eventually, you worked out that you needed to break the seal between the base of the helmet and the neck of Alpha’s body glove.

When the helmet was safely cradled in your hands, Alpha took a deep breath of the cold air. His hair was rumpled, and you distantly recognized that this was the longest you had ever seen him wear it. He let out the breath in a sigh, the mist spilling from his lips like smoke, curling away into the night air. You could only barely see it with the moonlight filtered through the snow and heavy clouds, but you saw enough to know that you would remember the sight for the rest of your life.

“The ground is solid here,” Alpha explained, glancing down at you intermittently. “There’s a cabin in the forest ahead. Looks abandoned, but it’ll be shelter. If we’re lucky, the last person inside may have left some supplies.”

He didn't say what would happen if they hadn't, but you could read between the lines. If the cabin was just an empty shelter, it was better than nothing, but things could still end poorly. It was bitterly cold and the snow hadn't slowed. Alpha wasn't visibly reacting to it, but he had fallen in the water just like you had.

But you wouldn't help anything by giving those particular thoughts aloud, so you only asked, "Your HUD can identify abandoned buildings?"

"No heat signatures," he explained simply, blinking rapidly in an attempt to dislodge a large clump of snowflakes that had landed on his eyelashes.

"Hey- stop blinking for a second," you instructed. Alpha obliged, glancing down at you. Moving slowly enough that he could stop you if he wanted to, you reached up and gently brushed the snow from his lashes. "Better?"

Alpha didn't answer, his dark eyes locked on yours. The steady sound of his boots crunching through the snow matched the increased speed of your breathing. Tension stretched between the two of you, thick and sweet and glorious.

But just as you decided you had to make a move or risk combustion, Alpha set you back down on your feet. You blinked up at him, but he was already moving past you.

"I'm going to go check things out," he told you. "Stay there."

And then he left you shivering in the snow. Your sopping clothes had started to freeze, forming a thin layer of ice that was actually working to block the wind.

To be fair, a considerable amount of heat was probably coming from your embarrassment. Alpha was trying to do his job and you had repaid him by picking snow off his face and staring at him like a psychopath.

…But, also, Alpha had let you do those things. You knew he had no qualms about telling people off if they were irritating him. You had seen him do it to his brothers, to civilians outside of the Senate's political hierarchy, even to one of the other senator's interns.

Maybe Alpha wasn't as distantly professional as he pretended to be.

You were broken out of your reverie when Alpha reappeared in the doorway. He looked quietly satisfied and you quirked your brows at him.

"I'm guessing it's safe?"

"Better than that," Alpha said, gently pulling you inside. "It's fully stocked."

As the door closed behind you, he lit a lantern sitting on a small table in the main room and you looked around curiously. It was clearly a hunting cabin of some kind, sparse and utilitarian, but clean and - as Alpha had said - fully stocked.

The captain was already kneeling at the fireplace, working to light the logs he had placed inside, presumably taken from the larger pile in the corner. There was already a small heap of blankets lying beside him, and you suddenly realized just how cold you were.

Your suddenly chattering teeth must have been louder than you thought, because he glanced back over his shoulder with a knowing nod. "You'll be colder while you thaw out. The feeling is coming back to your skin and it's telling you how cold you were."

You didn't answer. It seemed like saying anything would have been a risk to the tip of your tongue.

Alpha turned back to the fire, his shoulders suddenly stiff. "You need to take off those clothes. The fabric is doing you more harm than good at this point."

Your shoulders also went stiff. "Is there anything to change into?"

"No. That's why I grabbed these blankets," Alpha explained, handing them to you without looking.

You grimaced as you accepted the blankets, but you knew he was right. You also knew that there wouldn't be a better time than when he was distracted with the fire.

You turned away, shucking off the frozen material as quickly as you could. For a moment, you debated keeping your underclothes on, but decided against it. They were as wet as your clothes. They wouldn't do you any good and would just leave you colder.

When you were fully bare, you wrapped yourself in one blanket, tucking it tightly around yourself until it formed a sort of dress covering everything from your armpits down. You wrapped another around your shoulders and felt much better instantly.

By that point, Alpha had coaxed the fire to life and took a step back, ushering you toward the fire.

"There are still plenty of blankets left," you told him, holding out the extras. "Your clothes are almost as wet as mine are."

Alpha accepted the blankets, but shook his head at the same time. "My body glove is designed to be semi-waterproof and dry quickly. I'll be fine."

As you watched, he began to arrange the blankets on the floor in front of the fireplace. The bottom one was rough and stubbly, more of a large towel than anything, but the blankets gradually got nicer as they reached the point where they would touch your skin.

"Lay down," Alpha told you, gesturing to the impromptu sleeping mat with its mounds of blankets. "You'll warm up in no time."

"What about you?" you asked, not moving.

"I told you, my body glove-"

"How well can it dry with you still wearing your armor?" you interrupted.

Alpha sighed. "Fine. I'll take off my armor if you'll lay down."

Obligingly, you settled into the comfortable spot Alpha had created for you. You were facing toward the fire, trying to offer him the same privacy he had given you, but that didn't stop your ability to hear him.

Even over the crackling of the flames, you could hear as Alpha unfastened the buckle to each plate of his armor and slid it off. He stacked it all neatly somewhere in the room, and you heard the soft fwump of his kama as the stiff material of the skirt-like garment hit the floor.

When he finally came back toward you, you had been lulled into a state of near sleep. The fire was throwing waves of heat over your body. You couldn't quite feel it through the blankets, but it felt nice on your face. Alpha blocked that heat for a moment as he settled your clothes in front of the fire.

"How are you still shivering?" Alpha asked gruffly.

"I'm not sure," you chanced saying through your teeth. "I just can't get warm."

"We can try moving you closer to the fire," Alpha suggested, but you shook your head.

"Any closer and I'd risk lighting the blankets on fire."

"Then what? More blankets? Or I could move them closer to you."

Alpha moved behind you to shuffle the blankets forward. You grabbed at his hand, intending to tell him you were fine, but you let out a quiet, unmistakably blissful sigh instead.

"You're warmer than the blankets," you explained when Alpha gave you a concerned look.

His face didn't change, but he moved away slightly and you cursed yourself for making him uncomfortable. But then he came back, settling on the mat behind you and pushing closer until he was cradling your body with his.

You groaned aloud as Alpha's arm draped over your hip. You were awash in warmth from having him at your back and the fire in front of you. As you soaked in the feeling of finally being warm enough, the tension left your muscles and you relaxed into the blankets that were between your body and the floor.

"Better?" Alpha asked, his deep voice rumbling through his chest and your back at the same time.

"Much, thanks to you," you admitted. "You saved my life."

He grunted noncommittally behind you, but you weren't willing to let his disbelief stand. With some twisting and an inelegant wiggle, you turned around to face him without losing any of your blankets. Your face ended up stunningly, breathtakingly, almost comically close to his, but you didn't move back. Neither did he.

"I'm serious, Alpha," you told him sternly, despite the smile you were wearing. "I would have died in that transport and again in that water… and again if I couldn't find this cabin, actually. Thank you for saving my life."

"If I let you freeze to death, it would put a mark on my perfect mission record," Alpha told you, but something about the set of his jaw told you it was a joke.

"Thank you anyway," you said, rolling your eyes. When you were looking at him once again, his eyes were just drifting back up to yours.

Had he been staring at your lips?

The smile melted away from your face as you studied him from such a short distance away. He had more than a few scars and there was a stern line between his brows, but he was undeniably handsome.

You were so close to him that you didn't have to move, necessarily, just tilt your head the slightest bit…

Gently, your lips brushed his and you froze. He didn't move, and you kissed him once more, even softer than the last. When he didn't respond, you started to pull back, trailing your fingers over his jaw as you moved.

Alpha's hand caught your wrist before you could completely cut contact with his skin, pressing your fingers back where they had been. With your thumb rubbing slowly over his skin to feel his stubble, you stared up at him.

In a hushed voice, you told him, "Alpha, if you're not okay with this, I'll stop. Just tell me."

Alpha's fingers tightened just a fraction. "I'm fine with this. Kriff, am I fine with it. But I don't think you know what you're doing."

"Excuse me?" you asked, fighting the bubble of indignation that had risen in your chest.

"Do you think your sudden interest in me might be because you almost just died?" he asked dryly.

"It isn't sudden," you argued. "I've wanted to do this since the attack on Julgum's speech."

"Another threat to your life," Alpha reminded knowingly.

You scoffed. "Do you really think I wouldn't have worked through a situational attraction like that by now?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Alpha asked, clearly getting frustrated. "You natties are delicate. Minds, bodies, all of it."

"I'm not as delicate as you seem to think," you told him, bringing your free hand up to place it on his pec. "Will you trust me to know my own mind?"

For the first time since you had met him, Alpha seemed to be going through some sort of internal conflict. To help ease him along, you wiggled your way closer to him, working until you were pressed together from the chest down.

"Fine," he said eventually. "I trust you."

You smiled at him, but quickly dropped the expression in favor of a surprised sound as Alpha surged forward, slanting his mouth over yours.

---

A/N - those of you who are coming over from my main blog know all about my obsession with Alpha-17. For anyone who doesn't know anything about him, he's a fantastic grump of a character.

Smut in the second part!

#star wars #star wars the clone wars #star wars fanfiction #star wars reader insert #star wars legends #alpha 17 #alpha 17 x reader #alpha 17 x you #mature #spicy #mace windu #reader insert

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discoveringsandra · 3 years

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Characters I project my transness on: Shrek's Fiona

GENERAL SPOILER ALERT FOR THE SHREK MOVIE FRANCHISE

A subversion af the damsel in distress trope, Fiona isn't an ordinary princess. She burps, kicks ass and is generally disappointed by actual princes.

In the first movie, she transformed into an ogre by night. She saw this as a curse until she learned to love both another ogre and this side of herself. Even if she hasn't always looked like an ogre, she ends up renouncing to normative beauty and living as one.

Then, she spends the second film trying to convince her parents to love both her husband and her identity, while his father tries to get her to fit into the fairy tale princess role she was meant to have. It turns out her father was just preventing her from risking his own position as human-looking king, since marrying her with a prince was part of the deal he made with a fairy when he was a toad (I can't blame him for wanting to make Julie Andrews his queen, though).

This film has many queer experience parallels, with both Fiona's parents and Far Far Away's elitist society being outraged by her life choices, as well as the father projecting his own anxieties about fitting in this society on to his daughter. I would say that there are a couple of kind of queerphobic jokes, one about the Big Bad Wolf being gender-confused (which is more or less okay since it comes from the main villain) and a really weird one on pinocchio wearing women's underwear (which is not okay since he is a child and they are mockingly confronting him on this to use his elongated nose).

Going back to our favourite ogre princess, the plot of the third movie has her staying back home while Shrek goes to find a heir for the kingdom's throne and overcome his parenthood anxiety. However, the Charming Prince she was supposed to marry on the second movie comes back and takes the kingdom during her baby shower. We get to see her starting a princesses' escape and fight evil goons while being pregnant, but I think se was kind of separated from the main plot so Shrek could come to her rescue again at the end, which is why this is the least interesting movie in the franchise.

The fourth movie does the "Its a Wonderful Life" thing where an unsatisfied Shrek goes to an alternate reality in which he has never been born. The version of Fiona we see there is a warrior, the leader of the ogre resistance to Rumpelstilskin tyrannical rule. She rescued herself from the tower she was locked in in the first film and it's implied she still becomes human by day and does some reconnaisance, but she is fully accepted among the ogres. Although she's got her own revolution going on, her whole arc is learning to trust Shrek so he can learn to not give her for granted once he comes back to his reality, which kind of undermines the whole revolutionary leader thing.

Still, drawing my own transgender parallel, the difference between this two realities in how ogres are treated can be seen as the difference in how real world countries treat the LGBTQ+ community. Main timeline Shrek and Fiona are more or less respected because they had a chance to fight for their rights as well as the privilege given to Fiona for being a princess. Resistance leader Fiona never had a chance to convince her powerful parents to respect her identity as an ogre because they lost their kingdom to Rumpelstilskin, who then started hunting down ogres, forcing them into hiding away from the rest of society. That's the present many queer people around the world have to live, the past those who live free can't forget and the possible future we'll never stop fearing.

This took a pretty dark turn so let's ask ourselves "what if Fiona was actually trans?" Well, if Fiona was a transgender male ogre, the plot would be essentially the same except the pregnancy in the third movie would be replaced by an adoption waiting list and the transformation in the second movie would be a metaphor for detransitioning out of family pressure. Also, male ogre Fiona (Finn?) would wear lumberjack shirts and his alternate reality version would cosplay Braveheart.

If Fiona was a transgender female ogre, though, the plot would be radically different. I think she would still dress as a princess when she was in human male form and there would be jokes similars to those on the Ugly Stepsister (oh, I forgot about her and her deep voice, she's "ugly" because she's got masculine traits, so funny 😒) but with some sort of catharsis once she becomes permanently an ogress. I guess Farquad would be extra rude to her but she would still think she had to marry him to break the curse, then Shrek confesses her love, enter the dragon and I'm a believer. I guess Prince Charming would still try to marry a remasculinized Fiona in the second film (come on, he's a queer coded villain) and, for sure, the king would still try to fool her to do it. The third and fourth movie wouldn't change much, as Fiona's past human form is irrelevant in the third and she never appears in human form in the fourth. Maybe her daylight human male form would be a more obvious parallel of how trans women have to go on boymode to survive.

To finish this already too long tirade, I just want to add that the idea of Fiona's true form seems to be fluid. Had the hero of the story been a human peasant, she would probably still stay a pretty normative princess, even if he accepted her as an ogre, like a gender reversed Beauty and the Beast. I love that they didn't go for that ending.

#characters i project my transness on #princess fiona #shrek #transgender #trans #queer #I didn't even mention donkey #lord farquaad #far far away #rumplestiltskin #prince charming #fairy godmother #big bad wolf #Pinocchio #Ugly Stepsister #Shrek as a coming out movie #I think I spent too much time on this one

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thefirstknife · 3 years

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Born of Wrath - Ruins of Wrath

I want to elaborate on this post because I think it's important how the whole boss area is set up.

First of all, the whole Shattered Realm this week feels different. It's just a vibe and some aspects of the whole area. But the boss room is definitely the most interesting.

It's in a Hive warship and the centerpiece of the room is something like an elevated podium from which you have a good view towards the big Taken ball in a strange device hovering in the air. This was shown during the reveal trailer as well.

The rest (with pictures even!) under the read more:

This is the same device located in the Shrine of Oryx:

It almost appears like the one in the Shattered Realm is positioned to look into the Shrine of Oryx from above. This structure, btw, is a communication device that the Hive on the Moon used to talk to Oryx. Now, obviously, no longer used to talk to Oryx and instead, they most likely use it to talk to Xivu Arath. This would also make sense as the Shattered Realm is Xivu's domain. That room is a place from which the Hive in the ascendant plane can communicate with the Hive in the Hellmouth, vice-versa and beyond. Presumably.

And of course, there's the elephant in the room.

A strange dark crystal bound with chains overlooking the Shrine communication device structure. I'm not the only one to be unnerved by this, nor am I the only one to have the thought that this is Osiris' prison. A place where real Osiris is suspended in some sort of hellish Hive version of cryo. The chains are what really sell it to me. If this were bigger, I'd probably say it some sort of a Hive creature being held here for some future boss fight, but the size just doesn't fit.

Furthermore, I've said a few times now, but I am beginning to suspect that Xivu Arath and Savathun are not really the enemies they're trying to tell us they are. It's important to know that the Hive have a very strange and utterly alien social structure. To them, murder and torture are expressions of love. They believe that this is what gives them strength so if you kill someone a lot, it means you love them a lot because you're helping them grow stronger.

Of course, Savathun is legitimately an exile to the Hive. She has practiced heresies. Goes without saying. The problem is that we kinda took her word for a fact that she is being hunted by her sister while not really thinking about how we have no confirmation of this from the other side. We don't know what Xivu thinks. Is she tolerating her sister's heresies for a grander plan? It wouldn't be the first time that Savathun is scheming in order to strengthen the Hive. Xivu knows her sister. I am finding it harder and harder to accept that Xivu would simply hunt her down on behalf of the Black Fleet without thinking it through.

After all, their last known interaction was Savathun preparing Torobatl for Xivu's invasion. They were on good terms. Savathun helped Xivu to obliterate the Cabal. And what was the whole plan with Osiris if not Savathun preparing OUR system for Xivu's invasion? These two are mirrors of each other, but with slightly different execution due to the fact that humanity has something the Cabal do not: Light. So obviously, infiltrating the Guardians required a more careful and insidious plan.

I believe this plan started a long time ago, but was finally fully put in motion, you guessed it, in Immolant. In Immolant, Osiris is exposed to the whispers of Xivu Arath, is drawn out to fight her and is eventually stripped off his Light BUT he is left alive.

There are two points I have to mention that do not align with what we know from Immolant (and Immolant is the most reliable source out of them all):

1. Savathun's speech from week 1 - specifically, the cutscene. Quote: “I found a form more pleasing to your eyes. Osiris was lost. Lightless. I saved him from Xivu Arath and assumed his shape.” This is a lie. Savathun did not save him from Xivu: Sagira did. Sagira's sacrifice is what pushed Xivu's influence away: "Blinding Light erupts from Sagira's core as she splits apart. A wave of Light surges and tears across the chasm. Her sacrifice cleanses every trace of Xivu Arath's presence. The sigil: erased. The cryptolith that supported her projection: destroyed." 2. Page 3 of the new lore book Ripples (still not on Ishtar as of writing this so I'm linking to my post with the relevant bit) - For easier reading:

"Savathun was weak to allow their deaths. To cede ground to the Celebrant; to Guardians." - This is not what happened. Xivu Arath lured Osiris to the Moon, Xivu Arath spoke to Osiris, goaded him into killing everyone and LAUGHED while he did so, because Osiris' rampage gave her tithe. Not only that, but Immolant describes the Celebrant carving a ritual to drain Osiris' Light away and let him die. The Celebrant then leaves. So it wasn't Savathun who ceded any ground.

"The Celebrant steps forward. A massive cleaver dangles from its hand, weightless. The beast carves a rune into the stone on either side of Osiris, its eyes locked with his. It nods to him, and then turns to the sigil.

"All tithes to Xivu Arath. War Dominant. Endless." Its tone is soft rasp and soot."

And:

"The Celebrant drives its sword into the cliffside stone above Osiris's head. The cryptolith erupts in neon flare.

"Die well, Osiris." The Celebrant bows and withdraws from sight into Luna's depths.

Wisps of Light hemorrhage through his skin, trimmed in blood and drawn around the blade embedded above him as if it were a nostepinne spike."

This is very odd. There's a lot of inconsistency and lying going on. Hell, Xivu didn't even take Osiris' Light at all. The attempt was made but Sagira made sure the ritual isn't finished by sacrificing herself. Kelgorath was lied to, both by Savathun AND Xivu Arath to whom he pledged himself (and died for in the first mission during Season of the Lost: Kelgorath was the Wrathborn we fight just before we enter the portal to the Mara & Osiris cutscene).

This, to me, implies that they're in on this together. It's important to note that when it came to the Cabal, everyone thought that Umun'Arath was being influenced by Xivu, but it was actually Savathun doing it on Xivu's behalf. It is possible that all the voices Osiris was hearing were actually also coming from Savathun on Xivu's behalf. But if that was the case, then Kelgorath wouldn't have felt the need to renounce Savathun because she was the one who helped Xivu, instead of "ceding ground" as he claims. This inconsistency makes me believe that Savathun's and Xivu's courts don't really know the full scope and details of their mutual plan. The Hive sisters are literally lying to their own people for the benefit of the plan.

We only have Savathun speaking to us, but never Xivu Arath. What are her thoughts on all of this? What are her thoughts on Savathun? Is she really hunting Savathun at all? Obviously, Xivu would know that Savathun will most likely betray her, but if Savathun lays down the ground work for Xivu's invasion (like on Torobatl), why would she care? She knows her scheming sister well enough. As long as there's war, Xivu will be fed her tithe, making herself stronger and stronger. Savathun's schemes are benefitting her.

Which leads me back to the chained crystal in Shattered Realm.

Savathun's bargaining chip, Osiris. Where is he? Who is looking after this most valuable prisoner while she's trapped in her own crystal? Who would she trust to make sure he stays bound until the time is right? Who has the power to keep him bound while she's playing the game on the other side?

Well, it's Xivu Arath of course. So it would not surprise me for this crystal to really be him, bound and chained in Xivu's domain, under her watchful eye and kept in place by her power.

And, of course, where did we find "Osiris" on the Moon when we went to rescue him? In the Shrine of Oryx. The same place that the chained crystal is located in, on the other side, looking down to the Shrine from the ascendant plane.

I didn't mention it until now, but the post's title is a reference to both Immolant and Shattered Realm. "Born of Wrath" is the name of the first chapter of Immolant pt. 2, where Osiris first encounters the cryptolith, visions and voices of Xivu and gives her tithe. It would be fitting if Osiris' wrath that was "born" in that moment led to his "ruin" and eventual imprisonment in the "Ruins of Wrath."

I am looking WAY too hard into this, but it really isn't a Destiny lore analysis unless I'm a little unhinged. :)

#destiny 2 #xivu arath #shattered realm #savathun #osiris #lore vibing #long post #xivu pspspsps speak to us #bestie please answer my calls i have questions

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mrsseverussnape · 3 years

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Love Is You - chapter 3

a/n: I dunno why i am posting these literally middle of the night everytime but here we go again💁🏼‍♀️

Tomorrow there would be the divorce suit at the Ministry. Scarlett has become worse both mentally and physically till this day. So Carina had to write Leonidas couple of days after their mum told her about the situation because she wasn’t able to help and control both of their parents and work at the same time. Leo was shaken by the news but immediately took a leave from work and came to London from New York to stay with his mum for a week. His mother was his favourite person in the whole wide world and seeing her so down broke his heart into pieces. He would not be able to fully forgive his dad ever. And after that one week, Scarlett would live with Carina at Hogwarts for a while until she was feeling better.

"Mum it is enough wine for tonight, stop please." Leo took the wine glass and the bottle away from Scarlett. "I don't want you to be hangover tomorrow."

"It's just my 5th glass, give it back Leo."

"No alcohol for you anymore, you drink too much lately but not eating anything!"

"That's how i cope! It makes my mind blurry so i stop thinking about the situation over and over again!" She covered her face with her hands and started to cry who knows how many times today.

She was crying almost all day everyday since she found out about the cheating. That was heart breaking for the twins and Scarlett's parents; Ricardus and Aurelia. The moment Ricardus found about it, he went to find Sirius before anyone could stop him and Merlin knows what he did. Sirius was like a son to him but no one could hurt his princess and if someone does, they need to pay the price.

Leo hugged his mum tightly and kissed her tear-stained cheek. He adored his mother so much and he couldn't stand to see her in this condition.

"Let’s take you to the bed mum, you should rest for tomorrow."

She nodded lightly; she was extremely tired because of lack of sleeping so Scarlett let Leo to escort her to her bedroom without putting a fist. Leo laid her down on her bed carefully and tucked her like she did to him when he was little.

"I love you mum, have a good night. Call out to me if you need anything."

"Love you too baby, night..." She mumbled while already giving up to sleep.

The court was going to start at 10 o'clock so they had to be at the Ministry around 9:30. Scarlett was up early in the morning since she could only sleep for only 2-3 hours. She took a hot shower and started to get ready unwillingly. She looked at herself in the mirror for the first time in days. Scarlett felt like she got older in such a short time. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying endlessly and she had dark circles around them from lack of sleeping, she has lost couple of pounds already because she was not eating at all but having alcohol nonstop. "That's not me..." She mumbled to herself and looked through her closet. Then she picked a formal black dress, did her hair, and put her signature red lipstick on. She was trying to look at least decent even she had no will to do anything at all but maybe the outfit would give her some power.

2 hours later Scarlett and the twins were sitting at the ministry and waiting for their turn at the court. Scarlett was so nervous and scratching her hands like she always did when she was under stress; she wasn’t aware but she has made them bleed ever so slightly. After a while Sirius showed up too. He wasn't looking any better than Scarlett and maybe even worse appearance wise. He has put his hair in a messy bun and his clothes were in need of ironing. The moment he noticed them, Sirius immediately made his way to Scarlett but she was trying her best not to look at him.

"Scar we can renounce this court, i don't want to divorce. I love you..."

He tried to fall at Scarlett's feet, but his son made him to stand still before he could do it.

"Dad, stop it please. It is already hard for her, don't make it harder." Leo said firmly.

"Do you want us to divorce, Leonidas!?"

"That's the right thing after what you have done. Maybe you should have thought before act mindlessly. Now leave mum alone."

Sirius was about to respond but Carina acted faster.

"Dad, Leo, it is not the right place or time to argue. Stop it." Carina said with a sigh.

Couple of minutes later, the worker called out their names. Scarlett stood up and walked to the courtroom’s door, but she stopped at the doorsill. She knew if she took one more step, she wouldn't be able to change her mind anymore but she took a deep breath and walked in. Half an hour later the court has ended, they were divorced now, 26 years of marriage was ended in a heartbeat. Scarlett felt numb say the least, she was hearing her kids talking to her and seeing them moving around but couldn't react to any of them. It was like a nightmare that you cannot wake up from.

"Mum? Mum!?" Carina shook her shoulder lightly to gain her attention.

"Yes yes, let’s get out of here..." Scarlett mumbled and walked out of the Law Department.

Leo was escorting Sirius out even they had an argument before the court. It was the first time he saw his dad crying helplessly and being devastated that much. Leo was still upset with him but overall, he was his dad and he couldn't help himself but felt bad for him too. Leo knew how much he loved his wife and adored her, because of that the thing he has done was so hard to believe for anyone who knows them.

"Please tell me all of this is not real and just a bad dream son, please..."

Leo didn't answer, just rubbed Sirius's back to calm him down. Sirius took off a cigarette out of his pocket and lighted it, apparently he has started to smoke again.

"You can't smoke inside, sir. You need to get out." A security approached him immediately.

Sirius cursed and walked outside angrily, Leo followed to keep an eye on him and said to Carina "I will be waiting you outside." On his way.

Carina nodded and looked at her mum when she said something silently. But Carina was unable to understand and made her to repeat it.

"I need to pack my stuff."

"What stuff mum?"

"I resigned."

Carina looked at her with wide eyes. She wasn’t ready for another surprise.

"When did you do that mum? Why?"

"A week ago. I can't work here anymore." Scarlett was talking so emotionless, she sounded like her soul was sucked by dementors.

"Why tho? You love your job."

Scarlett just shrugged her shoulders, didn't want to tell her the real reason. She hasn’t told Carina who was the woman and that she also works at the Ministry. 15 minutes later they have packed her stuff from her room, said farewell to the Minister and now they were going down with the elevator. But on the next floor to their chance Arabelle Fullalove got on the elevator as well. Scarlett was out of her mind, didn't even notice her until Arabelle started to talk to her.

"Hello Mrs. Black, ah sorry i should call you Miss Rose now." Said smirking.

Arabelle was the last person Scarlett wanted to see right now but here she was. Scarlett ignored her but Arabelle was persistent to cause a scene and she looked like she was having the time of her life.

"Don't we talk? I think we have so many things to talk now."

"Sorry but who are you? Could you please leave my mum alone? She doesn't want to talk." Carina took a step to stand between two of them.

"You are her daughter huh?" Arabelle smiled wickedly. "Well, i am the woman that your daddy chose over your mother. But no surprise that he wanted someone new." Sent a contemptuous look at Scarlett. Now she has managed to gain everyone’s attention in the elevator and the people has started to whisper.

Carina drew her wand at Arabelle, furiously.

"If you say one more thing, i will hurt you!"

"How cute, little girl protecting her mummy because she is pathetic!." Arabelle let out an evil laugh, at the moment elevator stopped and she hopped out still laughing.

Scarlett was visibly shaking and tears were collected in her eyes but she was trying not to cry in front of many people. She has already felt humiliated enough after the things Arabelle has said, now everyone at the Ministry would know about it. Carina was so angry; she couldn't believe how cruel and shameless that woman was. She couldn’t do anything to calm her mum down since she wasn’t calm herself. When they arrived the ground floor, Scarlett run out of the elevator crying her eyes out; she couldn't hold it anymore.

"Mum wait!" Carina followed her running.

"Mum…? Carry? What is going on!?" Leo asked worriedly and tried to hold Scarlett since he was waiting right next to the outside door. But Scarlett was having a nervous breakdown and was not listening anybody, she threw herself on the ground crying. The twins decided to take her to St. Mungo’s because they didn’t know how to handle her at this point, Scarlett was the calmest and non-problematic one in the family so no one was used to that. The healers took her to a room and gave her sedatives immediately when they arrived; the sedatives showed their effects quicky and everyone relieved a bit. While Scarlett was sleeping, Carina told everything that happened in the elevator to Leo. He couldn’t believe the things he just heard and they made him so angry that he just wanted to hurt the woman. She didn’t have any rights to act like that to their mum.

"She didn't deserve any of this, not in the slightest. It is breaking my heart to see her like that..."

“I don't know what we can do to make her happy again. I missed her smile Leo, I missed her giggles..."

Leo hugged his sister tightly, he wanted nothing but to see their mum happy again. "We will figure it out, everything will be fine again..."

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#fanfic #fanfiction #sirius black #sirius black x oc #sirius black angst #angst fanfic #oc fanfiction #fanfiction moodboard #moodboard #angst #cheating #divorce #writing #oc #hp fanfic #mrsseverussnapefanfic #mrs.severussnape #love is you

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laventadorn · 4 years

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Part 1/2 I was wondering if you had any ideas/headcanons wrt Eileen/Tobias? JK doesn't really go into how they met, but given the little info he gives us its pretty clear the type of marriage they had. But, I was wondering why Tobias acted the way he did. Not that he needs a reason, but I love backstories. Do u have one for the Snapes? Personally, I sawa bit of parallel with how Seamus described how his muggle dad didn't know his mom was a which until after the wedding. I can sort of see...

I wrote one for my first HP fic, in fact! Heavily influenced by Jane Austen lmao

I would change some aspects of this now, but this was the version I dug up from my Ancient Writings:

(readmore, y u no work)

Eileen’s parents’ marriage was arranged, as many pure-blood marriages are. The Princes were a very old, distinguished line, but impoverished, while her mother’s family was relatively new, in a pure-blood sense, but wealthy. Her parents set up the marriage with Mr. Prince, who was rather older than their daughter, but she agreed to it. However, within a short time she was unhappy, since her husband, raised to frugality, was rather miserly and she was spendthrift; and being younger, she wanted to do a great many things that it was not in his temperament to agree to. When Eileen was about five or six, her mother ran away, abandoning her child and her marriage, eloping to Europe with a lover. Her husband was so humiliated and enraged that he forbade anyone in the household to speak her name ever again. He destroyed all evidence of her existence in the house—the possessions she had left behind, the paintings they’d had commissioned, even renouncing her personal house-elf. Even when he learned, three years later, that she’d died in conditions of poverty and hardship, it didn’t soften him toward her; instead, he only believed she had got what she deserved.

When Eileen was seven, he remarried, this time to a widow, one of the Blacks, who had endured a childless marriage of some fifteen years until her husband was killed rather stupidly trying to learn how to ride a dragon. She had no wealth, but Mr. Prince still had his wife’s fortune, and Mrs. Black’s impeccable bloodline meant more to him in any case. She and Mr. Prince were rather meant for each other, however: both were nip-farthings, both joyless and cruel, and both rigidly traditional. They believed in duty, propriety, and unstinting obedience from their children.

Mrs. Black, now Mrs. Prince, thought worse of the former Mrs. Prince than even her husband did. To her, a woman’s infidelity was the worst of vile sins, and she pitied her new husband for having married such a filthy whore. She was sorry that the former Mrs. Prince had left behind a little girl, since naturally the daughter of such a whore would turn out just like her.

But Mrs. Prince was determined to do her duty by Eileen. She raised her to be a proper pure-blood wife—dutiful, obedient, graceful and silent. She beat into her the importance of propriety, telling Eileen how vital it was that she give no one any cause to say how like her mother she was, however much she would surely have the same sort of base, wicked urges as that slut. She also impressed upon Eileen the necessity of marrying into a pure-blood family of stature, since her mother was a fine example of the rubbish that rose to the surface of bad blood.

Within a few short years, the new Mrs. Prince had rewarded her second husband with twin sons. These boys had the benefit firstly of being boys, always a plus in pure-blood families, as well as the added bonus of not having a piece of trash for a mother. The practice of favoring the sons over the daughters was standard in pure-blood families, but the sins of Eileen’s mother worsened her lot. Nothing Eileen ever did was right enough or good enough or proper enough in the eyes of her family; and at school she had no friends, since the pure-blood daughters of Slytherin were fully aware of her mother’s story and had been forbidden from associating with her. Eileen was not pretty, and her home life was too miserable to make her good enough company to compensate for her other defects. Her father pretended she did not exist, her brothers teased and tormented her, and her stepmother ruled her whole life with a fist of iron.

Eileen retreated into her schoolwork, into books and knowledge. In second year she did make one friend, a Ravenclaw named Constance Marlowe. Constance was a very tranquil person. Her mother was Muggle-born, and she would tell Eileen about her Muggle grandparents. Eileen had never met Muggles. Her father and stepfather loathed them, but they loathed Eileen, too, and loved her brothers and the pure-blood families who treated Eileen as if their cruelty was simply preempting every nasty thing they suspected she would ever do.

Then in fifth year, while visiting the sea shore on summer holiday, Constance drowned. Eileen went to her funeral, to which many of Constance’s Muggle relatives had come. They looked like regular people, although they dressed funny. After that, Eileen hated the ocean, but realized that Muggles were capable of human thought and speech, which her family had always led her to believe they weren’t.

When school ended, she returned to live at her father’s house, since pure-blood women of her family’s stature did not get jobs; they got married. But with Eileen’s reputation, her looks, and her father’s desire to spend as little money on her dowry as possible, she received no offers. Her blood was not even decent enough, balanced as it was by her mother’s betrayal. So for more than ten years, Eileen lived in her father’s home, a companion to her stepmother, an object of mockery to her brothers and the children they went on to have.

By the time she was thirty, everyone, even she, was certain she would never marry. Her stepmother even came to relax her restrictions, since she had kept Eileen wrapped so tightly out of a duty to maidenly propriety. A thin, unattractive thirty-year-old witch was not likely to be prey to any lascivious attentions or whims. Uncaring now of the reputation she had so viciously guarded, Mrs. Prince let Eileen out of the house for longer periods of time … although she might not have, had she known Eileen was visiting Muggle haunts.

On one of these jaunts, when she was about thirty-one, Eileen met Tobias. She had gone, in fact, to the seaside town where Constance drowned, perhaps out of a morbid desire to torture herself. He was there, too, trying to get away from his life for a bit, since he’d just gotten divorced.

He had married young when his girlfriend got pregnant unexpectedly. He’d done his duty by her, quitting school and going to work at the mill, but a few months before the day he met Eileen, his wife had sat him down and said she’d fallen in love with some other bloke, but she wanted to do right by Tobias because he’d always done right by her. She and he weren’t in love, hadn’t been since the very early days, even if they’d rubbed along together easily enough, and he said as long as he could keep seeing his girl, they’d be all right. So they divorced amicably, and she married the other bloke, who was a bit older and balding and sort of fat, but a jolly sort, which Tobias had to admit he was not. Lorraine’s new husband looked a bit like Santa Claus to Tobias, and he knew his daughter would like her step-father, if she didn’t already. And although as a young man he’d agreed to the marriage of necessity and had never really been bitter about it, happy enough with his wife and daughter for company, he had wanted more from his life than he’d wound up with at thirty-five: divorced, uneducated, in a dreary, pointless job.

As she was talking with him, Eileen realized she wanted more than anything to get away from her family. She realized how purely she hated them, as if the hatred ran through her blood. She decided to scandalize them utterly: packed up her marriage chest and ran away, to live with Tobias without marrying him, hoping to drive her father and step-mother both to an apoplectic fit, but at least one or the other if she could manage it.

So she and Tobias simply lived together for a while, until Eileen got pregnant. She had been guarding against this, but the magical world had an old wives’ tale that wizarding babies wanted to be born so badly that sometimes, you couldn’t stop them. When she told Tobias, he wanted to get married, and although she didn’t really, she didn’t want her child to suffer the ignominy of being the bastard of a whore. So they were married, very quietly, only Tobias’ ex-wife in attendance with her family. Not wanting to give birth to a daughter that would live the life she’d had, Eileen mixed a very Dark potion to ensure the birth of a son.

So Severus was born. She put an ad in the Daily Prophet, hoping her family would see it, in case it would give them an aneurism.

Before Severus was born, but when she was close to due, Tobias asked her if the baby would have magic. Eileen said, “It is likely, but he may not.”

“What happens if he doesn’t?” Tobias asked.

Eileen shrugged. “Then he doesn’t.” She wanted her son to be a wizard, but she was no longer in the magical world; a Squib child would not matter to her now. She had brothers; she was not even the end of the line.

It was impossible to tell if babies had magic, so for several years after Severus’ birth it was a moot issue. Eileen continued to work spells, because Tobias said he didn’t mind, he actually thought it was pretty interesting. And then one day when Severus was about four or five, he worked magic, and out of nowhere Tobias blew up at the pair of them. Eileen was so shocked she actually flinched away, because although she knew Tobias had a temper, he’d never turned it on her. Severus burst into tears. And then Eileen pulled herself together and reacted, rage and hatred boiling up out of her through her wand, and she turned it on her husband, the way she’d always wanted to do to her brothers, her father, her step-mother, the children at school, and she blasted him across the room and into the bookshelf.

Severus screamed. Eileen stood frozen, looking at Tobias’ unconscious body slumped under an array of books. She blasted them off him and found he was bleeding from cuts all over his front. She hastily flooed them all to St. Mungo’s, where he was swiftly patched up. Although the Healers gave her funny looks, they did nothing to her because she was a witch and he was only a Muggle, and there weren’t legal protections in those days for the Muggle spouses of wizards and witches.

Tobias wasn’t the same after that. Eileen didn’t know whether it was the shock of her turning her magic on him, or Severus’ own magic manifesting, or even the trip to St. Mungo’s, because his face as he looked around the hospital as they left had been haunted. After that, he began to drink more. Although he’d always had a few on the weekends and even more on holidays, he was soon never seen without a drink in his hand or the scent of alcohol on his breath. He wouldn’t tell Eileen what was wrong, and it was impossible to get anything from the mind of a drunk person; even trying it made one disoriented.

She expected him to leave them; expected to wake up one morning and find him gone, but for some reason he never did. They settled into a life where Tobias would go for days avoiding her and Severus, hardly speaking to them when sober, muttering when inebriated, with occasional outbursts of temper that Eileen would sometimes curtail, but at others simply weather out. As a young child Severus was at first frightened, then hurt, and once he grew older, resentful.

Once, when Severus was about seven, she did wake up in the middle of the night and find Tobias in Severus’ room, watching him sleep. Tobias was just drunk enough to be honest. He looked up at her with haunted eyes and said, “Do you hate that I can’t do it?”

“Do what?” she asked, bewildered.

“What you can do. What he can do. Do you hate me because I can’t?”

Eileen just stared at him. “Is that why you act like this?” He didn’t say anything, just looked back at Severus. “No, I don’t hate you. That would be like hating the sky because it’s blue.”

When he spoke, she almost didn’t hear him. “Sometimes I hate you, though. Both of you.”

It took Eileen much longer than it should have to understand what Tobias was really telling her: that he hated them for being able to do something he never would. He hated them for having the power of magic when he was only a Muggle. That look on his face in St. Mungo’s had been shock at an entire world he’d never guessed existed; and now that he knew of it, he also knew he would only ever be on the outside looking in.

But she had not understood this in time. She resented his drinking; he resented her powers; they resented each other’s resentment. And at the heart of it, they came to hate the other for a second chance that had turned to ash, just as the first chance had.

Eventually Eileen realized that the same barrier that stood between her and Tobias had blocked him off from Severus, and she simply quit trying to bridge it. She drew Severus into the circle of her magic, eschewing any acknowledgment of the non-magical world he was half a part of. She had always meant Tobias to show him that part, and now Tobias would not. She taught Severus about his magical bloodline, the House of their family’s allegiance, the world he would enter once he was old enough, the powers he would wield. Although she punished him if he looked in her books without her permission, she taught him hexes and curses and spells that would get him respected among his Slytherin peers, that would receive him the notice of families he would need to impress in order to gain entrance into the society that should have been his—both of theirs, had her life gone much differently. She raised him more as she had been raised, in a manner typical for pure-blood daughters: with strictness and not much indulgence, because she’d loathed the men her brothers had become, alternately indulged and ruthlessly punished as they had been, as the beloved sons of two cruel, cold-hearted people.

In teaching Severus about the world she had left, sending him off into the future he ought to have, Eileen realized she had never been happy in the world of magic. She had known the truth of that, lived it all her life, but never articulated it to herself. But she was not happy in the Muggle world, either; she did not understand it, couldn’t navigate it. It was too vast and unfamiliar for her even to know where to start. As she prepared Severus for Hogwarts, Eileen realized the only time she had been anything close to happy was in that seaside town when she had met Tobias, and she had believed, for a handful of days, that the future would be different from the past.

But it hadn’t been. Now Tobias was gone, and only Severus was left. And even though she had tried her hardest to make it otherwise, she realized that Severus was just as out-of-place as she had ever been; she, the daughter of a whore, the pure-blood wife of a Muggle with a wizard for a son. Severus was the child of two people whose lives had been wasted for them by others; sent as hardly more than a baby into the world of pure-blood politics with such a tiny arsenal of anything they would see as promise, in love with a naïve Muggle-born Gryffindor. If Severus wanted the Muggle-born, he would cut all his chances of entering good society; and if he got the Muggle-born, he would find himself in the midst of people who regarded his magic with jealousy and suspicion.

That was the true curse of the half-blood, she thought. You were always trapped between worlds that didn’t know how to claim you.

*Snape doesn’t have those uncles anymore cuz they died off somehow, and he doesn’t have contact with his dad’s first family. He doesn’t strike me as someone who has a large extended family he pals around with, although I’m sure they exist. I have 1 jillion cousins I know absolutely nothing about, not even their names.

#laventadorn's adventures in writing stuff

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papirouge · 4 years

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Too many Christians make the mistake of assuming that idolatry, witchcraft are necessarily PROACTIVE activities such as casting spells, building up wooden statues and whatnot when actually you can PASSIVELY and WILLINGLY indulging yourself into this sin. How? Every show you enjoy casually displaying magic, 'force' or superpowers & showing it as a harmless almost righteous thing, good luck/astrology meme reblogs, rejoicing at some corny [random TV show/movie/fandom] Day, etc... puts you in a position of condoning God condemned abominations. Sounds extra? Y'all think that Jesus was playing when He said "narrow is the way"? Stop using the lEgAlisM argument to downplay your overall indecisiveness when it comes to take proper actions that would cut you out from stuff you enjoy and looking for excuses to dismiss their dangerousness. Following Christ asks effort, steadiness and SACRIFICE - renouncing to stuff the flesh loves & panders to, to instead follow Him, and Him only. God will vomit lukewarms.

Just because you're Saved, wrote your testimony 2 months later, got rid of your most outstanding sins (homosexuality, sexual immorality, etc) doesn't mean your story is over, that there aren't still other HUGE flaws in your overall lifestyle, and that you're above spiritually backsliding. We should NEVER stop making efforts and be vigilant and keep cutting off harmful worldly influence into our life.

The lack of decisiveness is what casts a bunch of Christian into Hell.

Downplaying this reality is not only irresponsible (coming from a bunch of Christian gurus from the internet with a lot of influence) but also dangerous since you're literally assisting satan's work lowering Christian's vigilance towards worldly influence.

Stop dishonestly quoting Romans 14:3-4 to make a point about how Christians shouldn't judge each others on their respective stumbling blocks, when Romans 14 is actually about baby Christian jews still following Moses' Law struggling to fully embrace Faith (thus the reference about food they didn't allow themselves to eat), Paul calling more mature Christians to be more encompassing and tolerant for their evergrowing Faith. Paul was NOT condoning those baby Christians' lifestyle to hold authority over the Good News. Actually Paul warned us -Christians saved by Faith- that pursuing following the Law was a mistake (that's pretty much what Hebrews is about) so let's no act like Romans equalized both sides as being valid. Romans 14 is NOT about surrendering the idea of calling out siblings in Christ recklessly dismissing God's orders because they wanna have fun. Stop lying to yourselves and twist the Word to fit your narrative.

Everything is in the Bible, so I don't get why some people are out there saying shit like "hmm but the Bible says nothing about whether we should watch TV or not. Yall just lEgAlisT😜" Well that's not the point, genius. The Bible is actually very straightforward about what we should stay away from (sexual immorality, homosexuality, witchcraft, gossiping, vanity, violence, etc) so if any of this themes appears in on your screen you better stop watching it altogether. Simple. There's plenty of other wholesome TV programs to watch but yall act like saying that Netflix & Hollywood are trash is rebuking part of your identity. Yall need help.

One won't go in a strip club and excuse this choice saying they don't mind it (let's say they're not attracted to the gender of strippers of said club) and that it's not a stumbling block for them. But the question we should ask is : is a strip club a good place to attend to begin with? Could you imagine Jesus chilling along with you into this filthy corrupted atmosphere?

If your answer is "no" then you should seriously reconsider what's drawing you to this type of worldly entertainment. Cause they're pretty much the same. It's just that satan is very good at disguising darkness as light. Dangerousness as harmless and manageable.

Why are a bunch of you so hell bent on pursuing giving your attention and money to an industry capitalizing in the promotion of homosexuality, sexual immorality, and overall anti Christian values??? Don't you think this behavior is contradictory if not HYPOCRITE? I am not jocking when I say a bunch of you are under a spell, cause this behavior does not make any sense, and you know it...

In Matthew 5:29-30 Paul compells us to PLUCK our eye out and CUT our hand ALTOGETHER ...not putting a patch on, foolishly assuming that we're saved from the -still existing- threat. NEVER rely on your own strength when fighting against sin cause satan will always be stronger... Indulging into willing disobedience (watching objectively satanic shows) expecting -holy- discernment of the good from evilness is delusional, foolish and dangerous.

Don't forget that satan will ALWAYS be more clever than you so thinking you somehow have control over it, telling yourself you can distinguish over the good & bad thing of this entertainment : YOU'RE LYING TO YOURSELF. Spiritual hindrance is real and there's no more vulnerable prey that the one who thinks they're safe. There's no wonder a bunch of Christians who keep indulging themselves into this mess have weird psychological issues, EDs, undergoing strong spiritual bewilderment etc.... SMH

.📯CUT THAT MESS OUT AND BE FREE!!!!📯

IN THE NAME IF JESUS I COMPELL THE SCALE OF YOUR EYES TO FALL AND SEE THE TRUTH!! AMEN!

#Christian #blowing the whistle

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nadziejastar · 5 years

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An old headcanon of mine was that during the experiments Xehanort gave both Isa and Lea Keyblade inheritance ceremonies. To explain Lea's Keyblade and Isa's when he inevitably got one. I figured that if he was intending to turn them into vessels being able to wield would make them more useful in the clash. But for some reason in KH3 the Darknesses didn't have to be wielders but the Lights did.

When King Mickey stopped time, Young Xehanort began to move. Since he can control time, was he breaking the King’s spell?

Young Xehanort wasn’t using his own power at that time. The King’s magic was broken because Master Xehanort was assimilating with Young Xehanort. Only “Recusant Sigil” was added by Organization XIII.

It was when the figures started appearing in the thrones.

Indeed. Time was stopped just as Master Xehanort was materializing. So he moved his consciousness to Young Xehanort’s body. Reacting to this, King Mickey exclaimed, “Oh no. Are you…” Young Xehanort was holding a Keyblade that he originally wasn’t able to handle thanks to Master Xehanort’s power. Though the keychain on it is different, the Keyblade he takes out is Master Xehanort’s.

I see. Young Xehanort himself is still on the Destiny Islands and isn’t able to wield a Keyblade yet.

Right. Even when he appeared as an additional boss in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix, he wasn’t using a Keyblade.

Ya know, you raise a good point. But I’m not sure Xehanort would have even needed to perform an inheritance ceremony on his vessels. I think they automatically gain the ability to wield once they share a heart and consciousness with him. Young Xehanort could wield when Master Xehanort transferred his consciousness into him, even when he couldn’t have ordinarily.

But yeah, I had always figured that if you had a strong enough heart to be one of the Seekers of Darkness, you must have a strong enough heart to wield a Keyblade. I think all members of the New Organization XIII had the potential to wield, which is why they were able to be turned into vessels in the first place. (I’m not counting the reserve members who were only there for plot convenience). After all, Nomura said that only a strong heart is necessary, not whether it’s a good or bad heart. I think Isa definitely had the potential if he really was Subject X originally. The whole idea was that they were the sole subject who didn’t collapse.

Xigbar: Figures. If I had a Keyblade, it’d be different.

Sora: Like you’re actually worthy to use one.

Xigbar: Oh, I am worthy.

Sora: Whaddaya mean?

Xigbar: The old coot promised to bequeath me his. Why else do you think I would ever put up with all his nonsense?

Riku: It’d be wasted on you.

Xigbar: As if.

Larxene and Marluxia actually are Keybade wielders from the ancient past (though I personally doubt that was always their backstory). They had something that made them special to Xehanort, along with Luxord. I don’t think Xigbar’s words after he was defeated were originally supposed to have anything to do with Luxu. I think Braig truly knew that he had the potential.

Xigbar: All this altruism is giving me the warm and fuzzies. So the, does having a heart of light come with an extremely good insurance policy?

Sora: Just say what you mean.

Xigbar: Oh, but I did though. No good will ever come from putting other people first.

Herc: I was able to save Meg’s life because I was ready to risk my own.

Xibar: Because you’ve got friends in high places, you mean. Tricks like that don’t fly for your average joe.

Sora: What do you know? You weren’t even there! If you were, you’d admire Herc’s courage.

Xigbar: I don’t admire one guy leaping into danger if it means someone else might have to jump in to save him. You’re all just lining up to lose out. Dooming others to take the fall with ya. Oh, and you can spare me the usual party line. Yes, hearts are powerful when they’re connected. But if you put to much of that power in one place, some of those hearts might end up breaking. Still, Sora, that doesn’t mean you should change. Accept the power you’re given. Find the hearts joined to yours.

It’s the only reason why Braig even stuck around Xehanort, before he got retconned into Luxu. He just needed someone to perform the inheritance rite on him. That’s what his original deal with Xehanort was all about. I think Braig had a strong heart. He was able to retain a sense of self, even as a vessel.

I wonder if he was talking about T/A/V here. I think there was an important reason that Xigbar saw Xion’s face as Ventus. He is connected to Sora, has a heart of light, and is one of the hearts joined to Sora’s. Also after Olympus, Ven’s heart is stirred to save Aqua. She sacrificed herself for Terra.

Sora: I know the Keyblade didn’t choose me, and I don’t care. I’m proud to be a small part of something bigger–the people it did choose. My friends. They are my power!

Xigbar: Those are just words. You’ve lost. Fine. See where your power gets you here. Xemnas! He’s all yours.

Maybe that’s why Xigbar was so rattled by what Sora said here. Braig kinda sold his soul to the devil for power. But Sora was able to gain the ability to wield without having the inheritance ceremony performed on him. It made him feel like he took the dark path for nothing. I think Braig struggled the entire time with feelings of guilt over what he did. Terra, Aqua, and Ven were the first people he actually harmed. So, it makes sense he’d be haunted by Ven’s death glare and kill himself in the end.

Xemnas: However–through weakness of body…weakness of will…or weakness of trust–most of the original members we had chosen for the Organization were inadequate. Thus, naturally, they never had a chance to attain their goal. Yet, even this was to be expected.

Axel didn’t seem to be desirable as a vessel for whatever reason. He wasn’t retrieved like Isa and the others were. It just seemed like Xehanort never took a particular interest in him that way, like he did with Isa. Maybe Demyx, Xaldin, Zexion, Vexen, and Lexaeus didn’t have strong enough hearts in Xemnas’ view. I think Axel was a different case, though. He wasn’t defeated by Sora. He sacrificed himself for Sora. That puts him in a unique position regarding how Xemnas viewed him. And I think Xemnas always viewed Axel differently from the others. Lea had a very strong heart and was very strong mentally. I think Xemnas must have known that. Despite his lack of trust, he was kept around, unlike all the other traitors.

Xemnas: A heart is never lost for good. There may have been variances in our dispositions, but a number of us unquestionably showed signs of a burgeoning replacement. Once born, the heart can also be nurtured. Our experiments creating Heartless were attempts to control the mind, and convince it to renounce its sense of self. But understand, one can banish the heart from the body, but the body will try to replace it the first chance it gets, for as many times as it takes. And so I knew, even after we were divided into Heartless and Nobodies, it was just a temporary separation.

Xemnas was obviously talking about Axel here. He would definitely be the one that would first come to mind with the burgeoning replacement. I think Axel’s arc was entirely based on this idea. He lost his heart, and his relationship with Roxas and Xion was literally filling a huge void. So, Xemnas knew that Axel had a heart and maybe this is why he wasn’t ideal vessel material. He was too strong-willed and had too much sense of self. Vexen, too. I think he had a burgeoning replacement heart. I think Vexen was trying to help Sora before he was eliminated. Being in Castle Oblivion probably brought back memories for him, too. Like how when he was a human he cared about Ienzo more than anything. He felt remorse and tried to warn Sora. But in any case there’s a lot of evidence that Xemnas was fully aware that Axel had a heart.

Saïx: I passed on the message as you so desired. I told the young Sora to keep defeating the Heartless.

Xemnas: Good. Not only have you the power to inflict pain, you also have the power to plant seeds of doubt in one’s receptive heart. Sora will soon begin to doubt himself. It will cause him to hesitate and that hesitation will turn to anger. That anger will fuel him to get rid of his apprehension and move forward. He will pave the way for the future we desire.

Saïx: There’s something I’ve meant to ask.

Xemnas: About Axel? The poor fool. How long will he keep chasing the illusion of friendship, when he himself lacks emotion? Trying so hard to retrieve what he has lost, when it may never have existed in the first place. He deserves nothing more than our pity.

This is a conversation solely between Xemnas and Saïx that was added in KH2FM+. No one else is present. And Xemnas has his hood up, which is kind of a cue for hidden meanings. Not to mention, what purpose did this scene serve if its only meaning was to show that Xemnas thinks Axel is a fool? That’s kind of obvious and doesn’t need its own new scene. Saïx lowered his head when Xemnas said he has the power to plant seeds of doubt in one’s receptive heart. I think Isa’s heart was reacting more now that Axel was gone.

Axel and I talked for a while about the things we can’t bear to lose. Axel thinks that for Nobodies, it’s our pasts, because that’s all we have to remember the pain of losing something.

Another reason I think this scene was about Axel’s relationship with Isa is because Axel was trying to chase an illusion of friendship with him. He was trying so hard to retrieve what he lost, though it never existed in the first place. Saïx is not Isa. Then Roxas and Xion showed up. Even without a heart and emotion (at the time), Axel still longed for friendship. And he chased Roxas so hard after he left because he filled the void of what he lost.

Xaldin: To hold something dear is to let it hold you. His heart is in thrall to it, don’t you see? And that, Roxas, is ample weakness.

Roxas: I’m not sure I follow.

Xaldin: Nor should you. You have no heart to love with. Come. We return.

Xemnas knew that Axel was a great candidate to regrow a heart. And his memories of the past were what he held most dear. I think Xemnas knew what would happen if he was sent to Castle Oblivion. It would awaken his sleeping memories, and nurture his heart. Then he could be used to find Ventus.

Axel: You’re sure things are better this way?

Saïx: I never expected you to question it. If you could save one of them…why would you choose the puppet? Or put it this way. Which would you rather suffer the loss of: some make-believe friendship, or a real one? Things are finally right again. Of course we’re better off this way. Xemnas is exasperated from all the “fixing” we’ve had to do. We have to set things right. There is simply too much on the line…Lea.

My theory is that Xemnas instructed Saïx to have that conversation with Axel.

Axel: But how do you know that? Everybody thinks they’re right…

Xion: This is right.

Axel: They’re gonna destroy you!

Xion: Please don’t hold back, Axel. Promise.

Axel: What’s your problem? You both…think you can do whatever you want. Well, I’m sick of it. Go on, you just keep running. But I’ll always be there to bring you back!

Xemnas was using Axel’s feelings for his own ends. He really was a pawn. Xemnas wanted Xion back because she was preventing Sora from waking up. He really needed her at that point. Saïx knew this. Xemnas knew Axel was already filled with doubt. If Saïx made him doubt even more, then that hesitation would turn to anger. And then he’d be more likely than ever to bring Xion back if she leaves again. It was the same reverse psychology Saïx used on Sora.

Saïx said things are finally right again. And Axel was angry about how everyone thinks they’re right. So, the plan did work. Xemnas was using Axel’s memories of the past and of Isa as a tool to manipulate him. To make him bring Xion back. His desire for friendship played right into Xemnas’ hands. I think Xemnas knew that Axel’s longing for friendship made him far more able to nurture a heart than most others.

Axel waited.

In the shadows of the spaces between, he waited for Sora… For Roxas.

“Traitor,” Saïx had called him. But his betrayal of Organization XIII wasn’t exactly a recent development, Axel thought with a bitter laugh.

Marluxia and Larxene conspired to steal Sora’s memories, trying to take possession of him. No one could predict what Roxas would become, the Nobody created in such an unusual manner, born in the moment when his somebody Sora became something that was not Sora. Well, no—it was possible that Xemnas had some idea. Perhaps Vexen when he tried to tell Sora about Twilight Town and those close to him. Or all six original members of the organization.

The organization could hardly be called that anyway—this ragtag bunch of Nobodies united only by their desire for hearts. It was only natural that conflicts would arise between the newcomers like Marluxia and the six founding members, what with all the quarrels among the half of them posted in Castle Oblivion.

Axel had only acted to keep Sora alive—to keep Roxas alive. But thinking back on it now, maybe all he’d done was to play right into Xemnas’s hands. Agony racked his body. Saïx had dealt him a mortal blow, or close enough.

“Hurry up, Sora…,” he muttered, lifting his face to the nonexistent sky.

Before he died in KH2, Axel suspected that he played into Xemnas’ hands. Xemnas knew that Marluxia and Larxene were traitors. He didn’t want Marluxia and Larxene to gain control of Sora. And neither did Vexen. Xemnas sent Axel to Castle Oblivion as the only person to handle the situation. He apparently knew that since Axel was growing so close to Roxas, he’d side with Sora.

Xemnas: It is clear that through his actions, however foolish they may have been, Axel has touched Sora’s heart. Perhaps HE will soon awaken.

Xemnas even thought that Axel had the power to wake Ventus. Axel faced his demise by trying to help Sora save Kairi. And Xemnas admits that touched Sora’s heart. I also think Axel’s demise in KH2 was foreshadowing the final battle as well.

“Listen, Kairi! Trust me. I’m going to get you out!”

Behind him, the portal closed.

“What are you saying…? Vile traitor!” The great Claymore took shape at Saïx’s back.

Axel didn’t waste a second grabbing his chakrams. But his body was reluctant somehow.

I don’t want to disappear… But still, it wouldn’t be so bad if I did. Not here.

I don’t think Sora or Xion were supposed to be there originally. Just Lea, Kairi, and Saïx. Even in KH2, Axel would rather disappear than kill his friend. I think the same would have been true in the final battle. Lea would have preferred death over actually killing Isa. He just wanted to save Kairi. Not that he actually could defeat him, though.

Axel let out a deep breath and leaped into the air as flames erupted around them.“…Pathetic!” The Claymore moved to block Axel’s strike, while Saïx himself didn’t even twitch.

This is a pretty overwhelming disadvantage, Axel thought. Well, I knew that before we started fighting. I can’t win against Saïx with my own strength.

Still, he refused to hesitate. He had to force this path open.

He wanted…to find hope—the hope that Sora and Riku had.

Saïx gave him a cruel grin. “You will lose everything!”

And then the Claymore pierced Axel’s chest.

Axel wanted to see Roxas again, but he felt bad about hurting Sora and Kairi. Saïx mortally wounded him while he was trying to save Kairi, and he used the last of his life to atone for what he did. He apologized to Sora for kidnapping her, then died. But he died with sadness and regret. Roxas went back to Sora and he was all alone.

I think it was similar with Lea and Isa’s final battle. Lea and Kairi wanted to rescue Isa, but they were outmatched by Saïx, especially in his Berserk state. I think they were both at their limit and there was nothing they thought they could do to win. Kairi was down. Lea was prepared to die in that moment, protecting Kairi, since things were already hopeless anyway. He didn’t even try to defend himself. He would have died with sadness and regret, just like he did in KH2. But just as soon as the Claymore would have pierced Lea’s chest yet again…Isa stopped. It would have been a victory for Lea’s heart and he would have been extremely happy. But then Xemnas shows up. And Lea is definitely no match for him.

Xigbar: The house is looking pretty empty, huh? I thought I’d get a little enjoyment watching Axel throw one last tantrum, but he went a lot quieter than I thought.

Luxord: Perhaps he was ready for it. Perhaps he put his existence on the line and won what he’d been longing for.

Xigbar: Wait a minute. How would that even be possible? We don’t exist, remember? What you’re saying goes against the laws of nature.

Luxord: Then perhaps he bet his NON-existence. Either way, he came out a winner. Oh, Axel. A grifter to the end.

Saïx: That’s absurd. He won nothing and is nothing. He couldn’t stand the emptiness of being without a heart, and that led to his demise. He was foolish and weak.

Xemnas: But…Weakness has the power to awaken that which is dormant.

But Lea acted differently when Xemnas launched his assault compared to earlier with Isa. Lea was prepared to go more quietly. He looked Isa in the eyes as when he was about to strike. But with Xemnas, he closed his eyes and had his head down. He was just as resigned to his fate in this scene, as he was at the end of KH2. He knew the odds were against him, but took a gamble and came to the battle anyway. He knew he wasn’t a Keyblade master and had little chance of beating Isa in a battle of strength.

And he definitely didn’t have the strength to defeat Xemnas. But he had proof that Isa’s heart remembered him, and still cared for him. He put his existence on the line and won what he had been longing for. He came out a winner, and was ready for the end. He was foolish and weak. But his weakness had the power to awaken that which was dormant. Though Xemnas wasn’t anticipating it that time, obviously. For that scene, I think Isa’s heart being awakened made more sense and was foreshadowed FAR more than anything else.

#kh meta #kh xigbar #kh axel #kh lea #kh theories

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