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nastasya--filippovna · 5 months

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WHO IS CROWLEY AFTER THE FALL (PART2)

Here it is finally.

So what is the Leviathan.

In mythology and theology the Leviathan is a sea-serpent and is mentioned in several books of the Hebrew Bible such as the Book of Job and Book Isaiah and Book of Enoch. The Leviathan of the Book of Job is a reflection of the older Canaanite Lotan, a primeval monster defeated by the god Baal Hadad. Parallels to the role of Mesopotamian Tiamat defeated by Marduk have long been drawn in comparative mythology, as have been wider comparisons to dragon and world serpent narratives such as Indra slaying Vrtra or Thor slaying Jörmungandr.

Once again we see the pattern of Biblical creatures being “inspired” from pagan ones.

Thomas Aquinas described Leviathan as the demon of envy, first in punishing the corresponding sinners. Peter Binsfeld likewise classified Leviathan as the demon of envy, as one of the seven Princes of Hell corresponding to the seven deadly sins. Leviathan became associated with, and may originally have been referred to by, the visual motif of the Hellmouth, a monstrous animal into whose mouth the damned disappear at the Last Judgment, found in Anglo-Saxon art from about 800, and later all over Europe.

In the Book of Enoch, The Leviathan is a female giant chaos serpent that lives deep in the ocean, while her mate, Behemoth, is a male giant chaos beast (based off of a hippopotamus or water-ox) who lives in the mythical desert of Duidain, East of Eden.

Ring any bells. Chaos mongering (fomenting), ox, eastern gate of eden….

The Hebrew word that translates to Leviathan (Livyatan) appears six times in the Old Testament. One of them is in Job 41. The word is derived from the root Iwy or ‘ twist, coil’ and means ‘the sinuous one.’ So I think we can establish that this creature is at least indicated to be snake-like. Scholars trace the etymology of whale and crocodile

In the Book of Isaiah it is mentioned that the beast will rise from the water and will be defeated by God on the Last Day. However, quite interestingly nowhere in the Old Testament is the Leviathan written as evil. Only later scholars have equated it with the devil so that the battle between God and Chaos can be interpreted as the battle between God and the Devil.

Now let’s make this more interesting: The Gnostic sect venerate the biblical serpent of the Garden of Eden as a symbol of wisdom, which the malevolent Demiurge tried to hide from Adam and Eve. They identify the Leviathan as the serpent of Eden and in this belief system the Leviathan appears as an Ouroboros, separating the divine realm from humanity by enveloping or permeating the material world.

I mean I don’t even need to say anything further.

And he does show up in GO Season 2. The matchbox.

Here

When did this happen, I wonder……hmmmmmm

Oh YES!

Crowley wearing Aziraphale’s face

Here’s the rest of the passage from Job

1 Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?

2 Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?

3 Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?

4 Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?

5 Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?

6 Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants?

7 Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears?

8 Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more.

9 Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?

10 None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me?

11 Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.

12 I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion.

13 Who can discover the face of his garment? (penetrate his coat of armor) or who can come to him with his double bridle?

14 Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about.

15 His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal.

16 One is so near to another, that no air can come between them.

17 They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they cannot be sundered.

18 By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.

19 Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.

20 Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.

21 His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.

22 In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him.

23 The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved.

24 His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.

25 When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves.

26 The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon.

27 He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.

28 The arrow cannot make him flee: slingstones are turned with him into stubble.

29 Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.

30 Sharp stones are under him: he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire.

31 He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.

32 He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary.

33 Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.

34 He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.

The Leviathan is a magnificent creature. And the very fact that God goes to so much trouble to describe the magnanimity of this creature is to show what God has created and hence Her magnanimity must be even greater in comparison for the Creator is always superior to the Creation. And if God can so easily abuse and humiliate this beautiful monster, then God must be worshipped and feared.

Though to the unsuspecting eye these passages may ring no familiar bells, a closer look makes you realize how Crowley-coded they are. And to think that in a story where Neil has never witten or shown anything that wasn’t woven in finely with the characters, I alwsy wondered why he chose the Book of Job for the minisode when he could have included any other one.

But it reminded me that Crowleys character is truly unrelenting. He’s a nether millstone. He won’t give up that easily. He absolutely won’t submit to anyone, and he’s shown time and time again that his vociferous litanies about running away disappear as soon as someone or something he cares about is in danger (i.e. Aziraphale). And the second coming will also threaten his creation (the universe). His refusal to submit to authority, the refusal to be subjugated is the reason he fell in the first place. And quite interestingly he doesn’t own Hell either. He resists that too. For him it’s not Heaven or Hell that matters but the resistance to Power.

I also think it’s also fitting that the Leviathan is perceived to be a monster that must be slain or enslaved but in reality is another of God’s creations just like the sun and the stars and the rivers and the mountains.

And it makes me think of how Crowley has always been labeled as evil because he fell. I think of how, at heart, he is truly gentle and kind, he’s a starmaker. But his fall, his appearance, his desire to be autonomous and his grey moral campus make him feared and a target. And that has made him the embodiment of chaos. His refusal to submit himself to the uniformity of both worlds, to the rules and guidelines that create this illusion of order sets him apart from them. He embraces the chaos that grayness offers, that being ‘human’ brings. And hence the final battle will be between God and chaos with God justifies as being the battle between good and evil because, well, he’s a demon.

The Leviathan being historically associated with the sin of envy is again I think written into the plot very carefully. He is envious of humanity’s ability to question God, to have choices to not be doomed to heaven or hell for all eternity. He is envious of what Maggie and Nina have. He’s envious of what Beelz and Gabe have.

“I mean if Gabriel and Beelzebub can go off together…..”

And then him rejecting Azirapahle’s offer— he has spent his life (a long, long life) rejecting power and authority. In his relationship with Aziraphale he found his sanctuary, a relation clean of power dynamics. Up till now they were both equal. But this new offer jeopardizes that.

And I love how his ego and pride come to play here. He would never accept being “second in command to anyone”. And his envy of how God’s mercy is free for some but wholly denied to him.

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silverskye13 · 4 months

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I would like a full apology after that one please 🥲

[I kneel at your feet in full plate armor, my sword offered forward in both hands, as is proper to present to a Monarch of your standing. My head is bowed, and I dare not meet your gaze, for fear of your wrath.]

High Majesty Anon, as thy humble servant, I must beg thine forgiveness, for thou hast entrusted upon me thine emotions, thy sense of hope in a woven tale still telling, and I, of foulest serpent's tongue, hath poisoned those hopes with trials of the heart, such that both thee and thine blorbos do suffer. I have failed to present to thee a story of unfettered happiness, as would most benefit thine glad heart, and so I offer you my sword. It has always been thy blade of course, for it was by thy boon it was given me, and in thy name I was knighted, and under the eyes of the gods. Prithee, if thou canst trust me with this blade no longer, smite me upon it, that I might perish for my unworthy words.

However, before thou swing yon blade, whose edge is sharp and hungers for the mortal wound, I beg thee, stay thine hand but a moment, for all stories, no matter how heartsick, are worth telling to their end. So as I beg thine forgiveness Majesty, I also beg thy mercy and long-suffering, that thou may see this tale to its end, and thus seeing, judge whether the hardship I thrust upon you was worth seeing to the end, and thus worth sparing my life.

[I lay the sword at your feet and await judgement, be it bitter or bon.]

#answering asks #anonymous #silly hours in the court eh squire?#rns asks

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caenith · 10 months

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But Idril Celebrindal was wise and far-seeing, and her heart misgave her, and foreboding crept upon her spirit as a cloud. Therefore in that time she let prepare a secret way, that should lead down from the city and passing out beneath the surface of the plain issue far beyond the walls, northward of Amon Gwareth;

Do you know why I absolutely love Tuor? It might not be clear from this short passage from The Silmarillion, but let me quote The Book of Lost Tales real quick:

But Idril said: “This is my rede thereto: gather thou in deep secret those delvers and quarrymen who by careful trial are found to hold least love for Meglin by reason of the pride and arrogance of his dealings among them. From these thou must choose trusty men to keep watch upon Meglin whenso he fares to the outer hills, yet I counsel thee to set the greater part of those in whose secrecy thou canst confide at a hidden delving, and to devise with their aid — howsoever cautious and slow that labour be - a secret way from thy house here beneath the rocks of this hill unto the vale below. (...) Then Tuor said that he might not see all its purport, “but ‘better is any plan than a lack of counsel’, and I will do even as thou sayest”.

He actually listens to his wife.

At this point of the story 'so high did Tuor stand in the favour of the King that when he had dwelt there for seven years Turgon did not refuse him even the hand of his daughter'. He managed to establish and become a leader of one of the twelve houses of Gondolin. He was an important figure and probably a trusted advisor to the king. But when his wife says that something is not right, he doesn't need a lot of persuasion to follow her suggestion.

And what happens? HE SURVIVES. Together with his family and a group of exiles. We don't even get any information about his possible death later on, and I firmly believe that the tales are true - Idril managed to sneak him into Valinor and the Valar decided that "humans are not allowed here, but we will make an exception because he looks very polite".

Be like Tuor.

the silm but all the guys listen to their wives AU

#tolkien #silmarillion #silmarillion daily #the book of lost tales #tuor #WHAT A GUY

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saninthebuilding · 1 year

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love kills. or does it? - xavier thorpe

summary: crackstone has been brought back from the dead, and it seems that along with mass destruction, there are also some other forms of chaos to be dealt with. feelings, so to speak.

(inspired by the last episode of wednesday)

word count: 2.1k (i got excited)

warnings: potential spoilers for wednesday, modified plot, swearing, emotions, mention of injury & blood, L-bombs, confession, xavier & reader being idiots in love

a/n: recently finished wednesday and i cannot tell you how bad i have wanted to write something for xavier since then. and i finally did!

hope you enjoy it! <3

there was chaos everywhere.

students were screaming as they ran out the front gates of nevermore, grabbing their friend's sleeves to drag each other away from the large fire sparking in the center of the quad. people collided and stumbled as they shoved past in an attempt to get away.

crackstone was back.

ms.thornhill- or should i say laurel, had been successful in resurrecting the century-old outcast-hater in his crypt because i was unable to stop her in time.

and now he was wrecking havoc all throughout the nevermore campus.

crackstone was back.

and it was all my fault.

gritting my teeth, i forced a path through the crowd of panicked students, attempting to reach the quad before any real damage could be brought about.

this is my fault.

the fact that it had come to crackstone actually being able to fulfill the prophecy of destruction was on my hands.

maybe xavier was right-

no.

rowan's mother had painted that based on a vision, and they only gave the seer half the story. i had learned that countless times based on my own experiences.

i can fix this.

anger rising at the chaos surrounding me, i managed to find an opening between the students and pushed forward, ignoring the shouts of protest from my peers as they tried to piece together why i was going in the opposite direction.

i rushed into the quad and headed straight to the staircase. from what i could recall, there was a sword set on display on the upper floor of the building.

if i can get that, i can finish this.

halfway up the stairs, i heard a scream and whirled around, peering over the railing to see crackstone entering the quad, staff glowing green.

"i have arrived to rid the world of thy kind!" he roared, energy pulsating through the air.

shit.

taking the stairs two at a time, i slid into the hall of the second floor and instantly spotted the blade. spirits rising, i ran towards the case and swiped it off the stand, giving it a quick once over before turning back towards the staircase.

running down the steps, i went over what goody had told me back in the crypt.

through his black heart, huh?

when you put it like that, his teeth and his heart seemed to be twins.

clearing the final step, i rushed into the quad, and saw crackstone raise his staff at a couple huddled together in front of him.

seriously, did she really step in to protect him? ridiculous.

"howdy, pilgrim." i called to the walking-dead man before he could blast the two of them to ash.

he whirled around, shock etched across his rotting face, and the pair of love-struck fools took the chance to rush out of the main gates to safety.

no wonder there's that saying about love and death.

"how canst thy heart still beat?" crackstone spits, his eyes wide and filled with rage.

"the real question here is how can yours? you look like a walking corpse. oh wait- that's exactly what you are." i adjust my grip on the blade in my hand, before looking the man up and down.

"quite an ugly walking corpse as well."

his face twisted inhumanely, and he let out a seething roar as he raised his staff, moving to charge at me.

suddenly, there were thuds echoing behind me, and a voice yelled out-

"stay away from her!"

xavier.

i spun around, eyes wide and breathing ragged, just in time to see him shoot the arrow lodged into his bow at crackstone. it sped through the air straight at the space between the man's eyes, directly on target-

but it didn't hit its mark.

i watched in horror as crackstone raised his staff, and it glowed green as the arrow simply...froze in place. he twisted his fingers, and the arrow turned in midair, aiming for xavier.

no.

crackstone spread his palm, and the energy his staff released compelled the arrow toward xavier.

no.

i lunged forward, throwing myself into the arrow's path. it struck me straight in the chest, and the sheer force of it threw me off balance. the sword i was holding flew out of my hand as i rolled across the wet grass beneath me, before landing hard on my back.

"no!" xavier cried out, and within seconds he was at my side.

"y/n! what the fuck- would you do that!" he snapped, but instead of anger, there was fear in his voice. his eyes fell on the arrow sticking out of my chest, before meeting my own.

he's scared.

"go, xavier" i winced, struggling to keep my breaths even. i gripped the arrow at the base, before clenching my teeth down and breaking the shaft from as low as possible. i let out a scream as my vision blurred, and my body jerked upward at the sudden pressure being applied to the wound.

"y/n!" xavier's voice was full of panic, and he instantly moved to help me, but i pushed him away with my free arm, exhaling sharply at the pinpricks of pain shooting through my sternum.

"i'll be fine, but you need to help the others."

he stayed crouched next to me, shifting slightly to take the other half of the arrow from me and throwing it away, showing no sign of moving. grimacing, i reached over to grip the hand he had placed on my shoulder and squeezed.

"go, xavier."

his eyes locked on mine, and he hesitated for a moment. suddenly there was a scream echoing from somewhere behind him, and he shook his head, before squeezing back and forcing himself to stand.

he ran.

i watched him go and pull the last few students who were standing around with him out the gates of nevermore, before i turned over and pulled myself up.

ah, that's what the saying is. "love kills."

i stomped down on the handle of the blade, and it shot into the air.

but is this love?

ignoring the thoughts rushing through my mind and pangs of protest from the arrowhead that was still lodged into my skin, i turned to face crackstone.

whatever. at least if i die tonight, it'll be in a swordfight and not of blood loss.

"i suppose you seek an honourable death by my hands" he sneered, before swinging at me with his staff.

"oh please, as if a dead man attacking innocent civilians has any honour" i bit back as i ducked out of the way, before jabbing at his side. he sputtered angrily, deflecting my blade and swiped low, aiming for my feet.

i jumped backwards, slashing the sword up at his face, but rather than nicking skin i ended up knocking his hat off his head.

it hit the floor with a light thump, and crackstone stared at it for a second, frozen in place, before looking up me and letting out a snarl.

"you seem to be taking the revelation of your thinning hair a bit too personally" i smirked, but was quickly overwhelmed by the sudden blast of energy his staff let out. it hit me with more force than the arrow, and i was thrown into the building wall behind me. my sword shattered upon impact, metal bits flying everywhere.

"or a lot too personally" i wheezed, struggling to breathe under the pressure of his magic. a metallic scent filled the atmosphere, and i could feel goosebumps rising on my skin.

"silence, you wretched piece of filth!" crackstone roared, and i felt the strain on my body increase as his magic surged, trapping me. i gasped, fighting for air as my lungs were crushed by the invisible force he had over me.

crackstone grinned at me, his face scrunching up to reveal numerous scars and missing teeth. "finally, thy voice will be silenced forev-"

he didn't get to finish his sentence because there was a blade pointing through his stomach. from behind.

the attacker pulled the sword out of crackstones chest, and it distracted the man enough to weaken his hold on his powers. i slid down the wall and landed on my side, letting out a hiss of pain.

"be gone, you vile creature!" crackstone roared, and i looked up to see him hit xavier in the head with his staff, sending him stumbling back into the fountain.

"no!" i yelled, pulling myself up once again, except this time everything was drowned out. the pain from the arrow wound, the exhaustion from being thrown up against the wall, everything.

except xavier.

i grabbed one of the blade shards that were littered across the grass, and as crackstone turned his attention back to me, stabbed him straight through the heart.

he let out a sputtering sound, looking down at the metal lodged into his flesh. i pushed it deeper, twisting it for good measure, before looking up at him.

"you be gone, you fucking waste of space."

as if on cue, he burst into ashes, and the magic he had both within and around him flooded the quad. i held my ground, and when the air was clear, rushed to xavier's side.

"xavier!" i breathed, dropping down next to him. cringing at the pain that was resurfacing from my arrow wound, i gently pulled his head into my lap, before brushing his hair out of his face to get a look at his head.

"you're a fool, you know that? why the hell would you come back?"

trying hard not to panic, i cut off a strip of my skirt to wrap around the wound, only to stop as i felt him shifting in my grip. looking down, i saw him staring up at me with an unbelieving look on his face.

"are you serious right now?" he breathed, and i raised my eyebrows in question as i proceeded to wrap his head. pushing my hands away, he exhaled sharply as he pushed himself to sit up.

"stop moving!" i snapped, gripping the side of his face with one hand to keep him in place. using the other, i finished tying the cloth together. "you might have a concussion."

"'why would i come back?'" he ignored my protests and pointed at my chest. "you took a goddamn arrow for me and you're telling me i can't try to save you?"

"you could have died!"

"so could you!"

"but i didn't!" i said, gesturing at my completely alive self.

"what if you did? huh? then what?" xavier was getting increasingly irritated, and i couldn't figure out why.

there's no way-

"what do you care?" i tsked, and was about to tell xavier to drop it but he was faster.

"because i love you!" he yelled, "i love you, y/n! for fucks sake, i love you, and that's why i care!"

i froze in place, my heart pounding in my chest.

i suppose that love does not actually kill, which means that whoever said that line was terribly wrong.

"what?"

"did you not hear me? i said i-"

i cut him off before he could finish his sentence, grabbing the sides of his face to pull him down to mine.

and kissed him.

xavier let out a startled sound, before letting one hand rest on my hip as he gripped my collar with the other. i could feel the sweat and blood coating his skin, but it was nothing compared to the feeling of him.

despite the chaos, his hands were steady and he was sure of himself as he kissed me back. i let my hands wander, tangling them into the hair at his nape, tugging gently. he groaned slightly before letting out a surprised laugh, and i laughed as well, savouring the fact that he was here and he was safe and he was alive.

ironically, i seem to have become the very fool i was unimpressed by not so long ago.

i pulled away, breaths coming out in short gasps as i gazed up at him, clutching onto the front of his sweater.

xavier opened his eyes and gazed down at me, breathless. his eyes were blown wide, and there was a small smile playing on his lips.

then again, you don't fall in love every day.

and he was just so, so, beautiful.

"be mine" i whispered.

he stared at me, before sighing.

"y/n, i have always been yours. you just had to ask."

my heart sped up- "will you?"

"of course."

i smiled, wrapping my arms around his torso and resting my head against his chest. i could feel my wound protesting, but for now i focused on him and only him.

"i love you, xavier"

xavier placed a hand on the back of my head, carefully drawing me close and placed a soft kiss on the top of my head.

"i love you, y/n."

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ariel-seagull-wings · 6 months

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The GOOSE-GIRL AT THE WELL

@inevitablemoment @professorlehnsherr-almashy @themousefromfantasyland @the-blue-fairie @princesssarisa @softlytowardthesun @grimoireoffolkloreandfairytales @faintingheroine @amalthea9 @tamisdava2

(A german folktale collected by the Brothers Grimm)

There was once upon a time a very old woman, who lived with her flock of geese in a waste place among the mountains, and there had a little house. The waste was surrounded by a large forest, and every morning the old woman took her crutch and hobbled into it. There, however, the dame was quite active, more so than anyone would have thought, considering her age, and collected grass for her geese, picked all the wild fruit she could reach, and carried everything home on her back. Anyone would have thought that the heavy load would have weighed her to the ground, but she always brought it safely home. If anyone met her, she greeted him quite courteously. “Good day, dear countryman, it is a fine day. Ah! you wonder that I should drag grass about, but everyone must take his burden on his back.”

Nevertheless, people did not like to meet her if they could help it, and took by preference a roundabout way, and when a father with his boys passed her, he whispered to them, “Beware of the old woman. She has claws beneath her gloves; she is a witch.” One morning, a handsome young man was going through the forest. The sun shone bright, the birds sang, a cool breeze crept through the leaves, and he was full of joy and gladness. He had as yet met no one, when he suddenly perceived the old witch kneeling on the ground cutting grass with a sickle. She had already thrust a whole load into her cloth, and near it stood two baskets, which were filled with wild apples and pears.

“But, good little mother,” said he, “how canst thou carry all that away?”

“I must carry it, dear sir,” answered she, “rich folk’s children have no need to do such things, but with the peasant folk the saying goes, don’t look behind you, you will only see how crooked your back is!”

“Will you help me?” she said, as he remained standing by her. “You have still a straight back and young legs, it would be a trifle to you. Besides, my house is not so very far from here, it stands there on the heath behind the hill. How soon you would bound up thither.” The young man took compassion on the old woman.

“My father is certainly no peasant,” replied he, “but a rich count; nevertheless, that you may see that it is not only peasants who can carry things, I will take your bundle.”

“If you will try it,” said she, “I shall be very glad. You will certainly have to walk for an hour, but what will that signify to you; only you must carry the apples and pears as well?” It now seemed to the young man just a little serious, when he heard of an hour’s walk, but the old woman would not let him off, packed the bundle on his back, and hung the two baskets on his arm. “See, it is quite light,” said she.

“No, it is not light,” answered the count, and pulled a rueful face. “Verily, the bundle weighs as heavily as if it were full of cobble stones, and the apples and pears are as heavy as lead! I can scarcely breathe.” He had a mind to put everything down again, but the old woman would not allow it.

“Just look,” said she mockingly, “the young gentleman will not carry what I, an old woman, have so often dragged along. You are ready with fine words, but when it comes to be earnest, you want to take to your heels. Why are you standing loitering there?” she continued. “Step out. No one will take the bundle off again.” As long as he walked on level ground, it was still bearable, but when they came to the hill and had to climb, and the stones rolled down under his feet as if they were alive, it was beyond his strength. The drops of perspiration stood on his forehead, and ran, hot and cold, down his back.

“Dame,” said he, “I can go no farther. I want to rest a little.”

“Not here,” answered the old woman, “when we have arrived at our journey’s end, you can rest; but now you must go forward. Who knows what good it may do you?”

“Old woman, thou art becoming shameless!” said the count, and tried to throw off the bundle, but he laboured in vain; it stuck as fast to his back as if it grew there. He turned and twisted, but he could not get rid of it. The old woman laughed at this, and sprang about quite delighted on her crutch.

“Don’t get angry, dear sir,” said she, “you are growing as red in the face as a turkey-cock! Carry your bundle patiently. I will give you a good present when we get home.”

What could he do? He was obliged to submit to his fate, and crawl along patiently behind the old woman. She seemed to grow more and more nimble, and his burden still heavier. All at once she made a spring, jumped on to the bundle and seated herself on the top of it; and however withered she might be, she was yet heavier than the stoutest country lass. The youth’s knees trembled, but when he did not go on, the old woman hit him about the legs with a switch and with stinging-nettles. Groaning continually, he climbed the mountain, and at length reached the old woman’s house, when he was just about to drop. When the geese perceived the old woman, they flapped their wings, stretched out their necks, ran to meet her, cackling all the while. Behind the flock walked, stick in hand, an old wench, strong and big, but ugly as night.

“Good mother,” said she to the old woman, “has anything happened to you, you have stayed away so long?”

“By no means, my dear daughter,” answered she, “I have met with nothing bad, but, on the contrary, with this kind gentleman, who has carried my burden for me; only think, he even took me on his back when I was tired. The way, too, has not seemed long to us; we have been merry, and have been cracking jokes with each other all the time.” At last the old woman slid down, took the bundle off the young man’s back, and the baskets from his arm, looked at him quite kindly, and said, “Now seat yourself on the bench before the door, and rest. You have fairly earned your wages, and they shall not be wanting.” Then she said to the goose-girl, “Go into the house, my dear daughter, it is not becoming for thee to be alone with a young gentleman; one must not pour oil on to the fire, he might fall in love with thee.”

The count knew not whether to laugh or to cry. “Such a sweetheart as that,” thought he, “could not touch my heart, even if she were thirty years younger.” In the meantime the old woman stroked and fondled her geese as if they were children, and then went into the house with her daughter. The youth lay down on the bench, under a wild apple-tree. The air was warm and mild; on all sides stretched a green meadow, which was set with cowslips, wild thyme, and a thousand other flowers; through the midst of it rippled a clear brook on which the sun sparkled, and the white geese went walking backwards and forwards, or paddled in the water. “It is quite delightful here,” said he, “but I am so tired that I cannot keep my eyes open; I will sleep a little. If only a gust of wind does not come and blow my legs off my body, for they are as rotten as tinder.”

When he had slept a little while, the old woman came and shook him till he awoke. “Sit up,” said she, “thou canst not stay here; I have certainly treated thee hardly, still it has not cost thee thy life. Of money and land thou hast no need, here is something else for thee.” Thereupon she thrust a little book into his hand, which was cut out of a single emerald. “Take great care of it,” said she, “it will bring thee good fortune.” The count sprang up, and as he felt that he was quite fresh, and had recovered his vigor, he thanked the old woman for her present, and set off without even once looking back at the beautiful daughter. When he was already some way off, he still heard in the distance the noisy cry of the geese.

For three days the count had to wander in the wilderness before he could find his way out. He then reached a large town, and as no one knew him, he was led into the royal palace, where the King and Queen were sitting on their throne. The count fell on one knee, drew the emerald book out of his pocket, and laid it at the Queen’s feet. She bade him rise and hand her the little book. Hardly, however, had she opened it, and looked therein, than she fell as if dead to the ground. The count was seized by the King’s servants, and was being led to prison, when the Queen opened her eyes, and ordered them to release him, and everyone was to go out, as she wished to speak with him in private.

When the Queen was alone, she began to weep bitterly, and said, “Of what use to me are the splendours and honours with which I am surrounded; every morning I awake in pain and sorrow. I had three daughters, the youngest of whom was so beautiful that the whole world looked on her as a wonder. She was as white as snow, as rosy as apple-blossom, and her hair as radiant as sunbeams. When she cried, not tears fell from her eyes, but pearls and jewels only. When she was fifteen years old, the King summoned all three sisters to come before his throne. You should have seen how all the people gazed when the youngest entered, it was just as if the sun were rising! Then the King spoke, ‘My daughters, I know not when my last day may arrive; I will today decide what each shall receive at my death. You all love me, but the one of you who loves me best, shall fare the best.’ Each of them said she loved him best. ‘Can you not express to me,’ said the King, ‘how much you do love me, and thus I shall see what you mean?’

“The eldest spoke. ‘I love my father as dearly as the sweetest sugar.’

“The second, ‘I love my father as dearly as my prettiest dress.’ But the youngest was silent.

“Then the father said, ‘And thou, my dearest child, how much dost thou love me?’

“ ‘I do not know, and can compare my love with nothing.’ But her father insisted that she should name something. So she said at last, ‘The best food does not please me without salt, therefore I love my father like salt.’

“When the King heard that, he fell into a passion, and said, ‘If thou lovest me like salt, thy love shall also be repaid thee with salt.’ Then he divided the kingdom between the two elder, but caused a sack of salt to be bound on the back of the youngest, and two servants had to lead her forth into the wild forest. We all begged and prayed for her,” said the Queen, “but the King’s anger was not to be appeased. How she cried when she had to leave us! The whole road was strewn with the pearls which flowed from her eyes. The King soon afterwards repented of his great severity, and had the whole forest searched for the poor child, but no one could find her. When I think that the wild beasts have devoured her, I know not how to contain myself for sorrow; many a time I console myself with the hope that she is still alive, and may have hidden herself in a cave, or has found shelter with compassionate people. But picture to yourself, when I opened your little emerald book, a pearl lay therein, of exactly the same kind as those which used to fall from my daughter’s eyes; and then you can also imagine how the sight of it stirred my heart. You must tell me how you came by that pearl.” The count told her that he had received it from the old woman in the forest, who had appeared very strange to him, and must be a witch, but he had neither seen nor hear anything of the Queen’s child. The King and the Queen resolved to seek out the old woman. They thought that there where the pearl had been, they would obtain news of their daughter.

The old woman was sitting in that lonely place at her spinning-wheel, spinning. It was already dusk, and a log which was burning on the hearth gave a scanty light. All at once there was a noise outside, the geese were coming home from the pasture, and uttering their hoarse cries. Soon afterwards the daughter also entered. But the old woman scarcely thanked her, and only shook her head a little. The daughter sat down beside her, took her spinning-wheel, and twisted the threads as nimbly as a young girl. Thus they both sat for two hours, and exchanged never a word. At last something rustled at the window, and two fiery eyes peered in. It was an old night-owl, which cried, “Uhu!” three times. The old woman looked up just a little, then she said, “Now, my little daughter, it is time for thee to go out and do thy work.” She rose and went out, and where did she go? Over the meadows ever onward into the valley. At last she came to a well, with three old oak-trees standing beside it; meanwhile the moon had risen large and round over the mountain, and it was so light that one could have found a needle. She removed a skin which covered her face, then bent down to the well, and began to wash herself. When she had finished, she dipped the skin also in the water, and then laid it on the meadow, so that it should bleach in the moonlight, and dry again. But how the maiden was changed! Such a change as that was never seen before! When the gray mask fell off, her golden hair broke forth like sunbeams, and spread about like a mantle over her whole form. Her eyes shone out as brightly as the stars in heaven, and her cheeks bloomed a soft red like apple-blossom.

But the fair maiden was sad. She sat down and wept bitterly. One tear after another forced itself out of her eyes, and rolled through her long hair to the ground. There she sat, and would have remained sitting a long time, if there had not been a rustling and cracking in the boughs of the neighbouring tree. She sprang up like a roe which has been overtaken by the shot of the hunter. Just then the moon was obscured by a dark cloud, and in an instant the maiden had put on the old skin and vanished, like a light blown out by the wind.

She ran back home, trembling like an aspen-leaf. The old woman was standing on the threshold, and the girl was about to relate what had befallen her, but the old woman laughed kindly, and said, “I already know all.” She led her into the room and lighted a new log. She did not, however, sit down to her spinning again, but fetched a broom and began to sweep and scour, “All must be clean and sweet,” she said to the girl.

“But, mother,” said the maiden, “why do you begin work at so late an hour? What do you expect?”

“Dost thou know then what time it is?” asked the old woman.

“Not yet midnight,” answered the maiden, “but already past eleven o’clock.”

“Dost thou not remember,” continued the old woman, “that it is three years today since thou camest to me? Thy time is up, we can no longer remain together.”

The girl was terrified, and said, “Alas! dear mother, will you cast me off? Where shall I go? I have no friends, and no home to which I can go. I have always done as you bade me, and you have always been satisfied with me; do not send me away.”

The old woman would not tell the maiden what lay before her. “My stay here is over,” she said to her, “but when I depart, house and parlour must be clean: therefore do not hinder me in my work. Have no care for thyself, thou shalt find a roof to shelter thee, and the wages which I will give thee shall also content thee.”

“But tell me what is about to happen,” the maiden continued to entreat.

“I tell thee again, do not hinder me in my work. Do not say a word more, go to thy chamber, take the skin off thy face, and put on the silken gown which thou hadst on when thou camest to me, and then wait in thy chamber until I call thee.”

But I must once more tell of the King and Queen, who had journeyed forth with the count in order to seek out the old woman in the wilderness. The count had strayed away from them in the wood by night, and had to walk onwards alone. Next day it seemed to him that he was on the right track. He still went forward, until darkness came on, then he climbed a tree, intending to pass the night there, for he feared that he might lose his way. When the moon illumined the surrounding country he perceived a figure coming down the mountain. She had no stick in her hand, but yet he could see that it was the goose-girl, whom he had seen before in the house of the old woman. “Oho,” cried he, “there she comes, and if I once get hold of one of the witches, the other shall not escape me!” But how astonished he was, when she went to the well, took off the skin and washed herself, when her golden hair fell down all about her, and she was more beautiful than anyone whom he had ever seen in the whole world. He hardly dared to breathe, but stretched his head as far forward through the leaves as he dared, and stared at her. Either he bent over too far, or whatever the cause might be, the bough suddenly cracked, and that very moment the maiden slipped into the skin, sprang away like a roe, and as the moon was suddenly covered, disappeared from his eyes. Hardly had she disappeared, before the count descended from the tree, and hastened after her with nimble steps. He had not been gone long before he saw, in the twilight, two figures coming over the meadow. It was the King and Queen, who had perceived from a distance the light shining in the old woman’s little house, and were going to it. The count told them what wonderful things he had seen by the well, and they did not doubt that it had been their lost daughter. They walked onwards full of joy, and soon came to the little house. The geese were sitting all round it, and had thrust their heads under their wings and were sleeping, and not one of them moved. The King and Queen looked in at the window, the old woman was sitting there quite quietly spinning, nodding her head and never looking round. The room was perfectly clean, as if the little mist men, who carry no dust on their feet, lived there. Their daughter, however, they did not see. They gazed at all this for a long time, at last they took heart, and knocked softly at the window.

The old woman appeared to have been expecting them; she rose, and called out quite kindly, “Come in⁠—I know you already.” When they had entered the room, the old woman said, “You might have spared yourself the long walk, if you had not three years ago unjustly driven away your child, who is so good and lovable. No harm has come to her; for three years she has had to tend the geese; with them she has learnt no evil, but has preserved her purity of heart. You, however, have been sufficiently punished by the misery in which you have lived.” Then she went to the chamber and called, “Come out, my little daughter.” Thereupon the door opened, and the princess stepped out in her silken garments, with her golden hair and her shining eyes, and it was as if an angel from heaven had entered.

She went up to her father and mother, fell on their necks and kissed them; there was no help for it, they all had to weep for joy. The young count stood near them, and when she perceived him she became as red in the face as a moss-rose, she herself did not know why. The King said, “My dear child, I have given away my kingdom, what shall I give thee?”

“She needs nothing,” said the old woman. “I give her the tears that she has wept on your account; they are precious pearls, finer than those that are found in the sea, and worth more than your whole kingdom, and I give her my little house as payment for her services.” When the old woman had said that, she disappeared from their sight. The walls rattled a little, and when the King and Queen looked round, the little house had changed into a splendid palace, a royal table had been spread, and the servants were running hither and thither.

The story goes still further, but my grandmother, who related it to me, had partly lost her memory, and had forgotten the rest. I shall always believe that the beautiful princess married the count, and that they remained together in the palace, and lived there in all happiness so long as God willed it. Whether the snow-white geese, which were kept near the little hut, were verily young maidens (no one need take offence,) whom the old woman had taken under her protection, and whether they now received their human form again, and stayed as handmaids to the young Queen, I do not exactly know, but I suspect it. This much is certain, that the old woman was no witch, as people thought, but a wise woman, who meant well. Very likely it was she who, at the princess’s birth, gave her the gift of weeping pearls instead of tears. That does not happen nowadays, or else the poor would soon become rich.

#folklore #folktales #fairy tales #fantasy #literature #inspiration station #germany #brothers grimm

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bijoumikhawal · 2 days

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Lady Wisdom, Chokhmah. Inspired by her description in Proverbs, a brief discussion in the Hebrew Priestess, and the song Crossroads by Taya Ma

Proverbs 3:13-18; Happy is the man that findeth Wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding/For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold./She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her./Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour/Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace/She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

Proverbs 8:1-3; Will not wisdom call out, and understanding give forth its voice?/At the top of the heights upon the road; at the crossroads she stands./Beside the gates, at the entrance of the roof, at the entrance of the portals she cries

Proverbs 8:22-23; The Lord acquired me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old./From the distant past I was enthroned, from the beginning, of those that preceded the earth.

Proverbs 9:1-5; Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars/She has prepared her meat; she has mingled her wine; she has even set her table./She has sent her maidens, she calls on the wings of the heights of the city,/Whoever is simple, let him turn in here. To the one devoid of sense, she says to him,/Come, partake of my bread and drink of the wine I have mingled.

I interpreted the pillars as trees because a similar thing happens elsewhere in scripture, and there's mention of the fruits/produce of Wisdom, as well as Chokhmah being identified with the Tree of Life

The snake is here because of its connection to the Tree of Knowledge, which obviously goes alongside Wisdom. The Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge are also mentioned in relation and contrast to each other in Genesis

All the trees (olive, sycamore-fig, pomegranate, quince, carob, almond, date palm) are important in Judaism and bear edible produce. Some scholars believe mentions often translated as "apple" are actually quinces, and quinces enjoy decent popularity in Jewish cuisines. Sycamore-figs aren't common in the US, but they are mentioned in scripture and have been a tree of life in Ancient Egypt and modern Egyptian folklore.

#cipher talk #my art #Lady Wisdom #Chokhmah

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talonabraxas · 5 months

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Address to Venus By Lucretius

Delight of Human kind, and Gods above;

Parent of Rome; Propitious Queen of Love;

Whose vital pow’r, Air, Earth, and Sea supplies;

And breeds what e’r is born beneath the rowling Skies:

For every kind, by thy prolifique might,

Springs, and beholds the Regions of the light:

Thee, Goddess thee, the clouds and tempests fear,

And at thy pleasing presence disappear:

For thee the Land in fragrant Flow’rs is drest,

For thee the Ocean smiles, and smooths her wavy breast;

And Heav’n it self with more serene, and purer light is blest.

For when the rising Spring adorns the Mead,

And a new Scene of Nature stands display’d,

When teeming Budds, and chearful greens appear,

And Western gales unlock the lazy year,

The joyous Birds thy welcome first express,

Whose native Songs thy genial fire confess:

Then savage Beasts bound o’re their slighted food,

Strook with thy darts, and tempt the raging floud:

All Nature is thy Gift; Earth, Air, and Sea:

Of all that breathes, the various progeny,

Stung with delight, is goaded on by thee.

O’er barren Mountains, o’er the flow’ry Plain,

The leavy Forest, and the liquid Main

Extends thy uncontroul’d and boundless reign.

Through all the living Regions dost thou move,

And scattr’st, where thou goest, the kindly seeds of Love:

Since then the race of every living thing,

Obeys thy pow’r; since nothing new can spring

Without thy warmth, without thy influence bear,

Or beautiful, or lovesome can appear,

Be thou my ayd: My tuneful Song inspire,

And kindle with thy own productive fire;

While all thy Province Nature, I survey,

And sing to Memmius an immortal lay

Of Heav’n, and Earth, and every where thy wond’rous pow’r display.

To Memmius, under thy sweet influence born,

Whom thou with all thy gifts and graces dost adorn.

The rather, then assist my Muse and me,

Infusing Verses worthy him and thee.

Mean time on Land and Sea let barb’rous discord cease,

And lull the listening world in universal peace.

To thee, Mankind their soft repose must owe,

For thou alone that blessing canst bestow;

Because the brutal business of the War

Is manag’d by thy dreadful Servant’s care:

Who oft retires from fighting fields, to prove

The pleasing pains of thy eternal Love:

And panting on thy breast, supinely lies,

While with thy heavenly form he feeds his famish’d eyes:

Sucks in with open lips, thy balmy breath,

By turns restor’d to life, and plung’d in pleasing death.

There while thy curling limbs about him move,

Involv’d and fetter’d in the links of Love,

When wishing all, he nothing can deny,

Thy charms in that auspicious moment try;

With winning eloquence our peace implore,

And quiet to the weary World restore.

Venus Transit Pluto Talon Abraxas

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pugzman3 · 6 months

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Joshua 6:10-13 KJV

10 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?

11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.

12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.

13 Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.

Context.....the children of Israel had just got stomped in a battle at Ai. They lost 36,000 men, because one man had taken an accursed thing from a previous defeat. Achan had taken an onject the LORD said not to, hid it within his possessions, and the LORD removed his protection, and they took a beat down and had to retreat. Look around today. How many accursed things do we see? We are a nation of idolatry. We are so deep in it we don't even recognize it in plain sight. Statues, objects, money, celebrations.... vanity upon vanity, celebrities, politicians, entertainers, ourselves.... vanity upon vanity. No one is going to stop this as a whole, but you can remove the accursed things from your own life, your children's life.

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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 10 months

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https://quranx.com/2.191

And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. And fight not with them at the Inviolable Place of Worship until they first attack you there, but if they attack you (there) then slay them. Such is the reward of disbelievers.

https://quranx.com/3.28

Let not the believers take disbelievers for their friends in preference to believers. Whoso doeth that hath no connection with Allah unless (it be) that ye but guard yourselves against them, taking (as it were) security. Allah biddeth you beware (only) of Himself. Unto Allah is the journeying.

https://quranx.com/3.85

And whoso seeketh as religion other than the Surrender (to Allah) it will not be accepted from him, and he will be a loser in the Hereafter.

https://quranx.com/5.33

The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom;

https://quranx.com/8.12

When thy Lord inspired the angels, (saying): I am with you. So make those who believe stand firm. I will throw fear into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Then smite the necks and smite of them each finger.

https://quranx.com/8.60

Make ready for them all thou canst of (armed) force and of horses tethered, that thereby ye may dismay the enemy of Allah and your enemy, and others beside them whom ye know not. Allah knoweth them. Whatsoever ye spend in the way of Allah it will be repaid to you in full, and ye will not be wronged.

https://quranx.com/8.65

O Prophet! Exhort the believers to fight. If there be of you twenty steadfast they shall overcome two hundred, and if there be of you a hundred (steadfast) they shall overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve, because they (the disbelievers) are a folk without intelligence.

https://quranx.com/9.5

Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

https://quranx.com/9.30

And the Jews say: Ezra is the son of Allah, and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah. That is their saying with their mouths. They imitate the saying of those who disbelieved of old. Allah (Himself) fighteth against them. How perverse are they!

https://quranx.com/9.123

O ye who believe! Fight those of the disbelievers who are near to you, and let them find harshness in you, and know that Allah is with those who keep their duty (unto Him).

https://quranx.com/22.19-21

These twain (the believers and the disbelievers) are two opponents who contend concerning their Lord. But as for those who disbelieve, garments of fire will be cut out for them; boiling fluid will be poured down on their heads, Whereby that which is in their bellies, and their skins too, will be melted; And for them are hooked rods of iron.

https://quranx.com/47.4

Now when ye meet in battle those who disbelieve, then it is smiting of the necks until, when ye have routed them, then making fast of bonds; and afterward either grace or ransom till the war lay down its burdens. That (is the ordinance). And if Allah willed He could have punished them (without you) but (thus it is ordained) that He may try some of you by means of others. And those who are slain in the way of Allah, He rendereth not their actions vain.

So peace.

#islam #this is islam #quran #islamic violence #religion of peace #religion of violence #religion #terrorism #islamic terrorism #religion of terrorism #religion is a mental illness

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theredquilt · 2 years

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sometimes I remember rhett has posted these gems on his insta and the stress is ✨overwhelming✨

🥰 4 u

Yeah this is pretty stressful thanks! 💖

#I just want to gnaw on his shoulders is that so much to ask??#thank you for the gift #all I can hear is Dennis Reynolds screaming 'I am a golden god!'#like this is a perfect picture #its perfect?#I canst stands it #askask

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faintingheroine · 2 months

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“I remember the master, before he fell into a doze, stroking her bonny hair—it pleased him rarely to see her gentle—and saying, ‘Why canst thou not always be a good lass, Cathy?’ And she turned her face up to his, and laughed, and answered, ‘Why cannot you always be a good man, father?’ But as soon as she saw him vexed again, she kissed his hand, and said she would sing him to sleep.”

(Chapter 5, Wuthering Heights)

“And then they would say to her, ‘you are making your father unhappy!..’

But her, they were making her unhappy too. Who? Why? How? She did not know, but here she was, unhappy. Today, more than ever… So they now expected this great sacrifice from her too, from her weak heart? So if she were to cry, and revolt against this, they would stand before her and say, ‘Nihal! You are making your father unhappy.’ But who was it who was truly made unhappy?”

(Chapter 14, Aşk-ı Memnu)

I am not equating the two passages, Catherine Earnshaw directly laughingly telling to her father’s face that he too is sometimes not a good man is on a much higher level of badassery than Nihal’s inner thoughts about her father making her unhappy. Nihal is harshly critical of her father in her thoughts, but she always turns it into anger against Bihter, never putting the whole blame onto her father.

But, both passages are ultimately about others blaming the young daughter for the troubles in her relationship with her father and the daughter turning around and saying “hey, my father is not much better and he too should be criticized”.

#aşk ı memnu #aşk-ı memnu #nihal #wuthering heights #catherine earnshaw #mr. earnshaw #adnan bey

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spiralcass · 10 months

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NEW X-MEN: THE ANIMATED SERIES - SEASON 2, EPISODE 4

We open with a riff on a James Bond theme playing as we fade in from black into a brief Roberto Da Costa music video, sung by his VA, about how he’s the “hottest” man in the world, with the visuals showing off his awesome heat-based abilities, as well as how sexy he is.

We transition to Roberto in a hotel room, changing into a tuxedo with his eyes closed as he hums the song, all of this having been in his head. As he finishes getting changed, taking cufflinks out of a box with the initials “EDC” on them, someone mockingly asks if he’s singing.

Turning around, Roberto grins at Domino, who’s wearing a slinky dress, the camera panning up her body. He says he knows she’s short-tempered, “not the best trait in an assassin if you ask me”, but does even the joy of music annoy her? Domino rolls her eyes. She swears he was never THIS much of a doofus.

Roberto laughs. He approaches Domino and hooks his arm around hers, leading the two out into the hallway and shutting the door behind them.

ROBERTO: “To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”

DOMINO, with no idea what he’s talking about: “HUH?”

ROBERTO: “Never mind, my dear. Let’s stay focused on the task at hand.”

Roberto leads the two down the hallway.

ROBERTO: “We have death machines to obtain.”

We cut to a stunning beach at sunset, the reddish-purple sky reflected in the pristine water. A wind blows through the sand…or so it seems. Much of the sand of the beach rises up and circles around itself in ways wind could never make it. It dances through the air with a mind of its own, shaping itself into flowers and spreading itself across the sky far and wide.

The sand eventually settles down and returns to the ground, with much of it reforming into Sooraya. Soo, laying back on the sand, has her eyes closed and is grinning from ear to ear, in complete peace from being in her element.

“Just as I thought it would, the beach agrees with you.”

Dust opens her eyes to see Emma standing over her in sunglasses and a bikini. Soo pats herself off as she stands up and thanks Emma for bringing her here. This beach is perfect.

EMMA: “With how much I paid for it, darling, it should be.”

Emma apologizes to Sooraya for not having done more for her up until now. She’s suffered the worst of any of her squad, and she’s proven herself to be nearly as capable as Hellion and Wind Dancer, and yet her priorities have remained elsewhere. She hopes today can make up for that.

Sooraya tells Ms. Frost that she’s everything she was ever taught a good woman shouldn’t be, and yet, so often, she surprises her.

SOORAYA: “I do not expect or require anything from you at all. So this…this is wonderful.”

Emma snickers. Sooraya questions what the joke is here, with Emma explaining that this beach, which she now has free access to, is just an appetizer to her real apology.

EMMA: “I found her, Sooraya.” Dust’s jaw drops. “I found your mother. In two hours, a flight will be taking you and Storm to go see her.”

Dust’s eyes widen as she cries tears of joy.

Sunspot and Domino enter a massive, brightly lit casino, filled by men in tuxedos and women in dresses fluttering around, and the sound of hundreds of slot machines. Roberto and Neena banter as they’re patted down by unusually heavily armed security, with the audience getting clued into what they’re doing here.

When Nova and Stryker were able to get production resumed on sentinels, they were able to create a few prototypes far more powerful than standard ones. Those were the ones that overwhelmed Hellion, Mercury, and Dust. And while without Nova, Stryker, or any of the Purifers left, production has ceased, that won’t last long. The schematics for the “super sentinels” made their way onto the black market, and tonight, they’re the prize for an exclusive poker tournament.

DOMINO: “Yeah, about that. Remind me how we even got in here? The buy-in was over two million. Didn’t you go broke driving your old man’s company into the ground?”

ROBERTO, keeping up his smile: “It is true I did not manage Da Costa International as well as my father, but I do not regret my refusal to maintain the practices he used to build the business to where it was. As for how I got my seat, you need not worry. You’re just here to make me look good, and be my lucky charm.”

Neena rolls her eyes.

Roberto says that all that matters is that they’re here, and they’re going to win those schematics so they can destroy them. With his brains and her probability manipulation, it should be a cinch.

On a plane, Sooraya and Ororo are seated together in economy class. Sooraya doesn’t care because all that matters right now is how utterly GLEEFUL she is to be able to rescue her mother, but she is surprised Ms. Frost arranged for them to fly this way. Over Thanksgiving break, she’d flown out her whole squad + Laura on a private jet to one of her estates to celebrate.

SOORAYA: “I’m still unsure why Ms. Moonstar didn’t want to go with us.”

Storm doesn’t touch that one for the time being, not wanting to spoil Dust’s mood, instead just answering her question by saying she’s grateful to Emma for finding Mirah Qadir, but she doesn’t want anything else from her.

STORM: “With Emma, there are always strings attached. Never forget that.”

But they shouldn’t be talking about Emma right now. Storm wants to hear all about Soo’s mom. Dust quietly speaks about her, a warm smile on her face the entire time. She’s a normal woman, in every way, but also in the best way possible. She is kind, sweet and loving. She is a good Muslim who passed down all of her family's traditions to her. She is a faithful servant of Allah, and she knows he loves her as much as she loves him. And she always did everything she could to take care of her.

Storm smiles along through all of this and, when Soo is done, tells her that she doesn’t think she sounds normal at all. The traits she just listed off are far more rare than they should be. She’s exceptional.

STORM: “She always took care of you, little one. And now, you’re going to take care of her.”

Sooraya nods with pleased determination.

In the casino, Roberto and Neena wait for the tournament to begin while having some drinks at the bar. Neena mentions that she’s thought about opening up a casino a few times. A couple of her girlfriends are always pushing the idea on her, but she’s never gotten around to it.

ROBERTO: “I’m sure all the people you kill for a living would appreciate the career change.”

NEENA: “Please. You aren’t slick, Beto. If you actually had a problem with a few chumps getting headshot, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

ROBERTO: “Our mutual mentor was a soldier from the future who ran around with a gun bigger than you. I may see the gray in the world, but that doesn’t mean I endorse it.”

Neena chugs back the rest of her drink and orders a refill.

NEENA: "If you did want me to consider quitting, startup capital for that casino would help big time.”

ROBERTO, laughing: “One thing at a time.”

As Beto sips his drink, he points out some of the people he recognizes as power players who are going to be participating in the tournament.

ROBERTO: “That man in the booth is Carlton Kilgore. One of the most notorious arms dealers on the planet. The not-so-fine lady across from him is Lenore Kensington. You could try guessing the number of workers she’s exploited to death building her hotel empire, but however high you guessed, you wouldn’t come close.” Beto gestures with his head to a muscular Caucasian man nervously walking right past the bar. “The man who’s trying his best to stay sober is Graydon Creed.”

NEENA: “Wait, as in “Creed” Creed?”

ROBERTO: “Mmhmm. Sabretooth’s son. Mystique’s too.”

NEENA: “Get out.”

ROBERTO: “I know, it’s delicious goss. Surprise, surprise, he’s a nasty piece of work. Human too. And he blames all of us for his parents’ sins.”

A dark-skinned young woman in an elegant red dress with long red gloves enters the bar, sits down at a table, and gets on her phone.

ROBERTO: “Now, if you’d like a competitor without even a Freudian excuse for their bigotry, look no further than Penelope Enduque. Penny, to the demons she calls friends.”

NEENA: “She’s a dark sorcerer?”

ROBERTO: “Worse. A sorority girl. Only 19 years old, but the slavery heiress has already made a hobby out of having young Mutants kidnapped and torturing them to death.”

Penelope belts out a high-pitched cackle at something on her phone.

NEENA: “Lovely. I see why you brought me.”

Roberto gets his drink refilled.

ROBERTO: “There’s no one else I could trust with this.”

The two both drink, before getting up. It’s time to get ready.

We cut to Afghanistan. Specifically, a brothel in Afghanistan. It’s a bright, deathly hot morning, The “bitches” are shouted at in Dari to wake the Hell up. They have clients coming in early today. Among the half a dozen Arabic women cramped into a small bedroom is Sooraya’s mother, Mirah. After getting dressed, the women go downstairs, where they’re met by their captors, a group of armed white men. As they chide and threaten the women, it’s made clear that this is just one of a branch of Western-run overseas operations like this.

One of the men grips Mirah’s face. She barely reacts. He comments that she’s been an annoyingly resilient one, but looking into her eyes, he can see the light has finally gone out.

MAN #1, translated: “Now that you’re finally housebroken like a good animal, maybe I should have a taste.”

Mirah struggles to maintain her composure, but she doesn’t have to for long.

A powerful wind blows the front door off its hinges. As the women cower, the men pull their guns, but they too fill with fear as Storm appears in the doorway, lightning in her eyes. They try shooting at her, but she simply stops the bullets in mid-air with her winds, and shoots them back, right into the men’s kneecaps. As they scream in agony, she knocks each one out with a baseball-sized chunk of hail.

STORM: “Slavers. Of all who taint this beautiful world, none bring more shame to it than them.”

Storm turns off her powers and, with a comforting smile, approaches the women, who are all still scared of her. She assures them they have nothing to fear. She is Storm of the X-Men, and she is here to break their chains and set them free.

WOMAN #1: “X-Men?”

STORM: “Mutants who seek to make the world a better place.” She turns her head. “Mutants like your daughter, Mirah Qadir.”

Mirah’s eyes widen as Sooraya enters the house.

SOORAYA, in disbelief: “Ommi…”

MIRAH, in equal astonishment: “Sooraya…”

Without another word, the two run up to each and hug, crying tears of joy over being reunited. The other women are no longer afraid and cheer in celebration, with Storm enjoying the happy sight and feeling proud of herself, telling them all to follow her.

In the casino, Domino stands right outside the backroom alongside the other players’ dates and security guards. Inside, the game is getting started. Roberto, Carlton, Lenore, Graydon, Penny, and John Sublime sit around a table, along with three elderly men, and the dealer, who welcomes them all and introduces himself. He was a Purifier and one of William Stryker’s closest confidantes. He has no means left to continue their holy mission, and, while he does not approve of the means anyone sitting here has used to obtain their fortunes, he knows that with their power and connections, and the weapons he has to offer, their work can still be completed.

They’ve all paid the 2.5 million buy-in. They each have 25 chips. And it’s time to begin.

As the cards are dealt, the players get a moment to converse and size each other up.

GRAYDON: “That’s a nice speech and all, but then why exactly am I sitting across from not only a Mutant, but an X-Man?”

CARLTON: “I had the same thought.”

Lenore and the old men hum in agreement.

SUBLIME: “Wow, you people are so harsh and judgemental. Not everyone at this table hates Mutants. Some of us just think their parts can be put to better use. Go on, Mr. Da Costa, I’m sure you have an excellent reason for being here. Otherwise, I’ll have to assume our dear host is under telepathic influence and, well…that wouldn’t be good for anyone here.”

PENNY: “Yes, please enlighten us. Patience is not among the short list of virtues I possess.”

With all eyes on him, Roberto leans back casually in his chair and laughs.

ROBERTO: “Carlton, Lenore, you were both associates of my father in the Hellfire Club, correct?” They continue to stare. “It shouldn’t be so hard to believe I picked up a thing or two from him. For my own well-being, unfortunate measures are sometimes necessary. Our host and his baseline co-workers played a role in destroying Genosha, but it was a Mutant pulling William Stryker’s strings, and a Mutant who prevented the X-Men from stopping its destruction.” Roberto form changes for a moment. “Look at me. I can bend and melt steel. I’m dangerous certainly, but no more to most than an assault rifle.” He changes back. “It’s because of those among us who threaten our entire shared world that I desire the prize, not so I can destroy it.”

Some people at the table appear convinced. Others not so much.

GRAYDON: “You believe all this? Really?!”

PURIFIER, remorsefully: “Mr. Da Costa is correct that a blasphemous Mutant disguised herself as our lord, and was the true power behind the Purifers. He exposed me to this terrible truth, and for that, tonight, he receives my trust. A demon who fights other demons is no better than the rest of his kind, but could potentially be more effective. Now, are there any further objections to his presence?”

Silence.

PURIFER: “Very well then. Let’s begin.”

Roberto leans forward and picks up his cards, only to notice Penny staring at him with eager eyes.

In a moderately nice hotel, Sooraya, Storm, and Mirah are sat down to a meal. Mirah has been able to clean herself up, get clean clothes on, and is eating more than she has in over a year. She wants to be slow and polite about it, but Sooraya, who could not be happier about life right now, assures her Allah will not mind her eating a little faster to restore her health.

Mirah does pick up the pace a little, but what she’s most happy to hear from her daughter is that living in America hasn’t stripped away her culture or her faith.

MIRAH, translated: “I am…surprised. You even still wear your burqa.”

SOORAYA, translated: “I never wore it because I had to, Mother. I wear it for myself, and the modesty and protection is affords.”

Mirah is delighted that Sooraya is in a place where she gets to make that choice. Sooraya excitedly tells her she can come live with her in America. The headmasters at the Mutant school she attends are extremely powerful, and have the connections to help her immigrate.

Mirah cries tears of joy. She’d love that. As she dabs her eyes, she turns to Storm.

MIRAH, translated: “I do not know anything about Mutants. But I know that you are heroes. And that you are making my daughter into one as well. Thank you.”

STORM, translated: “Teaching children like Sooraya, the pleasure is all mine.”

Storm turns to her Dust and tells her she already called Scott, and the arrangements are in-progress. She should be a full US citizen with a home by the end of the semester.

DUST: “Mr. Summers and Ms. Frost can really do anything, can’t they?”

STORM: “For better and for worse.”

Ororo tells her that this will be her home too when not in school, so she should start thinking about what she and her mother would like.

SOORAYA: “Thank you. But I’m not leaving my mother alone ever again.”

STORM: “What do you mean?”

SOORAYA: “I mean…I’m leaving the school.”

In the first hand of the poker tournament, Roberto intentionally loses a quarter of his money. Penny wins the pot, while he makes himself appear needlessly reckless and poor at counting cards, having told Domino previously not to activate her luck powers in his favor until the second hand. He couldn’t make the cheating TOO obvious, after all.

In the following hands, Roberto cleans up, winning hand after hand after hand, sprinkling in the occasional small loss.

Outside in the hall, Domino snickers to herself as she listens to the reactions she’s causing among the losers. As she picks up her head, she notices a brain in a jar floating next to her.

DOMINO: “Um…hi? Can I help you?”

The water in Martha’s tank bubbles.

DOMINO: “Right. Great talk.”

After eight rounds, Roberto has a dominant lead, and the three old men, Lenore, and Graydon have been cleaned it, Graydon shouting on his way out than they better not let the Mutant win, and Lenore huffing that she has better things to do at home with her cats, anyway.

With only Roberto, Sublime, Penny, and Carlton still in, the four finalists are encouraged to take a small break, and be back in 15 minutes. While the other three go to do just that, Sublime stays behind for a moment.

PURIFIER: “Is something wrong, Mr. Sublime?”

SUBLIME: “Oh, not at all! I may be in third place right now, but it’s like I tell my boys: it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.”

PURIFIER: “A respectable attitude. What is it then?”

SUBLIME: “Nothing too serious. I just can’t allow the X-Men to take my sentinels.”

Sublime sticks his hand directly into the Purifier’s stomach with one hand, covering his mouth with his other. Sublime dissolves into microscopic dust, as he infects the Purifier’s body. The Purifier initially takes on Sublime’s form, before shitftng back into the form of his new host body.

SUBLIME: “Nothing personal, chum.”

With night having fallen, and Mirah asleep in their hotel room, Storm and Sooraya speak out on the balcony. Ororo asks her what she meant earlier. Soo answers that she meant exactly what she said. She loves the school, and her friends, and her teachers, but she only ever stayed there because she had nowhere else to go. Because she didn’t have her mother. And now, her mom needs her more than ever. She isn’t abandoning her.

SOORAYA, loiwering her head: “She praised you all for being heroes, and for making me one as well. But I don’t want to be a hero. Not like that. I’m not Sofia or Julian or Noriko or Cessily. I don’t like fighting. I don’t want my life to be about fighting.”

We flashback to when Sooraya first developed her powers, transforming into jagged sand to skin away the flesh of two of her captors.

Back in the present…

SOORAYA: “I killed two people before Cyclops and Logan found me. Maybe that is why Laura and I bonded so easily. I don’t know. I just know I never want to do anything like that again. I never want to feel the way I felt fighting the Sentinels again. I may have performed better than the others, but I hated it. I only want peace.”

Storm takes a moment to think. When she’s done, she lightly presses her fingers against Sooraya’s chin and picks her head up.

STORM, smiling: “If you do not wish to stay at the school, that is your choice. If you do not wish to be an X-Man like your friends, no one will ever make you. Your family, and living the life which will make you happiest comes first. We will all support your decision.”

Sooraya is pleased to hear that.

STORM, her hand removed and smile faded: “However, much as it pains to me to say it, no matter what you do, there will be no peace for you. Not until the X-Men’s mission of achieving harmony between baselines and Mutants is complete. Until then, even if you are not an X-Man, you will have to fight. That is the reality of the world. That is what it means to be a Mutant.”

Sooraya takes a breath.

SOORAYA: “I have other reasons people in America will hate me besides being a Mutant. As do you. Even if the dream is achieved, that will not change. I will not live in fear. I will not seek out battles. I will live my life the way I want to. I wish you all luck, but your fight is not my own.”

Ororo nods her head along, and says she understands. But she wants her to understand she’ll always have a home with them. Sooraya thanks her once again, and the two hug.

Roberto sits down at the casino bar, pleased with his performance so far.

ROBERTO: “A martini. Shaken, not stirred.”

The bartender rolls his eyes as he turns around to get him his drink. He isn’t the only one who finds this unammusing.

PENNY, sitting down next to him: “Playing James Bond? Really? How childish.” She turns to the bartender. “A chocolate milk please.”

The bartender, wondering where these man and women children are coming from, does his best to remain polite.

BARTENDER: “I’m sorry, ma’am. We do not have any kind of milk.”

PENNY: “Oh. A coke shall do then.”

As the bartender pours her drink, Penny turns back to Roberto.

PENNY: “You’re putting on quite the show in there.”

ROBERTO: “You’re not too bad yourself.”

PENNY: “A constant of my life. Though I can’t say I possess your gift for gab. It’s impressive.”

ROBERTO: “My skills come as naturally to me as our good looks do to us both ”

Penny is handed her drink and the two clink glasses.

Penny laughs under her breath.

PENNY: “Dignified. Intelligent. Sensible. Charming.You’re a credit to your species, Mr. Da Costa.”

ROBERTO: “Hey, now, Mutants and humans are not separate species. We share all but a single gene.”

PENNY: “Oh, please. Don’t go all progressive on me now.”

Carlton enters the bar.

ROBERTO: “I did not mean to upset you. And if you don’t hate me for that comment, I would love to show your what my mouth is good for besides gab.”

Penny immediately throws her drink in Roberto’s face.

PENNY: “I’ve never been so quickly disappointed.” Penny gets up and stomps off. “Damn Muties are all the same.”

Carlton laughs at this sight.

Roberto grabs a napkin, but also licks some of the soda on his face.

The next morning in Afghanistan, Sooraya and Mirah are woken up by their alarm clock, Storm having slept in a separate room. As they get up, Mirah raves about the temporary housing that was set up for her that she’ll be staying in until her immigration process is complete. Sooraya is just so fortunate to have met these wonderful people.

SOORAYA, getting changed: “Cyclops and Ms. FrostI don’t believe you’d approve of them.”

MIRAH: “Nonsense!” She takes her daughter’s hands. “They brought us back together. And in a few months, we will never be apart again.”

Sooraya grips her mother’s hands back.

SOORAYA: “Mother, I thought about it, and I’ve decided I’m not returning to America with Storm. I’m going to stay here with you until we can both leave. I’ll return to school eventually, but not to one that separates us.”

Mirah pulls alway with concern. Sooraya questions what’s wrong. Mirah tells her that she understands her. They’ve both been through so many horrible experiences and she’s missed Sooraya just as much as she’s missed her. But Xavier’s is the type of opportunity she never could have imagined for her. More than, even in America, she could ever provide for her. She has a place where she’s free to be whoever she wants, and surrounded by friends and mentors who care about her. That’s guiding her toward a real future, while helping her learn to control what makes her special.

SOORAYA, quietly: “You support me being a Mutant?”

MURAH: “Child, why wouldn’t I?! Allah has blessed you. He felt your love and made you special. He gave you the power to protect yourself and fight in his name. He led you to your new home.”

Mirah doesn’t understand how anyone could ever think being a Mutant is anything but a gift. Sooraya, with everything she’s seen, just mumbles that she doesn’t understand either.

Soo is glad her mom thinks of her mutation this way, she’s often thought about it this way herself, but that doesn’t change how she feels about everything else. Yes, she’s never been happier than the time she’s spent with her friends at school, but she’s already mastered her gifts well-enough, and she only wants to use them to protect the two of them. Is that really so wrong? To not want to fight?

MIRAH, shuts her eyes and smiles: “Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loveth not transgressors.”

She opens her eyes and hums about how good it feels to speak his words again. She tells Sooraya that, no, there’s nothing wrong with any choice she makes. But she is a woman who can take care of herself. And Sooraya is so much more. With the X-Men, she can help people and serve Allah in so many ways.

MIRAH: “Tell me…do you know of a single other believer who is a Mutant?” Sooraya shakes her head. “Exactly. He chose you, and only you, for a reason. I know it.” Mirah hugs Sooraya once again. “Stay with me if you’d like. But don’t stay for me.”

Despite being certain in her choice last night, Soo is now unsure about what to do.

Roberto, Penny, and Carlton re-enter the poker room, Roberto having held the door open for Penny, with her scoffing at him and turning her nose up in response. The only ones remaining outside the room are Domino and two security guards.

DOMINO, on her earpiece: “Sunspot, Sublime’s pet brain is gone.”

SUNSPOT, on her earpiece: “So is the man himself it would seem.”

Suddenly, a chill goes down the three remaining gamblers’ spines as they’re frozen in place. The camera reveals Martha in her brain jar is stuck to the ceiling.

PENNY: “What the Hell?!”

ROBERTO: “Well, my dear, it seems Sublime realized he wasn’t going to win here. If I had to wager, I’d say he’s kidnapped our host and is forcing him to take him to the prize.”

CARLTON: “Dammit! How many Mutants came to this damn thing! If that good for nothing religious freak is still alive, I’ll feed him to my damn sha–”

Before he can continue, Martha takes further control of his body, forcing him to repeatedly run face first into one of the hard wood walls, cracking his skull open more and more each time, until he falls over, dead.

ROBERTO: “I can’t say I’m a fan of the loss of human life, but if someone had to die, you couldn’t have killed worse. I do hope you won’t mess up MY pretty face though.”

PENNY: “And mine, right? You’re going to get us out of this, X-Man?”

ROBERTO: “Is this the part where you say you’ve had a sudden change of heart about Mutants?”

PENNY: “No, it’s the part where I’d prefer anything to being killed by one.”

Roberto sighs. He’s sorry, but he has no plan here.

Cut to Domino racing down the halls of casino, having disabled Carlton’s men.

ROBERTO, over the coms: “If only I’d left my come device connecting me to my bodyguard just now. I’d be able to alert her. Oh, but no. It isn’t as if we scoped out this entire building in advance and determined where the prize was being secured after all.”

Masquerading as the Purifer, Sublime is escorted by casino employees into “his” vault. One which contains nothing save for a single flashdrive.

Sublime eagerly picks it up, only to hear gunshots ring as the casino employees both drop to the floor in pain. Domino points her pistols at Sublime, saying that if she ran casino games, she’d never back out at the last minute just because someone was on a winning streak.

She orders him to hand over the drive if he wants to live. Sublime responds by holding the drive up, and then putting it in his mouth and swallowing it.

SUBLIME: “No can do I’m afraid.”

Domino gets pissed and shoots at him, but he somehow maneuvers all around them and kicks her in the face.

SUBLIME: “Oh, this body is actually quite physically proficient. It may be almost able to keep up with me.”

Neena swings at him and engages in hand to hand, but she’s outclassed, as Sublime kicks her around.

SUBLIME: “Hmm. I’d heard you were better than this.”

NEENA: “You know who I am?”

With one foot holding Neena down on the floor, Sublime goes to pick up one of her guns. Neena momentarily exerts her powers to cause him to trip and fall. WIth him momentarily caught off guard, she grabs hold of her pistols herself, and fills Sublime with bullets from behind, putting him down, seemingly killing him. Notably, he does not revert to his true form.

NEENA: “Clearly not well enough.”

ROBERTO, over coms: “Domino, update.”

Neena looks over at Sublime’s body and smirks, firing off her gun into the air.

NEENA, aggressively: “Still in pursuit! Going on silent!”

ROBERTO: “Wait, Domino, don’t–!”

Neena turns off her comm and laughs.

NEENA: “Now, how did I dissect that frog back in 6th grade?”

Later, Neena exits the casino with some bruises, a partially torn dress, a flashdrive worth around 25 million dollars, and no partner.

Domino turns her comm back on, but doesn’t call Sunspot.

DOMINO: “I have the drive and I’m on my way out of town. Mission accomplished, Mr. Cortez.”

CORTEZ, over coms: “Magnificent! With some minor programming tweaks, we can use these sentinels to exterminate humanity once and for all!”

DOMINO, remorseful: “I just left one of my oldest friends behind to die. But after Genosha, this is the only option Mutants have. It needed to be done.”

Dominio and Cortez work out meetup details and hang up as she gets into the car she and Roberto arrived in, telling the driver that her partner will be making his own way home and to drive her to the airport immediately.

Neena is then shocked by the driver’s voice.

ROBERTO: “You see I’d be happy too, except I tragically never got my license.”

Neena is even more shocked by who’s revealed to be sitting in the passenger seat.

PENNY: “And I would sooner die than dirty my hands on a steering wheel.”

NEENA: “What…what is going on?”

With a psychic blast, Penny knocks Neena unconscious.

ROBERTO: “I’m sorry, Domino. For once in my life, I’d hoped to be wrong.”

At sunset in Afghanistan, Storm, Soo, and Mirah stand outside her moderately nice, though still far nicer than anywhere she’s lived previously, home. Storm says that it obviously isn’t safe for Mirah to go out on her own, so they’ve done their best to fill the house with canned food and supplies so she doesn’t have to go anywhere. And if she needs anything else, she need only call.

Mirah thanks Storm one last night, adding that it’s hard to believe the only difference between them is a single gene. She seems so much more than human.

STORM, laughing: “You’re far from the first to say so.”

Ororo asks Dust if this is goodbye then. Soo takes one more moment to think, looking to her mother, to Storm, and up into the sky.

SOORAYA, composed: “No. I was made who I am and guided to the X-Men for a reason. Being the only Mutant of my faith cannot be a coincidence, I do not like fighting, but the only way I can live my life without having to do so is to fight now.”

Storm and Mirah both appear pleased with her decision. Soo embraces her mother, and is hugged back. The two share a personal moment as they say goodbye, their dialogue not being translated for the audience. This is for them.

With their goodbyes said, Storm and Dust fly off to catch their plane.

Storm expresses her pride in Sooraya for making this decision. She knows it wasn’t easy for her, but she promises they’ll make a great X-Man out of her. Soo knows she will be.

STORM: “Oh, but to what you said before: you aren’t the only Muslim Mutant.”

DUST: “What?! Who else is there? Why haven’t I been introduced? Do not tell me they are a villain.”

STORM: “No. Not a villain. But I don’t think she’s what you’re imagining either.”

Cut to Penny, stretched out on her yacht in a string bikini.

Roberto comes upstairs, wearing only a speedo, with an ice bucket of champagne in hand.

ROBERTO: “Monet Yvette Clarisse Maria Therese St. Croix AKA M.” He sits down next to her and pours them each a glass of champagne. “You’re even more impressive than they say.”

MONET: “Do not insult me. I am far more impressive than that.”

Roberto, with a dashing smile: “Touche.”

The two clink their glasses and sip.

Roberto informs Monet that SHIELD has collected Domino, but they couldn’t find any sign of the Purifer, Sublime, or the brain Monet put to sleep.

ROBERTO: “We can deal with the others, but my concern is for the brain. We have no idea what they are, if they’re a Mutant or something else, and if they are, they may be in for a punishment for their failure.”

MONET: “Then I suppose it’s up to the brave and heroic X-Men to save them.”

ROBERTO: “Are you mocking us?”

MONET: “No. Well, a little. Yes. But I’m moreso curious. Why recruit me for this mission instead of one of your teammates? Not that I'm complaining. Double majoring in business and quantum physics doesn't quite match the action Generation X and I used to get into.”

Taking a longer sip of his drink, Roberto explains what’s been going on here. After Genosha, while everyone else was still recovering, he was the only one who thought of the fact that the schematics for those new sentinels were still out there, along with a few stray Purifers. As he looked into it and investigated, he discovered the poker tournament being arranged. He could have informed the X-Men so they could storm the casino and take it by force, but that would just be additional bad publicity on top of what they’re already facing. And additionally, he caught wind that Fabian Cortez, “more or less the embodiment of the worst parts of Magneto from the old days”, would be sending in Domino as a player.

ROBERTO: “I wanted to believe that information was wrong, and my old friend hadn’t been so far radicalized, so I contacted her, played dumb about what I’d heard, and asked her to help me. She had to say “Yes” no matter what, as either she’d be naturally interested in aiding me, or she’d need to avoid drawing suspicion to herself.”

Roberto wasn’t confident in his ability to defeat Domino by himself should she betray him, however, so he needed further assistant: Monet. Casting her the femme fatale to his handsome spy, he knew that if she did turn traitor and take the drive for herself, Monet and her litany of powers could stop her without issue.

ROBERTO: “Super strength, super speed, flight, telepathy, and super intelligence. What can’t you do?”

Monet coughs as she took a long sip of champagne, setting her glass down and pressing her hand to her forehead.

MONET: “Hold my liquor, evidently.”

Roberto continues to explain that Sublime’s presence and actions were ones he couldn’t account for, but with Monet so easily able to counter the brain’s telepathy, he was able to adapt accordingly.

ROBERTO: “Emma taught you well.”

MONET, getting groggy: “Oh, please never say that again. I don’t know how any of you put up with her.”

ROBERTO: “Would you believe me if I told you Cyclops is sleeping with her?”

Monet takes a moment to respond.

MONET, flatly: “No. No, I would not.”

The two sit in silence for a moment as Roberto finishes his drink and sets his glass down. As he stands up and tosses on a robe, he cracks his neck, rolls his shoulders, and takes a deep breath.

He tells Monet that they made a good team tonight. And he was hoping she’d be interested in continuing this relationship.

Monet floats over to him, landing on the floor and resting a hand on her hip.

MONET: “What exactly do you mean by that?”

Roberto smiles up at the sky.

ROBERTO: “When word first got out that the X-Men were coming back together and were recruiting, I was living in Genosha as part of Magneto’s inner circle. He’d been the New Mutants’ headmaster in the past, and, more recently, had taken me specifically under his wing. When he invited the New X-Men to Genosha, he did truly want to speak with Cyclops about current affairs, but his true goal was to plant me on the team so I could monitor them.”

For the first time, Monet appears surprised.

ROBERTO: “I did my job, staying in the background and keeping an eye out for anything he should know. But now, with him missing, I’ve been left to act autonomously.” Roberto lowers his head and looks right at Monet. “The destruction of Genosha has changed everything. There’s no getting around that. For the time being, I’m happy to continue saving people with the X-Men, make jokes, and allow Cyclops to run the show. However, should our situation escalate any further, I will have no choice but to take control of matters myself. It may be messy. It may be unpleasant. It definitively won’t be very X-Men-like. But if I am to step into darkness, I cannot do it alone. I need a partner. And there isn’t a better one I could ask for than you.”

Roberto reaches out a hand. Monet, with an unreadable expression, takes a moment to think.

MONET: “Your hand, your tongue. Look like th’ innocent flower, but be the serpant under’t.”

ROBERTO, smirking: “Is that a yes?”

MONET, emotionlessly looking back at him: “It means I’ll call you when I make up my mind.” She spins around and begins floating toward the ocean. “I am going for a swim. You can show yourself out.”

Roberto nods, wishing Monet St. Croix a good night, and heads back downstairs to get dressed.

Monet dives into the ocean, initially swimming calmly and with perfect form. However, once she’s sure Roberto is out of earshot…

MONET, swimming and splashing around wildly, giggling to herself: “Ahhhh! That was so much fun!”

#New X-Men: The Animated Series #New X-Men #Academy X #Scott Summers #Emma Frost #Ororo Munroe #Kitty Pryde #Roberto Da Costa #Laura Kinney #Bobby Drake #Sofia Mantega #Julian Keller #Noriko Ashida #Sooraya Qadir #Cessily Kincaid #Brian Cruz #Roxanne Washington #The Stepford Cuckoos

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