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josiecarioca · 1 month ago

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I wished lily wasn't the reason for Severus' loyalty. The revelation of his love for her (platonically or romantically) was truly important. You have the incident that kickstarted the prophecy. Severus' switch to the order. Voldemort giving Lily a chance to choose. Severus playing an important role in the second wizarding war. All because of a friendship of two people from spinner's end.

JKR should have developed it more. I understand that she went for the twist, but when the thrill of the discovery is gone there are so many questions that are unanswered.

first, I do not like Lily as a friend. She forgives the marauders for the years of bullying, see her 'best friend' being hanged upside down and threatened to have his genitals exposed. Who the fuck does that ? Also when Harry asked if his mother knew that James still bullying Severus in the seventh year, remus answered with "she did not know too much." so she knew something...

I do not like Lily as a sister, why did she not let James know that vernon probably doesn't know anything about the wizarding world before they went on dinner. I mean wth is Petunia supposed to say to Vernon ? "Oh yeah my sister is a witch and she went to this magical school". Not the best way to make a men fall in love with you. Is Petunia even allowed to tell Vernon all of this under the secrecy law? (I'm aware that restaurant scene is not canon, but that's what I thought when I read it on the website).

I don't like the way she uses her other friends opinion of Severus and their friendship, who clearly don't like Severus, as an argument to why Severus should stop hanging out with his Slytherin friends. Why are your friends even discussing Severus?

Also, I don't like the way she idolize Albus Dumbledore. Severus' got bullied for years, and Dumbledore did nothing. Severus was nearly killed by a werewolf and Dumbledore made Severus swear to never talk about it. What did he do, he made James head boy. Yeah if that happened to me and this man was the leader of the order, I might have asked for the death eater sign up too. Ridiculous.

By making his love for her so pure and selfless, it makes me wonder why he loves her so much. We know nothing, and the things we know just make me go "bruh really.... her ? .... she would not spare a thought for you if your funeral was announced in the papers".

Listen I was never part of the cool kids, so perhaps I don't understand her. But then again, for a Gryffindor, she really is a social coward.

It makes everything so bloody tragic. I sometimes wonder if I'd wished Severus stayed a death eater in the story but then one with guilt because he started caring about the professors and children through the years of working there.

It was honestly funny to read all of this because it feels like listening to myself when I was 16 or 17. I mean, even before I was a fan of Severus—because that came with time—I had a pretty neutral opinion of the character. I didn’t dislike him because I understood his motivations, but I wasn’t particularly a fan either. And if I wasn’t a fan, it was precisely because of everything you’re talking about.

A lot of people say Severus was an obsessive incel who spent 24/7 thinking about Lily, but I never saw it that way—I just thought he was an idiot. I thought, Wow, what an absolute moron. Like, did he really sacrifice his entire life for a woman who was actually kind of a piece of shit? Did he really give up everything to protect the son of his bully and the woman who married said bully? Could you be a bigger loser? No, seriously, could you be more pathetic? Because that woman not only let him be bullied for years, she almost smiled at his bully while he was publicly stripping him. She practically blamed him for her lack of popularity because she was seen with him, and somehow, he was supposed to be grateful. She gaslit him when he tried to tell her about what his abusers were doing to him. She literally told him he should be grateful to one of his abusers. Like, this woman was a piece of shit who was just looking to climb the social ladder. She loved being Gryffindor’s golden girl, just like she was the golden girl back home, and she hated that she had a weird, ugly, nerdy friend with questionable associations who tainted her image. On top of that, she loved having Gryffindor’s rich, pureblood king fawning over her because it was yet another symbol of status—but, of course, she had to play hard to get because good girls always resist bad boys.

That’s how I saw Lily Evans (and honestly, how I still see her), and it seemed absurd to me that Severus would have given so much for her when, honestly, I would have told her to fuck off. Like, if I were Severus, I would’ve dropped her the first time she gaslit me about my abusers. But if for some reason I had still stuck around after that, the moment I saw her almost smiling at my main abuser while he was stripping me in public, I would’ve beaten her so hard she’d have lost all her teeth.

That was my mindset when I was younger, before I learned a lot of things. Back then, I didn’t know what toxic friendships were or how easy it was to fall into them. I had no idea what codependency was, nor did I understand what an attachment figure was. At the time, I grasped some of these concepts vaguely, but over the years, I not only understood them more deeply but also experienced them—both personally and through people around me.

As I got older, I realized that the fact that Severus came from a home where he felt terribly unsafe, and that Lily represented his first safe place as a child, played a huge role in his cognitive development and psyche. In some way, he was always going to be grateful to her for probably being the only good thing in his childhood. And those childhood attachments are some of the strongest and hardest to break because they’re so deeply ingrained in a person. On top of that, Lily was his friend for years, during key developmental stages, and he probably didn’t see all of her flaws—he had her idealized. He grew up in a house where violence was the norm, and his classmates at Hogwarts also treated violence as normal. Lily was different, so he simply wasn’t capable of recognizing problematic behaviors that anyone with a healthy upbringing and healthy role models would have seen immediately. Because he didn’t have those things.

We’re not talking about a character who had examples of healthy behavior, affection, or attachments—we’re talking about someone who had the opposite. So, of course, he wasn’t capable of seeing anything bad in Lily. To him, she was the good in his environment. She was his moral compass, a kind of lighthouse to guide him when he wanted to know if he was heading in the right direction. It’s even possible that he never blamed her for marrying James, and instead, just thought it was normal that she gave in—because she was so good that she could see the good in even horrible people like James. Or maybe he believed James had somehow deceived her.

Severus’s attachment to Lily is kind of like a child who idolizes their mother and is completely unable to see her flaws—even when she acts like a complete asshole—because she’s their mother. And if she does something bad, well, it’s probably the fault of the people around her, not her. That’s exactly how Severus saw Lily.

When I understood all of this, I felt like I finally understood the character and his motivations better. I think it’s important to look at it not from our perspective as outsiders forming opinions, but from his perspective as someone inside the situation—someone who was emotionally dependent on her and either didn’t see the truth or didn’t want to see it.

Over the years, I’ve toned down my discourse about Lily, but my opinion of her hasn’t changed all that much from when I was a teenager. The only difference is that now I rationalize it better. But I still think she was a self-centered social climber. The only thing that’s changed is that before, I just thought she was a shallow, frivolous person—now I give her a little more credit and think her behavior was based on an inferiority complex stemming from her working-class background and her Muggle heritage.

But that doesn’t change the core of the issue. And honestly? I think she and James Potter were a perfect match—two absolute assholes who deserved each other. In fact, I’ve never been bothered by Jily because I’ve always thought they belonged together. Equally insufferable.

#snapedom #pro snape #severus snape #pro severus snape #severus snape defense #james potter #lily evans #lily evans potter #lily potter #jily #severus snape analysis #young severus snape #severus snape meta

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josiecarioca · 1 month ago

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Have an old Eloise and Aida fic because V-day

Sirena (Eloise x Aida short)

(Just a little prqctice one-shot, which I may or may not continue, but regardless, I hope you enjoy it!)

Tagging:@the-witches-son @viper-official @serosvit @paracosim @snapescapades @lilythemadqueen @snapeysister @arabellafiggypudding @vsilas @snapecentric

Eloise closed the massive Deco French doors like a kid sneaking out of the house, ever so carefuly. Not that anybody inside would notice her leaving. Through the little bits of the glass that weren't frosted in a complex floral pattern she could spy the party attendees going about their conversations, sipping their drinks and laughing, entirely unaware of her absence.

Only one person would notice she was gone. He always did. So she waited a second, standing by the glass.

She could see Soren scanning the room, discreetly, in that smooth way he had of checking his surroundings without cracking his relaxed, debonair bearing. She could never quite tell if it was a byproduct of that near-manic hiper-awareness he'd always exhibited even as a child, or something he perfected while working for the Ministry, but Soren always had to 'control' the room. He knew exactly who and where everybody was and what everybody was doing immediately as he arrived, and he just kept tabs on any single change and shift in the environment no matter ho small. His explanation? 'Big brother magic'. He perfected his technique because growing up he had to know where Eloise was at all times since she had a bad habit of just disappearing out of nowhere. Whenever a place was too crowded, too noisy, whenever she needed silence, whenever she felt overwhelmed, Eloise would always do her “vanishing act” and Soren had to account for her so their parents wouldn't worry.

From behind the grand piano he craned his neck towards the balcony and their eyes met. Good, he knew where she was, so he wouldn't come looking for her. He frowned slightly before giving her a cheeky half smile as if to say 'Really, dove? Already?'. Eloise just shruged. Soren shook his head and went back to talking to some duke, impresario or businessman who looked exactly like every other portly middle-aged rich man in attendance.

Soren knew her, he should know she'd run off at the first opportunity before bringing her to a fancy cocktail party where she didn't know anybody. She didn't even know enough Italian to try to make conversation if she wanted, which she didn't.

Soren always did that. Bring her as his plus one whenever he wasn't seeing anybody. Sometimes even then. She would always say no before caving and going, not without nagging him for a bit. Why, she would ask, would he take his baby sister to the most exclusive nightclubs, or to Opera Opening night Galas, or a cocktail in the private villa of the Alla Scalla's former prima-donna?

"Why not? If not my sister, then who?", he would laugh, "'Besides, you know your etiquette far better than I do, so I can just copy you and people will think I know what I'm doing. And you let me pick your outifts, which really, is like playing with a life-sized Barbie. Win-win."

Eloise knew why he did it. Why he really did it. To get her out of the house. So she could meet people, date, have fun, get drunk and do the normal things people her age should be doing.

Why is it so bloody hard for the charming, flamboyant extrovert to understand others can have fun walking alone in the woods or having a simple cup of coffee in a lazy sunday morning? No, not Soren. He had to be “on” all the time. Still, she obliged him, because that was her big brother and he wanted to include her in his life. And *this* was his life, the lights, the parties, the glamour, the red-eye flights and opening night galas and cocktails.

She had no idea how he did it. Only half an hour walking around in high heels ('azurra pumps', he'd have corrected her) while pretending to drink a glass of champagne that she just couldn't handle on an empty stomach had left her utterly exhausted.

Eloise kicked off the shoes feeling blessed by the coolness of the floor under her feet, and walked over to the balcony, resting her hands on it. She needed this. To feel solid stone under her fingers and toes, something to ground herself. If she wasn't in public, Eloise would have gladly stripped out of the blush-rose sequin dress she was wearing and plunched into that delightfuly blue pool below the balcony. How could a dress this flimsy feel so...suffocating? Again, Soren's pick.

Looking out she could see the line of trees in the distance, tall black silhouettes against the dazzingly starry sky of the Lazio countryside. Somewhere in the distance, far away she could almost see the lights of Rome glow beyond the horizon. The breeze was cool beneath the lingering heat of a scorching Mediterranean Summer. In any other occasion she would have really enjoyed this place, this fairytale-like palazzo tucked away among wineyards, majestic olive trees and ancient ruins. It seemed almost criminal to just stay inside, drinking excessively expensive drinks and talking about whatever it was rich folks talked about, when there was *all of this* outside, just waiting to be explored.

When they were little, their parents always took them on vacation to places where they could 'adventure'. Soren and Eloise knew every last centimeter of the Irish countryside, a lot of the Scottish highlands, a fair bit of the Spanish and French coasts, some of the main european capitals, and even a little bit of the US East coast and the Mexican Yucatan. As adults, their respective professional endeavours had taken them to many more places, but they'd always try to make time to meet every couple months, usually to go hiking or camping.

Alas, not so much as of late. Whatever it was that was going on in Soren's life, it left little time for her now. Eloise wondered if this time around he would have time, finally...maybe they could rent a car and drive through the countryside, have a picnic somewhere, like old times...Yes, she would ask him the next day.

As much as she didn't care for the party, the place was stunning. Certainly nobody would fault her for taking a walk to enjoy the night air. She scanned the balcony and noticed there was a staircase to each side of it, leading down to the ground floor. Beneath the balcony the marble pool flanked by statues of languid nymphs glittered under the moonlight. It killed her that she couldn't just dive in, not in this stupid dress and definitely not with an event happening inside, but she could just dip her feet? The high heels had done a number on them, and she just knew she'd find some uglt blisters on her ankles once she got back to the hotel, so a little soak in fresh water wouldn't hurt...

She looked over her shoulder again to see Soren surrounded a small group. Whatever it was he was saying, she could tell by their body language they were hanging to his every word. That's how it always went. Soren was too much like their mother: outgoing, magnetic, charismatic. Eloise...well, she was very much 'Severus Snape softer second coming' when it came to being sociable, at least it was what aunt Cat always said...

Well, let us leave Soren to what he does best, she thought, and enjoy a little peace and quiet.

Picking up her skirts she made her way down the massive marble steps, not even bothering to take her shoes with her. The sound of the music playing inside slowly faded away as she got down, replaced by the faint murmur of crickets and the occasional nocturnal bird call. As she touched the last step, however, she heard a loud splash cut through the silence.

Eloise stopped dead on her tracks, wondering if it was too late to just make her way back up before whoever was down here had seen her. Then again, who could possibly be here? The pool wasn't being used for the party, so certainly nobody would be swimming right now? There wasn't a soul outside, so it wasn't like anybody had accidentaly fallen in, right?

The first splash was followed by smaller, more rythmic splashes in sequence. Yes, somebody was swimming. Not entirely willing to part with her solitude, Eloise prepared to turn around and leave when a voice called out to her.

“Ciao!”

Great, now she had to make conversation. Or rather, try to explain that she didn't speak the language and find a way to wiggle out of actually having a conversation. Eloise debated trying to use her limited Italian, but she would just embarrass herself even more. It was uncomfortable enough to make small talk with strangers when they spoke the same language, trying to remember how to say 'hey, sorry, I'm an idiot who can't understand what you're saying' was far more anxiety inducing. Maybe just mumbling excuses in English would get her off the hook.

She turned to the pool to finally see who was talking to her. It was a bit too dark to make up any details, but from the voice she knew it was a woman. Under the faint glow of the moon she could barely make out more than a silhouette, submerged up to her chest, arms resting agains the poolside. The woman in the water must have noticed her squint and try to get her eyes adjust to the darkness, as she let out a small 'oh', and snapped her fingers. A flood of warm light fell upon them, coming from a collection of baroque light fixtures, afixated to iron posts all around the pool area.

“Oh, uh, hey...” Eloise stammered, feeling suddenly exposed. “I'm just...”

Please don't speak any English, she prayed silently, one foot already back on the steps.

The woman smiled at her and pulled herself out of the water to sit on the edge of the pool. Now Eloise could really see her, and that only made her more uneasy.

She was gorgeous. And not 'beautiful girl walking down the street' gorgeous, no... the kind of drop-dead gorgeous you would find in a fashion magazine photoshoot, or on a professional photographer's intagram: dark skin glistening wet, braids tumbling all the way down her waist, dazzling curves enveloped in a silvery white bathing suit. Her face was almost doll-like, with big almond shaped brown eyes and pouty lips.

“Let me guess...” she spoke softly, with an accent Eloise couldn't quite place, a vague hint of Italian to it. “running away from the party?”

“Yeah, kind of...” Eloise chuckled, feeling that particular kind of kinship only an introvert who found a companion in loneliness could understand.

“No shame in that, I would sneak out too if I were you. Mom doesn't even expect me to attend at this point, she knows how boring the events with the sponsors and admnistration people can get. It's much more entertaining when it's just the artists.”

'Mom'? Well, of course. Eloise should have noticed the resemblance. Now that she thought of it, Soren had mentioned the hostess' daughter, what was her name again...

“My name is Aida.” she said, as if reading her mind. “And you are...?”

“Eloise, I'm here with my brother actually.”

“Oh, so you're Soren's sister! He talks a lot about you!”

“Does he?”

Aida got up and walked over to a chair to pick up a bathrobe. Once she stood, Eloise noticed she towered over her (not exactly a feat, she had to admit.). She also noticed she was far more breath-taking from upclose.

“All the time. He's always gushing about how smart his sister is, and all the groundbreaking research she does. He also said you work with pregnant women and children?"

"Yeah, something like that. My main area of expertise is medicinal plant research, but I also..." she paused, trying to find a way to tell a muggle what she did. She couldn't very well tell her she was a potioneer who specialized in potions for obstetrics and pediatrics ... "...work with expectant mothers and babies."

"So, like a doula then?"

"Uh, yeah, something like that. Main focus is still research though"

"Yeah, Soren told me you travel a lot for research. You were in Brazil, last month, weren't you?"

"I was actually, the Amazon then some days at the Cerrado area."

"It's a shame really, my mother is Brazilian and I never been anywhere other than Rio and São Paulo, oh and Recife, like, once. You probably know the country better than I do. Soren should have told me he'd finally bring you over, I'd actually have bothered to show up to the party.”

“I wish he did, I'd have somebody to talk to.” the words left her lips before she could think. They just did. Eloise felt her face get warm all of the sudden. Aida laughed softly, and Eloise thought that if honey had sound, that was probably what it would sound like.

“Take a seat then. You know, I stole a bottle of champagne from the kitchen, so it's probably better I don't drink it alone. Mom will forgive me if I tell her I was sharing it with you. Or would you rather have a drink? I think I may have something else in the fridge, give me a second...”

“Actually, just water would be perfect.”

“Just water? Surely there must be something you'd like other than plain water.”

“I just rather not drink on an empty stomach, so...”

“Why didn't you say so? I've already raided the kitchen for champagne, I can raid it for snacks. Come on, let's go...”

“Oh, I don't think...”

“Do you have any idea how much leftover food there is after one of these opening night cocktails? Most the women in are on a diet, and most the men just drink. They never even eat the good stuff. Giovanna always saves me some. Let's go.”

Before she could object, Eloise felt her hand being gently pulled and, without even thinking she just followed, nearly stumbling on her dress.

#the snape siblings #aida gnatalli #eloise snape #soren snape #snapedom #Eloise x Aida

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