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Saw a post saying nie huaisang would be beefleaf's lovechild and had to shake my head disapprovingly. That boy came directly out of airplane shooting towards the sky's womb

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Probably one of the worst oversights of the HP narrative is that JKR - and the Wizarding World - simply does not care about the half-bloods. We hear of half-blood wizards being ashamed or shamed for their parentage but we never actually see it. The worst we get is them being accused of being Muggle-Borns which, in my opinion, doesn't count because the bigotry focus of the story is still "Pure-Bloods versus Muggle-Borns".

We don't really see how half-bloods are treated at ALL by larger society, only how they feel inwards. And when you look at real life, often internalized hatred like ableism and racism comes FROM the systemic bigotry in our society. But JKR doesn't get into this at all, not with Seamus, not with Voldemort, and ESPECIALLY not with Snape (I theorize she ignores a lot of great worldbuilding chances just to manipulate the reader into hating Snape for the "big reveal" but that's another post).

Because the narrative ignores half-bloods, you get the sense that the world ignores them too. Bellatrix calls Harry a "filthy half-blood" but he's...not. Both of his parents are wizards. It's just that she doesn't consider Lily a wizard which means she's really just slurring Muggle-Borns again.

Really, in the wizarding world AND the narrative, I feel the half-bloods are like asexuals. It always has to be gay vs straight. The asexuals aren't gay enough and they aren't straight enough, so neither side really gets or accepts them fully. And I don't think JKR saw much differently in regards to the half-bloods which leads to...well...bad writing.

When Hagrid talks about the Chamber, who is it about? Pure-bloods vs Muggle-borns. It's not even CONSIDERED in the narrative how the half-blood children could be perceived. And even as a KID, I was like "So Slytherin only thought "pure" kids should learn at Hogwarts? What's gonna happen to Seamus then? Is he in danger too?" This is never answered.

And when we ALMOST get a taste of half-blood bigotry in Order, it's ALL about people who are half-"beast" (in quotations, ofc). "Half-breed" is a slur. And it made me go, even as a KID, "this would be the PERFECT time to get down and dirty with how half-bloods are treated". But it doesn't. Bc JKR, at this point, a) wants no sympathy for Seamus b) wants no sympathy for Voldemort c) wants no sympathy for Snape and d) doesn't want to reveal Snape's blood heritage - even though he would be a prime target for Umbridge (she targets him for other reasons, another post and a good scene). JKR forsakes good character work in favour of manipulating the reader and it results in bad worldbuilding.

All of the half-blood struggles come from inside and for comedy. The narrative keeps SUGGESTING that they MIGHT be oppressed but just does not go any deeper (ignoring people's identity for yourself is a form of oppression, I think). When Mrs Cattermole begs that she's half-blood, it's because she knows this will save her. But how? Is she still not part less-than-human to wizards? And since Muggles are really referred to and seen AS such, why would the "half-breed" bigotry not extend to half-bloods?

When Snape is revealed to be the Prince, the narrative - at the time because of the Big Reveal - frames it as Snape being bigoted and proud of wizardry because "blood purity" rather than EVER raising the scenario - even AFTER the Big Reveal - that he is rebelling against oppression in his own blood-purity crazy house. It's implied but never gone into. And she could have dove into it! She could have had Snape and Seamus experience microaggressions but Snape's could have been concealed as classist or bitter aggressions from his Death Eater days (like what Umbridge does). Seamus could have been genuinely worried about the Chamber. We could have had Voldemort - in memories - experience blood bigotry and used it to critique how the world created him rather than simply "he born evil" (I suspect bc JKR is not actually interested in critiquing HER world but things since past, again another post).

It's inferred but never dived into The half-bloods seem to belong everywhere and nowhere. And it's all based on how JKR wants us to feel, not based on what will make sense for the characters or the worldbuilding. And the characters, who are genuinely enjoyable and engaging except for...maybe Voldemort, could have been even better and instead - they suffer for it.

Who cares for the half-bloods? I do.

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In various places -- here, the bird app, even YouTube comments -- I keep running into people with some variation of the same question:

"Does Scum Villain have a teacher/student romance?" And every time I want to answer with: No, But Also Yes, But Also Not Really, It's Complicated (And That's On Purpose.)

Which is an answer that's too long to fit in a tweet or a YT comment, but fortunately tumblr has no (effective) post limit! So here I go.

1 - No

In the very straight forward porn cliche sense of "oh but professor, I really ~need~ to pass this class or my life will be ruined, can't I do ~anything~ to get you to change my grade?" *bats lashes* and "Hoho, my pretty young teen student, I've got your good grade right here in my pants, if you ~apply~ yourself..." then no.

No sex or romance between a teacher and their student in the bounds of a teacher-student relationship happens in this book. No deliberate grooming of an underage student on the part of a teacher occurs in this book. No sex or a romance between an adult character and an underage character occurs in this book, nor is the adult 'waiting' for the minor to reach adulthood to initiate one.

2 - But Also Yes

No sex or romance between a teacher and their student in the bounds of that relationship happens in this book. Two people who were formerly in a teacher and student relationship do enter into a sexual and romantic relationship by the end of the book. Also the nature of the society they're in further means that even though they are no longer in the schooling environment, it is socially assumed that the deference owed by a student to their teacher lasts forever, even after the student leaves that environment, and they continue to regard themselves and refer to themselves in those roles even though the teacher no longer strictly speaking has authority over the student.

Also, the student was really hot for his teacher even when he was still a student. (The teacher was oblivious to this fact.)

3 - But Also Not Really

By the time sex and romance is even on the horizon for these characters, their relationship has so drastically changed from that of a "teacher and student" that it is barely recognizeable as such. The power/authority dynamic between a teacher and their student is subsumed pretty much entirely by the facts that:

A. The 'student' has become a medeival fantasy warlord of such unsurpassable magic and might that literally no other person in this world can stand up against him, 'teacher' included, and the 'teacher' is well aware of that.

B. Also, the 'student' is metaphysically endowed (heh) with the Protagonist Halo, a literally active force within the setting they're part of, which means that not only can he not be defeated, he ontologically cannot be denied anything that he desires; what he wants, he gets, and what he doesn't want, cannot be forced on him.

C. ...But also, the teacher in this setting is a metaphysical outsider to the world order the student is part of, which means that he is aware of all of the above, and can and does manipulate it to suit his own agenda, which may or may not align with giving the student what he wants at any point in time. Assuming that the teacher has the correct understanding of what the student wants. (He doesn't.)

D. ........But also also, for all his power, one harsh word from him can destroy him. For all his knowledge, one tear can devastate him. (Which one? Both.)

4 - It's Complicated (On Purpose)

*throws the chalk against the wall*

Between a teacher and their student, who has the power? Between an emperor and a scholar, who has the power? Between a hero and the villain he is predestined to destroy, who has the power? Between a character and the reader who's read ahead to the end of the story, who has the power? Do we find some of these power imbalances more acceptable than others? And if so, why do we?

Trying to track Who Has The Power or Who Has An Unfair Advantage socially, physically, and metaphysically between this particular pair of characters is damn near impossible and that's on purpose.

The Scum Villain's Self Saving System is a lot of things, but one thing that absolutely defines it is that it is a parody. It's a parody and a deconstruction of a lot of things -- the 'stallion' genre, the 'isekai' genre, the 'pay-per-chapter webnovel' genre, the 'gay drama' genre and, most relevant to this conversation, it is a deconstruction of teacher-student romance.

What kind of a teacher-student romance has a clueless, fish-out-of water NEET in the role of the Wise Old Mentor? What kind of a teacher-student romance has a black-hearted, demonic, domineering feudal warlord in the role of the Blushing Virginal Student? What kind of a teacher-student romance has the two principals so close in age -- by the end of the book, they may be as little as a year apart -- that they're more like peers than teacher and student? What kind of audience are we, going into a story like this one and finding ourselves cheering for the teacher to fall in love and lust with his student, only to be disappointed when that doesn't happen because the teacher fails for three books straight to recognize love and lust when it's literally looking him in the face and crying?

Asking "does Scum Villain have a teacher-student romance?" is sort of like asking "does Galaxy Quest have a lot of high science fiction concepts?" No, but also yes, but also not really. It's complicated, and that's on purpose.

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And what about it

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I honestly don't understand where the idea of Snape being ugly and him spending his entire life alone because he was "so ugly no one could love him" comes from. And I’m not just talking about Snaters here.

Even many Snape fans insist that any artwork of him or the actor chosen for his role must have a hideous, monstrous face. I constantly see posts where people demand a "disgusting, ugly Snape" because they say, “that’s canon Snape.”

Yes, Snape doesn’t fit conventional beauty standards, and he’s never described as handsome. But that doesn’t mean we should turn him into some kind of grotesque creature with zero appeal. This is yet another instance where Snape’s character falls victim to a black-and-white worldview. Just because someone isn’t described as beautiful doesn’t automatically make them hideous or unbearable to look at.

(Part of the idea that canon Snape must be ugly and repulsive seems to stem from the fact that he came from a working-class background and didn’t appear to have any romantic relationships. It’s as if people forget that the real obstacle between Snape and a romantic relationship with Lily was his obsession with the Dark Arts—not his looks, his clothes, or his lack of wealth.)

I can think of plenty of people in the real world who are like Snape. They’re not stunningly beautiful, but they’re not ugly either. They have average, normal faces, and some might even be attractive or "hot" depending on personal taste.

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The SS Warrimoo, a passenger steamship traveling from Vancouver to Australia, was silently knifing its way across the mid-Pacific waters. The navigator had just finished calculating a star fix and handed the results to Captain John DS. Phillips.

The Warrimoo's coordinates were LAT 0º 31' N, LONG 179 30' W. The date was December 31, 1899. "Know what this means?" First Mate Payton announced, "We're only a few miles from the intersection of the Equator and the International Date Line."

Captain Phillips was prankish enough to seize the opportunity to do the nautical feat of a lifetime. He summoned his navigators to the bridge to double-check the ship's position. He altered his course slightly to focus directly on his target. He then altered the engine's speed.

The calm weather and clear night worked to his advantage. At midnight, the SS Warrimoo rested on the Equator, exactly where it had crossed the International Date Line. The ramifications of this odd arrangement were numerous.

The ship's bow was in the Southern Hemisphere, in the middle of summer. The stern was in the Northern Hemisphere, in the midst of winter. The date on the aft portion of the ship was December 31, 1899. The date on the forward half of the ship was January 1, 1900. The ship experienced multiple days, months, years, seasons, and centuries simultaneously.

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it’s really funny seeing that “all that pain and misery and loneliness and it only made you kind” quote used on wei wuxian because like… he became a heretical necromancer who tortured his enemies into carving their living own bodies up and eating it i’m—

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tfw you see some stupid post that paints medieval peasants eating just plain grey porridge and acting as if cheese, butter or meat was too exotic or expensive for them, and have to use all your inner strength to not just reblog it with an angry rant and throwing hands with people. so i will just post the angry rant here

no, medieval people did not only eat grey porridge with no herbs or spices, they had a great variety of vegetables we dont even have anymore, grains and dairy products, not to mention fruits and meats, all seasonal and changing with the time of the year. no, medieval food was not just tasteless, maybe this will surprise some of you but you can make tasty food without excessive spice use, and can use a variety of good tasting herbs. if you'd ever tried to cook some medieval recipes you would know that. medieval people needed a lot of energy for their work, if they would only eat fucking porridge all of the time they would get scurvy and die before they could even built a civilisation. they had something called 'pottage' which was called that because it was cooked in one pot. you could leave the pot on the fire and go about your day, doing stuff and come back to a cooked meal. they put in what was available that time of the year, together with grains, peas, herbs, meat etc etc. again, if you would try to make it, like i have with my reenactment friends, it can actually be really good and diverse.

dont confuse medieval peasants with poor people in victorian england. dont think that TV shows what it was really like. dont think that dirty grey dressed people covered in filth were how the people looked like.

they made use of everything. too poor to buy proper meat? buy a sheeps head and cook it. they ate nettle and other plants we consider weeds now. they foraged and made use of what they found. hell, there are medieval cook books!

most rural people had animals, they had chickens (eggs), goats (milk and dairy), cows (milk and dairy), sheep (milk and dairy) and pigs (meat machine), and after butchering they used ALL THE PARTS of the animal. you know how much meat you can get out of a pig, even the smaller medieval breeds? the answer is a lot

if you had the space you always had a vegetable garden. there are ways to make sure you have something growing there every time of the year. as i said they had a variety of vegetables we dont have anymore due to how farming evolved. you smoked pork in the chimney, stored apples in the dry places in your house, had a grain chest. people could go to the market to buy fish and meat, both fresh and dried/smoked. they had ale, beer and wine, that was not a luxury that was a staple part of their diet.

this post ended once again up being longer than i planned, but please for the love of the gods, just actually educate yourself on this stuff and dont just say stupid wrong shit, takk

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He will as soon as he figures out his foot

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Snapetober Day 17: Mirror

In my "Snape survives" AU, Snape recovers from his wounds at Malfoy Manor. This is him seeing his scars for the first time.

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funny reminder of the day: ootp Sirius and Snape arguing scene wasn't the first time Severus got screamed on by angry drunk man

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🥰 I’M SO SORRY GUYS 🥰

I’ve seen a lot of people headcanon that Snape would see Lily in the mirror of erised and I think that’s cool and all- however- I have a different headcanon.

I feel like Severus wouldn’t see Lily. He wouldn’t see the staff or the students there either. Not even his parents. He wouldn’t see the death eaters, Voldemort or anyone he knew. Only one person…

Himself. Happy. He would see himself smiling. Not a creepy forced smile that is so fake it’s obvious, but a genuine happy smile. A smile so big and pure plastered over his face. A smile of an innocent young wizard.

He would see himself smiling, happy instead of himself with others he knew. Because more than anything else. He wants to experience happiness. The people around him have only ever caused him pain and suffering. Sadness and heartbreak. Loneliness and eternal solitude. What he would desire more than anything else is to just live a peaceful happy life.

Having those he cares about around him and actually care for him back would be a bonus. Though that’s not what he sees, because he just wants happiness more than anything else. Happiness doesn’t just come from friends and family. You can be alone and happy. That’s why all he would see is himself smiling back at him. With a big, bright innocent smile. He just wants to be happy.

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me after reanimating the corpse of tolkien: so later on in the show, galadriel’s new bestie, halbrand, is revealed to be sauron, which kind of erases celebrimbor as a character and his contribution to the main conflict

tolkien: that’s what you’re worried about when two of the beatles are still living? go finish the job

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are you a Byron or Wilde apologist?

concerned citizens from 1895 are messaging me

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Man. Severus Snape really just. Manipulate, Mansplain, Malewife'd by day, and Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girllboss'd by night, all through the ENTIRE wholeass war, didnt he? What an Icon. What a Legend

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Marauders fans who try to whitewash the actions of James Potter and Sirius Black or excuse them with the pretext that Snape joined the Death Eaters, I have news for you: you’re a bunch of classist idiots, and you don’t even realize it because you’ve never bothered to open a damn book to read about how capital and power work and how they are connected.

Was Severus Snape a racist? No, because believe it or not, there are many reasons to join an extremist group, and when we talk about vulnerable youths, ideology is often the last motive. Severus joined the Death Eaters because he wanted protection, he wanted to fit in somewhere, he wanted power. That need for protection stemmed from coming from a home filled with violence, but also from being systematically bullied at school without any consequences. In fact, not even the attempt to murder him had consequences. His life meant nothing, while his abusers—those rich, popular, and handsome kids (economic capital, social capital, physical capital)—did whatever they wanted without facing consequences. He was poor, friendless, and ugly, so he had no power, he was nothing. The only way to become something, to gain status and defend himself, was to do what other people with capital told him to do, those people he met at his house who didn’t treat him like an outcast. They promised that if he joined their group, he too could win, he could have power, he could be part of something—and he accepted. And he accepted because people like him only know how to do one thing: survive. A poor kid raised in violence is a survivor, and survivors do whatever it takes to stay alive. And they do ANYTHING to stay alive. Severus learned this from a young age, and that’s what he did as a teenager; that’s why he created spells to defend himself and why he made decisions to survive. Were they the right choices morally and ethically? If we ask ourselves this from the comfort and stability of a structured life, probably not, but that wouldn’t be fair, because his reality was very different.

It’s very easy to make the right choices when you have everything going for you. It’s very easy to surround yourself with the right people when you’ve had nothing but good influences around you. It’s very easy to have the right views when that’s all you have to think about and not whether you’ll have food the next day or survive a beating. James Potter had it incredibly easy in life, and even then, he chose to torture a poorer and more vulnerable kid simply because he could. And he didn’t do it alone; he did it supported by his friends, outnumbering him. Potter didn’t have to survive, he didn’t have to fend for himself, he didn’t have to find safe spaces because he was born surrounded by gold and affection, and still, he chose to be a jerk. And he did it because he had the money and the social position to do it. He did it because he was rich and Snape was poor, because he had loving parents and Snape didn’t, because he was a spoiled, classist brat. And so was Sirius. Sirius was classist and violent, and he enjoyed the suffering of others. He had the usual sadism of the Black family, except he changed the discourse about blood. But Sirius also never had to survive. He left his home with a millionaire inheritance from his uncle and was taken in by other millionaires, the Potters. He never had to fend for himself or survive anything, and he never knew what it was like to truly escape from hell with absolutely nothing. And he chose, like his other rich friend, to take advantage of his privileges.

Defending the abuse of power based on class advantage is classist. Not considering someone’s socio-economic conditions when evaluating their decisions is classist. Comparing the decision-making power of someone rich with that of someone who has nothing is classist. Judging the ethics of a person who had everything with someone who has feared for their life since childhood is classist.

And yes, defending the Marauders is classist as hell, and you should be ashamed of yourselves.

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Sirius Black saying that Snape knew more curses than advanced students before even starting at Hogwarts, as if that’s an excuse to pick on him or some kind of justification, just shows that deep down he was always a spoiled kid living in his rich bubble. I mean, who’s going to explain to him that when you don’t grow up surrounded by gold and live in a crappy hole in the neighborhood with an abusive father, it’s completely normal to learn how to defend yourself? It’s like in real life, if some guy who’s literally a millionaire and grew up among aristocrats says that a kid from a super poor neighborhood with a dysfunctional family knew how to throw punches and use a knife. Well, of course he did—it’s called survival.