#Sev meta

[discojams]

From an interview with Tramell Tillman:

Q: If you didn’t want to redo “Defiant Jazz,” were you approaching your dance moves differently here?

A: You can’t recreate the MDE, and I didn’t want Milchick to dance in season two, because I didn’t want, “Oh, he dances in every season.” But there was something about the idea of playing a drum major that really excited me. I went to two HBCUs: I went to Xavier University and I went to Jackson State University, which has one of the best bands in the world, Sonic Boom of the South. The agility, the stamina, the endurance these drum majors and J-settes and band members have is out of this world. I wanted to honor that style of movement and really pay homage to these HBCU bands.

Q: It really felt like Seth asserting his Blackness in a Lumon space.

A: Absolutely. We have to remember that Milchick put this together. He chose this. He chose the band. He got the refiners together. He got the outfits together. He probably helped orchestrate the formations, the selections. I don’t know how this man did all of this. [Laughs.] I don’t know what schedule this man is on. He is masterful at getting the job done.

https://www.vulture.com/article/severance-tramell-tillman-milchick-s2-finale-marching-band-performance-explained.html

YES YES YES. thank you for the source!

i think some people are misunderstanding my post, believing that milchick was forced to this, that he doesn't like dancing/music/art. he does! but lumon is co-opting it!!!

[helly-ena]

ether as severance + “the courtship of kier and imogene” (relationship parallels)

(just so we’re clear, while the kier-imogene dynamic is clearly paralleled with helena and mark, it is also reiterated in cobel and mark, dr mauer and gemma, and even burt and irving to some extent; season 2 has also made it a point to show us that helena and cobel are both victims in their own ways while being perpetrators. it is not a black and white situation and misogyny will get you blocked.)

original threads: (x), (x)

[orangez3st]

Just prop guys don't worry

Based on this video post 😭 it screams these two di'kute for me

[fanfictionroxs]

People try to put down Jily because James was horrid to Sev and yes I agree.. but imagine being Lily.. your best friend betrays you for your oppressors who hate your very existence, your sister too hates you for your very existence and you seem to have no place where you are fully accepted. And then there's this dude who has always been an immature ass.. but who stands by you like a rock against those discriminating assholes.. this guy you've always hated is the one guarding your back as you guard his on the battlefield where you're outnumbered 20 to 1... this guy who could have carried on his shitty bullying habits into the future, but instead chose to fight against the monsters who want to eradicate you when your own best friend left you for them... this guy who loves every bit of you from the magic to the non-magic and to your very bones he worships the hell out of you... he will die for you and he does.

I don't know man, but that level of character development is an understandable reason to marry a dude ❤

[seriousbrat]

I mentioned this briefly but while Sev asking Voldemort to spare Lily definitely wasn't his finest hour because he was willing to trade her husband and child, I still think it must have taken serious balls to ask voldemort to spare a muggleborn for him. And I've kind of got to admire that haha. While I believe Severus was most likely on an upward trajectory among the DEs during this time due to his skill, I doubt he was inner circle the way Bellatrix or Lucius Malfoy were, he was pretty new and also a poor half-blood with no status-- we know Voldemort coveted markers of pureblood status like heirlooms, and it was Bellatrix and Lucius that he entrusted with his horcruxes. I tend to think Severus was a pretty low-ranking Death Eater, even if he was climbing the ladder (relaying the prophecy can't have hurt, and it seems like voldemort was trying to position him as a spy inside hogwarts, even though he knew that as DADA professor he'd only last a year)

I have to think that Sev knew that asking voldemort of all people to spare a random mudblood, pretty please, for me, was a long shot. He was desperate, and I think he immediately realised that this wouldn't work and went straight to Dumbledore as a contingency plan-- but he had to try all avenues. And I think he was smart enough to realise that "I'm in love with this muggleborn woman pls dont kill her" would not go over well with Voldemort. At best he'd be laughed out of the room, at worst he'd be killed on the spot for possible disloyalty/being a pathetic mudblood simp, rendering him unable to save Lily.

I think Sev was smart enough to know that he had to frame his request in a way Voldemort would understand. I imagine he straight up told Voldemort that he wanted to fuck her and that she had rejected him in school so he wanted a chance to right that "wrong", likely he was pretty disgusting about it just to make it believable. I highly doubt Voldemort would go out of his way to spare anyone even for his closest followers like Bellatrix and Lucius, let alone a muggleborn and a sworn enemy. But we see that he did at least make some effort to comply with Sev's request, which makes me think he was probably amused enough by it to give Sev that little bit of consideration. Framing it as a selfish, purely physical passing fancy (a story Voldemort clearly bought) was really the only option, because if Voldemort thought his servant was actually emotionally attached to Lily that would give him more reason to kill her, not less.

And, inadvertently, Severus asking Voldemort to spare her was what gave Lily the opportunity to choose to sacrifice herself and save Harry. Which is kind of wild. Not that Sev's motivation and methods weren't twisted and selfish, but idk I kind of gotta give credit for the bravery and cunning involved here like it's cold as fuck

[danadiadea]

>she's a lot like Severus, actually, idk.

Yes! She very much is. When she goes off the rails punishing the kids it’s in situations that remind her of her prior failures! She loses her head over the dragon incident because as far as she can see, James Potter’s son and his friends have lured their petty rival out of bed in the night with the notion of getting them into trouble for their involvement with a dangerous magical creature. Which. Like. This has in fact happened before, and the last time it happened she helped sweep it under the rug. (And I do think it’s on purpose by JKR — she mentions Sirius as someone close enough to the Potters to have tried to go to their home after they were killed right at the start of PS, I bet she had at least the general outline of the werewolf prank/the Snape vs. James and Sirius backstory in mind when she wrote this.) In PoA she flips out at Neville … again, because she can’t punish 1975!Remus for letting his friends run rampant and can’t punish Sirius or anyone who’s actually at fault. IMO she does as bad a job as Severus does when it comes to separating Harry from her memory of James lol, she just was fairly fond of James so it usually comes out in Harry’s favor.

The text makes direct parallels between Minerva and Severus quite a few times. They both struggle with stress management and are biased sometimes. The major differences in their teacher personas are that Harry likes Minerva, and Minerva likes Harry. And if Severus is at his worst in the books, which I'm pretty sure he is, then who would call him an inherently cruel person?

But actually, I wonder if Minerva had known that Remus was a werewolf? I think it's confirmed that Albus and Poppy knew about it among the stuff, but that's all. Yes, she was his head of house, but as we see in Harry's time, it doesn't exactly mean a very significant investment in the life of each individual student. For example, she (like all the other teachers) doesn't notice that something is wrong with Ginny. It's kind of a little dumb to not notice a thing that major, but the fact that none of Remus's classmates except for the marauders and Snape (and maybe he got it only after the Prank) had known that he was a werewolf is generally stupid. So might as well add all of Remus' teachers to the pile of oblivious people.

Considering that Minerva doesn't mention Remus at all when talking to Fudge about the Marauders, although he's been working with her this year so it's unlikely that he just flew out of her memory, indicates to me that she didn't notice him much. There are also no hints during PoA that Minerva knows Remus is a werewolf. Of course, she had no reason to try to sabotage his appointment and tell everyone about it, unlike Snape, but nevertheless there is no indication of this. I can see Albus keeping this as private as possible, actually.

I think that Minerva was majorly unaware about all the shit Marauders did. Maybe not about everything, she clearly knew they were troublemakers, but maybe not the raging bullies they'd been. James ceased to "hex people in the hallways" on his seventh year for Lily, not because his teachers did something about it, and he kept bullying Snape. And I get it that Minerva probably often saw a likable side of James and had her own perspective, but honestly, I don't understand how she could be so fond of him if she actually knew a lot about the way he and Sirius were. Another indicator for me is that she tells Peter was incomparable in talent with James and Sirius, but to be honest, he is quite impressive? Maybe he was shit at theory (which we kinda see at SWM with him barely knowing the indicators of a werewolf) but he had enough magical talent to become an animagus as a kid, kill 12 people (later Cedric too), and overpower Jorkins. He wasn't so useless, after all. To be honest, I'm not sure that Minerva experienced significant stress or remorse regarding the school years of the Marauders, just because she didn't pay that much attention then.

[spareham]

[bill withers voice] aint no meta on this blog, and it queues while im away

[urlocallesbiabs-reblog-sideblog]

djfkdjfk BOY have you come to the right place then..... the selfcest corner is small but feral 🫡🫡🫡 feel free to visit my hellyena tag anytime for all the selfcest adjacent shenanigans it goes DEEP (also, beautiful beautiful worlds exist on ao3 as always <3)

[Image Description: tags by me that read "WE HAVE HELLYENA SELFCEST IN THIS FANDOM?????? damn yall r the best" /end ID]

these bitches are so fucked up i love them!! thank you thank you i will peruse the tag

[milfbrainrot]

severance as born sexy yesterday

[talks-at-the-leaky]

this blog is pro-ship & hyperfixated on harry

[discojams]

re: that minstrel milchick post—as an hbcu student I saw it as a reclamation of his blackness at the workplace, esp when you compare it to band culture at the schools and take tillman’s background + milchick’s attitude toward kier right before his performance into account. There was definitely a double-meaning there. Just sharing that perspective as well.

i agree! thank you for sharing your perspective

i didn't put it in the post, but i'm realizing i should have added a section that includes my belief (and tramell's—i didn't see his interview until now) that seth milchick loves dancing and music and performance, the tragedy here is that lumon "owns" him

which is exactly what donald glover is saying:

when we "party"—when we sing, dance, perform—it becomes "for you," ie the white audience. black culture is frequently co-opted and enjoyed by white audience, yet black plight is constantly ignored.

milchick's plight of being a black man in the workplace is ignored by lumon because he is a performer to them. lumon uses this black man, chews him up, and spits him out, no matter how much he gives and gives and gives.

the ending of the song has my fav line, too, from young thug: "You mothafuckas owe me"

and that is the sentiment i get from his performance. he is giving a lot of love to lumon and they do fucking owe him, but they will never give him what he deserves. 40 acres and a mule

all this to say: being black in the corporate world is a constant performance

[helly-ena]

aggregation of several threads w/ similar observations

[danadiadea]

I agree it would influence him! I just don't think it would be enough so that his own "natural" accent is pure midlands, since a very significant part of his childhood was spent with high-class people. Not all of it, obviously, he wouldn't speak like he came outta Malfoy Manor, but considering both Eileen and Hogwarts I think it was quantitatively comparable exposure if Sev went to muggle school, a bit stronger if he hadn't. So imo as a teen, Severus would have the wildest mix in that department ever. He's a Half-blood Prince – he always belongs to both worlds, and this is very much his thing narratively.

Maybe Eileen would want to adapt when talking to neighbours, but she still was an adult woman when her lifestyle had changed so drastically, and her accent probably softened with time but was less likely to totally transform, especially when talking to her magical son in private. Plus slang/language in my opinion is quite easier to pick up in adulthood rather than region specific phonetical/grammar rules, which is what largely builds an accent.

Which accent would be truly comfy for him as an adult would depend on how does he personally process language I guess, because I've had a strong accent in my native language which I was surrounded with almost exclusively, then decided to consiously change it when I was 16-17, and now it never slips even when I'm in pain or having sex or nervous etc, it's basically foreign for me at this point. On the other hand, i know people who can't fully get rid of their accent for decades, even though they are actively trying to. We know Snape kept at least some working class habits like spitting on the ground in frustration in PS, or almost cursing in GoF, and he also probably did forcibly change some of them too, but I think that some of his more "respectable" habits (including lingual ones) might also be just inherent for him.

Severus Snape, who spent half of his life trying to appear posh and respectable.

But who cannot help the Midlands grit from his youth clawing up in his throat during sex. Something vulgar that would bleed despite his best efforts and cling to his tongue.

And he'd be ashamed of it until his partner tell him they love it.

"Y'want me raw like this? Bit o' gutter filth in yer bed?"

Raw.

The real him.

It would do something to him, to be accepted for who he was to his core. This rotten core he despised but could never ever get rid of. And it'd unleash/heal something in him because not having to pretend would feel so fookin' good.

[fanfictionroxs]

Lily Evans has abandonment issues thanks to Petunia and Severus. Petunia is the major contributor as that's her big sister who should have been her eternal confidant and best friend, but who has been abandoning her in increments their entire lives. Petunia, whose love remains conditional and prejudiced, who loathes Lily's very being, her jealousy turning to spite and bigotry because if she cannot have magic then it is wrong, immoral, unnatural... and so is her sister by extension. And Lily, who has only ever wanted two people in her life, watches one of them abandon her for no fault of her own. And then there's Sev, and I know I said Petunia was the major contributor to Lily's abandonment issues, but Sev was her hope. He was the hope Lily carried that she was worthy of love, that she deserved better despite her own sister's screams of freak! Sev was the one who assured her of this every time she cried about Tuney, Sev understood her, Sev would never choose anyone other than Lily, right? Wrong! Sev chooses Voldemort and abandons Lily for a side that wants her own eradicated, expecting Lily to remain content with him treating her unlike 'other' muggleborns. She's the 'special' one from the group of filth he despises, she's the one who 'deserves' to live, she's expected to fall in line and watch her own people burn while the bigots rejoice. At the end of fifth year, it may have been Lily that walked away, but it was Sev who stole her hope the second he called her mudblood. For in the 'mudblood!' resounds the 'freak!', Tuney and Sev's voices blending as one, attacking Lily's very essence, destroying her hope and faith. So, Lily takes the abandonment issues and vows to take down Voldemort and kill every damn death eater that dares cross her path on the battlefield. She will have no other friends, her trust gone up in flames, her Gryffindor courage extinguished in the face of her fear of being abandoned once more. And she carries that fear and nurtures it against James, so fearful yet resigned of him leaving her (he never will and he will spend their lifetime proving it to her). Lily nurtures that fear far more than she ever gets to nurture Harry, the one love she hopes will never leave her. And yet, it is her who leaves him because there's no other way to save Harry. But her magic stays, her love stays, Lily stays. The girl who got abandoned stays for her baby boy. The girl Lily Evans, the freak, the dirty blood envoking old powerful magic, her blood taking down Voldemort in life and in death for her own creation, her baby Harry. Lily stays.

[seriousbrat]

I actually think that dumbledore wasn't entirely wrong to compare the snape-james dynamic to draco-harry. it's just that draco is the james of it all, not harry. he's the one with the privilege, the loving parents who buy him nice things and send him sweets (which i'm also sure the potters did for james) and the more aggressive of the two.

perhaps draco wasn't quite as extreme as james in the end but things like the potter stinks badges, making fun of him publicly for fainting etc, all the rita skeeter stuff in GoF, trying to (presumably) get him to fall off his broomstick by dressing as a dementor, that is bullying. the nastier stuff draco did to harry and co. throughout the books was almost entirely unprovoked and unmatched by harry's actions towards him; draco fired the first shots trying to get harry expelled with the 'wizard's duel' when like, what had harry ever done to him other than not like him/reject his friendship.

I do think it's a less extreme version of snape-james as I said, but the parallels are definitely there, especially when you consider that it culminates in harry using sectumsempra on draco- a spell it's implied that sev created to use on james. it's somewhat more equal perhaps because harry is generally more popular than sev was at school, but there are also various points where harry is very unpopular, such as the entirety of OotP when Draco lords his status as prefect and then inquisitorial squad member over harry to torment him. like it is a rivalry but also draco is considerably nastier to harry and more aggressive than harry ever is to him.

harry typically holds his own better than sev appears to in SWM, but with the exception of HBP he usually has much more pressing matters distracting him to devote much energy towards hating draco. I also think Sev often could hold his own and probably did, that doesn't make it not bullying.

[dinarosie]

What are your thoughts on Lily? I think she recieves too much hate. I get that she’s a flawed character but the way people are discussing her is like she’s a complete bitch and has been thhrougout her friendship with Sev, which I don’t agree on.

Thank you for asking this question. I had written a long meta about the relationship and friendship between Severus and Lily, but it became so lengthy that I wasn’t sure how to post it. Now, I've separated the parts that focus more on Lily’s character and written them here.(Yes, it's still long but it's shareable now)

I enjoy Snily fanfics and absolutely love Lily’s characterization in them, but I have different feelings about canon Lily. I’m not anti-Lily, but I don't think she holds any significant moral superiority or special virtues compared to other characters in the books.

Most of what we know about Lily comes from when she was 15. Yes, it’s admirable that she sacrificed her life at 21 to save her child, but that doesn’t necessarily say much about her character. Many mothers of any age and from any part of the world would do the same for their children. We don’t know how much she matured or grew as a person. We don’t know if she was satisfied with the choices she made as a teenager or what her feelings toward Severus were in her final days. That’s why I base my judgments on 15-year-old Lily.

I see her as a warm, charming, and somewhat immature girl who, coincidentally, really enjoys positive attention (though not to the extent that James does).She tries to be kind to everyone to be liked, yet feels that other girls don’t really like her and are envious. Unlike her son, she doesn’t have a complex moral code, she tends to see the world in black and white like her sister Petunia. To her, you’re either on her side and therefore her friend, or you’re against her and her enemy. She’s the type of person who can easily attract people at first glance but struggles to form deeper, more meaningful connections with them.

I think part of the reason people dislike her is that they see her as more than what she is and have high expectations of her. Fanon often portrays Lily as a girl from a high-status, wealthy family, a feminist, strong, and independent woman, which makes people expect her to have been able to solve many of the issues she faced. However, in canon, she clearly doesn’t have any of these traits. We don’t even know if her family was rich or poor, but since she lived near Snape, it doesn’t seem like there was much of a class difference between their families.

Yes, canon Lily is lively, smart, and kind, and she gets good grades, but that’s different from being ambitious, powerful, or having feminist or progressive views.

Lily marries and has a child immediately after finishing school, before she truly reaches intellectual and emotional maturity. In canon, we don’t see her play a significant role in the war, undertake any special missions for the Order, or even hold a notable job or career before having Harry. She fits more into the traditional role of a wife and homemaker. I think if she had survived and the war ended, she would have lived a life very similar to Molly Weasley (though not with as many children). She’d be a loving wife and warm mother. Of course, she would likely spoil her child more than Molly does, letting him off the hook easily. Like Petunia, she would overlook her child’s mistakes unless it involved dark magic.

I understand that most people in the wizarding world marry young, but we have characters like Minerva McGonagall, who remains independent, even refusing to change her surname after marriage. In Fantastic Beasts, we see women who, despite the war, maintain their roles as strong, independent individuals whose identities aren’t solely tied to being someone’s wife or mother. So, Lily isn’t an exceptional character in this regard. She’s more like the average woman of her time. When we view her as a very average woman, rather than the amazing, powerful, modern figure seen in fanfics, her behavior becomes much easier to understand.

As for her marriage, I can imagine what was going through her mind: everything with James Potter was easier, simpler, and more stable because, from birth, everything was handed to him. He doesn’t need to work hard for happiness or a future, as his high social status and vast family wealth are guaranteed. He probably promised Lily a successful marriage and a sweet and happy family, perhaps even on their first date, filling her with hope for what was to come. It’s only natural that a teenage girl like Lily, who sees the world in black and white and has a fragile social standing in the wizarding world, would quickly decide that marrying someone like James Potter — who is at the pinnacle of her moral scale ( he doesn’t use dark magic) — was the best choice for her future. This pattern of marriage reminds me of Petunia. She marries her boss, who is also much older than her because he can give her the stable, normal life she dreams of, with a secure income.

Sometimes I think the way Lily chose James and how Snape chose Voldemort are similar. Both were teenagers who made these decisions to secure their place in the wizarding world and cover their insecurities. Lily is fortunate to have an easier life than Severus, and as a woman, she can rely on the support of a wealthy and pure blood man. Snape, on the other hand, didn’t have Lily’s privileges. He had to work hard to secure his place, offering his life and loyalty to Voldemort, who promises him acceptance, security, and protection in return.

I also disagree with the idea that Lily is responsible for all of Snape’s problems or that if she had stayed friends with Severus, he wouldn’t have joined Voldemort:

Snape’s life was far more complicated and difficult for Lily’s presence to magically fix everything. Rowling says Snape sought acceptance, security, and peace. Clearly, Lily couldn’t provide those things for him (after all, she was just 15). Snape needed a strong, father-figure type of support at that age. Teenage Snape, contrary to those who want to portray him as obsessed with Lily, had a proud and independent personality. He didn’t base his entire life around Lily’s presence or absence. Yes, he apologized for his mistake, but when Lily threatened to leave him, he didn’t make any effort to change his circumstances. That’s why I don’t believe the people who say Snape only switched sides because of an obsession with Lily. His love for her lit the path for him later in life, but it was Snape who gave that love the power to guide him and help him grow.