#but in terms of character study

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Most controversial ML hot take:

Chat Blanc actually had the GOOD ending that was ruined by canon.

[never-rxne]

keep thinking about bottom!sevika or receiving!sevika not particularly for horny reasons but for the emotional aspect of her finally just letting go and abandoning herself to pleasure and allowing someone else to take care of her and hold the reins for once...

like something something top!reader (also... also masc) being the only person who knows exactly how to touch her... how to make her feel good... how to worship her body the way it deserves to be worshipped.. how to make sevika feel beautiful and worthy of being adored and not just a living weapon... how to bring sevika back to herself... to reconcile her with her humanity, her human needs... to...

[fannedandflawless]

WHO LIT THE MATCH?

📌 Disclaimer: This post explores the consequences of overlooked cruelty and conditional loyalty in canon. It is not hate, but an analysis of what was always there—between the lines.

I've found myself wondering lately—not about the war, but about who is really to blame for Harry Potter's orphaning. Not the prophecy. Not Voldemort. But something far more human. Something that began years earlier, between school desks and shadowed corridors.

When I think back to how the Potters—James and Lily—treated Severus Snape, it becomes difficult to ignore the cracks in their legacy. Their actions may not have launched a war upon the wizarding world, but they set in motion the chain of consequences that ensured their own tragic deaths.

James Potter Dug His Own Grave, and Lily Helped Bury Him

A study in fatal choices, selective mercy, and the boy they all pushed too far

Let’s stop pretending that Voldemort was the true architect of James and Lily Potter’s deaths. He may have cast the spell, but he wasn’t the first hand that reached for ruin.

The match? The firestarter? James Potter.

You want to know when he truly began dying? Not in Godric’s Hollow. Not with the prophecy. It began in the Hogwarts courtyard, hexing Severus Snape upside down while his friends laughed—and Lily Evans stood by and watched.

That was the first domino. That was the beginning of the end.

1.) James Potter — Pride Before the Fall

He wasn’t just arrogant. He was adored. Brilliant. Entitled. And he obsessed over humiliating one boy: Severus Snape.

Daily bullying wasn’t incidental—it was a ritual. A show. A performance.

In front of Lily. In front of the school.

In front of a boy who already had nothing.

And boys like that? They remember. They carry pain like a second skin. One hex at a time.

Until eventually, they snap.

2.) The Prophecy Wasn’t the Catalyst — James Was

Let’s speak plainly:

If James hadn’t tormented Severus, Severus might never have lost Lily. If he hadn’t lost Lily, he may still have found himself drawn to the Death Eaters— that pull of power, belonging, and vengeance was strong, and the world offered him little else.

But had she stayed by his side, had she not married James— then even if Severus had strayed, he might have avoided joining altogether—or at the very least, he would have had a reason to come back sooner.

The prophecy wouldn’t have reached Voldemort. Godric’s Hollow would never have fallen.

James didn’t just "grow up." He matured far too late—when the boy he shattered had already become the man who would haunt his legacy.

3.) Lily Evans — Selective Loyalty Isn’t Loyalty

Let’s strip the sepia tones from her story.

Lily Evans is painted as kind. Bright. Morally upright. But when we examine her more closely, her halo slips.

She watched Severus be humiliated—repeatedly. She intervened once. With exasperation, not protection.

And then came the infamous "Mudblood" moment. Yes, it was cruel. But it came after years of torment. After public humiliation. After watching him suffer.

And she walked away. Not with heartbreak. Not with hesitation. With finality.

4.) Then She Married His Abuser

Let that sentence sit.

She didn’t just abandon Severus. She married the boy who hexed him for sport. The boy who made his life unbearable.

She chose the one who mocked his trauma. She built a home with him.

5.) Loyalty Worn Two Ways

There is a reason Lily Evans is remembered as a symbol of selfless love. She died for her son. She stood her ground. She shone brightly.

But when it comes to loyalty? The truth becomes far more complicated.

Her loyalty had limits. Conditions. She forgave James, the tormentor, with grace. Yet she could not forgive Severus, the boy she had known since childhood, for one moment of desperation.

Selective loyalty is not loyalty. It is a mask—polished, palatable, socially acceptable. It is protection offered only when it aligns with comfort.

You know who else had unwavering loyalty? Bellatrix. At least Bellatrix was honest about it.

She chose a side and stayed there. Her loyalty, though horrifying, was unshakeable.

I once stumbled across a poll—one of those blunt, brutal ones on Tumblr. It asked who the greatest "bitch" in the entire series was. Bellatrix took the lion’s share, of course—mad, murderous, monstrous. But Lily? Her name still surfaced—pulling nearly half the votes Bellatrix received. A reminder that not everyone forgot the cracks beneath her shine.

And maybe, just maybe, some of those voters saw the same thing I did. A woman praised for loyalty, but whose mercy had terms.

Let’s lay it bare, shall we? A portrait of loyalty—one side robed in virtue, the other in violence. But both telling the same story.

Here’s the comparison I made:

Looking at them side by side, it’s almost uncomfortable how close their behaviours align—yet one is vilified while the other is celebrated. Bellatrix was honest in her devotion. Lily was praised for hers. But in practice? Loyalty, when selective, stops being virtue and starts becoming a performance. That’s where the story fractures—and where I’ll begin next.

Some may call this harsh—but when I looked closer, Lily’s “loyalty” didn’t seem as universal as the narrative paints it. There’s more to say, and it deserves space.

I’ll explain why I stand by that observation in the next post.

6. ) The Real Tragedy?

Severus loved Lily more than she ever loved him. Not in the obsessive way fandom paints him. But in the quiet, unwavering, lifelong way.

He protected her even after she left him. He protected her son. He died with her name on his lips.

She gave him nothing back.

⸻

The Truth Buried Beneath the Wreckage

This war didn’t begin with a prophecy. It began when no one stood beside a boy who was bleeding in plain sight. When the only one who could’ve saved him—walked away.

James Potter died a hero. But he died the architect of his own ruin.

And Lily Evans? She abandoned the boy who loved her and built her life with the one who destroyed him.

Snily and Marauders fans, please don’t take offence—I merely pointed something out. This isn’t hate. It’s truth.

⸻

Related posts in the same series:

Selective Loyalty and the Lily Problem

The Devotion That Never Grew Up (Coming up next)

⸻

If you found this post stirring, you may also like… A collection of emotional deep-dives into Severus Snape—the man who endured, unravelled, and remained:

Severus Snape: Widower of the Living

The Virgin Theory: Severus Snape, and the Sanctity of Unlived Intimacy

The Dignity of Suffering in Silence: Snape as the Ghost of a Living Man

[humlase]

Here's this fuckass animation project I didn't do then had to cram in 2 days.

If it looks bad I KNOW. Once again, crammed 10 weeks worth of work into 2 days. I did not sleep.

Thank you to my wonderful partner @agaric25 and super cool friend for doing the voicelines for me. It would be actual ass if I had to do those myself.

additional credits: https://freesound.org/people/M-Murray/sounds/723857/ for the background music.

[ultravioart]

Okay I will admit it, I am a hater.

Venture's VA narrated the Venture comic and botched Mauga's accent, butchered the pronunciation of πυξίς (pyxís said like peekSIS not PICKsis) and Iram. It's tonal and phonetic errors, not Venture's accent.

Where are the voice directors??? Why aren't words being checked if they are pronounced right? It's annoying enough that the Greek ruins were not researched (digging into cliffsides/under ruins in Greece is desecration/dangerous, Venture's drill would shatter terracotta artifacts, handling artifacts WITH BARE HANDS is a no-no, and a Westerner claiming 'no one is here to protect these Greek ruins, so I HAVE TO STEP UP' is such bs) but the pronunciations and accent butchering is just... the unprofessional cherry on top lol.

The VA was also very nsfw in a community that included minors (Overwatch isn't rated Mature, there are teens here. Such as interacting with streamers in a suggestive way even though those streamers have minors in the audience. If Overwatch was an adult series I wouldn't be complaining.) I get the VA is nsfw sometimes but READ THE ROOM. YOU are the adult here, CHOOSING to work on a T rated game that has a large online presence. Make a side account or something for nsfw!

The VA also encourages thirst trap art of Venture which to me feels SO ooc for Venture's character. Overwatch characters should NOT be self inserts! Did we not learn this already with Cassidy?!?! Sure, Venture's character can be flirty, but I see it in more so a 'hopeless romantic' super-hero whimsy way. Look at how Venture embellishes their intro in the intro animation! "Those boots, the drill, that perfect smile!"

It's light hearted and camp, not unironic gooner thirst trap lol. (Plus that mummy skin fanart trend for Venture eventually turned into people making fanart including orientalist fetish costumes. Smfh.)

There's nothing wrong with expressing sexuality, in fact I am happy for anyone that finds who they are and embraces it! But yeesh, as a professional VA in a T rated game, be appropriate for a T rated audience!!! Don't be horny on main when sfw fans are just trying to ask you about the VA profession. It's not cute, it’s immature and irresponsible and extremely unprofessional. Sorry to be a hater but. This person also voices characters in Monster High, a series aimed at a younger audience. The VA also voices a character in Genshin Impact... and I needn't say why it's concerning that the VA doesn't respect the audience the VA AS AN ADULT chooses to work in. :/

I also have beef with how Venture changed from concept to final product (loved the big smile, long lashes chill vibe + Venture's curls got nerfed >:/) so I might make a redesign of Venture in the future...

[missholloween]

The only characters that sing (and in a way, twist) the Great Astronomical Discoveries motif during TGMH apart from the Stratfords are Benjamin and John. And let me tell you, I love what they do with it.

Benjamin's take comes first, during Benjamin's Appartment/The Radiance. After days of listening to the Stratfords talk about their hoax, of seeing how they meticulously crafted their stories and the world clamor them, Benjamin has finally given up and is ready to betray the Stratfords. So, he invites Margaret to his appartment to reveal their hoax. Benjamin uses the same language he's learned from the Stratfords, and so, the great astronomical discoveries motif starts playing.

For the first time in the album, it's not a victorious melody: it doesn't sound grandious anymore, it doesn't have any build up, it's just Benjamin and a piano. Curt Mega's performance is really sober, as he's trying to cover up his own emotions. He only fails to do so in "to advance their own career", where he bitterly laughs, losing the beat for a second. Although a bass and another string section join for the climax they quickly go away, as Margaret also joins the sad melody. Even if Great Astronomical Discoveries brought the Stratfords fame and renown, it has also deceived and hurt many. It is satisfying to hear two of its victims sing it then.

That's also why, in John's Choice, it's Herschel's time to speak, we are expecting something similar to happen. The music stops, all the characters await, and Herschel starts to talk... And the melody is More Than This. It's subtle, and one may not notice it on their first listening or if they're not that familiar with the soundtrack. But then there's a crescendo, and John starts singing Great Astronomical Discoveries.

The passion, the energy, the love that comes from John's voice (in another amazing performance by Curt) blows away both the audience and the characters that were there. He has the same accompaniment as Rose and Samuel did, but there's a key difference: there's no harmonies. And it doesn't matter, because really, what a chilling performance. There's also something very poetic about John taking the Stratford's position and being in control of his story after all the hoax.

TL;DR I love the Great Astronomical Discoveries and everything Matt does with it in part 3 of TGMH. Curt totally kills it every time he sings it in any way <3

[janetkwallace]

So close, yet so distant.

[balkanlila]

can't stop thinking about lila and nino's time in the shoe shop for no particular reason (lie), but she brought books to that shop... the whole affair started by the sea... the books, the shoes, the sea... all symbols of lila's childhood that have been morphed into something else, something eerie and adult, and she attached their original shape and meaning to nino, just like she has always done with elena, because he was supposed to be her way back to these things, if only indirectly, if only the small way she could possess them again existed in watching him have them. and i've mentioned this to mal the other day, but the heart of this relationship is based on a cruel contradiction: on one hand it is an attempt to reestablish childhood innocence (the books, the shoes, the sea in their original fairytale, dream-like form), but on the other hand it's overwhelmingly defined by adult themes like adultery and sex (melina and donato's relationship) it's a warped perspective on both childhood and adulthood ultimately. it's got the spirit of each right, but the motifs are all wrong, like they've crossed to the wrong side of the timeline. so, in many ways, nino, to lila, exists as both the essence of elena and rino, the gods of her childhood, and as the essence of marcello and stefano, figures tied to her brutal push into adulthood. and lila is already an extreme example of adult motifs crossing into childhood's territory so when nino appears, her understanding of sex and adultery hasn't been sugarcoated, but is rather present in, not the only possible form sex and adultery can exist in, but certainly in one of their truest forms, vulgar and dangerous in their banality. (thanks to stefano and melina and donato respectively) thanks to that, lila's relationship with nino can't be a new beginning because it's only a response to preexisting experiences and everything good about it is only good because it's better than something that happened before, but ultimately it stays within the circle it appears to be rebelling against.

[lemonynuggets]

Having a good art class for the first time in my life is such an insane feeling, all the other classes were just my teachers being incredibly mean, not actually teaching anything and making us do nonsensical assignments and now I have a teacher that actually takes note of the kind of art I’m into and gives me assignments based on things I enjoy and can improve? I made an oil painting of my current blorbo because this way I’d be drawing something I like and still trying a new medium and learning things? My first homework was making concept designs for my OC? My next assignment will be making a scrapbook-esque research about Julia Lepetit from drawfee? Is this even real

[marsberrysoda]

Arcane style study because of course I want to learn how to paint like this

Original image:

[transgenbur]

i know i talk about this all the time but the very existence of fanfiction in itself completely puts into question everything that actually defines a character (because yadda yadda people are determined by their socio-eco-historical etc environment and when you remove them from it how much of their personality and behaviour is intrinsic and how much is nurture and can you even truly separate those two) and it fucking blows my mind and i want to read what people much smarter than me have definitely said about it because its SUCH an interesting topic in terms of literary research and .J THEJHHG

[mashbrainrot]

bj hunnicutt doesn't particularly suck any more than any other main character in the show. btw.

[genericpuff]

[goldensunset]

while I can't say I've encountered nearly as many Radiant Garden fans as you probably have in order for that to jump to mind, I actually did find myself really agreeing with your take on it. I totally thought I was missing some cutscenes for a while, like maybe I just hadn't seen something that was in the manga or in the DS version of 358/2 days, but no. people actually do just extrapolate off of nothing. and while that's fine for the most part, I never see this level of dedication being put in for female characters. as a huge Aqua fan it's frustrating that she has so many interesting qualities that I'd love to see explored but DON'T because most of the fandom would rather extrapolate from a guy with 4 seconds of screen time than even think about her. unless she's being shipped with Terra, I guess. I think the R.G. folks are just a microcosm of that bigger issue--they'd dig into the earth's fucking mantle looking for gold in an emo boy before digging six feet down for a woman

salt under the cut (i won’t make this a habit i promise)

adjdjcnsnxn that’s an incredible way to put it i might steal that phrasing… see like again i understand the ienzo thing purely from a life situation point of view. if a lil boy was an orphan raised by sketchy weirdos in a lab and then at the ripe old age of 8 had the whole losing-his-heart-and-growing-up-less-than-human-raised-in-a-cult thing. sure i’d want to explore that too! i’d read farther into it than canon. but literally where is the passion for aqua or kairi or skuld etc etc… i mean the girls have their fans but like no one is out here constructing an entire elaborate universe out of them. like i do my best but it’s hard work… but i mean that’s hardly surprising right. that’s how the story goes

honestly ienzo fans don’t even make me mad it’s more like i get annoyed when ppl obsess over like. aeleus and dilan.. because respectfully and i say this with love. there is *nothing* there. they didn’t even bother bringing back their vas in kh3. they are filler. why do all the shifty weirdo radiant garden men draw rabid fans but heaven forbid the ladies get love. hold on *approaches hornet’s nest with a baseball bat* i think there’s something about specifically adult fictional men that- ((i reconsider and stop myself))

but like. people are allowed to do whatever they want idk at worst it’s annoying when they start attacking others over alleged mischaracterization. yes i know in your fun and admittedly interesting fantasy he acts like this. but you cannot get mad when another fan portrays him the way we see him in canon lollllllllll

[smulie]

first term went a little like this ...

[mistress-riddle]

do we think tom/voldemort ever experienced cost-sunk fallacy?