#OR a ‘time in the dreaming isn’t always linear’ which is comics canon

[void-tiger]

Headcanon:

In Jessamy’s preRaven life, she wasn’t human. She was fay.

[snictionary]

The Snobels 2018 snominees masterlist

updated  29/11/2018

The snominations will close 30.11.2018. After that, you’ll have the entire December to snote for your favourite in each category. The winners will be announced 9.1.2019, which is the birthday of our snord and snaviour, Severus Snape. 

If someone you snominated isn’t on here, it’s because you did not provide a link. Without the link, some bad guesswork is the best I can do. The only way to make sure the people you snominate appear here is to submit a link. 

I will keep checking the snominations and updating this list!

Meta

@severusdefender, @akashikadoesthings, @deathdaydungeon, @raptured-night, @idealistic-realism00: Marauders vs Snape and Draco vs Harry, the difference between bullying and rivalry (meta 1)

@aworldofgrey, @thegreatsnapescape, @wormwoodandasphodel: Lily should’ve done more to help Severus during the events of Snape’s Worst Memory (meta 2)

@legilimensxsnape, @thegreatsnapescape: Sirius’ hate for Snape (meta 3)

@severusdefender: The end of Prisoner of Azkaban (meta 4)

@sayruq: Severus Snape never stood a chance (meta 5)

cj_whitehound: But Snape is just nasty, right? (meta 6)

@snapedefender: Why is it the accepted norm that Snape was obsessed with Lily? (meta 7)

@potteryet: One thing people forget (meta 8)

@rainfiresnowearth: Not fond of his looks (meta 9)

@rainfiresnowearth: Daily Snamione #88 (meta 10)

@maximoffsrogers, @deathdaydungeon: House points (meta 11)

@queersnape: About House points (meta 12)

The World of Severus Snape: Discipline at Hogwarts (meta 13)

@deathdaydungeon: Always (meta 14)

Literature

@thegreatsnapescape: Rue and Rainflower (literature 1)

@deathdaydungeon: A dealer, not a Death Eater (literature 2)

@humanveil: si vis amari ama (literature 3)

@severusdefender: One small step (literature 4)

@thesnapewecandreamof: Harry Potter AU idea (literature 5)

flamethrower: Of a Linear Circle (literature 6)

@humanveil: Curiosity (killed the cat) (literature7)

Paganaidd:  Memories and Dreams (literature8)

@rainfiresnowearth: A Gloomy Poem for Our Dour Potion’s Master (literature 9)

@rainfiresnowearth: Lost by the Seashore  (literature 10)

@deadcatwithaflamethrower:  Harry Potter’s third year (liteature 11)

@thesnapewecandreamof: Missing (literature 12)

Art 

@bananagege: Proud boy in Pride Month (art 1)

@elenianz: that snape boi (art 2)

@thegreatsnapescape: Redemption (Out of Reach) (art 3)

@the-mr-lolipop-things: Severus with his Pygmy Puff (art 4)

@elenianz: the good old days (art 5)

@a-substantial-trash-pile: Snapetober 13: Guarded (art 6)

@madfantasy: fairy kisses (art 7)

@doodlebat: Tiny Sneep stole his mum’s old Hogwarts uniform, skirt included (art 8)

AnastasiaMantihora: Impedimenta (art 9)

IrenHorrors: Always... (art 10)

Hellanim: The hot wet bat (art 11)

Vizen: Welcome to Slytherin (art 12)

@elenianz: Severus Snape is Gina Linetti of the wizarding world and no one can convince me otherwise (art 13)

@thegreatsnapescape: Inktober day 2: “Worst Fear” (art 14)

@bananagege: Week 3 of Snape Appreciation Month : Snape Experimenting Alone (art 15)

@madfantasy:  Spauldron (art 16)

@lifeofapottedplant:  How dare you stand where he stood? (art 17)

@nazonopurinsu: The place where we met for the first time (art 18)

@kedroboiz: Early Saturday morning in the Hogwarts kitchens (art 19)

@RainFireSnowEarth: The most beautiful thing (art 20)

@RainFireSnowEarth: When my time is up (art 21)

@RainFireSnowEarth: Cowards (art 22)

@RainFireSnowEarth: One day (art 23)

@RainFireSnowEarth:  Poem - Nikita Gill (art 24)

@RainFireSnowEarth: I will cry (art 25)

@RainFireSnowEarth:  Poem - Lang Leav (art 26)

@RainFireSnowEarth: Strangers and Secrets (art 27)

@RainFireSnowEarth: Quote - Russell Brand (art 28)

@RainFireSnowEarth: Quote - Mandeq Ahmed (art 29)

@RainFireSnowEarth:  Author - n.d  (art 39)

@RainFireSnowEarth: Similar Personalities and Traits (art 40)

@RainFireSnowEarth:  Different Personalities and Traits (art 41)

@RainFireSnowEarth:  Similar Magical Abilities and Skills (art 42)

@RainFireSnowEarth:  Different Magical Abilities and Skills (art 43)

@RainFireSnowEarth:  #79 - Daily Snamione (art 44)

@RainFireSnowEarth:  #82 - Daily Snamione (art 45)

@RainFireSnowEarth: #85 - Daily Snamione (art 46)

@elenianz:  Layers & layers (art 47)

@semiramis-audron: Severus has been known to knife a motherfucker in his time (art 48)

Meme

@thegreatsnapescape: car salesman: *slaps Snape* (meme 1)

@potions-and-potters: Turn against the dark lord (meme 2)

@snapedefense: no (meme 3)

@ktnissevurdeen (@lvnderbrown) : What do you do? (meme 4)

@hharringtcns: B e c a u s e   h e    i s    w o r t h    i  t.  (meme 5)

@snapeseverus: Updog (meme 6)

@uchuu-nosuri: This is canon, right? (meme 7)

@1800areyousnappin: Snape flirting (meme 8)

Shitpost

@a-snarling-slytherin: swaying Snape around in the air (shitpost 1)

@snapedefense, @pessimistichogwarts: How Snape Haters Think The HP Books Were Written (shitpost 2)

@buffspiderman: you must join the festivities, Severus (shitpost 3)

@potions-and-potters: Severus I’m still missing your photo for this year’s faculty newsletter (shitpost 4)

@severusdefender:  Level with me (shitpost 5)

@doodlebat:  When you find bargain priced Dark Mark tattoos (shitpost 6)

@deathdaydungeon, @astronema-princess-of-all-evil, @xxtheforgottenonexx, @mollymcgiftens, @a-snarling-slytherin: Stage (shitpost 7)

@dungeonsblues: Is Sev a good dancer?  (shitpost 8)

@lifeofapottedplant: No foolish wand waving (shitpost 9)

@thegreatsnapescape: Every time I see this comic (shitpost 10)

@thegreatsnapescape: Expectdough patronyum (shitpost 11)

@snapeseverus: Those cunning folk (shitpost 12)

@mysnarkyslytherinsecret: Snape is walking across the Great Hall (shitpost 13)

@supiprimi, @severace-snape, @bayneko, @askfordoodles, @justdrarryme, @pandas-cant-fly-ks, @thepurplewombat, @cannithebear: Ridiculously overpowered

Conspiracy theory

@tetragon4: The Headmaster Snape Conspiracy (conspiracy theory 1)

@we-built-the-shadows-here, @dungeonsblues: Ruthless Dumbledore (conspiracy theory 2)

@severit, @prosnapeblogging, @potteryet, @thegreatsnapescape: All up in their faces (conspiracy theory 3)

@thoughtsaboutsnape: Severus marries the whomping willow (conspiracy theory 4)

@severus-snape-fans394, @snapeingturtle, @snapedefense: 3 lives saved (conspiracy theory 5)

@snapeingturtle: Gay deer (conspiracy theory 6)

Peace

@snapedefense, @snapeingturtle: the incredible cellist (peace 1)

@snictionary: incel (peace 2)

@supiprimi: The saga of snevor (peace 3)

@aworldofgrey, @sevi-seviyorum, @onecolorgirl, @wormwoodandasphodel, @thepotionsmasterwife, @librarydaze, @mollymcgiftens, @saltyqrow: Sounds more intimate (peace 4)

@snalendar-snofficial, @snictionary, @severus-snape-apreciation-blog, @madfantasy, @elenianz, @thegreatsnapescape, @agalemnon, @suffer-my-displeasure, @elfarock-art, @run-and-hide21, @lcsslr, @justyouraverageshittyblogger, @captainhellaradsart, @banana-ge-ge: The Snalendar 2019 (peace 5)

Headcanon

@thesnapewecandreamof: Hiding from Madam Pomfrey (headcanon 1)

@thoughtsaboutsnape: Severus’ patronus wasn’t a doe. It was dough. (headcanon 2)

@sxvxrxssnape: facts (headcanon 3)

@severussnapeimagines: Snape being human (headcanon 4)

@deathdaydungeon: Snape’s greasy hair (headcanon 5)

@snapped-snape: Hot take (headcanon 6)

@thoughtsaboutsnape: Swole Snape (headcanon 7)

@deathdaydungeon, @thoughtsaboutsnape: Sev’ socks (headcanon 8)

@RainFireSnowEarth: Is this the DADA Classroom? (headcanon 9)

@RainFireSnowEarth: #145 - Daily Snamione (headcanon 10)

@RainFireSnowEarth: #157 - Daily Snamione  (headcanon 11)

@thesnapewecandreamof: Missing (headcanon 12)

@snapeingturtle: A little sneadcanon (headcanon 13)

@prosnapeblogging: Snape’s ears (headcanon 14)

@thesnapewecandreamof, @deathdaydungeon, @raptured-night, @somuchanxietysolittletime:  I Have a Question (headcanon 15)

@sevi-seviyorum, @severusdefender:  Snape moves to Vegas

[trulycertain]

Alistair’s Parentage, and why I go a bit Tru Smash

OK, it’s time to talk about why I aggressively dislike the “Alistair’s bloodline” retcons and how they come up in the comics. *sigh* I do try to keep this a positivity blog, but I thought as character arc analysis it might be worth saying. I’ll just thank @aphreal42, @celeritassagittae, @withthebreezesblown, @nanahuatli, a few others. I know we’ve talked about this.

*coughs, shuffles papers* Thank you for coming to my TED talk. Sorry again about the... everything.

On Maric

I was frustrated to see the centering of Maric in the comics, and mention of the hunt for him in Inquisition. It’s something that happens even if you’ve kept Alistair a Warden. And this is my question: Why?

I mean, why should Alistair be hunting for the father who couldn’t be bothered to raise him, when it’s not going to save Ferelden or Thedas? Yes, there’s some vagueness about it, an unrealistic dream of “maybe Maric can go on the throne and be better at it than me,” but that just makes it look like he hasn’t been allowed to learn anything or adapt as king, that he’s still desperately running from it, that he’s still reduced to his bloodline rather than his own choices and personal growth. 

We’ve had this arc of him desperately trying to abdicate responsibility of any kind; we had it in Origins, when he was twenty and green. It’s been ten years. Often, smart, perceptive people like Alistair grow rather a lot in ten years, despite or even because of their own fears.

So we’re right back to the daddy issues. And back to the bloodline. Healing is not always a linear process, but it cannot, by definition, go backwards and plonk you right back to the progress you’d made ten years ago. That’s not healing, and it’s not an arc - it’s a circle. Narratively, it’s not a very interesting circle, either. 

The frustrating thing? BioWare’s story folk can do realistic, beautiful “healing is not linear and sometimes people have days where they look back and want to undo everything because oh god what if they got it wrong” arcs about parentage. See Dorian’s or Hawke’s. Both of those have some big issues (I will never, for instance, be comfortable with how much you can hide from Dorian, or how heavily you can push him towards reconciliation, and have issues with that being a player choice at all), but they’re far more emotionally genuine and allow for nuance. More on that later.

Why do Maric’s growth and arc, considering he’s basically been dead for nigh-on fifteen years by the time of the Silent Grove comics, have to come at the expense of Alistair’s?

And why do we assume Alistair needs dragon blood to be awesome, when he’s been awesome pretty much forever for reasons of his own choosing?

(And OK, this one just bugs me for petty reasons: why does Maric have a less-fun version of Alistair’s self-deprecating humour in the novels? (Though all right, quite fond of the bit about falling off horses; forgive the nested brackets.) There’s a clear “like father, like son” thing there, but they met... what? Twice? Three times? I’m just fascinated by a fantasy world where there exists an “awkward quips” gene, because I must have it in spades.)

On Fiona

Fiona herself is a mid-tier character I don't mind. She has some interesting aspects but we don't see enough of her for me to have a strong opinion. Even the novels are a bit half-baked and inconclusive on her arc.

Fiona as a character with difficult choices to make and ambiguous, pragmatic motivations? Yeah, OK. She’s not one of my favourite DA chars, because she barely appears and unlike Maric, we’re not given much after-the-fact canon, dialogue and extra codices on her (*sigh*, because Daddy Issues are always more important), but she works. Fiona as a Very Special Warden Who Got Blight-Cured and another aspect of Alistair’s "well, he can't just be normal" story? Goodness no. It does both characters a disservice.

The only aspect that interested me with Alistair’s king-as-father relationship was the class stuff and the terror of responsibility. Other than “a fascination with magic” (which I find way more interesting as something he developed himself, as a non-mage but one with basic empathy and a curious mind), Fiona's motherhood hasn't really contributed much to his arc. The deep loneliness was there already. Yes, he has one more person who let him down for at the time seemingly justified reasons. OK. We’ve heard that... a lot of times already.

So Fiona, who already had a serviceable story arc of her own, ends up with it partly centred around Alistair’s for... reasons? I guess? in order to prop up his story, but not to do it in any way that really affects it or offers closure and just makes a hash of hers?

Narratively, I simply don't get why he has to be her kid, or be a half-elf. My interest is in how utterly bloody ordinary he is, because that's what makes him special. Both the "my bloodline is ultraspecial because Maric" and "my bloodline is ultraspecial because Fiona" stories bored me equally. He for all intents and purposes still looks human, and his story already has a pretty big focus on oppression. There’s no reason to pile “have we also mentioned half-elf and abandoned by one more person” on top of it. It’s just... overseasoning.

On Alistair

For me, the entire appeal of Alistair’s arc was that he made himself. His pain and his abuse were a major part of his story, but he chose strength. He chose to centre himself around being a Warden, around helping people. Someone who went through that could have easily wanted to watch the world burn, but he didn’t. He is not his parents, or his blood. That's not why his story is interesting.

Growing up, Alistair’s most formative influence wasn’t his parents; it was the lack of them. Or of family in general. 

If you want to pick major figures in his life, I suppose Maric could be one of them. Fiona? No, he isn’t even allowed to know she exists.

The formative influences we’re given, ones he remembers and mentions and seem to have imparted lessons:

Duncan, the almost-father he idolises, and the first person to believe in him

The idea - rather than the reality - of his mother, a serving-maid whose death he blames himself for; he clings to the idea she would have loved him, hence the amulet

Eamon, who was the nearest thing he had to a father and left him, which clearly affected him, and who continues trying to use him, albeit maybe with some real concern in there

Isolde, who helped seal that he was a dangerous tool or leverage, not a person, and started the chain of events that led to the Chantry

Teagan, who was ultimately ineffectual but made him hope for more, and was one of the few sources of kindness in his life

The Chantry bullies, perhaps

Goldanna, who reinforced that “you’re nothing but an inconvenience” mentality and was his last hope of a loving family

The Wardens, who were the nearest thing he had to a family

The people he meets during the Blight, the Warden in particular but definitely Morrigan, Leliana, Zev and the dog, who all make him question different aspects of himself and broaden his horizons a little

There are a ton of stories to tell there, and certainly, the Warden and their relationship with him - good, bad, indifferent - gets the spotlight, as do Eamon and Teagan. Heck, even Cailan gets a look-in, and Duncan has his moment. So why, ten years later, are we back to the twin spectres of Maric and Fiona?

Look... making an abused, neglected kid still be defined and unable to get away from the parents that walked out of his life, and not letting him have his own story? I don't know, that... bugs me. To put it mildly. OK, I’m probably overstating it and drawing parallels where there shouldn’t be, but it does rather feel like that’s the case. This way, he's never allowed progress, growth or agency. And I just... can't. I can't enjoy a story like that, it's too bloody sad and cheap.

He was an neglected kid who was told, over and over, that he deserved the bare minimum. When you've had no love at all, even a half-hearted grain of it is enough. And that has defined his story so much, but there are other stories to tell with him; one of the reasons I like him is his complexity. I want it to stop defining his story. He shouldn’t have to be hunting that family spectre. It may be something that still hurts him, which would be realistic enough, but it’s not all he is, and it’s not what he is to Thedas.

We have so many stories out there where kids are defined by difficult parents. We have so many reconciliation storylines about the sins of families being forgiven, or accepted. (See also: Dorian’s story, depending on how you play it, and definitely Hawke and Leandra’s. I could write a whole meta post on those.) 

How about some counter-narratives? Maybe the world needs more “Sometimes family isn’t a matter of blood, and sometimes your parents didn’t do enough and it’s OK to walk away from the unanswered questions. You’re not broken or static, you still have stories to tell, and you can still grow” arcs. Because life isn’t a Hallmark card, blood doesn’t equal love, and, to quote Dorian on this one, “Sometimes love isn’t enough.” That could be a healthier, more realistic kind of fiction, but also a more interesting one.

...OK, now I’m getting off-track.

tl;dr: I am totally with Alistair that his bloodline is the least interesting thing about him. You go guy.