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ladyknight33 · 3 days

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Unclip my Wings

Why use this phrase when Alastor laments the deal he is stuck in?

tl;dr: skip to midway down to So here is the Proposed Theory. I don't want to ruin the build up and you'll probably figure it out after with all the pictures I chose. It's not Lilith.

But after watching the Pilot episode of Harbin Hotel (of course I watched after I binged the entire season), I had a new appreciation for Alastor and his function at the Hotel.

But the main question we have is WHY? Why is a demon as powerful as Alastor at the Hotel in the first place? Why is he acting as the general manager? And then Husker gives up that little piece of information that Alastor is also bound to someone. Now we're asking WHO?

Who could possibly have enough power to contain a demon as strong as Alastor. Of note is seven year absence which remarkably coinsides with Lilith's disappearance. But that seems a bit too coincidental.

During the meeting with Lucifer, Alastor's constant angry glaring at Lucifer indicates he has certain underlying issues not addressed. Then Lucifer's agressive dismal of Alastor at their first meeting. It brings to mind the quote "[He] protests too much." Then the imagry during the "Dad Beat Dad" song where Lucifer has Alastor's head on a platter, having Alastor in a frying pan, and baked in a pie.

These images are blatant displays of power over the victim. And Lucifer seems to relish these images far too much, to the point displaying out right disturbing glee at having Alastor in the frying pan.

Alastor counters with needling about exactly what bothers Lucifer the most. Charlie.

Gaining Charlie's loyalty appears to be Alastor's primary objective. He hasn't actualy made it a secret that he would love to make a deal for Charlie's soul. In fact the Brady Bunch style picture is all about boxing Charlie in.

Which begs the question of why would Alastor want Charlie's soul? What could he possibly need such a powerful bargaining chip for? Who would do anything to free Charlie from such a deal?

We know Lucifer would.

WIthout knowing Lilith's side of the story, we're at a loss as to her choice. But the fact that she was in Heaven during this entire show thus far, gives an indication that she wants nothing to do with Hell.

So Alastor is searching for a way out of his deal and he has set his sights on Charlie.

In the pilot Alastor is in the news room watching Charlie fail to generate interest in her hotel. He offers his services which Charlie turns down many times. He spends a fair amount of time staring at the portrait of the Morningstar family. He claims to want to help for the entertainment value, which is a much lighter excuse than trying to infiltrate Charlie's trust.

It ends with Charlie agreeing, but without any sort of deal being made.

The phrase "Unclip my Wings" during the final song kept bothering me. It seemed unusual for a demon to reference wings as the majority of characters with wings are Angels. (Husker is something different, more gargoyle) Besides having the excellent rhyming for the phrase "pulling all the strings" it begs the question of what if Alastor actually had wings at some point? Unlikely, but what if he had had a taste of Angelic power and wants it again. If he had Angelic powers no one could stop him from pulling the strings.

Wings are also symbols for freedom. And Alastor clearly wants his freedom more than anything.

Which brings up the point of why did Alastor sell his soul in the first place? What did he possibly want so bad as to give up his freedom?

Before his disappearance Alastor was killing the major Overlords, creating power vaccums he no doubt exploited. Making him one of the most feared demons in all of Hell. How would the King and Queen of Hell react to a mortal soul beginning to rival them in power?

Wouldn't it make sense to attempt to control this Demon so that it does not upset their power?

Neither Lilith nor Lucifer appear very hands on with ruling Hell. In fact, Lucifer doesn't appear in the last battle until Adam expressly threatens Charlie and Charlie is not capable defending herself. Lucifer does apologize for not being there sooner. So why? What was holding him back from fighting alongside his daughter when he cares so much for her? Is there something that literally holds him back from interfering in the Extermination or with the ongoings of Hell in general?

If so, it would make sense to have someone else deal with the out of control demons.

But he does stick around for the rebuilding of the hotel, which Alastor is absent for.

So here is the Proposed Theory

In order to get control of the disruption of Alastor killing off Overlords and to prevent Alastor from becoming so powerful as to kill Lilith or Lucifer, Lilith meets with Adam and gets the Extermination started to limit how much power Alastor can gain from collecting souls.

Meanwhile Lucifer is part of the plan, but isn't particularly thrilled. What he doesn't know is that Lilith made a deal with Adam. Nor that Lilith got to lounge around in Heaven for getting Lucifer to agree to the Extermination.

Lucifer captures the biggest threat he knows, Alastor the Radio Demon. At this point Alastor has killed all the Demon Overlords that threatened his rise to power, so it stands to reason that Lilith might have attempted to stop the rouge demon and perished.

Alastor is now caged by Lucifer and wants his freedom.

Alastor is in a position where he is willing to make a deal with the King of Hell himself.

Lucifer is a creator. We see him build rubber ducks at first then recreating the Hazbin Hotel for Charlie. He does not want any more destruction or carnage. But when Charlie starts the Hazbin Hotel to rehabilitate sinners, Lucifer wants to help, but can't.

What he does have is a powerful demon who would do anything for a taste of freedom.

Lucifer makes a deal for Alastor's soul.

The evidence?

Alastor's absolute hatred for Lucifer

Alastor seeking a deal with Lucifer's daughter

Alastor gleefully gloating over Charlie's trust in him

Lucifer's ability to manipulate Alastor's outfit and postures

Lucifer's glee at presenting Alastor's severed head

Lucifer enacting violence against Alastor

Alastor not seeking retaliation

Alastor's eyes seeking his prey, making sure Lucifer knows

This image where Alastor and Lucifer are nose to nose, glaring with bared teeth is perhaps the only time that Alastor's smile is close to cracking. It is also striking that Alastor's grin is nearly identical to Lucifer's in that it takes up half the face it is so large.

As Alastor said, there is no telling what is behind a smile, particularly when it is designed to confuse your enemies.

Lucifer cannot interfere with the ongoings of Hell. Lilith wants nothing to do with Hell at this point. Charlie is determined to reform sinners and Lucifer wants to protect his daughter.

Lucifer is furious that he has to rely on a demon to help his daughter when that is all he wants to do and constantly shows his superiority over Alastor whenever he gets a chance. But does not tell Charlie any of this because he doesn't want her fury or believing that her father doesn't think she can accomplish it by herself.

Not helping in the Battle against Adam until after Alastor is out of the fight, could easily be Lucifer's way of proving Alastor cannot protect Charlie. Coming in to save the day could be Lucifer proving his worth as a father.

Either way it is far to convenient for Alastor to show up when Charlie is announcing her Hotel. Alastor's soul is owned by someone who would release it should Charlie be the bargaining chip.

Only time will tell what the truth is.

Here's to hoping I don't predict anything, because I want to be surprised. Which is why I watch most things because it is the HOW did it happen rather than WHAT happened that keeps me going.

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belle-keys · 4 months

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yeah riverdale could write "these violent delights have violent ends", but shakespeare could never write "you haven't known the triumphs and defeats, the epic highs and lows of high school football" like cmon

#comparative literature #i'm so right like don't you dare come at the cw #art #riverdale #shakespeare #shitpost #romeo and juliet #archie andrews #riverdale cw #tv quotes #english literature #english lit #william shakespeare

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zylvrina · 7 months

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^ Our work for class next week. Our professor went onto AO3 and chose a random anime and the first thing that popped up was rated E, and the tags omg. The professor did not seem to notice

I love this class

#comparative literature #literature #lit blog #shitpost #archive of our own #ao3 fanfic #ao3 #fanfic #fanfics #she is really cool tho #she gave us cute keychains

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severin-photocopy · 1 month

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I'm not really having fun rn

quote from Venus in furs obviously

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sherbertilluminated · 2 months

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Anxiety of influence more like anxiety of wait. Who is that.

Mr. Writer sir I don't know who it is that made you write like that but I can sense him in the text. You knew and cared who he was but I don't know him. I only know you. And he's here through you but he's a stranger to me.

Good for him that he let you be changed into art. You won. Are you happy?

#comparative literature class give me more wrong models of writerly psychology #i'll be normal about them i promise #anxiety of influence #harold bloom #<-guy who i hope i don't have to read more of #literature #comparative literature #and because he's always there:#herr moses in berlin

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itswhatyougive · 3 days

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I remember back in 2011, I was taking a Comparative Literature class in college and the professor was talking about all the idiomatic expressions and metaphors used to describe sex and how they were all violent, warlike. Nailed, banged, screwed, smashed, destroyed, pounded, broken in, etc. Someone scores, someone loses their virginity. It's a battle to be won or lost. He challenged us to try to think of a metaphor for sex that was nonviolent and egalitarian.

I timidly raised my hand and offered, "A dance?" The professor shut me down pretty quickly, scoffing, "When was the last time you heard anyone use dancing in that context?"

Anyway, Steven Universe came out a couple years later

#steven universe #fusion #also i think some ppl use 'horizontal tango' so fuck that guy lmao #tales from comp lit #steven universe meme #sexuality #idioms #metaphor #comparative literature #literature #media

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bloodetguts · 4 months

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Dune inspired artwork inspired by H.R. Gieger inspired by Frank Herbert

2023

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throwawaydracula · 2 years

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Been sitting on this one for a few days, because I'm a little leery of dipping my toes too deeply in Seward discourse. But hey, this blog has 'throwaway' in the title for a reason-- I'm not getting too attached to it-- and there might be some value in talking about this.

When Seward finished his examination of Lucy and couldn't find anything wrong physically, it rubbed a lot of people the wrong way when he suggested the issue might be mental. This is more than understandable; far too many of us have heard 'it's all in your head, stop bothering me about it' or variations thereof from doctors, and some of us have suffered greatly for it. But that's not what Jack did. His immediate response was to call in a second opinion from Van Helsing who, in Jack's own words, 'knows as much about obscure diseases as any one in the world'. So in the first place, Jack is not saying that the possibility that Lucy's problems stem from her mind is inconsequential; the way he discusses the problem it's clear he thinks something needs to be done to help her because she clearly is suffering. Secondly, he's bringing in somebody who would be more likely to identify a physical disease than he can.

Jack has made a lot of mistakes by this point, but not so many as I think he is sometimes accused of. And I would like to present just how much worse things could get via another Victorian horror story: The Yellow Wallpaper.

Some of you may remember this one from various lit classes. It's not only held up as a triumph of feminist fiction, it's one of the more disturbing Gothic works ever written-- even non- or outright anti-feminist writers were impressed with it on that account, even if the message flew right past them. Part of what makes the story so chilling is that it has autobiographical elements-- something like this very nearly happened to Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the author.

Gilman had been suffering from postpartum depression, and was seen by a doctor considered a leading authority in 'nervous conditions' and women's health, Silas Weir Mitchell. Mitchell prescribed a treatment he was known for popularizing-- the 'rest cure'. It sounds harmless just by that name, doesn't it? But Mitchell's idea was that mental stimulation could be just as damaging as physical exertion-- which is not completely without merit (most of us have experienced emotional exhaustion). The problem was, Mitchell could not differentiate between positive and negative exertion.

Patients under the rest cure were to keep to one room as much as possible. Some were allowed to ‘take exercise' in the form of very brief walks or in-bed exercises, but this was often severely limited—in extreme cases, the patient could even be discouraged from sitting up in bed when taking meals. Too much 'intellectual life' was seen as hazardous. Friends and family were discouraged from visiting. No news of the outside world was to be brought to the patient. Creative pursuits like writing or drawing were usually forbidden, or severely limited. Even reading was considered potentially harmful and strictly limited when it wasn't outright forbidden. Rest of body and mind was supposed to be total, and in the end you often got something that amounted to solitary confinement. And this was to go on potentially for months, or years; in Gilman's case, she was explicitly told "...never touch pen, brush or pencil as long as you live."

The rest cure was prescribed for 'nervous' men as well as women, but much more often for women, as women were seen as inherently emotionally fragile. These days we realize that, even assuming the patient was emotionally fragile, the above treatment would do more harm than good. Those of us who live with depression or anxiety (or both) are generally given advice that runs against Mitchell's-- try to stay engaged with the world, try to get exercise in when you can, find some kind of hobby or interest that will keep you from collapsing into a heap and staying like that, stay connected with other people.

But Mitchell was one of the leading authorities of his age. I'm no expert on the man, but he seems to have made some genuine lasting achievements, and he was often regarded as a genius in both the Americas and Europe. This is not to say he didn't have plenty of detractors-- he did, especially among pioneering female doctors. There was a school of thought that ran directly counter to his, encouraging plenty of exercise and life outdoors for people suffering 'nervous conditions'. My point is that plenty of respectable, well-meaning individuals would have trusted his methods; they were not on the medical fringe.

Gilman optimistically believed Mitchell might have changed his methods after she sent him her story, but he appears to have been a proponent of the rest cure for all of his career. The rest cure was still being prescribed by Virginia Woolf's time, and after suffering under the treatment she satirized it thus: "you invoke proportion; order rest in bed; rest in solitude; silence and rest; rest without friends, without books, without messages; six months rest; until a man who went in weighing seven stone six comes out weighing twelve." The comment on weight probably refers to the fact that Mitchell also believed during the rest cure patients should keep to a high fat diet, among other things encouraging them to drink two quarts (that's nearly two liters) of milk a day.

John Seward is not a model professional, to say the least. His obsession with Renfield is apparent by this point, and it has led him to make some very bad decisions. His prototypical character in Stoker's notes was called 'the mad doctor', and he might well benefit from modern talk therapy and medication as much as anyone he's treating.

What I am saying is, in Lucy's case he could be doing much, much worse, and with the complete approval of a significant chunk of the medical establishment of his day. He is taking Lucy's problems seriously, his attitude is not dismissive, and he has not come to the conclusion that shutting her up in her room for months would be good for her. His first impulse on not being able to find the cause of her ailment, mental or physical, is to call in someone he regards as smarter than he is. I do think that counts for something.

#dracula daily #dracula daily meta #long post #cut for length #comparative literature

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speromelior · 9 months

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The last few days I have shifted over to a study of language and deconstruction, I have finally finished my readings of Derrida as well. From there I moved to postcolonial theory, which is one of my huge special interests.

If anyone would be interested in talking about literary theory, feel free to contact me!

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uritur-infelix · 4 months

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"Darkly coloured, the steed cuts through the gloom of night with its blackness, between his eyes a blaze like the crescent moon."

- an Arabic poem by Antara ibn Shaddad (see Arberry, Arabic Poetry, p.35)

"Nimbly did Sleep slip down from the ethereal stars, cleaving the shadowy air and scattering the darkness.

- Vergil's Aeneid, Book 5 (ln. 838-39)

#arabic poetry #arabic literature #latin literature #aeneid #tagamemnon #classics #poetry #epic poetry #comparative literature #vergil #latin #antarah #antara

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ladyknight33 · 19 days

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Severus Snape, The Lost Lily, and A Certain Kind of Courage

Not enough credit is given for the type of courage that allows an insecure boy to stand in enemy territory and apologize. It is the same type of courage that has allowed him to behave as a spy in the most dangerous situations of the story. The books inform us that Severus has insulted Lily multiple times, perhaps indirectly, when in conversation because of his constant acquaintance with Slytherins who referred to her as a Mudblood. In order to maintain relations with his Housemates, he needed to use the same vocabulary otherwise they would ostracize him along side the rest of the school. The books also say that Lily forgave him frequently for these transgresses and even defended him to her friends. Because of these references, she might not have had the slur directed at her from Severus’s own mouth. Only in passing in referring to the Muggleborn population. This could explain her outrage at the callous behavior Severus gave her following the “Worst Memory” incident and why she never forgave him.

To better understand why Lily took the derogatory slur so harshly, one needs to understand why Severus would have lashed out in such a horrid manner. Many readers insist that there is no forgiveness for this behavior, but circumstances pushed him into a no win situation.

First of all, the Marauders attacked Severus unprovoked. (This isn’t say that Severus never attacked first, but in this instance he was the victim) James Potter’s attacks were less harmful in the physical sense, but emotionally they caused embarrassment and lasting mental damage to Severus from the inability to defend himself. Second, Lily attempted to call James’s off no less than six times (HP OotP, Ch. 28). Fueling Severus’s embarrassment to have a girl defend him yet again when James actually relented.

“There you go,” he said, as Snape struggled to his feet again, “you’re lucky Evans was here, Snivellus –“

“I don’t need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!”

Lily blinked. “Fine,” she said cooly. “I won’t bother in the future. And I’d wash your pants if I were you Snivellus.” (HP OotP Ch. 28)

There was a moment hesitation in Lily’s response that suggests surprise and shock, inferring that Severus had never referred to her directly as a Mudblood. Lily not one to be insulted returned in kind which no doubt destroyed Severus’s heart. His one friend and defender had abandoned him. This was likely the moment when Severus knew he had made the most grievous error of his life.

This error was fueled by years of influence by Slytherins such as Malfoy, Nott, and Mulciber. Severus had grown accustom to the slur’s constant use in casual reference and was expected to use the term without hesitation. By this point in his schooling years he was probably having to hide his interest in having Lily as a friend publicly in order to stay friends with his Housemates.

The stress and embarrassment of the situation in such a public manner likely did cause Severus’s vocabulary to slip out the insult. He needed to appear as the consummate Slytherin in the eyes of his racially bigoted friends and he had to appear self reliant in terms of the stereotypical male who does not seek protection from women. Most all cultures have this image of a strong male and seem to indicate that needing a female to fight his battles is considered weak. Given the home life of Severus Snape he likely learned this behavior from a strong willed Tobias Snape.

While no one is free from fault, circumstances, stress, embarrassment, shame and anger do cause people to say and do things they would otherwise not do. This combination of emotions does cause people to act irrationally. Teenagers are the best examples of people making irrational decisions. Everything from trying illegal drugs, drinking and driving, and defying a parent because of a simple misunderstanding are examples from real life. Granting another chance to people who do make horrible decisions while stressed is up to the victim of the attack. In this case, Lily decided that there could be no more chances.

Now with the emotional state of Severus Snape explained, it is time to talk about the courage it took to stand in front of the Gryffindor Common Room demanding to see Lily. He threatened to sleep there which meant he did not care about the rules or how the students of Slytherin would laugh at his decision. At that moment in his life Severus cared about nothing more than apologizing and seeking forgiveness for what he had done. Admitting fault is a difficult thing to do at the best of times, carrying with it the shame and humiliation all its own. Doing so publicly takes great courage. This is the courage of doing what must be done.

Severus Snape, who is not like by many people, influenced by hatred and bigotry, and faces ridicule for his choices, is able to swallow his pride and do what he knows is right. Argue that this is only because he does not want to loose Lily Evans and that would be correct. At this point in his life he has very little support in the social structure. He needs all the friends he can find. At this point in his life sexual interests have not been revealed. There is no evidence that he sought after Lily for anything other than a friend.

The courage it took to stand there and listen to Lily reject him while trying to apologize is breathtaking. This is the courage that allows him to stand before great evil and not waver. He has already felt the guilt of being unable to save what is lost. So he tries to salvage what he can. At this turning point in his life he is crying out for help but is unable to express himself. He wants to do right but his only outlet pulls him deeper into Voldemort’s grasp. With his last bridge of friendship with Lily burned, he likely had no more strength to resist the inclusion he felt with his Death Eater friends.

He still had the strength of mind to feel concern for Lily’s safety. Keep in mind that when the prophecy was first heard and reported no one knew who the child was. Severus had made the only choice he felt was left to him by becoming a Death Eater and in his mind getting even with Dumbledore by reporting the prophecy would have been high on his list of priorities. It was not until Voldemort chose his victim did anyone know who was in danger. Severus probably felt extreme guilt at passing the information, but he could not have known that Voldemort would choose the Potters as the most dangerous.

To his credit, Severus had the courage to ask the Dark Lord to spare Lily’s life. Many people, including Dumbledore, ask why ask for only the woman’s life. The reason is clear. Voldemort had chosen his victim and if Severus Snape had ask for the family to be spared then he would appear to be a traitor and destroyed. He could get away with asking for a woman he had loved since childhood. Voldemort knew of sexual desires and assumed Severus asked for a woman because he desired her. This is where the sexual definition of love started to develop. Severus never claimed it was true only that Voldemort made that assumption. Severus allowed the assumption to stand because it shielded him from suspicion.

When he begged Dumbledore for Lily’s life, Dumbledore accused him of only caring about her. Given the known history that would be a safe assumption. Of course Lily is Severus’s first thought. She was his first and only best friend. There would be some resentment over James Potter putting her in danger. But notice that it was not Dumbledore who insisted on protecting the family. Dumbledore asked “why did you not ask Voldemort to save the whole family?” which is a ridiculous thing to ask the man trying to kill said family. Severus was the one to volunteer the request to save the family. Yes, he wanted Lily safe and understood that to do so would require saving her family. He would not see James and Harry killed for the sake of one person.

Severus made a dangerous choice in seeking out Dumbledore. He is shown to be afraid during the confrontation, starting out by begging, “Don’t kill me!” Severus knew this meeting could easily end in his death or imprisonment and Lily was more important than either. His courage was fueled by fear at this point, but he still knew what had to be done and was willing to face the consequences.

During the Voldemort’s second rise to power, Severus hung between trust and traitor. He walked in two worlds where people refused to believe he was truly on their side. Constantly having to put up with the comments and insults. He bore this as best as his bitterness allowed him. But when faced with the task of killing Dumbledore, the courage needed to complete it was overwhelming. From Severus’s own memories it is known that he did not want to do as ordered. As shown with Draco Malfoy, killing is not so easy a task when one’s heart is not evil. This again is the courage of what must be done. Not because it is right, or because it is glamorous. But because it is the only option to reach the end goal.

Traditional heroes would have balked at killing a friend who would otherwise die a horrible death. Readers curse Severus for this action, one among many. If this horrible decision had not been made, then the ability to protect the students at Hogwarts and pass along vital information to Harry at the right time would never have come to be.

No matter how furious the Order of the Phoenix was at Severus’s actions, they needed him to do the dirty work of spying for them. With the information he brought them, they could then be the heroes everyone expects.

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