Snatch G. Banders

☻

"Enter the garden, look at your mistakes. Can you truly paint them red?"

- Snapdragon, “Paint them Red”

A person of many crowns (almost as many as they own), Snatch is an idol, producer, budding actor, entrepreneur, fashionista and self-made millionaire, all at the tender age of 18. In their short 3 years in the public spotlight, Snatch has rocketed to global prominence, amassing an impressive list of accolades and a large fan following.

This is why there was a shock when Snatch decided to put their growing career on hold and enrolled in Ever After High. Since enrolling in EAH, there has been radio silence about Snatch’s activities and movements, except for their company's statement that Snatch identifies as a royal.

Before fleeing Wonderland
Snatch was born Sara Gage Bandersnatch, to Fleur Bandersnatch (the current generation’s bandersnatch) and Im Moon Sik (a generic imoogi). Growing up, Snatch was an impulsive kid and was primarily driven by their instincts.

If pressed for an answer, Snatch would say that their childhood was rather idyllic (or as peaceful as living in Wonderland could’ve been). Truthfully, Snatch can’t remember much of their childhood, and what they do remember is usually through rose-tinted lenses: the warm weight of their mother’s bandersnatch form, the dappled sunlight beneath their father’s wings, the smell of wild flowers and the tinkling of a slightly out of tune piano.

Beyond these memories, Snatch recalls the escape from Wonderland, the chilly bite of the air and the electric smell of magic, their parents pushing them through the portal and the definite feeling of loss. They usually stop reminiscing when they reach this part of their memories.

Life in Book-san
After escaping Wonderland, Snatch was sent to their (paternal) grandmother in Book-san. Raised in a quiet town by the beach, the only thing Snatch could do was play music with their Grandmother and perform in neighbourhood potlucks. They found it cathartic to write their feelings re: escape from Wonderland into song and found joy in performing. When they were 15, their grandmother sent the demos to a music label and sent Snatch to Speoull for an audition.

Living in Speoull
Moving to Speoull saw Snatch going to a life characterised by intense schedules. Even though they were initially apprehensive about the drastic change, they persisted because they thought that their grandmother wanted them to be financially independent.

Within a year, Snatch debuted as a solo artist and quickly amassed fame as a charismatic and intense performer.

However, isolated from their support network and suddenly submerged in the highly public and stressful life of a pop star, Snatch’s trauma grew worse. They were frequently insomniac and irritable, only finding solace in music and occasionally talking to their Grandmother. One coping method Snatch developed to feel in control of their fast-paced lifestyle was to compulsively rely on order and routine. Separated from people who truly knew them, nobody noticed the toll this lifestyle took on Snatch, and as the pressure built, they grew even more stressed out.

Publicly, Snatch kept a personable persona, and had a few acquaintances (though they were never close). They were widely known in the industry as a perfectionist, and though they never snapped at people, they found it difficult to entirely suppress their irritation offstage.

At 16, Snapdragon released their first album; 17, a crown line. During their comeback “Paint them Red”, Snatch experienced a panic attack after they were submerged in ice water on a variety show. Reluctantly, they took a break from promotions for a period of time, before starting filming for a movie, “Train to Book-san”. After filming, they went back to their grandmother’s for a short vacation. Their grandma noticed how stressed Snatch was and the burden they felt in the public eye. Guilty, she sat Snatch down and they had a frank conversation about celebrity and taking a break from the public life. Before that discussion, Snatch thought that their grandmother sent them to Speoull because she wanted them to be self sufficient. After extensive debate, Snatch admitted that they were burned out from the pressure of idol life and wanted to take a break. Upon hearing Snatch’s confession, their grandma brought Snatch to discuss the issue with the company. Under the pressure of a fierce imoogi with extensive contacts in the music industry, they agreed on Snatch taking a break from all activities and attending EAH for a change in environment.

Attending EAH
In EAH where most people are famous and understood the need for discretion, there was less pressure on them to perform as “Snapdragon” and they learnt to relax. Snatch was still stressed and got disproportionately upset, but they’re no longer pressured to maintain a positive front. They’re a lot less “open” in EAH, and more prone to snapping and getting angry in public.

Snatch doesn’t know this, but the management has worked with the school to enforce a non-disclosure spell and people in the school are not allowed to discuss Snapdragon’s “uncharacteristic behaviour”. However, a fair number of students who were Hordes were disenchanted by Snatch’s new attitude.

Personality
What can be written about Snapdragon that isn’t already publicly known? Actual name Im Sara, preferred name Snatch G. Banders (though no one knows what the G stands for), fan-given nickname Snaps, the next Bandersnatch; whichever name they are known by, they’re known to be a person who’s professional and charismatic, thoughtful but occasionally playful (especially around their fans, affectionately called “the Horde”), the epitome of a perfect idol.

Of course, this isn’t all there is to Snatch (otherwise the driver’s job would be done and they wouldn’t struggle as much to write a coherent page).

As a public figure, there is a necessity for Snatch to have multiple personas. Acutely aware of their role as an idol (someone who’s usually metaphorically worshiped by millions), Snapdragon is under overwhelming pressure to be perfect and never make mistakes. They are acutely aware of the millions of Hordes who emulate their every action, and is careful to present a wholesome and friendly image all the time.

As such, Snatch isn’t mindful about demarcating clear boundaries between their stage character, public persona and their actual self. Snapdragon frequently engages fans on their mirror blog, and actively participates in fan culture. Even during their private time, Snatch tries to keep up with the happenings in the Horde, and monitors the response to their each and every action through social media (their publicist doesn’t know whether he should hate or love them).

Frankly, this is unhealthy as hell. Snapdragon’s determination to keep their negative feelings bottled up feeds into Snatch’s inability to healthily express their emotions, and all of Snatch’s creative energy is funneled into providing content for Snapdragon, their Hopes and Fears diluted and distorted into palatable radio fare. It’s a wonder how Snapdragon managed to avoid major scandals throughout their three years, considering how close they are to snapping at any given time.

Another reason for Snatch’s unwavering commitment to be “the perfect idol” is that they tend to be intense about things they care deeply about. Right now, that includes doing what they think their parents would’ve wanted them to do, following what their therapist tells them, and avoiding triggers (they literally did an about-turn in the hall to avoid bumping into Raven Queen).

This single minded focus also explains why Snatch can get so upset when things do not follow their plans. Snatch highly values structure and order, and tends to rely on routines for predictability in their life. Whether Snatch would’ve grown up to have this mindset if they were raised in Wonderland is debatable, but the point remains: they want to be in control of things that are in their domain, ie: their public image, their appearance, their music, etc.

As the next Bandersnatch, it is given that Snatch would have a terrible temper. While they tend to keep a tight rein on their temper, their control over it is slipping in EAH. Without the need to remain the “perfect Snapdragon”, nor adequate anger management skills, Snatch is becoming increasingly aggressive in EAH.

Considering Snatch’s career, it’s no surprise that they have always been honest with themself. In the privacy of their own mind (and their diary), Snatch doesn’t see any reason to lie or to put up a front. This translates to a certain level of notoriety in the fashion world — Snatch knows how to be performative without losing their identity.

Hobbies
Undeniably, Snatch is musically talented. They’re able to play a total of 4½ instruments: guitar, piano, bass, gayageum and some cello. Their musical abilities are partially because of their strong background in piano (their grandmother played in the Speoull Philharmonic Ogrestra for few decades, and their father liked to play the piano in Wonderland).

Snatch possesses relative pitch, and has a good sense for song production, helping to produce songs for fellow musical acts such as Red-rose Velvet, Sevenseas, Ghoul Generation and Mamabook. Surprisingly, even though Snatch likes to write upbeat songs, their personal music tends towards grittier, rock-influenced sounds, as well as rhythmic rapping (+some semi decent singing).

Despite Snatch’s good sense of rhythm, they’re terrible at dance. They claim that their long limbs and high center of gravity impede them from dancing well, but it’s probably the fact that they’re a really clumsy person in general. This is also why Snatch is absolutely bad at sports, despite their overall fitness (except for track — Snatch is a fast runner).

Appearance
Snatch is a tall kid, much like their mother, and looks even taller because of the 10 cm platforms they frequently wear (their choice of footwear is perplexing, considering their general clumsiness, but not so when you consider the fact that Snatch will absolutely practice until they’ve a decent mastery over. living in heels). They’re quite a pale kid with good skin, and claims that this is because they religiously apply sunscreen this is misleading, because they also have a team of dermatologists who make sure they look perfect.

Snatch, like most Wonderlandians (and to be fair, a large percentage of EAH folks too), has outlandishly coloured hair. While they like to keep its natural green, Snatch does occasionally dye their hair.

How the Story Goes
The Bandersnatch was mentioned in the poem “| Jabberwocky" in the book “Through the Looking Glass”:

 “Beware the Jabberwock, my son!  The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!  Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun  The frumious Bandersnatch!”

As well as in the poem “| The Hunting of the Snark”:

“And the Banker, inspired with a courage so new   It was matter for general remark,  Rushed madly ahead and was lost to their view  In his zeal to discover the Snark.

 But while he was seeking with thimbles and care,   A Bandersnatch swiftly drew nigh  And grabbed at the Banker, who shrieked in despair,  For he knew it was useless to fly.

 He offered large discount — he offered a cheque  (Drawn "to bearer") for seven-pounds-ten:  But the Bandersnatch merely extended its neck  And grabbed at the Banker again.

 Without rest or pause — while those frumious jaws   Went savagely snapping around —  He skipped and he hopped, and he floundered and flopped,  Till fainting he fell to the ground.

 The Bandersnatch fled as the others appeared  Led on by that fear-stricken yell:  And the Bellman remarked "It is just as I feared!"  And solemnly tolled on his bell.”

(Only the excerpts which mention the Bandersnatch are quoted here)

How does Snatch come into it?
Snatch’s parents studied in EAH for a few months on exchange programs (Fleur for her role and Moon-sik for his apprenticeship under the Pied Piper), and well, they were interested in each other and started dating. After completing her destiny, Fleur proposed to Moon-sik and they moved to Wonderland to start a family.

Snatch’s views on their story
Snatch is only briefly mentioned in ‘Through The Looking Glass’ with the line “shun the frumious bandersnatch”, and thus doesn’t have to do anything in that role but be present.

They have a far greater role in the poem ‘The Hunting of the Snark’, where they attacked a banker.

Snatch honestly isn’t concerned about their destiny. They’ve always vaguely knew what they needed to do, but they’ve never actually thought about what it meant to attack someone. When it comes to the actual act, they’ll probably just. swat the banker and run off.

If they think about it more deeply, Snatch is proud to be a Wonderlandian. They love the weirdness and how spontaneous Wonderland was and would’ve been honoured to play a role in the story.

Parallels

 * The narrator warned his son to “shun the frumious Bandersnatch”. Snatch is an idol and is adored by the masses instead.
 * The bandersnatch ignored the banker’s attempts to bribe in favour of attacking him. Snatch is so rich that bribes doesn’t affect them. They’re also strongly anti-capitalist.

Name parallels: Snapdragon (Snap can also refer to suddenly losing one's self-control), Gage can mean token of defiance or challenge.

Trivia

 * Snatch’s fans are called the Horde because 1. Sounds like Hoard and this fits with the imoogi/dragon theme (credits to Hiddenfolk for this) 2. They defend and fight for Snatch 3. "Horde" as a word sounds vaguely angry and that parallels the Bandersnatch's temper.
 * Snatch has a secret account to interact with the Horde. It’s “Band-sendmetotheER-snatched"
 * Snatch is quite articulate. If they weren’t a musician, they could’ve been a famous author, known for their books with thinly veiled allegories against capitalism).
 * Snatch is Eurasian, with a Korean father (an imoogi) and a French mother (the previous bandersnatch). Their korean name is 임 사라 (Im Sara).
 * Snatch is a terrible teacher. Despite all the plans they make, they’re a person who relies on gut instinct for creative processes (their music writing routines are, on some level, guided by their instinct). Hence, they sometimes find it difficult to explain their thought processes. This is very evident re: music writing
 * Future Snapdragon comeback (after a 2 year hiatus): In the Looking Glass. Snatch explores the different personas they take on and wonders which one they are. They conclude that each persona is a different facet of themself.

Specific things they like:
 * Being enclosed in warm fluffy comforters (but not too hot) - reminds them of sleeping under their mother’s Bandersnatch form
 * The smell of dry + old + treated wood (smells like the piano in their 8 Grandmother’s place), the smell of the sea and the forest
 * Glitter confetti — it’s sparkly and sparks an instinct to CHASE

Things they hate:
 * Snatch hates the sound of screams and the smell of electricity. It reminds them of the Evil Queen casting magic in Wonderland. They wear customised earphones/in-ears to block out the sound of screams.
 * They’re scared of magic used around them. There’s quite a lot of videos of them running from magical special effects in performances. Hordes are generally sympathetic to their trauma and have repeatedly petitioned for events/ festivals to stop using magical special effects. “After all, we’re going to watch Snaps and they’re magical on their own”
 * They hate the cold. They’re half imoogi and hence, like oceans and rivers (ie, moving water). They instinctively find it unnatural when water freezes. It also snowed when the Evil Queen cast her spell.

Quotes
"It’s a duality really, when the bones animate or when the flowers break"

- Snapdragon, “As the Dead Rose”

"I don’t believe you, zombie! You’re not my father!"

- Snatch’s iconic line from “Train to Book-san”

"Hi, I’m the frumious Bandersnatch, which means I’m free and mysterious ☆"

- Snapdragon’s introduction in their debut year (They stopped doing it ASAP)