Snapedom

Thank you! AU is hands-down my favorite genre of fanfic writing, and in the case of Severus Snape it's so damned much fun to explore all of the "what-if" scenarios, because at so many points in his life things could have gone so much differently. True for all of us, of course--and that's undoubtedly the appeal for readers and writers of AU.

Snape as the origin of grunge cracked me up, of course

As I said above, I had in mind that he simply inspired the look, and, perhaps, the creative enthusiasm that drove his students to invent the sound. Originally, what prompted this story was the thought that if only Severus had been teaching in Seattle instead of at Hogwarts in 1991, nobody would have made fun of his hair; he'd have fit right in! And the story sort of took off from there...

but the whole idea of his students emulating him is really kind of sweet

I like it. ;-) And perhaps in canon he had some positive influences on his Slytherins. I imagine he had a hell of a conflict of conscience watching Draco slide into Death Eaterdom, and feeling helpless to do anything to stop him without blowing his own cover.

Perhaps this really is what Snape could have been had he been given the right environment in which to flourish.

Deus ex machina bits aside ;-) ... yes. That's the idea. As I had him say here, Dark Lords are made, not born.