Snapedom

Original poster: bohemianspirit

Having written this for my personal journal, I thought some of you on this group might enjoy it as well as my f-list. (Edited from original to remove fic-pimping.)


I was talking to my sister jemby just a little while ago, and we were discussing interpretations of the character of Severus Snape: what his core personality is, versus the accretions of life experience, as lived in the canon story. All very useful stuff to consider when writing an AU Life of Severus!

Anyway, in the course of discussion, in which Jemby and I discussed the relationship of Severus Snape to Teh Dark Side, his motivations for interest in Teh Dark Artz, and so on, we both agreed that yes, he had a sarcastic streak that would emerge even under the best life circumstances, but being a sardonic observer of human stupidity is a far cry from being Teh Eeeeevul loving Teh Dark because it is Teh Dark. And I said, "He's really more snark than dark."

And Jemby SQUEEEED.

Well, not literally. Rather, she laughed, repeated, "More snark than dark!" and told me I must hang on to that phrase, that it encapsulates perfectly the "shadow" side of Severus Snape. Not evil, just jaded by the insufferable stupidity surrounding him.

Of course, there will always be those who prefer the Dark to the Snark. But that's not the man we see in the books, and frankly, a fundamentally good guy with a strong streak of sardonic wit is a hell of a lot more interesting than some Gothic Villain caricature--even if he does wear all black. ;-) But so do I, and I'm not evil. Honest.