Snapedom

Over on hp_darkarts on LiveJournal, there's an interesting post and discussion going on re: Severus: "That Man of Loneliness and Mystery" - Severus Snape: A Character Study, part of their Snape Week.

Hi, everyone! It's been a long time, I know, but I've just come across something I wanted to respond to, and this seemed like an appropriate place. Here it is.

The other day, while looking for sporking, I glanced at some reviews of DH on amazon. In a comment to a negative review, someone said, quite innocently, "Why is Severus brave? I know Harry says he's the bravest man he ever knew, but why? He doesn't do anything brave."

As I say, this was a completely sincere and innocent remark. I did not respond, because a person who cannot actually see Severus's bravery in canon certainly won't be persuaded of it in an amazon conversation.

To me, there is no question that Severus is not only a hero, but one of only two or three real heroes in the books. This is because he has courage enough to change direction, no matter how haltingly. He has courage enough to apologize when he's wrong. The only other people I can remember showing this sort of heroism - personal and moral growth - are Neville Longbottom and, interestingly enough, Ron.

That he has great physical courage is also obvious. For years, he faces down Voldemort and lies to him, knowing that he will be killed if he makes even a slight mistake.

Finally, as Terri_Testing points out, this young man, who seems to long for validation and love, has courage enough to make himself an outcast repeatedly, in order to protect Harry and his mission.

So that's what I think, very briefly. What do you think? I'd guess most of us do see Severus as a hero. If you do, why? And if not, why not? Finally, do you think there is any chance of persuading someone who doesn't see it of this character's essential bravery? (Because I'd think even those - like his creator - who don't see him as a hero, can still see that he's very brave. Being brave and being heroic are two different things, after all.)

Come and join in the fun! Despite the name threesomes and moresomes are more than welcome! The rules are linked in the sign up posts below, please read them prior to signing up as they have changed since last year. If you need help with developing prompts lore and I will be in chat for several more hours tonight and I'll be in chat most of the day tomorrow. Sign ups originally were going to end the 15th, but lore is considering extending the deadline until the 16th. Either way the deadline is looming so hurry over! :D

http://lupin-snape.livejournal.com/1989005.html?view=comments
http://asylums.insanejournal.com/lupin_snape/830697.html

It's friday, I've rediscovered how to post to this site (always a hocus pocus) and I've found some EXCELLENT Snape fics: it must be time for another round of fanfic recommendations!

First off, here's a finished fic: 'The Prince's Harem' by severusphoenix

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6586583/1/The_Princes_Harem

It begins when Snape's Worst Memory left, where young Sev has been debagged and everybody has had a good look at his... equipment. And been impressed. The Hogwarts Rumor Mill starts up, Severus finds his Slytherin side and exploits it, he finds some good friends and.. oh, one only WISHES his story would go this way. It's funny, it's clever and a good read. As the author says: "My nod to the movie "Easy A" & Severus in the staring role.Hogwarts Rumor Mill starts working overtime & Severus is no longer shunned by those of the female persuasion. The story is stuffed full of rather salacious humor."

The same author also writes 'Petunia's Boys', and '3 Slytherin Marauders', which I also recommend. They are both WIP's, both contain GoodPetunia, GoodMalfoys and GoodDudley. If these kind of AU's appeal to you, then these fics might be up your alley.


Now, I've found a new author which I totally love, love, LOVE. Not in the least because she is an unashamed Dumbledore-, Marauder- and Lily-basher, but her stories are always well-written, logical and in character. She just gives these characters enough rope to hang themselves and watches the spectacle with glee. And I watch along with her and chortle like mad. It's very cathargic.
Most of her fic, however, are WIPs, which is a shame.

You can find all her fic here: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1873942/Darkglare

The oldest, and most complete is 'Snape's Worst Memory', and it's brilliant. It begins with, as the title says, with the whole SWM episode, but Sev never gets to utter that infamous 'mudblood' slur because someone else decides to pull a prank. "The Marauders have more enemies than just Severus Snape, who's rotten luck is about to change. His friendship with Lily will continue past fifth year."

Possibly in the same AU universe is 'Be Careful What You Wish For', a WIP where Harry gets a wish and he wishes to 'help his happilly married parents defeat Voldemort'... Oh Harry.

Two of my absolute FAVORITE fics of all time (even though they are unfinished of yet) are 'Cursed' and 'Misschief Managed'.

Cursed is yet another brilliant 'give Dumbles and the Marauders enough rope and they'll hang themselves', and it's rife with absolute BRILLIANT little ways in which people misunderstand each other's meanings.
Sev has been hurt during the 'Prank' but things only come to light and balls start rolling when a clueless teacher takes him to investigate Mrs Evans claim that there has been a fire in Spinner's End and nobody has seen Sev's parents. I utterly LOVE this story and hope that Darkglare will pick it up again some day.

The second story, 'Misschief Managed' is equally brilliant and has been rather recently been updated, so there is yet hope : )
The Marauders have gone too far this time. Their 'little pranks' aren't so funny when they're aimed at you, are they, Lily Evans?
What happens when Lily Evans feels her life is ruined by the Marauders as a joke?


And lastly, if it is just a funny one-shot you crave, Very Small Prophet wrote a wonderful take on Snape taking Harry to the Cave to fetch the horcrux:

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7714745/1/Snapes_Solution

"Snape takes Harry on his first Horcrux hunt, and shows him how to contaminate a potion. Moral: Always send a Dark wizard to fetch a Dark object and a potions master to deal with a potion."

Hello!

deeply_horrible, a community devoted to characterisations of Severus Snape as—for lack of a better word—a bastard (no, not the kind born of unmarried parents), is hosting its first fest. Bring Back the Bastard! is a low-stress challenge for artists and writers to create entries focusing on Snape's less savoury side. You can read more about us and the fest on our profile. Anyone can leave prompts, join discussions, or rec favourite stories or art containing bastard!Snape.


Prompting runs at deeply_horrible from July 30th to August 5th!
Rules | FAQ | Banners

Here's our full schedule:

Prompting Period: 30 July-5 August 2012
Sign-Up Period: 6-12 August 2012
Prompt Assignments Sent by 13 August 2012
Assignment Confirmation: 16 August 2012
Entries Due: 28 October 2012
Posting Begins: 12 November 2012
The Reveal: 1 week after posting ends

Hope to see you there!

From the (tiny) excerpt of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 that's recently been added to Pottermore (Ch 14; see this guide if you want to know exactly where):

( Read more... )

I think this kind of puts an interesting perspective on just what it could really mean to say that Severus is fascinated by or knows a lot of Dark magic.

Things are rather quiet lately... So lets have another round of fanfic recommendations! (Whee!)

Now, I can't remember if I have recced any of the following before, and I'm too lazy to check every post I've made, so if it happens that if you've seen me reccing the same fic before, chalk it up to old age and fuzzyheadedness.

Now, the first two fics I heartedly recommend are Lily/Severus, and people who know me know that I really, really LOATHE Lily Evans, so if *I* like a Lily-centered fic, it's really, really good.

First of all, Come Once Again and Love Me by laventadorn.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7670834/1/Come_Once_Again_and_Love_Me

"Severus wakes up in the afterlife expecting something rather different than being almost-seventeen again. Seriously, what kind of game is this? But wait - Lily's come back, too - from 1981? Perhaps it's a second chance... but to do what?"

It's an incredibly good fic, with really excellent characterisations. It's 25 chapters and it's finished, so brew a pot of tea, open a pack of biscuits and read!

Next comes Ananke by  Eunike.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3127339/1/Monsters

"A strange set of events sends the 19-year-old Lily into a terrible future where she and most of her friends are dead and the war is still on."

A very Lily-centric fic, and not the worst for it either. Lily has some growing up to do.. It's 37 chapters long but still a WIP.


A rather dark one-shot: Monsters by Unspoken Tragedy.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3127339/1/Monsters

"You could have saved them, if you had taught them better. In the end, no matter how many people try to forget or attempt to cover it up, they will only ever be four vicious boys… who got what was coming to them."

Warning: Character death!

And finally, my latest obsession, a Severus/Hermione WIP (with 53 chapters and counting). Wether you like SS/HG or not, this fic explores what might have happened if Snape had someone in his corner, some glimmer of hope. He makes a different decision on the Astronomy Tower with everything that entails. Even if you don't want to read this fic, at least read chapter 46 for a nice cathargic Snape-tells-Dumbledore-what's-on-his-mind bit. It's Chasing the Sun by Loten.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7413926/1/Chasing_The_Sun

Since it's Friday, I'm recommending a one-shot I just found on the genfic board. It stars Filius Flitwick, who considers himself something of an elder brother to Severus-

genfic-hogwarts.livejournal.com/375236.html

This is part of his life we know little of. Where did he live? Whom did he live with? What did he live on? What did he do as a DE?

( Read more... )

I think some of you might like a look at the face of the 'real' Severus. This bust of Lucius Septimius Severus (145 - 211) can be found at the Roman-German Museum at Cologne, Germany.

hp_friendship/hp_friendship is a new prompt-based ficathon that celebrates one of the big themes of the Harry Potter series: friendship. We would like to showcase friendship between Harry Potter characters in all its many facets. What do friends do for friends, and what do they do to them? You tell us!

( There are several Snape-centric prompts still available that might interest you )

There are also a few "any character" prompts that seem to be made for Severus Snape. Why don't you have a look at our List of Prompts (on DW)? And if you found something to your liking, the prompt claiming post can be found here (and here on DW)!

Hope to see you over at hp_friendship/hp_friendship!

Here is a link to a Facebook album of a photo shoot featuring a young man strongly resembling Severus Snape at a slightly ruinous castle or old manor. Really beautiful shots, moody and atmospheric, nice image references for artists. And, curiously enough, the model's name is Sebastyan Smith! Hmmm...

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.155392891219014.35724.155127934578843&type=3

Another Way to Look at the Relationships
between Severus, Lily, MWPP, and Dumbledore

“Whatever you give your dog, your dog will give you right back.
If you give chaos, your dog will give you chaos a hundred times.”

Dog Whisperer: “Peanut, Sunshine, Roxy, and Angus”
Cesar Millan (Italics in the original)

Author’s Note: This article was inspired in part by the discussions on Snapedom about Snape and prejudice (Sailorlum’s original article on 2/19/10, and 00sevvie’s reply on 3/15/10). My thinking about Remus and Sirius as canids rather than people is partly an extrapolation of Mary_j_59’s essay on Snapedom that Black’s behavior towards certain characters makes more sense if we think of him as a dog relating to his pack rather than a person relating to other people. (10/26/08) ( Read more )

Partly because I would like to stop impinging on sylvanawood's Photobucket space, partly because I am not too fond of having Alan Rickman appear to be our main visual reference for Snape (especially since we have a tendency to pick apart the smallest nuances of canon, and he really doesn't fit them that well), and partly just for a change of pace, I would like to change the header graphic and default icon for this community.

I have the minimal Photoshop skills required to make them the right size (the banner is 899x281, so it needs to be at least that large - bigger can be shrunk but I don't want to fiddle around with the layout) and add text, but I am not an artist nor great shakes as a photomanipulator. I think it would be great if they could feature art made by a community member or members, but it doesn't have to be the case. Feel free to post about this in your own journal(s) for visibility to people who might not be members or who are only on LJ; they're welcome to leave comments here if they're interested.

So: I would like to invite everyone to make suggestions, if they have existing work they would be willing to allow as banner/icon, or feel like doing something new. I would prefer not to have to chase down permissions, so please, your own work only, unless you can show me proof the artist gave permission for me to use their work this way, or there's a findable Creative Commons license that permits it.

Anonymous said (please sign next time!):
Before the first potion class, Ron tells Harry that supposedly Snape threats Gryffindors unfair. True, just a rumor. But a rumor which gets confirmed again and again in the book. And no amond of reinterpreting will make Snape a perfect teacher.


I agree with marionros that Harry was a terrible student and predisposed to read any impartial, professional attempt at imposing pedagogical discipline on him as “unfair” and proof of personal bias against Harry. I don’t agree that there were NO lapses from professional decorum on Snape’s part, but much of what Harry perceives as injustice evaporates upon close examination.

I’ll address below the probable source of the “rumor” that Snape treats Gryffindors unfairly.

But first, where, exactly, is this “rumor” “confirmed”? Much less time and again?

( Honestly )

When Voldy had just killed Harry's parents, leaving Harry orphaned, and Dumbledore is speaking with Snape about needing to protect Harry...

Snape is refusing, telling Dumbledore that the Dark Lord is gone for good and that Harry does not need protection.

Dumbledore tells Snape, instead, that Voldy will be back.

Question:How does Dumbledore know that Voldy is not defeated for good?

It can't be the prophecy that Dumbledore heard, b/c Snape eaves-dropped on it and he is not convinced that Voldy is coming back.

This is a piece posted recently on Fanfiction.net by Jiang Qing. The original is here. I asked her (I assume it's a a her?) permission to repost it here because I thought it was interesting food for thought, and it's easier to quote for discussion if the content is right here in the comm post. Please note that I do not necessarily agree with everything said here, I just thought it would be interesting. I'll post my own review/comment in a comment on this post.

Severus: A Secret Sex Icon?

or

Why We All Pity the Fool, Lily Potter.

[snipped author's note about why it's posted on FFN]

After that extensive authors note, it's time to get down to business. By business, I naturally am referring to the essay's title, the complicated character of Severus Snape. It's time to get down to Severus Snape. For the sake of being disgusting, let's imagine getting down on Severus Snape. Or rather, let's not. The question is, why is Severus Snape so damn alluring? J.K Rowling quoted in one of her interviews (I'm paraphrasing here, c'mon this isn't a real essay) that she intended Severus to be a vile character; a bully, bleak-hearted, inclined to favouritism, unable to conjure any sympathy from the audience (at least, until the end). This is all true. Yet, and this is a big yet, there's something about the man that makes you want to jump him. ( Read more... )

So, I was just exploring some other fandoms of mine, and I came across a fan’s sketch of a character that reminded me very much of Snape.

( Read more )

The URL for the full thing is below, so you can see if you uncover any other Snapely insights. And for those of you who visit Death to Capslock, keep an eye out for this character in my posts there as well:)

http://ask-cyrus.tumblr.com/headcanon

In my current exchange with summeriris about Albus Dumbledore's plans regarding the Elder Wand, their purpose and implications (see here and here I came up with one possible scenario by which Severus may have possibly avoided his encounter with Nagini without hampering other aspects of the plan - it leaves Voldemort believing someone accessible is the master of the Elder Wand, that person isn't the actual master. The scenario I came up with is:

However if he had been given all the information in a timely manner Severus could have modified the plan to give himself a chance at survival without harming Harry's. For instance, provoke some minor DE (preferably someone who isn't on Tom's good side) to a fight and appear to lose convincingly. When the time came he could have attempted to convince Tom the other DE was the true master. (This only has a chance of working if Tom doesn't have too much time to notice no improvement in the wand's performance, so Tom shouldn't be told too soon.)

I wonder if the community can come up with additional scenarios?

For this purpose I wouldn't consider getting rid of the Elder Wand completely, because I'm afraid this would have resulted in Voldemort setting Nagini on *Harry*, and Severus wouldn't want that if he knew that Harry had a chance of surviving an AK.