[severus-snaps]

My meta masterpost

Collated here for my own benefit, as I spiral deeper into insanity.

Autistic!Snape

Making a name for myself as *that kind* of autistic Snape fan.

Severus Snape and the Possibility of Autism In which I go through the DSM-5 and ICD-11 and compare Snape's behaviour to the diagnostic criteria to speculate about whether or not he could reasonably be interpreted as autistic. 'Sister' post to Correcting autism myths and misinformation #2.

Correcting autism myths and misinformation #1 In which I correct some false, outdated, or otherwise stereotyped information about autism, go through some research, and discuss more accurate interpretations.

Correcting autism myths and misinformation #2 In which I correct some false, outdated, or otherwise stereotyped information about autism, go through some research, and discuss more accurate interpretations. - again. 'Sister' post and catalyst to Severus Snape and the Possibility of Autism.

Snape + physical stress responses / stims A collection of Snape's physical stress responses/stims from throughout the books.

Posts I've tagged with #snautism Just a collection of posts tagged #snautism.

Metas/essays

'Mudblood' and Muggle-borns A rounding up of a few examples from the books where "Mudblood" is arguably used against people who are not Muggle-born, in response to JKR's tweet that says half-bloods would also sometimes be called Mudbloods.

Snape in the eyes of Pureblood Supremacists in Slytherin Where I consider Snape's upbringing and early attitudes to blood supremacy; the timeline of Snape's school years and the War; Snape's appearance and first impressions to his housemates (and others); Slytherin 'friendships' through the lens of what we see in the books from Harry's generation, and Snape's alluded-to 'friendships' with Lucius and the 'gang of Slytherins'; and the role of blood purity in Slytherin House.

Legilimency & Occlumency & Emotion The complex and emotional skill of advanced Occlumency, and how I don't think it can be reasonably conceptualised as "shields" or a flattening/cutting off of the emotions.

Snape's friendships with the other Hogwarts staff In which I try to get a feel for how Snape might have fit in with the other staff, and the extent to which he was really friends with them.

On Sectumsempra & Levicorpus In which I argue that the Marauders used several of Snape's spells against him, not just Levicorpus, and discuss the possibility of Snape not having created Sectumsempra at all.

Snape: Points and Punishments (part I) An analysis of Snape's habits between PS and GoF when it comes to deducting points and handing out detentions, along with comparisons to other teachers, as well as how perceptions of Snape's fairness are influenced by Harry's/the narration's bias, etc. A second part will eventually materialise, covering OotP to DH. I just need to reread them first.

Snape has trauma about being physically exposed as a result of SWM Considering Snape's reaction to Harry seeing his bloodied leg in PS.

Snape and Poison Just a list of every time Snape was associated with poison in the series.

Densaugeo and Hermione and Snape A discussion on Densaugeo-gate and Snape's possible motives.

Spinner's End, Muggle Dunghill Taking a look at people's real memories and photos from the slums in Manchester, UK in the 1960s. Inspired and influenced by the brilliant post Two Up, Two Down.

Similarities between young Snape and Harry (i) Similarities between young Snape and Harry (ii)

Tinfoil hatposting (#tinfoil-hatposting)

In which I play in the sandpit that exists between an author's intent and a reader's unhinged interpretations.

"There are no Wizarding princes": a tinfoil hat analysis of the naming conventions of Eileen Prince and Severus Snape In which I argue that Eileen Prince wasn't Pureblood, based solely on the pattern of naming we see in Pureblood and half-blood children in the series.

This isn't my post but I forgot it existed when I wrote the above, and it also argues that Eileen probably wasn't Pureblood.

The Life and Times of Eileen Prince In which I very tenuously argue that Eileen Prince was at Hogwarts at the same time as Tom Riddle and Walburga Black; she may also have been in school when the Chamber of Secrets first opened.

Dumbledore didn't trust Snape until GoF Snape was always the black sheep of the staff, who modelled their feelings towards Snape off of Dumbledore's feelings - and Dumbledore didn't trust him until towards the end of GoF. I also lowkey think that Dumbledore suspected Snape of being involved in the Chamber opening - at least for a little while.

Piggybacking other people's posts with speculative rambles

Sort of coherent thoughts I have about Things, but usually Snape, and/or posts in which I piggback off of other people's ideas and waffle a bit.

Snape's "gaunt" face in CoS and Snape as an outsider

See also: "Dumbledore didn't trust Snape until GoF"

The written language of Parseltongue

What did Snape do as a Death Eater?

A ramble about Patronuses and does and stags

Occasions when Snape lies to Harry

Snape is Vindictus Viridian, author of "Curses and Counter-Curses"

Snape's possible experience of Muggle primary school

'Severus' isn't Snape's real name

Snape's purple flame spell in PS was maybe the one Dolohov used against Hermione in OotP

Snarkaroff

How insane it is that Muggleborn kids aren't contacted until they're 11

In defence of Snape (or, a reply in which I debunk some common anti-Snape arguments)

On Neville's Boggart and the Trevor Incident

Snape would never have taken the idea of Remus being a werewolf seriously prior to the Prank

Just because I want to write about this properly and haven't yet, the idea that Snape and Dumbledore switched bodies prior to the cave scene in HBP

Below the cut I'm going to add some of my favourite metas by other people just as and when I remember them. Got really into digging these up and reading them when I first got into Snape-research. Snesearch, if you will.

Snape probably didn't consider himself abusive

Two up, two down

Many of the essays listed here, but especially Sectumsempra and the nature of curses and Spinner's End: what we know or can surmise about the location of Snape's (and Lily and Tuney's) childhood home

The Dark Magic/Light Magic Dichotomy is Nonsense

The Death Eaters as a cult

Snape was a good person who went bad and then good again, and his remorse was true

The Twenty Memories of Severus Snape

Watsonian/Doylist Analysis of the Prince’s Tale

What kind of Death Eater was Snape?

The Abandoned Boy And Problematic Father: Snape with Voldemort & Dumbledore

And probably more I'll add as I come across them.

[edwardisinvisible]

Cokesworth ig

Lowk just my mums old city LMAOO

[poitionsprince]

Happy pride month to Severus Snape and all the men I ship him with

[theflikchic]

You know, I think Regulus would really hate and distance himself from Snape but not for the ridiculous reasons everyone claims.

To explain: Lucius has shown over and over again he's the kind of man who will use and manipulate anyone regardless of class or blood-status so him keeping Snape close as an older teenage boy makes complete sense to me. He sees Snape as an exception to the rule. That yeah, Snape may be half-blood and poor but he's brilliant and he can use that.

Regulus on the other hand is soooo far into Voldemort's work already, as shown by what he puts up in his bedroom of all places (holy shit), that I think Regulus wouldn't dare to see Snape as an exception. I think he would be disgusted by Snape and if he had any idea of Snape being basically a prodigy (I believe he didn't or if he heard of it from other Slytherins, wouldn't believe it), he would be disgusted that brilliance would be wasted on someone who he considered barely half a wizard and half a human since Snape is so poor.

Lucius may have been, even from a young age, a rich bigot but he has shown time and time again that he will put himself before the cause. Yes, he believes all those who aren't pure-blooded are beneath him but when it comes to his own skin and uses, that will always come first. Based on what we know, Regulus - both as a young Voldemort fanboy basically and even in his death - puts a cause before his own life. He would refuse to see anyone but Voldemort as an exception, I believe, because the cause is everything. Lucius sees that he and thus the cause can get something out of Snape - the way most hate groups prey on young men and boys from poor situations, and even on boys who are part of groups they set out to hate. Regulus, in my opinion, would be horrified that Lucius kept him around.

He might even be okay with James and Sirius being so horrible to Snape because although they're blood-traitors, at least they still come from good blood and good class status...

[juderuo]

Quick sketch of another old serverus. I imagine the further removed he gets from Hogwarts the less colors hold the associations they used to. Maybe he never wears t-shirts, but he doesn’t wear black all the time and doesn’t think twice about wearing something red.

[sideprince]

Thinking about the complexity of so many people's choices that leads Harry to find the Diadem of Ravenclaw and defeat Voldemort. It's the only Horcrux that would have eluded Dumbledore and that only Harry could have found. Dumbledore didn't seem to know about the room of requirement beyond it having been a bathroom that appeared out of nowhere when he needed one. Harry didn't just know about the room and its capablities, he knew about its form as a storage place for objects that needed to be stashed somewhere safe. Harry was the only one who had seen and handled the diadem in living history aside from Voldemort, though he didn't know what it was at the time. He's the only one who could have found that Horcrux, without which it wouldn't have been possible to defeat Voldemort.

But if you trace back how Harry ended up there, the reason is complex and starts a generation earlier with James and Snape. Harry first handles the diadem because he's hiding the Half-Blood Prince's potions book after having cast Sectumsempra on Malfoy and nearly killing him. Harry didn't know what the spell did, but the Prince had written it in the margins of his book, with the note, "for enemies." The Prince, of course, was a young Snape. If it hadn't been for Snape writing down (inventing, probably) this spell, Harry wouldn't have used it on Malfoy, and subsequently wouldn't have tried to hide his book in a panic, wouldn't have ended up in the room of requirement in its form that hid the diadem, and wouldn't have ended up stuffing the diadem onto the bust he used to mark the cabinet he hid the potions book in.

Of course Snape would've had no idea that any of this would have been the outcome of him scribbling something into his book as a student. He probably wouldn't even have thought someone would be reading through, let alone using, his textbook so many years later. Snape also likely wrote/invented Sectumempra out of self-defense because he was being bullied by James Potter and his friends. James was the only one of the Marauders we see Snape use the spell on. If James hadn't bullied Snape he wouldn't have written Sectumsempra down, Harry wouldn't have used it on Malfoy, thus wouldn't have needed to hide the book, and thus would never have ended up in the room of requirement finding the diadem Horcrux. Going even further back, if Snape hadn't met Lily and jealousy over her hadn't driven Snape's and James' rivalry, the Marauders' bullying might not have been severe enough for Snape to resort to offensive spells like Sectumsempra in self-defense.

None of this is meant to justify any of these characters' actions and choices or qualify them as good or bad, but rather to emphasize why it's so reductive and pointless to look at characters (or even real people) through the lens of "good" and "bad." The reason people make the choices they do are complex and the outcomes are varied and unpredictable. I find Snape fascinating because he embodies this more than most literary characters. He was a lonely, abused, angsty boy who channeled his anger and frustration into hurting others out of self-defense, from using dangerous spells to joining a murderous cult. He also regretted his choices when they affected someone he loved, and without that regret - or the choices that led to it - Lily wouldn't have been able to save Harry's life and Harry wouldn't have been able to defeat Voldemort. Not just because of Lily's protection, but because without Snape's potions book Harry would never have found a crucial Horcrux, one that Dumbledore had no way of leading him to.

Snape had no control over he abuse he experienced, not was it his fault, and he had little guidance other than his own trauma to figure out how to deal with it. He made terrible choices that perpetuated the cycle of violence he'd experienced even more drastically, but he also came to understand the impact of it and spent the rest of his life trying to make up for it. James Potter was a violent bully and also a devoted friend and father. Though we know little about him, we know he was cruel enough to some people (like Snape) to enjoy torturing them publicly, but he was also a loyal and loving enough father and husband to sacrifice his life without a second thought in order to give his wife and son a few seconds head start to get away from Voldemort. If not for any of these things and the choices these characters made, Harry wouldn't have ended up where he needed to be in order to find the Horcrux that would have, otherwise, been the remaining piece of the puzzle that tethered Voldemort to life. Both Snape and James died not knowing their role in defeating Voldemort. They both died at Voldemort's hand. Whatever their cruelties or self-sacrifices, Harry couldn't have done what he needed to without them. I'm not sure what lesson there is in that, other than a reminder that every person is complex and it's worthwhile trying to understand them instead of judging them.

[rat-de-bibliotheque08]

I keep thinking about how, by giving his Triwizard winnings to the Weasley twins in Goblet of Fire, Harry acted like a true son of James. James was generous too, supporting Sirius and Remus financially without hesitation while they were serving in the first Order.

Sirius never cared much about money either. He opened his home to the Order without a second thought. And he never once told Molly that it was his house, so first of all, she had no right to boss him around; and second, Mundungus could come and go if Sirius didn't mind. It's a shame Sirius never put her in her place, because honestly, he should have.

Anyway, Harry is truly his father's son and Sirius's godson.

I'm also interested in the way Harry reacts to trauma: by giving away something valuable that's connected to the traumatic event. We see it in Goblet of Fire, when he gives away the prize money to the Weasley twins. And later, in Half-Blood Prince, barely learning that Sirius had left him Grimmauld Place in his will, Harry immediately tries to give it up and offers Dumbledore the continued use of it as the Order's headquarters.

Honestly, that was a sad moment. But I like that Harry does this twice. It really feels like a genuine part of his character.

[kalkaros-is-the-boss]

Honestly, looking at the story from the perspective of money and class opens up so many interesting possibilities. Biggest being that Harry doesn’t really have to think about money - another fact I’m sure he shares with his father - because he has it. Even Ron points this out with the vanishing gold, which Harry hadn’t even noticed vanishing.

Which makes me curious, do we know about James supporting his friends financially? We know his family provided a roof over Sirius’s head when he ran from home, but do we know more? I can’t recall any passage saying so. I don’t find it hard to believe that James would have, so it might be there. But, I also find it very possible that James had a similar issue - bit of a blind spot - that Harry also had. Which is that since they don’t have to think about money, because they have it, they also don’t really consider how it affects those who don’t until they see it directly in front of them.

With Harry, this shows especially in how he views the Weasleys. To him, they’re poor. Because he’s told so and because he can see that they have to think about money. But who tells him that? Mainly, the Weasleys themselves…and Malfoys. And yeah, compared to the Weasleys and Harry himself, the Weasleys are practically broke. But really, they’re poor in the ’can’t afrord luxuries way’ not the ’can’t afford essentials way’. (And like many have pointed out before, this is where Joanna’s classism really shines. All the characters who actually suffer from poverty, are portrayed as bad people.)

But this is where I actually think Sirius differs with Harry (and likely James). He seems to be aware of money and wealth much more acutely. Possibly because he knows what it’s like not to have it. That’s why he doesn’t lord it over Molly. Even if she drives him mad and he disagrees with her, he doesn’t use that angle, because then he would just be saying ”I’m richer than you, which means I am above you and you should do what I say”. And he doesn’t want to do that, because as much as he disagrees and even dislikes her, he does respect her.

Which makes it all the more facinating when he throws all that out the window when it concerns Severus. Then it’s his house. And that really shows how Sirius views wealth. Not as something that everyone should have access to, but as something the people he finds worthy should have access to. But there is something that Sirius finds more meaningful and inportant then wealth - which is very apparent in that same argument with Severus and why Severus kind of walks all over Sirius, because this is something he has - and that is the ability to be useful.

And that is the driving force really behind Sirius giving it for the Order. Of cource some of it is genorisity and necessity, but for the largest part I find it to be this burning need to be of use. For Harry, it’s mostly the fact that he really doesn’t want it. Generosity too, but mostly he just wants to be rid of it. He doesn’t want to own it. He hates it and everything it represents to him.

Something that really has to be taken into account when analysing the generosity of James, Sirius and Harry, is that they can afford to be generous. Harry can give his winnings to the twins because he doesn’t need to consider if he needs it. James can afford to be generous and support his friends because it doesn’t make a dent in his wealth and his parents have no issue providing for another mouth - and they’re his friends (which is a very weighty point when it comes to James, I’d say), and Sirius can afford to be generous with his house, because it’s a massive house and no one is living there. They all can afford to be generous with their wealth. Characters like Severus or Remus can’t afford to be generous with their wealth. All they have to be generous with, is their time and their lives. Which they all end up needing to give, of course.

[tageerdo]

What u looking at?

[endlessoceanic]

So pretty 😔😔😔

[carniferous]

i think a central part of my james thesis is that to me the fanon interpretation of him as a happy-go-lucky 'ego the size of a lake but a heart to match it' golden boy is not at all irreconcilable with the canon depictions of his bullying and harassment of snape (and lily). i feel those two things naturally go hand-in-hand

[carniferous]

obviously in canon james's story is About how those two things (the dearly departed hero and the bully) can and did exist within one person. the point is that james was multiple things to multiple people and the pathos behind every encounter harry has with the memory of his parents is that it's always jarring and confusing for him bc he will never get to Know his parents

but even beyond the text i feel like operating under the idea that there exists any Contradiction at the heart of james's character is somewhat of a misstep. to HARRY the revelation that james could be obnoxious and cruel upset his worldview bc it shattered the myth he'd been told about his father -- but like, when i as a reader consider james's character i don't see obnoxiousness and cruelty as incongruent with the other characteristics we're told james possessed (even the ones that we as fans have assigned him). for me interpreting james as a sunshiney, loving, charming, and generous friend and husband doesn't mean not interpreting him as someone who sexually harassed his peers -- perpetrators of sexual violence quite literally often are upstanding members of the community with a large network of people willing to support them. they often are people with significant amounts of social power/capital. this is kind of like sexual violence 101 tbh it's kind of funny to see people really staunchly take sides in the "james is a jerk" vs "james is the sun" wars. ten bucks says you've met a really charming funny handsome guy irl who was also a sex pest

[hiveswap]

Not attracted to that character i just want him to experience being scared for his life and panicking

[half-blood-prince-throne]

Sad head canon

What Sev saw in mirror of erised

Nothing. He wish he never existed

What is his boggart

Himself as irredeemable death eater. Still proud and loyal to their principle

[the-half-blood-princessss]

He’s so fine

[alisadraws]

[severusp1ss]

Gremlin man

[ottogatto]

Snape as a Hogwarts Teacher, an essay

From my website "The Sneep Project"

Take a look! ;)

[severus-snaps]

so this phrase was used in ootp:

Hermione, Parvati, and Lavender all screamed. No fewer than four Stunners had shot from the figures around the cabin toward Professor McGonagall. Halfway between cabin and castle the red beams collided with her. For a moment she looked luminous, illuminated by an eerie red glow, then was lifted right off her feet, landed hard on her back, and moved no more.

and then again in dh:

The green eyes found the black, but after a second, something in the depths of the dark pair seemed to vanish, leaving them fixed, blank, and empty. The hand holding Harry thudded to the floor, and Snape moved no more.

but mcgonagall was only stunned. #snapelives 1000% confirmed