#snape post

[inthemoodforblastt]

You should write snape fic in a Glory like au lol

The thing is, Severus isn’t like that. He’s not a character driven by revenge but by guilt, so it just doesn’t work. He’s also far too consumed by hegemonic morality and this need to atone for his sins to come up with some elaborate revenge plot where he takes out his abusers one by one. It would be very, very out of character to put him in that kind of scenario, he doesn’t even remotely have that kind of malice. And it’s a shame.

[severusish]

The buttons on Snape’s sleeves. That’s it that’s the post

[juanasunfall-blog]

This one got me thinking.

Y’all remember that memorable moment in prisoner of Azkaban when that one portrait snapped at Snape and told him to turn off his wand light? And he actually did it?

I always found that hilarious because there was not a single other light in the corridors. Like, just to oblige that old painting, he walks around in a castle full of dangerous booby traps and it’s pitch black. He might walk straight into the nearest suit of armor or tumble down a giant staircase.

But now I kinda imagine him doing the bat thing and scream at the walls to find his way back to his quarters or locate stray students.

My Humor is very broken.

[broccolux]

do you realize severus snape was brilliant

like he wasnt only clever he was fuckin BRILLIANT

to come off with new ways to prepare potions and create his own spells he must be pretty damn brilliant i bet he had a promising future and upcomign oportunities with that level of imagination and the classical ambition of a slytherin

BUT NOOOO LETS JOIN A RACIST NAZI CULT AND WASTE OUR WHOLE LIFE YAY

[marascomics]

Not sure which is more satisfying😊he is The Softest Thing In Existence either way. Head cannon that Molly makes everyone in the Order a Christmas sweater and this is what Snape's looks like 🐍

[severusish]

Snape absolutely deserves that Order of Merlin, First Class — and he deserves it antemortem, not posthumously.

[gabbemercer]

Are we not allowed to have opinions on here anymore .... fine if you don’t agree with me, thst doesn’t tou understand the facts better than me ...

[anthonycrowleymoved]

(Starting this off, I really enjoy your blog, you're a quality person, and this isn't hate or judgment, just real curiosity. That said...) why do you like Snape? What qualities do you find enjoyable/redeemable about him? (I've been on the fence)

i’m actually really glad you asked! before i start, though, i do want to clarify a few things:

snape isn’t my favorite character in the series. he’s probably top five, though. truly, i am a bit sorry.

i’m not a crazy fangirl. i promise. i know he’s had plenty of those, and i’ve never been like that. i know that he is truly a nasty person and not someone to see as a role model or any of that. i still love him, though.

i am writing this at midnight and i’m tired and need to get up tomorrow, so i apologize if this seems rushed.

these are simply my personal opinions. i don’t expect you all to immediately turn to my side, but it would be nice of everyone didn’t think anyone who has even a smidgen of sympathy for snape is inherently evil.

okay, now let me explain this in sections

I LOVE LOVE LOVE morally gray characters. i love them. they are always my favorite character. i love the obvious internal struggle the character has between good and evil. i love wondering if they’re going to crack or relapse or whatever. i love the slide many endure or the slide you think they’re enduring. 

i also love characters who appear to be something they’re not. characters that appear to be the epitome of good who is actually the bad guy and vice versa.

most of all, i love characters that make you think and leave you questioning their motives. and while we all know what snape’s motives were now, but when i first read the book? my god, it was one of the biggest a ha moments i had had up until that point. i loved that. 

snape was a bully, like malfoy, but for seven goddamn books you knew he was good. they as much as said it. and you didn’t know why or how. and on some level you questioned just as much as harry if he was good or evil.

okay, we get it. but why is he a good character?

he’s complex. i’d argue that he may be more complex than any other character in the narrative.

does that make him a good person? absolutely not. he’s an asshole by any human standards. i never said otherwise. but do i feel like, as someone just sent me in an ask, he is, and i quote, “an extremely abusive, selfish piece of trash”? no.

because i honestly just got this ask, and these were issues i was planning on touching on anyway, let’s dissect this a bit:

jesus christ, people. he was a spy. yes, he was an abusive and, honestly, horrible teacher. but he wasn’t exactly hired for his revolutionary teaching methods. he was hired to, eventually, keep an eye on harry. 

and guess what? he played favorites. he did. it was a dick move. but can you honestly tell me, can you look me in the eye and tell me that if he was nice to twelve-year-old neville, twelve-year-old malfoy wouldn’t run home and tattle to lucius?

cover blown

am i saying this is an excuse? absolutely not. he shouldn’t be targeting gryffindors. he often went too far. but my god, read between the lines a bit. i understand the “snape genuinely hated every gryffindor in his class ever” the first time you read the series, but come on. there are alternate interpretations. are they necessarily right? no. do the ends justify the means? no. does it explain some things if this was what rowling was going for, even if the mark was off? hell yes.

i think people forget that the “lol i’m gonna walk over your dead body and cradle your dead body while ignoring your son” is not, and correct me if i’m wrong because i haven’t read DH in a few years and i may have missed it while skimming the chapter, in the book. it’s in the movie, but then again i stand by the fact that the movies pale in comparison and there are some serious issues. i honestly believe including that, frankly, disturbing scene is one of them.

is snape’s love obsessive? i didn’t really read it as such, to be honest, but i get how you may get that. i read it as more of unrequited love. i never saw him as this creepy stalker, at least not in the books, and by the time DH2 came out i saw that scene as problematic, but not the character overall. maybe it was just how i read it when i was however young i was, and maybe it’s a personal thing that i didn’t think it was a big deal. but you asked my opinion, and that’s my opinion.

and a final few points

the thing is, he was a racist and a bigot, but he overcame it. did he overcome it for the right reasons, did he actually see the light and repent wholeheartedly? no. he didn’t. but i think, if anything, that makes him more interesting. he was this really nasty guy that became part of the light side for all of the wrong reasons. but i don’t feel like that negates the fact that he has done good things. it makes you question his morals, but as i’ve already said, i love doing that, so i personally have no problem with it.

i think everyone at this point can see the obvious parallels between voldemort, snape, and harry. abusive childhood, hogwarts as their one true home, etc. but, the thing is, snape has far more in common with voldemort than he does with harry, and he still ends up siding with the light. i feel like that says something about him, that he overcame all these obstacles that voldemort couldn’t. he overcame them for the wrong reasons, as i have said, but he still did. 

was snape a good man? no. would i necessarily like to spend a day out on the town with severus snape? no. do i absolutely love him as a character? yes. the more you think about snape - his motivations for certain actions - the more you see that there is more than meets the eye. don’t blindly accept that people don’t like the thing, so you can’t like the thing, and i feel like every one of these “snape is the worst character” is the same argument rehashed with little to no changing, and so little to no thought put behind it.

well, maggie, if you like snape so much, why don’t you like 

he was upfront with his assholeishness throughout the whole series. he was a dick. we knew that from the beginning. i knew what i was getting with snape. dumbledore i hate, and i think i view him as a hypocrite. i’m fine with people who are upfront about their dickishness, but i can’t stand hypocrites and people who cannot admit to wrongdoings, which is probably why i like one and do not like the other. in case you were wondering. this really isn’t a point in snape’s favor, but just in case y’all were wondering if i was going to throw another fastball at you, i’m not. personally, dumbledore’s character rubs me the wrong way, and i don’t plan on defending him in any way. personal opinion.

finally

i realize the irony, especially considering the length of this post and how often i post about logistical problems in harry potter, but my god people. it’s a book. these characters aren’t real. if you admit to liking a shitty character, as long as you admit to yourself that they are in fact shitty, there’s nothing wrong with that. you don’t see hannibal lector fans being accused of being cannibals. hell, i didn’t have to explain why i liked snape, really. i could have simply said “because i do” and that should have been a valid answer. you don’t have to validate your preferences to other people.

i hope this was at least semi-coherent and i hope this was what you were looking for. honestly, there’s lots of reasons i liked him that i felt while reading the book that are just kind of hard to put into words.

TLDR: he’s complex. also, why does everyone care so much?