sideprince

[sideprince]

Unfortunately it almost definitely can't have been Lily's handwriting, as it was a sixth year textbook and their friendship ended in fifth year, as canon states. I don't think taking skill and intellect away from Snape to bolster Lily's makes up for the fact that Rowling (boo, hiss) left Lily as a character without much detail or nuance. I do think, however, that comments like Slughorn's about Lily's potions talent are meant to be breadcrumbs hinting not just at her own skill and intellect, but at her friendship with Snape and the fact that it had a basis, ie. they had interests and talents in common. (My own interpretation, which probably also wasn't Rowling's intent, is that Snape wrote in the margins of his textbook because he couldn't afford a notebook to keep his ideas in, whereas Lily would almost definitely have had one.)

The fact the handwriting looks like a girl's might be an indication that it looks neat, which can also mean it was done with care. it can also be a classic Rowling misdirect, or part of the larger trend throughout the books of Snape being written with female coded attributes. As for why Harry doesn't recognize it, the Prince's book is out of context re: Snape and Harry has never shown himself to have the memory or attention to detail it would require to make the connection. Rowling leaves us breadcrumbs here, too, though. The first time we see a young Snape writing is during his OWLs when he has limited space and time and is trying to cram in a lot of information as much as he can. His writing is described as "minuscule and cramped.” When Harry first opens the Half-Blood Prince's potions book, the handwriting is repeatedly referred to as "scribble[s]." When he looks on the inside cover to find the Prince's name, it's described as, “the same small, cramped handwriting as the instructions” ie. the same description as was used for Snape's handwriting on his OWL. Hermione says the handwriting looks more like a girl's in a moment of defensiveness and anger, and I would argue she does so more to grasp at an argument on behalf of advocating for her gender than a sincere belief. As for why Harry doesn't recognize Snape's handwriting after seeing him write on the board for years, most people's handwriting looks different in their 30s than it did when they were 16 - not to mention that if you're writing on a chalkboard you hold your hand differently and if you're writing to present information to a class then you need to do so legibly in order to be effective.

As for adding a clockwise stir, it isn't necessarily about catalyzing the reaction of the ingredients, or not exclusively - Snape is characteristically all about subtlety, and because he understands the ingredients and how they react to various things, he understands that this additional stir brings something more out in them than the recipe says. He values effectiveness and efficiency, and while the pursuit of that can have the same result as taking shortcuts due to impatience, the approach and meaning thereof is very different. But I also think that any time you write off a character or their choices without considering known information about that character, you're cheating yourself out of insights and being unnecessarily reductive.

Harry doesn't learn, not really. He memorizes, and only that which interests him. Like anon pointed out, he doesn't understand theory or the ingredients' properties any better through the Prince's book, but teaching this - or anything - also wasn't the Prince's intention. Which is also relevant to what the Prince's book reveals about Snape as a teacher - he wrote those notes for himself, not for others. His scribbles in the margins are part of a process of curiosity and learning, not a lesson plan, and not meant to be seen by others. The notes written are conclusions, but the principles they're based on aren't noted, because he doesn't need them to be, since he knows them well. So it's not necessary a failing in Harry that he doesn't learn from the book, though he does enjoy the unfair advantage it gives him and dishonestly accepts the grades this earns him.

The way we know that Snape is a good, or rather, an effective teacher is that his classes have a very high pass rate in OWLs, and that Hermione, who has always done well in his classes, is struggling in Slughorn's. This is specifically demonstrated through Hermione brewing potions successfully for years (and that she understands theory and process enough already in second year to be able to brew polyjuice on her own), but not being able to manage it under Slughorn's guidance. The key here isn't just grades earned, but the successful execution of tasks in class. As for teaching theory, throughout the series we see the students getting potions homework that requires research and writing essays on theory and properties of ingredients. Snape is an effective teacher not just because his students do well, but because he teaches them how to learn on their own and find answers, instead of just demanding they memorize processes. Harry and Ron half-ass this, often letting Hermione finish their homework for them because they procrastinated too much and dragged out the work for too long, so they don't learn. When Harry gets the Prince's potions book, he gets shortcuts and bonus spells, but he doesn't learn or understand the theories behind them any more than before.

The thing about The Princes book and Hermione is.

1. Harry wasn’t learning like you claim he was. He followed advanced recipes but he didn’t learn a thing about the theory or how the ingredients work or anything, It’s like copying from a cookbook will allow you to make a decent meal but it won’t teach you how to make your own meal yourself.

2. Harry had an unfair advantage over everyone else since the princes notes were naturally better than the other students textbooks. Having an advantage is generally considered cheating.

I have seen people trying to make a tutor comparison but it is not a tutor and should not be treated as such, it just shows recipes without explaining how and why it works. (I actually know someone who needed a tutor and they received something like the book but they almost immediately rejected it because they wanted to learn the theory rather than copy answers for a text. )

As for why Hermione wasny performing as well with Slughorn. It’s because unlike Slughorn, Snape taught the students to understand what the ingredients do and the theory. Not to mention, Snape rarely had students use the textbook.

congrats anon, you actually got me to go back and reread the relevant sections of the book.

I will agree that Harry does have an unfair advantage which probably does count as cheating, although to his credit he offers the book to Ron and Hermione as well. It just happens to be that Ron can't read for shit and Hermione is too prideful (or autistic-coded) to use it.

However, I budge up against the idea that Harry isn't learning from the book. He clearly internalizes the things that the book teaches him and remembers it (re. sectumsempra), but even if he wasn't they are all reading from a cookbook. What Slughorn does is he gives an short explanation of the potion, then turns the kids loose to follow the instructions given in Advanced Potion-Making by Libatious Borage. It just so happens that while everyone else has a stone cold recipe, Harry got the potions textbook equivalent of one of those online recipes that tells the life story of the person cooking the meal.

But Harry also doesn't study, which means he can't figure out Golpalott's Third Law, while Hermione can recite it word for word.

(Side Bar: But if I didn't know any better, I would say that Lily had to have written at least half the stuff in the Prince's textbook. Hermione says the handwriting looks like a girl's and Slughorn keeps comparing Harry to his mother, not Snape, implying she was on par if not BETTER than Snape at potions.)

As far as I can tell, in the first lesson when they are brewing the Draught of Living Death, Hermione and Harry's potions converge for two reasons. The Prince gives these two notes on the potion -

Crush [sopophorous bean] with flat side of silver dagger, releases juice better than cutting.

[A]dd a clockwise stir after every seventh counterclockwise stir

So, Harry has more juice for his potion, and then he is able to more effectively stir his potion. Meanwhile, Hermione, who is following the book to the letter, does not get as much juice and has to stir for longer. Which reveals to me that Snape is actually a very impatient potioneer?

Borage is writing this as a textbook, but does not give further instructions on how to cut the beans, and the students only have about an hour to brew the potion, so while Hermione has done everything correctly, she still needs way more stirring time without that clockwise stir. Snape finding a more effective way for getting juices make sense, but for Snape to have figured out you specifically need a clockwise stir every seventh counterclockwise stir means that he got SUPER bored with all the stirring time and streamlined it as much as possible.

And also explains why Snape cares little for the antidotes section and says, "just shove a bezoar down their throats."

I think Snape would probably be a terrible textbook writer, but this does actually for once explain why he is considered so great at potions, something that I have struggled to understand since I first read the books. It's because he innovates on the recipes for potions that already exist to make them easier and faster t make.

And to bring this back to Hermione, Snape says that Harry lacks the subtlety necessary for potions (something that seems unsubstantiated?), but Hermione seems to lack the eye for the finer details. She can master the theory, but at the end of the day the instructions are what she relies on. Which is in character, one of Hermione's recurring traits is that she lacks an imagination and emotionality needed for some disciplines of magic.

tagging @wisteria-lodge cause I think this might be useful for your teacher snape series.

[sideprince]

On fandom's mixed race Harry (or Aloo Gobi Harry as I like to call him)

Since we are talking about this.

I am half Desi/half white, and OMG brown Harry is my ROMAN EMPIRE. Because once again, there’s so much focus on his skin being brown (speaking for myself, I am pale AF so once again this is a form of essentialism that if you have any desi 'blood' you must present in a certain way). Also, the massive hyperfocus on one side of his identity gives "one drop rule" (which can be a part of navigating the world as a mixed-race person) but in this instance is more focused on his love of Aloo Gobi rather than how systemic racism shapes people’s existence.

Being mixed race is very complicated and becomes its own identity. And while I can’t speak for everyone, there are unique things to navigate: growing up not looking like you belong to your parents, being seen as other by both sides of your family, having your features constantly commented on, etc. On one side of the family, people might think you have it easier in some ways due to proximity to whiteness and on the other (and on both), people not understanding that you still inhabit a racialised body.

And even if you're not brown enough for one side to fully claim you, you're still not white enough to go unnoticed in institutional spaces. You don’t belong in either direction and everyone somehow makes sure you know it. That tension (of always being half belonging) sits in your body, whether you want it there or not. You still face racism, but because of your 'half whiteness' it is often brushed off by everyone.

I went to an almost all-white private school (just as Harry grows up in what we can assume is an all-white town in Surrey), and OMG, the way being mixed race made people uncomfortable is still something I’m unpacking to this day. Especially when puberty hit and that prejudice mixed with sexual desire—it was a MESS (either being desired as an 'exotic' bird or having people be extra vitriolic because the dissonance was eating at them).

These nuances are never addressed in the vast majority of mixed Harry portrayals or if they are, it’s usually in passing, or reduced to surface-level aesthetic markers like food, skin tone, or "exotic" features. How harry would address these identity tensions are never explored or even addressed (because he would face racism and a desire to connect with both his parents' cultures). But no lets yap about him loving curry and how caramel his skin is.....

The complexities of mixed identity (of not fully belonging anywhere) deserve more than headcanon crumbs. If we are going to imagine Harry as mixed race, then we need to sit with all that entails, not just go on an on about brown skin tone like you're writing copy for a fucking tanning advert or an article that Victorian Eugenists would have salivated over.

My identity is not a fucking aesthetic.

[sideprince]

I think it's ok to interpret it as either platonic or romantic, as long as it's a genuine reading and not a counterargument to online discourse. If you're interpreting it as romantic just to spite the haters, you're still letting the haters inside your head. I don't want my opinion in either direction to informed by some asinine horde of self-hating off-brand Catholics who think any kind of sexual feeling is morally repugnant and assume lust and love are interchangeable because both might lead to sex and the thought of that much personal agency terrifies them.

Predatory behaviors like obsessive fixations and other top ten incel hits are things to be discussed in informed and thoughtful ways, not abstract phrases to throw around for clout or to write someone off, even if they're fictional. Using other people's legitimately difficult and sometimes even traumatic experiences to posture feminist values, especially when nothing else you say or do backs them up, is insulting to those you claim to be supporting and makes you look about as intelligent as an African Grey Parrot with a head injury.

You know what, I firmly believe Severus Snape was in love with Lily Potter solely because I'm sick of people acting like him being in love with her was something wrong and perverted of him.

Shockingly enough, that's not something evil and unforgivable. In fact, in the story? It is literally the antithesis of evil.

[sideprince]

The posts in the “Latino James Potter” tag keep talking about Indian/ Latino James and not in a mixed race way.

Do y’all know that Indian and Latino are not the same thing and there’s huge variation or religion, class, culture language etc. within those groups? And that homogenising people or characters based on race/ethnicity is actually how racism works.

Also it seems to be a combined in order to talk about his brown/ Tanned skin when in actuality there’s huge heterogeneity in skin/hair colour phenotype in these groups. And it’s super weird to hyper focus on someone’s skin tone (especially when that skin tone is subject to discrimination under systemically racist structures).

Once again, this self congratulatory ‘progressive’ fanon that is actually super regressive and uncomfortable.

[sideprince]

Preferring canon ships aka straight has always been weird to me especially when the person talking about them claims to be queer. I personally don't like canon ships because I know there are queer ships that deserve more attention and as someone who is actually queer it's important to me to represent. That's just me though 🙂‍↕️

Represent queer people by going outside and getting a job

[sideprince]

You did such a good job shouting at people on the internet about fictional characters today babe. Yeah, it's really made a difference for society and the world. I'm gonna tell everyone down at the local mutual aid society about what a good person you are.

[sideprince]

[sideprince]

These aren't robes. Robes are a specific item of clothing, not a general term for any kind of clothes.

Robe noun ˈrōb  1 a : a long flowing outer garment especially  : one used for ceremonial occasions or as a symbol of office or profession b : a loose garment (such as a bathrobe) for informal wear especially at home 2 : COVERING, MANTLE peaks on the axis of the range in their robes of snow and light—John Muir 3 : a covering of pelts or fabric for the lower body used while driving or at outdoor events

Wizarding robes are, very specifically, the black flowing garments with sleeves and hoods that we see Hogwarts students wear in the illustrations and films depicting Harry Potter. In the third film a choice was made to appeal to an audience that was growing older and make the Golden Trio look cooler by putting them in muggle clothing more, that was relatable to the audience, instead of primarily wizard's robes. The term "robes" is not interchangeable for "any kind of clothing" and if it was, then there would be even less reason to think that what young Snape wore was wizarding robes.

Jeans are trousers made of denim. An overlarge coat is literally that - a coat, not robes, and since the HP series uses very clear terminology for wizarding garments, a clear distinction is being made, especially as the coat is described as looking like it had belonged to a man, not to a wizard. A smocklike shirt is a loosely fitting women's shirt with large, often bell sleeves, and was a style popular in the mid-late 60s and 70s, overlapping with Snape's childhood. The idea that "deliberately mismatched" means it's a combination of wizard and muggle clothing is your interpretation, not an objective fact. The description given is of a boy who is wearing hand-me downs, the too-small jeans implying he's either outgrowing them or they were the wrong size when given to him from the previous owner, the overlarge coat sized for a grown man implying it is also a hand-me-down, and the smocklike shirt being inappropriate for his age and gender (and I agree that it's part of his feminine coding).

His clothes are mismatched because his family either can't afford to clothe him in garments that make a reasonably cohesive outfit, or isn't making an effort to, signifying not just poverty but neglect. It's also possible that he chose these items himself and has no understanding of social expectations. Or perhaps the shirt is his mother's and he just likes it, and the coat is his father's and he likes that as well. There are a myriad of possible interpretations, including many I haven't thought of.

There are also authorial choices at play to present a specific image of this boy to the reader. Snape could be wearing too-small-jeans with a t-shirt instead of a smock and his clothes would be less mismatched, but he isn't. He could wear a jumper to stay warm instead of an adult's coat but he isn't, and this could connote that he chooses to wear this coat (as many children and young people often do with a favorite bit of clothing that makes them feel a certain way), or that he has no jumpers and it's his only piece of warm clothing, or that he does so in the hope that it covers up the glaring poverty of the rest of his outfit (and would do so with whatever other clothes he has). Again, there are numerous possible interpretations.

None of the clothes Snape is mentioned as wearing here are part of a Hogwarts student's outfit. Because they're not robes. There's a vast difference between saying the text implies something, and that it may imply something or could imply something.

doesn't the text say snape got his mother's hand me downs? how would she afford or even acquire wizard robes in his size? especially before hogwarts it's not imperative to his character that's your headcanon

1. It does not. Harry says he's wearing an odd smock, and Petunia calls it his mother's blouse to insult how feminine he looked in it. The only information we get is that he's wearing robes. Which doesn't matter.

2. It is imperative to his character because he was raised as a wizard in a muggle neighbourhood. Everything about him points to this - that he mentored Lily in wizarding culture, that he called himself the half-blood Prince, that he "knew more curses in first year than most in seventh". The robes are a just a visual tell. Either she put him in her clothes so he could be a part of her culture or she went out of her way to buy robes for him. It doesn't really matter where he got the robes, just that he is wearing them, and he's wearing them in every memory. Both putting Snape in her old girl's robes or buying him new ones still point to the undercurrent of what has his parents fighting - she's either emasculating Tobias' son for the world she ostensibly gave up or spending money they don't have on making sure Snape is raised as a wizard.

Regardless of the origins, yes, it's very important to note that Snape was raised as a wizard and it informed his wizard supremacy (NOT blood supremacy) later in life!

[sideprince]

Agreed, the point isn't how Snape got robes, because these books aren't about world-building details as much as they're about story. Trying to force every detail to make sense will just leave you running in circles. That being said, though:

‘Yes, sir,’ said Riddle again. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking; his face remained quite blank as he put the little cache of stolen objects back into the cardboard box. When he had finished he turned to Dumbledore and said baldly, ‘I haven’t got any money.’ ‘That is easily remedied,’ said Dumbledore, drawing a leather money-pouch from his pocket. ‘There is a fund at Hogwarts for those who require assistance to buy books and robes. You might have to buy some of your spellbooks and so on second-hand, but-’

Half-Blood Prince, Ch. 13

All private schools have scholarship programs. Apologies if this sounds judgmental, it's not my intention, but it indicates a certain degree of privilege when people are so disconnected from anyone with financial concerns that the idea of financial aid and scholarships existing doesn't even occur to them. It's also very literally canon.

doesn't the text say snape got his mother's hand me downs? how would she afford or even acquire wizard robes in his size? especially before hogwarts it's not imperative to his character that's your headcanon

1. It does not. Harry says he's wearing an odd smock, and Petunia calls it his mother's blouse to insult how feminine he looked in it. The only information we get is that he's wearing robes. Which doesn't matter.

2. It is imperative to his character because he was raised as a wizard in a muggle neighbourhood. Everything about him points to this - that he mentored Lily in wizarding culture, that he called himself the half-blood Prince, that he "knew more curses in first year than most in seventh". The robes are a just a visual tell. Either she put him in her clothes so he could be a part of her culture or she went out of her way to buy robes for him. It doesn't really matter where he got the robes, just that he is wearing them, and he's wearing them in every memory. Both putting Snape in her old girl's robes or buying him new ones still point to the undercurrent of what has his parents fighting - she's either emasculating Tobias' son for the world she ostensibly gave up or spending money they don't have on making sure Snape is raised as a wizard.

Regardless of the origins, yes, it's very important to note that Snape was raised as a wizard and it informed his wizard supremacy (NOT blood supremacy) later in life!

[sideprince]

Lost followers after reblogging that whole thing about JKR being radicalized over the years, and that disturbs me.

Like if you think saying that people can be radicalized and manipulated into hate is somehow justifying it, yikes. And if you think that people are somehow just good or evil and that you are not at risk of buying into propaganda, have I got some very red flag news about that!

Idk if its because I am an older Millennial maybe (most who unfollowed were younger) but I watched a ton of that generation slide from one of the most progressive to the far right before my every eyes. Hell, my dad fought alongside his black friends in the Detroit race riots and now he watches Fox News 24/7 and talks about the border wall. Yet still claims he could never be racist because of how he used to be. He doesn’t even realize what he has become.

JKR isn’t a deluded old woman or innately evil, but in fact THE prime example of how well-meaning ignorance and privilege can be weaponized and encouraged down a pipeline, until it turns into a force of hate, and should be a cautionary tale about why educating and being open about these issues are necessary. Because there are those out there who will use those divisions and ignorance to their own ends. And just digging in our heels and saying “that could never be me!” is the very thing that puts you more at risk. I’ve lost so many loved ones down that pipeline and it is more slippery than most realize.

Stay alert, stay compassionate, stay humble, and make sure you move through life guided by reason rather than reaction. I love y’all and don’t want to see your passion twisted to get used against the world.

[sideprince]

housewives were not banging out spirk fanfiction in the 60s for you to be AI generating your fic

[sideprince]

Yeah, it's honestly just problematic. It's reductive because there's a complex relationship there that we only see a glimpse of, and the idea of there being a "real" victim and that it's only one person inevitably invalidates one of the people being hurt, when there are clearly two who are. There's no "who's entitled to their feelings" binary. More than one person can experience complex emotions and they can be validated without that being a moral judgment.

You know I think people try too hard to figure out the “real victim” of SWM, like… why can’t it be that Lily and Snape were both victims?

[sideprince]

I always draw snape with shark teeth cause its easier and admitedly people give it a pass but lately I have been digging the human crooked teeth look, its so often given to characters to signify they are stupid/uneducated but I kinda like them.

[sideprince]

#idk if this makes sense but what I’m trying to say is that James and Sirius were acting profoundly cowardly in their school behavior#to then acting profoundly bravely as young adults#and I think looking at that change would be super interesting#because I feel like James is always portrayed as naturally brave at all times#but a lot of his behavior (at least at school) doesn’t show that#and I think a James that grows into bravery is much more interesting and canon lol

You're right and you should say it

I mean, this has been pointed out plenty, but it’s significant that the Marauders went after Snape specifically. I do think parts of them used the dark magic angle to justify it (which is different from that being the actual reason they were doing it), but what feels important here is that they weren’t going up against power, but targeting someone extremely vulnerable.

In a broader sense, it’s interesting to think about this in terms of character progression. They go from tormenting a classmate under a vague sense of righteousness to actually fighting a larger system. I don’t think that shift, from cowardice to bravery, gets explored enough.

[sideprince]

'but he dropped the ball on teaching neville properly' yeah and thats shit. He has blind spots.#His weakness is changing his methods to suit individual needs. Thats a good skill for a teacher to have and he seems to lack it.#But?? He seems to do fine in most cases??? BETTER than fine???#you don't GET high scores in full classrooms if everyone hates you all the time. If he was horrible - the kids wouldn't function.

I don't think we can critique his lacking skills as a teacher without critiquing Dumbledore's decision to hire him, because like several other of Dumbledore's hiring decisions, they were made from the perspective of a military tactician, not a Headmaster.

One thing that I want everyone in this fandom to understand is that we see professor Snape specifically when he is triggered by the boy looking like his abuser. He is not on his typical behavior, but on his worst, most pissy and unpleasant one, and on top of that it's interpreted and told by a boy who hates Snape and is always ready to accuse him of shit. The dynamic that exists between Snape and Harry is HARRY SPECIFIC, because he is not just a random student, but a person directly connected with a lot of unresolved trauma and pain and guilt and additional responsibilities Severus carries, and that obviously influences his self-management. No-one else is a kid of Snape’s dead ex-best friend and ex-abuser, that makes him lose his composure in ways a mind reading maniac doesn't.

The only people who have problems with Snape in Harry's year are Harry and Neville – cause he and Severus are just REALLY incompatible people (had a separate meta on that so not talking about it here, but also, I think that if Neville wasn't in a group with Harry, Severus would've found it easier to manage his frustration at Neville's dangerous fuck-ups), to way lesser extent Ron and Hermione. That's IT. Snape is not a pleasant teacher, but all the kids in the school, or in Gryffindor, or in Harry's year don't have a problem with him, at least not a bigger one then teens typically have with demanding and harsh teachers.

[sideprince]

Taking a deep breath and reserving my way-too-long tirade against how movie Snape was written for the most part but I feel it has to be said:

Movie Snape wasn't just written in a way that's a shadow of book Snape, he was put in situations that prevented his character (or Alan Rickman as an actor) to fully materialize, even as he was written. He wouldn't have hit students, not even playfully, certainly not with books. There's nothing that indicates that his character emulated his father's abuse, and it's a glaringly problematic statement to make about such a character - and was done so in GoF, by which point OoTP was out already, and as writer Kloves should have read ahead so he knew how to present his characters.

And yes, my GOD the occlumency lessons ending is so poorly done. Not because it diverges from the book, but because Snape's reaction is disproportionate to the situation and the writing choices reframed that entire interaction. It matters that Harry sees his worst memory, but it also matters that he does so by violating Snape's privacy. It literally matters to the plot and the relationship between the two characters. In doing so, Harry learns about his father and questions him, but he also makes a choice to do something reckless and disrespectful after Snape has put time and work into his training. But Harry doesn't trust this, because he continues having dreams about the Dept. of Mysteries (not understanding that it's not Snape's lessons that cause this, but Voldemort's awareness of their connection after Harry's vision saves Arthur Weasley's life). In acting on his angsty, rebellious impulses, he's exposed to a memory that shows Snape as human and vulnerable, and Harry regrets it - not just because he saw the worst of his dad on display, but because he can relate to Snape's humiliation and his inability to apologize or discuss it with him defines how their relationship changes. It's a coming of age moment in a coming of age story - youthful recklessness results in serious emotional consequences and a lesson is learned.

But in the film, Harry stumbles onto SWM accidentally while defending himself. Snape's reaction therefore isn't of a man who's privacy was wilfully violated, who is now exposed to Voldemort through Harry's mind, and who probably feared seeing judgment in the eyes that reminded him of Lily's. His character also isn't contextualized or alluded to because the closest we get to seeing the domestic abuse he grew up with is a shot of a sad teenager hugging his knees with no sign of any parents around. Snape's reaction in the movie is of a man who's short-tempered and doesn't take the job Dumbledore gave him seriously.

I can't even go into the mysognistic schoolboy hot mess that is Kloves leaving Lily out of SWM completely. James isn't targeting Snape for the reason made blatantly obvious in the book, which is to get Lily's attention, he's doing it just for fun, which changes his character too and erases Lily's relevance completely. James seeks Snape out deliberately, and with a gang of a dozen people following him, which has a very different connotation than when he and a couple of friends notice Snape and decide to have a go at him for a lack of anything better to do, while other bystanders watch and do nothing (EXCEPT LILY). Kloves is reductive in his handling of every single character, and seems to just be enacting some "boys will be boys" toxic masculinity tropes instead of telling a story.

And Alan Rickman and Daniel Radcliffe, who read the books and understood their characters, are trying desperately to get some of them on camera. They put in a lot of physical interactions because Snape won't get to throw jars of things at Harry at the end of the scene, because he won't catch Harry trespassing in memories he deliberately put in a pensieve, and because the dialogue has no nuance or purpose other than checking "Harry saw Snape get bullied" off the list of scenes to write. These two actors are visibly trying to walk the line between who they understand these characters to be, and justifying the low-effort, flat dialogue the scene gives them. It's a mess.

It's just bad bad bad writing that Kloves takes every moment of tension and character building and flattens it for no reason.

people who say that movie Snape was a morally better, kinder person and a better teacher then book Snape are so shallow to me.

like I have nothing against people liking movie Snape ofc, or even liking only movie Snape – tho this is a different character, and I don't believe those people share a fandom with me then, but personal preferences are all valid. if someone vibes with movie Snape and not with canon Snape – can't relate, but sure, hope yall have fun. but he isn't... a better person? he literally hits his students because they annoy him? he lashed out at Harry and finished Occlumency lessons with him because Harry fought back like he was supposed to try doing? and book Snape does none of that. he has incredibly kind and brave moments that didn't make it to the movies, and the trauma that influences his behaviour and decisions is actually shown.

movie Snape is more traditionally masculine, behaves more upper-class (wouldn't have spat on the ground in anger or sworn for sure lol), shows less emotions and trauma responces, is more authoritative and mature, and isn't as much humiliated by other characters and the narrative as book Snape. but it doesn't make one a morally better person. like what the hell are we talking about here.

[sideprince]

HP fics by Trans [Character] on AO3 in descending order

(This list is not exhaustive. Also genderqueer/genderfluid/non-binary doesn't show up and if things are tagged differently/not tagged they won't show up.)

Honorary: Tonks barely shows up in the 'trans' tag, but has Genderfluid Tonks (103), Genderqueer Tonks (8), and Non-Binary Tonks (155) - As Tonks is the closest to canonically trans, I think Tonks deserves to be acknowledged for this.

Overall Tags

(N.B. I believe 'trans' includes all the trans character tags. Trans male/Trans female/Genderfluid/Genderqueer are only fics specifically tagged with that and doesn't include most of the fics. so "non-binary" only has just over 20 works but "non-binary sirius black" has over 200)

Trans Character - 8,600+ works

Trans Male Character - 1,800 works

Genderfluid - 1,400 works

Trans Female Character - 950+ works

Genderqueer - 320+ works

Non-Binary - 20+ works

By Character

Trans Regulus Black - 3,200+ works - Non-Binary Regulus Black (50+) Genderfluid Regulus Black (15)

Trans Harry Potter - 900+ works - Non-Binary Harry Potter (140+) - Genderfluid Harry Potter (90+) - Genderqueer Harry Potter (30+)

Trans Remus Lupin - 650+ works - Non-Binary Remus Lupin (40)

Trans Sirius Black - 500+ works - Genderfluid Sirius Black (600+ works) - Non-Binary Sirius Black (200+) Genderqueer Sirius Black (90+)

Trans Draco Malfoy - 450+ works - Non-Binary Draco Malfoy (70+) - Genderfliud Draco Malfoy (30)

Trans James Potter - 200+ works

Trans Severus Snape - 200+ works

Trans Evan Rosier - 150+ works

Trans Ron Weasley - 150+ works

Trans Ginny Weasley - 130+ works

Trans Hermione Granger - 100+ works

Trans Lily Evans Potter - 100+ works

Trans Luna Lovegood - 80+ works

Trans Pandora Lovegood - 60+ works

Trans Barty Crouch Jr - 60+ works

Trans Dorcas Meadows - 60 works

Trans Mary MacDonald - 50+ works

Trans Peter Pettigrew - 50+ works

Trans Blaise Zabini- 40+ works

Trans Neville Longbottom - 30+ works

Trans Marlene McKinnon - 20+ works

Trans Charlie Weasley - 20+ works

Trans Scorpius Malfoy - 20+ works

Trans Albus Severus Potter - 20+ works

Trans Pansy Parkinson- 20 works

Trans George Weasley - 20 works

Trans Minerva McGonagall - 19 works

Trans Fred Weasley - 18 works

Trans Tonks - 17 works

Trans Teddy Lupin - 16 works - Genderfluid Teddy Lupin (100+) - Non-Binary Teddy Lupin (80+) Genderqueer Teddy Lupin (10) -

Trans Voldemort - 13 works + Trans Tom Riddle - 12 works

Trans Fleur Delacour - 13 works

Trans Lucius Malfoy - 12 works

Trans Rubeus Hagrid - 9 works

Trans Bill Weasley - 7 works

Trans Astoria Greengrass - 6 works

Trans Xenophilius Lovegood - 4 works

Trans Lily Luna Potter - 3 works

Trans Albus Dumbledore - 2 works

Trans Viktor Krum - 2 works

Trans James Sirius Potter - 2 works

Trans Godric Gryffindor - 1 work

Trans Rowena Ravenclaw - 1 work

Trans Poppy Pomfrey - 1 work

Trans Cho Chang - 1 work

Trans Molly Weasley - 1 work

(I checked all the characters I could remember - but I may have missed some. Or misspelled their names. Them not being included doesn't necessarily mean there's no fic, I may have just forgotten the character.)

Yes, there is a massive skew of trans masc over trans femme characters. 'Trans Male Character' in HP has over 1800 works and 'Trans Female Character' in HP has over 950 - so just over half as many.

Reminder that JKR started her trans hate fest by attacking trans masc folks so please don't try to argue that's because trans masc folk aren't being targeted - we are absolutely being targeted by JKR.