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Late

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Unpopular Opinion : Snape wasn’t the way he was because of Lily “rejecting” him. Snape was the way he was because of a lifetime abuse and bullying which affected his adult life

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The fact that no one on this site even REMEMBERS Draco Malfoy repeatedly using the word “mudblood” through the series, and Snape punishing him and other students for it, just shows that this debate isn’t actually even about the use of slurs it’s just using social justice terms to justify hating a character

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casual reminder that Severus Snape grew up in poverty and was routinely assaulted

casual reminder that Severus Snape suffered from PTSD after sexual assault and throughout his life had suicidal tendencies

casual reminder that Severus Snape still became a fucking hero

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I'm going to also say that everyone seems to forget that if you do compare the death eaters to nazis, then it's not correct to say that snape is like a white guy joining them. Snape is a half blood. That makes him...wait for it...a person with mixed heritage!

And so it's more comparable to say he's a self hating minority suffering in poverty who joins a power structure that is only using him as a means to an end.

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Okay y'all so I'm going to pop off a little and this might be controversial but I'm gonna do it anyway.

The death eaters are not comparable to nazis. They ARE a fascist regime but the difference between them and nazis or the kkk is that their targets are totally different. The thing is as well that while it is not right or good to ostracize and certainly not kill muggleborns, muggles DO pose a threat to witches and wizards.

And while it's arguable that they have the power in this case because having magic makes you much more powerful than a muggle, muggles are still a majority that force the wizarding world into hiding.

It just seems really bizarre to me to compare actual racially and xenophobicly motivated violence to a fictional scenario that's removed from it. And I understand that the books take great pains to set them up so we can make those connections. It's clearly meant for us to think of them like nazis. But I really just can't see it.

I'm not at all saying that joining a cult that focuses on literally exterminating and subjugating people for not having magic powers is right. But it's still a fictional scenario that has no real world equivalent.

The power structure and deciding who can join that structure is rooted in something that doesn't translate to anything meaningful. Any person of any race, gender, or class can join the wizarding world and the death eaters by extension. And I know the whole issue is that muggleborns are looked down on by some.

It's just that I can't really compare a minority group that is deep in hiding because of their magic powers going off the shits and trying to kill everyone to the calculated extermination by the majority of vulnerable minority groups. In fact I find it insulting to do so.

I don't know. I'm just rambling today.

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listen, i love severus snape, and here are some completely shallow things i love about him:

he is skinny as shit bc he doesn’t fucking eat enough, and probably survives mostly on black coffee and misanthropy

his teeth are crooked, and yellow, and uneven. i expect he smokes, and neither the smoking nor the coffee are conducive to his having teeth that look nice. 

he’s got skin that is pale and sallow af. it probably looks stretched too taut over his cheeks and his chin bone, and the hard bone of his brows.

his hair is combed every morning, undoubtedly, but is lank and dull looking. it’s naturally inclined to oiliness, and exposure to potion fumes all the live long day probably does nothing to assist this

SUCH BONY HANDS!!! strong hands, scarred hands, veiny hands, but so fuckin bony 

a big nose, and a hooked��nose. it’s probably crooked in the middle. it’s a great fucking nose. 

very dark brows, permanently at an angle that is somewhere between mildly and severely sardonic

black eyes. not brown eyes, and absolutely not nice eyes. deeply black eyes, like you’re looking into an abyss of tar, where the piercing stare of the pupil is barely distinguishable from the iris, and yet still terrifying enough to stop you in your tracks

oh big bags under the eyes. dark shadows. why? bc he don’t fucking sleep, like an idiot (and like a man with deeply ingrained trauma #oops)

love him!

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Potions lesson back in 1971!

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A recent conversation with a friend took me down memory lane and I ended up searching some Harry Potter tags. I expected to submerge myself in a world of glowing nostalgia. Instead, I found myself in the tug of war. An in-fandom war over Snape. 

I was dumbstruck. Back when I was a teenage potterhead between 2003 and 2007, Snape was like, the most popular secondary character in the series, rivaling probably only with Draco. The Snapers (anglicized form of the Polish term Snaperki denoting Snape fangirls; not to be confused with Snaters who are the opposite) loved him for the sarcastic a**hole that he was and that when his true allegiance was still a matter of speculation. And no one seemed to mind. So I couldn’t comprehend why now when his entire story was out in the open, people hated on him so fiercely. More so, people hated on people who liked him and called them disgusting apologists, failing to realize that they were ones too, only for the other party. Because this entire row could be best summed up as Team Snape VS Team Marauders.

Mulling over the matter for the last couple of days while I had nothing better to do at work, at one point I realized that the people who idolize or for the least defend the Marauders and think Jily is Couple Goals (just so you know, Snaper or not, I don’t buy Snily at all) reminded me of the people who argue that 50 Shades (or After or Twilight for that matter) is a romantic story about true love. The rhetoric, the style, the sheer fierceness of their discourse was exactly the same. And that had me thinking…

I remembered reading somewhere that if Christian Grey was poor then he’d be considered as just another psycho stalker. And so I wondered, would people defend James with such a passion if he weren’t good looking, rich and popular? Would people hate Snape so vehemently if he were? 

In 2003/4 this anti-Snape movement didn’t exist in the form it exists in today (sure, people argued about him but mainly in the context of where his loyalties lied) and I think that might be because back then Snape was only perceived through the prism of his adult confident, mysterious, stylish self and headcanoned to be a misguided pureblood living in a manor, keeping servants and throwing gold left and right. Someone akin to Regulus Black or even Draco, whom people seem to consistently like and even revere despite their obvious misdeeds (that mostly applies to Draco since we actually know little if anything about Regulus’ conduct) and protest that they didn’t get a proper redemption arc or postulate Harry should’ve named his son after them. 

I may have missed out on something (back at the time I had very limited fandom access) but I can’t seem to shake the impression that while it was widely acceptable to love an a**hole when he was presumably a powerful, well-standing, respectable aristocrat, it is not equally acceptable to do so now that we know the said a**hole was just a poor broken man who used to be a loser in school. It was cool to ship Snape with Lily when it had potential to be a steamy starstruck romance but it isn’t equally so when it just stems from a prior childhood friendship.

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I feel that every detail in the books of Severus’ life, comes to build one of the most interesting characters (in literature imo), and i love how open to interpretation and analysis all of it is. And i do believe jkr excelled in telling Severus’ story most especially.

However, that moment in PoA when Severus is ranting about not getting his Order of Merlin, just seems off. Him wanting Sirius arrested, sure, but since when he wanted the recognition that comes with it?

I don’t know if anyone has a headcanon about this moment, but would love to hear the explanations.

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The Delicate Balance of Severus Snape + Emotions

Like,, I love Alan’s Snape. I really do, don’t get me wrong.

But personally, I think he played him all sorts of incorrect. Maybe it was the directors too, that hindered a difference, but hear me out here:

Alan’s Severus is a human block of ice. Nearly no facial expression or emotive body language until the very last scene we ever see him in when the character is already dead. Too little, too late.

Canon Severus Snape is not cold. He’s the sarcastic, sneering, contemptible asshole. When he’s pissed, everybody within a fifty-yard radius is gonna know about it. And even assholes have personalities; sometimes even more so than regular characters.

And the best part?

Severus Snape is FIERY. A total hothead. We see him LOSE his EVERLOVING SHIT not once, not twice but THREE TIMES in the books: once when in the end of PoA, once during Harry’s disastrous Occlumency lesson and when Harry confronts him after he kills Dumbledore. All three times Severus is explicitly described as SCREAMING. Red-faced, vein-popping, spit-flying Rage™️. I mean, this man is so emotionally/psychologically complex on so many levels that would have been so amazing and terrifying to see that translated faithfully onscreen.

We were robbed of an unstable Severus Snape in his thirties who flinches when he’s touched even slightly, who gives Dumbledore and Umbridge disgusted side-eye at staff meetings and meals, who barks at students and screams and smashes glassware when he’s angry. The one who cusses like a sailor and then turns around and tells the Slytherin first-years not to repeat that. The one who cares a lot but would never show it because vulnerability is fatal in the circles he’s in.

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Y’know, when I was younger, I really loved Sirius Black but now as I’m reading Harry Potter in my 20′s, and critically for my dissertation - and it pains me to say this - I have realised that Sirius is a complete and utter dick - EVEN TO HARRY.

OK, so I am currently re-reading the Order of the Phoenix and I just finished a chapter where Sirius appears in the fire place to talk to Harry - something really reckless in itself - and he becomes incredibly cold when Harry expresses his concerns on Sirius showing up in Hogsmead after Draco alluded to knowing Sirius is an animagus. Like, look at how he talks to Harry:

“‘When’s your next Hogsmeade weekend, anyway? I was thinking, we got away with the dog disguise at the station, didn’t we? I thought I could –’

‘NO!’ said Harry and Hermione together, very loudly.

‘Sirius, didn’t you see the Daily Prophet?’ said Hermione anxiously.

‘Oh, that,’ said Sirius, grinning, ‘they’re always guessing where I am, they haven’t really got a clue –’

‘Yeah, but we think this time they have,’ said Harry. ‘Something Malfoy said on the train made us think he knew it was you, and his father was on the platform, Sirius – you know, Lucius Malfoy – so don’t come up here, whatever you do. If Malfoy recognises you again –’

‘All right, all right, I’ve got the point,’ said Sirius. He looked most displeased. ‘Just an idea, thought you might like to get together.’

‘I would, I just don’t want you chucked back in Azkaban!’ said Harry.

There was a pause in which Sirius looked out of the fire at Harry, a crease between his sunken eyes.

‘You’re less like your father than I thought,’ he said finally, a definite coolness in his voice. ‘The risk would’ve been what made it fun for James.’

‘Look –’

‘Well, I’d better get going, I can hear Kreacher coming down the stairs,’ said Sirius, but Harry was sure he was lying. ‘I’ll write to tell you a time I can make it back into the fire, then, shall I? If you can stand to risk it?’

There was a tiny pop, and the place where Sirius’s head had been was flickering flame once more.”

HOW PETTY IS THAT? Harry is a fifteen year old kid who’s been through so much trauma and his only family is THIS asshole. I mean… COME ON. Act your age, not your shoe size, bro. Harry is not James. 

Plus, he is a CHILD. Sirius should be the responsible one here, not Harry. This is someone Harry admires and looks up to and after years of living with abusers, Harry should not have to deal with shit like this.

Just… ughhh… 

OK, rant over for now.

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Ah, Sirius Black, an emotionally 15 year old boy going against his godson because he feels he’s not reckless enough to meet him with Voldemort on the lookout. Bravo

“you’re less like your father than I thought” BITCH GREAT

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K, so like, we can all agree that what Sirius did to Remus during their time at Hogwarts was awful but can we also recognize that James was a pretty shitty friend towards Remus as well? If James actually cared about Remus safety and happiness he would have tried to talk some sense into Sirius (knowing how much his opinion mattered to him) and make him realize what a vulnerable and dangerous position he put Remus in and maybe even listen to Remus when he told him how uncomfortable he felt (1/?)

regarding their bullying of Severus. Especially considering that Severus KNEW about Remus condition and, if pushed passed his breaking point, might snap and tell someone about it. But nah, having jolly good times with Sirius and bullying the shit out of a fellow student for being weird and hanging out with the girl you like is WAY more important than making sure that one of your BEST FRIENDS feels safe and secure. God, what a piece of shit.

this definitely doesn’t come up a lot in marauder discussions. a basic level viewing you just assume they’re four best bros and that’s it. the thing is, when you look even a LITTLE bit deeper, you see there’s a huge power imbalance and a lot of cracks in the foundation. sirius and james have the most power, wealth, status, and ultimately sway over students and staff that neither remus nor peter could ever dream of having, at least til remus is a teacher, but even that is limited given the fact it was a cursed position anyway. peter clung to them for protection (because even while being their “friend”, he was still casually bullied by them, imagine how much worse it would have been if he wasn’t in their approved circle. you see this a lot with weaker kids clinging to powerful bullies) and remus clung to them because he just NEEDS to be liked, but also they gave him a sense of protection that, if another else knew he was a werewolf, he wouldn’t have without them. him and peter are both very similar, but peter reached his breaking point sooner than remus did, despite them both having valid reasons to be sick of sirius and james. 

frankly, given their constant jesting over his condition and eventual abuse of it to “prank” snape, it comes across as borderline abusive towards remus. he has NO ONE but them, who yes, they turned into animagus for him, but still see his condition as a joke and later a weapon to hurt others, and eventually becomes something they HATE him over to where he’s basically cut off from the group and sirius and james trust peter “literal rat” pettigrew over him, leading to their demises. remus clinging to the “good times” is actually incredibly sad, because all in all sirius and james probably wouldn’t give two shits about him even the circumstances were even remotely tweaked. remus basically whitewashes his own memories to not dwell on the fact he ultimately wasn’t that close to either james or sirius, and that the supposed friendship wasn’t that strong or real to begin with. i don’t think remus would ever want to admit that, and certainly the fans don’t. 

i could even dare to say that, knowing snape was far from their only victim, that there were probably some kids cheering during SWM not because they enjoyed it, but because they were fearful of sirius and james and if they didn’t appease to them they’d be another target. it’s a literal brag they’d hexed and bully people left and right over showing even an inkling of guilt or remorse over their past actions. they sound like literal terrors over charming good guys fans want to insist they are. we literally see this through harry’s POV and he’s HORRIFIED over it, imagine how it looked from an outsider. they weren’t being framed as benevolent heroes or class clowns, they were cruel bullies who got slaps on the wrist from the staff they could easily sway from their charms and status, while the rest of the school was at their disposal to bully for their amusement. sirius is literally a GROWN ADULT by OOTP and he still goes into bullying mode over snape, who by the way went out of his way to alert the order to SAVE HIM. sirius can’t even muster the tiniest bit of maturity over reverting back into a 16 year old throwing a tantrum over nothing. people bicker about harry’s genuine PTSD but sirius’ issues never are addressed or are justified because snape exists i guess? 

the marauders weren’t a gang of four boys having a laugh or somehow woke feminists in a 1970s boarding school. the marauders were two boys who showed every sign of male entitlement, violence, and cruelty with two hangers on who needed them for protection and safety at the cost of their moral high ground and later their own lives when one was pushed too far, setting off a chain of events that lead to them all dead before their times. 

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Don’t you trust me?

I was flipping back through “The Prince’s Tale” again last night after writing the character meme answer for Snape and something kind of jumped out at me that I hadn’t considered before.

There’s a brief passage where Dumbledore is talking to Snape about the various things he must know & do in coming months and Snape suddenly brings up Harry. He asks Dumbledore what he’s doing with Harry in the evenings, what are you telling him, etc.

“Don’t you trust me?”

It’s kind of odd and out-of-left field when you think about it. It’s not really any of Snape’s business and the question is really quite impertinent, and Dumbledore is clearly annoyed by it, responding rather glibly.

Why does Snape suddenly care so much that Dumbledore is withholding some piece of information from him? He has to know and have known for years that Dumbledore doesn’t tell him everything. I think the difference here is that the person Dumbledore has shared this information with is, specifically, Harry Potter.

We assume that Snape’s persistently childish behavior toward Harry is rooted solely in his old hatred for James Potter but in light of this passage I think there’s another aspect there, an almost “Sibling Rivalry” kind of thing.

Snape is, I think, envious of Harry’s relationship with Dumbledore, or at least what Snape perceives it to be. Dumbledore loves Harry Potter like a son and that affection is obvious even to Snape. He sees that and compares it to his own relationship with Dumbledore and his own poverty is thrown into stark relief.

Harry is loved and cherished; Snape is something to be managed and tolerated.

It’s almost shocking to see Snape acting in such a vulnerable and needy manner, baldly seeking some kind of emotional validation, because he’s usually so buttoned-up and cloaked in bitterness and anger and sarcasm, that this child-like envy and need for reassurance seems almost unreal.

Dumbledore goes ahead and tells him a great deal of information later that evening, of course - and it’s utterly devastating and not at all what Snape had really desired. “Be careful what you wish for” is the lesson, I guess, or maybe that you ought to be more clear about what it is you really want (because I don’t think Dumbledore quite cottoned on to what was going through Snape’s head but oh well).

“Don’t you trust me?”

Why don’t you love me?

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forget saving the wizarding world, naming his firstborn after them, heading the auror office, etc., I would love to see the reunion/conversation in which dead Harry tries to explain to his dad and godfather that he named his other son after snape

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Lucius getting Snape a Birthday cake as a reason to live

I came back to this fandom to art and to make sweet headcanons!

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