slytherinknowitall

[slytherinknowitall]

Lust.

(Raffle prize for @ turtle_lurker on Twitter.)

[slytherinknowitall]

I'm sorry but Lily trying to excuse the Marauders' bullying of Snape is pretty messed up

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Time travel and snager - the perfect combination ❤

[slytherinknowitall]

While the way Snape handled his trauma was messed up, I still find it refreshing that his trauma inflicted by the good guys (always the good guys, if it's the bad guys it's a different story) was treated as valid and that it was long term (of course, how Snape treated people wasn't okay, but the point remains).

Like so many protagonists just *FORGET* about their trauma literally ten seconds after it was inflicted. Like it never happened. Like even if the protagonist was very much in the wrong and deserved the fallout, it still messes with people. A lot. And the idea that they deserved it makes it even worse.

The after affects of being mistreated stay long term. They will influence the way a character acts. And I hate seeing those affects just go bye bye.

Twilight Sparkle is a character I think a lot when I think about this. Twilight's friends have a consistent pattern of abandoning Twilight due to something she did, and that should mess with a person-or pony. In fact, the first time Twilight got abandoned, it was large scale. Brother basically disowned her, friends left her, her mentor left her. Basically everyone she cared about.

Yet Twilight doesn't show any signs that she was affected by that, that she's afraid it would happen again. She literally spends the wedding acting as if nothing happened, and every episode after (even after it happens again and again). And I just find that unrealistic, because there's no way that having almost literally everyone you care about abandon you wouldn't mess you up, wouldn't scare you. Especially since Twilight puts great importance in her relationships with her friends and mentor and especially her brother.

But Twilight's friends and family and mentor are the good guys, you know? So it doesn't matter how much they hurt her. It's all good. Just conflict between the good guys. Nothing more!

And this is a consistent trend in media, where harm inflicted by the good guys is just brushed off like it never happened. There's a reason so many fix its are basically the character reacting to trauma, that so many writing prompts are "mistreated hero chooses the villain because the villain actually treats them with respect and decency."

But Snape's story doesn't do that. Snape's trauma is treated as valid, even if his actions are shown to be wrong. The bullying the Marauders inflicted on him was shown to be WRONG despite Harry and Sirius and Remus's attempts to portray it otherwise. It's not excused (well, Sirius and Remus try to excuse it, but that's not valid because they were the bullies) simply because Snape was the bad guy whom Harry hated and the Marauders the beloved ones of the protagonist. No. It's portrayed as bald and raw and painful as it is. It is not excused.

Snape's trauma is also long term, because what happened to him cannot be brushed away nor forgotten. It affects the way he interacts with people, how he sees them, etc. He has coping methods that, while toxic, are very much there. He does things to both protect himself and others (which is why he favors Slytherin house so much) from what happened to him.

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I dunno. It's just refreshing to see how trauma inflicted by the *good* guys is treated as valid and long term, and it sincerely frustrates me that it doesn't happen more often. That the good guys hurting others isn't waved away but actually shown to have an actual affect on the protagonist. It doesn't have to be long term (though I sincerely doubt anything like that cannot be long term), but it has to be THERE. Stuff like that can't be waved away! It really does affect people, and the people perpetrating it being the good guys cannot be an excuse. And more than that, a person being the bad guy or doing something wrong and therefore 'deserving' it cannot be an excuse not to show trauma either. Actions have consequences.

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[slytherinknowitall]

james: i win regulus: no? i'm literally holding a dagger to your throat james: exactly regulus:

[slytherinknowitall]

Snape running to the boys' bathroom to save Draco when Harry sectumsempra'd him like:

"I've made the unbreakable fucking vow and now I'll die because of Harry fucking Potter?!?"

"Not TODAY"

[slytherinknowitall]

Headcanon: Patronuses represent not just your happiest memories, but your personality and your core values. And Snape’s patronus is not a direct embodiment of Lily. It’s more complex than that.

Patronuses are a topic I’ve been circling around for months since I knew I was going to address them in a fic I was writing.

There are characters like Tonks who have a patronus that’s quite literal – she’s in love with a werewolf and her patronus becomes a wolf. But most characters have more ambiguous/symbolic patronuses – like Hermione’s otter, or Ron’s Jack Russell terrier.

Looking at patronuses as symbolic of what each character most values: Hermione’s otter represents cleverness and playfulness. Ron’s dog represents loyalty and protection. Hermione is very clever, she values this trait in herself and others, and I think that one of the secret things that attracts her to Ron is his playfulness. The way he makes her laugh and has the ability to surprise her. Ron comes from a big family and is very loyal to and protective of his family and his friends – he’s a pack animal. I think their patronuses represent their personalities and what drives them very well, and I don’t think either Hermione and Ron would ever change to have matching patronuses.

I actually agree with Snape that Tonks’s patronus changing to a literal wolf for Remus is not healthy. (Though Snape was a total jerk telling her his unsolicited opinion on her patronus. No one asked you, dude.) There’s no nuance in this patronus or any reminder of other things that give her hope — family, friends — the wolf represents a totally singleminded focus on Remus that erases everything else in her life. Which is understandable considering her emotional state — she hasn’t accepted their breakup and she’s fixated on making him understand how much she loves him. But fact is Tonks and her patronus are in a bad place.

Which brings me to Snape. I think people see Tonks’ patronus change to a wolf to represent Remus and decide that Snape’s patronus must also *literally* and *directly* represent Lily. But… Remus *is* a literal wolf. Lily is not an animagus or a mythical faun or any other deer-like creature (as far as we know).

I think that the stag and doe patronuses of Snape, Lily, James, and Harry all represent their own personalities and the core of who each character is. Deer are a symbol of peace, which is what all four of these characters deeply desire – to be able to live in peace.

For James and Harry, the stag also represents strength and instinct – their bravery and they way they both tend to go with their gut. For Snape and Lily, the doe represents innocence, gentleness, devotion. Snape may not be particularly gentle outwardly, but it is something he values, and his happiest memories are of being treated gently — whether that’s by Lily or his mum or whoever in his life has actually been kind to him. I think that Snape’s patronus represents his wish that he could go back to a time when he still felt innocent. Yes, it does also reflect his devotion to the cause — to honoring Lily’s memory — but there’s just as much of him in his patronus as there is of Lily.

[slytherinknowitall]

wake up and smell the amortentia.

[slytherinknowitall]

Love how Snape speaks with all the grace and beauty of a poet laureate but isn’t above just calling someone stupid and smelly, the duality of man

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Severus Snape in a Gothic Cathedral Midjourney AI art

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Crookshanks being an unpaid intern for Sirius Black is my favorite thing about Prisoner of Azkaban. He had that cat running ERRANDS. Ordering the Firebolt for Harry, stealing Neville's list of passwords. Crookshanks was Booked and Busy

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I just can't stop staring at this picture. This is what he deserves, a loving family 😘❤️😍

[slytherinknowitall]

unpopular opinion maybe but waking up to rain on a quiet weekend is quite literally the most magical thing in the world

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and so it begins.

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severus snape most definitely smoked cigarettes. cigars even. that man’s days were full of wretched little shits; he hAd to take the edge off every 30 minutes.

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An old Severus Snape, had he lived. A man who has seen and endured too much in a lifetime. (AI-generated by Midjourney)