blackeyesprof

[blackeyesprof]

There's this one thing about the whole argument of "Severus Snape isn't redeemed just because he wants to fuck Harry's mom" that grinds my gears. Like that's implying Snape left his memories for Harry because he wanted to be redeemable in the eyes of those who survive. Snape doesn't give a shit if people think he's a good person or not. He spent 7 whole books proving he gives 0 fucks about his reputation by being an asshole (and I love him for it, honestly).

There's a whole myriad of other reasons why Snape gave Harry his childhood memories, first and foremost probably being because Harry's a little dumb but he's not that dumb and if a Death Eater, one of Voldemort's closest followers, the murderer of Albus Dumbledore himself wrote Harry a note saying "kill urself lmao trust me it's the only way to get rid Voldie" do you think Harry would go "capital idea, let me throw myself off the Astronomy Tower just like you punted Dumbledore off it" No. One single memory of Dumbledore saying "I raised Harry as a pig for slaughter" isn't going to make Harry do shit; he needs to know that Snape was and still is working for the Light side by showing him why he's doing all of this.

And, also, I like to think that this is Snape's weird way of trying to comfort Harry, by showing him he's not alone, that Snape understands his feelings of being trapped, of being powerless, stripped of choices, of surviving a terrible childhood and instead of getting a reward, of building that found family, he's instead sentenced to die and it's not fair.

#severus snape #pro snape #snapeloveposts #anti snaters

[blackeyesprof]

The “Snape should have gone to therapy and deal with his issues so he didn’t take them out on other people” thing annoys me so much! Because:

Even if therapy was available in the wizarding world…

Even if it was the traumatised person’s sole responsibility to make sure they are healed…

Even if the books were set in a time and in a country where therapy was readily available and something people just “got”…

…I still want to ask these privileged, pampered snaters one thing:

HOW?! How would someone who has been a double agent basically their whole adult life, guarding not just their secrets but even their thoughts and their mind from every other human being go to therapy? HOW!?

#severus snape #snapeloveposts #pro snape #snapedom #anti snaters #severus

[blackeyesprof]

The double standards of snaters isn’t new, but I felt this was on another level. Apparently if you’ve sacrificed everything, for a good cause, including your life and soul, you can still get an F if you decide to draw your last breath in an unapproved way. So prepare carefully, in case one of these people are at your bedside when the time comes.

#severus snape #snapeloveposts #pro snape #snapedom #anti snaters #these people disgust me

[blackeyesprof]

albus severus potter, you were named after two men who taught me how difficult it is to distinguish between good and evil, because every human being has the capacity for both inside themselves. i spent my life idolizing one and vilifying the other, but it wasn’t until i was older that i realized the enormity of the choices they were forced to make and the guilt and regret they carried with them their whole lives. they were both like me, ambitious and stubborn and lost, but they devoted their whole lives to protecting me, and i’ll forever be grateful for that. without them, you would never have been born, and if there’s one thing i want you to remember, it’s that you are always capable of selflessness and bravery, even when it seems impossible, because they were. they were not perfect people, but they were stronger than i ever knew, and they taught me that the choices you make, however small, however misguided, matter. they matter after you’re gone. they matter to the world you want to change, and making the right choice after you’ve made the wrong one, hard as it is, is how we grow. so remember that. be brave, albus severus. you don’t have to be a gryffindor to know what that means.

#severus snape #pro snape #snapeloveposts #snapedom

[blackeyesprof]

Severus

[blackeyesprof]

Is Snape evil for "outing" Lupin?

The HP fandom is divided on what is supposed to be an important crime. Snape haters argue that Snape outed Lupin because he was an evil bigot who wanted to ruin his life, while the Snapedom answers that Professor Lupin didn’t deserve to remain a Defense teacher anyway given the numerous ways he has failed his duties and proved he couldn’t be trusted with the lives of children.

However, one could point out that Snape never argues he exposed Lupin’s secret for those rightful reasons. Instead, all we got is Lupin’s opinion on it: he thinks his secret was exposed because Snape snapped (lol) when he didn’t get his Order of Merlin after all. Well, given all the constant defamation Lupin uses where Snape is concerned (coupled with gaslighting), it’s easy to know he twisted the truth yet again—although by all means, Snape should have gotten his Order of Merlin anyway.

The problem to both anti and pro arguments is that... we don’t know why Snape "outed" Lupin as a werewolf. He never tells us, and we can only guess based on the facts. So the big question we could ask is:

Is outing Lupin as a werewolf fundamentally evil?

In my opinion, that’s a no, and here’s why.

Lupin was a Defense teacher. Given Voldemort cursed the position, we know he was going to suffer the price of the Defense jinx at the end of the year—one way or another. Professor Snape has been a teacher for 12 years at this point, so he’s seen at the very least 12 teachers suffer the consequences of the jinx. In particular, Lupin’s most recent predecessors met a very gruesome fate: one was possessed and tortured by Voldemort until he died by Harry’s hand (Quirell), the other was dumped in St Mungo’s with extensive, incurable amnesia (Lockhart). So we know Lupin was doomed to suffer... potentially, a lot.

It’s by revealing Lupin’s secret lycanthropy that Snape channeled the curse of the Defense post in the safest way possible.

As Lupin says in HBP, it does not make a big difference that people know he’s a werewolf... as the news would have gotten out anyway. Many students before Harry have already learned how to recognize (and kill) a werewolf. I’m sure many already knew Lupin’s secret. In fact, we know Hermione knew he was a werewolf, and yet... nothing happened to Lupin. Just because people could suspect he was a one, does not mean he was bound to be yeeted out the doors.

Being able to leave Hogwarts unscathed after all the shit he’s done and assuming the role of Defense teacher? That’s a miracle.

Now, we could argue that it might not have been Snape’s intention to save Lupin from an especially gruesome consequence of the Defense curse. Nevertheless, how can you explain otherwise that he never revealed Lupin’s true, darkest secrets to the public?

Indeed, Snape learned that:

- Lupin used to roam Hogsmeade and the Hogwarts grounds as a werewolf for the last three years of his education, every month, having many near misses (= nearly killing/infecting people) just because he wanted to have fun + he hid this from Dumbledore out of selfishness and cowardice

- he withheld capital information that could have saved us lots of trouble for a year; even though, as he admits, he wholeheartedly believed Sirius to be James and Lily’s murderer and got evidence of his dangerosity (slashing the portrait of the Fat Lady, tearing Ron’s curtains apart and standing over him with a twelve-inches long knife, etc), Lupin never told Dumbledore that Sirius was a dog Animagus, or that he knew all the secret passages to Hogwarts, or even about the Marauder’s Map, all because of moral weakness (he didn’t want to admit a schoolboy mistake and wanted to look good in front of Dumbledore)

- his negligence over his lycanthropy management (not drinking Wolfsbane even though he had a whole week for that, not remaining in the Shack for his transformation) nearly had Harry, Hermione, Ron and Severus (three students and a Hogwarts professor) either mauled, infected or killed. Imagine the parents ever learned that Lupin the werewolf nearly killed the Boy Who Lived?

- he cancelled the homework on werewolves just to avoid getting spotted even though it could save kids from people like Greyback or Lupin himself in case forgot his Wolfsbane (+ it would have been an opportunity for Lupin to break down lycanthrophobic ideas by adressing them instead of perpetuating ignorance/fear, and as such, prejudices on werewolves)

Now, those are valid reasons to fire Lupin, or at least force him to resign. Snape totally had the capacity to tell the parents about it. Only, Lupin would probably have to worry far more than for a few angry owls.

The fact that Severus did not tell the parents the whole truth and effectively protected Lupin by keeping his darkest secrets shows that Snape is far more than a solely petty character.

When you couple that with the fact Snape basically allowed Lupin to escape the Defense curse as safe and sound as possible... you realize that Snape truly seemed to want the best for Lupin.

The craziest thing is that there’s evidence of Snape’s willingness to protect Lupin. Remember: in DH, even though Dumbledore has just told Snape to "play your part well", Snape risks his DE spy cover just to save Remus Lupin from a Death Eater’s wand during the Battle of the 7 Potters, even though Lupin would kill him on sight if he could. Granted, Snape misses and hits George’s ear instead (whoops), but that’s the true Snape there. Stupid, but incredibly brave (you Gryffindor).

TL:DR: Severus "outing" Lupin as a werewolf is an act of mercy and saved his life.

[blackeyesprof]

Would you say Snape was a nice guy?

Nope. Does he have the capacity for kindness? Certainly. He is protective of the students and those he cares about, but he doesn’t go about it in a nice or kind way.

Which brings me to my larger point: niceness is performative in nature.

It’s the fake cheerful customer service voice you use when you’re working. It’s saying the right things in the right inflection to not be noticed or to smooth things over. In the right hands, niceness can be a weapon, especially if your appearance exudes niceness as well. It creates a blind spot people can’t wrap their heads around.

On Snape, whose appearance is dark, scary, and otherwise intimidating, using niceness would stick out like a sore thumb. He wouldn’t be able to wield it in a believable way. Can you imagine him with his scowling face and hooked nose and sallow skin giving a customer service smile and wearing light colored robes that Lockhart would swoon over and being nice?

You’d immediately assume he is about to murder you.

So Snape leans the opposite direction. He leans into his cruel expression and his strictness. He wears scary dark clothing and menaces about the castle. He is so busy giving you detention that you don’t look behind you at the monster he’s holding back from eating you with wandless magic. He’s using his sour disposition and unpleasantness as a method of misdirection so anyone who isn’t in the know (ie, most of the students and especially Harry) doesn’t pay attention to the scarier or more deadly stuff that’s going on because they’re too busy being angry at Snape or focusing on how unfair he is. It’s a great cover if you’re trying to make sure the Dark Lord and his followers don’t try to get you to recruit kids into his terrorist organization because they all hate you!

So no, Snape isn’t nice. But that’s beside the point. The point is that niceness is worthless to him because it’s not a tool that he can use effectively in his day to day life. And it doesn’t help that he’s got massive amounts of trauma and absolutely no access to therapy.

[blackeyesprof]

ok, I just wanted to share this Snape fanart (I don't know the author, I've been looking for a while and nothing). Personally I find it such an accurate version of the adult Snape, he's honestly so imposing, handsome and elegant.

[blackeyesprof]

So I go on Snape’s Harry Potter wiki page

Oh sweet let’s have a look.

Flying: Severus was capable of unsupported flight. The only other known wizard that was able to do this was Lord Voldemort himself.

I must’ve overlooked that

Love: Severus was one of the only people in Voldemort’s inner circle who was capable of feeling unconditional love. 

Of course

Dark Arts: Severus had a passion for the Dark Arts from a young age, and was especially talented with curses, or so some believed. 

Well that’s well known

Potioneer: Severus was extremely adept at potion-making and worked as the Potions Master at Hogwarts for about 15 years. 

Right, well that should be it. Oh wait-…

Occlumency and Legilimency: Snape’s unerring ability to conceal his thoughts and feelings from external penetration proved to be crucial forhim. 

Okay there are all his talents- oh perhaps not.

Transfiguration: Severus was skilled in Transfiguration, being able to conjure objects and animals, and Transfigure elements into other objects with apparent ease.

Severus that’s enough.

Charms: Snape could use charms without fail

Severus please

Duelling: Although he rarely appeared in any known duels Snape was shown to be a very capable duellist. 

Your Mary Sue side is showing Severus

Spell creation: As a student at Hogwarts, Severus was very inventive with new spells.

YOU CAN STOP NOW

Non-verbal and wandless magic: Snape was adept at using non-verbal spells, from the most basic uses (such as instruction-writing on blackboards and clean ups) to the most advanced (such as combat curses). 

STOP BEING SO TALENTED

Logical thinking: Snape’s logic and deductive reasoning skills were such that he helped protect the Philosopher’s Stone by creating an obstacle, which was based on logic rather than magical skill.

JESUS CHRIST

Broomstick handling/Quidditch: On top being capable of unsupported flight in his later days, Snape was an able flyer on a broomstick, and sure enough in the rules of Quidditch to take over the position of referee at least once.

-faints-

[blackeyesprof]

Happy birthday week Severus Snape!

After a Henri Privat-Livemont poster advertising Absinthe Robette.

Source

#snart #severus snape

[blackeyesprof]

Severus laying his head on Remus’s lap. 🥰

[blackeyesprof]

“It’ll be alright, Severus.”

[blackeyesprof]

If not for James Potter, then yes, Sirius Black would’ve caused the death of Snape.

Ngl, I spent a hot minute trying to remember what this was in reference about.

While that is true, it was never Sirius’ intention to kill Snape. He definitely didn’t think what he was doing through and was lucky James was able to prevent it.

The thing is, Sirius didn’t indirectly kill Snape, because James did save him. Like, there’s near misses all the time. It kinda getting repetitive when people dragging Sirius for a mistake that was prevented from being 1000x worse in the first place. You're talking about what ifs (one, of who knows how many different scenarios)

Sirius isn’t perfect, yeah I agree 100%. But that makes him human.

Also, some people like to forget that Snape did the exact same thing (told Voldemort about the prophecy), the only difference being Lily and James did die. That wasn't never his intention, but it still happened. I see alot more people making a fuss about Sirius' mistake than Snape's. (I've seen some straight up excuse Snape while attacking Sirius in the same breath)

(not saying you do that anon, it's just an observation of mine.)

#the shrieking shack incident #severus snape #pro snape

[blackeyesprof]

Why did the Marauders hate Snape and bully him?

James Potter: “He exists.” (OoTP)

Sirius Black: “Snape was just this little oddball who was up to his eyes in the Dark Arts.” (OoTP)

”we were sometimes arrogant little berks.” (OoTP)

Harry Potter: “(James) just attacked Snape for no good reason, just because — well, just because (Sirius) said (he was) bored” (OoTP)

Lily Evans: “(James is) just an arrogant bullying toerag.” (OoTP)

Remus Lupin: “old prejudice” (HBP)

marauder fandom/Snape antis: it was because Snape was a wizard Nazi and the Marauders were muggle(born) rights activists and Snape was stalking poor little Remus. Didn’t u read my fanfic???

#pro snape #severus snape #anti snaters

[blackeyesprof]

Why do we love Snape, or the character who was unkindly written

Claire Jordan in one of her Quora essays said that she’s been in fandom for decades and has never seen a character so loved as Snape. I concur. Excluding some recent trends that purposefully misinterpret Snape by projecting onto him a set of stereotypes he was never supposed to embody, Snape remains one of the most loved characters in the Harry Potter universe. Every poll on Harry Potter’s favourite characters confirm that Snape is always on the top 3, sometimes reaching first place.

This is not some “bad boy syndrome”. There are two main reasons for readers to have latched onto Snape so furiously, for Snape to have been so ardently discussed and defended after HBP – and these feelings only intensified after the 7th book. The reasons, I would posit, are:

1.      Snape is a character that the narrative portrays as ambiguous.

2.      Despite this, the narrative is often, objectively, unfair to Snape especially in favour of other characters.

Let’s address the first point. Snape is ambiguous because he has to be. There are two big plot-twists in Harry Potter: Harry is a horcrux and Snape’s loyalties. These two end up closely connected because it is through the knowledge of Snape’s loyalties that Harry discovers he must die to kill the part of Voldemort that is inside him. Snape is therefore largely written as a suspect in a murder mystery. Several commentators have argued that the structure of a Harry Potter book resembles a crime novel, and I agree. Snape has to appear guilty, but the books have to give enough clues to the reader as to his true loyalties. Independently of authorial intent, this is what makes Snape so compelling. Because:

a.      Snape is cruel to his students but he constantly protects them (Harry, Draco, Katie Bell, Luna and Hermione, Neville and Ginny).

b.      Snape is described as ugly but his use of language is the most sophisticated of the series to the point it becomes sensual. Just consider his first speech in class about the beauty of potions and how they “ensnare the senses” and “bewitch the mind”.

c.      Snape is mean and petty but these characteristics are often accompanied by sarcasm and irony which make some of his most awful comments quite funny, such as him telling Crabbe not to suffocate Neville because he would have to mention it in a reference letter if ever Crabbe applied to a job. There is also a lot of incongruent humour in play with Snape. For example, him reading about Harry’s love life is hilarious because Snape and teenage drama are two irreconcilable dimensions.

d.      Snape is cruel and bullying but the narrative offers several reasons for this. While Dumbledore’s past is revealed mostly through conversation, Snape’s past is slowly revealed in images which makes it much more vivid. Snape getting a glimpse of a werewolf at the end of a tunnel. Snape’s father yelling at his cowering mother. Snape upside down and petrified by Sirius and James. Petunia calling him “an awful boy”. More than any other character, Snape is rooted in a social context that brings with it inescapable references: poverty, domestic abuse, neglect, bullying.

e.      Snape is often ridiculed (by Neville’s Boggart and by the map) but he is also given the title of “Prince”, a character with whom Harry sympathizes. He is also one of the characters who carries a sword, and whose love is presented as “the best part” of him. These are characteristics that ennoble Snape.

f.       Snape is dismissive of people’s feelings but he is also the character who is defending children because of their mothers. Lily because of his guilt, and Narcissa whom he allows to trap him in an unbreakable vow to protect her son.  

g.      Snape is taken as evil but the character whom the narrator uses as a morality mouthpiece – Hermione – often defends him.

h.      Snape kills a man but the narrative is quick to add that his soul would likely remain intact as it would be an act of mercy, arranged between the victim and the perpetrator as Harry reinforces. Harry goes as far saying that Snape “finished him” instead of using the verb kill or murder. Furthermore, we know remorse is something that mends the soul and Snape’s whole arc is about guilt and remorse – immortalized in the scene where Snape weeps at 13 Grimmauld Palace.

i.       Snape is apparently a murderer but the narrative goes to some lengths to show that just like Harry Snape has a thing for saving people. “Lately, only those I could not save” and him risking his cover to save Lupin.

j.       Snape’s trauma is often discredited but the narrative allows part of his tragedy to come at the expense of the hero’s father whom Harry spent years admiring. A relevant part of James’s goodness is sacrificed in favour of Snape’s own character construction.

k.      Snape’s trauma in relation to having been bullied is more often discredited by the narrative, although Fudge’s comment “the man is quite unbalanced” and the comparison established between James and Sirius’s use of Levicorpus and the Death Eaters using it on a muggle woman shows that it is something to be taken serious, although never acknowledged.

This last point leads me to my second assertion that the narrative is fundamentally unfair and cruel to Snape. For two main reasons:

a.      Snape’s trauma in relation to the Mauraders is discredited by everyone that counts, namely, Lily and Dumbledore. Only Harry comes closer to understand its dimensions. We can argue as to why this is, and as to whether there was authorial intent or it is simply that JKR didn’t realise how it would sound. Lily nearly smiles when Snape is being bullied which puts in question Lily’s character as well as her friendship with Snape. Both in Snape’s Worst Memory and in the conversation about the prank, she also fails to show concern that her friend was being bullied by the boy she liked.

b.      The second instance of unfairness is more serious because it is far more insidious. A careful reading of text will tell us that Snape was set up for death by Dumbledore. That Dumbledore planted the Elder Wand on Snape while thinking its power had died with him and while knowing that Voldemort would eventually reach conclusions about the Elder Wand and wish to possess it, thus killing its current owner. Not only Dumbledore never tells Snape, but he plans it beforehand. This is why he “admits” to Harry that the intention was to let Snape have the wand. Harry understands exactly what this means, and in the Final Battle tells Voldemort that Dumbledore intended the power of the wand to die with him.

This is so insidious – and cruel – that it is never openly acknowledged. Dumbledore betrays Snape, showing an impressive disregard for his life – far more than he showed for Harry’s because he knew Harry had a good chance of survival. But Snape is never given the satisfaction of having this acknowledged in the text. Snape yearned for Dumbledore’s affection but not only Dumbledore denied him that, he also denied him the truth of what he really wanted of him. Snape is betrayed by both his masters at the end. But we are never explicitly told this. This happens because the narrative is unwilling to portray Dumbledore in a truly badly light. His apparent sorrow (“poor Severus”) and his “admission” of guilt are not enough to show him remorseful because the narrative cannot bring itself to say: “I set Snape to die by planting the wand on him so Voldemort would come to possess a useless weapon”. This would change the readers’ view of Dumbledore, especially after Prince’s Tale. Remark on how cruel it is: Snape had to agree to kill Dumbledore in “good faith” so the power of the wand died with him, but all the while Dumbledore knows that Snape would get a target on his back and die from it. Dumbledore manipulates Snape into – possibly – ripping his soul and tricks Snape into his own demise. Snape thought Dumbledore was raising Harry as a pig for slaughter, but he is wrong. It is him whom Dumbledore is raising to die. The fact that this is never openly stated, and is purposefully obfuscated by the language, is somewhat cowardly. Dumbledore barely apologises, he barely recognizes it. If he did, the readers would be horrified. As with Lily, Snape is again sacrificed in favour of apparently “better” characters whom the narrative wants the readers to like more.

However, the flaw in the plan is that…readers aren’t stupid. I caught on to this when I was a teenager, and it has only intensified as I grew older.

Even at the end, Snape understands from the moment Voldemort mentions the wand that he is going to die. JKR said in a tweet that Snape could’ve saved himself, presumably by setting Voldemort straight, and so his silence ensured Harry’s victory. It is a possible interpretation. More possible still is that Snape accepted death after giving Harry his memories. The fact that he stops trying to staunch the bleeding once Harry appears shows it. His “look at me” is the request of a man who knows he’s going to die and just wants to do so by looking at the eyes of the woman he loves. In this sense, following Dumbledore’s words that “there are things far worse than death” and that for an organized mind death is “the next big adventure”, Snape showed far more courage than both Dumbledore and Voldemort who on several occasions tried to fight the inevitability of death.

It is true the narrative offers some vindication for Snape. Harry tells Tom Riddle of Snape’s true loyalties. Riddle is not allowed to die before knowing that Snape had betrayed him and colluded with Dumbledore, all because of a power Riddle doesn’t understand – love. Harry also names the son with his – and his mother’s – green eyes Severus. Finally, Harry tells him that Snape was probably the bravest man he knew.

But still, Snape is not kindly written. There is an underlying cruelty in how Snape is treated throughout the books. Because he is so profoundly unloved, because he is barely shown kindness and because no one ever takes responsibility for what happened to him, the readers feel compelled to do so. That, I think, explains why Snape is so widely loved, and why people are so ready to defend him in unprecedented ways.mak

#severus snape #snapeloveposts #severus #pro snape #snapedom

[blackeyesprof]

SNAPE: FUCK ALL OF YOU

ALSO SNAPE: I will risk my life to save all of you

exactly!

[blackeyesprof]

I’ve been seeing a lot of hate, so I just want to spread some positivity.

Loving Snape is perfectly fine and valid. Loving him because writing for him is a good way for you to vent is valid. Loving him because you can relate to parts of his story and his experiences is valid. Loving him because he’s a comfort character that brings some joy to your life is valid. Loving him because he’s a well rounded, nuanced character is valid. Loving him because you can see a diamond in the rough and enjoy what you can do with him in fics is valid. Loving him because he’s a bad bitch and you like a brooding, attitude ridden snarky character is valid. Loving him because of the change he undergoes in canon and the redemption and forgiveness ingrained in his character is valid. Loving him because of the dynamics he does have or the possible dynamics he can have is valid. Loving him because you love his aesthetic or love the way he talks is valid. Loving him because he’s a longtime hyper-fixation or special interest is valid. Loving him because you started getting involved in arguments with Snaters who were being irrational and somehow wound up being attached is valid.

Loving him for all the above at once is valid. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a character that makes mistakes, it’s not immoral to love characters that make mistakes. People trying to make you feel bad because of their own dislike of a character are just lashing out and likely are insecure in some fashion.

Keep loving Snape, it’s not hurting anyone, no one else is entitled to changing your opinion on him, don’t let anyone rain on your parade and peer pressure you into being ashamed of the things you like.

I love the Snapedom even if I’m not always so active on this blog. Every time I check the Snape tag, I inevitably see Snater hate and the same old arguments, and that can be tiring. But I love all the fanart and fics and metas that I see! Everyone who frequents the tag is smart and creative and I appreciate you!

Much love!