foxconfessorandthewolf

[foxconfessorandthewolf]

Okay, so I’m a bit wine drunk but I don’t think I’ve ever really articulated why I love Snarry together and I’m currently trying to finish a fic after taking a three-year-hiatus from writing these two, so this is probably a good exercise!

I’m a bit on the older side of fandom, having been a fanartist and fervent reader since 2003, so my connection was really sparked during that time between OOTP and HBP when Snape and Harry were at some of their most clashing and deeply vitriolic, forced together into hateful vulnerability by Occulmency lessons. Every scene between them was electric, laced with tension as we truly did not know how things would go, or even where Snape’s true loyalties lay. He was an unknown, tied up with Harry’s own family’s mysterious past, connected to Harry in a myriad of odd ways that few other characters were, and - as a rivals-to-lovers lover - I was fascinated by him. From that first moment when they lock eyes in the Great Hall and that frisson of pain shoots through Harry’s scar, I desperately wanted to know who the hell this man was and his story. I think a lot of Snarry shippers come to the ship with a special appreciation for Severus Snape’s character himself. He’s such an incredibly drawn character, rich with complexity, complicated and pretty fucked up, with clearly-held passions, hatreds, weaknesses, and motivations. He’s emotional in a way a lot of other characters aren’t, though I think he’d loathe to hear that. And his character voice! It’s unique and pitch-perfect. You always know exactly who is speaking with his lines. Honestly, the way he evolved from a spy/traitor stock character to become so multifaceted and enigmatic is a masterpiece of characterization, and it’s an aspect of why I’m drawn to him - there’s still so much about his origins and well, what his damage was, that we don’t know. Because of this, I especially love Snarry fics that delve into character studies of him, trying to explore all the shadows left behind. I also admit I have a preference for interpreting Snape as morally grey. I like him petty, sharp-tongued, ambitious, with an incredibly liquid definition of what is right and wrong. He’s self-interested, dripping with disdain, and really doesn’t see that as a problem. What happens to him when he deeply falls in love?

I love a ship that makes me work for it. There’s no obvious line of how Snape and Harry might wind up together, so each fic is a wealth of possibilities of bringing these two together despite their roadblocks. As I mentioned, I’m big fan of animosity in a ship. Give me rivals, give me enemies, give me the sparking passions, the sharp fury, the way they stoke each others’ emotions and seek to hurt, the racing hearts, the raised hackles, the intense emotional reaction to another person. Just throw it at me. I devour that shit. I love the messy and taboo nature of their relationship, the complications raising from their age difference, temperaments, and largely similar and shared traumas. There’s an interesting element of Snape being a foil to James Potter, and how that relates to Harry and their past. Basically, this shit is really good potting soil for incredible fucking fics, packed with nutrients.

The shared natures of their traumas, like Voldemort and each being forgotten and abused as children and how they might be able to understand each other and bond from it is also something that’s fascinating to explore. I love when a writer pushes on Snape’s bruises, looking to make them hurt, cracking his sardonic brain open and rooting around in there, and I love when they compare and contrast to Harry’s. There’s a seductiveness to how Snape is so obsessed with Harry, fixated on his Boy Who Lived heroic reputation, clearly dripping with envy. What, beyond jealousy, might draw Snape to Harry and what, other than hatred, might draw Harry to Snape?

It’s all this, the passionate, electric, dangerous nature of their relationship; the way their characters contrast each other yet have surprising connections; and the question of finding solace that keeps me here, 21 years later. I’ve had wines less complex than this ship. They’re fascinating. They’re messy. They’re everything.

[crossposted from a reddit comment I just left, and wanted to share with y’all]

#snarry #i need them to hatefuck it out #i need snape to be cracked open and see all the tender parts fall out

[foxconfessorandthewolf]

I signed up to write for Snarry-a-Thon because I’m fully mad but the worst part is that I keep wanting to post sections for WIP Wednesday and realize all over again that I can’t.

#babe i’ve lost control of my life

[foxconfessorandthewolf]

A quick Severus this morning. I'm pretty happy with how the character design is getting closer to how I see him in my head.

[foxconfessorandthewolf]

[foxconfessorandthewolf]

Severus Snape Endures Another Staff Meeting

[foxconfessorandthewolf]

kinda inspired by michelangelo's pieta

there was supposed to be a wallpaper background but i fucked it up and have runneth out of patience . anyway, here's wonderwall

[foxconfessorandthewolf]

[foxconfessorandthewolf]

can y'all not do this shit in my fuckin notes

I hate the whole discourse of: "fanfic writers need to accept criticism so they can improve". Look, I did not post 5k of men blowing their loads so that I can become Hemingway or something, just don't read it if you don't want to, or do read it and drop your damn thanks in the tin.

#posts are free make your own #i do not need this shit on my dashboard jfc

[foxconfessorandthewolf]

Ngl, as the OP, despite saying it's "perfectly valid" to not desire negative feedback, the remainder of your post sounds like you're arguing for "critique" over "criticism", a distinction which is wholly pointless to my original post of "don't fucking say this shit to a fan writer unless invited" and moving the discussion to arguing which forms of negative feedback are appropriate.

I hate the whole discourse of: "fanfic writers need to accept criticism so they can improve". Look, I did not post 5k of men blowing their loads so that I can become Hemingway or something, just don't read it if you don't want to, or do read it and drop your damn thanks in the tin.

#feels hella condescending with the whole thing about being a perfectionist #like fuck off #i have a migraine #make your own fucking post to rant about critique or whatever the fuck #this post is two years old and back to annoy me

[foxconfessorandthewolf]

a snarry wip snippet

Two years and seven months after the battle, Harry Potter packed an oak trunk with his few remaining possessions and took a train north from Victoria Station. He was last seen in the bookshop, blue paperback in hand. Where he was off to, no one could say, lost between transfer and terminus. He was twenty years old, hair still unruly, an absent expression on his still-too-thin and pale face.

(He’s not eating well, Severus had thought. He’s not sleeping. One might say that Severus Snape is an expert in the look of a man who has given up. Then again, one might say a lot of things about Severus Snape.)

For the first five years, the world looked for him. They scoured London, Edinburgh, even Tokyo and New York. They turned out their pockets and peeked in their drawers, finding nothing but dust and pocket change. A man who doesn’t want to be found can make it simple to disappear. Consider a magic trick: now you see me, now you don’t. His eyes had looked empty. Lined. Tired. He was twenty years old and used up already. They looked for him, but what did they need him for now? The machine moved on. Fame found another chew toy. His name slipped from their tongues.

Severus Snape has always wanted to be free of the Boy Who Just Fucking Insisted On Living, and somehow now, ten years after Harry Potter’s disappearance, everyone is free but him.

#snarry #snarry fic #i am having feelings about grief and absence and love #and who better to put through the mess but these two

[foxconfessorandthewolf]

fragments: 06 (snarry)

[I'm clearing out my incomplete wips and posting fragments that might stand alone as a bit of an amnesty of old projects.]

In the dark, with the pale light of the candle in one hand, he turns the pages of his sketches, watching Potter’s form appear over and over again in endless repetition. A shoulder in dark charcoal, a thigh in graphite. Gleaming and bright, perfectly captured in light and shadow. One and other. A sketch evokes the scene for him, the hot, dusty air of his studio, windows cast wide to release the fumes of oil paint and linseed oil, the drape of cloth at Potter’s waist, the perfect arc of his spine as he stretches, the impish grin as he yawns and ducks Severus’ censure. A saint of his very own, half-clad in only loose silk. A man would have to be a saint to resist; Severus has never been accused of being a saint. 

He has been accused of other things. Witchcraft, at times. Devil worship. The devoted of Baphomet. Those he didn’t mind. Worse yet, the Prince accuses him of being a monk. Each visit, the Prince comes to review the progress of the picture, stepping with clear disdain into the spare, sparsely furnished room. His displeasure extends to every corner: the bottles and jars of curious specimens, preserved for future study, the cadavers Severus buys from the city, removing them for dissection and anatomical interest, the cheap wine Severus has to offer, watered down. He curls his lip at the wine and shakes his head at Severus’ appearance, wearing the same threadbare black doublet and cloak, same black tights, all poorly and dearly mended over and over and over again. The high-necked collar of Severus’ shirt is sorely out of fashion; the Prince clucks. “Do you expect to be a monk, Severus?” 

The body has a price. Everything has its price, everything charges admission. The price of his body is want. He curses himself and the hard furious thing between his thighs. 

Begin here, with the sketch, with the underpainting. The saint, with all of Potter’s lithe, loose grace, is posed bound, his wrist tied to the trunk of a tree, his stomach sucked in and convex, as if caught on the inhale. His eyes, the bright green of chlorophyll, turned upward to Heaven as if in both supplication and reproach. Severus spreads the paint, building layers of smooth, pale skin, bared to archers and Heaven alike. Two arrows pierce him, penetrate him, wounding the perfect spread of flesh, taking the first bite of the feast. 

To paint, Severus will prime and stretch a coarse linen canvas, then prepare the surface with a smoothly ground gesso made of gypsum and animal skins. This color, this brilliant color. This is the only color he allows himself. He applies the paint in careful, thin layers, building up depth and texture piece by bright piece. For the saint’s draped loincloth, he paints a layer of deep, brilliant red to enhance the future ultramarine hue. Blue, he thinks, is the most appropriate shade. Blue, the color of the Virgin’s cloak and tears alike. 

Take all that wretched want within you, Severus, and make something beautiful out of it.

#snarry #teeth fragments #renaissance au with painter snape #severus snape #ficlet

[foxconfessorandthewolf]

Tumblr announcing that they are unbanning nudity immediately after elon musk starts burning twitter to the ground is like pouring gasoline into an already open flame and then spitting on the ashes. The vindictive pettiness is so entertaining to watch--just outstanding

#istg this is a study in people getting their news from social media and not reading the article

[foxconfessorandthewolf]

Now he is finally alone, free to feel again. But what does he even feel?

He wants it to stop whatever it is. He used to be punished for showing weakness. No one is here to punish him now for displaying his emotions, however, he feels he is the one, who took over this role himself.

A moment of weakness.

Drawn in 2022

[foxconfessorandthewolf]

all i think about these days is doing awful things to my babygirl victor frankenstein

[foxconfessorandthewolf]

Happiest of birthdays, @ripeteeth!!

This gem of a human is not only stupidly talented (so talented, it actually makes me feel stupid. My brain just sorta shuts down so that it can properly bask in the majesty of their work), but also a total badass, has excellent taste, is super smart, aaaand best yet: a fantastic person who I am very blessed to call friend.

Genuinely and from the bottom of my heart, teeth is one of the first names that comes to mind when I think of "great fic writers." Their work is not only gorgeous, but so unique and special! The sort of work that makes you think and feel nonstop, and it stays with you long after.

So in honor of this absolute deity of a Virgo, I present to you: 5 Fantastic Fics (and when you finish them, go read everything else they've written, whether you know the fandom or not.) (100% worth it, I promise.)

Strange Pilgrims

Snarry. Rated E. 11k words.

After the war, the world moves on quickly from wounded soldiers and damaged places. Harry Potter doesn't know if he believes in anything anymore; Severus Snape always believes, whether or not he wants to.

Lighthouse Keeper

Snarry. Rated E. 10k words.

Harry visits one Severus Snape every year on the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. This year, he brings a bottle of scotch (single-malt, 100-proof, excellently-distilled).

Apples and Oranges Too

Ginmione. Rated E. 1k words.

You’re trouble, Hermione thinks. You’ve always been trouble. That’s the trouble with you.

The Forest King

Snarry. Rated E. 92k words.

In a single night, all magic disappears across the world. Harry receives a strange and yellowing letter that there may be an exception, that one wizard may be yet living, isolated in the little town of Cokeworth. As Severus Snape begrudgingly assists Harry with unraveling the mystery of the loss of magic, they sink into a world neither had ever dreamt of, learning that there are many things shrouded in history and legend, that some of those things do not wish to be found.

Suspiria

Snarry. Rated E. 5k words.

You like to cut yourself on his bones, and he likes to let you.

BONUS: check out their interview with @fanficmaverickpodcast here!

[foxconfessorandthewolf]

[foxconfessorandthewolf]

Severus Snape Endures Another Staff Meeting