Tag: Anonymous

♡ – OTP for your muse? ⚔ – NOTP with your muse?

{ Munday Meme }

My OTP’s can be found here, and actually I low key have a shipping tag here for more on the topic of shipping with Severus in more specific manners, or just my thoughts on specific ships in general :3 

My NOTP for Severus is honestly toxic and abusive relationships – the people involved don’t matter. I have in many years of playing him shipped this man with people I have sworn I never would, simply because the other player had an idea for something that seemed like it could genuinely benefit both characters in growing and becoming better, healthier, happier people together. 

I won’t play out any ship where Severus is a victim or where the power dynamic is skewed in such a way that he is either begging for scraps or considered to be controlling the relationship. I think that is what makes it so hard for people to ship with my Severus in general – I am always going to fight for a healthy relationship with an equal balance of power. 

That said, I do not see an age difference as a power dynamic unless it is specifically used in such a way, so shipping Severus with someone significantly older than himself would be something I would consider to be perfectly acceptable. Provided the age difference is not used as a toxic power dynamic I literally could not care less.

For example: The other party did not use their age to belittle Severus, to rise themselves above Severus, to excuse their shitty behaviour, to make Severus feel bad about his own age or to insinuate that his younger age is a sexual benefit ( aka kinky in some way. I have tremendous issues with the ‘daddy’ culture on tumblr and frankly I don’t want it anywhere near me ) If the age difference is not a primary focus in what makes the relationship work, I have little issue with it. 

The same can be said for those younger than Severus, though I generally have a limit of ensuring whoever the other party is, they are at least twenty-five when things start. At that point they are an adult making their own choice in matters, and the same rules apply to them – they have the right to an equal partnership, and I will not write Severus treating it as anything but that.

How do you feel about the movies? Things you’d change? Things you liked? Things you despised? -L

This is such a phenomenal question L, and I want to thank you for it because I just grinned so big I have a feeling you may have just made my night! This is going to be a bit lengthy and a touch personal, because my experience with the films as a whole comes from a lot of various influences in my life at the time, so lets get cracking.

When the very first Harry Potter movie came out, we already had four books. By this point in time I was taking what were then baby steps into the online world. I’d contributed some fan theories, but for the most part my focus was on writing as Snape in chatrooms, on AIM and on sites where there was only one version of any character, so you had to really prove yourself. 

You had an application form to fill out, a roleplay sample ( generally with a specified word count ) and then you had to maintain appeal to that entire small community so that you did not ‘lose your canon’ which – stressful starting point in its own way, truly helped me toughen up and smarten up as a wee writer just getting started. 

Looking back on it, I don’t know how I did it. I was a cringey little idiot who should not have been allowed on a computer unsupervised ( I was 10, almost 11 when I started writing online! Ridiculous! ) but, I digress. By the time the first movie came out, I – was like, twelve, and very certain I was Hot Shit, thank you. I was writing Snape, I was writing OC’s, I had a huge bank account on dinstitute and could almost buy a firebolt. 

Harry Potter was my go to happy place and I was so ready for this movie. I saved up my allowance and even picked a day to go see it with the staff and was INSANELY well behaved for two weeks straight prior to going so that nothing would get in the way of me being there the first weekend it came out. And it was – honestly I never knew you could go to a movie in costume? ( Cue me, every movie afterward, dressing up as Snape! Not hard. My whole wardrobe was black I just picked my Darkest black pants and made sure my hair was freshly died as dark as humanly possible -eyup. I was that guy. I am so sorry. )

It was magical for me. Seeing the Harry Potter movie was the most magical, happy moment of my life. I felt transported into the world of magic in a whole new way – so deeply, so intensely that I didn’t realize what was missing until way later. I was far too boggled by what was there. Dumbledore was everything I ever wanted him to be! The Great Hall stole my breath away! The Hat, holy shit it had a mouth in the most clever way, I really honestly felt like I was seeing magic.

The unicorn destroyed me. Up until that point the most magical movie in my life was Legend. Literally everything captivated me, and I think the only thing that really, truly frightened me was Voldemort on the back of Quirrel’s head – and uh. I think that’s fair. He was supposed to be pants shittingly terrifying to kids, that’s the whole point.

What was really great was, as I grew up – so did Harry, Ron and Hermione. They aged alongside me in many ways and every time a new film came out it was a really big event to me. The movies always managed to transfix and transport me into the world I was so in love with and I will never, ever get over my initial sensation of pure joy brought to me by the first film. Nor, really, can I say that I don’t have a deep seated nostalgia and adoration for every single film. They all bring something out in me that’s good, and for that – I can’t hate them.

That said, as the films came out, fandom was growing bigger and broader than ever before. This was my first real experience with fandom in general, and one thing that stood out to me was the amount of people who had never read the books. It never occurred to me to be mad at these people? Going to see a movie based on a book is uh? Common? 

What saddened me was all the things they didn’t know. I would encourage them to read the books so that they could meet Bill, and Peeves, and learn about Charlie and his dragon rescuing, and the most epic spell ever – waddiwasi! I wanted them to share the same understanding I had for all of these characters, because what the films did was amazing – but there’s so much more to see, and if you love the movies, you will really love the books. 

As I grew older, I became more critical. This is – pretty much the state of most older fans now, I think. We’ve reached a point where the magic we were given isn’t enough anymore. We want to create our own, but in so doing we need to address the flaws in what we have and start filling in holes ourselves. Which fandom has been doing from day one, but has grown harder and harder since JKR kind of – won’t stop milking this cow for all its worth. 

She takes a lot of credit for things fandom did for itself and that is upsetting. It’s even more upsetting to see information brought to light about characters that either completely rip apart everything fandom did to give that character – well, anything from a personality to a dynamic background – or worse, strip away things from characters to make them even more two dimensional. Worse, she’s a little performative in the things she agrees to and claims ‘were always the case’ when there’s literally no contextual evidence whatsoever, it’s just what fandom’s been doing for twenty some odd years and it’s a good way to keep em hooked I guess?

Anyway, as an adult, I am more critical. And I think, if I changed anything about the films – I would be honest about the casting process. James, Lily, Remus, Sirius, Severus – they were kids during the first war. I want to see a Tom Holland-looking baby faced derp smiling sadly at Harry through the mirror. I want to see actors in their 30s playing Marauders era characters, not actors in their goddamn fifties. 

The point of this war was that it was devastating and I think a remake of the movies would be wildly ambitious – but if they ever did it, and it held a diverse cast so that everyone could see themselves in the magic on screen and not just in the works that they themselves have to produce – they would have my money.

They would have my money in a heartbeat. 

But for what the films were – for all that they represent – as a whole, and despite all criticisms I may post on occasion, I stand by the fact that they are masterful pieces of magic, and that they brought a sense of purity, happiness, and excitement into my life when there were very, very few things I could hold on to that felt safe or good.

And I will always be grateful for Harry Potter, in film and in books.

What are some of your favorite ships with Severus?

Firstly allow me to preface this with the fact that I do not read Harry Potter fanfiction, and have not read fanfiction since the conclusion of AYLNO, which ruined fanfiction for me forever because it was too good and nobody can pass go anymore. Everything I am about to list comes from having proactively written it myself with other players, rather than looking for it anywhere. 

Which means portrayal is everything to me. Character wise, there’s really no limits. It is the passion of my coauthor and their willingness to communicate with me that makes ships with Severus happen, because he is so fucking impossible in this field that without really, truly enjoying my fellow writer’s company and portrayal, it doesn’t matter how much I like the ship, it just won’t fly. 

I am fully aware that some of these ships are ‘problematic’ – and while I will shed some context to them, I would also like it to be known that this isn’t based on canon. It is based on the writers interpretations of those characters, and often very divergent elements in play at the time. That said, here we go, starting with the most recent:

  • Severus x @forgedinflame: So right from the start we know this is alternate as hell seeing as Kosomot doesn’t even go here but this is honestly one of my favorite stories. Kosomot is kind and respectful and convinces a rather reluctant Severus to go out for coffee with him a few times and eventually leads to Severus practically living in the guy’s bike shop.

    They’re a strange pair but they care about one another, and Kosomot has a way of making Severus feel safe that he’s really never experienced in his life, which marks it as one of his better relationships honestly. It helps that Severus is no longer spying and has had some time to heal from a lot of his traumas before they start up, but they both have Tragic Backstories and as a result, they’re able to help one another stabilize when things get rough.

  • Severus x Remus: This always takes a lot of work on the part of myself and my partner to develop a storyline where these two can forge something healthy together, and there’s generally a lot of headbutting to begin with. That said everything we have developed has gone really well – I do have a particular person in mind but we never got this rolling on tumblr, at least I don’t think we did.

    In any case, these two tend to wind up as the darkly sarcastic duo who are definitely not dating even though they live together and raise a small herd of cats :V You know, after we spend two years overcoming the issues in their self worth, their complex histories and the fact one of them turns into the other one’s biggest fear every month. 

  • Severus x Narcissa & Lucius: I’ve discussed this here, but they all have worked well both individually and in poly scenarios in the past. I blame this on the fact its a popular ship in fandom, kind of, but few people take up the mantles of Narcissa or Lucius, which has lead consequently to every one of these ships turning out shockingly well? IDK but I’ve never had a bad experience here.

  • Severus x Tonks: I know I mentioned this one before but it was such a funny situation. And the ship never really sailed past a couple of dates ( literally, two dates and one attempt at hand holding that failed because Severus got distracted lmao ) but I feel it deserves an honorable mention because it was a wholly positive experience for all parties, and evolved into a phenomenal friendship. 

  • Severus x Kingsley: This happened once upon a fever dream and it was shockingly good fun. Severus was on his toes constantly, always wondering when his past would come up to haunt him ( and boy, did it, but in a way my coauthor chose to shock me with after asking how okay with a Stephan-related plot I’d be, and whooboy )

    Long story short, a cop and an ex-criminal buddy up together to take out a Very Bad Person and along the way learn a lot about each other and themselves, learn to accept the challenging parts of one another, and eventually adopt a kid together because really convoluted reasons. Also Kingsley was kryptonite to plants so Severus was always playing plant doctor :V

  • Severus x Rabastan: These two were a mess my god. There was a lot of bad shit going on when this ship was formed and they weren’t really good to one another but they eventually became very good for one another. IDK MAN BONDING THROUGH PATRICIDE IS JUST. That’s not how a relationship should start but that’s where it began lmao.

    In the end though Severus ended up bringing Rabastan with him ‘into the light’ as it were – or maybe Rabastan brought Severus into it, I can’t ever decide. Rabastan was more willing to defend Severus Snape than Severus Snape ever was though, I will say that.  

  • Severus x OC’s: This has not happened since my forum days honestly ( 2013 was the last one? I made an attempt in 2014 and i was so dramatically horrible I was like LMAO BYE, which is sad ) but he’s had some pretty good runs with OC’s in the past tbh. He also tends to work quite well in crossover situations :V

Honorable mentions ( aka ones that I never looked for, but have either been plotted extensively and worked out surprisingly well in the past, or started as crack ships and then turned serious ) include Rowena Ravenclaw, Bloody Baron, Gellert Grindelwald, Phineas Nigellus Black, Celestina Warbeck, Nagini’s Actually An Animagus & James Potter.

Severus / Bill Weasley ? (Sorry if this is a bit late!)

[ Would You Ship It? | Always accepting tbh, though I deleted the meme ]

My gut response to this is no, on account of the fact Bill would be among the first generation of students Severus taught. Before I jump into this though, a bit of quick math to show I’m not insane and also to kind of illustrate what their relationship looks like.

  • Bill was born in 1970, so he would have started Hogwarts in 1981.
  • Lily dies the same year Bill started school – Severus is outed as a spy
  • Severus loses his job and is promptly settled into a position at Hogwarts
  • 21 year old Severus and 11 year old Bill is basically traumatized pterodactyl meets literal sunshine child so uh, there’s that. 
  • 22 year old Severus is now head of Slytherin and still screeching internally. 12 year old Bill’s probably pretty chill and absolutely top of his class because we do know he set an impossible standard for the six siblings who would follow him. 

Now, personally, a 10 year age gap is peanuts to me, provided both parties are consenting adults over the age of twenty one at the least. I won’t get into that debate with anyone, but at the end of the day, a consenting adult has the right to do with their life what they damn well please and its not my business. 

That said, Severus would never date or have interest in a student. He’s many horrible things, but he is neither a hebephile ( someone with attraction to children aged 10 – 14 ) nor an ephebophile ( someone with attraction to teenagers aged 15 – 19 ) and the only reason I say this is because I know the tumblr demographic too well to not make that abundantly clear from the start up.

Severus is unlikely to engage with someone he once taught as a student, but I cannot rule it out entirely. In 2012 one of Severus’ most amusing relationships was with a Tonks whose player was fairly persistent. Though the relationship didn’t work out due to personality clashes, they did prove to be very good friends in the long run and I don’t regret exploring it because it was probably one of the silliest adventures I’ve ever had with him. 

There were all kinds of shenanigans involved as this was done on a forum, so there were a lot of other characters involved throughout the story. Fred and George were frequently causing ridiculous scenarios, and Remus had a pretty heavy part to play once we got one on site. Hilariously enough, we got two people on the forum very infuriated with us and the Remus player on account of the fact Remus would never leave a pregnant Tonks, which left the three of us baffled at the time, but I digress lmao.

Sadly, I don’t think tumblr is really all that conducive to exploring wilder ideas like this one. Had Severus and Tonks ( another individual he once taught ) tried this here, I have a very hard time imagining it turning out as positively as it did for everyone involved. They wouldn’t have had the opportunity to learn that they could be friends, let alone try and date, discover it’s really not their idea of fun, and develop a working friendship. 

While I do believe that Severus and Bill have potential to become friendly, just based on Bill’s ambitious nature and his curiosity, his intense focus on solving mysteries and his creative approaches to DADA, I don’t think I could see a ship between them forming on tumblr without some form of time shenanigans in play that nullifies said aforementioned age gap. 

TL;DR: I cannot say no definitively, because in the near twenty years I have written as Severus, wilder things have happened. I would be cautious however, because tumblr is a hellsite and I really have no interest in being harassed because I stumbled upon a ship that – no matter how it is portrayed – is deemed ‘inherently problematic.’ 

Have you heard about @seafaired? Mani is a really good writer with beautiful prose, and lots of really cool OCs!

{ Promo Your Babes }

@seafaired is my inspiration honestly? Everything on @oceanfoamed exists because Mani introduced me to the Age of Sail beyond the POTC franchise ( which up until like, January 2018 was my only experience with it ) everything she does is flawless? Her prose flows, her characters are lively, the canon voices are on point, the oc’s bring something to the fandom that nobody touches on – and she’s such an encouraging force that for the first time on tumblr I am writing my own OC’s as well? Honestly, people need more of Mani and her OC’s in their lives. 

Positivity meme: @lockhcrts is a wonderfully thought out blog with the sweetest mun in the world.

{ Promo Your Babes }

image

This is true facts! @lockhcrts just spent the week at my house and her influence was so impressive and positive my sister has decided she doesn’t want to join the military anymore, she wants to build a home with me and the tulip when she moves in. 

Mom is waiting for adoption papers to sign? Honestly, the purest gem of a human being. 

As for Gilderoy – honestly, he is like a kitten that Rowling decided she didn’t want anymore so she left him inside a dumpster and Mani wandered by and was like kitten? in a dumpster?!! better adopt it. And now he is the fluffiest, fattest, most pampered little boy ever. And that’s just the love she gives him, never mind the developments! 

B- Broken- what it takes to break them, C- Can’t- one thing that they can’t do in life/refuse to do, J- Jealous- how easily they get jealous

{ Alphabetical Headcanons }


B- Broken- what it takes to break them

Honestly – it takes a lot. Severus has walked through hell the better majority of his life and the list of things that have truly, genuinely broken him are alarmingly short. For a man as depressed and suicidal as he can be, he has a ferocious amount of spite that keeps him running in a lot of cases – and when spite isn’t enough, he has either desensitization or violence to compensate with. 

To give an idea of what it takes to break this man, here’s a list of the things that have successfully managed to destroy him:

  • His mother’s death when he was sixteen, compounded with the awareness they could have afforded her care if his father hadn’t drank the money away. That, and the fact that he was responsible for burning her corpse because they couldn’t afford a funeral all added up to Severus turning sectumsempra on himself and ultimately being kept from death by the timely intervention of Destin Wilkes and later, Poppy Pomfrey. 

  • Finding that his father had destroyed or sold what little his mother held dear, thus ultimately resulting in Severus killing the man. He was nineteen at the time. 

  • Destin’s death when he was twenty. The man turned rogue on a raid and started attacking fellow Death Eaters before the aurors showed up. He was taken down by a violent curse and Severus nearly died trying to save him. 

  • Lily’s death when he was twenty one, resulting in him committing himself to a life of subterfuge with no guarantee it would pay off.

  • Learning about the abuses one of his Slytherins was facing, thus resulting in Severus straight up murdering the father of one of his students. He was twenty five.

  • Eric’s death in the second war when he challenged Voldemort and was literally ripped apart by Greyback. Severus was made to show his allegiance was unshaken, after which he had to tell Lucas what happened and got into a righteously violent fight while heavily disadvantaged that nearly got him killed. After the violence, it was the first time Severus cried since Lily’s death – he was thirty four at the time. 

  • Being asked to kill Albus Dumbledore and secure his role at Voldemort’s side in so doing.

  • Being told Harry has to die so that the war may be won. 

C- Can’t- one thing that they can’t do in life/refuse to do

Forgive himself.

J- Jealous- how easily they get jealous


Honestly it depends on what the situation is? Sometimes he is 0-60 in seven seconds flat and other times it takes him eight years to even realize he should, maybe, perhaps, object around here somewhere. 

S-N-A-P-E

{ Alphabetical Headcanons } 

S- STRENGTH- where they find their strength

Coffee, mostly. Some days it really is that hollow – he has built routines that he follows by rote, and there are things he does every morning that are like goals. Each and every day, Severus has to convince himself that getting out of bed and living another day is worth it – that there’s a point to doing so. 

Some days are easier than others. Hell some days he doesn’t really have to struggle beyond it’s sunny outside or something equally inane and simple that indicates he’s in a positive swing. Depression is on the downlow, he can function normally, and the first thing he does after getting dressed is enjoy a coffee in the sunlight.

Other days are tougher. Sometimes he has to go through a whole mantra of reasons to get up – ranging from the positive, to the annoying, to the grim and upsetting. In the end, on those days, the controlling factor is, figure it out after coffee. 

Getting up for that coffee – that’s the trick. Its his reward for getting up. Its his reason for getting up. It’s not much, but it works – and in the end, that is all that matters.

N- NEGLIGENCE- what they can be negligent about

Appearance and self care, honestly. He’s generally on top of everything else, but he literally doesn’t give a shit about himself so… 

A-AROUSAL- what gets them aroused quickest

That’s a mindswitch that’s worthy of whiplash, wow. Honestly though, it really depends on the situation and who Severus is with? In some cases it might be praise, in others it might be a kiss to his neck. It’s extremely situational so I don’t really have a straight answer for it. 

I can state that with @forgedinflame ( who is? the only active ship on the blog anyway ) all it takes is being picked up and set on the counter – that usually means being held and kissed for awhile, so you could say he’s been conditioned to respond positively 

¯_(ツ)_/¯

 

P- PERSISTENT- how persistent can they be about something

Severus is more stubborn than a Hungarian Horntail have you met this man? When he sets his heels in the only people who can make him budge are the literal gods of the magical world, Albus Dumbledore or Lord Voldemort. The two top bitches of the United Kingdom each have a firm grip on the shock collar remote and Severus knows how to play good puppy when he has to. Other than that, good luck setting him off his path once he sets his mind to something. 

E- EAGER- something they are eager to do in life

Sleep. Honestly this man just wants to rest and not wake up, and know that if he doesn’t – it’ll be okay. He just wants to go knowing he did what he was supposed to, canon wise. Main verse – well, I guess you could say he’s learning how to live, and find passion, find reason to continue. 

Hamartia

{ Unusual Word Headcanons }

Hamartia:   What is their worst character flaw that they themselves don’t recognize?

Playing judge – jury – executioner is not a viable moral ground to stand upon and yet —

Severus greatest flaw that he himself does not and cannot recognize is the fact that cathartic though it may have been, committing patricide was a horrific crime and not a fate Tobias deserved. 

Tobias was not a good father – that is a fact – but there was more to him and his actions than Severus ever came to understand – more than Severus has any desire to learn – and while these factors do not justify Tobias’ actions they do explain them. 

Severus cannot stomach the idea that his father might have been human. That the man might have had reasons for his actions would mean reflecting on himself in ways he cannot even begin to swallow yet. Killing Tobias opened the floodgates for Severus – it was the gateway crime to many more, and the coffins on his conscience are things he still wrestles with in some cases. 

To accept that what he did with Tobias – that what he did with Mia Maestro’s father – were unforgivable crimes in their own right is something he cannot accept. He sees himself as righteous in these murders ( and in truth, he views himself as a mercy killer, a force of justice and a man who acted in self defense when it comes to his war crimes, depending on the victim in question ) means accepting that he is, in some ways, worse than his father ever was.

To learn of the factors in play with his father would be even worse. His greatest fear is to be anything like the man – to learn how similar they truly are when it comes to protecting what truly matters to them – even if it means doing unforgivable things, even if it means being harsh, even if it means breaking yourself apart again and again would destroy him.

It would force him to acknowledge the deepest, darkest part of his heart – the part that still wonders why – and worse yet, yearns for a closure he stole from himself with the act.