if you are doing SS/HG - remember he's the poetic one (though he's private about it) not her.

Poetic does not mean sappy, either.

Sorry had not spotted this one, and am therefore abysmally (and unintentionally rudely) late in responding.

Poetic in this context means that I think Snape has a definite touch of poetry in his diction:

[snip]

Yes, poetic. Get that diction right - and you're close to getting him right. Miss it and miss out. If the diction is not right, I won't be reading. The diction is what pulled me in to his fan-harem anyway.

Lots of writers get it wrong. They make him sound vulgar. He most emphatically is not.

This is really interesting, considering it is now pretty well established that he is from a pretty lowerclass background. He may not speak vulgarly, but he does spit on the ground.

He must have spent a lot of time reading that roomful of books in Spinner's End to develop his love of and skill with the language.

Is there a romantic side to Snape?

From a strictly canon POV, probably not. From a more interpretive stance, though, you can probably extrapolate the things you do know about him into foreign areas.

Or, perhaps the real question is: what is 'romantic'?

Are you trying to cast him into a regency romance? I see a lot of fanfic where this is the case-- he's being shoved into a frock-coat, lord of the manor sort of role. He has the personality for it! I can envision him stalking down a broad staircase, the vein in his temple pulsing as he barks out orders to servants who cringe and cower. I can see him storming in late at night, hauling a valet out of bed to tend some wound he earned scuffling with a three-headed dog (or wait, was that Filch instead of a valet?)

There's a lot of potential for a woman to 'reform' him-- someone who can stand up to him and tell him in no uncertain terms that he is not the center of the universe and to quit pouting over it.

The trick? Let the female lead reform him instead of giving into the temptation to reform him yourself. In other words, don't succumb to the appeal of explaining away his snarkiness. Don't explain that the reason his hair is greasy is because he's a potions master and it has something to do with a flame-proof pomade he puts on it. Let the female lead berate him for his poor hygiene and dunk him in a bathtub, scrubbing his head while he sputters indignantly. Don't say that his attitude towards students is a result of his need to put up a good front for the Death Eaters. Just let him be a bastard and have the female lead in his face telling him that he can put his attitude back in the same box he got it out of.

So much Snape-fic is so busy making him a perfect and lovable man that it misses these types of opportunities. Cast him into a role he'd be comfortable in.

(and if you write such a fic, let me know, because it sounds like something I'd like to read)


Or is it the rogue you want?

A confirmed bachelor, a dangerous man, a chaotic hero type... After the model of the highwayman or hired assassin, he lives on the edge between good and evil, and walks a fine line. Every time he leaves, there's the distinct possibility that he may never return. The last thing he wants or needs is to be burdened with anyone who will slow his getaway or be a potential liability. He doesn't need to care enough about someone that he hands Voldemort a bargaining chip; he doesn't need to be looking after someone who is going to wander into danger unwittingly. He's hard, cold, and he's never found it difficult to make sacrifices. He knows when and how to save his own skin, but when an innocent woman with a talent for trouble manages to keep put herself in harm's way, we see his sense of decency emerge, and he adopts as his new duty the task of keeping her safe/seeing her out of danger. Somewhere along the way, he comes to admire her courage.


Or maybe you're looking for a softer hero. An intellect, attentive to the needs and desires of his lover.

An unfortunate (nose) circumstance has kept him from ever finding love, and when he finds a woman who is willing to look past that (ungodly appendage on his face) which he cannot control, he is loath to ever lose her. He is poetic, soft-spoken, intensely loyal. He would do anything to keep her, to hold onto this ray of hope and happiness that has pierced the dark prison of his soul. He is brooding and insecure, and extremely jealous. He's spent his whole life looking for a woman worthy of his attentions, and now that he has found her, he will make her the center of his universe.


In other words, start with the role you want him to play, and then look at how to bring it about, and keep his character in mind. Don't try to perfect him, and start with a plan. Unplanned fics are the fertile birthplaces of Mary Sue and Gary Stu.

It was a very lively place here. That things would get quiet after the last book was sort of expected. Unfortunately, soon after that the place got spammed really bad, so a lot of people left.

I'm glad that the archives are still going on as they were before. I don't think Ashwinder saw any dip, and Chaos (where I'm currently posting) never did have a crowd there, but it's still going on! Unfortunately, Illusions went down, and I have not been able to find the art works there elsewhere.

So from time to time we survivors and the moderators check here at the boards and see what's going on. Again, welcome to SH!