Likes and Dislikes, Extended Edition
Provided for the assistance of whatever poor sod gets me for the SSHG Exchange. Placed under a cut to spare the rest of you innocent darlings from my mad ramblings.
This is a bit unfocused. Apologies. Notes for Monk!Snape at the end, notes on Hermione and Snape as characters in the middle. Thanks for reading - and writing! - dear anonymous person!
I like quite a range of things, it turns out. Endings from joyfully happy to bittersweet or somewhat dark are fine; I care about the emotional journey the story takes me on and how believable that is. Angst is fine, as is non-slapstick humor. I like suspenseful action fics and introverted character studies; mysteries and hurt/comfort. Basically a good plot to follow. A suggestion of smut as a garnish can be nice if you want to write it, but it's not necessary. Sly innuendo is always good, however. ;) I adore Gryffindor/Slytherin scheming, especially if it involves Lucius (see "A Taxing Affair,” "The Beginner's Guide to Breeding Peacocks," or my gift from last year, “A Thickened Light”). I love Hogwarts-centered stories, but also adore Ministry- or DOM-centered stories. Headmaster Snape! Adventure, James-Bond, or magical-quandary type stories are great. Things with a lot of intrigue will always be welcome.
I really, really enjoy stories in which magic itself is a focus - magical theory, spell creation, the workings of complex rituals, use of Arithmancy, creation or brewing of potions (of course!), time-travel mechanics, Animagi, and so on. Research yay! Unspeakable Snape or Hermione is love. Mysticism and healing. Lycanthropy, vampire or creaturefic. Time-travel, AU, EWE, etc. Show me what you can do that's new and interesting: by extrapolating from canon to create new magic or explanations of existing magic; by changing a key feature or two of the setting and showing how the characters would react; by playing with all the possibilities JKR's world gives us. Also, a more nuanced take on "Dark magic" and the like instead of the simplistic moralizing clap-trap we get from JKR excites me - see Jodel's theories for instance. I love fics in which someone is mentored in the Dark Arts. I also like fics that take the idea of wizarding history seriously and explore it - how things got to be as they are. Exploration of the role/kind of religion in the WW would be wonderful in particular; British wizards overall seem nominally Christian but secular - what is their relationship like to the Church, and to other religious institutions? (Jodel's ideas about Squibs trafficking with demons as the source of anxiety could be interesting to look at.) What would wizarding theology look like, given that most competent wizards/witches could probably do a passable water-into-wine job? And the relations between wizarding and Muggle worlds/reality is of interest.
I like fic that explores the gaps in canon and presents events from alternate points of view. I also enjoy fics giving a shadow-reading of canon - for instance, considering the fact that we hear Voldemort's ideas only from his enemies, what differences could you postulate there that might make the 'villains' seem surprisingly sympathetic? And what other perspectives might there be in the WW, and why? Why is the WW as it is, beyond its corruption and utter disdain for passing on a genuine respect for or idea of history? I don't like Dumbledore, to put it mildly, so canon-reversal (evil or manipulative Dumbles, a right or not-evil Voldie) is a not-so-guilty treat. Feel free to do as you like with Dumbles short of making him a real kindly mentor figure.
I like gen and anything up to a hard R. Student/teacher relationships are great, as is mentor/apprenticeship fic, UST, and so on. (Please, though, don't fall for the mistaken idea of 'earning a Mastery' in a field - 'master' is just the British term for teacher!) Allusions to existing literature, theater, film, art, etc. are wonderful if you want to include them. Sarcasm and wit, romance, friendship, working together on complex projects (with bickering), super-spy Snape. Somewhat morally-ambiguous Snape is ok as long as he’s still sympathetic and not hugely manipulative. I like White Hat Snape and repentant!Snape quite a lot too. But giving me a complex, sympathetic and believable Voldemort-loyalist Snape? WIN! Especially if his love of magic and desire to explore Dark magic/spell hacking/etc. is part of his relationship to Voldemort.
Threesomes with Lucius are yay. Harry and Ron are fine as supporting characters; Draco, Poppy, Minerva, Andromeda and especially Luna are love too. If you want to go AU, why not bring in Regulus Black! Anything written as if it were an in-world history, article, report, etc. is great. Above all: fic that really grips you with how human the characters are and how much the author loves them.
On Hermione and Snape:
My Snape is complex, snarky, blunt and wounded but fundamentally caring beneath all the armor (he’ll just never admit it) - he’s defensive rather than sadistic, but good at throwing up a smokescreen of apparent intended cruelty to hide this fact. He's inventive and brilliant at those fields he cares about; dark but honest in his own spy’s way, and he values sticking to his promises. He's street-smart but also has an autodidact’s love for books. He can be awkward at times and has difficulty showing vulnerability until you've managed to get him to really trust you. He has issues with anger and guilt, difficulty with forgiveness (having not had many people model it to him growing up), and a tendency toward self-hatred and thinking he's not good enough, leading to him trying hard to be good enough or better than everyone. He's capable of leadership but often slides naturally into a lieutenant role, wanting something larger than himself to serve. In terms of the Seven Deadly Sins, he's a Wrath and Envy guy with a touch of Pride, not an Avarice, Gluttony, Lust or Sloth one so much. ;) He can be dominating or submissive depending on who he's interacting with; a bit of a geeky gothy Romantic and more emo than he'd ever admit - he just *wishes* he could be Spock. He can talk himself into doing quite a lot for the sake of a cause he's staked his faith on, but has a real conscience as well to nag him. My Hermione is strong and fairly sensible, bossy, compassionate, but now and then a bit ruthless and occasionally insecure/neurotic; very intelligent and capable of great creativity when push comes to shove, but analytical and with a tendency to look to books first. Also occasionally awkward but more likely to take the initiative socially than Severus. Both are deeply loyal and willing to sacrifice themselves when necessary, both know loneliness rather too well, and both have a love for magic itself, though not necessarily for the corruption of the WW.
Notes for Monk!Severus fic:
Hermione’s job can be in any dept. - DOM, Beasts and Beings, accounting, potions patents, whatever works! For Snape, I was inspired by the Carthusian monastery La Grande Chartreuse of “Into Great Silence,” but use another or invent one if you want. Snape can be a bit guilt-stricken over the war and trying to do good, or fed up with the WW's hypocrisy, wanting some peace and quiet for a few years, whatever, but exploring his motivations and how he adapts his monastic lifestyle to life in the WW is a plus. He can be more or less devout, but should at a minimum take his vows seriously. Can be simple (3-year) or solemn (lifetime) vows as required. Something of a quiet Mystic!Snape would be utterly fantastic.
But do keep him a bit snarky, please! E.g.: “I am a monk, Mr. Potter, not a saint.” (Smirks.) “I’m not dead enough to qualify in any case.” ;)
Really though, while I know it may seem an odd idea at first, I think Monk!Snape can work. Here's why.
He's naturally introverted and bookish, intellectually inclined but not afraid of hard work either. He also, it seems to me, tends to look for something larger than himself to attach himself to or serve - something great and worthy, whether it's the promise of revolution with the DEs, learning powerful magic, saving the Boy Who Lived, etc. And God's about the biggest kid on the block. He can be determined (read: a stubborn bastard) about whatever he puts his mind to doing, and do it as long as necessary. He would likely love the sort of complex arcane minutiae of theological speculation, but as his Potions and DADA speeches can attest, he also has a sense for the beauty of what he studies and a sensitivity to language. He can be incredibly self-sacrificing whether or not he particularly *likes* the people he's sacrificing for, and by the end of the war clearly has come to care very much about moral issues, doing the right thing, and so on (and to be frank, I think the idea of loving people from afar through prayer would be more appealing to him than the up close and often frustratingly personal manner of pastoral work). He can be quite devoted to his chosen icon/guide, even in the face of suffering and doubt. He has more wisdom than he or anyone else might suspect, and cares about imparting life lessons, though he can be inept in giving them lacking any sort of guidance and too often lets his anger at himself bleed over into this process. Given time and sufficient moral support to heal from the not inconsiderable number of wounds contributing to his defensiveness, I suspect he'd be surprisingly pleasant company for those able to laugh at themselves, and capable of showing real gentleness once his anger stops getting in the way. (He'll never lose the wit, though; sarcasm is his native language.)
Given what we can deduce of his parents and background (the names Eileen and Tobias, probably a northern mill town), some Catholicism in his background is not much of a stretch. There are multiple Catholic saints with the name Severus, including one whose feastday is January 11. He also seems to have a bit of a guilt and good-works mindset going on, IMHO, not to mention the whole steadfast-devotion-to-the-Pure-Lady thing. Stark unchanging wardrobe? Check! Capable of demanding self-discipline (think Occlumency, etc.)? Check! Up at all hours doing his duties? Check! He could handle monastic life.
This isn't to say that he'd instantly become saintly, of course, though the edge would be worn down a bit. I could for example see him as truly, quietly devout, but also playing it up a bit exaggeratedly for a few days at first in order to have a bit of fun with a boggling Harry and Ron, who wouldn't know what to make of this new hymn-singing Snape. (Hermione would laugh about it with him and agree that it's good for them, if not taken too far. ;P ) But generally, I think he'd like the change of pace, and the ability to devote himself to something simply 'right' (in his view) instead of having to choose the least of several evils as he had to as a spy. He'd appreciate a chance to get to see what the best of him is like in practice, instead of having to hide it and force himself to do awful things.
As far as the renouncing magic bit goes: I see that as less about any issue of the Church's stance on magic and more as part of his general lifestyle of renunciation, combined with the fact that LGC is a Muggle institution. It could be done otherwise however, if it's important to the story. I do think he loves and appreciates magic itself, though; it wouldn't be a meaningless thing for him to give up.
The Dementors bit was inspired by the “Fear Hath Torment” essay by swythyv and jodel’s proposition of a Ministry-Dementors deal in “Wizards and Magic.” Feel free to tweak the theory as needed - the crucial bit is really the link between Dementors as embodying fear and love as casting out fear. Perhaps the Ministry created them in response to some crisis, or they already existed and a deal with bad terms was struck by a Ministry in a tight spot. Recall that JKR has listed them as demonic in nature. Also, please note that since Patroni are expressions of positive feeling (especially love), Dementors cannot logically feed on positive emotion in the 'suck happy memories out' way - they clearly feed on negative emotion, and so have an ability to generate consistent negative moods in their victims so as to maximize feeding time (fic getting this backwards is a pet peeve of mine).
This is a bit unfocused. Apologies. Notes for Monk!Snape at the end, notes on Hermione and Snape as characters in the middle. Thanks for reading - and writing! - dear anonymous person!
I like quite a range of things, it turns out. Endings from joyfully happy to bittersweet or somewhat dark are fine; I care about the emotional journey the story takes me on and how believable that is. Angst is fine, as is non-slapstick humor. I like suspenseful action fics and introverted character studies; mysteries and hurt/comfort. Basically a good plot to follow. A suggestion of smut as a garnish can be nice if you want to write it, but it's not necessary. Sly innuendo is always good, however. ;) I adore Gryffindor/Slytherin scheming, especially if it involves Lucius (see "A Taxing Affair,” "The Beginner's Guide to Breeding Peacocks," or my gift from last year, “A Thickened Light”). I love Hogwarts-centered stories, but also adore Ministry- or DOM-centered stories. Headmaster Snape! Adventure, James-Bond, or magical-quandary type stories are great. Things with a lot of intrigue will always be welcome.
I really, really enjoy stories in which magic itself is a focus - magical theory, spell creation, the workings of complex rituals, use of Arithmancy, creation or brewing of potions (of course!), time-travel mechanics, Animagi, and so on. Research yay! Unspeakable Snape or Hermione is love. Mysticism and healing. Lycanthropy, vampire or creaturefic. Time-travel, AU, EWE, etc. Show me what you can do that's new and interesting: by extrapolating from canon to create new magic or explanations of existing magic; by changing a key feature or two of the setting and showing how the characters would react; by playing with all the possibilities JKR's world gives us. Also, a more nuanced take on "Dark magic" and the like instead of the simplistic moralizing clap-trap we get from JKR excites me - see Jodel's theories for instance. I love fics in which someone is mentored in the Dark Arts. I also like fics that take the idea of wizarding history seriously and explore it - how things got to be as they are. Exploration of the role/kind of religion in the WW would be wonderful in particular; British wizards overall seem nominally Christian but secular - what is their relationship like to the Church, and to other religious institutions? (Jodel's ideas about Squibs trafficking with demons as the source of anxiety could be interesting to look at.) What would wizarding theology look like, given that most competent wizards/witches could probably do a passable water-into-wine job? And the relations between wizarding and Muggle worlds/reality is of interest.
I like fic that explores the gaps in canon and presents events from alternate points of view. I also enjoy fics giving a shadow-reading of canon - for instance, considering the fact that we hear Voldemort's ideas only from his enemies, what differences could you postulate there that might make the 'villains' seem surprisingly sympathetic? And what other perspectives might there be in the WW, and why? Why is the WW as it is, beyond its corruption and utter disdain for passing on a genuine respect for or idea of history? I don't like Dumbledore, to put it mildly, so canon-reversal (evil or manipulative Dumbles, a right or not-evil Voldie) is a not-so-guilty treat. Feel free to do as you like with Dumbles short of making him a real kindly mentor figure.
I like gen and anything up to a hard R. Student/teacher relationships are great, as is mentor/apprenticeship fic, UST, and so on. (Please, though, don't fall for the mistaken idea of 'earning a Mastery' in a field - 'master' is just the British term for teacher!) Allusions to existing literature, theater, film, art, etc. are wonderful if you want to include them. Sarcasm and wit, romance, friendship, working together on complex projects (with bickering), super-spy Snape. Somewhat morally-ambiguous Snape is ok as long as he’s still sympathetic and not hugely manipulative. I like White Hat Snape and repentant!Snape quite a lot too. But giving me a complex, sympathetic and believable Voldemort-loyalist Snape? WIN! Especially if his love of magic and desire to explore Dark magic/spell hacking/etc. is part of his relationship to Voldemort.
Threesomes with Lucius are yay. Harry and Ron are fine as supporting characters; Draco, Poppy, Minerva, Andromeda and especially Luna are love too. If you want to go AU, why not bring in Regulus Black! Anything written as if it were an in-world history, article, report, etc. is great. Above all: fic that really grips you with how human the characters are and how much the author loves them.
On Hermione and Snape:
My Snape is complex, snarky, blunt and wounded but fundamentally caring beneath all the armor (he’ll just never admit it) - he’s defensive rather than sadistic, but good at throwing up a smokescreen of apparent intended cruelty to hide this fact. He's inventive and brilliant at those fields he cares about; dark but honest in his own spy’s way, and he values sticking to his promises. He's street-smart but also has an autodidact’s love for books. He can be awkward at times and has difficulty showing vulnerability until you've managed to get him to really trust you. He has issues with anger and guilt, difficulty with forgiveness (having not had many people model it to him growing up), and a tendency toward self-hatred and thinking he's not good enough, leading to him trying hard to be good enough or better than everyone. He's capable of leadership but often slides naturally into a lieutenant role, wanting something larger than himself to serve. In terms of the Seven Deadly Sins, he's a Wrath and Envy guy with a touch of Pride, not an Avarice, Gluttony, Lust or Sloth one so much. ;) He can be dominating or submissive depending on who he's interacting with; a bit of a geeky gothy Romantic and more emo than he'd ever admit - he just *wishes* he could be Spock. He can talk himself into doing quite a lot for the sake of a cause he's staked his faith on, but has a real conscience as well to nag him. My Hermione is strong and fairly sensible, bossy, compassionate, but now and then a bit ruthless and occasionally insecure/neurotic; very intelligent and capable of great creativity when push comes to shove, but analytical and with a tendency to look to books first. Also occasionally awkward but more likely to take the initiative socially than Severus. Both are deeply loyal and willing to sacrifice themselves when necessary, both know loneliness rather too well, and both have a love for magic itself, though not necessarily for the corruption of the WW.
Notes for Monk!Severus fic:
Hermione’s job can be in any dept. - DOM, Beasts and Beings, accounting, potions patents, whatever works! For Snape, I was inspired by the Carthusian monastery La Grande Chartreuse of “Into Great Silence,” but use another or invent one if you want. Snape can be a bit guilt-stricken over the war and trying to do good, or fed up with the WW's hypocrisy, wanting some peace and quiet for a few years, whatever, but exploring his motivations and how he adapts his monastic lifestyle to life in the WW is a plus. He can be more or less devout, but should at a minimum take his vows seriously. Can be simple (3-year) or solemn (lifetime) vows as required. Something of a quiet Mystic!Snape would be utterly fantastic.
But do keep him a bit snarky, please! E.g.: “I am a monk, Mr. Potter, not a saint.” (Smirks.) “I’m not dead enough to qualify in any case.” ;)
Really though, while I know it may seem an odd idea at first, I think Monk!Snape can work. Here's why.
He's naturally introverted and bookish, intellectually inclined but not afraid of hard work either. He also, it seems to me, tends to look for something larger than himself to attach himself to or serve - something great and worthy, whether it's the promise of revolution with the DEs, learning powerful magic, saving the Boy Who Lived, etc. And God's about the biggest kid on the block. He can be determined (read: a stubborn bastard) about whatever he puts his mind to doing, and do it as long as necessary. He would likely love the sort of complex arcane minutiae of theological speculation, but as his Potions and DADA speeches can attest, he also has a sense for the beauty of what he studies and a sensitivity to language. He can be incredibly self-sacrificing whether or not he particularly *likes* the people he's sacrificing for, and by the end of the war clearly has come to care very much about moral issues, doing the right thing, and so on (and to be frank, I think the idea of loving people from afar through prayer would be more appealing to him than the up close and often frustratingly personal manner of pastoral work). He can be quite devoted to his chosen icon/guide, even in the face of suffering and doubt. He has more wisdom than he or anyone else might suspect, and cares about imparting life lessons, though he can be inept in giving them lacking any sort of guidance and too often lets his anger at himself bleed over into this process. Given time and sufficient moral support to heal from the not inconsiderable number of wounds contributing to his defensiveness, I suspect he'd be surprisingly pleasant company for those able to laugh at themselves, and capable of showing real gentleness once his anger stops getting in the way. (He'll never lose the wit, though; sarcasm is his native language.)
Given what we can deduce of his parents and background (the names Eileen and Tobias, probably a northern mill town), some Catholicism in his background is not much of a stretch. There are multiple Catholic saints with the name Severus, including one whose feastday is January 11. He also seems to have a bit of a guilt and good-works mindset going on, IMHO, not to mention the whole steadfast-devotion-to-the-Pure-Lady thing. Stark unchanging wardrobe? Check! Capable of demanding self-discipline (think Occlumency, etc.)? Check! Up at all hours doing his duties? Check! He could handle monastic life.
This isn't to say that he'd instantly become saintly, of course, though the edge would be worn down a bit. I could for example see him as truly, quietly devout, but also playing it up a bit exaggeratedly for a few days at first in order to have a bit of fun with a boggling Harry and Ron, who wouldn't know what to make of this new hymn-singing Snape. (Hermione would laugh about it with him and agree that it's good for them, if not taken too far. ;P ) But generally, I think he'd like the change of pace, and the ability to devote himself to something simply 'right' (in his view) instead of having to choose the least of several evils as he had to as a spy. He'd appreciate a chance to get to see what the best of him is like in practice, instead of having to hide it and force himself to do awful things.
As far as the renouncing magic bit goes: I see that as less about any issue of the Church's stance on magic and more as part of his general lifestyle of renunciation, combined with the fact that LGC is a Muggle institution. It could be done otherwise however, if it's important to the story. I do think he loves and appreciates magic itself, though; it wouldn't be a meaningless thing for him to give up.
The Dementors bit was inspired by the “Fear Hath Torment” essay by swythyv and jodel’s proposition of a Ministry-Dementors deal in “Wizards and Magic.” Feel free to tweak the theory as needed - the crucial bit is really the link between Dementors as embodying fear and love as casting out fear. Perhaps the Ministry created them in response to some crisis, or they already existed and a deal with bad terms was struck by a Ministry in a tight spot. Recall that JKR has listed them as demonic in nature. Also, please note that since Patroni are expressions of positive feeling (especially love), Dementors cannot logically feed on positive emotion in the 'suck happy memories out' way - they clearly feed on negative emotion, and so have an ability to generate consistent negative moods in their victims so as to maximize feeding time (fic getting this backwards is a pet peeve of mine).