A Fine Line: Severus Snape/Harry Potter

[atrata.livejournal.com]

Title: A Fine Line
Pairing: Severus Snape/Harry Potter
Fandom: Harry Potter
Spoilers: Through Order of the Phoenix
Notes: Page numbers refer to U.S. paperbacks.
Disclaimer: Snape/Harry is a popular pairing, and it's one people ship for very different reasons. I think this is a relatively comprehensive view of those reasons, but it's inevitable that I haven't hit on everything. People may have other reasons, or may disagree with some of what I say here. I think that's brilliant and lovely and I'd love to hear your thoughts, particularly if they're different than mine. Please. Call me out.
Acknowledgements: Piles of thanks to my f-list for the beta, to the Snape/Harry community for their suggestions and comments and entire existence, aubrem for holding my hand, cordelia_v for assorted assistance and comments and critique, and individum for helpful tips. Also, I'm crap at titles, so apologies on that.
ETA 2008: Obviously, a lot has changed since I wrote this essay. I'm not going to update the meta, but I have updated the links. Except I did it over here. Most of the links in this post are currently broken; I'm not sure when I'll get around to fixing them.
---
Introduction
Snape/Harry is not an easy pairing, and I've spent a very long time trying to put my thoughts about it into something that vaguely resembles coherency. But I'm having a hard time pinpointing why I love this pairing (and let it be stated for the record that I love this pairing like I love few other things), let alone why anyone else might.

Because, let's face it. This pairing is insane. We've all read the books. Snape and Harry hate each other, or very nearly. There's a 20-year age difference, and a pretty serious power difference: Snape is Harry's teacher and is a more powerful wizard. They have a long history of mutual distrust, dislike and suspicion that pre-dates Harry by quite a few years. Snape is a nasty piece of work, bitter and petty and cruel; Harry is a teen-ager in all his angsty, self-centered, capslock glory.

And yet.

When they come together—even in canon—the chemistry is palpable. Sparks fly. They're a train wreck, these two, and I love me a train wreck. I particularly love avoidable train wrecks, and if Snape and Harry could take just a few minutes to stop hating each other, they might realize they have an awful lot in common.

Like what?

1. The background. Harry was certainly neglected by the Dursleys; fandom seems divided on the issue of abuse. I'm not going to go there. Snape's background doesn't seem much happier—during the Occlumency lessons of OotP, we get glimpses of "a hook-nosed man shouting at a cowering woman, while a small dark-haired boy cried in the corner" (OotP 591). Harry was bullied in primary school by Dudley; we know Snape was bullied mercilessly at Hogwarts by Harry's father and his friends. They're both outcasts of a sort: Snape's a loner (although I don't believe he's hated by, say, the other Order members, he doesn't socialize with them), and Harry's friends (with the possible exception of Hermione) tend to think of him more as a celebrity than a peer. Ron in particular is susceptible to this.
   
   They have similar senses of humor—dark, sarcastic, and largely focused on making fun of other people. (Look at the way Harry talks to Dudley, for instance. Harry's much more mild than Snape is, but he hasn't had the years of practice.) They even have a certain physical similarity: "Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age" (PS/SS 20); "Snape-the-teenager had a stringy, pallid look about him, like a plant kept in the dark" (OotP 640). Perhaps most importantly, they've both been marked by Voldemort. Their identities (both internal and external) are very wrapped up in those marks—Harry's scar and Snape's Dark Mark. I can't help but feel that Snape is something of a warning for Harry: Snape is what Harry could become if he's not careful.
   
   
2. The war. What the hell are these two going to do when Voldemort is defeated? Harry's entire life has been shaped by Voldemort; it's because of Voldemort that he was raised the way he was, and since entering the wizarding world, he's been fighting him or training to fight him. That's a huge burden to put on one so young, and it's one that seems largely ignored or misunderstood by most of the adults in Harry's life. One of the only people in a position to understand is Snape, whose life has been similarly shaped by Voldemort. We don't know why he became a Death Eater, but there's no doubt he did so at a fairly young age (probably 17 or 18), and that at some point, he realized he'd made a mistake. He's spent the rest of his life trying to atone, and once it's over, he's going to be at something of a loss.
   
   Not to mention the fact that, assuming both of them survive the war, they're going to be even more messed up than they are now. Harry will have seen and done some terrible things, and it's pretty safe to assume that Snape already has. It's very easy to imagine the two of them turning to one another for understanding they aren't able to find elsewhere.
   
   
3. The manipulation. Snape's a spy. Harry's a weapon. Both of them are pawns in a war that is really Dumbledore's and Voldemort's, and neither of them have much say in ... well, anything. That has to get old, and once again, they can pretty much only turn to one another for understanding. They need something to control for themselves, and a relationship—whatever form it may take—is one thing that's theirs. This plays out in fic in several ways, anything from a manipulative Dumbledore forcing them to cooperate with them going along grudgingly; to the two of them deciding to thumb their noses at their handlers by having a lot of sex.
   
   
4. The bond. Dumbledore says it: "When one wizard saves another wizard's life it creates a certain bond between them" (PoA 427). Snape's a nasty bastard, yes, but he saves Harry time and again. He owes a life debt to Harry's father, and he saves Harry's life outright during the Quidditch match in PS/SS. But after that, his debt is paid—and he spends the rest of the books watching Harry's back anyway. It's one thing to save the life of your best friend. It's another entirely to save the life of someone you can't stand just because it's the right thing to do. Harry's got to figure that out eventually.

So, okay. There's lots of potential for the two of them to find common ground—assuming that's what you're looking for. There are certainly fics where they never manage to find it. And that's one of the things I love most about this pairing: There's something for everyone. There's light-hearted romance, there's pain, pain, pain, and there's everything in between.

Personally, I'm here for the painpainpain—and the power, which is really the heart of the ship. Snape's got it all when Harry's at school—he's older, in a position of authority, and is the stronger wizard. But Harry has raw magical power in spades, and the second he leaves school, everything changes. He's an old money celebrity with huge status in the wizarding world. He was marked as the Dark Lord's equal and he's probably got more raw power than Dumbledore, even if he can't quite manage to control it or tap into it just yet. Snape has to know that. And Snape can never hope to achieve the kind of wealth and power and status that Harry was born to. It's my read that Snape is attracted to that power but resents the hell out of it all the same. He has, after all, spent his life serving powerful wizards, and Harry's the most powerful one yet. And that, to me, is a very interesting dynamic to explore; the balance of power shifts and changes with the characters and their circumstances, and is rife with possibilities.

One of which is, of course, abuse. This pairing certainly has a dark side, and can be very controversial. Some people (and here I include myself) are here for the forbidden fruit, the darkness, even—dare I say it?—the chan. But, as aubrem points out here, while Snape/Harry can be—and often is—about abuse of power, it's almost never about abuse of trust, because there isn't any. Harry just does not trust Snape, full stop. That's an important distinction to make, and it can help make the pairing more palatable for people bothered by the somewhat dodgy ethics involved in cross-gen pairings. But this pairing is not about hearts and flowers and teddy bears. Sometimes it's not even about love.

Occasionally it's about redemption. I'm not of the opinion that Snape needs any redeeming, but I know others disagree. There is certainly a lot of redemption-themed fic, helped along by the dichotomies JKR has set up: dark and light, corruption and purity, traitor and betrayed. Again, these are all interesting themes to explore, full of possibilities, and a lot of excellent fic does just that.

That said. Some people are just not interested in reading about teachers shagging their students, regardless of whether we're talking about chan. Even plenty of Snape/Harry shippers aren't at all interested in the teacher/student aspect, and they've built up several genres full of great stories featuring an adult Harry. These still have to contend with the age difference, but let's face it—it's not really the years that matter, but the maturity. And Snape? Not so mature, certainly not when it comes to Harry. The years of not getting along are more of an issue here, but aged-up Harrys (Harries?) tend to be mature, tolerant and easy-going enough to handle Severus. These authors have some play in their characterizations of Harry; canon Snape is an adult and can be assumed to be set in his ways. Harry, on the other hand, is young and has a lot of growing up yet to go. Few of us are the same person at 26 we were at 16 (thank god).

With all that in the background, I'd like to examine some common ways fic writers manage to bring these two together. I haven't tried to make a comprehensive list of all the classic Snape/Harry stories; this is, rather, a sampling of good stories with which I hope to suck more people into this pairing. There is an expanded guide posted here, and you can check out my original post asking for suggestions. I haven't listed anything I haven't read, and I haven't put full warnings on everything, although it should be pretty clear what you're getting into by the category the story's in. Please, when you get there, read the full headers to make sure you're interested in the story. Works in progress are not listed.

Fic: At Hogwarts
The vast majority of Snape/Harry stories take place while Harry's at school. I believe it's because this is when the dynamic is at its most interesting and most volatile.

• The tutor. Harry goes (or is forced to go) to Snape for private lessons in DADA/Occlumency/killing Dark Lords. They reach an understanding. In these, Harry is usually between 15 and 18; I don't consider this chan, but others might. This is one of my favorite genres because of the shifting of power—in most, the student surpasses the teacher, and angst ensues. Crucius by Delores Crane; Scratch by Aucta Sinistra; Mind Games by Arsenic.
  
• Abuse of power. Exactly that. Snape abuses his power. These stories are often chan, often non-con (certainly dub-con), and often PWPs. They're also often very good. Dragon-Blind by Thamiris; The Life Debt by Rushlight; Idle Hands by Nimori; A Man of Habit by Switchknife
  
• Miscellaneous. Truth by thisveryinstant; Twelve by Isis; A Choriambic Progression by Mairead Triste and Aristide; Pale Green by Torch; Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme by Femme; Aqua Fresca by Stella Hobbit
  
• The potions accident. Harry sneaks into the potions lab to make some mischief and something goes wrong. Alternately, something goes wrong in class. Sanguis Vinculum by Meri Oddities; The Familiar by Resonant
  
• The classics. The Snape/Harry novels & series that everyone's heard of. They take place at Hogwarts, but don't fit neatly into any of my little categories. The Tea Series by Telanu [not a direct link]; the Civil War-verse by Sushi; If You Are Prepared by Cybele; Primer to the Dark Arts by Icarus (also fits in the 'tutor' category).

Fic: Post-war
There's a huge variety of post-war fic, probably because there are so many options to play with. Who won the war? Did Harry succumb to the dark? What kind of baggage is he going to have? In most, Harry is a bit lost, and there's almost always some underlying angst. Still, this is probably where you're going to find the most light-hearted stories in the ship. (Unless, of course, Voldemort wins. In which case this is where you're going to find some of the darkest fics in the ship. Most of those are multi-pairing, though, and not listed here.)

• DADA Harry. After defeating Voldemort, Harry returns to Hogwarts to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. These stories tend to feature an adult Harry who's on more of an equal footing with Snape. They're not usually about the power dynamic, because both men are teachers. For Services Rendered by Minx; The Same Coin by Meri Oddities; A Nick in Time and Growing Pains by Tiranog
  
• General post-war Harry. The Liar and the Auror by Trismegistus; The Conduits of Sorcery by Penumbra; Clipped Wings by Theresa Ann Wymer; Fidelius and Secret-Keeper by Tradescant
  
• Needs-a-favor Harry. These usually go like this: Harry, in his exciting post-war adventures, is hit with some kind of curse that's going to kill him. The cure is a potion only Snape can brew, and of course it takes months, during which they reach an understanding. The Medean Curse by Lydia Lovestruck; Quid Pro Quo by Aucta Sinistra
  
• Slave Harry. Voldemort won, and Harry's a slave. Obviously dark, usually non-con. A Spell to Turn Tigers to Butter by Amanuensis; Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent by Cluegirl
  
• Dark Harry. Harry won the war but became the new Dark Lord in the process. And Severus Snape Goes To… by Starkindler.

Fic: Somewhere in between

• The warfic. Warfics are usually set after Harry leaves Hogwarts, but not always. They usually set up Harry and Severus as partners, although sometimes they have to go into hiding together. These are often transitional stories, where Harry is only starting to come into his power and ends up turning to Snape to guide him. Returns of the Day, Within the Pale and Noons of Dryness [series] by Ellen Fremedon; And Tell Me Who is Victor by Switchknife; So Lonely Without Me by Caligryphy; Down, You Lie Down Too by Resonant; In Between Days by Atrata
  
• The bond/marriage/courtship fic. Harry and Snape are compelled, forced, thrown accidentally, or asked very nicely to enter into some sort of arrangement that will bond them for life. Sometimes it's a spell gone wrong, sometimes Dumbledore talks them into it, sometimes it's necessary to protect one or the other from Voldemort. These stories are often long and involved, focusing on the negotiations and adaptations the two of them have to make in order for the relationship to work. Sometimes they take place while Harry's a student, sometimes they don't. The Courtship of Harry Potter and A Convenient Marriage by Diana Williams; Dumbledore's Folly by Dementor Delta; Courtship Rituals by Meri Oddities

Fic: Something completely different

• Weirdness. Stories that don't go anywhere else. Read the headers when you get there. The Impossible (Fear) by Libertine; What He Wants by Debchan; Closing Time by Delores Crane; Knockturn in the Rain by Dayse; Parseltongue-tied by Dementor Delta; Contemporary Magical Innovations, by H. Granger by Kai
  
• MPreg. A Life More Ordinary by Lexin; A Necessary Evil by Kai.
  
• Severitus. This is the name for AU fics in which Severus turns out to be Harry's father. I've chosen to include them for those of you interested in the dynamic between the characters but not necessarily the sex; many Snape/Harry shippers I know will read Severitus stories for the same reason: these two have such a great dynamic, we'll take it any way we can get it. Blood Magic by Gateway Girl. There's a complete list here.

Archives

• Detention, a huge Snape/Harry archive, with over 600 stories and 100 pieces of art. [In the interests of full disclosure, I'm one of the Detention mods.] It took over from Walking the Plank late last year. Detention is mostly open; stories are checked for grammar and spelling and whatnot but not turned away on the basis of 'quality.'
  
• After Class, a smaller Snape/Harry archive (and mailing list). Again, After Class is a mostly open archive.
  
• From Dusk Till Dawn, the Harry/Snape Fuh-Q-Fest. The quality can be a bit dodgy at times, but this FQF has been running since the fall of 2002. Almost 500 stories have been written for the various waves (wave eight just finished) and many of them—particularly the early stories—are not archived elsewhere. You'll have to join the yahoo group to get the password.
  
• Primus Inter Pares. A Snape/Harry post-war (i.e., futurefic) archive. Divides stories into Quidditch!Harry, Auror!Harry and Professor!Harry.
  
• Snape/Harry is a popular pairing, and there is A LOT of fic out there. Check the Potter Slash Archive [closed] and Ink Stained Fingers [open] for stories that aren't on Detention or After Class. Note that both of those archives are password protected.

Recs
As I've mentioned, there is a HUGE amount of Snape/Harry out there, and navigating it can be hard. Any recs list I compile would be ridiculously incomplete, so I've listed some reccers who can fill in the blanks.

• switchknife. I probably don't need to point anyone at Switchknife's Slash Recommendations, but I'm going to do it anyway. It was the first recs page I found, and I read every Snape/Harry story recommended there in something like a week. Switch is probably the reccer with taste most similar to my own: if you're looking for dark and angsty, this is the place for you. The website hasn't been updated in a while, so be sure to check Switch's LJ for more [relatively] recent recs. Many of the links are broken but the stories are easy enough to find: anything linked to Walking the Plank is now on Detention, and for stories on Ink Stained Fingers, you'll have to use the mirror site to find them.
  
• ptyx. Ptyx's SS/HP recs are well worth checking out, too. As this is a pretty angsty ship, there are plenty of angst recs, but she does tend to stay away from violence and non-con.
  
• snarry_reader. This large recs list is fairly new and updated regularly; it's compiled by Snape/Harry fanatics aubrem, cordelia_v and gaycrow. The three of them have widely differing taste in fic, and so the list has a little bit of everything, from light-hearted romance to heavy, gut-wrenching angst. There's even a handy sidebar to help you find the sort of stories you're looking for.
  
• Others who maintain recs pages with a fair bit of Snape/Harry are amanuensis1 (here), kaiz (here), isiscolo (here) and saturn92103 here)
  
• crack_broom's Snape/Harry recs and hp_flashback's recs are also good places to look if you're just diving into the pairing.

Art
I've picked out one piece by artists I love, and then supplied links to their websites and LJs. Otherwise this list would be very long indeed. This list has a little bit of everything -- romantic, dark, humorous, sexy, etc. Most are worksafe but I've marked the ones that aren't.

• Snape Goes GRRRRR! by yukipon. More by Yukipon.
  
• Subtle Snarry by saridout. More by Saridout.
  
• Night Watchers by kaptainsnot. More by Kaptainsnot.
  
• The Hollow Men by snitchhitter. DeviantArt gallery.
  
• Untitled by glockgal. More at her comm, glockart, and her site.
  
• Addicted (NOT WORKSAFE) by lizardspots. More by Lizard.
  
• Untitled by linnpuzzle. More by Linnpuzzle.
  
• Snatman and Hobin; Lost in Love by the_gwyllion. Gwyllion's work can be found in her DeviantArt gallery or gwyll_junk.
  
• Detention Served (OMG NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT WORKSAFE. CHAN.) by ponderosa121. More by Ponderosa.
  
• Untitled by nix___. More here, but not much Snape/Harry.
  
• Little Harry Has Issues by spaggel. DeviantArt gallery, although there's not much Snape/Harry there.
  
• CW-verse sketch by ac1d6urn. [No site that I could find; Snape/Harry art is here.]
  
• The Toy sketches, by nimori. More by Nimori (she also writes).

Other stuff

• sshp_prophet. Snape/Harry ship newsletter. Published several times per week.
  
• snape_potter. Open, active community with fic, art, icons, fic searches and assorted Snape/Harry-related announcements.
  
• Lada Hitam's lists of complete HP/SS stories.
  
• painless_j. I wasn't sure whether to put her here or under recs, but she's really an all-round resource for all things Snape/Harry. Her SS/HP recs are here [other HP recs here], and her themed lists are well-known and extremely useful.
  
• Snape/Harry thoughts by various people [link to my memories].
  
• Snape essays by various people [link to my memories].
  
• The expanded version of the SS/HP fandom guide.

Comments

[morganmalfoy.livejournal.com]

I've been in and out of the HP fandom for years now, and I just recently started reading Harry/Severus stories, including many of the ones you've mentioned. I tend to go opposite of your taste--I like happy endings over angst--and in my search for happy endings with a rather dark ship, I think you missed one part of the snarry dynamic. While the power balance is tipped in Severus' favor, I think a good fic has to have some way to great a power tension, something that gives Harry a separate but equal power over Severus, and many authors do this by giving Harry emotional openess creating a dynamic wherein Severus has physical magical power, but Harry has a more subtle psychological power over Severus. I think Tira Nog's 'A Nick in Time' explores this specifically by creating a relationship where Severus relies upon intelligence and Harry upon emotions. That changes somewhat in 'Growing Pains' as Severus repeatedly remarks upon Harry's casual use of powers most wizards can't comprehend, but I think it serves my point.

Re-reading OOTP with a keener eye on this relationship, I also have to say the portrayal of Harry as firmly idealistic and optimistic about their relationship may not have a canonical base, but I kind of like that characterization anyway.

Enough ranting though. I really liked the divisions you created otherwise, and thought this was very well thought out.

-Morgan

[atrata.livejournal.com]

I think a good fic has to have some way to great a power tension, something that gives Harry a separate but equal power over Severus

That's a good point. I don't particularly care for doormat!Harry. The snarry_reader did an interview with Telanu (here (http://www.livejournal.com/users/snarry_reader/29283.html)) where she discusses the way she handles it in the Tea Series:

[Harry's] picked up pretty well on the fact that Snape’s interested in keeping their “thing” going, just like Harry is. So Harry lays down a few ground rules and refuses to take any of Snape’s shit. He’s inexperienced, but he has a little native cunning, for sure. *g* And Snape goes along with it, not because he’s in any way fair-minded or non-manipulative, but because he wants Harry and will do what it takes to keep him. As you mentioned, he frequently has a hard time controlling himself, and he’d definitely abuse his power if Harry let him (viz. the way he attacked Cho and the Weasleys), but Harry doesn’t let him.

That’s mostly an emotional sort of power. As far as practical power goes, they both know that Harry can get Snape sacked if he wants, while pretty much getting off scot-free himself.

I think a lot of other authors go that way as well, and it's a good way to handle it. And I also agree that I like the characterization of Harry as being optimistic and idealistic, although it may be more a practicality than anything else. They can't very well BOTH be pessimistic -- they'd never get anywhere. *g*

But anyway. Thanks muchly for your comments. :)

[aello-lime.livejournal.com]

This is so perfect (and your icon's adorable ; )

[atrata.livejournal.com]

Eeee, thanks! :D (And nimori made the icon.)

[ergo-ego.livejournal.com]

Yeah, this is brilliant. You've done a good job addressing the many facets of this pairing, something I NEVER would have attempted to do. So much kudos to you. (And yeah, your icon is huggable like whoa.)

[atrata.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :D

Bravo

[gaycrow.livejournal.com]

A very well thought out and well written essay. You've obviously gone to enormous lengths to cover all the reasons why weird Snarry obsessives like me love this pairing.

I've added it to the Links on my Journal page, and will re-visit frequently.

Thank you!

Re: Bravo

[atrata.livejournal.com]

Aw, thanks! You snarry_reader types did make my job easier. :)

[ajora.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for covering just why I like the pairing, and in such a well-written manner. I've been at a loss to explain it to my friends, but now I can point them here. Yay! So, thanks again.

[atrata.livejournal.com]

Your icon is great. :D

And, thanks! I'm glad to be of service. *g*

[zoepaleologa.livejournal.com]

Nice summary, especially for someone like me who is only just beginning to dabble her toes into this pairing (which I love when done well).

Added to memories.

[atrata.livejournal.com]

I know I already thanked you in the other post, but I feel lame responding to all the essay comments except yours. So, thanks again. *g* I'm glad you liked it.

[djin7.livejournal.com]

Brava! I think you did a great job of this. As I sail the SS Snarry, I am right there with you.
Thanks
*puts in memories*
Cheers!

[atrata.livejournal.com]

Thanks! And thanks also for your comments earlier. They were much appreciated.

[stellahobbit.livejournal.com]

Great work on both posts. You're much more articulate than I could ever be about Harry and Snape together. I don't know - they just work for me *shrugs*

[atrata.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's mostly how I feel. People ask me to explain myself, and I just open and close my mouth a lot and then say something like, "but it's OBVIOUS!" So I'm glad I managed to write something down that actually resembles an explanation. :)

[trekkiegrrrl.livejournal.com]

Hmm... I do not agree that it's a hard pairing really. But it all comes down to personal preferences and personal expiriences I guess. To me, Snarry is one of the most .. uhm.. normal.. ships in the HP fandom. I do crave the age difference for a ship to work for me I guess. (ok I like Snupin too so I'm not ALL that consistent)

Personally I prefer the At Hogwarts type of fics, because, as you said, there's all th dynamics going on AND the more or less forbidden aspect of the student/teacher aspect which I guess appeals greatly to me. I do like Post War fics too, as long as Harry isn't TOO old (though of course the age difference will always be the same I somewhat prefer Snape not older than in his 40'ies)

I've of course read some AU's and Other types of stories and while I like them a lot I keep returning to the ones I know and love, and those are generally of the At Hogwarts type. (Funny really that my own Snarry (http://trekkiegrrrl.dk/shellshock.htm) is set in a Post Hogwarts setting. But the storyline called for it.)

You have a lot of VERY good points here! And a lot of LOVELY links! Thanks!

[atrata.livejournal.com]

To me, Snarry is one of the most .. uhm.. normal.. ships in the HP fandom.

Well, it's certainly one of the most popular. But it can be difficult to explain to people who don't share your kinks on a basic level. That's a little of what I meant when I said it was a hard pairing.

But anyway, thank you for your comments. I'm glad you liked the essay. :)

Hey, cool essay. I understand the appeal

[jazzypom.livejournal.com]

now. After I we spoke in your journal, I went looking for some 'old skule' Snarry, and yeah. I really understand the appeal.

Thanks for arguing your ship so eloquently!

Re: Hey, cool essay. I understand the appeal

[atrata.livejournal.com]

Hooray! And I'm totally lame for not thanking you, too; your comments about why you DON'T buy the pairing (didn't?) were very helpful. I'm so close to this pairing, and it seems so obvious to me, that I forget not everyone's the same way. *g*

[ptyx.livejournal.com]

Well done, and Long Live Snarry!

[atrata.livejournal.com]

thanks! :D

[makesomelove.livejournal.com]

I just... love you, omg. Thank you so much for beautifully (and rather accurately!) articulating at the very least my person thoughts and feelings on Snape/Harry; I have trouble with that meself. I'll be using this for my evil plots to convert everyone to Snarry, erm. >_>

Everything, especially the intro and the things they have in common, is so, so perfect. I REALLY SUPER MEGA want to thank you for giving a nod to So Lonely Without Me by Caligryphy, as that is my absolute favorite fic OF ALL TIME. :D

[atrata.livejournal.com]

Aw, thanks! I'm very glad the essay works for you, too, and it's not just that crack I smoked last week. *g*

[julia-fractal.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much for this insightful and thorough essay! *Adds to memories* I've always enjoyed reading Snape/Harry, since this pairing attracts a lot of great writers. But writing this pairing is always insanely difficult for me, so your "common grounds" section was extremely helpful!

[atrata.livejournal.com]

Hooray! I'm glad you found it helpful. You're right that this pairing attracts some excellent writers -- I think that's another thing that draws people here. Maybe I'm biased (okay, I'm totally biased), but for my money, we've got some of the best fic in the fandom.

[bobrhyn.livejournal.com]

This is one fabulous essay! Wonderful and thorough, with lots of great recs. I'm definitely adding it to memories (as I must limit myself to one novel-length fic for every few days, lest my head explode with angst), and will proceed to pimp/reference it at great length. Bravo!

[atrata.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

And I second the notion to not devour all the novels too quickly. Much explodyness. *nods*

[jaebi-lit.livejournal.com]

A very thoughtful and interesting ship essay. You really got the highlights and the important parts of their relationship down, and I like your art recs and how the fic recs were organised (btw, I've been looking for "The Courtship of Harry Potter" for a while, and was so happy to see it listed).

[atrata.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[passinggo.livejournal.com]

Oh, great essay, especially for people like me who've been intrigued by the ship but not sure where to go with it. Will be adding to memories and checking out those links. Thanks! :D

[atrata.livejournal.com]

especially for people like me who've been intrigued by the ship but not sure where to go with it.

Ah, that's what I like to hear. I'm glad I could be of service. :D

[saturn92103.livejournal.com]

So well done. I've been waiting to see the results of a Harry/Snape essay and this does not disappoint. As a long time Harry/Snape devotee, I agree with your comment about the chemistry...they simply have to realize it for what it is or has the potential to be. I'm also always intrigued by Snape's ongoing entaglement with powerful wizards and expect his relationship with Harry to be just as powerful & complicated as those with Dumbledore and Voldemort. Also a great selection of fic recs for the newly initiated to check out as well as a handful that I haven't read. Thanks for putting so much thought into this!

[atrata.livejournal.com]

Eee, I'm glad you liked it! It's rare for me to break out the meta, so I'm very glad this seems to be going over pretty well with people. [I'm sure there are people with whom it's not, but I'm ignoring them until they say something. *g*] Thanks again!

[marksykins.livejournal.com]

Ah, this makes me happy. I've been getting back into the pairing as of late because I have a couple of fics to write for them, and your view of them is a lot like mine. I was shocked by a lot of the 'oh, the ship is dead' sentiment post-OotP because they're barely believable to me pre-Ootp. They ARE so much alike and that's what makes it appealing.

That, and I need at least one angsty pairing, don't I?

[atrata.livejournal.com]

I have a couple of fics to write for them

YAY! I had a mini-crisis after posting this, because I was like, "Okay! That's it, then. I have said what I needed to say, and I've read all the fic there is, and now I am LOST and DEPRESSED and OHGODWHATAMIGOINGTODO?!"

Ahem. Fortunately, I am over it now. And you have fics to write! So, yay!

And I'm with you on the post-OotP thing. It was re-reading OotP that made me get into this pairing in the first place. It just kind of hit me in the middle that god, it could WORK with these two and it would be so terrible and beautiful.

[badfeeling.livejournal.com]

You=awesome for writing this. I started reading HP fanfiction not really sure where to begin. Then I sort of moved into Draco/Harry ships because their dynamic reminded me a bit of Naruto/Sasuke from Naruto but I was never really interested in it, or my next ship Sirius/Harry. My sister thinks I'm a total freak for liking the pairing Snape/Harry. I can never really pinpoint why exactly I am so obsessed with the ship and I think you covered it clearly. ~:3 Much love! < 3 -adds to memories-

[atrata.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I had a brief dalliance with H/D when I first started reading fic, and I thought it was all right, but it didn't really do it for me. I didn't love it. But Snape/Harry? So much obsession love. So, yay! I'm glad my love is translating well for other people.

[mirrorskippy.livejournal.com]

Not being into Snarry at all, I always had a hard time understanding the appeal. This was a really well-written explanation about what draws people to the pairing. I'm still horribly squicked by it, but I think that's just because I don't want to see Snape in any sort of sexual light. You did a wonderful job explaining to the rest of us :)

[atrata.livejournal.com]

Heh. Well, yes. There certainly is that objection to any Snape pairing, and there's not much anyone can say to get around it. I think one of the first things anyone said to me when I said OMG SNAPE/HARRY OBVIOUSLY OMG was, "Um. Snape? Is GREASY. And GROSS. And EW." I just ... I don't know. We see him through Harry's eyes, and Harry is not so objective. So I'm inclined to cut Snape a little bit of slack on account of the voice and the eyes and the hands and the way he moves.

And then there are the people who just don't like Snape, full stop, no matter what he looks like. And I get that, sort of -- the man IS an utter, utter sonofabitch. No getting around it, IMO. But I've loved some utter assholes in my life, so why not Snape?

But anyway. I'm glad you read and liked my essay, appeal or no. :D

[smaragdgrun.livejournal.com]

Excellent, excellent analysis! I agreed with every word. Of course, I wanted perhaps 5 times more detail, story types, and trends analysis... but you took it right to the most important things. Thanks!!

[atrata.livejournal.com]

Heh. Yeah, there are a lot of places it could be beefed up, but I didn't want to go tootoo crazy. *g* Glad you liked it!

[scars-fade.livejournal.com]

Mmm, wow. I don't think I could ever take the time to explain exactly why I love this pairing so much, as you did.

At first, I admit, I thought it was rather erm, disgusting. It bothered me, in so many aspects. I cannnot for the life of me remember what story I eventually read that made me fall in love with Snarry. Now, it's, I can't say my OTP because Remus/Sirius takes that place but it's pretty damn close.

And now, when my friends ask me why, "It's just like, because." It's obvious that there are underlying emotions and feelings there. Maybe not in the light we would like to see them, but they're there.

So, I applaud you. And adore you. ♥

[atrata.livejournal.com]

Aw, thanks! I think the why is difficult, or can be, so I'm glad I was able to explain at least a little bit.

[sor-bet.livejournal.com]

I've gotten distracted recently, but for awhile I was spending all my time at/in Detention. Lovely archive.

One artist not listed above (and I know you had to keep the list to a reasonable number of links) but that people should know about is brevisse who has a lot of Snarry art at her website. I know she's branching out these days, but some Snarry still pops up from time to time in her lj and she does it so well. So, um, I just had to include that here.

Great essay, and great timing, as a friend and I may use it as a reference/inspiration for a little Snarry piece we've just started.

[atrata.livejournal.com]

Oh, god. brevisse! Of course. *headdesk* Thanks for pointing that out. I'll add her to the expanded list. :)

[saridout.livejournal.com]

oh wow! thankyou for reccing my work :D this was a really excellent essay. i enjoyed reading it immensely. though i am a little curious as to why you left out "A Bittersweet Potion" by alchemia dent and bugland in the At Hogwarts section.

[atrata.livejournal.com]

Heh. Well, thanks for making your work! It's excellent. :)

And I didn't list ABP only because it's a work-in-progress, and I elected to leave those off the list, lest it get too insane. Once it's done, though, it totally goes on the list.

[ptyx.livejournal.com]

I loved your Manifesto, and I'm thankful for the inclusion of my SS/HP Recs Page (http://ptyx.noigandres.com/sh_recs.html) in it.

However, I have to say - and I thought a lot before deciding to post this comment - that I disagree with the comment you added to the link to my Recs Page. I'm a sucker for Angst! It's not 'Angst' or 'Dark' that I don't like, it's just 'non-con', or speaking more generally, 'violence in sex'. I'm afraid your comment might induce people to think they are going to find mostly 'fluffy' stories on my Recs Page, and this is not true.

[atrata.livejournal.com]

Good point. I changed it -- any better?