Entry tags:
Fic Rec and Plot Bunny
Normally I don't read adultery fics, but I got completely hooked on The Blue Door by ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
snegurochka_lee. The summary reads: "There is no situation, no opportunity, no sudden, aching desire that a werewolf can't control. Any man who says otherwise is just a man looking for an excuse." In it, Snape and Lupin are an established couple, but Lupin puts their relationship in jeopardy when he has an affair with Bill Weasley. He loves Snape, but his wolf feels irresistibly drawn towards Bill's and vice versa...only maybe things aren't quite what they seem, and I'll spoil the story if I give away any more information. I'd recommend this to any Snupin fan, and don't be put off by the adultery warning. It'll put you through the emotional wringer, but it'll be well worth it. No one is completely bad or good in this story; the characters are complex and well-developed, and the ending is satisfying without unrealistically tying up all the loose ends in a neat bow for a happy ending. What is great about this story is that there are no easy, black and white answers, and it really makes you think--judging by the pages and pages of commentary from the readers. ^_^
Now, I mention this story partly to plug a great fic--I'd say it's one of the best Snupin stories I've ever read, and I never thought I'd say that about a story where Lupin cheats on Snape! But also because it inspired a naggingly persistent plot bunny that I'm not quite sure what to do with. Read on if you're interested, although it's a rather long summary...
snegurochka_lee. The summary reads: "There is no situation, no opportunity, no sudden, aching desire that a werewolf can't control. Any man who says otherwise is just a man looking for an excuse." In it, Snape and Lupin are an established couple, but Lupin puts their relationship in jeopardy when he has an affair with Bill Weasley. He loves Snape, but his wolf feels irresistibly drawn towards Bill's and vice versa...only maybe things aren't quite what they seem, and I'll spoil the story if I give away any more information. I'd recommend this to any Snupin fan, and don't be put off by the adultery warning. It'll put you through the emotional wringer, but it'll be well worth it. No one is completely bad or good in this story; the characters are complex and well-developed, and the ending is satisfying without unrealistically tying up all the loose ends in a neat bow for a happy ending. What is great about this story is that there are no easy, black and white answers, and it really makes you think--judging by the pages and pages of commentary from the readers. ^_^ Now, I mention this story partly to plug a great fic--I'd say it's one of the best Snupin stories I've ever read, and I never thought I'd say that about a story where Lupin cheats on Snape! But also because it inspired a naggingly persistent plot bunny that I'm not quite sure what to do with. Read on if you're interested, although it's a rather long summary...
After I reached the chapter where Lupin actually cheats on Snape, my first knee-jerk reaction was "How could you do that, Lupin?!" and "Snape deserves someone who won't cheat on him!" Only things are more complex than that, and there were already problems in the relationship that they hadn't dealt with. The ending that the author came up with was perfect for the story, and I certainly wouldn't want to change it or say that I could write anything better.
But still, once the thought was in my head, I couldn't help but wonder...if Snape did leave Lupin, what would he do then? Where would he go, and would he find another lover, and could he really be happy with someone other than Lupin? It's actually a thought that's occurred to me when I've read stories where Lupin chooses Tonks over Snape, or won't leave Tonks but still wants be with Snape, either as a secret affair or as a threesome. I can't really see Snape being willing to share Lupin or settle for being second best, so would his pride make him leave Lupin even though he loved him?
So just for fun, and feeling horribly guilty all the while for pairing Snape with someone other than Lupin, I created an OC love interest for Snape. I figured Snape would want to get as far away from Lupin as he could, so I sent him off to Japan to do some potions research with Professor Kamiyama. (I decided to borrow the Japanese characters from my Always series, although this hypothetical story would be taking place in the canon universe, post war, including the HBP storyline.) I thought at first maybe he'd get together with one of the Japanese werewolves, but then decided he would avoid them because they'd remind him too much of Lupin. Then I remembered a scene I'd jokingly written in Summer Vacation III where Takeshi's niece thinks Snape is a tengu because of his beaky nose and black hair. (The tengu are Japanese goblins often described as having long noses or being half-crow, half-man. My tengu are shapeshifters who can transform into either crows or beaky-nosed humans.) Snape is described as being ugly in the books, but I thought that a tengu might find him very attractive--something he'd initially find hard to believe. He's quite offended when he overhears his nose being described as "magnificent" by a young tengu man, and thinks that he's being made fun of. ^_^
There's a character I mentioned in passing in Summer Vacation III during the wedding scene, a tengu man named Kuro, who was written solely as a plot device so that Aric would learn Tsubasa was gay, and then get the idea of setting him up with Ash. I figured he would do as Snape's love interest, since I'd already established that he was male and gay.
Snape is asked to help work on a potion to heal the ailing Lord of the tengu clan, Karasu's grandfather. Kamiyama and the tengu have a dinner party to welcome Snape to Japan, and Kuro, one of Karasu's guards and vassals, propositions the human wizard with the "magnificent nose". The liquor has been flowing freely, and Snape figures, what the heck, why not? After all, Lupin is probably in bed with Tonks (or Bill, or whomever) back in England. He figures it will just be a one-night stand, but Kuro finds Snape intriguing, although Karasu warns him that Snape is on the rebound. Snape moves to the tengu village to continue his research, and with some misgivings, accepts Kuro's offer of a place to stay, after being told, "It's not like I'm asking you to marry me. You need a place to stay, and we enjoy each other's company. You're free to leave anytime you want." Kuro is playing it casual, sensing that Snape will run if he expresses any deeper interest. What Snape has forgotten is that the tengu are masters of martial strategy, and are not above scheming to get what they want.
He settles into life at the village and finds it surprisingly comfortable. He's disconcerted, and then a little annoyed, when he discovers that the tengu children don't live in terror of him like the students at Hogwarts, although they regard him with a healthy respect. Most of the tengu are short-tempered and sharp-tongued, so Snape doesn't really seem all that much different to them. Most of the tengu didn't know him before the war ended, so they don't regard him as "the murderer of Albus Dumbledore" the way the British wizards do. He's used to being treated as a pariah, and it disturbs him a little that the tengu don't. Kuro explains that he doesn't think that Snape has anything to be ashamed of, since the killing was done on Dumbledore's own orders, and a vassal must always follow the orders of his lord. The tengu consider it more of an assisted suicide, and suicide in the samurai tradition is an accepted way of making atonement or restoring honor. Or in this case, ensuring that Snape would be in a position to help Harry bring the Dark Lord down. In fact, Kuro thinks that Snape is very brave and noble to have had the strength to carry out his orders and kill the "lord" that he loved and respected. ("Loved" is Kuro's assumption due to the depth of Snape's guilt; naturally Snape would never admit to such a thing.) Snape isn't quite convinced, but he enjoys living a normal life in the village, free from insults or hexes, even while he feels a little guilty about it at the same time.
Kuro is impulsive and exuberant, a little cocky and insecure at the same time--attempting to show off in swordfighting practice to impress Snape, and getting thoroughly bruised for his trouble, not to mention that Snape isn't impressed by "men beating each other up with wooden sticks". Still, Snape is amused when Kuro claims it was worth it to have Snape personally applying healing salve to his bruises. The young man's antics amuse Snape, keeping him distracted from his pain, and he finds himself growing fond of Kuro, though not falling in love with him.
The tengu warriors take turns patrolling the land surrounding the village; occasionally human intruders make attempts to find and steal the magical treasures that the tengu possess. When it's Kuro's turn to go on patrol, Snape accompanies him, more out of boredom than anything else, since no one is expecting trouble on this night--which of course means that trouble strikes. They run into a band of thieves (Dark Wizards, or maybe ninja, or a combination of both?) This is the first time that Snape sees the true warrior side of Kuro, no clowning around, just killing ruthlessly and efficiently. It's both glorious and frightening at the same time. Kuro and the other tengu are similarly impressed by Snape's combat skills even though he wields magic instead of a sword. They don't seem to mind that he uses spells that might be considered "Dark" in Britain. However, Kuro is struck by a poisoned blade while distracted by an attack on Snape--a deadly poison that's usually fatal, but Snape saves him by feeding him a bezoar. He's still very sick from the poison, though, and needs to be nursed back to health over several days, a task taken on by Snape partly out of guilt. He tells himself that he's doing it out of obligation, although he's more shaken by the close call than he wants to admit.
They grow closer, and Snape is both fascinated and disturbed by the revelation that Kuro is drawn to his dark side and vice versa. The tengu are warriors, and take pleasure in combat and bloodshed, although only in what they consider "just" causes. Snape's Legilimency spontaneously begins asserting itself during lovemaking, showing each other thoughts that they would rather not see--images of Lupin, of Kuro's estranged family (a subplot that I won't get into here), and most of all, the realization that Kuro wants more from Snape than friendship and casual sex. Ironically, their new intimacy drives Snape farther away as he is determined not to fall in love with anyone again.
They're still struggling to make things work when Snape makes the decision to stay in Japan permanently. He isn't sure if his relationship with Kuro will last, but he knows that there's nothing left for him in Britain, and at least he can live a normal and relatively anonymous life in Japan. Maybe he turns in his resignation to Hogwarts (if he's still working there, which I haven't decided), or he closes out his Gringotts account. But somehow Lupin finds out and has a change of heart. He's sincerely sorry and wants to make amends, and travels to Japan to attempt to win Snape back.
Initially, Kuro threatens to chop off...er, certain sensitive portions of Lupin's anatomy, but he sees that Snape still loves Lupin, and because he loves Snape, he is willing to let him go if that will make him most happy, although he says he will kill Lupin if the werewolf ever hurts him again. And then Snape realizes that Kuro is the only person in his life who has ever put him first: he has always felt that he's come in a poor second at best, to Dumbledore who favored the Gryffindors, to Lupin who favored the Marauders, to his mother who wouldn't leave his abusive father, to the Death Eaters and the Order who both used and discarded him.
And that's where I get stuck, damn it, because by this time I've grown attached to Kuro and I don't want him to be hurt. And if Lupin's just a spineless wimp who doesn't have the guts to break up with Tonks (or Bill), then he doesn't deserve Snape. But if he's a complex, well-rounded character like the Lupin of the Blue Door then it's not so easy. Lupin and Snape have a long history, and it's not easy for a new lover, however well-meaning, to overcome that.
Which led me to realize that the focus of the story doesn't even have to be fidelity. Even in a situation where Lupin is openly his lover and faithful to Snape, in most stories I've read, Lupin's friends tolerate Snape for Lupin's sake, sometimes grudgingly, sometimes with a degree of civility, but it's clear that they wouldn't associate with the greasy git otherwise. And even if Snape is exonerated of his war crimes, most people in the British wizarding world will still hate him.
So the question is: would Snape choose to go back to Britain with his true love, the man he's loved and hated for twenty years, even though he'll always be an outcast, accepted by no one other than Lupin, who has let him down in the past, and might possibly do so again in the future? Or would he choose to stay where he's accepted and respected, with a man who loves him deeply, and whom Snape cares for, although not with quite the same depth? Respect vs. love, and Snape seems to me like someone who craves respect. He also seems cold and logical on the surface, which would favor the respect option, but we all know that he has deep emotions simmering beneath the surface, or he wouldn't still be carrying a grudge against James Potter more than a decade after his death.
What would it take for Lupin to win back Snape's trust? Of course, the easy answer is for Lupin to say screw it all, and leave Britain to run off to Tahiti with Snape, but that would be too easy. ^_^ Would Lupin have the strength to leave his home and friends, including his last tie to the Marauders in Harry? What if I upped the stakes by saying that Lupin has a nice steady, respectable job at Hogwarts or the Ministry now, and he would have to start over from scratch if they went to a foreign country? In fact, they'd both have to start over, because Snape wouldn't feel right about remaining in Japan with Lupin, knowing that their presence would be a constant painful reminder to Kuro.
And of course, if Snape chose Kuro, they would also have problems. Kuro is young and idealistic enough to believe that with time, Snape will come to love him. But if their relationship remains imbalanced, they might eventually resent each other. Although being "first" with his lover would go a long way towards Snape beginning to let his guard down, I think, especially if he can confirm Kuro's sincerity with Legilimency. I guess that's a theme I've played with for a long time in my Always series, where Snape wants to be first in Lupin's heart, above Sirius and Harry. I guess I feel sorry for Snape because he always seems to get short shrift from everyone else in the book. We've only seen a few glimpses of his family life, so I can't be sure, but I don't think that anyone's ever put the poor guy first. Still, love isn't logical, and we don't always love the people who would be good for us.
Well, this went on for much longer than I intended, but this bunny has been so persistent that I've been having trouble focusing on Scars, so I thought I should try and get it out of my head by at least writing down the plot. I do want to finish Scars first, but maybe after that, I'll come back and flesh out this story, if I can ever decide how to end it. Thanks for listening to my ramblings, and if you have an opinion, I'd love to hear it, not just as fodder for a future story, but also to hear people's opinions of Snape's and Lupin's characters.
But still, once the thought was in my head, I couldn't help but wonder...if Snape did leave Lupin, what would he do then? Where would he go, and would he find another lover, and could he really be happy with someone other than Lupin? It's actually a thought that's occurred to me when I've read stories where Lupin chooses Tonks over Snape, or won't leave Tonks but still wants be with Snape, either as a secret affair or as a threesome. I can't really see Snape being willing to share Lupin or settle for being second best, so would his pride make him leave Lupin even though he loved him?
So just for fun, and feeling horribly guilty all the while for pairing Snape with someone other than Lupin, I created an OC love interest for Snape. I figured Snape would want to get as far away from Lupin as he could, so I sent him off to Japan to do some potions research with Professor Kamiyama. (I decided to borrow the Japanese characters from my Always series, although this hypothetical story would be taking place in the canon universe, post war, including the HBP storyline.) I thought at first maybe he'd get together with one of the Japanese werewolves, but then decided he would avoid them because they'd remind him too much of Lupin. Then I remembered a scene I'd jokingly written in Summer Vacation III where Takeshi's niece thinks Snape is a tengu because of his beaky nose and black hair. (The tengu are Japanese goblins often described as having long noses or being half-crow, half-man. My tengu are shapeshifters who can transform into either crows or beaky-nosed humans.) Snape is described as being ugly in the books, but I thought that a tengu might find him very attractive--something he'd initially find hard to believe. He's quite offended when he overhears his nose being described as "magnificent" by a young tengu man, and thinks that he's being made fun of. ^_^
There's a character I mentioned in passing in Summer Vacation III during the wedding scene, a tengu man named Kuro, who was written solely as a plot device so that Aric would learn Tsubasa was gay, and then get the idea of setting him up with Ash. I figured he would do as Snape's love interest, since I'd already established that he was male and gay.
Snape is asked to help work on a potion to heal the ailing Lord of the tengu clan, Karasu's grandfather. Kamiyama and the tengu have a dinner party to welcome Snape to Japan, and Kuro, one of Karasu's guards and vassals, propositions the human wizard with the "magnificent nose". The liquor has been flowing freely, and Snape figures, what the heck, why not? After all, Lupin is probably in bed with Tonks (or Bill, or whomever) back in England. He figures it will just be a one-night stand, but Kuro finds Snape intriguing, although Karasu warns him that Snape is on the rebound. Snape moves to the tengu village to continue his research, and with some misgivings, accepts Kuro's offer of a place to stay, after being told, "It's not like I'm asking you to marry me. You need a place to stay, and we enjoy each other's company. You're free to leave anytime you want." Kuro is playing it casual, sensing that Snape will run if he expresses any deeper interest. What Snape has forgotten is that the tengu are masters of martial strategy, and are not above scheming to get what they want.
He settles into life at the village and finds it surprisingly comfortable. He's disconcerted, and then a little annoyed, when he discovers that the tengu children don't live in terror of him like the students at Hogwarts, although they regard him with a healthy respect. Most of the tengu are short-tempered and sharp-tongued, so Snape doesn't really seem all that much different to them. Most of the tengu didn't know him before the war ended, so they don't regard him as "the murderer of Albus Dumbledore" the way the British wizards do. He's used to being treated as a pariah, and it disturbs him a little that the tengu don't. Kuro explains that he doesn't think that Snape has anything to be ashamed of, since the killing was done on Dumbledore's own orders, and a vassal must always follow the orders of his lord. The tengu consider it more of an assisted suicide, and suicide in the samurai tradition is an accepted way of making atonement or restoring honor. Or in this case, ensuring that Snape would be in a position to help Harry bring the Dark Lord down. In fact, Kuro thinks that Snape is very brave and noble to have had the strength to carry out his orders and kill the "lord" that he loved and respected. ("Loved" is Kuro's assumption due to the depth of Snape's guilt; naturally Snape would never admit to such a thing.) Snape isn't quite convinced, but he enjoys living a normal life in the village, free from insults or hexes, even while he feels a little guilty about it at the same time.
Kuro is impulsive and exuberant, a little cocky and insecure at the same time--attempting to show off in swordfighting practice to impress Snape, and getting thoroughly bruised for his trouble, not to mention that Snape isn't impressed by "men beating each other up with wooden sticks". Still, Snape is amused when Kuro claims it was worth it to have Snape personally applying healing salve to his bruises. The young man's antics amuse Snape, keeping him distracted from his pain, and he finds himself growing fond of Kuro, though not falling in love with him.
The tengu warriors take turns patrolling the land surrounding the village; occasionally human intruders make attempts to find and steal the magical treasures that the tengu possess. When it's Kuro's turn to go on patrol, Snape accompanies him, more out of boredom than anything else, since no one is expecting trouble on this night--which of course means that trouble strikes. They run into a band of thieves (Dark Wizards, or maybe ninja, or a combination of both?) This is the first time that Snape sees the true warrior side of Kuro, no clowning around, just killing ruthlessly and efficiently. It's both glorious and frightening at the same time. Kuro and the other tengu are similarly impressed by Snape's combat skills even though he wields magic instead of a sword. They don't seem to mind that he uses spells that might be considered "Dark" in Britain. However, Kuro is struck by a poisoned blade while distracted by an attack on Snape--a deadly poison that's usually fatal, but Snape saves him by feeding him a bezoar. He's still very sick from the poison, though, and needs to be nursed back to health over several days, a task taken on by Snape partly out of guilt. He tells himself that he's doing it out of obligation, although he's more shaken by the close call than he wants to admit.
They grow closer, and Snape is both fascinated and disturbed by the revelation that Kuro is drawn to his dark side and vice versa. The tengu are warriors, and take pleasure in combat and bloodshed, although only in what they consider "just" causes. Snape's Legilimency spontaneously begins asserting itself during lovemaking, showing each other thoughts that they would rather not see--images of Lupin, of Kuro's estranged family (a subplot that I won't get into here), and most of all, the realization that Kuro wants more from Snape than friendship and casual sex. Ironically, their new intimacy drives Snape farther away as he is determined not to fall in love with anyone again.
They're still struggling to make things work when Snape makes the decision to stay in Japan permanently. He isn't sure if his relationship with Kuro will last, but he knows that there's nothing left for him in Britain, and at least he can live a normal and relatively anonymous life in Japan. Maybe he turns in his resignation to Hogwarts (if he's still working there, which I haven't decided), or he closes out his Gringotts account. But somehow Lupin finds out and has a change of heart. He's sincerely sorry and wants to make amends, and travels to Japan to attempt to win Snape back.
Initially, Kuro threatens to chop off...er, certain sensitive portions of Lupin's anatomy, but he sees that Snape still loves Lupin, and because he loves Snape, he is willing to let him go if that will make him most happy, although he says he will kill Lupin if the werewolf ever hurts him again. And then Snape realizes that Kuro is the only person in his life who has ever put him first: he has always felt that he's come in a poor second at best, to Dumbledore who favored the Gryffindors, to Lupin who favored the Marauders, to his mother who wouldn't leave his abusive father, to the Death Eaters and the Order who both used and discarded him.
And that's where I get stuck, damn it, because by this time I've grown attached to Kuro and I don't want him to be hurt. And if Lupin's just a spineless wimp who doesn't have the guts to break up with Tonks (or Bill), then he doesn't deserve Snape. But if he's a complex, well-rounded character like the Lupin of the Blue Door then it's not so easy. Lupin and Snape have a long history, and it's not easy for a new lover, however well-meaning, to overcome that.
Which led me to realize that the focus of the story doesn't even have to be fidelity. Even in a situation where Lupin is openly his lover and faithful to Snape, in most stories I've read, Lupin's friends tolerate Snape for Lupin's sake, sometimes grudgingly, sometimes with a degree of civility, but it's clear that they wouldn't associate with the greasy git otherwise. And even if Snape is exonerated of his war crimes, most people in the British wizarding world will still hate him.
So the question is: would Snape choose to go back to Britain with his true love, the man he's loved and hated for twenty years, even though he'll always be an outcast, accepted by no one other than Lupin, who has let him down in the past, and might possibly do so again in the future? Or would he choose to stay where he's accepted and respected, with a man who loves him deeply, and whom Snape cares for, although not with quite the same depth? Respect vs. love, and Snape seems to me like someone who craves respect. He also seems cold and logical on the surface, which would favor the respect option, but we all know that he has deep emotions simmering beneath the surface, or he wouldn't still be carrying a grudge against James Potter more than a decade after his death.
What would it take for Lupin to win back Snape's trust? Of course, the easy answer is for Lupin to say screw it all, and leave Britain to run off to Tahiti with Snape, but that would be too easy. ^_^ Would Lupin have the strength to leave his home and friends, including his last tie to the Marauders in Harry? What if I upped the stakes by saying that Lupin has a nice steady, respectable job at Hogwarts or the Ministry now, and he would have to start over from scratch if they went to a foreign country? In fact, they'd both have to start over, because Snape wouldn't feel right about remaining in Japan with Lupin, knowing that their presence would be a constant painful reminder to Kuro.
And of course, if Snape chose Kuro, they would also have problems. Kuro is young and idealistic enough to believe that with time, Snape will come to love him. But if their relationship remains imbalanced, they might eventually resent each other. Although being "first" with his lover would go a long way towards Snape beginning to let his guard down, I think, especially if he can confirm Kuro's sincerity with Legilimency. I guess that's a theme I've played with for a long time in my Always series, where Snape wants to be first in Lupin's heart, above Sirius and Harry. I guess I feel sorry for Snape because he always seems to get short shrift from everyone else in the book. We've only seen a few glimpses of his family life, so I can't be sure, but I don't think that anyone's ever put the poor guy first. Still, love isn't logical, and we don't always love the people who would be good for us.
Well, this went on for much longer than I intended, but this bunny has been so persistent that I've been having trouble focusing on Scars, so I thought I should try and get it out of my head by at least writing down the plot. I do want to finish Scars first, but maybe after that, I'll come back and flesh out this story, if I can ever decide how to end it. Thanks for listening to my ramblings, and if you have an opinion, I'd love to hear it, not just as fodder for a future story, but also to hear people's opinions of Snape's and Lupin's characters.
2 cents in the pot....
Re: 2 cents in the pot....