Is there a Percy Jackson fic where he doesn't care about the Olympians?
Basically everything is the same, at least at the beginning (and also because I read the books a long time ago and with the serie, the first one is the one I remember best), but instead of being angsty about his dad he just doesn't have a place in his mind for him.
Before, when he was a little kid, he wondered about his dad. Then, time passed and he was alone with his mom and things where good. He didn't really mind it being only the two of them, he kinda liked it.
Then, Gabe came in and he realised how much he missed the times when it was just him and his mom.
He saw other children with their fathers or heard the way they talked about them, and with some it was good, tough it was pretty much the same as it was for him with his mom. He could think, then, that having more of that would be good.
Then he heard others talking about their ever-working dads or their angry-dads and thought that, perhaps, he was better just with his mom, because now there was also Gabe, and what if angry-dads were like angry-Gabes?
So he tried to endure the torment that was Gabe's presence and enjoy what he could of his mom. They would go to the beach, cook blue cookies, fool around. Maybe watch a movie or read. Greek mythology, mainly.
These gods were crazy. And easily angered. And unfair. They didn't seem to care all that much about mortals either. Not even if they worshipped them or if they were related.
So, years later, Percy finds himself in camp-halfblood. He loses his mom, finds out his dad is a god and meets Chiron and Mr. D.
Mr. D is the first god he meets in person. Not very reasuring.
Then he goes around camp, being able to compare the different cabins. Hermes' is cramped. He meets Luke. He finds out about Thalia.
What other conclussion could he reach other than: "The Gods really don't care, huh?"
But then again, neither does he, when he thinks about it. Not really.
But the Olympians are dangerous when they get angry (and sometimes even when they aren't), so he resolves to play nice and do what he is told. He's always tried to keep himself out of troubles, he just hardly ever succeded. But now, knowing that there was a reason (mostly) for him always standing out in the worst way, he could try to stay under the radar.
And then he is claimed, accused of theft and sent on a quest.
Percy, Grover and Annabeth encounter the furies, and Percy thinks he doesn't want Hades as an enemy. He hopes he can get his mom back without things going sideways, but that seems more unlikely by the second. He doesn't really care that much about it.
And the bolt, right. Well... Annabeth can remember that.
Then there is Medusa. She was after him because of his father and after Annabeth because of her mother.
Percy wonders how many monsters are out for his blood because of his father.
There is another thought on the back of his mind, and he refuses to let it escape. But he can't help himself sometimes. The thought can benseen as twisted, but it could always be becuase, were he to fail, would he also be turned into a monster, cursed to forever to hunt those who were supposed to be his own kind.
They sever Medusa's head, but instead of sending it to Olympus, Percy covers her eyes and stuffs it in a bagpack, remembering the story of the first Perseus.
They find Equidna. The head comes in handy.
He meets Ares. The war-god doesn't remind him of Clarisse all that much. Kind of a jerk, but not as bad as Gabe's pocker buddies. Definitely better than the asshole himself (the bar is so low...)
Ares tries to make him angry the same way Aphrodite would lure in any other.
Gods, unlike what you'd think, can't truly create mortal's emotions. Not by themselves, at least. If they could, Eros wouldn't need his bow.
Gods, with nothing else to aid them, can enhance existing emotions. Ares would usually take people's anger or annoyance and multiply it.
But this dumb kid has none. No anger, no mild annoyance or even a little grudge that he could direct at himself. Not because of him being Ares, the war-god, not for being Clarisse's father or even an Olympian like Posseidon. There was nothing to work with. So he tried being a jerk, but it still didn't work.
Ares offered his side-quest and felt in the kid the desire to refuse. But it was put down before he could exploit it.
The quest was fulfilled and after giving the kids some useful stuff and planting the bolt on them, Ares recived a polite thanks from the kids and saw them go on that truck.
Percy, contrary to popular belief, knew perfectly well how to be polite and well manered. Actually, he was an expert. How many times do you think he had to swallow his tongue, his pride and thoughts just to save himself from detention, expulsion or a beating? No, this boy knew very well the rules of the game, especialy with adults. When an adult has power over you, you play nice. He knew that kind of people would never like him, and the feeling was mutual, but if he was polite enough, if he behaved, they would leave him alone, they would ignore him and he them. All would be ok.
Ares didn't get how a kid, a teenager at that, could simply have no anger. He knew half-bloods, he's felt their wrath. They all resent their parents, so what was different this time?
They get trough the Cassino and make it to the underworld. Caron is easily bribed and they get on the boat.
They all nearly fall to Tartarus. Then, they find the bolt.
Percy goes to Hades. He kneels and gives a polite greating. Hades tells him about capturing his mom, then asks for his helm. Percy doesn't have it, but says he knows where it is and asks for the opportunity to retrive it. After the young demigos swearsnon the Stix, Hades himself send them all out of the underworld. The bolt is never mentioned.
Percy is forced to leave his mother behind and then fight Ares for the helm and the bolt.
There are no jokes or taunts, just a fight. At the end, before Ares could curse him, Percy kneels and asks for forgiveness.
After winning, Percy could only thing about the consequences of what he'd done. He thought about Annabeth and Grover, who had come with him and would surely receive part of whatever the war-god sent his way, just for being there. And he thought about his mother, who Hades had taken away, who he couldn't save yet, because he had to prioritize the bolt to prevent a war. His mother, who had suffered a life with Gabe for Percy's sake, and who would surely be targeted, as the person Percy most loved, if the myths had anything of truth (which they apparently did).
Ares didn't really get it. Forgiveness for what? The kid hadn't cheated. As much as he didn't want to admit it, the fight had been fair. So he asked.
"For offending you."
Responded the kid, still not looking at the other in the eyes. Ares didn't really answer. That behavior wasn't normal. It was, admittedly, what he wanted. But it wasn't normal.
Ares left. The helm fell to the floor where he had stood.
Alecto, who had witnessed the fight, recived the helm to deliver. No threats, but a short look of understanding.
The trio then boarded a plain and went to New York. Annabeth and Grover went to camp. Percy, to the Empire State.
Tired and quite done with life, he sassed the guy at reception into letting him pass.
He walked his way into Olympus and reached the throne room where he found Zeus and Posseidon.
He knelt at the entrance, greeting both men at the same time, no difference. There were no complains about it.
Percy gives the bolt back and says what happened at the entrance of Tartarus. Then he tells them about Ares' involvement. His concerns are brushed aside and he doesn't push. He knows better. Besides, if things turned out bad, they would realize eventually and noone would be able to blame him for letting out something important.
Percy is dismissed. He kneels before turning to leave. He is called by Posseidon, so he turns once again. The god turned human size before Percy's eyes and walked until he was standing in front of the boy.
When Posseidon said he was sorry Percy was born, the boy felt offended, but not truly hurt. A part of him wanted to say: "Yeah, you fucked up." He obviously refrained. When Posseidon said that he was proud, when he talks about Sally being a queen amongst mortals, Percy refrained a disdainful scowl. He wasn't angry at the god, but he was exausted, and scared, and worried about his mother, and he didn't feel like listening to this stranger saying things that only friends and family should say. But Percy knew better than to anger strong people, so he smiled and nodded, unable to pretend and do more, but refusing to give anyone reason to punish him. When he was finally dismissed, he had to do his best to control his steps and not run to the elevator.
He goes home to his mother. Medusas' head is still on his pack. A very ugly statue is on the market by the end of the day.
Back at camp, is already nigth and Percy goes out to the forest with Luke.
When the blond tells him he is leaving, Percy says he understands. When Luke tells him to go with him, Percy refuses.
Luke asks him why, when the Olympians aren't worth it.
Then, where the blond expects refusal and denial, Luke recives a tired laugh. Percy is very aware of that, but he'd rather keep himself out of trouble. The gods are too powerful, and powerful people can be dangerous, especially if they consider you little more than pets.
Still, he wouldn't leave. Leaving would mean abandoning his mom, and he would never leave his only family for anything in the world.
When Luke reveals his crimes, Percy tries to reason with him.
"What do you think Chronos will do with us once he doesn't need us anymore?"
But Luke was already completely blinded by fake promises.
Percy is poisoned. He passes out and wakes up in the infirmary.
Summer ends and he goes back to his mom, a whole new word to fight for and against.
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Now, I like when Percy sasses the gods and is on good terms with them, but what about him being afraid and wary of them?
I want Percy to keep the Olympians at arm's length while they try to get closer. I want all the Olympians to deal with the rejection and emotional hurt they inflicted on each of their children, ok? Ok.
Bilbo: Do you ever have one of those days when you're holding a stick
Bilbo: And e v e r y o n e looks like a piñata?
You know what I would find really hilarious?
CONSIDER:
The Avengers meet God of Stories Loki and Mobius. Mobius is very charming, very folksy. He pours everyone coffee. Makes sure the thermostat in the conference room is at a comfortable temperature. Offers croissants. All the markers of a good host.
The Avengers all like him right away but are wary of Loki. After a comedic abridged version of a TVA infodump, in which Loki and Mobius ping-pong little details and show their whole squabble and tease dynamic, one of Kang's underlings is captured.
MOBIUS: Okay. Think I got a read on this guy. You wanna take a swing at him for intel or should I?
LOKI: I think you should. Y'know, trying out the whole 'good guy' bit.
MOBIUS: Sounds good. Gentlemen's competition. Time me?
LOKI: Of course.
And the Avengers watch as this cozy little human goes in and just EVISCERATES the underling. No weapons. No superpowers. Just WORDS.
The underling is on the floor, in a fetal position, sobbing and begging no more. He spills all the critical information they need. Mobius steps out.
The Avengers are in SHOCK.
BUCKY: (mumuring) ... Jesus Christ ...
HAWKEYE: (whispering) Holy shit, he's scarier than Nat.
MOBIUS: (to Loki) How'd I do?
LOKI: 2 minutes and 43 seconds. Not bad.
MOBIUS: Eh, still haven't beat your record.
LOKI: Well, I do have the advantage of magic. Should I take a handicap?
MOBIUS: Don't insult me.
So...
Does anyone know about a retelling of the Minotaur myth where Ariadne pretends to be in love with Theseus so he'll lead her into the labyrinth where she'll be able to rescue her brother?
What if instead of giving the Arkenstone to Thranduil and Bard, Bilbo waits to give it to Thorin on the ramparts?
Chapter 1 of (?)
I will also be posting this to my AO3 once I figure out how to format over there (it has been so long)
@marvelruinedmyspirit @moralesmarkers <3
Bilbo wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but here he was. Climbing up to the ramparts to join the dwarves, Thorin cursing at Thranduil in Khuzdul. He’d have to ask Balin for some books to learn, maybe use it to surprise the others after this is all over. What was Thorin yelling about? Bilbo had been late climbing up, having difficulty maneuvering around the broken statues used as steps. The Arkenstone felt heavy in his jacket, a reminder as to what they were here for. Thorin switched to the common tongue, bellowing out for all to hear. “I will not part with a single piece of gold from this mountain, not until we find the Arkenstone! Then, I will be king under the mountain. I will have no further talk with outsiders. Leave!” This was it. This was the opportunity to show Thorin the stone, maybe then he would come to his senses and work with Bard and Thranduil. Pulling together all the courage he had, Bilbo clambered up to stand on the stone wall shielding the dwarves. “Wait! Thorin, wait. I found it. I found the Arkenstone,” Bilbo breathed out hastily, pulling the stone from the inside of his jacket to show Thorin he was telling the truth, “Don’t burn the bridges you’ve barely built, we can work together!” With that, he held the stone high for all to see. The company cheered, Thorin loudest of all.
Bilbo was grinning ear to ear, starting to pull the stone closer to him. That was when he felt it, a small stabbing pain in his back. He staggered forward, losing his footing on the barrier. He felt himself start to slip off the edge, just as he was slipping from consciousness. The last thing he heard were the dwarves and Gandalf yelling before he succumbed to the darkness.
Nori was the closest to Bilbo when he started to slip, and he lunged forward to grab the hobbit by his ankle. The others were cursing, and he could see Kili stringing his bow, trying to see what had caused the hobbit to collapse. Bofur rushed to Nori’s side, grabbing Bilbo to help pull him up. Down below he could see chaos unfolding. Thranduil and Bard were trying to figure out if one of their men had attacked while Gandalf charged towards the wall. Once Nori and Bofur had pulled Bilbo up and over the wall, they placed him down on his side while Oin rushed over to check for wounds. As Oin got down to look properly, he noticed something sticking out of Bilbo’s back. He pulled it out and saw it was a dart with a barbed tip, possibly coated in a paralyzing agent. It was crudely made, so it could not have been from an elf. He looked up as he heard Fili shouting at Kili, “Over there! On the side of the mountain!” Kili released his arrow, hitting the orc trying to escape square in the back of his head. Looking back down, Oin rolled Bilbo onto his back to check for any severe side effects of the dart. There were no obvious side effects, so Oin relaxed a little at that. He looked up to see what was happening, only to notice Dwalin and Dori holding Thorin back from throwing himself over the side of the rampart.
“Get ahold of yourself Thorin! We have bigger problems to worry about than the Arkenstone right now!” Dwalin was trying his best to control his best friend’s temper while also holding him back. The Arkenstone had fallen over the wall with Bilbo, but it had been forgotten about while Nori and Bofur scrambled to save Bilbo. Thorin roared in anger, still fighting against the two dwarves. He needed to see what had become of the stone! It was his birthright, the one thing proving he was worthy to be king. He stopped resisting once he heard Gandalf. “I have the Arkenstone, Thorin Oakenshield. Check on my hobbit, or there will be dire consequences!” Who did Gandalf think he was? Threatening a king, worrying over a mere burglar. Still, if this is what it took to get the stone back, he would do it. He shook Dwalin and Dori off of him before turning towards where Bilbo had been laid down. The rest of the company had gathered around, making sure their burglar was still alive and seeing if Oin needed anything to help him. They backed away when they saw Thorin making his way over, giving him room to drop to his knees to look at Bilbo.
“What happened?” He barked at Oin, before noticing the dart lying beside Bilbo. Anger surged through him again, realizing his burglar had become a target once he revealed the Arkenstone. ‘His burglar’, Thorin thought to himself. He hadn’t noticed when he started referring to Bilbo as this, instead of just the burglar, but he knew it was not a new development. His head began to swim, anger and concern filling his body. He shot his head up, barking orders. “Fili! Kili! See if any more orcs are waiting to attack, and take Dwalin with you.” They nodded before taking off down the rampart. “Oin, take Nori and see if there are any supplies that can be used to help Bilbo. Do you think he can be moved safely?” Oin furrowed his brow before responding, “I’m not sure what was used on the dart, but he should be brought down so I can examine him better.” Thorin nodded, before slipping his arms under the burglar, standing up while lifting Bilbo with him. He made sure to not jostle him too much, unsure of what the dart had caused. Oin and Nori rushed down the steps, Bofur and Ori following, turning around now and then to make sure Thorin didn’t slip while carrying Bilbo. Dori and Balin followed close behind, leaving Gloin, Bifur, and Bombur on the rampart to stay on the lookout.
Upon reaching the bottom of the steps, Thorin noticed that Bofur and Ori had moved some of the debris to the side to create a spot for him to place Bilbo. Kneeling down, he gently placed Bilbo onto the hard stone. He thought about taking off his coat to place underneath the hobbit but thought against it as he did not want to draw too much attention to the care he was giving. He stood back up, just as Oin and Nori came back with bottles of various medicinal herbs and liquids. He stepped to the side to give them room to lay out the bottles and work, but hovered nearby to make sure nothing went awry.
Oin busied himself with the herbs he and Nori gathered, throwing some into a bowl before grinding them into a paste. He wasn’t exactly sure what was on the dart, but he could narrow it down since he knew it came from an orc. If it had been elvish, then Bilbo was in deep trouble. Oin set the paste aside before motioning to Nori to help him roll Bilbo onto his side again. He lifted the coat Bilbo was wearing, along with the mithril shirt Thorin had given him. The dart had somehow hit him in just the right spot to get through some of the chains in the mithril. It didn’t penetrate deep into his skin, but it was enough to get whatever was on the dart into his system. He could feel Thorin glowering above him, and had a feeling that if Bilbo were conscious, he would feel Thorin’s eyes boring into him. He made quick work of applying the paste, making sure to fully massage it into the wound. Once he was satisfied with his work, he applied a bandage to cover the paste, allowing it to absorb into the hobbit’s skin without risk of it being rubbed off. He pulled the mithril and his coat back down, before rolling him back onto his back. It would take awhile for the medicine to work, if it did, but in the meantime he would try to come up with something for the hobbit to drink once he came to, to help with any pain or drowsiness. Looking closely at the bottles, he picked out one containing a blue liquid, and mixed it with one containing an orange liquid. Swirling this around, it became an earthy brown mixture that smelled sweet. He set down the bottle and sighed, rubbing his face before smoothing his hair back. All they could do now was wait, and pray to Durin that this worked.
Thorin was pacing now, fidgeting with his hands. He was unable to stay still, trying to think of what could have spurred this attack from the orcs. They knew they were coming to Erebor, but how did they know Bilbo would be the one with the Arkenstone? His head shot up at the sound of pounding footsteps, pulling him from his spiral. Dwalin, Fili, and Kili had returned, out of breath. “Well?” He didn’t even give them time to say anything before continuing, “Are there more? Should we prepare to attack?” Kili spoke up, “We couldn’t find any more scouts nearby, but the elves are growing restless outside. What do you want to do uncle?” Thorin threw his hands up in the air in disgust, “Those filthy tree huggers! They will wait until Bilbo wakes before I even think of going to talk to them. And what of Gandalf? Did you see him with the Arkenstone?” The dwarves looked between each other, worry etched onto their faces before Dwalin stepped forward, “We did not see the wizard, or any sign of the stone.” Before Thorin could spit out more Khuzdul to curse Gandalf, Balin interjected, “Maybe it is best that the Arkenstone is with Gandalf for now, he knows of its value to us and will protect it until he deems it safe enough in our hands. For now, we should focus on the elves and Bilbo.” With that, everyone turned to said hobbit, Oin still sitting beside him watching for any signs of movement.
‘Ghivashel, please awake’ Thorin thought to himself, praying to Durin that his hobbit was alright. He shook his head when he realized what was going through his mind, trying not to dwell on the matter. The burglar had done his job. Thorin was just making sure he kept to his end of the contract, give him his share of the gold and send him home. That was all, nothing more. Before he could turn away to continue pacing, he noticed a twitch in Bilbo’s face. Looking closer, he could see his eyes moving behind his eyelids, as if trying to wake from a deep slumber. He held his breath without realizing it, hoping for another sign that Bilbo was alright. His face broke into a wide grin when the hobbit began to groan and his eyes fluttered open, “Good morning, master burglar.” Bilbo looked around, eyes squinted, before landing on Thorin. “What happened? Where’s the Arkenstone? Were we ambushed?” Thorin’s heart swelled, after everything Bilbo was still most concerned about the company and the Arkenstone.
“Calm down lad, we’re still figuring everything out along with you. You just stay there for a moment while Oin looks you over before we talk a plan.” Balin made quick work to soothe the hobbit, as being the oldest he always knew what to say to calm the others. Oin began to fuss over Bilbo, coaxing him into sitting up so he could drink the medicine without choking. Bilbo coughed a bit at the taste, but managed to get it all down without complaint. “That should help with any pain ya got, especially from hittin’ the wall on yer way down.” Oin collected his bottles and stood up, giving the hobbit room to collect his bearings and breathe.
Bilbo’s head was throbbing, and knew he would have a lump wherever he smacked it. He had faith that the concoction that Oin mixed up would kick in, he just couldn’t think straight at the moment. He looked up at the company, “What exactly happened? I remember being on the wall and then it was like a light went out.” The dwarves exchanged glances, before Thorin cleared his throat. “You were targeted by an orc scout. We believe the moment you held out the Arkenstone, they blew a dart at you, we don’t know why yet.” He held Bilbo’s gaze before continuing, “Fili, Kili, and Dwalin went out to make sure it wasn’t an ambush, and came back with nothing. The Arkenstone fell, but Gandalf claims to have it secured now.” Bilbo felt ashamed at this, he had one job and he had messed it up. Bofur seemed to notice the hobbit’s mood sour at this, so he chimed in, “We were more worried about losin’ you with it, so Nori and I grabbed ya before you were a goner.” He smiled at Bilbo, hoping to cheer him up even if just a little bit.
Gloin came running down the steps, drawing everyone’s attention. “Thorin! Thranduil and Bard are demanding to see you, and Gandalf is back.” Thorin turned back to face Bilbo once more, “The wizard wishes to make sure you are well. Will you accompany me to show him you are still breathing?” He held his hand out to help the hobbit up, and was glad when it was accepted. After making sure he was steady on his feet, Thorin led the way to the passage out the side of the mountain. Behind him followed Bilbo, Balin, Dwalin, Fili, and Kili. He assumed Balin was coming to make sure things stayed civil, and the others were coming in case it didn’t. He had no idea what was going to happen when they got out there, he just needed to make sure it ended with him getting the Arkenstone back.
Power doesn’t corrupt, it reveals. Give someone the ability to be who they’ve always wanted, and you’ll discover who they’ve always wanted to be.
I’ve been lost in the rabbit hole for days looking for this story. It’s marvel’s, tony stark centric, I believe. I don’t remember much except that it’s set after civil war (maybe?) and Tony is BAMF, saving the world from alien all by himself. I also remember Carol Danver congratulating him on the treaty by uniting earth into one voice (type civilization 1 or something similar to it). Tony was kinda dubbed as king (or leader) of earth, something like that. Possibly Tony/Bucky pairing but I’m not too sure about that.
This post is about the Tom x Severus ship.
It's not precisely a popular ship, so that's your first warning.
Your second warning is that they are so ooc that they can be considered different characters altogether.
That said, i've had this story idea in my head for a while, that I will probably never write but anyways...
I was thinking about the typical time-travel fanfic where Severus dies in the battle of Hogwarts and wakes up in the past. He goes back to a point in time in which he is still a child, way before Hogwarts. I was thinking it could be at a moment where he had showed accidental magic already, so Tobias was already an asshole and Eileen was already in her way to Depressionland. But, since part of his mind is still that of an adult and he retained his knowledge of his previous life, he is able to control his magic, so once he is back, he never had anymore bouts of magic.
He goes to muggle school. When he gets his Hogwarts' letter he is alone, so he writes a rejection letter and burns the one he got. His parents know nothing and life keeps going.
He graduates from high school and goes to college. I was thinking on a Chemistry mayor, what do you think?
He's been brewing since before getting his Hogwarts letter, under a pseudonym and selling his experiments on Knockturn. He got part-time jobs. He has enough money and by the time he starts college he moves to London.
Life is good, tranquil, he has friends and does what he likes.
One day he's coming back from classes and finds Dumbledore waiting for him at the door of his own fucking apartment.
He goes, pretending he doesn't know who the old man is, planning on telling him to go away. He is about to do it when the Dark Lord appears behind him.
Next thing he knows, Dumbledores is appareting the three of them to his office at Hogwarts where a mixture of the Order and some death-eathers is waiting for them.
Now, Severus pretty much cut all ties with the Wizarding World. Aside from his dealing in Knockturn he is not really aware of anything there and has no idea of the current political climate. So, he doesn't know about Grindelwald coming back.
That surprise is coupled with a, not totally recovered, but mostly sickly-looking human form of the Dark Lord.
Now, this is the part where I can't decide. I have, so far, come up with three possibilities:
1. Severus literally tells them everything. Well... mostly.
He tells them he is from the past and is reliving his life. He tells them he used to be a death-eather but then he became a spy. He tells them how he died.
Lastly, he tells them not to bother him.
He goes home, and finds his apartment was a mess. Someone forced their way into it. He hears screaming on the floor above his own and finds some of Grindelwald men attacking his neighbors.
He kills two and takes one to Hogwarts for interrogation. He will help Dumbledore and Voldemort. Apparently there is no option. Fuck.
2. Is the same, except that Severus tells them nothing about his coming from the future.
And then, some time into actively helping Dumbledore and Voldemort fight, he finds out Tom is also from the future.
Fair warning: It's awkward.
3. Into the first half an hour of being in the headmaster's office, Tom says or does something that makes Severus realize Tom is also from the future.
Severus practically freezes for a good minute before glaring at Tom. Then Severus says something that he very well knows will tell Tom when Severus is from.
And Tom looks at Severus with what could only be discrabed as terror.
Severus then punches Tom in the face, hard. He may had broken the man's nose. A second later, he takes the other flying to Merlin knows where to have a conversation.
No need to say it but, Sev is mad.
From here, everyone else can conclude that the two of them already knew each other. This, coupled with future interactions that show Severus' lack of fear of Tom and Tom's apparent hesitation, leads everyone to the conclusion that Severus was Tom's ex. They tried to deny it with varying degrees of success.
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So? What wpuld be better?
Okay, so this is my attempt at gathering what we have regarding Severus Snape's appearance based on the HP books. It's long, since rowling loved obsessively writing about Snape's looks. It's likely I've missed something, but I hope not much. I didn't dive into what he's wearing or into his self-presentation, just his physical characteristics that are present in canon – people get stupid about that topic sometimes.
Disclaimer: body positivity/neutrality to everyone, I don't support JKR's lookism just as much as all of her other bigotry. Beauty is a deeply subjective concept, no features are objectively beautiful or ugly and none of them identify us as people. The way my imagination and your imagination recreate a picture from the identical textual description might be different.
Snape's nose is constantly described as "hooked":
○"Snape approached their table, stared down his hooked nose at the roots."
○"Snape stared down his hooked nose at Colin."
○"...as Snape swept by he looked down his hooked nose at it without comment" etc.
Altogether I found Snape's nose being called hooked 10 times in the series. There are places where we're shown it's rather big, but they aren't very definitive:
1) “Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people’s business.” – Marauders map, so basically bullies behaving like bullies;
2) "...hatred which had, if possible, intensified last year, when Harry had helped Sirius escape right under Snape’s overlarge nose" – Harry is very mad at Snape and the phrase is clearly used figuratively, not as a direct appearance description;
3)"In the very center of the group Harry saw the dark, greasy-haired head and prominent nose of his least favorite teacher at Hogwarts, Professor Snape" – "prominent" is a broader conception while referring to size, I'd say;
4) "[Tonks'] nose swelled to a beaklike protuberance like Snape’s" – again, the size is mentioned, but not through the words "big" or "large" or "long", and the form is given more empathis.
Undoubtedly it's supposed to be on the bigger side, but it does not, in fact, seem to be "abnormally" large. Making it straight should be a crime though – how can you make anything about that man straight?..
Snape's black eyes are often described glittering or sparkling, but also empty and cold:
○"They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels"
○"Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes"
○“But why not join the feast afterward?” said Snape, his black eyes glittering in the candlelight"
○"He glanced at Snape, whose black eyes glinted, and looked quickly away."
○"He didn’t care that Snape’s face had gone rigid, the black eyes flashing dangerously."
○"Harry blinked. Snape’s eyes gleamed."
○“Don’t lie to me,” Snape hissed, his fathomless black eyes boring into Harry’s"
Snape's eyebrows aren't described in detail, we don't known if they're bushy or thin, but he does that raising one up thing:
○“Yes,” said Harry. “Who’s going to be teaching me?” Snape raised an eyebrow."
And he raises two as well:
○"Snape looked back at her, his eyebrows slightly raised"
○"Snape raised his eyebrows and his tone was sardonic as he asked, “Are you intending to let him kill you?”
Snape's skin is constantly described as sallow – about 11 times through the books. Whatever that word means. Is it like... muted and dull coloured with yellow undertones? Cool!
It's also described as pale, or white due to strong emotions:
○"An ugly flush suffused Snape’s pallid face."
○"Snape was hanging upside down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs"
○"Snape’s pale face, illuminated by the flaming cabin, was suffused with hatred just as it had been before he had cursed Dumbledore."
○"As Gryffindors came spilling onto the field, he saw Snape land nearby, white-faced and tight-lipped"
○"[Snape's face] was marble white and so still that when he spoke, it was a shock to see that anyone lived behind the blank eyes."
○"Snape’s sallow skin had gone the color of sour milk." (very poetic Harry, you should try writing poetry too)
Also idk what's an ugly flush (also: Harry saw the edge of Snape’s sallow face turn a nasty brick color, the vein in his temple pulsing more rapidly; a dull flush of color mounted the sallow cheeks as he looked at Lily), have never seen one in my life, but Snape's face canonically goes full red very quickly and this is the most important part of that meta don't forget about it folks.
His skin is described as greasy twice in the saga, but both times with not much credibility:
1) "Harry could see a vein flickering horribly on Snape’s greasy temple" – temple is the area of the face in close proximity to hair and we'll get there, although aren't Snape's "hair curtains" hiding the sides of his face, including temples? Is he wearing his it freaking braided or what? Overall, I'd say this is just another jab at his hair.
2)"Iwas watching him, his nose was touching the parchment,” said Sirius viciously. “There’ll be great grease marks all over it, they won’t be able to read a word" – Sirius can go fuck himself.
Harry does not comment that at any age there is acne or post-acne on Snape's face so I'd assume his skin isn't greasy. He has visible veins on his temples though (also no eyebags mentioned?? a crime).
Snape's lips are described as thin:
○“Now, now, Malfoy,” said Snape, though he couldn’t suppress a thin-lipped smile"
○"A muscle twitched unpleasantly at the corner of Snape’s thin mouth every time he looked at Harry"
○"The dungeon rang with the Slytherins’ laughter, and an unpleasant smile curled Snape’s thin mouth."
Characteristics of Snape's teeth got two mentions.
○"Snape’s uneven, yellowish teeth were bared." PoA
○“Ten o’clock,” whispered Snape, with a smile that showed his yellow teeth. “Poor Gryffindor ... fourth place this year, I fear ...” HPB
(Also I've literally always hc'ed that Snape is a stress smoker, and since Voldemort came back Snape just started to destroy his enamel with fervour so it coloured up more, everyone should share my headcanons i prove them so well!!!)
Snape bares his teeth some other times ("I wouldn’t bet on that,” Harry murmured, watching Snape baring his teeth"; "It was scary: Snape’s lips were shaking, his face was white, his teeth were bared) or smiles (not pleasantly let me assure you) and most times Harry doesn't comment on it. Actually, it's hilarious how the very first time Harry saw Karkaroff he thought "his teeth were rather yellow", man, do you wanna steal Hermione parents' job? Also yellow teeth are mentioned twice for Sirius in PoA (and no one dares to not notice Gilderoy's perfect teeth, of course, he asked me to mention it). So I'd say Snape has moderately imperfect teeth like a working class kid he is, otherwise Harry would've probably commented on that as much as on Snape's hair, hence almost every time we encounter him.
(but I'm totally headcanoning high canine teeth for him, Snape deserves the privilege of having some more vampirish vibe for free)
Severus' body type and face are described as "thin":
○"He was a thin man with sallow skin, a hooked nose, and greasy, shoulder-length black hair"
○Snape was hanging upside down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs"
○"even Harry, who hated Snape, was startled at the expression twisting his thin, sallow face"
○"He had forgotten the details of Snape’s appearance in the magnitude of his crimes, forgotten how his greasy black hair hung in curtains around his thin face, how his black eyes had a dead, cold look (I fucking love that quote, have you forgotten his lesser crimes which are not looking the way you enjoy, Harry, after he committed bigger ones like murder? good god)
He isn't probably looking very thin, since that description mostly applies to his face. Rather logical, I mean he wears all those big flowy robes that make him look bigger.
Also Snape is average height like about 177 cm/5'10, he's shorter than Yaxley and Sirius, taller than "tall and slim" Narcissa, so somewhere in this range.
The fact that Severus has hunched posture is mentioned twice for a kid/teen!Snape:
○"He was on platform nine and three-quarters, and Snape stood beside him, slightly hunched, next to a thin, sallow-faced, sour-looking woman who greatly resembled him"
○"Round-shouldered yet angular, he walked in a twitchy manner that recalled a spider, his oily hair swinging about his face."
I didn't find any mentions in the books that adult!Snape had hunched posture. It is possible that, like many behaviors and habits, such as the way he speaks, moves, and perhaps writes, it had been deliberately changed by Snape himself.
His fingers are thin and long:
○Snape eyed Harry, tracing his mouth with one long, thin finger as he did so.
○Snape pointed a long yellow finger at Malfoy and said, “Explain.” – yellow can be a way to call sallow skin; a result of working with potions (Snape having potions stained fingers is not book canon, which is a shame) or smoking. Them being thin is noted once, but that goes cohesively with his thinness overall.
The star of the show – Snape's hair, ofc. It gets more attention than James Potter's charachter development. The fact that it's greasy appears in the books minimum 17 times + it's called oily 2 times and dirty once when he's a 9yo kid. People who comment on that, except Harry in his head, are Sirius, Peter through the Map, Fred and George in DH ("Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t, but the fact remains he can move faster than Severus Snape confronted with shampoo when he wants to"), kinda Ron with grinning on Sirius' comment. Actually it's not described as greasy in "Spinners End" and "The Dark Lord Ascending" (so it might as well be your ordinary oily hair with a tad of drama from people who dislike Snape).
It's black – obviously, shoulder-length or "long", which I assume is just a variation for shoulder-length. It's often forming "curtains":
○"Snape went quiet, though his eyes still glinted malevolently through his curtain of greasy black hair."
○"Snape looked around at him, his face framed between curtains of greasy black hair."
○"A sliver of a man could be seen looking out at them, a man with long black hair parted in curtains around a sallow face and black eyes."
At the hilltop scene they're described as straggling:
○"Snape was wringing his hands: He looked a little mad, with his straggling black hair flying around him."
as opposed to being lank before:
○"His hair was lank and greasy and was flopping onto the table".
He had it poorly cut when he was a kid:
○“Definitely,” said Snape, and even with his poorly cut hair and his odd clothes, he struck an oddly impressive figure..."
So as an adult he supposedly cared enough to regularly cut his hair up to Harry's (fashionable) standard. It also doesn't look "dirty", like Harry calls internally his hair when Severus is 9.
Well, as someone with naturally oily hair, depression and neurodivent sensory issues, I can say that if your hair loosely hangs in "curtains" covering/framing your face, you're probably not doing that bad with it! There are a lot of headcanons about why Snape has greasy hair, but honestly, I don't understand why would he need an exuse? Having oily hair doesn't make you unhygienic, that's ridiculous, and there are no signs that Snape (noticeably) neglects his hygiene. Hair types exist, and some of them just need extra-spesial care to look "socially acceptable" or whatever, but people have the right to not bother about it. Whether his occupation and/or upbringing and/or mental health problems affected it – maybe to an extent, but excluding just genetics or physical well-being from it is kinda weird. Let different hair types live and be pretty.
Snape's mom was thin, sallow faced and sour looking, and Harry thinks Severus resembles her greatly; while Severus' hooked nose was inherited from Tobias – "a hook-nosed man was shouting at a cowering woman, while a small dark-haired boy cried in a corner". Harry also does think Eileen isn't pretty since she's described as a "skinny girl; ...she looked simultaneously cross and sullen, with heavy brows and a long, pallid face" (so evidently that's not Harry's type aside from his prejudice to Snape. Harry's admiration towards Krum hadn't made Harry think he's attractive either. Just to remind you: "Viktor Krum was thin, dark, and sallow-skinned, with a large curved nose and thick black eyebrows. He looked like an overgrown bird of prey". Literally Snape's lost cousin).
Honestly, after going through those descriptions specifically, if I remove the evaluative vocabulary and the labels of ugly/nasty/unpleasant/etc., I don't really understand what exactly I should've found ugly? Snape is just not Harry's type of preferred visual, and on top of that they quickly developed a mutual dislike. Nevertheless, no one is obliged to transfer subjective ideas of the (author) protagonist to their own perception. Writing "ugly" after a characteristic doesn't make it "ugly".
That had been a long conclusion.
My short conclusion is that Severus Snape is a babygirl and Harry has poor taste (sorry, no hard feelings).
I am looking for a Percy Jackson fanfiction. I read the 5 first books a long while ago, so I don't remember much. But I am looking for a fic that has Dionysus as some kind of uncle/father figure to all demigods.
Now, I know this is fully ooc, but he is the one with the best chances of understanding what it is like to be in their place because he used to be a demigod himself. I read the book of Percy Jackson narrating the stories of the Olympians and there he explained how Dionysus mother was a demigod, daughter of Poseidon, I think.
Hera was responsible for a lot of shit that happened to him afterwards.
He would know what it's like to be mortal, to have friends and a loving and very HUMAN family and have it taken away from you for something that was not your doing.
Then, he married Ariadna, a princess and mortal made immortal so they'd be able to be together. That's when his dislike for demigods started, but really, I don't think that to be enough for him to hate them, not really.
And he cares about his own children, he showed it. I think he has only one set of children too. And being at camp means that he is probably the most present parent of every Olympian.
My point, I want a fic where he clearly is angry at the rest of the Olympians for their treatment to their children but tries so much to hide it, where he is sick and fed up of watching for centuries how they play with kids like they were toys, how they abandon them to survive in a world that essentially wants them dead. I want him to be sick of watching them pay for the broken plates they didn't even touch, of the unfair punishments and the times when one of them is killed or cursed by one Olympian because of what other Olympian too powerful to be attacked did (*cof*Zeus and Hera*cofcof*).
I want him there, not knowing what to do to help, wanting to help but being unable to. He was forbidden of drinking wine by Zeus, he was basically expelled from his own domain. How much influence over him does Zeus then posses?
I want Dionysus angry and furious with the Olympians.
I want him resenting Quiron too, maybe, for sending demigod after demigod on quests. Maybe just at the beginning, until they reach some understanding. Until they get each other a bit better, until they understand that they are on the same page.
I want Dionysus worried and annoyed and doing his best to keep the other kids at arms length but unable to.
I want him trying so desperately to pretend that ge doesn't care and doesn't want to be there because he is worried, worried for the kids that go on quests, worried for those who leave camp after summer, for those who haven't reached camp yet, for those who just arrived and just can't understand yet what is happening and have no idea... They think the worst is over but it isn't, it never is...
And he is worried, over all, that if any of the others ever finds out just how much he actually cares, they will take everything away from him.
Last page!!! Hope you guys enjoyed this long romp in the wolf Thorin AU! ✨😭✨
🐺 Page: 59 (END)
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