Snapey Meme and Other Thoughts

Some clever person (bethbethbeth, perhaps?) once referred to Snape as the "little black dress" of HP fandom, in that he goes with everythingone. And indeed, the list of believable Snape pairings I've read is l-o-o-o-ng. (Snape with Hermione, Harry, Remus, Sirius, Regulus, Rabastan, Bellatrix, Lucius, Narcissa, Dumbledore, Filch, Flitwick, Trelawney, Draco, Sprout, Hooch, Luna, Eileen, Moody, Minerva, Percy, Slughorn, Lily, and more).

And now there's a meme going around in which you're supposed to list the Snape pairings you have written. And I have to laugh, because however long my list of believable reads, my list of "writes" hardly deserves to be called a list. It's just a trio. Here it is:

My List of Snape Pairings I Have Written

Snape/McGonagall (10 total = 7 romance, 2 friendship, 1 dark non-con-y thing)
Snape/Moody (1)
Snape/George (1, and it counts as a pairing only if you squint)

The reasons I don't write more Snape pairings are several: First, even though I have read and liked believable stories in all the pairings I've listed above, I don't like the pairs themselves all equally well. For instance, I think I may have reached my limit on Snape/Luna (my interest in the Snuna Exchange is waning), and in some of the others, my pleasure in reading is often due more to the skill of the particular author (such as leni_jess's recent Snape/Trelawney fic) than in the pairing itself (though I have a real soft spot for Snape/Filch).

Last and most probably most important is the fact that, however much I like Snape (and I do, heaps) and find him compelling, he's not my first love when it comes to HP characters: Minerva McGonagall is. So when I write Minerva/Severus, it's more that I'm pairing her with Snape than that I'm pairing Snape with her, if that makes sense.

Friending Question: Does anyone else feel diffident about asking to friend people? I'm usually really pleased when someone wants to friend me, but I always feel a bit shy about friending others. I'm not sure why: whenever I've nerved myself up to ask, people have been very gracious and welcoming. Yet I often think, "well, if Person X wanted me on their friends list, they'd friend me. They haven't, so they don't, and I don't want to be pushy or make them feel awkward." Yet the rational part of me realizes that Person X could also conceivably be saying, "well, if Kelly wanted me on her friends list, she'd have friended me. She hasn't, so she doesn't." I'd have missed out on all sorts of great people if they hadn't been brave enough to take the first friending step. So I ought to be able to do the same. I'm often not, though.

And speaking of friends, I'm so grateful to all of you who sent your good wishes and hugs about my upcoming mammogram retest. You've made me feel so much better!