THE HARRY POTTER CHARACTER LOVE FEST

[birdsofshore]

I hereby pronounce the Love Fest OPEN!     ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥




banner by capitu





BANNERS – We'd love you to promote the fest on your journal! Please pick up your banners HERE.

ALPHABETICAL MASTERLIST OF CHARACTERS

I've started you off with 40 or so of the requested characters, and I might add more as the urge takes me. If your character is not here, start your own comment thread and I'll link to it here!

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE'S thread
ALBUS SEVERUS' thread
ARTHUR'S thread
BELLATRIX'S thread
BILL'S thread
BLAISE'S thread
CEDRIC'S thread and more CEDRIC here
CHARLIE'S thread
CORMAC'S thread
CROOKSHANKS' thread
DOBBY'S thread
DRACO'S thread
DUDLEY'S thread
FRED'S thread
GEORGE'S thread
HARRY'S thread
HEDWIG'S thread
HERMIONE'S thread
GINNY'S thread
HORACE SLUGHORN'S thread
JAMES SIRIUS' thread
KINGSLEY'S thread
KREACHER'S thread
LUCIUS' thread
LUNA'S thread
MADAM POMFREY'S thread
MINERVA MCGONAGALL'S thread
MOLLY'S thread
NARCISSA'S thread
NEVILLE'S thread
PANSY'S thread
PROFESSOR SPROUT'S thread
PROFESSOR TRELAWNEY'S thread
REGULUS BLACK'S thread
REMUS LUPIN'S thread
RODOLPHUS AND / OR RABASTAN LESTRANGE'S thread
ROMILDA'S thread
RON'S thread
RUBEUS HAGRID'S thread
TEDDY LUPIN'S thread
SCORPIUS' thread
SEVERUS SNAPE'S thread
SIRIUS BLACK'S thread
TONKS' (NYMPHADORA TONKS) thread
VOLDEMORT'S thread

MASTERLIST OF FANWORKS Updated as regularly as I can!

FEST INFO:

When is the fest running?
We're here all week, from Feb 7th to Feb 14th. Please drop in regularly to leave love and see what else has been left.

How do I leave love for a character?
It's entirely up to you, but here are some examples, for your inspiration. So, for instance, if you're feeling a lot of love for Ron this week, go to his thread HERE and leave your contribution as a comment.

You could post explaining that you've always liked a man with a freckly arse. You could draw a sketch of Ron doing his bad-ass Auror thing. You could write a drabble featuring Ron just being Ron, a kinky PWP, or a 100k Gen rated kid!fic. You could cosplay as Ron and post a photo. Sculpt your interpretation of Ron's face in mashed potato. Or eat a bacon sandwich in his honour and then compose a haiku about how delicious it was. What about some Ron-centric recs? Ron icons, favourite quotes connected to Ron, a Ron fanmix, Ron's name written in fairy lights – if you can think of it, then DO IT.

Leave a description of your contribution in the subject line. Eg, RON: FANMIX, RON: HAIKU, or RON: DRABBLE or just RON: LOVE if it's just general love.

Commenting on other people's contributions, and general chit-chat, is firmly encouraged. Will this mean the threads get a little crazy? WHO KNOWS. :D

What is and isn't allowed?
You can write any pairing, or gen, any length, any genre, any rating. Please use warnings appropriately. Content does not have to be fluffy by any means, but character bashing would not be appropriate at this fest. If you have any doubts, just ask me or capitu.

I've written a 20k fic for the fest, is that OK?
:DDD OF COURSE. If there's anything that you want to host on your own journal, just leave the link in the comment thread.

I can't find a thread for Aunt Marge / Griphook / Trevor! Are only certain characters eligible for love?
Please check the masterlist first, HERE. I'll try to keep the masterlist updated as much as possible, but I do have to sleep and stuff, so please skim through the latest comment threads as well, to see if someone else has begun one for your character. If Aunt Marge or whoever has been cruelly neglected so far, please start your own thread, putting their name in the subject line.

As to who's eligible: EVERYONE. If they feature in the Harry Potter series, they qualify for the fest.

My fanwork deals with more than one character, where shall I put it?
GOOD QUESTION. Did you feel inspired with love for one of the characters more than the others, perhaps? If not... if it's a pairing fic, say Neville / Luna, you could post it on Neville's thread, and leave a link to it on Luna's thread. If it's, say a drawing of the Lestranges, start a thread titled “The Lestrange family” and put it on there. If you still don't know where to put it, just ask me or capitu, or just do something different entirely, if you like; we won't shout at you.

Am I only meant to leave love for my favourite character?
No! Leave love for as many people as you like! You have the whole week to shower as many HP characters as you wish with love. You could even challenge yourself and try to appreciate a character you haven't really given much thought to before.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

LET THE LOVE BEGIN! ♥

Comments

Re: Severus Snape: The Byronic Hero of the Potterverse - Part II

[writcraft]

In her paper Keeping Promises to Queer Children: Making Space for Mary Sue at Hogwarts, Ika Willis notes that Snape is described in a manner consitent with the tropes of the Gothic romance. With descriptions of his dark hair, piercing stare, coal black eyes and silky voice, Snape's physicality calls to mind other anti-heroes of classic literature, such as Heathcliff, Frollo and Rochester. Canon both sexualises and romanticises Snape with these descriptions, albeit perhaps unintentionally. The argument that Snape is written in a manner which can be likened to the anti-hero of conventional romance; the Byronic man of “loneliness and mystery” is given further support by the revelation of his unrequited love for Lily Evans which he appears quite willing to literally die for.

That Severus and Harry could build a life together seems improbable – if not impossible – on first blush. The two characters seem to loathe one another with Snape’s already nasty and bitter side looking even more unappealing when viewed by the reader through Harry’s eyes. There is a reasonable age gap between them and a dark and bitter history which inextricably links the two characters.

However, it is precisely this animosity and hatred which originally drew me to this pairing. Even before I discovered slash, the relationship which fascinated me the most, was that of Harry and Severus. I thrived on the tension between the two characters and I loved Snape in all his bitter, flawed glory and the relationship dynamic between Harry and Snape was, quite genuinely, the key relationship of the series for me.

I love seeing that acrimonious relationship retextualised as sexual tension and I firmly believe a relationship between the two could work successfully. The parallels noted above run deep throughout canon. I do not find it a stretch at all to believe they could find themselves in a situation where they began to recognise their common bonds, from their childhood through to their adulthood and their respective roles in the war.

Where would I be without someone to save me, someone who won't let me fall?

Severus has always given me ALL THE FEELS. I just can't even begin to articulate how much Severus, as a character, and the Snarry ship means to me. LOVE.

Re: Severus Snape: The Byronic Hero of the Potterverse - Part II

[birdsofshore]

Ah, it's lovely to read how much Severus means to you! He's always been a favourite character of mine, but I must admit I probably appreciate him less since diving headlong into H/D. It seems like people like EITHER Draco or Snape, mostly. I'm not sure why?

Re: Severus Snape: The Byronic Hero of the Potterverse - Part II

[0idontknow0]

It might be Severus' age and the fact that he was Harry's professor.Those are automatic deal breakers for some people.

*ships HP/SS, HP/DM and HP/SS/DM*

Re: Severus Snape: The Byronic Hero of the Potterverse - Part II

[0idontknow0]

You and your lovely meta. I enjoyed reading this. Absolutely wonderful.

Re: Severus Snape: The Byronic Hero of the Potterverse - Part II

[writcraft]

That's so kind! Thanks for reading my ramblings xD

Re: Severus Snape: The Byronic Hero of the Potterverse - Part II

[perverse-idyll.livejournal.com]

While Harry’s battles are public and carried out under constant scrutiny from the press and those around him, Snape’s battles are private and conducted in the shadows of secrecy.

I have to say, Snape aces this. For someone as unguarded in his bitterness as Snape is, the one area where he shows surprising control is in everything related to his undercover work and his ambiguous allegiance. The only time he really loses his shit and lets it be known that he craves recognition is when Sirius escapes and Snape is denied an Order of Merlin, and in that case 1) he's recently been confronted with his childhood tormentors, in the Shrieking Shack no less, which must have churned up horrible memories, 2) he believes Sirius betrayed the Potters, so he undoubtedly blames him for giving Voldemort access to Lily, 3) he went to the Shack to save Harry, just as he'd promised, and not only were the tables turned on him, but Harry was amongst those who knocked him out, and 4) Dumbledore teases him about it. Readers still point to this scene as an instance of Snape's ridiculous temper and egotism, but considering that the walls were closing in and he must have known things would only get worse, I don't see it as particularly damning. After that, he apparently accepts that he's signed on to endure whatever Dumbledore dishes out, and he never makes mention of rewards again. Except for his soul. He asks that Dumbledore not force him to damage his soul. For which Dumbledore teases him again.

*stops to have a smack-Dumbledore moment*

Canon both sexualises and romanticises Snape with these descriptions

JKR piles on the unsexy descriptions, too, though - spidery, greasy, like a plant kept too long in the dark, beady eyes, sallow skin, and so on and so forth. I suspect Snape's nose is meant to be ugly as well; evidently it never dawned on JKR that some people find hawkish noses attractive. There's also a conviction in Snape-is-gross corners of fandom that his greasy hair and uneven yellow teeth indicate bad breath and hygiene.

Still, whatever JKR's intentions, she clearly lost control of readers' interpretations of Snape, and this happened long before Alan Rickman burst on the scene.

it is precisely this animosity and hatred which originally drew me to this pairing … I thrived on the tension between the two characters and I loved Snape in all his bitter, flawed glory and the relationship dynamic between Harry and Snape was, quite genuinely, the key relationship of the series for me … that acrimonious relationship retextualised as sexual tension…

Yes. Thank you, yes. This is it for me, exactly. That first time I stumbled across a Snarry fic eight years ago - if it had been the tale of their domestic harmony and postwar happiness, I wonder if I would have gone searching for more. The breathless reaction I had was an electric connection to the ambiguity, the power struggle, the dysfunction and entanglement, the initial mystery of Snape and his inexcusable treatment of Harry, the uncontrollable need and transgression and erotic shiver between them. The sense that Harry didn't understand the lines Snape was crossing and moral boundaries he was breaking, and how Snape's fixation on him, on a student, his angry, voracious commitment to Voldemort's downfall in the person of one clueless, sarcastic, resilient boy, burned with torment and love/hate and sexual possessiveness.

No matter what revelations lay in store after that - including Lily and pointless death - that initial firestorm impression has stayed with me, and I can't write Snape/Harry without it.

In short:

Severus has always given me ALL THE FEELS. I just can't even begin to articulate how much Severus, as a character, and the Snarry ship means to me. LOVE.

This. What you said. Every bit of it. ♥

Re: Severus Snape: The Byronic Hero of the Potterverse - Part II

[writcraft]

*stops to have a smack Dumbledore moment*

I really am so excited to hear what you think about Dumbledore at the darkarts meta post. I err to the more Dumbledore positive as opposed to Dumbledore negative side (one for another discussion methinks!) but I'm always so fascinated by other views. Like I said to Birds below, one of the things I love most about character focused meta is it makes me critically examine characters in a new light again. As I'm writing a long Snarry this year for the Harry Big Bang, things like your lovely essay are phenomenally useful to me to help me get into the character again, revisit the books and examine the way I portray them in fic. Which is a fantastic thing to be able to do!

You're quite right of course that JKR highlights Sev's 'unattractive side' through use of the descriptions you set out. What I find so funny is he clearly was intended to be unattractive yet all of those tropes of the gothic romance (dark glittering eyes, speaking with a 'purr', silky voice, his physicality etc.) inadvertently work to counteract those descriptions and sexualise Severus.

Although I have quite a bit of Snarry fluff in my Masterlist, I am always drawn to those representations of the character where his flaws are highlighted in a manner consistent with canon and where that tension between Harry and Severus exists and becomes something sexual. That has always been my favourite kind of Snarry and of course all the ones I started out reading had exactly that dynamic, which drew me so hard and fast into the pairing in the first place.

Thank you so much for such a long and considered response with so many other points to think about. I loved reading all your thoughts on Sev and I can't wait to really get to grips with him again in a novel length fic xD

Re: Severus Snape: The Byronic Hero of the Potterverse - Part II

[citiesandsigns.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed this! As I said to perverse_idyll below, I don't know if I really fall completely in line with what either of you wrote in my opinions, but I really appreciate them - it's so much easier to think about characters when there's an active community talking about them so that there are all these opinions around that one can consider & reconsider. It's something I appreciate hugely about HP fandom (and I AM still pretty new to the fandom, heh). This all makes me want to add my own thoughts, but whenever I try to write anything like this I just completely freeze up - apparently if I'm going to say a lot about characters I'll just have to do it through lovingly-crafted works of pornographic fanfiction. *headdesk*