I've been toying with the idea of setting this up for a while now, as some of my flist may know, so now I'm basically testing the waters.

In this post, I want to gauge interest in a possible Big Bang style challenge for HP fandom.  There's already one very successful version of it in the fandom and it focuses on Harry/Draco.  You can find it at big_bang_hd.  I found out about this kind of challenge last year through heroes_bigboom, (though due to my last laptop I never completed the challenge).  There's also spn_j2_bigbang in Supernatural fandom, svbigbang in Smallville fandom, sgabigbang in Stargate: Atlantis fandom and tardis_bigbang in Doctor Who fandom.  You can take a look at those communities to get a feel for what it's all about, or hey, they might appeal to you more than HP!

In short, in a Big Bang challenge, writers create a story of usually 20,000 words and up. Then at the end of the first draft period, these writers are paired up with artists and vidders, who create a piece of art or a vid to accompany the story.  It requires a lot of effort, but it's also a lot of fun and produces some great fanwork for everyone to enjoy.

The idea that I've been toying with is that there's a broader Big Bang for HP fandom, or one that would appeal to those who aren't part of the slashy sector of it :)

Do comment with ideas and opinions: if you really think we're over saturated with fests in this fandom and this would be one too many, let me know! There's no point doing it if the interest isn't there.

A while ago I read someone musing on Hermione and the tendency of sections of fandom to pair her with anyone and then to have her as a sort of idealised half of the pairing.  (I can't remember where this was, if it was an entry or comments on an entry, else I'd link it.)  It was remarked that perhaps this has to do with so many of us identifying strongly with Hermione: she is bookish, not stunning, but highly intelligent and loves her friends; this is obviously a picture of a large percentage of fandom and I think women and girls in general find it easy to identify with her.

On the other hand, would I say I identify most with Hermione?  No, certainly not.  Because whilst highly intelligent she's also overly stubborn, close-minded at times and overly serious.

It's easy to state Luna as a mirror of Hermione; they're opposites and this makes them friends.  Luna is imaginative, willing to accept things others might not understand and is misunderstood herself; again I think many members of fandom would say that they identify with this.  I certainly do and strongly at that.

Then, outside of this opposition but constantly in comparison we have Ginny, the third of the most prominent females of Harry's generation.  She's as stubborn as any of her family, but more of a tomboy than either of the other girls here.  She's combative, forward, yet she's often trapped by those around her and over-protected.  Despite her tomboy status she's often described as fairly feminine and beautiful, probably in an attempt to make her a viable choice for Harry.  She's probably the least obvious of the three for fandom to identify with, yet we write about her a lot.  Is it that we're not as easy to put in a box as it seems, or rather that we're living vicariously through her?

Personally, my dilemma here is that I can't identify myself as one of these three ... I hesitate to call them 'types', because that's probably a disservice to the characterisation of Luna and Hermione in particular.  I see glimpses of myself in each of them and I really like all three of them (though I'm aware many have problems with Hermione and Ginny - more so than I've seen it with Luna anyway).

So tell me, who do you identify with most? Do you identify with any of them?  Do you see fandom as a whole as aligning themselves with one of these three, or does it simply depend on who you want to ship them with?  Any thoughts, basically.

And a poll...

I was just reading on The Leaky Cauldron that JKR and WB have filed for an injunction or whatever. The article is very long and is here.

Some of it worries me.

For example:

A rule against JKR/WB would harm the fan community by “necessitating more monitoring and restriction of fan activity by copyright owners afraid of compromising their rights against infringers.”

It is incomprehensible to me that this ‘lexicon’ should be allowed to be published simply because I encourage and support fan websites or because Mr. Vander Ark was able to finish his ‘lexicon’ while I was still touring in support of the last Harry Potter book. My fear is that if the ‘lexicon’ is published, authors like myself will be forced to restrict the use of their materials on fan websites or risk losing their right to restrict other unauthorized uses of those materials. Such a result benefits no one and hurts the fan community most of all.

This point seems to be made multiple times. I know this is the biggest problem many people have had with the situation - if SVA and RDR succeed then this could change fandom as we know it.  The amount of people and organisations objecting to fanworks would surely go up immediately.

I don't think the rest of us should be forced to stop playing because these clowns want a bit of cash.

The article is all very depressing, but the worst part for me is the part including SVA's emails trying to get a job with JKR.  It paints a picture that is uncomfortable to look at.  I feel sorry for him in these respects, but I still think that what he's doing is wrong.

What are your thoughts guys?

So as I'm sure most of you know by now, J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers have filed a lawsuit against the author and publishers of a proposed printed version of The Harry Potter Lexicon.

You can find information about this here and here, if you were not already aware of it.

So, what I want to know is:

It doesn't really affect the rest of us, I'm pleased to see:

There is no intention to have this suit apply to other fan endeavors such as web sites, wizard rock, etc.

So it seems that as long as we're not making a profit no one minds.

Do pimp this poll - I want to see as much opinion on it as possible.

ETA: Further explanation of the legal issues - made simple - is available here.

The fact that Albus Dumbledore is gay!

I seriously thought 'this is a bit slashy' when reading the stuff about him and Grindelwald, but I put it down to spending too much time in the Heroes fandom prior to the book's release!

Anyways, I think it was a great thing for JKR to say, because if she wasn't going to be burnt at the stake by Christians before, she most definitely is now!

However, to me, this proves that Remus/Sirius was never canon ... surely she would have mentioned it by now?  Has no one asked her?  I have nothing against the ship exactly, I just feel like a romantic relationship between them would undermine everything that the Marauders were, and that it would make what James and Sirius had less meaningful.  Also, I feel like it's a way for people to further leave Peter by the wayside.  He was a part of it all, people, whether we like it or not!

I love Neville/Hannah too!  I've always liked Hannah, and I think that her temperament would be a good match for Neville.  Also, it means that Neville/Luna isn't canon ... and Dean/Luna has some chance.  LOL, I don't think JKR is even aware of it though.  Someone needs to run it by her and see what she thinks!

And the poor woman was harassed by shippers.  H/Hr shippers can be particularly brutal I think (not any of the ones on my flist, I know you guys are sane, I'm talking about the batshit ones in certain sectors of the fandom!).  I don't know, I was a person who just figured it would be H/G and R/Hr from as far back as maybe CoS - it was always just so obvious.

I find it funny that she's all like, 'oh god, the fan fiction!' over Dumbledore/Grindelwald!  I mean, everyone knows that 'if you can think of it, there is fic for it'.  I believe there was already a strong AD/GG fanbase ... all she has done is canonised it.

This woman is so cool.

Oh and I loved her answer to the 8 year old on Aberforth and his goats!

...was awesome!

I had the BEST weekend! Seriously.

So in my travels through the interwebz avoising writing I found a meme about ships, so I thought I would do it. You know, just because.

I have no idea who originally had it, but I can't even really remember how I found it. Anyways.