First, I know there is a lot of Snape and Draco love 'round these parts. So encourage everybody to consider putting that love to good use in this here fic-a-thon!

Talking like a cowboy is not required. Check it out!

* * * *

Recently _rp_zeal_ talked about why she liked Draco, something I had to ask myself too. He's more a convenient surrogate than someone I identify with. I might cringe when he does something awful or stupid, but I'm cringing for him, not me, because in almost any situation, I would never do what he does. Even when I might say what he says, I wouldn't say it the way he does. However, I know there are people who have openly admitted to being Draco or Pansy as a kid. Since these characters are presented so unflatteringly in canon, I believe that the people who are claiming this are being honest. That is, they're admitting to some really awful (or just embarrassing or unflattering) past behavior that they've now grown out of or changed. They're owning their own flaws through the character, not making the character a hero.

So my question is...do any of you (meaning everybody, not just my flist) have characters in the series you can say that about? The character in which you recognize your own flaws? Which "rotten kid" were you in school? By that I do not mean which character do you *enjoy* identifying with. It doesn't count if you're owning a character's flaws because you don't really think they're flaws. For instance: A person who feels they were like Hermione because they were an overachiever and could be bossy...because everyone else, sadly, was so comparatively slow. Or that they were like Luna because they didn't fit in...because everybody else was so conformist and mean, and they were interesting, creative and special.

An example of an *acceptable* answer for this, using Luna, would be: "I affected a weird persona and then pretended I didn't know I was being intentionally weird for attention. God, I was so annoying and fake." Something like that. I'm not saying this is the correct way to look at Luna. The question is more about the readers. Do you see the awful kid you were in school in the characters? Like behavior that you indulged in that you aren't proud of? Something you own as your own fault without blaming other people (I was bossy because the other students were so far behind me. I was whiny because everyone else was mean. I bullied X because he deserved it!!) for it?

I don't know if anybody else is interested in this idea, but I would love to hear what people had to say if they could answer. Anyone want to confess their childhood sins (which we all probably still struggle with)? You can always do it anonymously.:) I'll do my own, anyway, in case anyone else is interested. (Prepares for massive de-friending once inner rottenness is revealed.)

( I'm Sister Magpie. And I'm a Remus Lupin. )

Um, I have no idea what happened to the beginning of this post. I brought up something in reenka's lj, and that led to the fact that I've been re-reading The Dark is Rising and loving it so much that when I get to the end I'll probably either cry or have to start over at the beginning.

Anyway, I'm currently just finished the second part of the second book (The Dark is Rising) and I suspect I'm going to wind up doing some big Merriman/Will post when I'm done with that book but in the meantime I'm ( thinking about boy wizards. )

I was thinking today about nicknames--specifically nicknames of characters when they don't have them in canon. It's a weird thing, isn't it? I love naming fictional characters. To me it seems like almost the most important thing about the character. Sometimes I'll start with one name I really like but then the character will develop and another name will literally pop out because the old one doesn't fit.

I think canon authors probably deal with much the same thing. Bingo the Ringbearer, anyone? This is probably why ( it's usually a bad idea for fanfic authors to mess around with them. )

I was thinking about characters today who bring their troubles on themselves. You know the kind I mean...like recently I was talking to somebody on TORC who seemed to consider Gollum an innocent who just had all these things happen to him and, you know, why didn't somebody just HELP HIM. I felt I had to point out, you know, most of Gollum's troubles he brought on himself. Draco, in canon, is obviously another character like this.

What interests me, though, is the way it seems a lot of people think that a character who "brings it on himself" isn't sympathetic. Like, a good character who just gets dumped on by life and deals with it heroically is tragic. A character who deals badly with the hand he's given, who acts like a jerk and reaps the rewards somehow isn't. It's like saying that "he brought it on himself" sews up the character and puts him beyond (or beneath) words like tragic or sorry. But I find I often have the opposite reaction. I might love the good character but my heart sometimes goes out to the bad one because I would never ever want to be that. Even when I was a very small kid I can remember being desperately upset when I'd brought something on myself.

( Why I think these characters are important )

So I was going to write this thing on authority in LOTR vs. HP (the world trembles in anticipation!) and I got a little sidetracked by this thought on father figures in HP. Spoilers about The OotP Death inside.

( Basically I was thinking about who Harry's surrogate father in the story is? )

Warning: Authority post probably tk.

This isn't about slash, just the relationships in general. I'm seeing a lot of how this book was all about H/S (slash-wise and not) but seriously, I think that's secondary. I mean, it's primary in the plot but I tend to see a big H/S reconcilliation having limited use in solving problems here. JKR may totally disagree with me, of course.

( Cutting here for the spoilers... )

I'm sure a lot of people are writing things about nocturne_alley today and this is my contribution. I'm not really going to talk about the situation, but sort of a side issue. Not surprisingly, in one of the many conversations I've been having about it, I've been accused of excusing horrible actions by looking for the mentality behind those actions and saying nobody is responsible for anything. This makes me laugh, knowing that I have the parents that I do. Let's just say that in my house we're responsible for everything that happens to us. ( No matter how often I hear that accusion, I still don't really get it. )