Beth H (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} bethbethbeth) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} hp_beholder,@ 2012-01-12 18:35:00 |
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| Entry tags: | admin, beholder_2012 |
2 Weeks Until Sign-Ups for HP Beholder 2012 Begin!
Hello!
The fifth round of hp_beholder will be getting underway soon. Sign-ups start Thursday, January 26th, and I'd love to have as many of you participate as possible.
Feel free to share this information with your own f'lists. In fact, please do...the more, the merrier!
Note: For background information relating to the creation of this Fic/Art Exchange, please see the original general information post, but don't trust that post for dates and updated rules
This is NOT the sign-up post: Again...sign-ups begin Thursday, January 26th, so you have plenty of time to read the instructions in this post and decide what you're going to request.
General Information
As you're probably aware by now, this is an HP Fic & Art exchange created to focus on relationships featuring the characters who are often overlooked in fanworks because some less-than-discerning people think they're unappealing. There's no smut requirement, per se, but the characters you feature in your art or fiction must be shown in a relationship of some kind. This might mean they're just starting to date by the end of the story and do little more than hold hands, or it might mean they're encountering each other late one night via a glory hole, but either way, this isn't a Gen challenge (much though your fearless mod loves gen)
This is an anonymous exchange, which means I'll be posting all the stories and art, and only revealing the names of the original authors and artists at the end of the exchange. Please make sure there's no identifying information (your signature at the bottom of your drawing, for example, or the name of your well-known cat as a character in a story) when you send in your completed fic/art file.
Note: all completed work - 1000 word minimum files (.txt or .rtf or .doc) with html coding on stories, please - and all questions should be sent to me at: beholder.mod [at] gmail [dot] com
For a variety of reasons, the main home of the exchange is on IJ, but there are mirror communities on LJ and DW - and non-LJ users can sign up and leave comments on the IJ community with OpenID. There's also an LJ RSS feed here: http://syndicated.livejournal.com/hpbeh
DEADLINES
For the 2012 edition, the following timeline will be used:
THE LIST (of characters from which at least one member of your primary pairing must be selected)
(note: this list was compiled using suggestions from people who took the original poll, and a few names were added in the following years. If there's a character who fits the criteria whom you'd like to have added, leave a comment and let me know.)
| (adult) Dumbledore | Aberforth Dumbledore | Alecto Carrow |
| Amycus Carrow | Arthur Weasley | Molly Weasley |
| Dedalus Diggle | Augusta Longbottom | Professor Binns |
| Bloody Baron | Grey Lady | Barty Crouch, Sr |
| Vincent Crabbe | Gregory Goyle | Aunt Marge |
| Dudley Dursley | Petunia Dursley | Vernon Dursley |
| Eileen Prince | Elphias Doge | Tobias Snape |
| Fat Friar | Fenrir Greyback | Arabella. Figg |
| Argus Filch | Firenze | Filius Flitwick |
| Cornelius Fudge | Griphook | Professor Grubbly-Plank |
| Rubeus Hagrid | (Rolanda/Xiomara) Hooch | Igor Karkaroff |
| Olympe Maxime | Marcus Flint | Marietta Edgecombe |
| Marvolo Gaunt | Merope Gaunt | Walden Macnair |
| Minerva McGonagall | Millicent Bulstrode | Moaning Myrtle |
| Alastor Moody | Mundungus Fletcher | Mr. Ollivander |
| Peter Pettigrew | Irma Pince | Poppy Pomfrey |
| Quirinus Quirrell | Rabastan LeStrange | Madam Rosmerta |
| Rufus Scrimgeour | (Aurora) Sinistra | Sybill Trelawney |
| Rita Skeeter | Horace Slughorn | Pomona Sprout |
| Ernie Prang | Stan Shunpike | Tom (of the Leaky Cauldron) |
| Dolores Umbridge | Walburga Black | Xenophilus Lovegood |
| Viktor Krum | Charity Burbage | Nearly-Headless Nick |
| Morfin Gaunt | Abraxas Malfoy | Antonin Dolohov |
| Aunt Muriel | Andromeda Tonks | Amelia Bones |
| Griselda Marchbanks | John Dawlish | Septima Vector |
| Apollyon Pringle | Silvanus Kettleburn | Augustus Rookwood |
| Bane | Ted Tonks | [...] |
*Bold = new for 2012
SIGN-UP TEMPLATE (for those of you who like to prepare well in advance.)
Contact Info and Background Data
For the art/fic you will be RECEIVING:
For the art/fic you will be GIVING:
Additional Likes and Dislikes
(Important Note: the giver is not required to take these additional preferences about setting, era, tone, etc. into account, but it might help them come up with ideas, so include as many ideas as you like)
Copy/Paste Template (courtesy of
celandineb)SAMPLE SIGN-UP (with italicized, parenthetical moderator comments included!)
For the art/fic you will be RECEIVING:I would like to receive Art/Fic/No Preference: No preference I would like to receive Slash/Het/Femslash/No Preference: Slash or het, so if my author/artist chooses one of the women I've listed, they'll have to be in het pairings. I would like to receive Fic/Art rated R/NC-17; PG/PG-13; G; No preference: Mostly no preference: all ratings are fine, but I'd rather not receive a PWP...a little plot would be good) I would like to to receive art/fic featuring one of the following (five characters minimum or Any): In order of their appearance on the list - Eileen Prince, Tobias Snape, Firenze, Argus Filch, Rubeus Hagrid, Igor Karkaroff, Minerva McGonagall, Millicent Bulstrode, Horace Slughorn (Note that 9 characters are included here instead of 5. You needn't include more than five, and you can certainly note that you've listed them in order of preference, so your author/artist has some sense of your taste) I am unwilling to receive art/fic featuring any of the following (ten characters maximum, including characters which don't appear on the exchange list above): Griphook, Dedalus Diggle, Ginny, Sirius, Aunt Marge, Fenrir Greyback, Cornelius Fudge, Marvolo Gaunt, Dolores Umbridge, The Others (*to learn who "The Others" are, look at the section labeled "Who Can I Reject?") (Note: Remember that the characters you've requested are going to be paired with somebody - and except for the characters you list here, that "somebody" is up to the author/artist. However, more info can be left in the "Additional Likes and Dislikes" section below.) I am unwilling to receive art/fic containing any of the following elements (note: ten elements maximum): Hardcore BDSM, Scat, Roman Showers, Rape, PWPs, Death, OOC-ness without some indication of why the characters are acting that way.
For the art/fic you will be GIVING:I would like to give Art/Fic/No Preference: Fic (you don't want my art) I would like to give Slash/Het/Femslash/No Preference: No preference. I would like to give Fic/Art rated R/NC-17; PG/PG-13; G; No preference: No preference.
I am willing to create art/fic featuring one of the following characters (10 characters minimum from the above list, or Any): Any. I'd prefer to write one of the teachers, but I'll write anybody (although if it's a student, I don't want to write them underage) I am unwilling to create art/fic featuring one of the following characters (ten characters maximum from the above list). See above. I'll write anybody. I am unwilling to create art/fic containing any of the following elements (note: ten elements maximum: this is a challenge): Hardcore BDSM, Scat, Roman Showers, PWPs. Anything else is okay, even death fic if somebody really wants that.
Additional Likes and Dislikes
(Important Note: the giver isn't required to take these additional preferences about setting, era, tone, etc. into account, but it might help them come up with ideas, so include as many ideas as you like)
I'd prefer Snape paired with anybody you choose (just like I'd prefer to write Snape). I like hopeful endings, at least. And while I'll write any era you want, I'd prefer to receive something set in Harry's sixth year or after and something with some kind of plot. Apart from that? I'm easy.
WHO CAN I REJECT?
When you're trying to figure out who to exclude from the characters you're willing to give or receive (remember, you have a maximum of ten characters you can reject), there are three separate groups of characters you can take into consideration.
A. The first is the group made up of the characters who are the focus of this exchange - and you can certainly choose all ten of your "rejected characters" from that list.
B. If you want, however, some of your ten maximum rejected characters can come from the following list. This group is made up of the most popular individual characters taken from a number of holiday exchanges.
Bill
Draco
Ginny
Harry
Hermione
Lucius
Luna
Narcissa
Neville
Regulus
Remus
Ron
Sirius
Snape
C. The third group is "The Others." This group is every single HP character who isn't specifically mentioned in A and B above. Choosing "The Others" absolutely guarantees that you won't receive a story featuring one of your five favorites paired with some obscure Ministry official that you never thought anybody would even remember (because remember, even if you give suggestions in the "Additional Likes and Dislikes" section, the author/artist isn't required to pay attention to those suggestions). However, rejecting "The Others" also ensures you won't get a story or art in which the main pairing includes characters who aren't in A or B and who you actually like, such as Kingsley or Tonks or Pansy or Charlie Weasley.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Can I request Helga Hufflepuff even though she's not on the list?
Sorry, no - or at least not in your main requests. At least two people had to request a character for that character's name to appear on the list. Maybe you can mention how much you like her in the "Additional Likes and Dislikes" section, and hope your giver will take the hint and pair her with someone who is on the list.
My recipient listed two characters I despise in their requests: does this mean I have to write about characters I hate?
No. You only have to write about one character from their request list...and since you offered at least one of the characters your recipient requested, this shouldn't be a problem.
But...I thought I had to write about a romantic and/or erotic pairing. Like I said, my recipient only has one character on their request list who I'd even consider writing about.
That's okay. As long as that character is paired with somebody who isn't on your recipient's "unwilling to receive" list, that's fine.
Even if the other character in the pairing is, like, Harry Potter?
Yep.
But he's not undesirable!
Well, no, not to most people. In any case, only one character in the primary pairing has to be on the undesirable list. As noted above, the other character in the pairing can be any canon character who isn't on your reipient's "unwilling to receive" list.
So...can I write a story in which the primary pairing combines the one listed character my recipient and I have in common with Harry Potter, even though that listed character is a man and so is Harry - and my recipient doesn't want slash?
Okay, now you're just trying to be difficult, aren't you? *g*
No, you can't write a male/male pairing if your recipient wants to receive het. However, if you said you'd only write slash, you won't be asked to create a gift for a het-only recipient.
Hey, I'm the recipient. I received a story that doesn't exactly ignore any of the things I mentioned in my sign-up, but...it wasn't really my favorite pairing. Why didn't they write the pairing I wanted?
Well, first of all, sorry about that. I wish you had loved the pairing you received. But honestly, this exchange was set up so that you'd get a chance to read (and write) about your favorite mostly-unloved characters, not your favorite rare pairings. Maybe next time?
You keep saying "pairing." Does that mean that threesomes or moresomes are out of the question?
Not in the least, but only if the recipient specifically mentions liking threesomes/moresomes, please.
Why are Slash and Femslash treated as two different categories in the sign-ups?
In the best of all possible worlds, they wouldn't be. In fact, there wouldn't be any categories at all. But we're not quite in the best of all possible worlds yet.
When you say I can ask for up to ten elements to not appear in the art or fic that I receive, what do you mean?
Well, it might be a kind of kink (say, Watersports, for example). Or maybe you don't like any story set at Hogwarts. Or AU's. Or chibi-style art. Or characters referring to each other by cute pet names. It's up to you, but keep the "no, please no" list down to ten. Dislikes that are less significant can be mentioned at the bottom of your sign-up, but remember that your author/artist isn't required to follow those wishes.
Can I write a story where Slughorn goes on a diet and grows a foot taller and uses a time turner so that he can be 21 years old again?
Is it possible you're sort of missing the point of this exchange?
Seriously, Slughorn's size (to take just one example) is one of the things that keeps him from being a popular character where most romance fics or artworks are concerned. However, if an HP Beholder participant asks for a Slughorn-centric story or artwork, s/he probably wants to see a rotund Slughorn. In other words, you probably shouldn't offer to write or draw characters unless you actually appreciate their less traditionally appealing qualities.
I'm so excited about this! I want to fulfill all my recipients requests and write six different stories and paint three different portraits and...seriously, can I give more than one gift?
Yes, you can (you over-enthusiastic participant, you!), but one at a time, please.
Does my pairing have to include Snape?
Only if you want to make the mod very happy. Otherwise, absolutely not!
Please keep the following in mind as you work on your stories/art:
*Please do some research before creating fic or art about places and peoples with which you're only vaguely familiar, and ensure that your work doesn't perpetuate oppressive, discriminatory tropes and attitudes.
The Beholder community has been fantastic so far in these areas, and it would be great if we could keep it that way. If you have any questions about whether your work might be problematic in its conception or execution, write to the Mod.