First off, an apology to any of the men on the previous "straight guy" poll who felt that the poll was in bad taste and took the recent atmosphere of teasing too far. It was my intent to, as
black_dog and tromboneborges said, "support the idea that the playful jocularity about sexuality" is a good thing and a natural thing around this fandom. I for one have always been *really* impressed and gratified by the open-mindedness and good-natured humor that the straight men of the Harry Potter fandom have displayed towards slash and their gay male friends. I'm not the only one, I'm sure. So I'm really sorry if the spirit of the poll seemed to be abusing that sense of open-mindedness. I can certainly see how it could have been taken that way, of course I can. And somewhere in between them Clio and Morri made the excellent point that when people who are supposed to be extremely sensitive to sexual orientation feel free to take constant pot shots at straight men for their open-mindedness and sensitivity, we're not setting a good example or encouraging straight men in general to *be* open minded and sensitive. That said, it was a poll done in the same spirit in which the folks over at 
toobage have been teasing each other, and it was meant to be taken in that context. Out of context, yes, it would be cause for alarm and flame wars and a whole host of other things, and I'd easily agree with whoever was upset over it. As it is, I can only say that I had meant for it to be seen in the light of "friendly jocularity" and, as BD said, commentary on fandom group behavior. So I wholeheartedly apologize to anyone who derived a different meaning from it. And I hope *you* come back.
As taken from the Armchair list FAQ:
THE DEFINITION OF A T00B (that's T-zero-zero-B):
The word t00b is a fandom word coined back around late spring or summer by Rube (*points to
hautemonde*) in a Veela chat. It is used for a variety of things, but is most accurately used as an affectionate way to mock someone. Kind of like if you were going to call them a dork or a dufus--a fun, light-hearted word for "silly." It's easily the most frequently asked question from newbies. Now you know.*cue trumpets*
I wanted a very special author of the month for February. I wanted somebody who could, in her fics, in the spirit of Valentines Day, encapsulate the rich sweetness and genuine love that Harry/Draco can offer, and also deal with some of the confusion and tension and maybe even angst that we associate with them—as well as with Valentines Day itself. I knew right off the bat who I wanted. I wanted
silviakundera. I have loved each and every bit of fiction this girl has put out. I love her style—quirky, intelligent, tender but with a sharp humor and a perceptiveness that you normally only find in darker intelli-slash. I think Silvia's brand of "intelli-fluff" is unclassifiable. It's sharp, tangy humor that fringes on dark and still manages to be fluffy and tender and sweet.All of Silvia's fics can be found at her website: http://www.rightthisway.net/proclivities/silvia/intro.html
I'm really looking forward to having you on the list this month, Silvia, and I hope we all have a good time. Maybe we'll even be able to get the list back on its feet again. It's been very stagnant in recent weeks.
The Love Under Will fanlisting can be found right here. Huge huge schnoogles to
dayafternext who conceived and designed it, and to Sidhe who let her use the artwork. Wow. A fanlisting. Wow. Thank you very much. :)(this has been pretty much gacked verbatim from Erica's journal and post to the list already, but I know some of you t00bs have not read it, so here it is again.)
It's February! Love - and Cynicism - is in the air! What better way to celebrate the month than a brand-spankin'-new Armchair contest?
Across A Crowded Room
This contest comes with a twist: It's in two parts, and it combines fanart and fics in a great new way. Instead of having us all write fics, and then seeing what great fanart they can inspire, we're reversing the trend: The artists will create their pictures first, and then the writers will write fanfics based on and inspired by the art!
Stage One: The Art
There's a lot of good fanart in this fandom, and the H/D pairing has been blessed with some of the best art around. Some of the most intriguing pictures are those that capture more than just the Harry/Draco couple, taking in elements of the world around them to truly place Harry and Draco in a scene. This background, this element that's more than just the two boys, can be as simple as the brush of wind and a few fallen leaves, as atmospheric as the grounds of Hogwarts at night, each blade of grass in fine detail... or as complex as two boys catching each other's eye from across a crowded room.
Create a work of fan-art that shows Harry and Draco in the midst of a scene. Any scene, any scenario. No Valentine's Day theme is required - make it fluffy, make it angsty, make it sweet, make it sexy, it's your call. Use as much or as little detail as you want, but make sure your picture contains something external to Harry and Draco themselves. Something to set the scene. We're looking for fanfic drawn based on *new* fanart - fanart that will be drawn specifically for this challenge.
SUBMIT YOUR ART to Aja at aromano @ indiana.edu by February 13. Make sure to include your fandom name and the email address you're subscribed to the Armchair with, so we can give you proper credit for your work. IMPORTANT: Don't post to the list or the Armchair files. We'll show off all the art submissions together on one website, on Valentine's Day, and that will lead right to...
Stage Two: The Fics
Once everyone's Oohed and Ahhed and Swooned over the loveliness of the art submissions, the fic writers will get to work. Writers, think hard about which pics you'd want to write about, and note down your top choices. To make sure that every picture gets written about at least once, we're going to assign pics to writers, but don't worry! When you sign up, you can tell us your top choice pictures to write for. We'll do our absolute best to match everyone up with one of their choices, and remember, once you've written your official fic for the challenge, you can always write another - especially if choosing between pics is really hard!
TO JOIN the fic challenge, email Erica at dancingrain7 @ yahoo.com with your fandom name, fandom email, and top choices of pictures. I'll start assigning pics on February 15, so the earlier you join, the better your chance of being assigned your top choice.
We're looking for H/D fics, any genre or rating, in that "around 3000 words" range. We'd like at least 1000 words, and you probably don't want to make it hugely long, but we're all about the creative expression, so write what feels right to you. Please note the rating at the top of the fic along with your name, fic title, and which picture you're responding to.
SUBMIT YOUR FICS to Erica at dancingrain7 @ yahoo.com by February 28. Again, don't post to the list, because the fics will be so much prettier when we post them alongside the art on our website. Once all the fics are in, we'll let you all know, and the Oohing and Ahhing and Swooning can start all over again.
You can participate in the challenge as an artist only, as a writer only, or as an artist and then also in the writing stage as well. This is a chance for *everyone* to take part, whether your talents lie in art or in writing or both.
Writers, you don't need to sign up yet! Right now, we're in Stage One - the art stage. Artists, you can choose to let me know if you're planning to enter, but the main thing is to submit your picture to Aja by the 13th. Then on the 14th, we'll post all the pictures, and THEN the writing stage starts. You'll need to be able to see all of the art submissions before you'll know which ones you're most interested in writing about.
Anyone else with questions can feel free to email Erica at dancingrain7 @ yahoo.com.
Happy Creating!
- Erica and Aja, with MAD PROPS to
frances_potter, mawaridi, and the rest of the Armchair Chatters from a few nights back for the spark for this wonderful idea.I had more I was going to say but I think for the time being I'll just stick with gacking this poll from
kissaki: I can't believe I want to fuck ________:I can't believe I want to fuck Sean Astin.
