Day 1/7: Characters
Welcome to day one, folks! Let's start with the characters, shall we?
I've done just a bit of number crunching to get us started. This year, we saw 60 characters appearing in 49 fanworks (5 works of art and 44 fics), with more than half (33 characters) appearing only once. Eight characters (Minerva McGonagall, Dudley Dursley, Millicent Bulstrode, Severus Snape, Marietta Edgecombe, Firenze, Pomona Sprout, and Yaxley) appeared three times or more. Minerva McGonagall was by far the most popular, with appearances in 12 fanworks, almost twice as many as the next most popular character, Dudley Dusley, with seven.
List of characters, with the number of appearances:
Minerva McGonagall 12
Dudley Dursley 7
Millicent Bulstrode 6
Severus Snape 5
Marietta Edgecombe 4
Firenze 3
Pomona Sprout 3
Yaxley 3
Harry Potter 2
Sybill Trelawney 2
Alastor Moody 2
Arthur Weasley 2
Molly Weasley 2
Poppy Pomfrey 2
Viktor Krum 2
Albus Dumbledore 2
Rolanda Hooch 2
Sirius Black 2
Antonin Dolohov 2
Fillius Flitwick 2
Harry Potter 2
Pansy Parkinson 2
Irma Pince 2
Neville Longbottom 2
Moaning Myrtle 2
Gregory Goyle 2
Hermione Granger 2
Draco Malfoy 1
Griselda Marchbanks 1
Augusta Longbottom 1
Alecto Carrow 1
Walden MacNair 1
Aurora Sinistra 1
Fat Lady 1
Violet 1
Blaise Zabini 1
Aberforth Dumbledore 1
Marcus Flint 1
Parvati Patil 1
Griphook 1
Regulus Black 1
Rabastan Lestrange 1
Alice Longbottom 1
Luna Lovegood 1
Amelia Bones 1
Arabella Figg 1
Elphias Doge 1
Eloise Migden 1
Madam Rosmerta 1
Mundungus Fletcher 1
Hestia Jones 1
Dedalus Diggle 1
Remus Lupin 1
Isobel Ross McGonagall 1
Robert McGonagall 1
Dougal McGregor 1
Lucius Malfoy 1
Oliver Wood 1
Charity Burbage 1
Cho Chang 1
As usual, the sheer variety of characters is almost overwhelming. What do you see beneath the diversity, though? Any common threads--types or archetypes appearing more often than others? Do the most frequent appearances (Minerva, Dudley, Millicent) tell us anything about the fest as a whole?
How about subjective impressions: any characters or pairings stand out for you? (Unexpected appearances, new or otherwise remarkable characterizations, characters you had expected to see this year who didn't appear?) Were there any "breakout" characters this year?
I've only looked at characters featured in the main pairings here. What about minor or supporting characters? Any stand out for you?
I haven't had a chance to look at lists from previous years very carefully yet, but what about changes from one year to next?
Master lists from previous years (I believe Beth tallied character appearances from 2010 on):
[2012] [2011] [2010] [2009] [2008]
Please remember:
1) We're talking about the fest as a whole, rather than individual fics or art. Leave all love (and constructive criticism) for individual fanworks at the fest itself and enjoy the meta here.
2) Let's concentrate on analyzing what's going on with this fest, and why, and to what end, rather than praising or criticizing. Thanks, all!
I've done just a bit of number crunching to get us started. This year, we saw 60 characters appearing in 49 fanworks (5 works of art and 44 fics), with more than half (33 characters) appearing only once. Eight characters (Minerva McGonagall, Dudley Dursley, Millicent Bulstrode, Severus Snape, Marietta Edgecombe, Firenze, Pomona Sprout, and Yaxley) appeared three times or more. Minerva McGonagall was by far the most popular, with appearances in 12 fanworks, almost twice as many as the next most popular character, Dudley Dusley, with seven.
List of characters, with the number of appearances:
Minerva McGonagall 12
Dudley Dursley 7
Millicent Bulstrode 6
Severus Snape 5
Marietta Edgecombe 4
Firenze 3
Pomona Sprout 3
Yaxley 3
Harry Potter 2
Sybill Trelawney 2
Alastor Moody 2
Arthur Weasley 2
Molly Weasley 2
Poppy Pomfrey 2
Viktor Krum 2
Albus Dumbledore 2
Rolanda Hooch 2
Sirius Black 2
Antonin Dolohov 2
Fillius Flitwick 2
Harry Potter 2
Pansy Parkinson 2
Irma Pince 2
Neville Longbottom 2
Moaning Myrtle 2
Gregory Goyle 2
Hermione Granger 2
Draco Malfoy 1
Griselda Marchbanks 1
Augusta Longbottom 1
Alecto Carrow 1
Walden MacNair 1
Aurora Sinistra 1
Fat Lady 1
Violet 1
Blaise Zabini 1
Aberforth Dumbledore 1
Marcus Flint 1
Parvati Patil 1
Griphook 1
Regulus Black 1
Rabastan Lestrange 1
Alice Longbottom 1
Luna Lovegood 1
Amelia Bones 1
Arabella Figg 1
Elphias Doge 1
Eloise Migden 1
Madam Rosmerta 1
Mundungus Fletcher 1
Hestia Jones 1
Dedalus Diggle 1
Remus Lupin 1
Isobel Ross McGonagall 1
Robert McGonagall 1
Dougal McGregor 1
Lucius Malfoy 1
Oliver Wood 1
Charity Burbage 1
Cho Chang 1
As usual, the sheer variety of characters is almost overwhelming. What do you see beneath the diversity, though? Any common threads--types or archetypes appearing more often than others? Do the most frequent appearances (Minerva, Dudley, Millicent) tell us anything about the fest as a whole?
How about subjective impressions: any characters or pairings stand out for you? (Unexpected appearances, new or otherwise remarkable characterizations, characters you had expected to see this year who didn't appear?) Were there any "breakout" characters this year?
I've only looked at characters featured in the main pairings here. What about minor or supporting characters? Any stand out for you?
I haven't had a chance to look at lists from previous years very carefully yet, but what about changes from one year to next?
Master lists from previous years (I believe Beth tallied character appearances from 2010 on):
[2012] [2011] [2010] [2009] [2008]
Please remember:
1) We're talking about the fest as a whole, rather than individual fics or art. Leave all love (and constructive criticism) for individual fanworks at the fest itself and enjoy the meta here.
2) Let's concentrate on analyzing what's going on with this fest, and why, and to what end, rather than praising or criticizing. Thanks, all!