#not the most well-known characters nor the most prominent rival team. but how else can you look at umemiya and nao!

[daisyachain]

For a show with so much well let’s say fan base, Daiya surprisingly avoids the clumsy accidentally shounen relationship focus, instead using subtler, slower, deliberate development of Sawamura’s relationships with Chris and Miyuki. The show about having a good time playing ball is in fact just about having a good time playing ball. That’s what makes it even odder that it’s Ugumori that fits into ye goode olde unintentional subtext

[mxrcusflint]

why flintwood?

 There are three main aspects as to why Flintwood draws me in so much as a ship - as a writer, they have to do with what canon gives us, and what canon allows us to build off of. I personally love expanding on minor characters that aren’t as constrained by canon; therefore this ship is writer’s gold for me. 

war & peace - named for one another;

Starting from last names, the connection between Wood and Flint is pretty obvious - one incites the other. Tie in their given names, where Oliver equates to peace, and Marcus referring to the Roman god of war. Now, JKR is always deliberate in names, and her choice most likely refers to peace winning out over war in the end (Oliver beating Marcus finally in POA). But this naming explicitly ties these two characters together in a way I love to explore. 

What is interesting to me, in rereading their characters, is that Oliver is the one who is emotionally charged, quick to anger and retaliation in the face of Marcus’ needling. Marcus, on the other hand, sticks to more snide remarks, and seems relatively calm, albeit amused by Wood’s reactions. Oliver is noted as capable of putting aside all other concerns in favor of winning, even other’s well being. Marcus, on the other hand, seems to place more value on having the strongest team. He practices sneaky tricks and physical fouls on the pitch, yes, but doesn’t seem to want to risk the overall well-being of his team. “Peace” and “War” aren’t apparent in their actions, nor their motives. Both are bent on winning - the ways they go about it aren’t the usual representation. One could argue diplomatic Cedric Diggory seems to match a picture of peace better than Oliver does. 

In shipping terms, their names may speak to initial conflict, but digging a little deeper in the meaning of their names brings surprising similarities. Oliver also has meanings of affection; Marcus, defense and tenderness. It’s this semi-meta that’s drawn me in - that under the surface there is so much more to their characters, and so much could grow in a potential relationship. It makes for a fascinating play on characterization. As canon doesn’t give us much past the standard traits (enthusiastic mentor of a captain, the surly rival, respectively), I always go back to their names when writing. 

meet me on the pitch - quidditch parallels;

As minor characters, Oliver and Marcus only ever really appear in the sphere of the quidditch pitch. Given Harry’s narrative, that leaves a lot open to interpretation of what happens off-page, as it is with most minor characters.

Like their names - I consider Oliver and Marcus’ roles on the pitch. Oliver is a keeper, defensive. Marcus plays as chaser - an offensive position. They’re the only positions in the game who will face off directly against each other in order to achieve something. Their focus will be on one another at many points in the game. It’s likely that they’d study each other on the pitch. Their aim, when playing, are centered around the hoops and combatting one another. 

How they organize practice and their teams is also contrasting. Oliver is ordered - early morning practices, devising schedules all summer. He sticks to plans, and an upheaval like a Hufflepuff-instead-of-Slytherin game throws him off wildly. However, Marcus seems to work on chaos. He disrupts Wood’s practice, and manages to get his team to do so as well. He changes the line-up each year, while Oliver keeps the same team from Harry’s first year.

Their goals, at the end of the day, are the same: win the cup. Marcus succeeds one year, Oliver in another. They’re both captains fairly young (JKR is notoriously bad at math but -) Oliver being made captain at latest his 4th year, and Marcus similarly. This could speak to a future outside of Hogwarts. We don’t know about Marcus, but Oliver did sign onto Puddlemere. It’s ripe with more potential for interaction, and they could carry the same dynamic onto a larger arena.

So while Flintwood fits the trope of ‘opposites attract’, there’s also an undercurrent of striking parallels in their minimal storyline. Quidditch also serves as a great backdrop for immediate confrontation, or avoidance - a chaser can either fly directly towards the goals, or could try to outmaneuver the keeper. 

a house divided - the slytherdor dynamic;

The most potent ships in HP seem to be Gryffindor x Slytherin related. That split in allegiance, values - it leads to heavy stuff, to say the least. Oftentimes, these ships acknowledge that for there to be romantic involvement, there needs to be a growth in character, due to the antagonism, and aspect of being enemies. And in any relationship, I believe people should grow for the better.

But are Oliver and Marcus really enemies? It never seemed to me they hated each other to the degree, say, Draco and Harry did. They dislike each other’s ways of leading their teams, want to one-up the other, but the animosity doesn’t seem to quite come cross as enemies, and instead levels off at sports rivalry. There’s a begrudging respect, almost - they take the other seriously when it comes to playing, which speaks to knowing the other one is good enough, however hard it is to admit.

So the conflict grows from their values, and how their morals align.

Oliver could throw everything away to get what he wants. And that’s fascinating, this single-minded focus, because it could also speak to him throwing away everything in war-time to protect the ones he love. Canonically, he goes back to fight at the BoH, and his values do seem to align pretty evenly with standard Gryffindor ones. 

Oliver is devoted to the cause, focused and blinded to everything else. Very Gryffindor through and through - a little reckless, brave in his intent, ready to fight. 

And then there’s Marcus. 

Flint is a fascinating character for me mainly because of how little we solidly know about him, yet how much history he could have. The Flints are part of the Sacred Twenty Eight - so assumed pureblooded. Josephina Flint, being a former MoM, would also probably set up the family as fairly powerful, but we’re unsure whether that has lasted to the present day in the storyline. However, as Marcus seemed to maintain respect as quidditch captain, and because Slytherin can be inferred as relying more on social power and name standing than other houses, a conclusion can be drawn that the Flint name could hold some weight. 

But then (even though this was an error on JKR’s part but I consider this anyways), Marcus repeats a year. Not something that’s seen in good light, assumedly. He’s described as cunning, and “flying like an eagle”, and failing NEWTS doesn’t necessarily discourage from a future wizarding career. Yet he remains as captain, makes changes to the Slytherin line-up without there being much upset from other housemates - he still seems to holds respect. The reason for repeating a year could be expanded on in so many ways in writing.

And JKR puts two tropes of young Slytherins in canon - ones, like Draco or Pansy, who make their beliefs and alignments well known. And others, like Zabini, who might associate, but are not as transparent about their War decisions. Where does Marcus fall? It’s up to interpretation as well. With his background (and ancestor’s ties to the Black family), he could easily believe in the Dark Lord’s cause. But being associated by bloodline with prominent Dark Lord supporters doesn’t necessarily predict a character’s beliefs. There’s a possibility of keeping his opinions low in order to retain his position of power in the house. 

Furthermore, I have a hard time seeing Marcus as committing to a ‘higher’ cause. He’s a leader, and is angry when things don’t turn out his way (see: Draco missing the snitch in CoS). It doesn’t necessarily fit in Marcus’ character to become a follower, nor to be too involved politically. The split in Gryffindor and Slytherin ideals, for me, is that Gryffindors are about larger pictures of morality. They believe in something, they’ll fight for whatever it is. Slytherins do that on a smaller scale, and their loyalty is to themselves and their loved ones first. 

So considering a relationship - Gryffindor would likely fight the good fight. Slytherin would either be torn between “loved one being in danger” and “this is an abstract ideal, why would you fight for that?”. A split, ripe for misunderstanding. For me, Flintwood during wartime is so multilayered. If there would be Dark vs Light differences, the reasons each one chose their sides would be complex. If their values did align in what they consider right, it still doesn’t mean both would go into the fight. 

And what they consider as self-preservation vs. cowardice is another relationship pitfall that holds so much emotion. Flintwood is not so much about the very clear split between Light and Dark, but rather how the same motives could come across in different ways, just like on the pitch.

If we put full shipping notions on this, the need to protect one another could still cause highly charged arguments and future need for reconciliation, but I digress. 

So. Flintwood. For such small characters, they’re set up as foils with quite a few layers. What I personally take away from all this is that their immediate contrasts in character can be pulled away for quite poignant similarities underneath. It’s quasi-meta, but it makes characterizing Marcus and Oliver quite a lot of fun, and opens up many narratives. 

If you read this whole thing, I’d like to give you a huge thank you, a hug, and all my love. These are just my thoughts, and I’d love to hear how/why other people ship Flintwood!