Flint/Wood

Flint/Wood or Marcus/Oliver is a Harry Potter pairing involving Marcus Flint and Oliver Wood, the Slytherin and Gryffindor Quidditch captains in the first three books.
==Canon Relationship==
Marcus Flint and Oliver Wood are rival Hogwarts Quidditch captains—of Slytherin and Gryffindor respectively—from Philosopher's Stone through Prisoner of Azkaban. Originally, Flint is described as a year ahead of Wood at Hogwarts. His appearance in Prisoner of Azkaban after he should have left school (an acknowledged mistake or "flint") was explained by J.K. Rowling as his having failed his exams and repeated a year. However, revised editions of the books place Flint in the same year as Oliver. While the original canon of Flint being older is more prevalent, both versions are widespread and tend to be accepted. In either scenario, the two likely shared classes at least in the Prisoner of Azkaban school year.
The two have a hostile relationship. For example, when instructed to shake hands before a Quidditch game, they each appear to be "trying to break the other's fingers."J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999), Chapter 15: "The Quidditch Final":
:"Captains, shake hands!" said Madam Hooch.
:Flint and Wood approached each other and grasped each other’s hand very tightly; it looked as though each was trying to break the other’s fingers. Flint repeatedly attempts to undermine the Gryffindor Quidditch team's chances with unfair tactics (in-game fouls, interfering with their practice time, rescheduling games on false pretence, trying to sabotage Harry by dressing up as a Dementor), which angers Wood. Indeed, their very names suggest that the characters were designed with this antagonism in mind and as complements of one another: flint and wood makes fire, something that represents a heated rivalry but can also be interpreted by slashers as romantic or sexual passion.
==Ship History==
Interest in the pairing emerged in early 2001, when the cast of the first Harry Potter film started to be announced and fans were intrigued by photos of Sean Biggerstaff (Oliver Wood) and Will Theakston—who would actually appear in the film as Terence Higgs but was initially reported to be playing Flint. Khirsah's November 2001 "Violence Fetish", the first Flint/Wood fanfic posted to hpslash, was a direct response to Jamie Yeates's somewhat unexpected depiction of Flint in the first film.Author's note for Violence Fetish: "ok, I’m writing this for the sole reason that the redneck-inbred Marcus Flint in the movie pissed me off. lol. So I had to write an explanation of why he looked so ugly at the time." (Archived 01 April 2003 by the Wayback Machine.)
Flint/Wood fanfiction gained popularity in 2002. Mireille was one prolific early writer for the pairing, writing over 10 Flint/Wood stories by August 2002. Other early authors for the pairing include digikym (Thrasia), V, and Silvia Kundera.
The LiveJournal community roughquidditch was founded in January 2003 and was active through 2012. Another LJ community, marcus_oliver, was active in 2006 but has since been deleted.Mentioned by physixxx in June 2006 (FLW-7, pre-beta'd for roughquidditch & marcus_oliver members, posted 06 June 2006) and by x_posed_again in October 2006 (Comment on "Another Marriage drabble -", 15 October 2006). Community deleted sometime after October 2008: see marcus_oliver - Community Information, archived 07 October 2008 by the Wayback Machine. Two popular LiveJournal RPGs were also influential in popularizing the ship: Hogwarts After Dark (lumosnox) (2002–2004) and The Leaky (2004–2006).
==Fanon & Trends in Fanworks==
Many Flint/Wood fanworks are set during canon in the first three books, Marcus's and Oliver's final years at Hogwarts. Works usually focus on their canonical Quidditch rivalry: Oliver is canonically obsessed with Quidditch and, in fanfiction, this often carries over to an obsession with Marcus. There are also Quidditch-focused works set after they leave Hogwarts: Oliver canonically goes on to play Quidditch professionally with Puddlemere United, and Marcus is also often depicted as going pro after Hogwarts—usually with the Falmouth Falcons, due to their reputation for a violent playing style matching what we see of Flint's proclivity for fouls in canon.
Some Flint/Wood fiction touches on the war against Voldemort. Canon does not indicate whether the Flint family has connections with Death Eaters, although this is common fanon due to Marcus being a Slytherin and (per Pottermore) a pure-blood. On some occasions (such as Mireille's The Last Time, July 2002), Marcus is depicted becoming a Death Eater himself, resulting in conflict or a doomed relationship with Oliver. More commonly, Marcus is caught between Oliver and his own friends and family in the war.
Fluff and schmoop are relatively uncommon in Flint/Wood fanworks.For example, Liz commented on the FictionAlley Park SCUSA thread in August 2002: "I was talking to my friend last night, and we were discussing favorite ships. Marcus/Oliver came up, and we decided that angst is the best way to go. She said something along the lines of "Marcus/Oliver fluff? I think not." The very idea of combining those two and the fluffiest fluff I've ever seen sent me into a fit of giggles." (Post #306869, 12 August 2002.) Mireille responded: "Yeah. Er. My blackmail story is the closest I've gotten to fluff, in fanfic. I think you could even write them sort-of happy, but definitely not fluffy and schmoopy." (Post #306886, 12 August 2002.) Many early stories, in particular, have elements of darkfic and angst, and even get-together fics tend to emphasize physical attraction over romance. Some fans suggest that this is because Flint/Wood is "jockslash" and tension and PWP are more true to the characters. Drew writes in his 2004 Oliver Wood character essay:
Because Percy/Oliver is also a popular pairing, Percy Weasley is sometimes depicted as a rival for Oliver's affections in Flint/Wood stories. The Percy/Oliver/Marcus threesome is also fairly common.
==Example Fanworks==
===Fanfiction===
* Cheat by Mireille (Jan 2002). Enemyslash with BDSM themes, set during Prisoner of Azkaban.
* Parable by Silvia Kundera (Aug 2002). A lyrical look at a Flint/Wood relationship and its inevitable unhappy ending, inspired by Beauty and the Beast. Cover art for the story (c. 2003).
* When I Start To Make You Nervous by Drew (babyofthegroup) (Sep 2002). Post-Hogwarts Quidditchfic with some dark undertones. Remixed as The Believe Mix by Pogrebin for Rescribo! (2003).
* True But Not Nice by V (deepsix) (Nov 2002). Set during Marcus's repeated school year. As of 2017, this remains one of the most popular Flint/Wood stories in the fandom.
* In Love by Halrloprillalar (Jun 2003). Hogwarts romance from the perspective of a "big dumb mean" Marcus. Halrloprillalar also recorded a 2005 podfic of the story. Sequel: The Art Of Conversation (Dec 2003).
* where it isn’t always cold by rainoftruth (Jul 2006). Set near the end of Order of the Phoenix.
* Drug by salmon_pink (Dec 2007). Ficlet, written for 5trueloves, prompt "destruction". Recced at crack_broom as "ridiculously hot and twisty and amazing."ladybirdington at crack_broom. Marcus/Oliver: "Drug" by salmon_pink, posted 18 May 2009. (Accessed 31 August 2017.)
* chalk this one up as a win by tamerofdarkstars (Oct 2015). Soulmates AU. As of August 2017, this is the most kudosed Flint/Wood story on AO3.
* a heart’s rhythm, a sense of stars by aceofdiamonds (Feb 2016). Deathly Hallows-compliant 5 Things fic following Oliver and Marcus from Hogwarts to post-war.
* Once a Flier by Albuss (2021) for Quidditch Fest. Character study of Marcus Flint. 
* rugby boys, they play 15s by thistlecat (2021) for Quidditch Fest. Rugby AU.
===Fanart===
* Marcus/Oliver by glockgal (c. 2002?A drawing with the description "Oliver/Marcus - PG" was listed on glockgal's art site, every flavour, in 2002, but the image itself was not archived by the Wayback Machine. See everyflavour of art, archived 13 December 2002.)
* A kiss is just a kiss by ildi (Apr 2005), illustration for The Leaky Cauldron RPG
* C'mon, You Want It! (Feb 2014) and other works by Yuki-Almasy
* Game we love by MARiKaArt (Nov 2016)
* On the Astronomical Tower by Skarlessa (Mar 2017)
* Just things that happen on a deserted Quidditch pitch by UptheHill (Jan 2018)
===Fanvids===
* Show Me Love by TomMarvoloRiddle1926 (Nov 2009). AU. Incorporates footage from later HP films as well as non-HP sources, including Yossi & Jagger and Beautiful Thing.
* Fire by lucre_noin (Sep 2010). Incorporates footage from non-HP sources, including Verbotene Liebe. Rated R.
===RPGs===
* Hogwarts After Dark (lumosnox) featured a Marcus/Oliver storyline from 2002 to early 2003. Marcus (marcus_flint_) was played by Mireille and Oliver (oliver_wood_) by Fleur. Mireille and Fleur left lumosnox in March 2003 but continued RPing together and started a separate website for their Marcus/Oliver logs called Forever, with Breaks for Quidditch.
* The Leaky featured a Marcus/Oliver storyline in 2005. Marcus (ginlikeflint) was played by ellensmithee and kaalee; Oliver Wood (thebigbadwood) was played by deblovesdragon and ellensmithee.
===Meta===
* A Battle That Cannot End In Peace by apillarofsalt (Oct 2004). A Flint/Wood essay at ship_manifesto.
* Marcus Flint/ Oliver Wood by magic_at_mungos (Apr 2006). A Flint/Wood essay at minor_pairings, based on the above.
==Links & Resources==
* roughquidditch at LiveJournal
* Flint-x-Wood at DeviantArt
* Marcus Flint/Oliver Wood tag at Archive of Our Own
* [Marcus F., Oliver W.] pairing filter and Marcus F. & Oliver W. character filter at FanFiction.Net
* oliver-x-marcus and flintwood tags at Tumblr
* p: marcus flint/oliver wood tag at crack_broom
* HMS Chasing to Keep at FictionAlley Park's SCUSA forum
* Marcus Flint/Oliver Wood fic listing at FictionAlley Park's ...cruisin'... forum
==References==
Category:Slash Pairings
Category:Harry Potter Relationships