Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes |
| Alternative name(s): | Dorlene |
| Gender category: | Femslash |
| Fandom: | Harry Potter, especially Marauders |
| Canonical?: | No |
| Prevalence: | popular (as a background ship); unknown (as a main ship) |
| Archives: | |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
This article or section needs expansion. |
Dorlene is the femslash ship between Dorcas Meadowes and Marlene McKinnon in the Harry Potter fandom, particularly Marauders fandom.
Canon
Marlene McKinnon and Dorcas Meadowes were both members of the original (first war) Order of the Phoenix. They were both killed sometime in between summer and Halloween 1981, and noted to be exceptionally magically talented or remarkable in some way.
Dorcas Meadowes' only canonical mention is in Chapter 9 of Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix:
The little people in the photograph jostled among themselves, and those hidden right at the back appeared at the forefront of the picture. “That’s Dumbledore’s brother, Aberforth, only time I ever met him, strange bloke... That’s Dorcas Meadowes, Voldemort killed her personally...Alastor Moody to Harry, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Marlene too was a member of the original Order of the Phoenix. She was murdered in 1981, during the first wizarding war, and she and her family are referred to as being among the best witches and wizards of their time.
No one ever lived after he decided ter kill ’em, no one except you, an’ he’d killed some o’ the best witches an’ wizards of the age — the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts —Hagrid to Harry, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Marlene McKinnon, she was killed two weeks after this was taken. They got her whole family.Alastor Moody to Harry, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Fandom
Dorlene was the only femslash to feature in the top 10 ships for HP fics updated in 2022, likely due to the popularity of Marauders Tiktok.
Close links to Wolfstar predate Marauderstok, though; the first Dorlene fic posted to AO3 (posted 2010) is actually primarily Wolfstar + background Dorlene. Dorlene continues to be frequently tagged as a background ship in M/M works.
Appearance-wise, characterizations of very pale blonde (sometimes jock/butch) Marlene and Black Dorcas are virtually universal, the latter perhaps stemming from the Pottermore artwork, Archived version.
Personality-wise, characterizations tend to depend on house sorting, if in the canonical HP universe: Marlene is often written to be Gryffindor, sometimes Ravenclaw, while Dorcas is 50/50 Gryffindor/Slytherin, with Slytherin!Dorcas providing more of an enemies-to-lovers dynamic.
Fanworks
Fanart
- Dorcas and Marlene by lunalovegoodart (tumblr)
- DORLENE 💛 by tinyshroomboy (tumblr)
- dorlene as romeo & juliet 🫶🏼 by fircbolts (tumblr)
- all hail dorlene 🙇♀️🙏 by green-lights-33 (tumblr)
Fanfic
Meta
Communities and Resources
Events
- HP Fem Weeks in 2016 was canceled before its scheduled Dorlene Week
- Dorlene February Event: held on tumblr in 2022[1] and 2023[2]
Links
- #dorlene tag on Tumblr
- Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes works on AO3
- Dorlene on The Shipping Wiki
References
- ^ Dorlene February Event, Archived version announcement posted by enbysiriusblack on 31 January 2022.
- ^ dorlene february event, 2023! <3, Archived version announcement post by saintchaser, posted 31 January 2023.