#but a lot of psychological warfare lmao

[iamthekarmapolice]

secret place by tana french which is set in this all-girls boarding school is triggering so many bad memories for me lmao. teenage girls really can be so horrible

[heauxplesslydevoted]

Eddie punched a man in a parking lot for being a dick over a parking spot. He snarked at the racist who didn’t want Hen or Chimney to treat him. He committed verbal and psychological warfare against Bobby when Bobby wouldn’t let him return to the 118 for good reason. He routinely gives his parents the business.

Eddie’s default is to choose violence and when someone goes low, he goes to Hell. You can’t possibly think he’d ever side with the bigot over the rest of the 118 lmao 😂

[hollowed-theory-hall]

First of all, I love your account so much. To say you do Harry justice would be a dramatic understatement. One thing I would like to point out and I’m sure you agree is how baseless Drarry actually.

Drarry fans look at Half-Blood Prince and the way Harry pays attention to Draco’s appearances and behaviours and not letting go of and constantly mentioning his theory about Draco like Harry paying this much attention is something particular to Half Blood Prince and hence something particular to Harry and Draco. But this isn’t the case.

This theory is something that’s merely based on Drarry fans’ own absent-mindedness. Harry isn’t only observant and obsessive and in tune with others’ emotions In Half Blood Prince with Draco, he’s been that way since the very beginning of the books. Whenever he has a theory or a hunch about something, he does not let go of it and follows it through to the end. He does it in almost every book. And he’s always been very in tune with others’ emotions, he’s a bit of an icon with psychological warfare. And he’s always been in tune with his physical environment and good at making connections.

He formulated his theory about Draco being a death eater at the beginning of the book and as always, hung onto his theory and used his proven skills to build on his theory hence why he notices his skin and his footsteps and pays attention whenever Draco’s part of the conversation. He’s been like this in the context of theories since the beginning of the series. Assuming this is something particular with Book 6 and Harry’s obsession with Draco is something special with him is just completely absent-minded and ignorant. I would put examples from the previous books demonstrating the aforementioned skills but that’d take too long lmao.

Hi, thank you for the lovely words 💕

Now, it's not a secret I'm not a Drarry fan (or a Draco fan, I don’t really like him), but I wouldn't call Drarry baseless. I agree that Harry's supposed attraction to Draco is very debatable and I never read it as such (his obsession with Draco, for example, disappears the moment his theory was proven right and he never defends Draco like he does his loved ones, but I'll get to it later), but there is a lot of evidence that Draco has a crush/fixation on Harry, I'm not arguing against that part, actually.

I mean, Draco is always (except in HBP) the one to search out Harry. In all books except 6, Draco goes out of his way to get Harry's attention; that's one of the things that clues Harry in that something is going on with Draco. Draco finds excuses to talk to Harry, searches him out on the train, bother Harry and his friends specifically.

Draco's unicorn wand works for Harry — unicorn wands don't tend to pass on that way and tend to be incredibly loyal. So, this is a little sus. The fact that Draco, after he's a Death Eater, risks himself and his family as often as he does to save Harry. In book 6, he only broke his nose when he could've done worse; in book 7, he risks himself for Harry this way twice (manor and RoR).

His fixation on bothering Ron and Hermione is an extension of this desire for attention from Harry since Draco doesn't really seem to bother anyone else. It is about Harry specifically.

“She was right behind us,” said Ron, frowning. Malfoy passed them, walking between Crabbe and Goyle. He smirked at Harry and disappeared.

(PoA, Ch7) - This is an example of Malfoy searching out Harry and smirking at him. He does this a lot throughout the early books. I found so many occurrences of this while writing this post. So many, holy shit.

There are other things Draco does that clearly indicate a fixation and obsession with Harry. So, to me, Draco's behaviour in the early books, does read a little like pigtail pulling when it comes to Harry.

But let's look at how Harry actually sees/treats Draco in the books. Becouse there is an interesting transition in how Harry sees Draco, but it never read to me as romantic interest on Harry's part. Let's get into it:

Let's start with the early books since Harry's treatment of Draco in books 1-5 is very different than in books 6-7.

Books 1-5:

From the get-go, Harry doesn't like Draco and slots Draco in "annoying enemy" box in his mind:

In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. [...] Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley. [...] “Play Quidditch at all?” “No,” Harry said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be. “I do — Father says it’s a crime if I’m not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you’ll be in yet?” “No,” said Harry, feeling more stupid by the minute. [...] “Oh,” said the boy, “I’ve heard of him. He’s a sort of servant, isn’t he?” “He’s the gamekeeper,” said Harry. He was liking the boy less and less every second. “Yes, exactly. I heard he’s a sort of savage — lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed.” “I think he’s brilliant,” said Harry coldly. “Do you?” said the boy, with a slight sneer. “Why is he with you? Where are your parents?” “They’re dead,” said Harry shortly. He didn’t feel much like going into the matter with this boy. “Oh, sorry,” said the other, not sounding sorry at all. “But they were our kind, weren’t they?”

(PS, Ch5)

Young Draco is not described in flattering terms, appearance-wise or personality-wise. He's Dudley-like, and Harry dislikes him. This dislike lasts throughout the early books. We see Harry actively trying to avoid Draco, who is constantly going after him to bother him. I'm not going to bring up all the quotes that prove this to be the case (there are a lot), but here are a few:

Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was right next to Malfoy who, Harry was pleased to see, didn’t look too pleased with the seating arrangements.

(PS, Ch7) - Harry is glad Draco is uncomfortable.

Harry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy. Still, first-year Gryffindors only had Potions with the Slytherins, so they didn’t have to put up with Malfoy much. Or at least, they didn’t until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room that made them all groan. Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday — and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together. “Typical,” said Harry darkly. “Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy.”

(PS, Ch8) - Harry actively tries to avoid Draco.

What wouldn’t he give now for a message from Hogwarts? From any witch or wizard? He’d almost be glad of a sight of his archenemy, Draco Malfoy, just to be sure it hadn’t all been a dream. . . .

(CoS, Ch1) - Yes, it's funny Harry calls Draco his "archenemy" but it makes sense. Draco is an enemy Harry can easily manage and deal with, unlike voldemort. He's an enemy in Harry's control. When Harry has so little in his life under his control it makes sense he'd focus on an aspect he can control.

Harry had heard these rumors about Malfoy’s family before, and they didn’t surprise him at all. Malfoy made Dudley Dursley look like a kind, thoughtful, and sensitive boy.

(CoS, Ch3)

Snape prowled through the fumes, making waspish remarks about the Gryffindors’ work while the Slytherins sniggered appreciatively. Draco Malfoy, who was Snape’s favorite student, kept flicking puffer-fish eyes at Ron and Harry, who knew that if they retaliated they would get detention faster than you could say “Unfair.” [...] Goyle’s potion exploded, showering the whole class. People shrieked as splashes of the Swelling Solution hit them. Malfoy got a faceful and his nose began to swell like a balloon; Goyle blundered around, his hands over his eyes, which had expanded to the size of a dinner plate — Snape was trying to restore calm and find out what had happened. Through the confusion, Harry saw Hermione slip quietly into Snape’s office. “Silence! SILENCE!” Snape roared. “Anyone who has been splashed, come here for a Deflating Draught — when I find out who did this —” Harry tried not to laugh as he watched Malfoy hurry forward, his head drooping with the weight of a nose like a small melon.

(CoS, Ch11) - Harry wouldn't be laughing if he liked Draco, or thought Draco didn't deserve it. Harry is very protective of people he considers innocent or ones he cares about. His morals won't let him laugh at a faith he thinks is undeserved.

It had been such a pleasant evening that Harry’s good mood couldn’t even be spoiled by Malfoy, who shouted through the crowd as they all left the hall, “The dementors send their love, Potter!”

(PoA, Ch8) - Again, Draco stalks Harry to annoy him, and Harry thinks of him as a general nuisance.

It was a relief to return to the noise and bustle of the main school on Monday, where he was forced to think about other things, even if he had to endure Draco Malfoy’s taunting. Malfoy was almost beside himself with glee at Gryffindor’s defeat. He had finally taken off his bandages, and celebrated having the full use of both arms again by doing spirited imitations of Harry falling off his broom. Malfoy spent much of their next Potions class doing dementor imitations across the dungeon; Ron finally cracked and flung a large, slippery crocodile heart at Malfoy, which hit him in the face and caused Snape to take fifty points from Gryffindor.

(PoA, Ch10) - again, Malfoy being a nuisance and Harry enjoying it when he gets some of what's coming to him. This is their pattern in the first 5 books.

Harry and Draco Malfoy had been enemies ever since their very first journey to Hogwarts. A pale boy with a pointed face and white-blond hair, Draco greatly resembled his father. His mother was blonde too; tall and slim, she would have been nice-looking if she hadn’t been wearing a look that suggested there was a nasty smell under her nose.

(GoF, Ch8) - Again, he isn't described in flattering terms.

“Don’t talk to me,” Ron said quietly to Harry and Hermione as they sat down at the Gryffindor table a few minutes later, surrounded by excited talk on all sides about what had just happened. “Why not?” said Hermione in surprise. “Because I want to fix that in my memory forever,” said Ron, his eyes closed and an uplifted expression on his face. “Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret . . .” Harry and Hermione both laughed, and Hermione began dol- ing beef casserole onto each of their plates.

(GoF, Ch18) - Harry is very protective of the people he cares for. He won't be laughing at Draco's pain if he liked him or saw him as an innocent.

if he had known the prefect badge was on its way, he would have expected it to come to him, not Ron. Did this make him as arrogant as Draco Malfoy? Did he think himself superior to everyone else? Did he really believe he was better than Ron?

(OotP, Ch9) - Draco is synonimus with acting arrogant and shitty in Harry's mind.

“Want one, Granger?” said Malfoy, holding out a badge to Hermione. “I’ve got loads. But don’t touch my hand, now. I’ve just washed it, you see; don’t want a Mudblood sliming it up.” Some of the anger Harry had been feeling for days and days seemed to burst through a dam in his chest. He had reached for his wand before he’d thought what he was doing. People all around them scrambled out of the way, backing down the corridor. “Harry!” Hermione said warningly. “Go on, then, Potter,” Malfoy said quietly, drawing out his own wand. “Moody’s not here to look after you now — do it, if you’ve got the guts —” For a split second, they looked into each other’s eyes, then, at exactly the same time, both acted. “Furnunculus!” Harry yelled. “Densaugeo!” screamed Malfoy. Jets of light shot from both wands, hit each other in midair, and ricocheted off at angles — Harry’s hit Goyle in the face, and Mal- foy’s hit Hermione. Goyle bellowed and put his hands to his nose, where great ugly boils were springing up

(GoF, Ch18) - Harry planned to cover Draco's face with painful boils. Also, Draco is showing his fixation again by charming these badges.

Smirking all over his pointed face, Draco Malfoy leaned across Harry and seized the largest bowtruckle. “Maybe,” said Malfoy in an undertone, so that only Harry could hear him, “the stupid great oaf’s got himself badly injured.” “Maybe you will if you don’t shut up,” said Harry out of the side of his mouth. “Maybe he’s been messing with stuff that’s too big for him, if you get my drift.” Malfoy walked away, smirking over his shoulder at Harry, who suddenly felt sick. Did Malfoy know something? His father was a Death Eater, after all; what if he had information about Hagrid’s fate that had not yet reached the Order’s ears?

(OotP, Ch13) - Again, unflattering terms for appearance and Harry takes joy in Draco's pain since he thinks he deserves it.

Harry was not aware of releasing George, all he knew was that a second later both of them were sprinting at Malfoy. He had completely forgotten the fact that all the teachers were watching: All he wanted to do was cause Malfoy as much pain as possible. With no time to draw out his wand, he merely drew back the fist clutching the Snitch and sank it as hard as he could into Malfoy’s stomach — “Harry! HARRY! GEORGE! NO!” He could hear girls’ voices screaming, Malfoy yelling, George swearing, a whistle blowing, and the bellowing of the crowd around him, but he did not care, not until somebody in the vicinity yelled “IMPEDIMENTA!” and only when he was knocked over backward by the force of the spell did he abandon the attempt to punch every inch of Malfoy he could reach. . . .

(OotP, Ch19) - Harry actually goes through with punching Draco, with the snitch in his hand. Harry, even when angry with Ron and Hermione, wouldn't hit them like this, ever. But Draco deserves it in Harry's mind, even if he acted impulsively, he doesn't regret Draco's pain later.

The journey home on the Hogwarts Express next day was eventful in several ways. Firstly, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who had clearly been waiting all week for the opportunity to strike without teacher witnesses, attempted to ambush Harry halfway down the train as he made his way back from the toilet. The attack might have succeeded had it not been for the fact that they unwittingly chose to stage the attack right outside a compartment full of D.A. members, who saw what was happening through the glass and rose as one to rush to Harry’s aid. By the time Ernie Macmillan, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Anthony Goldstein, and Terry Boot had finished using a wide variety of the hexes and jinxes Harry had taught them, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle resembled nothing so much as three gigantic slugs squeezed into Hogwarts uniforms as Harry, Ernie, and Justin hoisted them into the luggage rack and left them there to ooze.

(OotP, Ch38) - Again, laughs at Draco's pain and humiliation.

It's always Draco seeking out Harry to get his attention and Harry being annoyed more than anything. Multiple times, Harry takes pleasure and enjoys seeing Draco humiliated or in pain, but he's never the one who initiates their confrontation — it's always Draco, Harry only responds.

Overall, Harry sees Draco as an "easy enemy" — an enemy he can do something against in the early books and doesn't mind insulting him, hurting him, and laughing at Draco's misfortune. Draco is in the "enemy" box, but Harry never really fears him (even back in PS, he fears Crabbe and Goyle more than Draco since they're a physical threat). He's a nuissence sort of enemy, not a "real threat" kind of enemy.

Book 6:

In HBP, we see two changes in how Harry treats Draco. Up until now, Lucius was seen as the real threat and Draco was a petty villain, a school enemy. Book 6 changes that because now Harry thinks Draco is a Death Eater, and starts taking his threat more seriously accordingly. So Draco moves from the "petty enemy" box into the "active threat" box in Harry's mind.

As such, Harry becomes an instigator, now sees Draco as a threat and not a Dudley-like bully — hence why he starts following him around. He sees him as a real threat, so he acts accordingly.

At the very start of the book, Harry picks up his attitude towards Draco from the end of OotP (except, more recklessly after Sirius' death. Harry gets reckless when depressed, it's a usual pattern for him):

“If you’re wondering what the smell is, Mother, a Mudblood just walked in,” said Draco Malfoy. “I don’t think there’s any need for language like that!” said Madam Malkin, scurrying out from behind the clothes rack holding a tape measure and a wand. “And I don’t want wands drawn in my shop either!” she added hastily, for a glance toward the door had shown her Harry and Ron both standing there with their wands out and pointing at Malfoy. Hermione, who was standing slightly behind them, whispered, “No, don’t, honestly, it’s not worth it. . . .” [...] “Put those away,” she said coldly to Harry and Ron. “If you attack my son again, I shall ensure that it is the last thing you ever do.” “Really?” said Harry, taking a step forward and gazing into the smoothly arrogant face that, for all its pallor, still resembled her sister’s. He was as tall as she was now. “Going to get a few Death Eater pals to do us in, are you?”

(HBP, Ch6)

But when things start being odd and falling into place, Harry's suspeciouns grew and he starts taking Draco and his threat more seriously:

“Wonder where his mummy is?” said Harry, frowning. “Given her the slip by the looks of it,” said Ron. “Why, though?” said Hermione. Harry said nothing; he was thinking too hard. Narcissa Malfoy would not have let her precious son out of her sight willingly; Malfoy must have made a real effort to free himself from her clutches. Harry, knowing and loathing Malfoy, was sure the reason could not be innocent.

(HBP, Ch6) - he notices something is wrong becouse he analysed Narcissa's personality, not Draco's.

Harry spent a lot of the last week of the holidays pondering the meaning of Malfoy’s behavior in Knockturn Alley. What disturbed him most was the satisfied look on Malfoy’s face as he had left the shop. Nothing that made Malfoy look that happy could be good news. To his slight annoyance, however, neither Ron nor Hermione seemed quite as curious about Malfoy’s activities as he was; or at least, they seemed to get bored of discussing it after a few days. “Yes, I’ve already agreed it was fishy, Harry,” said Hermione a lit- tle impatiently.

(HBP, Ch7) - Hermione, too, agrees it's odd. She is just more cautious about jumping to conclusions than Harry is.

And Harry actually has good evidence behind his suspicions. It's not out of nowhere:

“Yeah, I do,” said Harry. When neither Ron nor Hermione answered, he said, “Malfoy’s father’s in Azkaban. Don’t you think Malfoy’d like revenge?” Ron looked up, blinking. “Malfoy, revenge? What can he do about it?” “That’s my point, I don’t know!” said Harry, frustrated. “But he’s up to something and I think we should take it seriously. His father’s a Death Eater and —” Harry broke off, his eyes fixed on the window behind Hermione, his mouth open. A startling thought had just occurred to him. “Harry?” said Hermione in an anxious voice. “What’s wrong?” “Your scar’s not hurting again, is it?” asked Ron nervously. “He’s a Death Eater,” said Harry slowly. “He’s replaced his father as a Death Eater!” [...] “In Madam Malkin’s. She didn’t touch him, but he yelled and jerked his arm away from her when she went to roll up his sleeve. It was his left arm. He’s been branded with the Dark Mark.” [...] “He showed Borgin something we couldn’t see,” Harry pressed on stubbornly. “Something that seriously scared Borgin. It was the Mark, I know it — he was showing Borgin who he was dealing with, you saw how seriously Borgin took him!”

(HBP, Ch7)

Harry's intuition is always like this. I talked about his intuition before, and how he comes to conclusions about Voldemort and the Deathly Hallows is the same as how he concludes Draco is a Death Eater. It's just how Harry's intuition works.

And it makes sense that after this, he'd start following Draco's movements more closely. He is (rightfully) convinced he's actually a Death Eater. So, he tries to find out more (as he did when taking polyjuice potion or following the spiders in CoS, for example).

The second (and in my opinion more interesting) change in Harry's attitude towards Draco (an attitude that will remain into book 7), is after the Sectumsempra accident:

And Harry realized, with a shock so huge it seemed to root him to the spot, that Malfoy was crying — actually crying — tears streaming down his pale face into the grimy basin. Malfoy gasped and gulped and then, with a great shudder, looked up into the cracked mirror and saw Harry staring at him over his shoulder. Malfoy wheeled around, drawing his wand. Instinctively, Harry pulled out his own. Malfoy’s hex missed Harry by inches, shattering the lamp on the wall beside him; Harry threw himself sideways, thought Levicorpus! and flicked his wand, but Malfoy blocked the jinx and raised his wand for another — [...] There was a loud bang and the bin behind Harry exploded; Harry attempted a Leg-Locker Curse that backfired off the wall behind Malfoy’s ear and smashed the cistern beneath Moaning Myrtle, who screamed loudly; water poured everywhere and Harry slipped as Malfoy, his face contorted, cried, “Cruci —” “SECTUMSEMPRA!” bellowed Harry from the floor, waving his wand wildly. Blood spurted from Malfoy’s face and chest as though he had been slashed with an invisible sword. He staggered backward and collapsed onto the waterlogged floor with a great splash, his wand falling from his limp right hand. “No —” gasped Harry. Slipping and staggering, Harry got to his feet and plunged toward Malfoy, whose face was now shining scarlet, his white hands scrabbling at his blood-soaked chest. “No — I didn’t —” Harry did not know what he was saying; he fell to his knees beside Malfoy, who was shaking uncontrollably in a pool of his own blood. [...] Harry was still watching, horrified by what he had done, barely aware that he too was soaked in blood and water. Moaning Myrtle was still sobbing and wailing overhead. When Snape had performed his countercurse for the third time, he half-lifted Malfoy into a standing position.

(HBP, Ch24)

“I’m not defending what I did!” said Harry quickly. “I wish I hadn’t done it, and not just because I’ve got about a dozen detentions. You know I wouldn’t’ve used a spell like that, not even on Malfoy, but you can’t blame the Prince, he hadn’t written ‘try this out, it’s really good’ — he was just making notes for himself, wasn’t he, not for anyone else. . . .” “Are you telling me,” said Hermione, “that you’re going to go back — ?” “And get the book? Yeah, I am,” said Harry forcefully.

(HBP, Ch24)

Harry feels incredibly guilty for the Sectumsempra incident. I mentioned it in past posts, but while Harry can kill if he thinks his opponent deserves it, he doesn't think Draco deserves it (Ginny does though, she tries to justify Harry's actions to him, but we're talking about Harry).

So, again, while Harry doesn't mind, say, killing Quirrell without seeing it, it's very different from standing in a pool of blood of a kid you knew as a nuisance since he was eleven. That would be shocking to anyone with a bit of empathy, regardless of how he felt about Draco.

Now, I think the reason Harry is even more guilty is what he heard right before. He heard Draco confess he didn't want to be a Death Eater, that all his family would be killed if he didn't do as Voldemort says — he cried. Harry is an empathetic person, so of course he feels sorry for Draco in that moment, he has a heart, and I don't think you need to like Draco to feel bad for him there. Hell, I dislike Draco and still feel bad for him and that he didn't deserve it — and so does Harry.

Draco's confession also changes Harry's behaviour. Harry doesn't follow Draco as closely out of guilt and pity:

“Nor am I,” said Harry quickly. “But he healed all right, didn’t he? Back on his feet in no time.” “Yeah,” said Harry; this was perfectly true, although his conscience squirmed slightly all the same. “Thanks to Snape . . .” “You still got detention with Snape this Saturday?” Ron con- tinued.

(HBP, Ch25)

But he still watches out for him and when Tralwany tells him someone was celebrating in the RoR, Harry knows what it means. And when Dumbledore doesn't take his warning seriously, he takes matters into his own hands to prepare the school for an attack, all very reasonable:

“Well, I don’t!” he said, as loudly as before. “He’s up to some- thing with Draco Malfoy right now, right under your nose, and you still —” “We have discussed this, Harry,” said Dumbledore, and now he sounded stern again. “I have told you my views.” [...] “. . . so you see what this means?” Harry finished at a gallop. “Dumbledore won’t be here tonight, so Malfoy’s going to have another clear shot at whatever he’s up to. No, listen to me!” he hissed angrily, as both Ron and Hermione showed every sign of interrupting. “I know it was Malfoy celebrating in the Room of Requirement. Here —” He shoved the Marauder’s Map into Hermione’s hands. “You’ve got to watch him and you’ve got to watch Snape too. Use anyone else who you can rustle up from the D.A., Hermione, those contact Galleons will still work, right? Dumbledore says he’s put extra protection in the school, but if Snape’s involved, he’ll know what Dumbledore’s protection is, and how to avoid it — but he won’t be expecting you lot to be on the watch, will he?” “Harry —” began Hermione, her eyes huge with fear. “I haven’t got time to argue,” said Harry curtly. “Take this as well —

(HBP, Ch25)

In general, during the last confrontation, Harry's view of Draco is mostly that of pity, as Draco proves again, he doesn't want to do this:

“Now, Draco, quickly!” said the brutal-faced man angrily. But Malfoy’s hand was shaking so badly that he could barely aim. [...] “We’ve got a problem, Snape,” said the lumpy Amycus, whose eyes and wand were fixed alike upon Dumbledore, “the boy doesn’t seem able —” But somebody else had spoken Snape’s name, quite softly. “Severus . . .”

(HBP, Ch27)

Again it reiterates what Harry heard in the bathroom, and it doesn't read as romantic. I mean, you saw a 16-year-old being told to kill someone or his parents would be killed, and then he was incapable of doing it. The same 16-year-old you almost killed by accident after you saw him crying about what he is forced to do — of course, Harry won't blame him for what happened to Dumbledore. Again, you only need basic empathy.

Neither Ron nor Hermione thought Draco deserved the Sectumsempra incident either. It's not just Harry. And it makes sense Harry won't mention Daco's involvement — for the same reason he won't stun Stan Shunpike, he was forced to ask, therefore he is innocent. Harry won't condemn someone he views as an innocent, so, I don't think there has to be anything romantic going on for Harry to leave out Draco's involvement, just his usual empathy. because Draco is no longer in the "real threat" box, he has now moved to the "innocent victim" box. And that is where he stays until the end of the series.

Book 7:

During DH, we see Harry start referring to Draco as both "Malfoy" and "Draco" inside his head interchangeably, which is interesting (bolded in all following quotes). I think this has to do with the understanding Harry got of Draco's situation, he's no longer just "Malfoy" since Harry doesn't see him as an enemy anymore, he's Draco becosue he's an innocent forced to do Voldemort's bidding, just like the imperiosed Stan Shunpike.

Throughout DH, when Harry's thoughts go to Draco, it's with pity.

Malfoy’s gaunt, petrified face seemed burned on the inside of his eyes. Harry felt sickened by what he had seen, by the use to which Draco was now being put by Voldemort.

(DH, Ch9)

In the quote above, he refers to how Draco is being "used" by Voldemort. Yes, Ron and Hermione see Draco less favorably, but Harry was the one who heard his confession, saw his tears, and saw his wand shake in front of Dumbledore — he knows Draco's situation better.

But the point is, I don't see Harry's treatment of Draco as particularly romantic, the main reason is that I don't feel Harry respects Draco's skills or abilities as much as he respects his friends' skills. He pities Draco, he feels bad for him, sees him as someone Voldemort uses, but Harry doesn't really see him as capable anymore. He is no longer a threat.

In HBP, Harry stopped seeing Draco as an enemy; now he is a victim.

He resolved not to speak, for his voice was sure to give him away; yet he still avoided eye contact with Draco as the latter approached. [...] “I can’t—I can’t be sure,” said Draco. He was keeping his distance from Greyback, and seemed as scared of looking at Harry as Harry was of looking at him.

(DH, Ch23)

Again, in the manor, Harry isn't scared of Draco seeing them untied in the cellar. In the above quote, he is scared Draco might recognize him and what it would mean for them, but he isn't scared of Draco — Draco isn't the threat.

That’s my wand you’re holding, Potter,” said Malfoy, pointing his own through the gap between Crabbe and Goyle. “Not anymore,” panted Harry, tightening his grip on the hawthorn wand. “Winners, keepers, Malfoy. Who’s lent you theirs?” “My mother,” said Draco. Harry laughed, though there was nothing very humorous about the situation.

(DH, Ch31)

Again, Harry isn't scared of Draco becouse he knows Draco doesn't like causing pain and won't kill when he has the chance. Harry is more concerned with Crabbe and Goyle (as he has been since PS, they were always the more physical threat). And Harry is correct in his assessment:

“Don’t kill him! DON’T KILL HIM!” Malfoy yelled at Crabbe and Goyle, who were both aiming at Harry: Their split second’s hesitation was all Harry needed. “Expelliarmus!”

(DH, Ch31)

Again, I think Draco does have a crush/fixation on Harry, I just think it's unrequited. Draco is incredibly unsettled by the idea of Harry dying; this is beyond Voldemort wanting him alive, this is beyond the situation in the manor. Draco is terrified of Harry dying. (Notice, Draco doesn't shout like this earlier in the scene for Hermione when Crabbe tries to kill her, it's specifically for Harry).

Now, to a scene many Drarry fans love:

Harry could not see a trace of Malfoy, Crabbe, or Goyle anywhere. He swooped as low as he dare over the marauding monsters of flame to try to find them, but there was nothing but fire: What a terrible way to die. . . . He had never wanted this. . . . [...] And then Harry heard a thin, piteous human scream from amidst the terrible commotion, the thunder of devouring flame. [...] And he saw them: Malfoy with his arms around the unconscious Goyle, the pair of them perched on a fragile tower of charred desks, and Harry dived. Malfoy saw him coming and raised one arm, but even as Harry grasped it he knew at once that it was no good. Goyle was too heavy and Malfoy’s hand, covered in sweat, slid instantly out of Harry’s— “IF WE DIE FOR THEM, I’LL KILL YOU, HARRY!” roared Ron’s voice, and, as a great flaming chimaera bore down upon them, he and Hermione dragged Goyle onto their broom and rose, rolling and pitching, into the air once more as Malfoy clambered up behind Harry.

(DH, Ch31)

I have a few notes:

1. Harry was searching for all of them: Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle, regardless of his feelings about them, he planned to save all of them. He is talking about "them" when searching and when diving down, it isn't just Draco.

2. Again, Harry is an empathetic and good person, in his words: "What a terrible way to die. . . . He had never wanted this. . . .", like the Sectumsempra incident, Harry doesn't want people, even bad ones (Crabbe and Goyle) to die a tourtourus death and he definitely doesn't want an innocent person (Draco, in his mind is a victim) to die.

3. He describes Draco's scream as: "a piteous human scream ". This is because, as I mentioned above, since the latter part of HBP, I don't think Harry sees Draco as a threat or his equal anymore, not really. He graduated their enmity to the big bad (Voldemort). Harry sees him as weaker and more pitiful than himself (similarly to how he sees other victims of Voldemort). I don't think Harry consciously thinks this, but you kind of see it in his behaviour and how he thinks about Draco as someone who is a victim and doesn't have the same level of agency as other characters. (Probably JKR's own thoughts, but it is written into Harry's narration).

Draco was on the upper landing, pleading with another masked Death Eater. Harry Stunned the Death Eater as they passed. Malfoy looked around, beaming, for his savior, and Ron punched him from under the Cloak. Malfoy fell backward on top of the Death Eater, his mouth bleeding, utterly bemused. “And that’s the second time we’ve saved your life tonight, you two faced bastard!” Ron yelled.

(DH, Ch32)

What I want to note here:

1. Harry doesn't mind Draco being hurt by Ron even this late in DH. If he had a crush, I'd expect him to call Ron out as Harry's incredibly protective of people he cares for, or say something like the punch being uncalled for. Harry doesn't.

2. Saving Draco from the Death Eater is, again, Harry sees him as a defenceless victim (which he is, he is wandless), so Harry does what he always does — protect people he sees as innocent.

Though all books, it never read to me like Harry had a crush or even the start of a crush. It read like Harry's view of Draco went from "annoying bully to be avoided and fought when he crosses a line" (books 1-5) to "enemy, an actual threat" (most of book 6) to "innocent victim trapped by circumstances" (end of book 6 and book 7).

Now, regarding Harry's obsessive tendencies in general, as you called them.

He definitely can get fixated on things and I wrote in the past how very intuitive he is when it comes to his theories. I actually think the best other case of this sort of obsession/fixation besides Draco being a Death Eater that reads very similar to it, is also from HBP — and it's the titular Half Blood Prince.

Becouse if we look at someone else Harry is obsessed with in HBP:

Harry wondered vaguely who the Half-Blood Prince had been. Although the amount of homework they had been given prevented him from reading the whole of his copy of Advanced Potion-Making, he had skimmed through it sufficiently to see that there was barely a page on which the Prince had not made additional notes, not all of them concerned with potion-making.

(HBP, Ch10)

“Ha!” said Harry, unwrapping the parcel to reveal a new copy of Advanced Potion-Making, fresh from Flourish and Blotts. “Oh good,” said Hermione, delighted. “Now you can give that graffitied copy back.” “Are you mad?” said Harry. “I’m keeping it! Look, I’ve thought it out —” He pulled the old copy of Advanced Potion-Making out of his bag and tapped the cover with his wand, muttering, “Diffindo!” The cover fell off. He did the same thing with the brand-new book (Hermione looked scandalized). He then swapped the covers, tapped each, and said, “Reparo!”

(HBP, Ch11)

Constantly thinks about and studies intensivly:

Harry woke early on the morning of the trip, which was proving stormy, and whiled away the time until breakfast by reading his copy of Advanced Potion-Making. He did not usually lie in bed reading his textbooks; that sort of behavior, as Ron rightly said, was indecent in anybody except Hermione, who was simply weird that way. Harry felt, however, that the Half-Blood Prince’s copy of Advanced Potion-Making hardly qualified as a textbook. The more Harry pored over the book, the more he realized how much was in there, not only the handy hints and shortcuts on potions that were earning him such a glowing reputation with Slughorn, but also the imaginative little jinxes and hexes scribbled in the margins, which Harry was sure, judging by the crossings-out and revisions, that the Prince had invented himself.

(HBP, Ch12)

Abandoning pretense, Harry said, “And it wasn’t Sirius? Or you?” “Definitely not.” “Oh.” Harry stared into the fire. “I just thought — well, he’s helped me out a lot in Potions classes, the Prince has.” “How old is this book, Harry?” “I dunno, I’ve never checked.” “Well, perhaps that will give you some clue as to when the Prince was at Hogwarts,” said Lupin. [...] Ron fell asleep almost immediately, but Harry delved into his trunk and pulled out his copy of Advanced Potion-Making before getting into bed. There he turned its pages, searching, until he finally found, at the front of the book, the date that it had been published. It was nearly fifty years old. Neither his father, nor his father’s friends, had been at Hogwarts fifty years ago. Feeling disappointed, Harry threw the book back into his trunk, turned off the lamp, and rolled over, thinking of werewolves and Snape, Stan Shunpike and the Half-Blood Prince, and finally falling into an uneasy sleep full of creeping shadows and the cries of bitten children. . . .

(HBP, Ch16)

Knows intuitively and understands better than Hermione:

“Or herself,” said Hermione irritably, overhearing Harry pointing some of these out to Ron in the common room on Saturday evening. “It might have been a girl. I think the handwriting looks more like a girl’s than a boy’s.” “The Half-Blood Prince, he was called,” Harry said. “How many girls have been Princes?” Hermione seemed to have no answer to this. She merely scowled and twitched her essay on The Principles of Rematerialization away from Ron, who was trying to read it upside down.

(HBP, Ch10)

While both Hermione and Ron are doubtful of Harry's thoughts, feelings regarding the object of his interest:

Neither Ron nor Hermione was delighted by this. Although Harry had offered to share his book with both of them, Ron had more difficulty deciphering the handwriting than Harry did, and could not keep asking Harry to read aloud or it might look suspicious. Hermione, meanwhile, was resolutely plowing on with what she called the “official” instructions, but becoming increasingly bad-tempered as they yielded poorer results than the Prince’s.

(HBP, Ch10)

And he constantly defends the Prince to Hermione (even when he's wrong). He just really likes the Prince:

“That was different,” he said robustly. “They were abusing it. Harry and his dad were just having a laugh. You don’t like the Prince, Hermione,” he added, pointing a sausage at her sternly, “because he’s better than you at Potions —” “It’s got nothing to do with that!” said Hermione, her cheeks reddening. “I just think it’s very irresponsible to start performing spells when you don’t even know what they’re for, and stop talking about ‘the Prince’ as if it’s his title, I bet it’s just a stupid nickname, and it doesn’t seem as though he was a very nice person to me!” “I don’t see where you get that from,” said Harry heatedly. “If he’d been a budding Death Eater he wouldn’t have been boasting about being ‘half-blood,’ would he?”

(HBP, Ch12)

And remembers a lot of details from. Details that saved Ron:

Harry leapt over a low table and sprinted toward Slughorn’s open potion kit, pulling out jars and pouches, while the terrible sound of Ron’s gargling breath filled the room. Then he found it — the shriveled kidneylike stone Slughorn had taken from him in Potions. He hurtled back to Ron’s side, wrenched open his jaw, and thrust the bezoar into his mouth. Ron gave a great shudder, a rat- tling gasp, and his body became limp and still.

(HBP, Ch18)

And right after he almost kills Draco, his thoughts once the immediate shock is gone aren't about Draco and whether he's okay. The moment Snape took care of him, Harry knew he'd be fine. He feels guilty because he didn't intend to hurt Draco that badly, but he feels betrayed by The Prince, he's more terrified Snape would take the book away rather than punish him for almost murdering someone!

He felt stunned; it was as though a beloved pet had turned suddenly savage; what had the Prince been thinking to copy such a spell into his book? And what would happen when Snape saw it? Would he tell Slughorn — Harry’s stomach churned — how Harry had been achieving such good results in Potions all year? Would he confiscate or destroy the book that had taught Harry so much . . . the book that had become a kind of guide and friend? Harry could not let it happen. . . . He could not . . .

(HBP, Ch24)

Actually, he treats the Prince closer to a crush than he treats Draco. Harry is unwilling to blame the Prince for the Sectumsempra incident, and he's unwilling to hear slander about him/the book from Hermione because the Prince is someone he likes. Think of how quickly Harry jumps up to speak in defence of Ron, Hermione, Luna, Sirius, or Ginny, even against people he likes, like when Dumbledore says something slightly negative about Sirius in OotP:

I do not think that Sirius took me very seriously, or that he ever saw Kreacher as a being with feelings as acute as a humans —” “Don’t you blame — don’t you — talk — about Sirius like —” Harry’s breath was constricted, he could not get the words out properly. But the rage that had subsided so briefly had flared in him again; he would not let Dumbledore criticize Sirius. “Kreacher’s a lying — foul — he deserved —” [...] And whatever Kreacher’s faults, it must be admitted that Sirius did nothing to make Kreacher’s lot easier —” “DON’T TALK ABOUT SIRIUS LIKE THAT!” Harry yelled.

(OotP, Ch37)

It's immediate. Harry is unwilling to hear slander against his loved ones, even when his loved ones are in the wrong, Harry will defend them and their choices — he's loyal like that.

But we don't see him doing this with Draco. He doesn't argue when Ron calls him a "bastard", "prick", or "rat-like", which Harry won't allow if he liked Draco. We would at least know he's uncomfortable with these terms inside his head — but we don't, he's fine with it.

Think of how long it took Tom to explain to Harry he's evil in CoS. Harry liked Tom and was unwilling to suspect him of foul play. Of how he was unwilling to consider the Prince could be a DE because he liked him and wanted to belive the best of him. If Harry had a crush on Draco, he wouldn't have suspected him of being a Death Eater to begin with.

And the final question? Is Draco attractive, and does Harry find him attractive?

In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face

(PS, Ch5)

He had the same pale, pointed face and identical cold, gray eyes.

(CoS, Ch4)

Malfoy stood to one side, the sunlight gleaming on his white-blond head. He caught Harry’s eye and smirked, tapping the crown-shaped badge on his chest.

(OotP, Ch15)

A teenage boy with a pale, pointed face and white-blond hair appeared from behind the rack, wearing a handsome set of dark green robes that glittered with pins around the hem and the edges of the sleeves. [...] His light gray eyes narrowed.

(HBP, Ch6)

Draco's face is pretty consistently described as pale and pointed. As you said, Harry isn't waxing poetic like he does with Tom:

Harry recognized Voldemort at once. His was the most handsome face and he looked the most relaxed of all the boys.

(HBP, Ch17)

He was plainly dressed in a black suit; his hair was a little longer than it had been at school and his cheeks were hollowed, but all of this suited him; he looked more handsome than ever.

(HBP, Ch20)

Or Sirius:

Sirius was lounging in his chair at his ease, tilting it back on two legs. He was very good-looking; his dark hair fell into his eyes with a sort of casual elegance neither James’s nor Harry’s could ever have achieved [...] Sirius stared around at the students milling over the grass, looking rather haughty and bored, but very handsomely so.

(OotP, Ch28)

I'd go on a limb and say Draco isn't ugly (since Harry states quite clearly when someone is ugly), but he's not particularly attractive either, objectively and in Harry's opinion. I think he falls similar to the Narcissa "she would have been nice-looking if...", as in, he could look alright in the right circumstances, but he isn't Tom Riddle or Sirius Black.

Draco's hair is probably nice. His hair is the part that gets the most positive terms associated with it; it's his face Harry considers "pointy". Besides, I think Draco is the kind of guy who'd take good care of his hair.

(Listen, I ship Nottpott, but I'm aware canon Harry doesn't find Theo hot. I just write Theo as handsomer in my fic. That's allowed.

There were only two other people who seemed to be able to see them [Thstrals]: a stringy Slytherin boy standing just behind Goyle (OotP, Ch21)

together with a weedy-looking boy Hermione whispered was called Theodore Nott. (OotP, Ch26)

Harry describes him as tall and thin in a bad way. The nice term Harry uses for tall and thin is "lanky" which is used for Ron and other Weasleys. But, hey, Theo's not ugly and there's nothing wrong with his face, so that's something (Harry would mention it if there was something bad to say, he is not shy about calling people ugly.

Also, saying Draco is the "only Slytherin not described as ugly", which I have seen claimed, is Blaise Zabini erasure:

He recognized a Slytherin from their year, a tall black boy with high cheekbones and long, slanting eyes; [...] Even Zabini had allowed a look of curiosity to mar his haughty features. (HBP, Ch7)

In HP "haughty" is a word used to describe people who are so beautiful they are intimidating. He's described with "high cheekbones" and "slanting eyes" — all natural or flattering terms. Like, as I said, Draco isn't ugly, but the true catch of their year in Slytherin is Blaise.

Also, Pansy asks Blaise about his interest in Ginny. If she could get Blaise, I think she would leave Draco. And both Blaise and Theo are implied to be cleverer than Draco, so there are clearly other catches in Slytherin.)

Summary

So, I don't think Drarry is as canon as some Drarry fans make it out to be, but I wouldn't call it completely baseless either. There is a base to work with if you're inclined to read it that way. As I said, I can argue Draco's obsession with Harry and attempts to get his attention are the results of a crush, but I don't think Harry is attracted to Draco in canon. There is a dynamic for fanon/fanfiction to build on if you want to, though (I personally don't).

Would I say it would've felt more natural if Harry had gotten together with Draco instead of with Ginny in the books? No, not really. Not without a lot more buildup. As it is, it would have been just as jarring to me.

So, these are my thoughts about it. These discussions and reading into things are fun, but this is what canon is. (I didn't go through all the "Drarry scenes" so to speak, becosue this post is long enough as it is, but all of them, from Harry's end could be explained by behaviour other than a crush, and he doesn't treat Draco at any point like he treats his freidns or people he cares about).

[justheretoposttrash]

day 9 in endhawks hell (actually over a year in endhawks hell but moving on):

not one to spread apocryphal info on the internet but my very unverified source (my friend) told me that losing a right arm in anime/japanese media symbolizes shame, disgrace, some other kinda downfall, or the need to redeem oneself. to be clear i have not found an actual source on this, but it definitely would explain a LOT (tears of the kingdom, aot, fma, hunter x hunter, so many more)

and big surprise, that all 100% tracks with endeavor's loss of his arm. if we were to assume all the symbolism is true and accurately described by me (which i encourage not to assume outside of this post), it's very interesting that endeavor loses it in the afo fight protecting hawks rather than in his fight with touya.

it should be noted that him losing his temper is what indirectly places hawks (and tokoyami and jiro) in danger, bc his rage at afo opened him up to injury and being absent from part of the fight in the first place. i also appreciate that, when hawks shouts at endeavor to "keep a cool head" in the face of afo's psychological warfare and endeavor fails to do so, hawks very clearly doesn't view this as weakness, but as a natural human reaction and is mainly worried about him--whereas endeavor is furious with himself right after the fact.

he says it outright in the text--that from the beginning, the whole tragedy, even his rage at afo leading to his current injury, is all only made possible because of the wounds he inflicted on his family in the first place. it's also notable that endeavor's inability to manage his anger, rather than having anger at all, was a core aspect of his abusive outbursts in the past, and his initial fall to afo in this fight. his temper continues to be a source of problems for himself and those around him.

and while endeavor made an overt mistake, hawks made a covert one: it is confronting his own emotions, rather than shutting them away (making a "clean break", as it were), that allows endeavor to re-enter the fight in full.

in result, endeavor's struggles with his own shame create an opportunity for hawks to be killed, but in accepting his shame, he saves him. (aside: the playful echo of "keep a cool head" in the above panel is so ridiculous. non-judgmental, trusting, teasing--knowing, yet forgiving/appreciative--like hawks and his intern hadn't just nearly died, lmao. arms were lost but there's always time to squeeze in a wisecrack)

this also fits well with hawks initially thinking that it's because endeavor is in an emotionally vulnerable place that he couldn't fight touya without losing (read: dying).

hawks initially felt certain that endeavor needed his support and protection because the man wasn't shutting his emotions away--but it's after endeavor is able to resurge back with his emotionality intact that hawks reverses his decision and is the one encouraging him to be the one to confront touya. and with full confidence! (the, uh, touya fight was a hair's breadth from ~not going well~, but let's not tell hawks that right now lol)

to slightly shift back to this "clean break" moment: by contrasting himself against endeavor, who is trying to do better = still vulnerable to the past = has emotions that the enemy can exploit, hawks implies that he doesn't see himself as being the same on *any* of those counts, which is a sad thing to realize. shutting off his heart? not being a better person than he was before? this implication would have benefitted from more intentional and clear closure in the manga (i think the single tiny frame of hawks talking with tokoyami in 430 is just *fine*, ish), but at any rate, endeavor certainly sets a solid example of a person learning to open themself up to these sorts of things, and those lessons are ones hawks could very much use.

anyway, in short, thematically/symbolically/what-have-you, endeavor's work towards atoning for his family, taking more emotional accountability, and accepting emotions rather than rejecting them is connected to inspiring hawks, doing right by him, and even saving him a second time.

[spoiledblogif]

I hath been sufficiently encouraged to send an ask >:D How many bones do you think each RO + Carter has broken in their lifetime and why? In their own body, of course, though I'm sure grandma carter's broken a good number of bones that aren't his own.

Okay just 'Grandma Carter" fucking sent me. I may never recover lmao

I'm sure Carter's definitely broken his share of his own bones on the job. That kind of work just makes that inevitable, but I do think the need to not get injured would definitely be why he'd prefer dirty tactics. Honor doesn't matter a whole lot if you're dead.

As for, R they actively try to avoid physical conflict and possess the skills necessary to do so, so they probably don't have the same laundry list of injuries as everyone else. Maybe a few sprains here and there, maybe a broken wrist at some point, but R's not one for physicality.

Z's hard to say. On one hand, they are a very physical, melee fighter, so injury is unavoidable. But being not totally human has made them significantly hardier and they do heal much faster. So I imagine they've "walked off" what would be crippling injuries for anyone else.

The Kestrel's not human at all, so they'd be much, much less prone to injuries. They would also be bored by fighting, so it's not something that'd be a regular problem. I also don't see them being a masochist, but they would definitely tell someone TRYING to hurt them to not be such a tease and hit them like they mean it. Kestrel doesn't like physical fighting, but psychological warfare is always on the table.

[yuesya]

yuzuki has given me incredible brainrot, so in honour of that, in mother au, what would happen if yuzuki lived?

would him and shiki get married to the grumblings of the gojo elders, or would they just elope and leave the rest of them to deal with it after? shiki having a shotgun wedding at 19 would definitely scandalize all the jujutsu elders.

what would satoru’s relationship with his dad be? probably pretty good, but he takes after shiki a lot no matter what.

lmao, just realized how funny this is from the outside. we have these two unhinged special grade sorcerers who are completely incomprehensible to most people, who both adore this random, sickly, basically non sorcerer (since yuzuki can’t use his cursed technique much due to the strain on his body, right?).

i’d imagine suguru and shoko would both like him, thinking he’s the only normal one, which, i mean, they’re right, but he also willingly attached himself to shiki from a young age, and probably regularly wages psychological warfare on the gojo elders for fun, since in zenith he’s pretty politically minded.

all this to say, yuzuki, shiki, and satoru deserve to be in a wholesome family unit!! (mostly yuzuki lmao, i always attach myself to slightly tragic side characters)

In a 'Yuzuki lives' AU Satoru grows up a happy child who is loved by both parents. Shiki and Yuzuki get married once the elders find out that she's pregnant -very scandalous. Yuzuki is a little embarrassed by it, while Shiki doesn't care a single jot. They probably get married a few years after Shiki graduates, because the elders want to tie down their Special Grade sorcerer as soon as possible.

Satoru's mental image of his dad is probably something like... a tiger that sleeps during the day. Warm, fluffy, doesn't really have the energy to do much. But boy you don't want to be in range when those claws come out. Yuzuki isn't physically very powerful, nor is he a particularly strong sorcerer, but his mind is sharp and there are reasons why the elders Did Not Want him to marry Shiki for reasons aside from his health.

Yuzuki probably ends up as the clan head in this AU haha.

[comraderoscoes]

lmao that account has been accused of being biased towards lando several times this year and they’ve denied it every time…

i truly appreciate their informative posts a lot but i’ve noticed a certain air of superiority from blogs that claim to be 100% objective…

like it’s tumblr.com - it’s okay to have favorites!!!

i’m not gonna get into blogs bc they’re all just people at the end of the day so they can say whatever they like but .. calling it psychological warfare was insane to me 😭 they were reminding him very gently that he was in a team and giving him chance after chance to be the bigger person… get out of here w claiming that’s psychological manipulation 😭

[crguang]

damnnn wth ptn looks good

can't afford another gacha though (...unless they actually go the yuri route??? maybe???)

i think i downloaded it once, just for the gacha aspect so i don't remember the plot at all LMAO. I just remember that i wasn't a fan of the gameplay unfortunately

i didnt knoooow it was a gacha i was tricked— TRICKED by the art and the lesbians… the gameplay is actual psychological warfare i wanna cry every time a battle starts (and there are a LOT) but at the same time this is literally me when my teams wins

but im pushing through because the story is really interesting and the women art is gorgeous…! im already attached to some characters so its over for me but save yourself… dont go down the gacha rabbit hole

[practically-an-x-man]

I have a funny prompt. Prometheus as dreamofthemaidenless posts. Basically how you think that Dream rp blog would talk about Prometheus (I think almost everyone in the Sandman fandom is familiar with that blog at this point)

You should know that I laughed SO hard when I got this prompt, I love this so much. I'm not sure I got the delivery exactly right on all of these, but I had a lot of fun making them XD

Obviously credit to @dreamofthemaidenless for this very particular style of humor lmao

____

dreamofthemaidenless: there's a reason i called them nyx you know. easy to spell. mervyn helps manage the records sometimes and i keep getting notes addressed to promeethiyus

dreamofthemaidenless: lucienne just called me transphobic for rewriting prometheus again so now i'm wearing a rainbow shirt under my robes. you can't see it but i'm told the vibes are there

dreamofthemaidenless: explaining to prometheus that their name was nyx because we could only afford 3 letters due to budget cuts and now their new name should be Lit. like fire.

dreamofthemaidenless: yeah i'm keeping prometheus around this time. every time i rewrite them the corinthian gets all bitey again

dreamofthemaidenless: rewrote prometheus again and now the whole dreaming smells like toasted marshmallows. i think i did something wrong. please standby.

dreamofthemaidenless: intentionally sending the wrong nightmare to a dreamer just bc i'm bored and i want to see how the fight goes down

dreamofthemaidenless: prometheus in the dreaming is like that pack of wolves they introduced to yellowstone. population control.

dreamofthemaidenless: small children have been dreaming of something called "nimona" recently. lots of "go back to the shadows from whence you came" and all that. has anyone seen prometheus.

dreamofthemaidenless: so proud of all my nightmares that became dreams. gault and that other one really showed some agency. good work team.

dreamofthemaidenless: lost prometheus again. how does this keep happening. where do they go.

dreamofthemaidenless: called prometheus nyx again and matthew started lecturing me on what a deadname is. however i have access to the entire collective unconscious and already knew what a deadname is. and i rewrote prometheus again last week.

dreamofthemaidenless: in honor of pride month i would like to remind everyone that prometheus was 14,591 years old when they started their transition journey. and look at them now. it's not too late for you.

dreamofthemaidenless: prometheus keeps bringing light to all the dark corners of the dreaming and it's ruining my carefully cultivated emo aesthetic.

dreamofthemaidenless: what sort of psychological warfare must you wage in order to become romantically entangled with the corinthian. tried to call prometheus down to my castle to explain but they're still afraid of me.

dreamofthemaidenless: lost prometheus again. tried to put a leash on them this time but the corinthian immediately turned it into a kink thing and that brought such visceral and implacable discomfort that i blacked out and woke up covered in millipedes. chat do we have any suggestions

dreamofthemaidenless: tried to lure prometheus back to my castle with a tantalizing little piece of flame but they already have fire. what do they like? the dreamers? they'll always follow the dreamers. but lucienne tells me that kidnapping a child is a bad idea. her exact words were what the fuck is wrong with you. we'll be here for a while.

dreamofthemaidenless: blocking prometheus into their house on halloween night because i can sense over twelve thousand frankenstein's monsters walking around and well. fire bad.

[hazelkjt]

Book Genres: Hazel

(So Hazel would read all of these, but for the sake of not having the ENTIRE list bolded I'll just highlight some of her favorite genres...which is still gonna be a lot lmao)

art | biography | business | chick lit | children’s | classics | comics | contemporary | cookbooks | crime | fantasy | fiction | gay and lesbian | graphic novels | historical fiction | history | horror | humor and comedy | memoir | music | mystery | nonfiction | paranormal | philosophy | poetry | psychology | religion | romance | science | science fiction | self help | suspense | spirituality | sports | thriller | travel | young adult | warfare

----------

Always wanting and willing to learn, if she can understand the language it's written in then Hazel will at the very least give it a try. She has a slight bias towards fantastical stories and myths/folklore, but most of her knowledge of places around the world come from the historical books about those places in her mother's collection back in the Steppe.

tagged by: @archaiclumina, tyty!!!

I'll be tagging: @iron-sparrow, @nolanel-corbeaux, @this-is-ris, @ahollowgrave, @sparrowsong-7,

Separating so tags hopefully don't break, also tagging: @hinganskies, @selnyam, @cindernet-explorer, and @sae-mian

[wulfhalls]

do you get much anon hate? i'm not asking to be weird, just because i also ship a lot of incest pairings and i had to turn anons off because the anon hate asks were driving me crazy! it's not going to make me stop but it was SO tiresome sifting through them to find stuff i actually wanted to answer.

I mean it comes and goes lol the worst I just delete. like the bigger the fandom the more u get obviously like jonsa back in the day was psychological warfare level bad lmao but overall its gotten way less over the years. I think at this point people who wanna kill me with their brains already blocked me and those who don't just go oh? tumblr user formerly known as iskarieot is incest implications posting again? likely thing for her to do! by the time we hit paulalia posting me and the girlies were just having a good time no hate in sight just people living in the moment <3

[amiserableseriesofevents]

Ginia, my heart!!!!

17, 32 and 32 for the writer questions ask game!

Hello! As per your request, I will answer to question 34 instead of 32 two times 😌🥰🥰

17. Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

From start to finish or else I will lose ALL my motivation in a blink the moment I write the scenes I like the most, never going back to find the fillers/connecting scenes between them.

Worst case scenario I leave behind a [] with a comment, like [thing A/B should happen here] or [check if they haven't already talked about this, and if they have find something else to talk about here] but I will start and go to the end with no detours because I know myself very well, and I know I'd get lost in subplots and holes.

This being said, I do actually have one of the last scenes of my own original writing project already written and just waiting to be connected to the rest of the story — but it's the only exception and it serves as a motivation to complete the story to reach that moment!

32. How do you feel about smut?

Funny how you're asking me this when I've just finished spewing out 14k of filth for the Halloween special of my theatre au!

So, thoughts: at first I was utterly convinced I could never write it because it made me cringe. Like, I could picture she scenes perfectly in my head but if I tried to write them it would sound like an anatomy manual or something. Then I discovered this only happens when I write it in Italian, so no smut in my own stories but plenty of it in my fics!!

I'm not saying I'm especially good at it, sometimes I still get lost in practical matters (I think I've reinvented physics and human anatomy in the last thing I wrote lmao), and othersI feel I've been using "cock" or "moan" 100 times in the same sentence but I have fun writing it and that's all that matters to me.

34. What are your thoughts on non-con and dub-con?

Very interesting question. I don't think I'd be able to write either because I feel my smut works only if with the filth there's also a lot of sweetness and love and good feelings in it — there are times when I'd just want them to get to the point but they keep waxing poetry about how much they love each other, for example.

I don't like reading of non-con because it doesn't make me feel at ease, and not in a good way. I like it if it happens and then the focus is on the characters having to deal with its aftermath because I love the character/relationship studies that come out of it, the angst, the guilt, the rejection, the whole difficult healing journey. But I don't like to read the sheer act of it because it really makes me feel bad (no judgement at all for those who like to read/write about it, this is my own personal taste).

I like the idea of dub-con but only up to a certain point, then it also gives me the creeps and I have to stop reading it. Luckily it doesn't happen often, I can stomach it better than pure non-con, but it's not my favorite so to speak. I like con-non-con though! I read a Clegan fic with it (I completely forgot the title) and it was really intriguing.

I love fluffy smut, angsty smut, filthy smut, psychological warfare smut (lmao), but I vastly prefer when consent is in the picture 😅

Thank you for you question dear ♥️♥️

[leafie-draws]

Hi! Sorry if it's odd to write an ask abt smth on a different site but I saw your tweet abt being a socially awkward autistic kid and legit it was the exact same for me! I didn't even know if I was being bullied or not, whenever I'd try to call it out they'd insist it was just a "joke" or a misunderstanding. I've had trust issues and paranoia because of that. To this day I still don't fully know what was actual bullying and what's just me being paranoid.

Genuinely, I almost doubted if I'd ever been bullied at all. Kids were really out here using psychological warfare..

So, when I saw someone went through the same thing, it helped me.. not doubt it? Idk how to phrase it better. But seriously though, thank you for sharing that

I hope your having a good day/night ^^ (whenever you read this)

aaaa I'm so sorry you had to go through that too! it's definitely given me trust issues and paranoia too for sure, it's just so difficult to tell when someone's being genuine or not, even when they're being nice! ;~; I often ask my friends and partner things like "is this okay? are you upset? did I do something wrong?" ect. because I genuinely cannot tell sometimes and I need it spelled out for me, then I feel bad for asking lmao xD idk sometimes I just think the whole communication thing is hard and a lot of us can relate to that

[lea-andres]

NO ONE ASKED, also I can't draw and shittily slapped this together on my phone, but have my cringe canon x oc ship lmao. They're a mess and I love them. That's Tikal's silhouette because I lack the skill to make one for Dinah.

A refresher on Dinah the Spaniel for the new people, she's an archaeologist Espio meets about two years after games/comics canon in my lore! She's part of a team called Team Cerberus (along with her brothers, Brutus the Bulldog and Carlisle the Terrier), who after the events of Sonic Unleashed started gathering up the world's powerful ancient artifacts and hiding them so Eggman (or any other nefarious villains) can't use them. They hired the Chaotix to assist them on a dig (see my Team Cerberus fic on AO3) and the two teams are really good friends! Well, kind of. The "chaos puppies" as I lovingly dub them are completely crazy, but they pay really well and really like the Chaotix so they keep hiring them and doing them favors, so the Chaotix are a bit more willing to ignore the fact they usually almost die whenever Cerberus is around.

Some additional comments:

Awkwardness Level- This is hard to answer with them because their flirting pre-relationship is best described as "psychological warfare". Sometimes Dinah is conning Espio into believing her sitting in his lap to file his chipped horn back into its usual shape is 100% necessary (he got punched in the face by a sky pirate, long story), sometimes they can't even be in the same room as each other.

They mellow out a little bit once they're officially together, but they're awkward for everyone else to witness lmao.

Dinah: You should kidnap me in full ninja garb sometime.

Espio: That's definitely a normal request and not something a lunatic would want.

Everyone else ever:

(Someone help them LOL)

Spooning- They flip flop. Espio's back spikes make it hard for Dinah to be the big spoon but he also gets cold so 🤷. They roll around and usually make fun of each other.

Rings- Espio's broke as shit and Dinah's a trust fund baby (her mentor/adopted guardian is loaded AF), so she throws a lot of money at him lmao.

PDA- Dinah loves PDA because it's funny to embarrass the shit out of Espio. She probably would engage in it less if he didn't react so. He'll engage in less graphic PDA, but any time she pushes it he's usually telling her to get off him LOL.

Jealousy/Overprotectiveness- Dinah's really friendly with people that interest/amuse her (she'll politely keep her distance from others), which frequently leads to her befriending dangerous people. Sometimes Espio tries to intervene, which usually gets met with ridicule before things blow up in Dinah's face and he gets to "I told you so" her. As for Dinah, she occasionally gets a little prickly when Silver's around (Espio pursued Silver romantically and was rejected, and there's some... lingering feelings there), but beyond that doesn't really give a shit most of the time.

[mythvoiced]

-. patrick-core bc i had another one lmao (pt. 2)

is a Corrector, if he doesn't bother correcting you, he truly does not give a SHIT about you, one way or another

thank you, that's very considerate = you just got demoted to forgettable acquaintance

oh, really, you shouldn't have (polite) = i am begging you to forget i exist

oh, really, you shouldn't have (sarcastic) = i will use this favour to humiliate you, jokingly or genuinely

oh, really, you shouldn't have (genuine) = your kindness and my affectionate response can be equaled to psychological warfare enacted on my being right now

hmm, i wouldn't mind brainstorming some more, cover our bases and all = that was the stupidest plan i've ever heard do not make me tell you

are you sure [question] = genuine question, i do care to check specifically how certain you are about this, do not hurt yourself

hmm... and you're sure [question] = literally please just scrap this idea

really not a... doesn't really listen to a lot of music unless it's classical which, okay, wow, elitist--

does love norse-inspired folkmusic but he'll fight the devil before he'll tell you

could still effectively communicate with aesir in old norse

casual intimacy is actual psychological warfare on him, it gets worse the closer you grow; it's pretty bad if you're strangers but there won't be other baggage to help make him want to quite literally flee the scene

could be worse = i do not trust this endeavour will work out so i will pull some other strings in the background to guarantee its success

if he attempts to talk about his feelings or his concerns or his fears he will literally?? come up blank, he'll start a sentence and then just open and close his mouth and make a few awkward hand movements and then just deflate and give up

he's (outwardly) relatively calm and doesn't let other people's provocations get to him, but he does abhor insistence and he can be very cruel if you get him to snap at you

has this weird superiority complex where he doesn't think he's better than most, but... more than most, he's yknow the Fenriswolf, he's above humans in a purely factual food chain way

but he's actually? a relatively good team-player and doesn't assume himself to be the only one capable of things or to be a leader, he's? a good strategist in that aspect?

he also kind of hates himself but also not really, it's more of a... he abhors existing and who can he blame for that but himself in lieu of... being the one... who exists-- hey, wait, don't stand up, listen, it makes sense--

sure = i'm sarcastically ending this conversation/i would believe you only if you paid me/do not keep talking to me

of course (no expression) = small talk filler answer/i'm listening

of course (polite smile) = literally die

of course (soft smile) = i would kill the sun for you

understood = understood

got it = if you tell me one more time-

if you must touch him, don't, throw something at him

doesn't have a driver's license, just kind of walks everywhere

you never want to see his teeth when he smiles, if you see his teeth when he smiles, he's thinking about killing you ♥

does he kill people? no, not really. he actually genuinely avoids circumstances under which he'd have to kill someone, but only because of how messy it makes everything, both in a literal and consequences-way, not because he's... against it, per se

like, he's a passionate advocate of self-defense and vigilante work

you can always ask him to find you something, information or actual objects like a book or anything at all, it's not a conditional favour, just be sure you're not on his bad side because you'll get more than you asked for lmao

he dOESN'T LIKE DOGS--

he is a fancy supernatural creature that i made up when i was 13 lmao so he does have cool shit directly related to his being fenris, like... ashy grey hair that falls apart if you touch it like ash would, smoke coming out of his mouth when he exhales very deeply, the ability to growl like a wolf, BUT only... in very small, limited doses because gleipnir is a limiter and i put it up for myself to not engage in goofy shenanigans

will straight up not tell you things; that's it, no information, nothing; he overheard something? that's his to overhear; he fucked around and found out? that's his to find out; he just... knows shit and doesn't share unless he likes you or you ask very specifically

not even exaggerating the 'specifically' part, if you're both aware he's withholding information that you could use, you will have to be very specific because he somehow always manages to figure out ways to answer without actually answering

patrick warming up to a man is SO FUNNY to watch you can literally watch him go through the five stages of grief about it (and then a few more while he's at it), it's hilarious

doesn't cuss, not really in the habit to, but he COULD--!!!!

do not misunderstand his unwillingness (trapped by social conventions bc he doesn't want to be perceived) to choose violence (ruin your whole career) as the inability to do so

[trentcrimminallybeautiful]

15 questions, 15 mutuals.

Tagged by @sighonaraa !! <3

Are you named after anyone? - my birth name included one name for a great grandmother and the other for a member of royalty (:/). as for gert. well. that's a whole saga, but it boils down to "assigned gert by obituary writer". i guess i kinda was named after gert/marion?

When was the last time you cried? - like properly cried? a few weeks before finals. total breakdown, long story. not finals related, weirdly. but if you just mean like tearing up i tear up any time i really start laughing so probably yesterday?

Do you have kids? - absolutely not

Do you use sarcasm a lot?- do i use sarcasm? 🤨

What's the first you notice about people? - you know, i'm not sure. probably how they talk? but if you mean physically, maybe like. hair? or just, whatever is noticeable about them idk

What's your eye colour?- greyish

Scary movies or happy endings? - happy endings!

Any special talents? - i like to think i've got a decent singing voice. but really, my main and only talent is writing <3 and, of course, the gift of gab

Where were you born? - the us of a

What are your hobbies? - video games (both the playing of and dissecting of), writing for fun and profit, art/drawing (badly) particularly with graphite and oil pastel, gifmaking

Have you got any pets? - sort of? i live with a cat but she is technically my brother's. but even if i'm not the one who buys her food i have to put up with her (affectionate) a lot

What sports do you play/have you played? - lmao i was the "always picked last bc i was a skinny little loser" kid. the closest i've come is being decent at capture the cone as a kid in pe, and that was also bc tiny me was a little maniac who was actively attempting psychological warfare during the capture the cone,

How tall are you? - like. somewhere between 5'2 and 5'4? havent' checked recently, genuinely not sure. but it's in that range. probably 5'3 or 4?

Favourite subject in school? - english, probably. i've also always enjoyed mythology if you wanna get more specific. and theatre! i love theatre

Dream job? - hmmm. well dream job would be some form of creator--a video game designer, an author, an artist, or even an actor (perhaps on stage!), but like, in a "im making enough to live, and im kinda famous but not Too famous" way, but barring that, possibly a college professor or a librarian at a university? or maybe an editor or something along those lines? i'm pretty comfortable in academic spaces--or as comfortable as i'm ever going to be--and i enjoy a lot of the things those types of jobs would involve.

Tagging: hmmm @casismybestfriend @eryaforsthye @peachygos @mvshortcut @mysteriouseggsbenedict @sqenthusiast @kar-krashew @vamplanaut @thehouseofgrey @normal-thoughts-official @despite-everything @bahoreal @goyeeahaw @ragecndybars @rngaredead

no pressure!! no pressure at all, if you ignore this or don't see it or anything i will not be offended. patting your head.