#capricious asks

[capriciouswriter207]

hello! i'm a new dm that's planning to run terrors for a few friends, and i got curious about something reading through - how did you come up with each hermit reference/character? more in-depth things like their exact role, but also some simpler things like coming up with alternative names that aren't just the hermits' normal names spelled differently. everything seems to have its place in here, and i'm genuinely a little in awe of how you've crafted this whole story holy fuck. (and hey, feel free to be as vague and unspecific or as detailed as you'd like! i'm happy either way :D)

Hi, thanks for the question!

Let’s start with the names, because I remember more about that. 

First off: I wanted to have the names start with the first letter(s) of their name (VintageBeef = Varin Bell), or otherwise letters that stand out in their names (Docm77 = Dorias Miro). Those letters was always what I started from.

Also important to me was to disregard the real names of Hermits if they are known. Not doing that.

In a few instances, I tried to keep to naming conventions, with Dwarven and Halfling last names being the most obvious examples: ImpulseSV “Simeon Veinbreaker” and Mumbo “Marlon Joybringer”.

In most cases, I thought about what would sound nice. And in most of those, it was just saying random things out loud. If it sounded a little like it could be a name, I’d further try to finesse it. I’d put (Salaena) Mirrialdestin, Thomiscia, and (Barthes) Debnar in that category.

Some are definitely clear references to the hermits themselves or characters: Tango as (Thaddeus) Holsten, referencing his supercomputer, Welsknight as Garrett Wells for obvious reasons

Looking back, I really seem to enjoy two-syllable last names. That was wholly unintentional.

It was also fun to give relatively normal first names to some characters: Jonas Hyffal, Garrett Wells, Carter Grummins

Don’t know where Soren Tidrostir came from, but I liked it so I kept it

Not all hermits are named, though all hermits who were members at the time of writing it (+TFC) are represented. Three hermits remain unnamed in the module - they show up in the first half in the module. For them, it made more sense story-wise to have no names for obvious reasons.

Melena, and most unrecognizable names in the crypts are fully original characters.

As for hermit references and roles: it was important to me that I didn’t take it too far and that it was still possible for people to spot who I was referencing. From what I’ve seen, people have already figured out completely which hermit is which character, which is what I was hoping for.

It’s been a year and a half since I wrote it, so I don’t necessarily remember all these details. However, I do know I wanted an even spread. I wanted Thaddeus to have had a previous adventuring party. I wanted Hermits across all the levels except the Burning Dark to populate the place a little and to make it fun for people to meet these hermits (even if some are clearly telegraphed as enemies). Specifically for the Black Mines, I wanted traces that folks left behind to make it feel lived in, but also devoid of any type of non-sculk life.Then I also needed enough people in Hermilthan to make the town seem lively enough, despite all the terrible things that have happened. I think I did a pretty good job on that.

Then there’s specific roles that I wanted to assign to certain characters. Thaddeus Holsten is the owner of Deepfrost Citadel. Simeon is the Dwarven blacksmith, Exander Veldt is the mayor. Hal Terris and Xanthos Barian run Horsehead Provisions. Garrett Wells is a knight. 

Most everyone else I assigned based on where I needed or wanted them to be, with the usual pairs not being separated from each other (such as Joe and Cleo). Keralis was an especially fun one to figure out and place into the module (if you know, you know)

Anyways, thanks for the question and the chance to ramble about this, and good luck running the game!

[lucabyte]

On autonomy, and what it means to be Obliged to Help.

Bonus:

[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).

[moonshynecybin]

regarding rosquez pda. i think they do it for the bit… get VERY squirrelly about it when there aren’t enough layers of irony/plausible deniability about it though (vale especially)

how far can they conceivably take a gay sex joke before the motogp establishment writ large acknowledges that they might be fucking. vale famous liar and prankster so i think they could take it pretty far tbh... its like a podium for pecco and marc and uhhhh maybe diggia and vale rocks up completely ignores the throng of neon yellow and posts up at the p1 barriers in the THICK of marc's side of the ducati box. big sunglasses no ducati merch on. banging on the railing and hollering. marc launches himself at him over the barriers and nearly takes his skinny ass down. face pressed to a sweaty neck for a SPLIT second to maintain plausible deniability a screenshot of it will be posted to reddit and the mods will delete all comments with extreme prejudice. marc BEAMING vale too but hes being cooler about it. comms does the verbal equivalent of a double take. pecco is like no bless yous for giacomo ? and then gets a lil hug from vale for his wet ratlike troubles when he wanders over to dab marc up in a dejected fashion

[capricioussun]

🌻 for Edge?

🌻 (sunflower) - What’s something your character has grown out of? Did it happen gradually or was it a drastic change? What caused this shift?

When Edge was little, he was actually entirely nonverbal! I always like to imagine most Papyri are quiet when very young, and took a while before their first words, but few to the same degree.

Id say it was both gradual and drastic, as he started offering a few sparse words to Red when he was around 6-9, but once they were on their own, there was more pressure to "act normal", so he wound up forcing himself to verbally communicate more frequently than he would've chosen.

Whiiich also sort of answers the next part! It was mostly pressure from "the outside world" (the rest of the underground). Pretty much anything can be perceived as a weakness, and since "quiet" reads more as "shy" for a child/teen, Red discouraged Edge from communicating predominantly in Hands.

[teecupangel]

Just a little weird but would it be fun for Desmond to be a demi god or something and he does not know.

In the past ofcourse

It would be so easy to give that child the power of our artifacts and let him do as he pleases in any time that we have decided on but…

Shall we make it more interesting?

We shall let that child believe he is still human and will not place any markings upon him to show his change of status.

(Shall we let him have a blackened arm still or shall we also give him false relief?)

We will not upgrade his Vision as well.

(Although, at this point, we can be certain he has already mastered it to its fullest potential.)

And we will leave no instructions nor any messages for him but we shall give him a ‘gift’ worthy of his status.

He shall have the power to bend reality to his will thru the use of the Parcae System.

As you must have already received the latest draft of Parcae System’s user manual, I will only give a brief introduction to the system.

We will set that child as the sole user of the latest beta version of the Parcae System. The system itself have three major requirements to be activated:

Requirement 1: Another person must start the line that will be set into reality with “I wish…”. No variations (ex: “It would be nice if…”, “I hope…”, etc) will be accepted.

Requirement 2: Desmond must agree to that wish verbally. Simply thinking it will not activate the system.

Requirement 3: Both 1 and 2 must be done in succession and 2 must be done a minute or less after 1 is complete.

Only when all three requirements are satisfied will the Parcae System activate.

The Parcae System is, of course, limited to the possible branches available in the Calculations.

And it must always keep the changes to a minimum as to not cause too large waves.

And it is only allowed to not change reality if and only if the branch it will move to will not interfere with the system’s main objective:

“Keep Desmond Miles alive.”

Of course, this system was hastily created during the final days of Minerva of the Capitoline Triads.

As such, it is not without any flaws.

As you have noted in your previous report, this system does not have a failsafe for any changes that would affect us or those who have created us.

You have suggested we force the system to exclude us from any changes the child would create but is it not a good reward for that child to be given the choice of the fate that awaits us if he does learn of us?

Does the thrill of finally being shut off not excite you, Chronus?

Looking forward to your inputs and recommendations,

Aion

[rubistella]

"So, blissful ignorance it is.” @arcanecast's arrival in camp prompted the elf almost immediately, drawing him near like a pilgrim to a map. “You’re just going to pretend that the mangy stray who was stealing away with the artefact – and happened to fade into thin air in a curtain of billowing smoke – has absolutely nothing to do with you or your...” An inhale, sharp. The edge of his crimson eyes honed to a dagger’s end. “...ambitions?”

For all of Astarion’s penetrating stare, the rise of challenge was subtle in his voice.

“Fine. Two can play this game and I’m more than happy to oblige.”

Diamonds were hard to miss by default, but one infused with arcane properties? Even harder. As the pale elf retrieved the pendant from his pocket, he presented it against the backdrop of the setting sun, allowing the light to weave through its facets into kaleidoscopic refractions that danced within.

“Now, I’m not a wizard… but as an elf I can tell there’s ancient power caged within this little sought-after trinket of yours.” And as a thief, he could measure its weight in gold. It was delicious. “Did you honestly intend to keep this from the others?” Because Astarion certainly had put no effort into disclosing it either, but Caleb needn’t be privy to that. “Who's to say which of us couldn't harness its potential for the trials that lie ahead?”

Not to mention it would fetch a handsome price in the black market...

[dideki]

idk if this would be helpful to you but how about. you pick your fave 5 letters. then make up a thesis statement/question/thing that stars with each of thise 5 letters. and then make a poll and have people vote on it? not the same as getting assigned something specific but it might give you direction. in case you dont have any favourite letters here are my 10 top 10 if you want more examples 1. j 2. e 3. o 4. g 5. d 6. b 7. i 8. l 9. z 10. u

if this isnt totally your thing and youre not interest u dont have to reply i just thought maybe u need a nudge like this :-)

augh this is brilliant thank you my friend ill give this a spin :-) those are very good letters indeed!! thank you for your help, getting peer reviewed should be very useful, so ill think about those statements now!

[eebie]

youseemed tobe....Getitng psoessed by spongebob..... (contemplative thinking face ...))yres yeseyse...

i am bewitched by spongebob heartand mind

[not-poignant]

for the ask game!!: 26, 27, 28

Okay so I've answered two of these already and that leaves us with:

28. Who is the most delightful character you’ve ever written? Why?

This is SO HARD.

The thing is, I'm often very intensely invested into characters I'm writing currently so my intense feelings for previous characters aren't as strong!!

Efnisien and Alex therefore, as the two characters that are most delightful to write at the moment, and it's really like, there's been many characters in the past too, lol. Some standouts that might be unusual (Gwyn I think is a very obvious one) including Murtagh from The Beast that Chose Its Own Bridle, and Jack from The Golden Age that Never Was.

There's no one character that rises to the top because if they were the most delightful presumably I'd want to keep writing them and like, here's the thing, y'all know I'm super self-indulgent and just write AUs of characters I find delightful!!! So um, yeah. Whoever I've devoted the longest word-counts to :D :D

For non POV characters, The Iron Bull is really up there, as is The Raven Prince. Honestly he's a fucking delight in general. A menace, an absolute public disgrace, a total nincompoop, I ADORE him. I feel like I always ration him out in my mind so I don't just lose my mind like a meme at the thought of him dslkfja

--

From the Weird Questions for Writers meme!

[capriciouswriter207]

top 5 songs atm ^-^

Alright, let's do it! Sorry it took so long, this list literally changed about 15 times while I tried to narrow it down.

1 Spirit in the sky - KEiiNO

the first eurovision song on the list, I fell in love with it when it first released and I recently fell in love with it again (national finalnseason, sp getting jack into older editions). The music, the vibes, the singing, it all fits wonderfully (should've won 2019 eurovision, btw, in my humble opinion) (link goes to a live performance version)

2 Aija - Sudden Lights

Latvia almost made it to the grand final of eurovision with this, but not quite. I don't know what makes me love this song, but I just do. It's a vibe, honestly. (link goes to a live performance version)

3 The Challenge - Epic the musical

It was so difficult to think pick just the one, and it became The Challenge. The viol in the beginning, Penelope's voice, how the song progresses… it's just such a good song!!

4 (Nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi - 5miinust and Puuluup

yet another eurovision entry, here me out! The guys are singing in Estonian about “well, officers, I really don't know where these drugs came from, I don't even know anything about drugs at all, where did they come from??” It also is just a fun song with a fun instrumental (link goes to a live performance version)

5 Evil eye - Franz Ferdinand

saw them live once and I'm certain I heard the very best live version of this song. Fell in love, it's a bop, just a good song overall. I urge you to look up the live version, it's easily superior (though the music video is very, very weird, I recommend just listening to the song first before watching it)

[graviconscientia]

Ugh.

[stelashe]

I may be petty but so is god

[capricioussun]

Just wanna say?! Though I never check consistently I am Always thinking about UF Papyrus Monday. I think 'man, is it Monday yet? I wanna see my guy...' and then get so busy with work come monday!!! So :) thank you for everything ig

Aaa that's so sweet of you to say!!! And also so real, he is Always on my mind as well ✌️😔

^ I'm showing him all the nice comments and things ppl have said about him, he is surprised and a little overwhelmed!

Special shout out in particular to @/fluo-skeletons for starting it all by wishing a happy uf papyrus monday randomly in that one server, if it weren't for that I would probably...well, I'd still draw uf papyrus too much but there wouldn't be an established schedule that we can celebrate together <3

[gaussbarrels]

🍸 COCKTAIL GLASS — what is your oc's favorite alcoholic drink, if they can drink?

𝗖𝗔𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗪 ⸻

Rhel doesn't like sweet anything, given the way their senses are impacted by their parasite's influence. They're the quintessential black coffee drinker, right down to believing they're better than you about it. They generally go for an unsweetened espresso martini or a rum because of this.

[rubistella]

With permission granted, Luna sits herself down on his lap, both legs hanging over one side and draping an arm around his shoulders for support. :3

@selunaris || cont. (unprompted)

"Obedient." Astarion's lyrical tenor teased into a chuckle with the markings of a smirk folding creases at a single corner of his mouth. "Now, I'm not one to turn up my nose on a perfectly good... willing neck," or unwilling, for that matter. "but don't you think it's a little early for a nibble?"

Words aside, his fingers had already set out to journey where her neck slanted and gingerly brushed all that hair over one shoulder to expose the delicious expanse of her buttermilk skin.

"Surely, you wouldn't want to ruin my appetite this early on..." A palm landed on her leg and traced a tender caress up the cleric's skirt, thigh bruising whiter under the press of his fingers. "...would you, pup?" His voice dripped, more breath than sound.

Liquid temptation brushed cold right against the hollow of her ear.