#whereas like everyone on tumblr knows ff is better

[ariminiria]

Unpopular opinion but tiktok is cancer to society (I mean it’s literally degenerated attention spans to be worse than gold fish) and should be banned.

yeah, definitely agree. sure there's some cool skillspeople there, like dice makers and soap pourers and whatnot but tbh they'll do just as fine on youtube or another platform, if not better because they won't be limited to such a short span. I also hate how everything is trying to do "shorts" now to be like tiktok, and even tiktok keeps sending me notifications (which I have turned off btw, bc if I'm gonna venture into that caustic wasteland to see artists its gonna be on my own terms) and they're trying to mimic BeReal with their "Now" function to get people to post in the next 3 minutes

And don't even get me started on BeReal. I refuse to even look at that one. Students in class will be like "ooh it's time to BeReal!!" No actually it's time to Be Focused On Class, put your phone away!!!

But BR is like something straight out of Black Mirror, is legitimately scary to me.

[etes-secrecy-post]

Hi, before I explain my post, I want to say something important.

• What you see my blog has become a major overhaul. And despite the changes, I decided that my 2nd account will be now my artwork blog with a secret twist.

⚠️NEW RULE!⚠️

⚠️ SO PLEASE DO NOT SHARE MY 2nd ACCOUNT TO EVERYONE! THIS SECRECY BLOG OF MINE IS FOR CLOSES FRIENDS ONLY!⚠️

• AND FOR MY CLOSES FRIENDS, DON’T REBLOG IT. INSTEAD, JUST COPY MY LINK AND PASTE IT ON YOUR TUMBLR POST! JUST BE SURE THE IMAGE WILL BE REMOVED AND THE ONLY LEFT WAS THE TEXT.

⚠️ SHARING LINKS, LIKE POSTS, REBLOG POSTS, STEALING MY SNAPSHOT PHOTOS/RECORDED VIDEOS/ARTWORKS (a.k.a. ART THIEVES) OR PLAGIARIZING FROM UNKNOWN TUMBLR STRANGERS WILL IMMEDIATELY BE BLOCKED, RIGHT AWAY!⚠️

Okay? Capiche? Make sense? Good, now back to the post…↓

My 8bitdo Pro 2 Review - Part 8 (Recorded Video) (w/ my paper dolls) [Mar 22, 2022]

Hello! Here’s Part 8 of my new 8bitdo gamepad, the Pro 2 Bluetooth Gamepad/Controller! 🎮😁

For this part, I'm going to do a button test once again for my current 8bitdo gamepad, only this time w/ the current firmware already installed (v 1.07) from the previous part.

And speaking of, if you haven't seen my Part 7, then please [CLICK ME!].

BTW: Watch my record video first.🎦📲

So, without further ado, let’s get started:

My Experience:

• So far, I enjoyed playing games on different emulators & also PC game(s) (namely GTA V Online) using my new 8bitdo gamepad. Moreover, using D-Pad from Pro 2's gray edition is slowly embraced w/ my left thumb after the departure of my old SN30 Pro+'s G classic edition. Overall, pretty much the same feeling as my old one, but that's v 1.03 firmware. Will the current firmware v 1.07 for the Pro 2 improve my gameplay test? Let's find out in my record video.🙂🎮🖥️

• I'm now at my trusty gamepad-tester website [CLICK ME!] & my Pro 2 gamepad immediately connected via my Ugreen Bluetooth after I press the start button once. That right there is far better ⬆️ over my old SN30 Pro+ gamepad, where I press the start button for about 3 to 5 seconds (as far as I know). Anyways, my Pro 2 is already connected, and so far the face buttons, d-pads & other built-in buttons are all functional as before. The only noticeable changes I've found are the triggers, analog sticks & the turbo function's ring light. Let's bring down the ff:

○ ⬆️ Trigger Buttons: Their now significantly response in the firmware v 1.07 than the v. 1.03. You see, when I go gently pressed either of the two trigger buttons it had a response by a tiny percent, and I tested in GTA V Online during the free roam race when I press gently the car began to move slowly. The same goes for the brake button, I press it very gently & I've seen the red light glows at the vehicle's back.

○ ⬆️ Analog Sticks: Analog sticks, on the other hand, are now optimized, but I noticed that there's a tiny portion of drift when I tap the sticks. Luckily, the tiny drift won't affect my gameplay test, what a relief.

○ ⬆️ Turbo Function's ring light: Finally the turbo function's ring light. When I pressed both the star & B buttons at the same time (or any other buttons), the ring light changes from super-rapid blink to now a slightly slow rapid blink. You know, this is fine, but I prefer the super-rapid blink over the slow one. Otherwise, the turbo function is perfectly fine as usual.

○ (Extra) ⬇️ Start Button: I also noticed that the turn-off button which is the start button is now requiring a longer press than before. For about 5 to 6 seconds? Yeah, I measured it using the stopwatch. Hopefully, the new firmware will fix the longer start button for turning off my Pro 2 gamepad.🔧⚙️

BTW: Both star & back paddle buttons are never present in the gamepad-tester (as always). Somehow, the start button didn't work, because I switch off the shortcut button for XBOX Game Bar which I never use, only for recording anyway. Whereas back paddle buttons, I've never mapped it yet.

My Gameplay test:

• As for my gameplay test, I would say it's significantly improved. I've played all emulator games like Kirby Super Star Ultra (NDS) ⭐, Gran Turismo 1 (PSone) 🚘🚗, Gradius Galaxies (GBA) 🚀, and the aforementioned GTA V Online 🏙️🔫 as well as other emulation games 🎮🖥️. All seem fine without any issues. And as I said, I've slowly embraced the gray edition's D-pad & I'm getting the hang of it. Heck, I even try the turbo function for selected games (namely shoot'em ups) w/ the new slowly rapid blink ring light. Yeah, I prefer the old one though.

1st & 2nd Image(s) ↑:

• BTW, I forgot to tell ya! This is "Retroarch", my new home for my favorite game emulations! 😁🏠👾 This is basically all in one box. With Retroarch, I could load any games to my heart's content; namely, Nintendo gaming portables (GB, GBC & GBA), Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Sony PlayStation 1 & 2, and more! Pretty much everything in Retroarch, but to do that, it requires instructions & fetching data game files before you played any games you desire.🙂 And your rewarded was this cool PSP/PS3 inspired theme which pretty cool, in my opinion.😎

• My paper dolls want to play games! But, of course! I'll invest two mini controllers for my paper dolls, someday.😊

If you want more about Retroarch as well as available ports, then please [CLICK ME!].

Overall:

• The v1.07 firmware for my Pro 2 gamepad improves my gaming performance. Although some we're downgraded for start button & rapid blink for the turbo function after updating, so hopefully the next firmware will be addressed two issues I've found. Otherwise, it was a solid promise for my recent 8bitdo Pro 2 gamepad.👌

UPDATE [for Analog Joysticks]: Ummm... About what I said on the tiny portion of joystick drift. Well, I lied & I've seen a little minor problem, but not the majority. You know what, it might be there, but I guess this also should be addressed or waited for another firmware. Right now, I had to think hard on whether should I back to v1.03 by downgrading or maybe not, who knows.😐

Well, that’s all for now. If you haven’t seen my previous parts, then I’ll provide some links down below.↓😉

My 8bitdo Pro 2 controller review:

• Part 1 [Dec 2, 2021]

• Part 2 (Recorded Video) [Dec 4, 2021]

• Part 3 [Feb 21, 2022]

• Part 4 [Feb 26, 2022]

• Part 5 [Mar 4, 2022]

• Part 6 [Mar 6, 2022]

• Part 7 [Mar 22, 2022]

Tagged: @leapant

[a-writing-bear]

[PruCan] Chapter 11: Soft-Spoken Calling, They Want Their Shyness Back

Ao3 Link:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11159997/chapters/48552656

This Has been cross-posted onto FF & Ao3 under Aliases: BearBooper

You can read this Fic on Tumblr under ‘Keep Reading’ - Ao3 version is formatted, tumblr version is not. Ao3 is recommended.

Previous Chapter   Next Chapter

Fandom: Hetalia Axis Powers

Main Pairing: Gilbert Beilschmidt & Matthew Williams (Prussia & Canada)

AU:  College AU - Art Student Matthew and Media/Film Student Gilbert

Age Rating/Mature:  Teen And Up Audiences (12+ due to mentions of mature themes as well as swearing)

Trigger Warnings: Recreational Drugs & minor connotations of anxiety (Future addiction to mention themes such as addiction, rape etc.) WITHIN THIS CHAPTER - Mentions a lot of Weed. Unwanted touching (just mentions but slightly uncomfortable) 

10 pm was a good time to arrive at a party, they decided. Vanilla milkshakes always made Matthew feel better- however maybe it wasn’t a good idea to have one after that coffee from earlier, and especially considering he was about to jacked up. Oh well. That’s something I'll deal with tomorrow. The Dutchman and himself had been on their way to Matthias & Lukas’ house, music-making his head pound already and feeling antsy over the prospect of more socialising. They had made very little conversation as the Mattie drove- only vaguely keeping attention to Tim’s random commentary and occasional directions. The Nordic couple had been renting out some house in the suburbs with 3 other students- very obviously avoiding living anywhere near the student dorms or the student housing as they liked to prevent interaction with the rest of Himaruya Academy; when you were hosting smoke outs and various amounts of overzealous drinkers and gambling, you tend to want to avoid the loud crowds. These events were closed doors, invite-only per se. Nothing like Alfred’s big bash parties that turned the university dorms into the likes of open summer festivals. They had only just touched the gravel of the house pavement when Matthew was hit with the familiar whistle of a certain Cuban man who had recognised their red car.

“EYYY LUKAS, TIM AND MATTIE ARE HERE.” the Cuban accent used to make Matthew shiver but was meaningless once he learnt Carlos was very straight, and if evidence needed planting then Carlos already on the porch with some girls he didn’t recognise and was flagged to go in after a friendly wave as he was too busy flirting to give Matt and actual hello. Tim had followed behind, loosening his tie as they sauntered up the door, only to have it ripped open by an unimpressed looking face of the shorter man known by Lukas.

The Norwegian seemed to raise his eyebrows to see that they both arrived together, usually, it would always be Tim first before Matthew came coming in. “Hej. Earlier than usual. Matthias is already down in the den with Jack.”

Tim had disappeared into the kitchen, making haste to avoid the heavy drinkers that surrounded the living room and especially avoid that Russian dude that seems to be pouring what looked like half a bottle of vodka into his cup. Meanwhile, Lukas had offered to stash away Matthew’s precious hoodie in the closet as he made their way down to the basement. The hypnotising dragging voice of Tame Impala's Kevin Parker grew louder as Matthew's sneakers hit the staircase floorboards down into the dreary but comfortable den. Jack must have picked the music, but I can dig it. Already he could smell the stink of imported kush, the haziness of what seemed like a spiked stream flowing around- only placated and diluted due to the small basement hopper window that let the smoke out. Matthew kicked off his sneakers at the bottom, already enjoying the vibe- or perhaps already being affected by secondhand smoke. Matthias had opened the basement bathroom to double steam the first few sessions of weed but it proved worthless as there seems to be a continuous stream of smokers mingling in and out of the den. Matthias was a tall blonde mess, a big optimist who wore long shirts under brightly coloured tees- a stark contrast to the bland wardrobe that Lukas wore (Opposites do attract I suppose) and the Danish guy was laying belly up on some very tacky shag carpet, at the feet of Jack who was lazed around on some beanbag, bong in his lap haphazardly.

“Oi Mate- bout time you showed up, I was getting bored. Where’s Timtam?” Matthew shrugged and sat cross-legged right near the dazed Dane’s face.

“Don’t call him that, he’ll throw a fit. What’s this? Yours or Tim’s?”

Jack snickered, the Australian clearly buzzed on something, “Buddy if this was Tim’s hooch I wouldn’t be sharing with goldie over here” he pointed and laughed as he listened to Matthias whine in offence. To be fair, the guy did go through more weed than Jack and Matthew combined so it was a fair enough statement. Matthew leant back, arms behind him as he dug his hands into the soft and a bit scruffy faux fur of the carpet- Matthias was giggling high about something and had pushed his head into Matthew’s lap.

“Hold kæft! I’m not that shit! Fuck Mattttt where’s Tim?”

“Upstairs I think- please pass the bong Jack” Matthew carefully stroked the hair that weaselled its way into his lap, he didn’t mind touchy stoners, he was the same whenever he got a hit- he just wished the big couch wasn’t full of clothes so he wouldn't have to sit on the floor. Just as he had the glass bulb in his hand Tim had marched in from upstairs, throwing a bag of chips and lots of biscuits into the beanbag next to Jack. Matthew tutted as Matthias apologised about not having those maple cookies he liked, whereas the Australian was more pleased to see some recognisable red liquorice. The green-eyed man had pulled out a pipe and dragged the spare beanbag to be behind Matthew, and it was not long before all four of the boys had taken a few hits and became a bunch of giggling messes.

“So whattya been up to mate?”

“Maybe he finally went back to Canada or something right Mattttt?

“Ahaha yea seen any geese or something mate?? Shit, we should have gone- BC bud hol-y” the conversation seemed disjointed and Matthew was already too far gone to think about going back to Canada. He notes that yeah, it’s been a bit since he’d come for a smoke out, and he didn't answer as he was too preoccupied with the stem of his bong and the noise of shouting celebrations of poker players upstairs.

“Schatje has a new uh...gig��� Tim snorted, he, however, was definitely less jacked than the 3 who seemed to light up at the sentence.

“Oooooooo who be it?? Who is it, Mattie?” Matthew let out a wail of disapproval at the conversation, Tim was supposed to be his friend yet he’s pushed him into a corner of answers.

“Some dude..guy...fucking cute- uh Gil..red eyes oof real red...shiny eyes.” his mind wandered as he let himself lean on the edge of Tim’s beanbag, Matthias had already stumbled off the floor, excited and eager to hear like some high school girl. Jack had his eyebrows raised and the singlet wearing man moved closer from his position to meet Matthew’s rosy expression.

“Wow, Matties got the giggles for someone huh? Hah Timtam good luck mate.” Tim avoided any eye contact and instead focused on his pipe and refilled it with some mary jane from the communal bag nearby. An indignant noise came out of Tim as he growled at the stupid nickname.

“Wait- Gil? Gilbert? The band shirt guy? Isn’t he the one who got wasted at Francis’ big blowout last time” Matthias mentioned, arms waving and dismissed as he continued to squirm along the floor.

“Oh Gilllly boy, mates with uh Antonio or something, that bitch?”

“Fuck I don’t know...he listens to uh...mom jeans too ya know- fuck me.” the two laughed at Matthew’s comment but didn’t push for more- it’s been too long since Matthew had shown interest in someone, who were they to question. Especially not while they were all getting smoked. Tim looked disinterested in the topic anyway and was more concerned with tangling his fingers in Matthew’s strawberry blonde hair as the Canadian had sat between his legs. God fuck cuddles were nice. Matthew's voice broke out into more wailing as he sung along to Snowy Dunes. The music was soothing. He hoped there was more.

The music melted out into something he didn't quite recognise: “Who the FUCK put Queens of stone age on the queue?” Jack complained. ah fuck. he agreed over the change in the artist. shame, he quite liked Snowy Dunes more than Queens of Stone age At some point, Lukas had dragged his very giggly boyfriend upstairs and Jack had been huddled in a corner snacking by himself. Matthew didn’t know what time it was but he’d wiggled his way from his scarf-wearing friend and clambered up the staircase, laughing at the terrible decor on the walls- he could paint better graffiti than the shitty art pieces the house owners had displayed. He didn’t realise how he’d find himself on the couch near Ivan and some other foreign sounding students. Ivan was cool. Weird. Haha, I V A N. fuck ‘ee van.’ who names their kid Ivan anyway? Doesn't get more Russian than that. Shit ice hockey. Russian players are always so grabby. Man, I’d kill for some Cheetos right now.  

There were about 10 people in the room- and some Matthew only recognised by name. Everyone here barely attempted to talk outside of this safe house. What happened on Saturday nights never got passed the lawn, it was an unspoken law. Matthew always wondered was that because of the copious amount of shagging that happened? The excessive card games or maybe the fact that all these people were just kids who can’t bear to go to the bigger parties. Matthew couldn’t decide. He couldn’t even figure out why he was here. Why was anyone here? Why are we still here? Just to suffer? He laughed at his inner joke.

The teen’s mind wandered in circles and had been offered a drink by some Finnish kid he recognised as Lukas’ housemate. The music up here was incessantly blasting rock- something that he’d love if it wasn’t so dizzy. He melted further into the couch, barely turning to watch the poker match of some guys a few meters away. Matthew liked this house. Even with people here, it wasn’t suffocating. He could feel someone touching his hair again. Hosers. Why always my hair. The fingers started roaming his shoulders...and his thigh. Suddenly Matthew felt more sobered as he shuffled away and tried to find a pillow to hide behind. He felt woozy and extremely giddy despite his anxiousness to escape anymore touching. He stood up throwing the pillow outside and went hunting for some water. He didn’t want to feel this light anymore. Not now. Matthew couldn’t remember feeling this light and heavy all at the same time. And suddenly, he just couldn’t remember a lot of things. There was a lot of loud singing. He laughed.

---

Alfred had been dropped off at his dorm building at around 9:20 pm, and by 9:30 he’d launched his discord chat and set up his microphone so that he could huddle on his bed without having to jostle his laptop so much later. The blue-eyed American had only one reason to not be out partying like he usually did with his cousin Francis, only one other reason why he was studying with his brother and one other reason why he hadn’t been chasing up local girls and guys

“Hey, Keeks!”

His voice rattled with poorly disguised joy as his Japanese friend had picked up. Alfred and Kiku had hit it off foundation year, and while it was upsetting that eventually, the black-haired beauty had to transfer back to the other campus, Alfred had made it his job to stay in contact. Kiku was a genius. On par if not smarter than Alfred and that was considered high praise. The two shared stories, For the Asian man it was only just the start of the day so Alfred accompanied him through his breakfast as they shared concepts for different additions to each other’s current project. Robotics has always intrigued Alfred but there was no secret that his wonder had not been merely just been present because of the technological prowess that his crush displayed.

“Alfred-kun. I thought you said you had something with your Brother tonight.” Kiku’s soft voice filtered through the screen, he knew all about Alfred’s personal life and was under the impression the call was cancelled for some family bonding.

“Nah, dude. He’s out with his not-boyfriend. I don’t know what he’s up to. Probably exchanging spit or reading together again.” Alfred Sighed. Knowing his boring brother, he was just watching some movie with Tim again. He’s probably just sleeping.

[ourheroictommo]

(1)" - Was it that Eleanor wasn’t there when he got off stage? Because I was also wondering where she was at tbh- Imagine dating Louis Tomlinson and showing him zero affection. She has no excuse to be a as cold as she is. Unless she seeks out hate about herself she’d see none of it. She has no excuse to hide in these backstage videos. Jordan clearly follows them around all the time and she goes out of her way to look miserable and distant. The only +

Anonymous said: (2) + stopping her from showing affection in public is her pride and I can’t stand that. She doesn’t love him enough to overcome her own pride. Her instinct isn’t to wait for him and hug him after the performance but her instinct is to hide from the cameras. I have no respect for that" “ - You snapped. That’s exactly what I’m feeling. Louis deserves better partner. Everyone around him (Helene, his band mates, etc) showing more affection towards him then his own girlfriend. (3)+ This is bullshit. Even Niall was there after Louis’ performance.- Yep. Deserves better and I wish he knew that”“ - Her fans say it’s because she hates the camera, yet she ran a blog where her job was to pose for the camera and magazines call her a model although I’ve never seen her do any real modeling. They just can’t admit she’s not a good supporter to Louis. - She absolutely does NOT hate the camera. Look at all the pics she posts of herself when he’s gone. + (4) + For the year she ran the blog she enjoyed posting herself very much.” + (5) “ - I’m so glad he got that hug from Helene. He does deserve a partner to support him. Eleanor couldn’t be bothered to be there before the performance, even though he was just hanging out with Niall someone she has known for years. He admitted how nervous he was before the performance. She wasn’t there with him backstage either. She just walked in front of him or behind him when he was leaving the hotel. She wasn’t even paying attention to his performance in Madrid, she was just hanging + (6) + out with friends. He deserves so much better.- Walking in front of him or behind him looking miserable, drink in her hand and cigarette in her hand. Physically traveling next to him and enjoying his money isn’t what “support” is. Even Danielle waited for Louis to get off the Pride of Britain red carpet and she grabbed his hand to show affection” + (7) + “ - She’s a witch. Solo Louies would literally adore her if she gave us something ANYTHING that says “I love Louis Tomlinson” any fucking gesture ffs- Right? Like imagine if she hyped him up and showed him love. Showed us what boyfriend Louis like. We are so starved that we hyped Rebecca Ferguson up for 5 seconds of thirsty looks. Imagine cute boyfriend Louis content, she could get us on her side if she wanted but she continues to act like she’s above his fans and hates them. But Louis + (8) + loves his fans. How does that work?”“ - As much as I dislike Harry these last few years, I still think of that commercial director’s comment about how Harry and Louis stayed as the other was being filmed to make sure they didn’t need something when they were filming the commercial during 1d. Selfish Harry could be there to support Louis, but Eleanor couldn’t be there for Louis. I hope she enjoyed her free Mexican vacation. - I remember that comment and I always wonder if it was fake. But + (9) + I do remember actual proof that Louis did stay behind watching Harry multiple times. But you know, I think Louis deserves better than Harry as well.”“ - That’s why this relationship just can’t last. She hates his fans but he’ll be touring for months around his fans. She won’t go near Freddie. This is not something that can last. The end will come at some point.- I agree. Their thing isn’t goals in any way shape or form” + (10 finally) Someone quoted those on my TL, maybe from Tumblr. I don’t know what to say, this poor girl will never win with some of ugly people who apparently need help for hating a complete stranger who has done nothing to them. Louis deserves better fans and I hope one day he will have. Plus, why Tumblt is like that? Took me forever to send you the quotes!

What the fuck is even this shit?????

“ - Was it that Eleanor wasn’t there when he got off stage? Because I was also wondering where she was at tbh-

Even Niall was there after Louis’ performance.

She wasn’t there with him backstage either. She just walked in front of him or behind him when he was leaving the hotel. She wasn’t even paying attention to his performance in Madrid, she was just hanging + (6) + out with friends.”

What a huge pile of horseshit. She wasn’t with him backstage because she went to watch the show! To see him perform from the audience! Niall was backstage because he hasn’t performed yet. Helene was backstage probably to give Louis the final instructions or whatever - she’s a part of Louis’ team. Eleanor wasn’t backstage because she was watching Louis’ performance from the audience. Why do they blame her for that? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that! She surely congratulated him afterwards anyway. 

“Solo Louies would literally adore her if she gave us something ANYTHING that says “I love Louis Tomlinson” any fucking gesture ffs- Right? Like imagine if she hyped him up and showed him love. Showed us what boyfriend Louis like. We are so starved that we hyped Rebecca Ferguson up for 5 seconds of thirsty looks. Imagine cute boyfriend Louis content, she could get us on her side if she wanted but she continues to act like she’s above his fans and hates them.”

Have these idiots forgotten her v-day posts? Or how she hyped him and looked at him like he hung the moon at the twins’ birthday party? Or how much she cheered for him at the xfactor in 2017? Not to mention all her tweets and insta posts from when they were dating the first time around. What more do they want from her???

“Imagine dating Louis Tomlinson and showing him zero affection. She has no excuse to be a as cold as she is. Unless she seeks out hate about herself she’d see none of it. She has no excuse to hide in these backstage videos. Jordan clearly follows them around all the time and she goes out of her way to look miserable and distant. The only ++ stopping her from showing affection in public is her pride and I can’t stand that. She doesn’t love him enough to overcome her own pride. Her instinct isn’t to wait for him and hug him after the performance but her instinct is to hide from the cameras. I have no respect for that"

Have these dumbarses forgotten how since Louis went solo they’ve been commenting on his twitter, his instagram and all his interviews that ‘WE DON’T CARE ABOUT HIS PRIVATE LIFE!!! WE DON’T CARE ABOUT WHO HE’S DATING!!! WE’RE HERE FOR HIS MUSIC!!! FOR HIS MUSIC ONLY!!! NOT FOR HIS PRIVATE LIFE!!!’

And Louis gave them what they asked - all his social media, which used to be a healthy mixture of music/promo and personal stuff, are now strictly music/promo related. He stopped posting about Eleanor, Freddie, his friends, his siblings, his dogs, he stopped posting random pics of his shoes - the only non-music related stuff he still posts are the occasional selfies on his insta stories.

And now they are suddenly begging for ‘cute boyfriend Louis content’???? Really? Really???????

You fucking begged Louis to post only about his music. And you got what you wanted - his mexico igtv is about his music. And also about Niall. Why? Because no one throws a tantrum when Louis and Niall hang out together. Louis’ fans love Niall. Niall’s fans love Louis. In fact they are begging both of them for more content of them together. So of course Louis delivered. 

Whereas imagine all the outrage if instead of footage of Louis and Niall chatting in private, there was a footage of Louis and Eleanor chatting in private in his igtv. Or instead of Louis and Helene hugging, it was Louis and Eleanor. I guarantee you, these weirdos would be the first ones to harass Louis team because of that - ‘how dare they include her in his promo stuff!!! how dare they divert attention from Louis as an artist and show him like nothing more than just a boyfriend!!!’ Like if they do this every time he mentions her in his interviews, they would totally do that in that case too - come on!!!

You want ‘cute boyfriend Louis content’??? Go try the same thing you did back in 2017. Go to his twitter, his instagram, his interview comments but this time write about how much do you in fact care about his private life, how much do you in fact care who he’s dating, how much would you in fact enjoy boyfriend Louis, how much would you in fact appreciate (and not hate or harass like you did in the past) Eleanor publically supporting and showing her love to Louis - do all of that and who knows - maybe he’ll listen to you once again!

[johnnydora]

pick five shows, then answer the following questions, don’t cheat. tag 10 (or however many) people. tagged by @dmigod ily

greys anatomy

lucifer

brooklyn 99

odaat

stranger things

1. who is your favorite character in 2?

BITCH idk theyre all my!! children!! either lucifer or ella

2. who is your least favorite character in 1?

HFMEUFRAKES THERES SO MANY i guess i rly dont give a shit about deluca

3. what is your favorite episode of 4?

oooooooooh either valentines day or the first time (ty odaat for conveniently titled eps)

4. what is your favorite season of 5?

fuck shit goddammit ALL OF THEM maybe 3 bc im soft for robin

5. who is your favorite couple in 3?

finally an easy question peraltiago

6. who is your favorite couple in 2?

lucifer/chloe also easy thanks

7. what is your favourite episode of 1?

UM i literally have no idea do u know how many episodes there are

8. what is your favorite episode of 5?

ffs idk ok!!!! maybe in s1 when everyone gets together? either the last or second to last ep

9. what is your favorite season of 2?

uhhhhh the first season probably? or season 3

10. how long have you watched 1?

i think i started in 2017??

11. how did you become interested in 3?

OKAY i saw a gif on tumblr actually it was the scene where jakes undercover as the like eco friendly guy on the corner? thats still the BEST FUCKING JOKE OK

12. who is your favorite actor in 4?

is there any other answer than rita moreno

13. which do you prefer, 1, 2, or 5?

stranger things for sure

14. which show have you seen more episodes of, 1 or 3 ?

i mean greys wins solely bc it has more episodes

15. if you could be anyone from 4, who would you be?

uhhh syd so i could make out with elena lmao

16. would a crossover between 3 and 4 work?

i mean it COULD but steph and melissa exist in both worlds nfrjevrw

17. pair two characters in 1 who would make an unlikely but strangely okay couple?

meredith and cristina

18. overall, which show has the better storyline, 3 or 5?

i have to say stranger things just bc it literally has a storyline whereas b99 is yknow a comedy

19. which has the better theme music, 2 or 4?

odaat 100%

tagging: @thesonofneptune @cheddar-the-dog @jokeperatla @amyscascadingtabs @holygreund @capnperaltiago @mytholgie

[doux-amer]

Endgame reaction post! Scroll past if you haven’t blacklisted/Tumblr Saviored my “endgame spoilers” tag because I’m going to get spoilery. Okay first off, I had mixed feelings about Endgame. There were so many things I loved a lot and so many things I absolutely hated. Overall, I think this was a mediocre, sloppy mess of a movie when it shouldn’t and didn’t need to be (you spent that many hours making THIS? Come on); in some ways, it was worse than AoU which I thought was a miserable, bloated “meh” movie, although I can’t put it on the same level because it also did a lot of good things a hell of a lot better. Plus it was more entertaining; those three hours zipped by whereas I thought AoU would never end and suffered through it.

So good and bad! I might not remember some big things because honestly, I’m still trying to process except I don’t want to because that’ll set me off. Big plot stuff first before going into characters:

It was a bold, unexpected move to go after Thanos and kill him so quickly. I didn’t expect that! Neither did I expect a five-year jump. HOLY. FIVE YEARS. Damn. (But you telling me that Citifield was abandoned like that? Russos, Russos, Russos. Let me tell you something. Regardless of what happens, sports must go on. Listen, people still exist and want their entertainment, but hey, Mets represent. At least the support group wasn’t held at Yankee Stadium...imagine Steve, Brooklyn Dodgers fan, voluntarily going to where the Yanks used to play smh. ANYWAY, WOW THIS IS STUPID. LMAO NEXT.)

Didn’t expect him to destroy the stones either, but it made sense although...it didn’t after the Ancient One’s explanation about it affecting timelines.

Seeing the Avengers struggle to move on but be bound together so tightly regardless of location was nice.

The time travel thing was handled so disappointingly although it was SUPER entertaining and made me recall the giddy excitement I had watching The Avengers for the first time imo. Dude, I know fic writers who do a much better job for zero dollars and you got paid big bucks to make this, and I LOVE TIME TRAVEL STUFF DEARLY so this was something I was looking forward to a lot. It was just too loosey goosey and all over the place. Also, I know Steve returned all the Stones to their original timelines, but does that erase their future selves’ actions? Do the timelines that rippled out from those actions cease to exist? I assume so because the Ancient One said they needed to snip off all the alternate branches because their existence would lead to chaos, but at the same time, that makes Steve’s whole journey at the end make no sense whatsoever. But maybe that doesn’t matter because he was changing time through quantum jumps rather than using the Stones? That said, revisiting the past was a lot of fun and was a nostalgic ride; it was nice to see how far they’ve come and to say hello to the characters we started out with and fell in love with in the first place. We get to see Gamora and Nebula with Thanos which we should have seen in GotG 1 and 2, but whatever! We got to see what happened after the Avengers got Loki and the Tesseract under custody!

Seeing all these old familiar faces, many of them who are now gone, was great, but also incredibly distracting. Some of them felt shoehorned in like Rumlow and the gang. It was disconcerting. I would’ve imagined Steve’s first meeting with the Strike team to be after he went into SHIELD (like...why are they even there? The battle’s gone lol).

SEVERELY disappointed that the Big Three didn’t have a bigger fight. I guess they had to nerf Thor because the fight would be over in three seconds considering those three, aside from Wanda, were the only ones to really give Thanos a run for his money (Thor almost killed Thanos, Tony somehow went hand-to-hand in combat with him and actually hurt him too, and Steve was able to stop his fist). Seeing Steve finally wield Mjolnir was cool and I almost cheered out loud, but I also wish we got to see Tony use it because it felt like they were all worthy and united in their fervent desire to stop Thanos and save the world that it didn’t matter who wielded it, you know?

I wish they delved more into legacy, not just because that’s been a big recurrent theme for Tony since IM1, but because it would add depth to the Big Three’s farewells (although it seems like we’ll see Thor in GotG now). They can go their separate ways from the Avengers because they built a team that would live on and because more people showed up to help out (e.g., Strange and the masters, the Guardians, Wakandans, Carol, etc.). We got a bit of that when everyone made their grand entrance, but it would have been something for these three to realize...oh, this is what they’ve been working towards. This was the dream all along. This is the future Tony imagined when restarting the Avengers. This is what they’ll leave behind (and on a personal note, I wish we got to see more of that with Morgan instead of her just saying she wanted cheeseburgers. SHOW us that she’s Tony’s kid (and Pepper’s) through and through).

The callbacks were both good and hamfisted. There were some good ones and some really bad ones. It just felt really fanservice-y in a bad way when it could’ve been tastefully done. It was emotionally manipulative except it failed to manipulate me lmao? Like having Steve and Bucky share their lines from TFA? Meh. The line about cheeseburgers with Morgan and Happy? Cue the eye rolls. They went for cheap shots rather than things that would be more meaningful (LIKE REITERATING THE LEGACY THEME LOL).

I have extremely mixed feelings about the way the Big Three left. I’ll focus on that when I talk about the characters, but I’ll focus on Tony’s funeral right now. Where’s Natasha’s funeral? Where’s Tony’s eulogy? It was such a mind-boggling move to have the funeral be that short. I loved seeing that Tony, the man who had everything and nothing, the man who had no family, have so many people whom he loved and who loved him mourn him. All those people he left behind? The Russos remembering to include Harley and then choosing to end the shot with Fury, the one to bring him into the fold all those years ago because he believed in and cared for Tony from the very beginning? That gutted me. But god!!!! We got two seconds to say goodbye to a character who’s defined this entire era of the MCU and who pretty much is responsible for the MCU being a thing in the first place! I don’t need an extended service or anything, but man...it just was super quick.

Speaking of Tony and death, I loved that Rhodey was the first person to get to Tony because he’s always been that for Tony. He was there for Tony before anyone else, he’s the first person in Tony’s family we’re introduced to in IM1, and he was the one who got Tony when Tony needed him in IM1 and IM2 (found him in the desert and was there when Tony nearly collapsed from palladium poisoning). I loved that Pepper had a moment to reassure Tony and ease him into the afterlife, the way she’s always tried to make things easy for him and to make sure that he knows things will be all right because she’ll make it all right. I loved that Peter had a moment because he is, more than anyone else, Tony’s first true child (okay, Harley was his first ever, but Peter was The One). But I got pissed that none of the Avengers got to be there because the Avengers as an idea and as a family meant the most to Natasha and Tony, and considering the fallout of CA:CW, it would’ve been nice to have that moment where they were there for him. He wasn’t alone. They’re there for him until the end. It genuinely blows my mind that neither Thor nor Steve got to say even one final thing to him. LIKE!!!!! I love Peter, but why did you waste so much time with him! We’ll deal with his grief in FFH ffs! Give that time to Thor and Steve whom we’re also saying goodbye to! This is the last time the trio will be together! AHHHHHHH.

Lowkey don’t know why they wouldn’t just undo the last five years/bring them back right after they killed Thanos other than Tony having a family tbh, but whatever lol. 

The fight at the end was super cool but also stupid lol. But I did like seeing teamwork! I loved seeing the gauntlet being passed around without hesitation even when a lot of people didn’t know each other.

The thing with Nebula’s memory was....so dumb? She’s a different Nebula from a different timeline; they’re two different individuals existing, but idk I guess they tried to explain it as two computers trying to use the same hard/memory drive although really, the better comparison would be two unique computers using the same network in which case...why is there even a problem lmao. It just seemed so convenient, but oh well. 

Okay, you know what? This was super long so I’m going to write about the characters and their relationships in a separate post. This kind of ended up sounding a lot more negative than I expected, but all of the things I mentioned above I liked and disliked in equal measure. It’s just...the ideas were there but weren’t executed well imo.

[anti-dean]

Apparently they did JUST that

They keep adding more nonsense tags 💀💀💀

1) “Did you service Oberon” wasn’t a joke, it was a genuine question that Sam (even without his soul) was trying to ask delicately. The writers may have wanted you to laugh at it, but that doesn’t mean it was Sam’s intent. This… is really obvious when you just watch the episode. How did they misinterpret that 💀 oh I know, watching the show through out of context tumblr gifs instead of forming their own opinions on it 💀💀💀

2) “Or are you strictly into dick now” isn’t a homophobic joke, it’s just a sex joke. FFS, season 7 is made up entirely of Dick puns. That’s a HUGE stretch. What IS homophobic are Dean’s jokes like “Dude, could you BE more gay?” or the microaggression to Crowley about his drinks.

3) I don’t claim that Sam’s gay because he’s killed people, but Dean stans claim that Dean is gay because he kills ppl like it’s a hobby. But also, Sam’s… not a serial killer like Dean is. He actually cares about victims. That’s why he was right to use demon blood in s4 whereas Dean just killed everyone, it’s why Sam let Amy live but Dean killed her, it’s why Sam defended Jack and Lenore and plenty of others against Dean, and it’s why there was an entire arc about Dean taking on the Mark of Cain while Sam represented Abel.

Like I won’t lie and say that Sam hasn’t made questionable kills before but he doesn’t kill senselessly like Dean does (until it benefits him to show mercy, of course). He values other ppl’s lives and tries to be discerning with the supernatural. If the writers were better, they would’ve continued with Sam’s no-kill streak in early s11, but that got ditched pretty early into things. Dean also made fun of him for it numerous times, which demonstrates my point beautifully.

Aaand last but not least, I already mentioned it in another post, but Sam didn’t summon those crossroads demons because Sera Gamble wanted him to be straight. He summoned men because they appear as someone that the summoner would want to kiss. Sera Gamble has talked repeatedly about how she wanted to make Sam more explicitly bi and once she was off the show, ended up basing much of Quentin Coldwater’s queer arc off of her unfulfilled plans for Sam. But regardless, Sam’s textually MLM, and he’s worlds better as representation than Dean would be. A queer reading of Sam is also easy outside of that, what with the villainization and people always being suspicious of him for the way he is. They even parallel his experience of running away from a conservative region to California with a canon gay character in 11x19. Like ????

And, again, if you read the original post, it’s easy to see what I was saying: being in a fandom is not a form of activism, it’s something you do to enjoy yourself. Destiel shippers and Dean stans have called queer people homophobes for years because we don’t like Dean or refuse to ship destiel. Which leads to my other point that, just because fandoms aren’t activism doesn’t mean that people are allowed to be trans/homophobic, misogynistic, racist, or ableist in fan spaces. When people defend Dean’s actions or headcanon him, an abusive sexual predator, as queer, especially when someone states that he’s queer because he’s a serial killer, that hurts us. Even if you aren’t personally offended, you have to recognize that your experiences are not universal and our outspokenness is rational.

If you think that shipping d*stiel (or god forbid w*ncest) somehow gave me rights, go take Cas’ place in super mega gay hell. Do you really think Spn, much less Dean, has ever been an LGBTQ+ ally beyond performative shows of solidarity? If you wanna be an ally then don’t make it about your abusive, one-sided at best, bland, forced ship. You’re not an ally for thinking that two men together is hot. To ship d*stiel and/or support the bi!Dean headcanon, you’d have to ignore Dean’s abuse of Cas (among others), gloss over his homophobia, defend his ableism, justify his sexualization of minors, and choose to ignore other instances of Dean’s sexual predation.

You have to be everything that the LGBTQ+ community doesn’t stand for.

[owlswithfins]

A Justification of Drarry

Here’s a fairly extensive compilation of Drarry ‘evidence’ (it got kind of lengthy so the rest is below the cut) <3

I’ve been an avid Drarry shipper for almost as long as I’ve been a Harry Potter fan, and I’ve noticed that deep within the fandom, everyone seems to agree that it’s a Legit Ship. It tops the charts of AO3 and Wattpad and comes in as a close second on FF, and most people on tumblr accept it as plausible even if they aren’t die hard fans. Outside of this black hole we’ve all been sucked into, however, I’ve been yanked into heated debates about the legitimacy of Drarry.

Of course, this is often because some people are only interested in canon ships or don’t ship slash. For others, it’s just not their cup of tea. This post isn’t meant to convert the above naysayers, especially since, like I said, most of us here don’t need to be converted. This is more of a toolkit of evidence and arguments to justify your love of Drarry to people who “just don’t understand” or think “you just want every character to be gay” or that “you’re reading into things too much”.

Sometimes the best response is the always faithful “fuck you, I ship what I like” or the slightly more intellectual “I subscribe to the Mark Twain quote ‘never regret anything that made you smile’ and Drarry is my one true joy in this life so shut the hell up”. Other times, these debates get derailed quickly and leave Drarry shippers feeling like “maybe we got it wrong this whole time?” which is not a Great Feeling.

As such, I’ve compiled what’s essentially a shit ton of ammo from various sources to cite in these situations. Feel free to use it as you like, whether that be fortifying your own belief in this beautiful ship or passing out flyers door-to-door like a Drarry missionary. Now, we have seven books, eight movies, and bucket loads of interpretations to get through, so this could easily become a certified mess (and I’m not even going to go into every piece of evidence). As such, I’m placing the rest of the content below the cut, organized by objections and their counter-arguments to keep things nice and neat. On that note, lets begin.

One of the most common objections I hear is that Drarry isn’t legitimate because Harry is straight. Now, for some of us, this is irrelevant, since we ship based on the potential a pairing offers instead of requiring canonical pining (not that it isn’t there--it is--trust me, we’ll get to that), but for others, this is a critical point of concern. I would like to start by asking, who says Harry is straight? (please click here for some strategically placed self-promotion and on-topic humor)

To start, Cedric Diggory. (I’m talking about the angelically pure pre-Cursed-Child Hufflepuff god, not Cedric I-was-so-embarrassed-I-became-a-Death-Eater-and-murdered-my-friends Diggory, to be clear). If the mere name isn’t evidence enough, allow me to jog your memory:

“Cedric Diggory was an extremely handsome boy of around seventeen.” (GoF)

And also:

“Exceptionally handsome, with his straight nose, dark hair, and grey eyes.” (GoF)

And for those of you who aren’t yet convinced:

“‘You just weren’t concentrating properly--’

‘Wonder why that was,’ said Harry darkly as Cedric Diggory walked past.” (GoF)

PURE GOLD. Harry be like, “No homo, but when Diggory walks by I can’t concentrate. I just have this intense urge to comment on his extremely handsome face”. I think we can safely say that Harry is, at the very least, bicurious. I’d even go so far as to say he was never really all that into girls at all. Sure, he had a thing for Cho, but he didn’t exactly come back with the most resounding commentary.

“‘Well?’ Ron said finally, looking up at Harry. ‘How was it?’

Harry considered it for a moment. ‘Wet,’ he said truthfully.” (OotP)

And yes, there was Ginny, but in HBP there were multiple scenarios when Harry was far more interested in Draco than whatever Ginny had to offer.

"'And even better than that -- Malfoy's gone off sick too!'

'What?" said Harry, wheeling around to stare at her. 'He's ill? What's wrong with him?' 

'No idea, but it's great for us,' said Ginny brightly. 'They're playing Harper instead; he's in my year and he's an idiot.'

Harry smiled back vaguely, but as he pulled on his scarlet robes his mind was far from Quidditch.

Maybe it’s just me, but in my experience, people generally don’t obsess over people they hate when they have the opportunity to spend time with their crush. So maybe Harry is straight (I doubt it) but I think we at least have a case for reasonable doubt. As such, the sexuality objection has been shot down.

The next common point of opposition is that Drarry shippers are just “making it up” without any basis in canon. To counter this, we could go through every book and sort out exactly which lines serve as evidence, but that would take far more time than I have on my hands. Instead, let’s do a basic overview.

The course of their entire relationship is based on their first two meetings. In Madam Malkin’s, Harry started to associate Draco with Dudley, and this snap judgment caused him to choose Ron, his first friend, over Draco. Of course, Harry’s loyalty is part of why we love him, but this totally brushes aside Draco’s point of view.

For Draco, this was his first experience with someone outside of his parent’s rigid pureblood circle. He’d been taught that bragging and insulting “inferior” people were the ways to impress and make friends, so he did exactly that. And, likely also for the first time, Draco was rejected. Coming from a place of privilege, this rejection was heartbreaking, and by turning down his handshake, Harry cemented Draco’s future. Instead of benefiting from each others’ knowledge and principles, they became enemies.

Draco was, to Harry, a mere annoyance in the way of the bigger problems during the first five years at Hogwarts. At this point, I think it’s safe to say Harry felt nothing more than an irritation for Draco Malfoy, as one would feel about a particularly determined pest. Draco, on the other hand, saw Harry as his number one priority. His bullying focused on Harry because their feud was personal, unlike the more casual bullying Draco partook in regularly. His issues with Ron and Hermione were likewise based on Harry--Ron was the friend Harry chose over Draco, and Hermione was a Muggleborn, yet she became friends with Harry when Draco couldn’t.

Draco spent a ridiculous amount of time tormenting the Golden Boy, from climbing a tree for taunting purposes to making the ‘Potter Stinks’ buttons to joining of the Inquisitorial Squad just to get back at Harry. Now, I’m not going to go and say these things meant Draco was secretly in love with Harry the whole time (I’m also not going to say he wasn’t). Rather, this one-sided enmity was grade school pigtail pulling at best and full-blown obsession at worst.

Of course, Draco wasn’t the only one to become obsessed. Throughout the entire series, the two had an almost uncanny ability to sense each other, from Draco recognizing Harry based on his breathing to Harry being able to tell what expression Draco made purely by his tone. Even so, it wasn’t obsession on Harry’s end...until HBP. I mean, honestly, the bi who lived got it so bad his sixth year that even Ron was tired of hearing it:

"'Can you think of any way Malfoy--?'

'Oh, drop it, Harry,' said Ron." (HBP)

Let’s not forget when the weariness turned to full on ignoring:

"'Oh, and Malfoy knows, of course,' said Harry to Ron and Hermione, who continued their new policy of feigning deafness whenever Harry mentioned his Malfoy-Is-a-Death-Eater theory." (HBP)

And ah, the Marauder’s Map. Harry’s obsession with watching Draco’s name was especially notable in this book--even more so given JKR’s comment that Harry watching Ginny’s name in DH was a sign that he was in love with her. Let’s take a look, shall we?

"Despite his determination to catch Malfoy out, Harry had no luck at all over the next couple of weeks. Although he consulted the map as often as he could, sometimes making unnecessary visits to the bathroom between lessons to search it, he did not once see Malfoy anywhere suspicious." (HBP)

And, of course, JKR’s most precious gift to us:

"Harry, however, had never been less interested in Quidditch; he was rapidly becoming obsessed with Draco Malfoy." (HBP)

While the first five years were rife with Draco’s antics and Harry’s relative apathy, the moment Draco stopped giving Harry his undying attention, the tables turned. Harry had grown so used to his frequent encounters with Draco that he couldn’t stand the thought of being ignored, or *gasp*, the idea that Draco might actually have more important things to do than fight with him all the time.

This was also an interesting time because Draco finally experienced true darkness. Whereas Harry had been exposed to harsh reality as a young child, Draco was relatively removed from it all. Sixth year was when Draco caught up with Harry maturity-wise. Suddenly, he understood the truth of what his family stood for and who Voldemort was, and he was trapped, just like Harry was on the light side. It was the first time Harry began to see Draco as something more than a petty annoyance because it was really the first time Draco had been more than a petty annoyance.

We’ll visit the bathroom scene and the events of DH in the next section (Salazar, don’t even get me started on the wand thing), but even without those significant moments, it’s becoming clear that Harry and Draco have a lot of potential. They’re interconnected in an obsessive way that seems more extensive than that of normal enemies, and it’s no longer a one-sided affair.

The next objection I come across fairly frequently is the ever-present “but they hate each other!” My response to this is...nah, they don’t. Not really.

To start, most of their fighting was either simple childhood rivalry or all talk. Even when things escalated, they didn’t truly want to hurt each other. In many cases, they actually saved each other.

Remember in HBP when Draco petrified Harry and tried to send him back on the train? This could be seen as a simple “I hate you so I don’t want you at school”, but that’s inconsistent with Draco’s character thus far, given that his Hogwarts days practically revolved around tormenting Harry. Why send away your favorite toy? Perhaps this is stretching too far, but I’m not the only one who thinks that, just maybe, Draco did it to protect Harry.

To fully understand this theory, we have to go back to second year. In CoS, Dobby came to Harry with an abundance of praise, despite living in the Malfoy house, where the defeater of the Dark Lord was likely only spoken about negatively. Where did Dobby get his positive opinion of Harry Potter then? Ahem. May I direct you to...

"’everyone thinks he's so smart, wonderful Potter with his scar and his broomstick--’

‘You have told me this at least a dozen times already,’ said Mr. Malfoy, with a quelling look at his son.” (CoS)

Draco’s so-called ‘taunts’ sound quite a lot like compliments in disguise, and Dobby’s so-called ‘rescuing’ of Harry looked quite a lot like Draco’s train charade in HBP. To keep Harry safe, Dobby went through elaborate efforts to keep him from coming back to Hogwarts. Then in sixth year when Draco was aware that Death Eaters would soon run amuck in the school, he tried to send Harry away from Hogwarts on the train, almost as if he was trying to protect him.

Of course, that’s mostly theorizing, and some of you might not be convinced, but don’t worry. We’ve got a lot of explicit demonstrations of non-hate (for lack of a better term) as well. Take, for instance, the bathroom scene. It’s hard to tell if Draco would have been able to perform the Cruciatus curse if Harry had let him finish so we won’t talk about that, but Harry’s sectumsempra was a Big Moment in the Drarry world.

“'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 --' (HBP)

As soon as the feud between them began to get real, Harry felt immense guilt and regret. It was one thing for them to taunt each other and fight, but as soon as he realized he’d caused true pain, he started backtracking. While his real enemies were finally starting to cross over to the okay-to-kill list, Draco was still firmly in the safe zone.

Later in HBP, we see another example of Harry’s non-hate. When Draco is about to kill Dumbledore in the tower, Harry watches as he lowers his wand. When Dumbledore dies, Harry doesn’t go after Malfoy--he goes after Snape. A lot of things were happening at once, but even in this moment when he was finally proved right about Draco’s activities, there was some part of him that didn’t blame Draco for what happened. He’d finally seen him become human during the bathroom scene, and he watched Draco’s wand “drop by a fraction”, so he knew the Slytherin wasn’t a murderer. If Snape hadn’t stepped in, Draco might have even switched over to the light. If Snape hadn’t stepped in, Dumbledore wouldn’t be dead. When he catches up to the two, he fires his curse at Snape, not Draco, again suggesting something other than hate.

While guilt is a passive emotion--making the bathroom scene a “hindsight’s 20/20” moment--and the climax of HBP was more of an internal shift, in DH we see their non-hate become more intentional.

“‘Well, Draco?’ said Lucius Malfoy. He sounded avid. ‘Is it? Is it Harry Potter?’

‘I can’t--I can’t be sure,’ said Draco.” (DH)

In Chapter 23 of DH, Draco risked his life to save Harry. Some people have criticised that he should have given a solid “no” if he really cared about saving Harry, but uncertainty was the only thing that kept Harry alive. If Draco had given them a negative, they would have killed him anyways. It was only the possibility that he might be Harry Potter that allowed him to live long enough to escape.

Harry later returned the favor when he saved Draco from the Fiendfyre.

“‘It’s – too – dangerous – !’ Ron yelled, but Harry wheeled in the air. His glasses giving his eyes some small protection from the smoke, he raked the firestorm below, seeking a sign of life, a limb or a face that was not yet charred like wood. . . . 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.” (DH)

Even though it would have been easier to let Draco die--even when Ron all but told him to leave Draco to burn--Harry saved him. By this point, both of them had risked their lives to save the other, and I think it’s fair to say that, whatever’s between them, it isn’t hatred.

That leaves us with the final objection I’m going to discuss in this post (essay?): the argument that Harry and Draco just aren’t right for each other. This one, while seemingly simple, has a lot of analysis to work through, and it’s also the one that separates Drarry from other popular ships in the fandom.

To start, they challenge each other in a way no one else can. Whereas Ginny grew up idolizing Harry, Draco spent those years sneering at the Golden Boy for his fame. Harry, who never wanted to be anything more than “just Harry”, needs someone like this in his life. He needs someone to see him as he is without his titles. Someone who hates his fame as much as he does. Someone who won’t let him get away with things just because he’s the Savior, and won’t confuse childhood awe with true feelings.

Likewise, Harry challenges Draco by meeting his prejudices and bigotry with full force. I don’t think Draco ever really did anything evil enough to need redemption as many fans seem to think (since, like we discussed earlier in this post, he was just a kid being taught his parents’ values, and as soon as the reality of the war hit, he was no longer on board), but he does need to understand the pain he inflicted through his bullying and be corrected in his misinformation. Draco’s ignorant blood purist comments would piss Harry off and inspire lengthy lectures (that you know Draco would profess to hate but secretly grow to agree with) which would help him become a good person when he wasn’t in the past.

In that same vein, Draco’s influence would help Harry find balance. Throughout the series, house rivalries shaped Harry’s point of view to the point where he barely thought of Slytherins as human. He repressed his dark traits, like Parseltongue, out of fear, and he pushed people away when unity could have altered the course of the war for the better. Of course, none of us can blame him for this, since his experience with Slytherins warranted such beliefs (most of the Slytherins in his life caused far more harm than good to him and his friends), but these beliefs are also part of what gave Voldemort so much power over him. By seeing Draco’s humanity and experiencing his love of the dark arts, Harry could begin to heal from his own deeply-ingrained prejudices and find acceptance of all parts of himself.

Beyond the value they’d bring to each other, let’s talk about this from a story perspective. It all comes down to the fact that they’re two sides of the same coin (cliche, but it sums up their relationship more accurately than anything else). Both of them were poster children for their respective sides, but while Harry was taken in by Mrs. Weasley and used by Dumbledore, Draco was raised by Lucius and made into a pawn by Voldemort. No matter how their paths veered, they always came back to each other in the end, so of all the people to end up together, the two who are constantly paired in every situation make the most sense out of anyone. When you really start to look at it, Drarry seems downright inevitable. The two were pitted against each other from the start, but that’s part of what makes their eventual unity so appealing. In a story about rifts and prejudice, light and dark, their pairing rights wrongs and signals a shift towards a better future. In the end, Drarry isn’t a superficial pairing at all. It’s the ultimate resolution.