thalthanmadanus

[thalthanmadanus]

Why do we love Draco so much

Google is spying on my hyperfixation but for once I'm grateful because this explains so well why I'm so invested in Draco and why I want good things for him.

[thalthanmadanus]

Draco meeting AVPM!Draco

Bonus:

[thalthanmadanus]

I don't think you understood my point. My example of Wolfstar isn't there to say it's better than the Name Drarry. I don't even ship Wolfstar. I gave it as an example to showcase that smtg as small as a ship name can be thought about creatively. I'm not looking for ONE perfect ship name for Draco & Harry. I'm looking for how everyone can intrepret creatively their own way of seeing their relationship into one word: their ship name.

Like yeah, I'm not disagreeing with you. Drarry works. Of course it will work. I never said it didn't? I'm just looking for different interpretations of their name not to compete against other ship names, as if it's more special than other ships. It's about what's YOU think is special about this ship.

Gather around children, it's poll time:

[thalthanmadanus]

yeah. I'm not saying Drarry should go. Drarry is literally both Draco and Harry's names put together. This is not specific to Drarry. Every ship's name is two or three names put together. What we're looking for is just another creative way to name the ship that highlights smth specific about it, instead of just putting their names together. It's just a creative exercise. it's also fun.

Like for example Wolfstar there is a connection there between Sirius "the DOG star" and Remus who is a wereWOLF So the WOLF STAR.

like idk I'd like to see people finding connection or patterns even just small between Harry and Draco and tranform it into a name.

I think with starchaser it's just the case with people trying to copy wolfstar without thinking about what makes Draco and Harry connected. like smtg special to only this ship.

the reason why personally I dislike the Drarry name is because in my language it translates to "kids" 😭

Gather around children, it's poll time:

[thalthanmadanus]

I want some variant name like "Guns n handcuffs"* but I don't like the latter either because it's not.. meaningful Ig for the ship or characters? like it isn't smtg specific for them like "Wolfstar" is for Sirius/Remus

*If you don't know "Guns and handcuffs" are one of oldest ship names for Drarry based on two old famous fics.

Gather around children, it's poll time:

[thalthanmadanus]

what

[thalthanmadanus]

Based on the discussion over the last couple of days, I feel like Drarry fandom has become very...dour? It seems people are bothered that not everyone on here wants angsty enemies to lovers stories all the time?

Draco's redemption is an important aspect of his character and has been brilliantly explored in hundreds, probably thousands of fics and I've read and enjoyed many of them. But, my god, sometimes I want to read something light or I don't have the time to invest in reading 50k+ words about how Harry is finally seeing Draco as more than just a Death Eater. Sometimes I want to see them just be together without the author feeling the need to insert a tangent about what a good boy Draco has been since the War and how he's totally changed now. I can infer that from the fact that Harry has chosen to be with him, he can tell the right sort for himself, you know?

It's as if we're not allowed to say we enjoy Draco as a character unless we explicitly put him through emotional and moral hell first. Also, I feel like by focusing so much on Draco's character arc, we tend to forget that Harry also has shit to work through, beyond needing to accept that he wants to bone Malfoy now.

This is not about calling anyone out, it's just a general trend I've been noticing with the fic and commentary that's been coming out lately. We can enjoy Drarry, but there always needs to be an asterisk to it, always. Have you noticed this or is it just me using the wrong filters/being in the wrong bubble/losing my mind?

I'm going to be honest with you here friend, I had no idea this was happening. I generally tend to stay away from, like, confrontational corners of the fandom (on account of I really don't have the constitution for it), but I know that sometimes these things have a way of reaching you even when you're not looking for them. For your peace of mind, I recommend maybe trying to curate your fandom experience to be less stressful to you because at the end of the day this is supposed to be fun. If you already are and it's not working, I'm fresh out of sage advice :(.

I do see the trend you've mentioned, I think it comes from attaching too many IRL things to a fictional world and adding complexities where there aren't, sometimes it enriches the fandom experience and sometimes it causes people to judge individual characters too harshly. I am but a passing ship in the turbulent waters of the marauders era fandom but it's something I especially notice there, with strictly segregated factions who each have very exacting parameters.

The problem with fandom squabbles like these is that no-one is wrong because we all are; we're all seeing things that aren't there in a series of books written by a terrible person; for all that we can share the joy of flipping the script on jkr, the fandom is never going to be totally unified because we're all making shit up as we go.

I also don't enjoy overly angsty fics where Draco has to martyr himself in order to be redeemed, because the Draco in my head doesn't need to do all that. The beauty (and curse) of a ship as big as Drarry is that there's multiple accepted interpretations of Harry, Draco and their relationship; hell, there's some fics where I feel like the author just slapped the names Harry and Draco on two OCs and called it a day but that just means said works weren't meant for me.

Curating our fandom experience as best as possible is really the only thing we as readers can do; one of the best strategies I've adapted is starting to exit out of fics the moment I realise they aren't working for me. I don't know how many fics I had to force myself to slog through because they are beloved classics, hoping I'd also see what everyone else is seeing, only to learn I should have trusted my instincts and abandoned ship. Ultimately I had to learn to stick with what works for me, even if it means there's significantly less fandom output I get to enjoy.

I honestly don't know if any this helped,

xoxo

[thalthanmadanus]

This latest Drarry discussion is ngl the "I like waffles. so you hate pancakes?" kind of discourse.

One person says: "Harry doesn't see Draco post-DH as just a Death Eater"

The person reads it as: "Harry sees Draco post-DH as just a victim" and a whole discourse ensues

the problem is both sides' opinions are valid and they give great arguments but goddamn there isn't one right or "correct" answer to these kinda discourses.

These two opinions can coexist with each other beautifully.

this reminds me of one my early discussions of my friends with Draco. I said once randomly that Draco can be intrepreted as curiously gentle sometimes and they jumped at me. They said: You're wrong. Draco is cruel. and I was like: ?????? When did I ever said he's NOT????? Why me saying he can be intrepreted as gentle leads you directly to think that I don't see him as ALSO cruel. Why is everything in Binary for people??? Blavk or white?? Racist or Angel?? Why a character can only have one fixed trait forever???? Especially when said character's arc is of Change and complexity.

*sigh*

Also between me and you... I think there's something to be said about how Harry's character development is often sacrificed to showcase Draco's in fics. like he's just a window for us to Draco's development and he's not a character himself with a past and FLAWS that he should work on. like Harry himself has some fucking interesting issues and some problematic stuff he has to work on but what do I know

[thalthanmadanus]

im not a fan of the 'post-hbp harry just sees draco as a victim' view bc a) harry's known him for longer than the duration of hbp, b) draco was a victim of circumstance sure but also did several shitty things all on his own, and c) one of the last times they interact is when harry finds draco trying to convince a death eater that he, too, is a death eater for real, come on you guys, it's me! your old pal,

and the feeling that surges in harry in that moment i am convinced is not pity but rather, "this fuckin guy"

i was talking to @faiell about how "this fuckin guy" really sums up harry's pov for me. "this fuckin guy" teeth grit, "this fuckin guy" speechless, "this fuckin guy" furiously jerking off,

and there's i feel certainly a clear path to "this fuckin guy" (fond) as @faiell put it, but it takes a minute and that's ok. that's the magic :)

[thalthanmadanus]

Literally tho omgggggg she tried so hard to stop deh gay

[thalthanmadanus]

plus Draco's pleading DEs that he is also a DE to save his own life isn't the last interaction we or Harry have with Draco

There is a next indirect interaction here

and Idk about you but the text does reinforce the idea that Draco is a victim of Duress to being a DE and Harry is a witness to that, to this memory.

Tbf we don't ever get Harry's direct reaction or thoughts to any of this, so he's just a blank canvas for the reader to interpret what they want. So you can continue with what the text is subtly implying or just go back to 5th year Harry vibes Ig

Also, I don't think anyone here is saying that Harry sees Draco a victim in EVERYTHING. Just the DE specifically. Harry still has the right to continue hating Draco and not forgive him for the bullying he did in the past. But Harry aknowledging Draco a s a victim is important because they now both share a background.

They came from totally opposite backgrounds and yet their paths converged into one (that being puppets/pawns to older men's plans).

like parallelism 🙂

im not a fan of the 'post-hbp harry just sees draco as a victim' view bc a) harry's known him for longer than the duration of hbp, b) draco was a victim of circumstance sure but also did several shitty things all on his own, and c) one of the last times they interact is when harry finds draco trying to convince a death eater that he, too, is a death eater for real, come on you guys, it's me! your old pal,

and the feeling that surges in harry in that moment i am convinced is not pity but rather, "this fuckin guy"

i was talking to @faiell about how "this fuckin guy" really sums up harry's pov for me. "this fuckin guy" teeth grit, "this fuckin guy" speechless, "this fuckin guy" furiously jerking off,

and there's i feel certainly a clear path to "this fuckin guy" (fond) as @faiell put it, but it takes a minute and that's ok. that's the magic :)

[thalthanmadanus]

+ Draco by the end of the seventh book is also a changed person. Seventh year Draco is not 4th year Draco nor 6th year Draco. Treating his arc as nonexistent, as if he should be Re-redeemed again is confusing to me.. like do you even like canon Draco? do you think him that unforgivable and undeserving of Harry that he needs to be punished again and again?

well I hate to tell you this buddy but PSYCHE because Harry himself grows to sympathize with Draco canonically lmao

One aspect I like is that both of them have enormous character development in the the seventh book and both of them soften towards each other IN SPITE OF THE OTHER CHARACTERS. ahaha

One of the important actions Draco ever did was lie to save Harry even though it would get him and his family killed, THEN Harry saving him from the fire happened after. Actually they both saved each other like two times in the seventh book.

I can't believe Sectumsempra is more discussed in the Drarry fandom than the scene where Harry literally goes back almost sacrificing his life(to Ron's complaints) to save Draco Malfoy from the raging Fiendfyre destroying everything. They're both riding in same broom!! with fire behind them!!

Their wands are connected

Harry won because of Draco's wand...

like bye

Like y'all see angst, I see romance 😭😭 I'm here for the romance. like damn

I don’t ship dr/arry. It doesn’t really appeal to me. But until today, I thought I understood why other people shipped it. And then I saw a post by someone complaining about how angsty so much dr/arry fic is, and how they’re sick of it. Like … isn’t the angst and conflict the primary appeal of that ship? Now I’m just confused.

[thalthanmadanus]

Hi! First of all, I want to say that I enjoy reading your pieces of meta, a lot of them made my day and I find myself thinking back to them a lot. Great work 💓

Second, I want to ask you a question: What do you think are important actions made my Draco that created butterfly effects for the hp story? like for example there was a post that talked about how Draco fixing the cabinet can be connected to him taking Neville's remember ball and egging Harry about it in the first book.

I think it's a lil bit iffy that Draco is considered just a random side character by a lot of readers when a lot of his actions affect Harry and the story in a lot of ways.

Thank you very much friend 💗, I mostly write to exorcise the demon within me that won't rest until all Facts are documented so I'm endlessly delighted by other people's appreciation for my craft.

As for your question, I'm not exactly the best person to ask because Draco is my favorite character and I feel like I can't ever be objective when it comes to all things Malfoy; that said, I believe Draco is extremely significant to the plot in both intended and unintended ways.

jkr likely came up with the concept of Draco because she needed a school-aged foil for Harry but Draco also acts as conduit to introduce deeper, more adult themes in the story via his father, one of the first big bads of the series.

Intentional or not, Draco ends up being very vital to the structure of the books, a sort of middleman between the school world and the adult world who helps in making a lot of the conflicts in the books feel more real and immediate to Harry. Like, what makes Harry care about wizard racism? It's seeing his rival and one of his friends directly involved in the issue that makes him gain awareness of the situation. Draco is a constant in the books and his presence and beliefs make the situation in the wizarding world feel more personal to Harry. The kerfuffle at the the Quidditch World cup is more dangerous and immediate because we know it's Draco's dad who is out there doing it.

On a deeper level, Draco's presence and actions guide the course of the story from the very beginning. if Harry isn't immediately turned off by Draco and his elitist ways, he's less likely to care about a whole host of things, starting from where the sorting hat wants to put him. Would Harry and Ron's friendship be as strong as it is without a common enemy to unite them? in the first books especially, the two are equally invested in the whole rivalry thing, with Ron even taking the reins at times. Would Harry, Ron and Hermione even be friends without Draco? the troll incident that cemented the trio's friendship was caused by Draco's midnight duel challenge (and its aftermath) and the last conversation the three have before Hermione steals off to the troll bathroom is about how Hermione is displeased that Harry's rule-breaking got him a broom (which Draco is also responsible for).

Every major conflict in the book has shades of Draco, from the most lighthearted and comedic of scenes to the most charged and grave ones. From indadvertedly helping Harry gain confidence in his patronus with his DIY dementor all the way to pretending not to recognise him at the Manor, Draco's actions are key to the plot.

TL;DR: Draco is a linchpin in the whole series and I won't hear any arguments to the contrary.

xoxo

[thalthanmadanus]

like for example there was a post that talked about how Draco fixing the cabinet can be connected to him taking Neville's remember ball and egging Harry about it in the first book - i saw your question but what does the remembrall got to do with the vanishing cabinet?

You need to check out the original post itself that inspired my ask because it's lowkey funny and ironic

[thalthanmadanus]

do you ever think about how the series of events that lead to Dumbledore’s death in HBP was literally set into motion by Oliver Wood’s passion for Quidditch

[thalthanmadanus]

Hi! First of all, I want to say that I enjoy reading your pieces of meta, a lot of them made my day and I find myself thinking back to them a lot. Great work 💓

Second, I want to ask you a question: What do you think are important actions made my Draco that created butterfly effects for the hp story? like for example there was a post that talked about how Draco fixing the cabinet can be connected to him taking Neville's remember ball and egging Harry about it in the first book.

I think it's a lil bit iffy that Draco is considered just a random side character by a lot of readers when a lot of his actions affect Harry and the story in a lot of ways.

Thank you very much friend 💗, I mostly write to exorcise the demon within me that won't rest until all Facts are documented so I'm endlessly delighted by other people's appreciation for my craft.

As for your question, I'm not exactly the best person to ask because Draco is my favorite character and I feel like I can't ever be objective when it comes to all things Malfoy; that said, I believe Draco is extremely significant to the plot in both intended and unintended ways.

jkr likely came up with the concept of Draco because she needed a school-aged foil for Harry but Draco also acts as conduit to introduce deeper, more adult themes in the story via his father, one of the first big bads of the series.

Intentional or not, Draco ends up being very vital to the structure of the books, a sort of middleman between the school world and the adult world who helps in making a lot of the conflicts in the books feel more real and immediate to Harry. Like, what makes Harry care about wizard racism? It's seeing his rival and one of his friends directly involved in the issue that makes him gain awareness of the situation. Draco is a constant in the books and his presence and beliefs make the situation in the wizarding world feel more personal to Harry. The kerfuffle at the the Quidditch World cup is more dangerous and immediate because we know it's Draco's dad who is out there doing it.

On a deeper level, Draco's presence and actions guide the course of the story from the very beginning. if Harry isn't immediately turned off by Draco and his elitist ways, he's less likely to care about a whole host of things, starting from where the sorting hat wants to put him. Would Harry and Ron's friendship be as strong as it is without a common enemy to unite them? in the first books especially, the two are equally invested in the whole rivalry thing, with Ron even taking the reins at times. Would Harry, Ron and Hermione even be friends without Draco? the troll incident that cemented the trio's friendship was caused by Draco's midnight duel challenge (and its aftermath) and the last conversation the three have before Hermione steals off to the troll bathroom is about how Hermione is displeased that Harry's rule-breaking got him a broom (which Draco is also responsible for).

Every major conflict in the book has shades of Draco, from the most lighthearted and comedic of scenes to the most charged and grave ones. From indadvertedly helping Harry gain confidence in his patronus with his DIY dementor all the way to pretending not to recognise him at the Manor, Draco's actions are key to the plot.

TL;DR: Draco is a linchpin in the whole series and I won't hear any arguments to the contrary.

xoxo

[thalthanmadanus]

You know, now that I'm thinking about it. It's the complete opposite. Draco has the "I'll kms" vibes but he's a survivor at his core. He will live no matter what and will always get back up like a persisting cockroach. Meanwhile Harry has the "I'll get through this" vibes but he's so easy to sacrifice himself, to even accept that his death is inescapable and is the only solution 🥲