~~ mrar. not again.
Dec. 18th, 2003 01:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reenkaOh man, I'm a champion at wasting time. I don't know -why- the bloody hell I'm so obsessed with making lists. I should just avoid all lists everywhere, just so they don't give me ideas. I -did- have a semi-fresh mind before writing this entry, but now it's completely and utterly -gone-. Ahem.
So. I had randomly stumbled across a list of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
poetic_licence's favorite Harry's and Draco's in HP fic, and it had explanations as to why, etc. You can see where this is going, can't you. Yes. The horror. The horror, indeed. Because I don't have "just a few". Oh, just 2 or 3. Nooooo, of course not. *cries!!*
See... I keep thinking about what is it exactly that stays constant for me, in terms of what I'm always looking for in every incarnation of a character. Problem is, of course, I already know the answer to that. And I've thought about it a zillion times before. So there was really -no- bloody reason to do it again. Except I looked at Amy's list and was like... "um... no".
Mind you, I love Ishuca's writing and -adore- Amalin's writing and hey, I enjoyed `Resolution' too, but it's funny, because even as much as I obviously have a high tolerance for fanon, I've never actually liked their writing because of the -characterization-. There's a clear demarkation in my mind between liking something for style & plot & theme and liking it for the characterization. Usually, I can't really say I love a characterization if I think it's unrealistic, whereas I'm not big on realism in general, actually. No matter what happens to them, I like the gritty side of things when it comes to characterizing people. I like 'em dirty and sweaty and pathetic and lost. And painfully human.
So. That's where I'm coming from, really. That's the problem with fanon!Draco for me-- I can't dig a Draco that has no chinks & ugliness to him-- or a Harry, for that matter. I've always latched onto the vulnerabilities in characters-- and people in general, I guess. Give me their anger, their need, their frustration, their hope, their insecurity. Give me their bitter hearts.
~~
- HARRY.
+ Origins, Haven, Belong [& Ivy's Harry in general]
No one else writes about Harry's gentleness and ordinariness and sensitivity and need like this. The way he's just Harry, and that's heroic sometimes and befuddled most times and vulnerable underneath it all, so vulnerable and real and easy to love. He's might be innocent, but he's not weak and he always makes Draco have to reach higher in order to have him. He doesn't ever just settle or betray himself, and he's always doing what he thinks is the right thing. This will always be my favorite pre-OoTP!Harry.
+ Sins of the Father, by Ali.
The thing I love about this characterization is how unassuming and free of melodrama it is. It really does feel like reading gen, and that tends to be my favorite sort of characterization. This is a recognizable GoF Harry-- sensible and unpredictable at the same time, somehow. There's a common sense quality to him, and yet there's still that neediness and loneliness. Mmm, yes.
+ To Rule in Hell, by Antenora.
Woo. My favorite wartime!Harry, eheheh. He's such a goddamn badass. Mmmmm. He's toughened up and become jaded and bitter and all that, but he's still recognizably Harry-- just with a punch. A lot of punches. And snarling. I picture him snarling and being precariously in control-- sort of like if Harry grew up to be in the Matrix. All right, -fine- shut up, I know! I love it, anyway. Mmmmm, bitter rage. What, what??
+ Draco Veritas, by Cassie Claire.
Well, this is Cassie's Harry, and to me he's almost like his own entity, whatever his relationship to canon (sort of like Maya's Draco). There's that gorgeous play on strength and loyalty coupled with vulnerability and half-assed cock-suredness and careless bravado, again, that makes Harry Harry-like to me. He's so messed up and desperately trying to hold together 'cause he -has- to, and he's not doing too well and omg when he needs someone he really needs them, and he's still going to do what he set out to do no matter what the cost. OMG THE LOVE.
+ You've Got Nothing, Harry Potter [& Thess' Harry in general]
The thing about Thess' Harry is-- he's such a boy. He's all insecure and vulnerable and yet with all that bravado and determination and fire. He's not heroic except in a reckless boyish sort of way where he just does things because he has to and wants to and he's got an ego, oh yes. Maybe that's it. I think Thess has a great handle on Harry's ego-- the everyday things that are important to him (his friends, his parents, winning, Quidditch, getting through classes, not thinking about Voldemort any more than necessary). I just want to cuddle him and give him kittens. And Malfoy. He could use a Malfoy, too. Heeee <333
+ Artful Facade, by Sky [honorable mention]
Wah, this is still probably my favorite Harry in a dark scenario. I love the way she plays on his self-destructiveness and fascination with death and fear/need for some sort of power or control. I found it believable, especially pre-OoTP, the gradual growth of darkness in him and the way everything disintegrates-- but he remains semi-opposed. I love the teetering on the edge-- and of course, since it's a WIP, he's forever teetering, now. And that's Harry, to me. He still wasn't sadistic or mean, because I don't think Harry could be. My Harry couldn't be. I am very prejudiced about this, too :> :>
- DRACO.
+ Beware the Fury of a Patient Man, Red [& Miss Breed's Draco in general]
To me, Draco's pretty defined by his anger and envy and sense of powerlessness, however he chooses to deal with these things. Draco is angry. Draco is Very Very Angry. And yet he's so juvenile and easily flustered and he flushes and he stomps off and he breaks the head of that stupid action figure because STUPID SODDING POTTER!! >:O (OMG THE LOVE!!1) Because Draco Malfoy -hates- Harry Potter. He hates him. He Really Really Really Really hates him :D :D :D!!
In `Red', he's being a bit more subtle, of course. The awful, horrible, inexplicable attraction messing with Draco's mind. It doesn't sit very easily. It doesn't bring out the best in him. He's spiteful-- and yes, okay, he's got style, 'cause no matter what-- the snark, baby. The snark lives on. He's such a complete bumbling prat. Also, he was almost coming in his pants from snogging Harry even at age 13, clearly setting a great example for the rest of his sorry little life. Obviously, <33333333333
+ Underwater Light [& Maya's Draco in general]
To me, there's Draco & then there's Maya's Draco, and it's almost irrelevant at which points they do or do not coincide, because UL!Draco just has this force of personality, I guess. Sometimes he does seem too perfect (through Harry's eyes), but I don't love him for the obvious things. I love him for the things underneath, for all the rage and insecurity and desperate fear and loyalty bubbling barely under the surface. I love the way Harry just cuts through him, and the way he's got his certain sort of pride, and the way he refuses to believe in love but he doesn't stand a chance. And well, okay, the snark. <333
+ And I Get By, Double Dare [& Silvia's Draco in general]
I love Silvia's Draco beyond all reason, so we'll just start with that. I don't love him for anything-- I love him for everything. I adore him beyond all others-- he's just. Perfect. So yes, horribly biased, okay, moving on. Silvia makes him lovable without a single apology in sight. He's awful, he's completely stuck-up and deluded and childish and selfish and mean-- and Harry is his. Completely his-- and Silvia makes it work.
Also? Silvia's Draco is hilarious, but never in a too-good-to-be-true way like Maya's Draco sometimes seems to me, because one's usually laughing at him as much as (or as well as) laughing with him. He says (and does) the most nonsensical, wild things-- and it's not so much witty one-liners or snark as being completely insufferable as well as slightly mad. The boy's a complete menace-- to himself! I LOVE HIM SO MUCH, YOU HAVE NO IDEA >:O
+ The More Things Change, by Dee.
This is a great, great characterization of Draco-- not particularly witty, not particularly subtle, just spoiled and confused and resentful as ever. He's not particularly brilliant or outstanding in any way, but he's human and understandable and a little lost, and that goes a long way with me. He's angry enough to take what he wants, even if it's (shock!) Potter, and that's as much as I would hope for. I never gave Dee feedback for this (wah), and this isn't it, but this is a pitch-perfect extrapolative fic for Draco at the very beginnings of finally growing up.
+ Beasts and Butterflies, by Riddle [honorable mention]
It's been a very long while since I last read this, but I have a soft spot for maddened, dark Draco, drowning in himself and his Malfoy legacy and everything going the worst possible way. He's sort of been stripped down to need and despair, with his usual compass awfully twisted. It's not so much that he's IC, exactly, as I like the sheer emotional drive here, whereas so many people make Draco reserved. Riddle's Draco is pretty much a wreck, and hey, I like him that way.
+ A List of Draco Malfoy's Faults [& Trin's Draco in general]
My extreme preference for characters more than a little unhinged and actually somewhat pathetic strikes again. Malfoy is a freaky albino spider. Harry is a pervert. Hey, works for me!
~~
- RON.
+ Screwed, by Slytherlynx.
+ The Pop Goes The Weasel trilogy, by Durendal.
+ A Series of Definitions, by Silvia.
+ His Belongings, by Penelope.
- PANSY.
+ Loved Those of Great Ambition, by Maya
- CHO.
+ 6 Ways of Unpinning a Butterfly, by Serious Black.
+ Veela Magic, by Lasair
- REMUS.
+ Drawing Down the Moon, by Ailei & Khirsah.
+ Nightswimming, by Rave.
+ Coin Tossers, by Sloane.
+ Parting, by Bow.
So. I had randomly stumbled across a list of
poetic_licence's favorite Harry's and Draco's in HP fic, and it had explanations as to why, etc. You can see where this is going, can't you. Yes. The horror. The horror, indeed. Because I don't have "just a few". Oh, just 2 or 3. Nooooo, of course not. *cries!!* See... I keep thinking about what is it exactly that stays constant for me, in terms of what I'm always looking for in every incarnation of a character. Problem is, of course, I already know the answer to that. And I've thought about it a zillion times before. So there was really -no- bloody reason to do it again. Except I looked at Amy's list and was like... "um... no".
Mind you, I love Ishuca's writing and -adore- Amalin's writing and hey, I enjoyed `Resolution' too, but it's funny, because even as much as I obviously have a high tolerance for fanon, I've never actually liked their writing because of the -characterization-. There's a clear demarkation in my mind between liking something for style & plot & theme and liking it for the characterization. Usually, I can't really say I love a characterization if I think it's unrealistic, whereas I'm not big on realism in general, actually. No matter what happens to them, I like the gritty side of things when it comes to characterizing people. I like 'em dirty and sweaty and pathetic and lost. And painfully human.
So. That's where I'm coming from, really. That's the problem with fanon!Draco for me-- I can't dig a Draco that has no chinks & ugliness to him-- or a Harry, for that matter. I've always latched onto the vulnerabilities in characters-- and people in general, I guess. Give me their anger, their need, their frustration, their hope, their insecurity. Give me their bitter hearts.
~~
- HARRY.
+ Origins, Haven, Belong [& Ivy's Harry in general]
No one else writes about Harry's gentleness and ordinariness and sensitivity and need like this. The way he's just Harry, and that's heroic sometimes and befuddled most times and vulnerable underneath it all, so vulnerable and real and easy to love. He's might be innocent, but he's not weak and he always makes Draco have to reach higher in order to have him. He doesn't ever just settle or betray himself, and he's always doing what he thinks is the right thing. This will always be my favorite pre-OoTP!Harry.
+ Sins of the Father, by Ali.
The thing I love about this characterization is how unassuming and free of melodrama it is. It really does feel like reading gen, and that tends to be my favorite sort of characterization. This is a recognizable GoF Harry-- sensible and unpredictable at the same time, somehow. There's a common sense quality to him, and yet there's still that neediness and loneliness. Mmm, yes.
+ To Rule in Hell, by Antenora.
Woo. My favorite wartime!Harry, eheheh. He's such a goddamn badass. Mmmmm. He's toughened up and become jaded and bitter and all that, but he's still recognizably Harry-- just with a punch. A lot of punches. And snarling. I picture him snarling and being precariously in control-- sort of like if Harry grew up to be in the Matrix. All right, -fine- shut up, I know! I love it, anyway. Mmmmm, bitter rage. What, what??
+ Draco Veritas, by Cassie Claire.
Well, this is Cassie's Harry, and to me he's almost like his own entity, whatever his relationship to canon (sort of like Maya's Draco). There's that gorgeous play on strength and loyalty coupled with vulnerability and half-assed cock-suredness and careless bravado, again, that makes Harry Harry-like to me. He's so messed up and desperately trying to hold together 'cause he -has- to, and he's not doing too well and omg when he needs someone he really needs them, and he's still going to do what he set out to do no matter what the cost. OMG THE LOVE.
+ You've Got Nothing, Harry Potter [& Thess' Harry in general]
The thing about Thess' Harry is-- he's such a boy. He's all insecure and vulnerable and yet with all that bravado and determination and fire. He's not heroic except in a reckless boyish sort of way where he just does things because he has to and wants to and he's got an ego, oh yes. Maybe that's it. I think Thess has a great handle on Harry's ego-- the everyday things that are important to him (his friends, his parents, winning, Quidditch, getting through classes, not thinking about Voldemort any more than necessary). I just want to cuddle him and give him kittens. And Malfoy. He could use a Malfoy, too. Heeee <333
+ Artful Facade, by Sky [honorable mention]
Wah, this is still probably my favorite Harry in a dark scenario. I love the way she plays on his self-destructiveness and fascination with death and fear/need for some sort of power or control. I found it believable, especially pre-OoTP, the gradual growth of darkness in him and the way everything disintegrates-- but he remains semi-opposed. I love the teetering on the edge-- and of course, since it's a WIP, he's forever teetering, now. And that's Harry, to me. He still wasn't sadistic or mean, because I don't think Harry could be. My Harry couldn't be. I am very prejudiced about this, too :> :>
- DRACO.
+ Beware the Fury of a Patient Man, Red [& Miss Breed's Draco in general]
To me, Draco's pretty defined by his anger and envy and sense of powerlessness, however he chooses to deal with these things. Draco is angry. Draco is Very Very Angry. And yet he's so juvenile and easily flustered and he flushes and he stomps off and he breaks the head of that stupid action figure because STUPID SODDING POTTER!! >:O (OMG THE LOVE!!1) Because Draco Malfoy -hates- Harry Potter. He hates him. He Really Really Really Really hates him :D :D :D!!
In `Red', he's being a bit more subtle, of course. The awful, horrible, inexplicable attraction messing with Draco's mind. It doesn't sit very easily. It doesn't bring out the best in him. He's spiteful-- and yes, okay, he's got style, 'cause no matter what-- the snark, baby. The snark lives on. He's such a complete bumbling prat. Also, he was almost coming in his pants from snogging Harry even at age 13, clearly setting a great example for the rest of his sorry little life. Obviously, <33333333333
+ Underwater Light [& Maya's Draco in general]
To me, there's Draco & then there's Maya's Draco, and it's almost irrelevant at which points they do or do not coincide, because UL!Draco just has this force of personality, I guess. Sometimes he does seem too perfect (through Harry's eyes), but I don't love him for the obvious things. I love him for the things underneath, for all the rage and insecurity and desperate fear and loyalty bubbling barely under the surface. I love the way Harry just cuts through him, and the way he's got his certain sort of pride, and the way he refuses to believe in love but he doesn't stand a chance. And well, okay, the snark. <333
+ And I Get By, Double Dare [& Silvia's Draco in general]
I love Silvia's Draco beyond all reason, so we'll just start with that. I don't love him for anything-- I love him for everything. I adore him beyond all others-- he's just. Perfect. So yes, horribly biased, okay, moving on. Silvia makes him lovable without a single apology in sight. He's awful, he's completely stuck-up and deluded and childish and selfish and mean-- and Harry is his. Completely his-- and Silvia makes it work.
Also? Silvia's Draco is hilarious, but never in a too-good-to-be-true way like Maya's Draco sometimes seems to me, because one's usually laughing at him as much as (or as well as) laughing with him. He says (and does) the most nonsensical, wild things-- and it's not so much witty one-liners or snark as being completely insufferable as well as slightly mad. The boy's a complete menace-- to himself! I LOVE HIM SO MUCH, YOU HAVE NO IDEA >:O
+ The More Things Change, by Dee.
This is a great, great characterization of Draco-- not particularly witty, not particularly subtle, just spoiled and confused and resentful as ever. He's not particularly brilliant or outstanding in any way, but he's human and understandable and a little lost, and that goes a long way with me. He's angry enough to take what he wants, even if it's (shock!) Potter, and that's as much as I would hope for. I never gave Dee feedback for this (wah), and this isn't it, but this is a pitch-perfect extrapolative fic for Draco at the very beginnings of finally growing up.
+ Beasts and Butterflies, by Riddle [honorable mention]
It's been a very long while since I last read this, but I have a soft spot for maddened, dark Draco, drowning in himself and his Malfoy legacy and everything going the worst possible way. He's sort of been stripped down to need and despair, with his usual compass awfully twisted. It's not so much that he's IC, exactly, as I like the sheer emotional drive here, whereas so many people make Draco reserved. Riddle's Draco is pretty much a wreck, and hey, I like him that way.
+ A List of Draco Malfoy's Faults [& Trin's Draco in general]
My extreme preference for characters more than a little unhinged and actually somewhat pathetic strikes again. Malfoy is a freaky albino spider. Harry is a pervert. Hey, works for me!
~~
- RON.
+ Screwed, by Slytherlynx.
+ The Pop Goes The Weasel trilogy, by Durendal.
+ A Series of Definitions, by Silvia.
+ His Belongings, by Penelope.
- PANSY.
+ Loved Those of Great Ambition, by Maya
- CHO.
+ 6 Ways of Unpinning a Butterfly, by Serious Black.
+ Veela Magic, by Lasair
- REMUS.
+ Drawing Down the Moon, by Ailei & Khirsah.
+ Nightswimming, by Rave.
+ Coin Tossers, by Sloane.
+ Parting, by Bow.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-12-18 04:11 pm (UTC)I think we all like characters we empathise with, of course. I'm not sure I'd necessarily say I feel like Draco is under the most pressure or most set upon by circumstances in HP, though (although I'm not actually sure you're referring to Draco there, come to think of it). I don't know why I'm so excessively interested in characters being losers. It's not the only reason I like them, of course, and they're not the only characters I like, but for some reason I am very interested in characters who are small and petty. I love Ron when he is jealous of Harry, and I love when, in GoF, Harry throws that badge at Ron's head and says he hopes he got a scar, too. The whole thing is just so juvenile.
no subject
Date: 2003-12-18 04:28 pm (UTC)Er. But... I like/read H/S, just usually not romantic non-smutty H/S. I'm pretty OTP-ish in that it takes a lot for me to read a serious fic with either Harry or Draco in it where there's all this angst & build-up and so on, 'cause I just wouldn't believe in it very easily and there'd always be that tension and I dislike having to keep being thrown out of the story by thinking "eh, but...!". Like, it's ridiculous enough trying to imagine Harry is in luuuurve with Snape (omg, -please-), but seeing it contrasted to how he's still the same in every other way just brings it home to me how far away from my comfort-zone I am, I guess.
The worst example of this, and the fic that put me off reading serious H/S, probably, was `The Mirror of Maybe'. Words are not enough to describe my loathing for that fic. I hate it so much my toes curl in hatred, thinking about it. I want to kill it. If I could, I would. Okay, maybe not. But it just misses me off for some reason, not least because the little Draco cameo in it pissed me the hell off. Harry's so -uppity- and -mature- and above dealing with immature prats like Malfoy. Ergh. The hell!! I mean, I know he's back from the future or whatever, but the whole condescention thing drives me mad even thinking of it now (oh, I like -adults- like -Snape-, ooooh-- and Snape's such an immature adult it's ridiculous!).
I like the way you talk about it, though-- I mean, yeah, it's annoying how people don't tend to start from scratch (i.e., extrapolate from canon directly) in longfics. Ergh. I've thought about that a lot, wondering if it's just laziness or people don't believe they can do it or think it can't be done or what. I -want- to see same-old!Draco become Harry's-bitch!Draco. I want to see it step by step! Even if it takes the story years! I mean, that's why I'm an H/D shipper! But no. *sigh*
But the whole lack of actual -insight- into Draco puts me off of those other fics, 'cause it just makes me feel like they're -missing- something just in the other direction, y'know?
I love juvenile brattish behavior, btw~:)) And no, I wasn't exactly talking about Draco, more about what draws me to my favorite characters in general-- and Draco isn't, not in canon. For me, it's Harry all the way, eheheheh :> :> 'Cause I'm drawn to whomever has the deepest emotional history & Harry's really the only one whose inner world we follow, so :> I'm not very good at extrapolating sometimes. A lot of time ^^;
I think if one takes it from -Draco's- pov, he's under a lot of pressure & is a misunderstood little darling. Which is why I like fics from his pov, see. I know it's not really true, but it's still endearing following him around on his hopeless quest to get somewhere~:))
no subject
Date: 2003-12-19 09:25 am (UTC)Okay, I'm not sure why I thought you didn't like Harry/Snape. Now I wonder who I was thinking of. I know you don't like Snape/Draco but there is someone who doesn't like Harry/Snape that surprised me, but now I don't know who it was.
Like, it's ridiculous enough trying to imagine Harry is in luuuurve with Snape (omg, -please-), but seeing it contrasted to how he's still the same in every other way just brings it home to me how far away from my comfort-zone I am, I guess.
Yeah, that's very ridiculous for me, too, really, but I like when he is the same in every other way because it makes it easier for me to buy. Although it does make me rather uncomfortable. I mean, I am very OTP too. I really don't read much that isn't Harry/Draco unless it's gen or Draco/Pansy, since that's sort of canon.
I have never read The Mirror of Maybe! So I have no idea what you're talking about in regards to it. :))
People used to extrapolate from canon a lot more than they do, although I'm sure I don't need to tell you that. But when they have done so, pretty often they start off with Draco being much more important to Harry than he is. Like with Sins of the Father--which I love, by the way, although I missed the last few chapters--it starts out from canon but with a major change in Draco, which is what happens a lot. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but that is why I find it refreshing when Draco does not become significantly more important because that is what happens so often.
For me Draco is the character I understand, and Harry is the one I don't, really. Which is strange since the books come from his POV, and I do understand him, but I don't relate to him. I see him from more of an outside POV and get very, "HARRY <3 <3 <3", which is something I don't do with Draco.
no subject
Date: 2003-12-19 09:42 am (UTC)Draco is easy to understand, I think. Or is that just me? I guess if you -want- to understand him, he's easy-- he's got these simple sort of issues and a black-and-white world in his head. Plus he's so juvenile & predictable. I want Draco to be more unpredictable than he is in canon, but you'd have to extrapolate him into it. Which is like, fun! After OoTP, I was all excited 'cause it was harder to write H/D in some ways, and you'd have to be more extrapolative since you can't just starf off saying, "and then Harry woke up & Draco was TEH HOTTT", heh. And people, apparently, were like, "eh. too much trouble." ^^;
It's hard to have Draco (or whoever's the other main character in fanfic) become not more important than he is in canon, if you're using a side character. This is why, you know, fanfic is really -separate- from canon & why I can't read fanfic for canon I'm obsessively into. 'Cause it's never really going to sustain the main feel of the canon, generally. Like, I -want- to read about canon!Harry (moreso than about canon!Draco, even, and I dislike most fanon!Draco's so I figure I'm looking for more of a canon!Draco). But-- he's just not out there! It's so frustrating, but this is common, I find. As soon as I get invested in an aspect of canon (like say, OoTP!Harry), poof! It's near-impossible to find 'cause most likely the characterization is so good no one can mimic it very well. :/
I don't know why I say the things I say sometimes. Heh. Of course I do like it when Harry stays the same-- in character, that is-- no matter if it's H/S or H/D or whatever. But sometimes in his relationship to Draco-- in comparison-- there's almost this stubborn sort of regression. Like-- he often -refuses- to progress in that relationship. I dunno. Bitterness :> Related to how I'm bitter at how people treat Ron in H/D, maybe. :-?
I think I don't really identify with either Harry -or- Draco, unless you mean their emotional centers. And it slightly bothers me how people who ship them are so severely preferential sometimes to the point where they don't try to really understand what makes the other half tick. Meh. But that's neither her nor there :>