~~ on the subject of Draco and Harry's balls.

So I followed up slightly on a friendship-fic H/D rec, and it occurs to me that the thing with H/D-friendship fics is that it's an easy segue into fanon!Draco, as a genre. If you could call it a genre. I actually don't think about fanon!Draco much at all, but he's pretty interesting as a specimen for study in his own right (if you're in the mood). I mean, he's different enough to be his own person, and while there are many, many flavors and interpretations, I think there -are- constants. It's interesting to me 'cause I don't think I've ever written him, and this avoidance hasn't been on purpose. I just don't think like that, which begs the question of "like what"?

I mean, in one way, because I write so much hot-blooded H/D madness, it's refreshing to see them talking to each other. Yet in `What Separates Us', for instance, it's definitely a -type- of conversation. A lot of times, it's Draco prodding or testing Harry, and Harry parrying Draco. Mentally, Draco is given the upper hand, and Harry is all enthusiasm and bravado and a good dose of confusion. It's interesting 'cause I think their canon roles are actually reversed in this case.

The thing that really struck me as fanon (besides the abuse reference) in this one story was the way Draco displayed himself and immediately was all "hey, I've got a slut complex". UL Draco is kind of like that. It's interesting to me 'cause this would never even occur to my own Draco-- he'd want Potter on his own terms, actively, instead of passively being an object of desire. My own Draco has his own driving needs, I guess, and he doesn't really see himself through the eyes of others when it comes to what -he- wants. He's too self-centered to think of himself as an object.

( Blah-blah-fanon!Draco-stereotypes-blah. )

I don't know why I'm saying any of this. I just realized that it's painfully obvious and also that it's only that I haven't thought of it in a month that makes it seem almost new & interesting. Oopsie. I also just realized that fanon!Draco isn't all that interesting, even in his passive, feminine aspect which is what I was primarily interested in. I mean, I can see how canon!Draco is feminized by his enforced submission to Harry, but isn't it his -refusal- to occupy that slot that makes him interesting? I mean, okay, Harry does the best he can to basically hex off Draco's balls, but so far Draco's holding on to them, isn't he? Sure, he's a whiny pathetic prat, but he struts 'em anyway and maybe that's what counts as far as ball-having goes among teenage boys. Ahhh, there's the rub, come to think of it. Teenage. Boys.

See, the thing is, some people go too far with the "Draco Has Balls" initiative and they give them to Draco after stealing Harry's, making him "top" Harry and making him wittier and more forward and more experienced than Harry, shifting the balance of power enough to give Draco a chance. It's like he doesn't have a chance "as is", because clearly Harry's the ballsy alpha-wolf in comparison to Draco's whining, skulking eunuch-beta-wolf (in canon), eh?

Actually... this ties in to the top vs. bottom debate. I've always favored a switch scenario where it could go either way, 'cause honestly, I'm not in favor of stealing either of their balls.

Long live the balls.