With Draco you could at least imagine it was totally personal because we weren't in his head and didn't know what the rest of Draco's life was like.
OMG YES!! I wish I could somehow emblazon this in the minds [and fics] of H/D shippers, Christ! Heheh, that is totally it, it's not personal like we could imagine it was with Draco [and I still think it was!! but then that's more to do with Harry pinging Draco's personal validation/etc issues anyway]. That's why Draco-but-not-H/D fans who go on about how Draco wasn't hung up on taunting Harry because he sometimes taunted the other Gryffindors drive me crazy & seem to be making such an inflammatory statement! It's like, but that personal vendetta thing is central to how I perceive Draco's character, how can you take it away & be left with Draco! [Which is also something that weirds me out/turns me off Draco in actual Draco/Hermione or Draco/whoever fics-- 9 times out of 10, he's no longer fixated on taunting Harry-- with the attendant HELLO, I'M GAY FOR HARRY POTTER!! sign that's written on his forehead in my own mind when he does that, but anyway, yeah.] It's like he's not Draco anymore if he fixates on something else, though JKR both fixed & tore that issue open with having him be fixated on the things he was fixated before [himself & his parents] except moreso or, y'know, having the dam break & his issues come spilling out.
I love that bit about Harry, though! It's totally a different thing-- it's about seeing [which is cool!] but it's definitely not about projecting (and denying) which is what it was about for both of them before!! And while that was by nature a kind of prologue to their 'real story', it did create a claustrophobic sort of 'don't let the light in!!' feeling in both me as a shipper & a lot of fics, where we both yearned for the light of a wider-scope 'seeing' and individuation and were afraid of it, 'cause... uncertainty! Growing up! Breaking up! FEAR! :>
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OMG YES!! I wish I could somehow emblazon this in the minds [and fics] of H/D shippers, Christ! Heheh, that is totally it, it's not personal like we could imagine it was with Draco [and I still think it was!! but then that's more to do with Harry pinging Draco's personal validation/etc issues anyway]. That's why Draco-but-not-H/D fans who go on about how Draco wasn't hung up on taunting Harry because he sometimes taunted the other Gryffindors drive me crazy & seem to be making such an inflammatory statement! It's like, but that personal vendetta thing is central to how I perceive Draco's character, how can you take it away & be left with Draco! [Which is also something that weirds me out/turns me off Draco in actual Draco/Hermione or Draco/whoever fics-- 9 times out of 10, he's no longer fixated on taunting Harry-- with the attendant HELLO, I'M GAY FOR HARRY POTTER!! sign that's written on his forehead in my own mind when he does that, but anyway, yeah.] It's like he's not Draco anymore if he fixates on something else, though JKR both fixed & tore that issue open with having him be fixated on the things he was fixated before [himself & his parents] except moreso or, y'know, having the dam break & his issues come spilling out.
I love that bit about Harry, though! It's totally a different thing-- it's about seeing [which is cool!] but it's definitely not about projecting (and denying) which is what it was about for both of them before!! And while that was by nature a kind of prologue to their 'real story', it did create a claustrophobic sort of 'don't let the light in!!' feeling in both me as a shipper & a lot of fics, where we both yearned for the light of a wider-scope 'seeing' and individuation and were afraid of it, 'cause... uncertainty! Growing up! Breaking up! FEAR! :>