How Gabriel Agreste Destroyed Adrien's Life: A 3 A.m. Analysis

How Gabriel Agreste Destroyed Adrien's Life: A 3 a.m. Analysis

From: ‘I enrolled in a school without my father's permission, I ran away from home to attend the first day of school and although I don't want my father to be angry with me, I'm not afraid of a punishment either because I KNOW there won't be one’.

To: ‘My girlfriend is alone with my father, with no one to protect her, completely defenceless. I NEED TO SAVE HER’.

One knows that his father is a good person who, no matter how angry he is, would never hurt him. The other doesn't, it's the opposite, he is no longer sure of anything, he fears for the safety of those he loves and is so terrified that he is about to have a panic attack.

But how did we get from the first to the second?

How Gabriel Agreste Destroyed Adrien's Life: A 3 A.m. Analysis

How Gabriel Agreste's abuse managed to completely change his son in a matter of days

People don't remember this because it happened a long time ago and has not been repeated, but Adrien used to be a NORMAL person, not as perfect as he is now. While he has always been kind and polite, there were also times when he allowed himself to be a bit hostile and not as perfect as we are used to seeing him (as Adrien, not as Chat Noir). Usually that ‘good boy’ facade was only used in front of his father and Nathalie, but in front of his friends he behaved like a normal teenager, even becoming a bit teasing, self-centred and rebellious. "The Bubbler", "Animan", "Kung Food" and "Evillustrator" being the clearest examples of these behaviours, in particular towards Nino, Chloé and Marinette.

In S1 it becomes clear that the only conflict Adrien has with his father is the fact that he does not give him as much freedom as Adrien would like. Apart from this, Adrien has no other problems with him and considers him to be a good father. There are several of Adrien's behaviours that suggest that Gabriel's overprotectiveness towards him was the only thing wrong with him, but that otherwise Gabriel was excellent. It is time for us to look at that.

1. Origins

Adrien literally enrolled in a school without his father's permission and when his father refused to approve Adrien's attendance, he ran away from home and went running to school. When Nathalie tries to convince him to come back Adrien simply says ‘this is what I want’ and turns around to continue up the stairs, not caring if she has anything else to say. He hears that someone needs help and immediately goes to their aid, and as soon as he finishes doing that he turns to Nathalie and the bodyguard with a charming smile expecting to see their proud faces, and when instead he sees that they are still angry he is immediately horrified and gives up.

This tells us a lot about Adrien: he is a spoilt child who has never been punished in his life, and when things get difficult his first reaction is to be adorable or do a good deed to be forgiven. Adrien intended to leave Nathalie talking to herself, and he wasn't worried about the idea of being punished when he got home from school because he knew it wasn't likely to happen. He then helps someone to ingratiate himself with Nathalie and the bodyguard so that they will stop being angry, and when he realises that it didn't work he is surprised. He is used to people forgiving his disobedience just because he is cute. He immediately gives up and asks Nathalie not to tell Gabriel. While he didn't want his father to be angry with him, he also didn't fear punishment because he knew he wouldn't get it.

Later, at the mansion, Adrien realises that Nathalie did tell Gabriel and he feels betrayed, as if he didn't expect her to do that. Basically, he is not used to people disobeying him. Gabriel again forbids Adrien from going to school but it's nothing he hasn't said before: Gabriel reprimands Adrien's behaviour with words, never with punishment, and there comes a point when words are no longer enough and Adrien is no longer afraid of them, hence he becomes ‘rebellious’. The next day Adrien runs away again and, surprise surprise, he is not punished, in fact he is rewarded. Despite having disobeyed his father again, he is rewarded and allowed to go to school, even Nathalie (whom he treated very badly) offers to help him. This reward is without explanation, just because. I'm not saying Adrien deserved to be locked up for life at home, at the end of the day he's just a teenager who wants to socialise with more people, but it's clear he was a spoilt child whose behaviours both good and bad were praised, just like Chloé and Felix, so if you ever wondered why he was such good friends with them, here's your answer.

2. The Bubbler

Here we get confirmation of how Adrien is a good boy only in front of his father and Nathalie, and how he is himself in front of his friends. At the beginning of the episode he together with Nino makes fun of his father because he does not agree to throw him a birthday party. Then, when Nino is akumatized, he at first refuses to be part of the party because he cares about Nino and wants to save him. Even when he realises that all the adults are trapped in bubbles, he never cares about his father, Nathalie or his bodyguard, only about saving Nino. And then he also gives up on this idea after a little chat with Plagg and says: "Okay, you're right. This might be the first day in my life that I actually get to do what I want for once", and Adrien joins the party without any show of consideration for the adults he knows.

Although all these behaviours were forgotten by the fandom, they are important to understand Adrien's character and how he changed due to his father's abuse. This is the normal behaviour of a teenager with a bit of a grudge: he's not a psychopath who wants something bad to happen to his father, he's a kid who knows that in the end he and his superhero partner will fix everything and he allows himself to have fun in the meantime. But it's something the current Adrien would never do, and there's where the difference lies.

3. Volpina & The Collector

This is the last episode in which we see Adrien acting like a normal teenager. He overhears Gabriel talking on the phone and decides to spy on him, then discovers that he has a safe behind his mother's portrait and out of curiosity goes to investigate. Adrien discovers the book and takes it with him, when he is discovered he quickly makes up a lie. RIP pre-lobotomised Adrien, you will always be missed.

This is the key point in the change of behaviour of both Adrien and Gabriel.

Gabriel confronts Adrien and he immediately gives an explanation in a tone of voice intended to generate sympathy:

—I just wanted to know what you were hiding behind that portrait that was so important.

This doesn't work so he resorts to blaming Gabriel himself:

—You.. you never told me about those things.

And this doesn't work either, so he decides to admit what he did but also looks for a way to justify himself:

—I was intending to give it back to you, I swear. But then I lost it.

Gabriel tells Adrien that he no longer trusts him, and what is Adrien's reaction? He just looks jaded and apologises to Gabriel, in an attitude that makes it clear that he is used to apologising to make things right, that he is not genuinely sorry, and also offers to buy him a new copy, confident that this will be enough for Gabriel to forgive him. This confirms the previous point: Adrien is used to getting out of his punishments just because he looks cute or does a good deed, and this became so repetitive that Adrien already knew how to get out of a punishment, and was not afraid of his father but simply tired of scolding that went nowhere. Again, there is no fear of consequences.

Everything changes completely when Gabriel tells him that this book is unique in the world, that there is no other copy. Apologies didn't work and the other form of redemption, buying him a copy, wasn't possible. Then is when Adrien's face changes completely to horror: he has just understood the magnitude of his mistake. His father punishes him by forbidding him to go back to school and Adrien is heartbroken, but does not try to reason with his father (as he had done, and many times, in past episodes). This is the birth of the Adrien we know now: from a normal boy to a submissive puppet. He knows that there is no way to redeem himself and that is why he decides not to fight, he finally realises that his actions have consequences, serious ones, taking away what is most precious to him: his freedom.

From here on we see a completely changed Adrien, from a rebellious teenager to a perfect doll with no thoughts of his own. Before, he pretended to be perfect only in front of his father, Nathalie and his bodyguard. Now he pretends to be perfect in front of everyone, regardless of whether he knows them or not. The trauma can be clearly seen: Adrien adopts this neat behaviour because he is afraid that his freedom will be taken away if his father finds out that he made another mistake. Now Adrien knows that he CAN be punished. He doesn't even allow himself to breathe in peace because of all the stress and fear he carries. And so it is that Adrien becomes a puppet unable to stop pretending even in front of his own friends: we go from an Adrien who was not afraid to react strangely to Marinette's odd behaviour, who was not afraid to tease Nino about his crush and who was not afraid to put Chloé in her place when the situation warranted it, to an Adrien who could not even keep his back bent for fear that his father would consider it inappropriate.

Gabriel Agreste being a shitty father and exploiting his son's weaknesses to profit from them

Despite being strict with Adrien, there were times when Gabriel let him spend time with his friends and have fun with them. In fact, in S1 there are several of these, most of them to be found there (before all the drama).

In ‘Animan’ he is in the zoo helping Nino with his date with Marinette.

In ‘Gamer’ he is playing video games for the school championship at Marinette's house.

In ‘Kung Food’ he comes to Marinette's house to help her with her uncle and even takes them to the hotel and stays for dinner with them, he spends practically the whole day away from home.

In ‘Horrificator’ he spends many hours filming the movie for the school.

In ‘The puppeteer’ he is going somewhere alone and relaxed.

In ‘Timebreaker’ he is present during the race between Alix and Kim.

As you can see, despite being strict, Gabriel sometimes let his son spend time with his friends. When did this change? After the book incident. After forbidding Adrien to attend school, Gabriel noticed how heartbroken he was and realised that school and his friends were not a whim for Adrien, but something he truly cherished. And Gabriel used these feelings to manipulate Adrien. In S1, before the incident, Adrien is more ‘rebellious’ and still has enough freedom to be with his friends. In S2, after the incident, Adrien behaves much better than in S1 and still doesn't have half as much freedom as before, and when he finally gets his father's permission to be with his friends, something happens at the last minute (Heroes Day Part 2, for example). This is because his father has discovered his Achilles' heel and uses it to benefit himself and manipulate Adrien.

The clearest proof of this is in the difference between ‘Horrificator’, where Gabriel let Adrien spend hours in the school filming the movie, and ‘Queen Banana’, where Gabriel let Adrien go for only a few minutes to the filming and right after he finished his part he literally left in a cage hanging from a helicopter. It is clear the pleasure that man developed in making his son miserable.

And we could talk about ‘Chat Blac’ and ‘Ephemeral’, but I won't touch those topics as they are not part of our timeline. I'll just say that they made it clear how far Gabriel is willing to go (literally traumatise Adrien) in order to get what he wants. What I think, is sick.

Adrien's Stockholm Syndrome: normalisation, justification and romanticisation, and how it makes him vulnerable to unhealthy relationships

1. Gabriel

We have already made it clear that Adrien became an uncritical puppet, and as a result he developed a terrible Stockholm syndrome. Adrien normalised all the manipulation, and by accepting it as something usual this caused him to start justifying it as well. Needless to name the episodes, in many of them there is always someone (usually Nino, Marinette or Plagg) who points out his father's problematic behaviour and Adrien immediately tries to justify it with ‘he does it because he loves me’ or ‘he just wants to protect me’. This shows us a big difference from the Adrien of S1 who was aware of his father's behaviour and even made fun of it, the current Adrien would never do that, on the contrary, he seems to live to justify Gabriel's actions. That's how serious the brainwashing is.

With Gabriel's behaviours now normalised and justified, they in turn begin to be romanticised. Despite being a shitty person, there are moments when Gabriel treats Adrien well: like when he hugs him (something Adrien is not used to), his worried words to Chat Noir about losing Adrien, or when he watches his mother's movie with him. These are all details that if they weren't accompanied by manipulation, anyone could call ‘cute’. And this makes Adrien unaware of the manipulation at first: his own denial and the kind details his father had for him confused his brain. Adrien did not think that his father could be so kind to him if he was a bad person, and that is why Adrien refused to consider him as such. This is a method of self-defence against dangerous situations, the feelings developed by this are not only romantic but any kind of feelings that are enough to make the victim feel safe in dangerous environments.

2. Kagami and Marinette

Let's start with Adrigami. Adrien didn't show a strong interest in Kagami until the chapter ‘Oni-Chan’ where he even rejects Ladybug's fist to make sure Kagami is okay, but what led to this? The romanticisation of obsession and control.

Kagami is simply Adrien's friend, but when she sees a photo of him with another girl, she gets so jealous that she is akumatized and starts chasing this other girl to get her away from Adrien. This is behaviour that is bad as a girlfriend, but even worse as a friend. Adrien doesn't take this seriously and even spends the whole fight making jokes instead of worrying that one of her friends is a jealous girl who is willing to kill for him even if they don't have any kind of commitment. Then, when he sees that Kagami still has the rose he gave her, his behaviour immediately changes and you could say that this is when he starts to feel a real attraction to her, even rejecting Ladybug's fist, whom he had long been in love with.

Here we see how dangerous the romanticisation of problematic behaviour is: Adrien is willing to let go of all the chaos Kagami caused and all her toxic behaviour just because she showed that she really ‘loved him’. And he reciprocates her feelings because he finds it cute that someone is in love with him enough to go crazy. The romanticisation of Gabriel's actions eventually led Adrien to romanticise other people's actions, even going so far as to feel honoured by all the questionable actions these people committed under the justification of loving him.

Something quite similar happens with Adrinette. In S5 Adrien mentions that he started to accept his feelings for Marinette from what happened in ‘The Puppeteer 2’, and there's no way this isn't weird. He had feelings for Marinette long before that, but it was that event that led him to accept them. Marinette literally assaults a ‘statue’ just because it looks like Adrien, starts fantasizing about a life together, steals one of his hair and many other weird things, and what's Adrien's response? To say that he fell in love. He literally saw how far Marinette was capable of going because of her obsession with him, and as much as that behaviour was justified with ‘it was a joke’, instead of caring, what he does is fall in love with her... because of her obsessive and bizarre behaviour towards him.

It is honestly quite disappointing to see how Gabriel's manipulation damaged Adrien to the point of leaving him craving only unhealthy relationships because that was his perception of love.

Both victim and perpetrator

Adrien developed a split personality and a taste for taking advantage of people when he is in situations of power. Gabriel turned Adrien into a victim and a perpetrator, the role depending on the situation. When Adrien is the one at a disadvantage, he displays submissive and manageable behaviour. When he has all the power, he has no problem using it selfishly and taking advantage of others. This was taught by Gabriel, from prudence to ruthlessness, are things Adrien learned from him. And in a way that's how Adrien differs from Chat Noir: the power they possess.

Adrien is always at a disadvantage: his life is in the public eye, everything he does is always monitored by his father or his fans, and if he makes a mistake it is very easy for his father to find out and punish him. This is why Adrien, always powerless, forces himself to act submissively. He does not possess the power in such situations, so he can only act as he is expected to act.

As Chat Noir things are quite different, he always has the power. Chat Noir is a superhero, he watches over Paris but no one watches over him, he has freedom, destructive power, a city that depends on him and a partner who needs him to defeat the supervillains. He has the power. And he uses this power to his advantage.

A clear example of this is his tendency to threaten. Adrien has several times been willing to give up his miraculous and even verbally threaten (in a passive-aggressive way) Ladybug just because it bothers him that she has secrets. All of S2 was Adrien threatening to give up his miraculous if Ladybug didn't tell him her secrets, and this behaviour wasn't like ‘we can't keep hiding things from each other anymore, this isn't healthy for me and if we're not going to be honest it's best to just give up’, no, this behaviour was like ‘if you don't tell me what you're hiding, I'll give this up and you see if you can do it all by yourself or if you find me a replacement’. I understand that he was tired of the situation, but manipulation is never justifiable behaviour. Evidence of this is found in episodes such as ‘Syren’, where Adrien even threatens Plagg with give up his Miraculous if he doesn't tell him what Ladybug is hiding.

Another example is ‘Glaciator’, where he invites Ladybug to a dinner and she makes it clear that she already has plans and is unlikely to go. And yet Adrien is self-illusioned, and when his fantasies are shattered by something Ladybug had already warned him would happen, he simply accuses her of mocking him, throws a tantrum, refuses to help with the akuma, and when Ladybug comes up with a good plan to defeat the villain he guilts her by saying: ‘Sorry, Ladybug, it's not cool to play with people's feelings’ when Ladybug never played with his feelings and in fact realised these only minutes ago.

There are many other episodes like these, too many to list. I guess the most notorious ones are ‘NY Special’ (where he has no problem being unfaithful to Kagami) and ‘Lies’ (where he also has no problem being unfaithful, lying to her, trying to provoke akumatizations and so on). His problematic behaviours are not only as Chat Noir, but also as Adrien when he finds himself in relationships where he has the power. In his courtship with Kagami he knows that she is completely in love with him and uses this to his advantage and does truly horrible things like the ones mentioned above without regard for her feelings because he knows or believes that she won't leave him. Something similar happens with his friendship with Chloé, he knows how much Chloé appreciated him and so every time she committed a bad deed he threatened to end their friendship. It's not wrong to want your friend to stop being a shitty person, and it's okay to let him/her know that if he/she continues this stupid behaviour you'll have no choice but to walk away, but the problem with this is that we go from Adrien's genuine concern for Chloé to empty threats just because, in the end, Chloé wouldn't change her behaviour and he wouldn't leave either.

Conclusions

This is not as well written as I would like it to be. I procrastinated for weeks and when I finally decided to write it I no longer had the series so fresh in my memory. I am a teenager with no professional knowledge of psychology who wrote this at 3 a.m. while I was not so sober.

This post is not salt against Adrien/Chat Noir, in all of ‘Miraculous’ there are only two or three characters I hate and none of those are Adrien, so this post is not hate towards him. While I did describe some of his behaviour in a not so nice way, that was not a personal opinion but an analysis. Like when you go to a psychologist and he doesn't give you his personal opinion but a diagnosis, the main difference being that I am not a professional nor do I claim to be one. Anyways, this is a direct attack on Gabriel Agreste for being a shitty person.

As you may have noticed, most of this analysis is based on S1 to S3. While I did mention some episodes from S4 and S5 they were not as relevant, this is because the first 3 seasons are the ones I've seen the most and ergo the ones I remember the most, maybe later (I don't think so) I'll do a part two on S4 and S5.

Finally: my personal opinion on Adrien. He is an amazing character whose development and build goes unnoticed by the fandom, this is probably because it wasn't done on purpose (if this character build was planned it wouldn't be half as good as it is, the writers aren't that talented). Adrien is just a boy, a victim of an abusive home that ingrained several of his father's behaviours within him and he has no ‘true personality’ as this depends on the situation he finds himself in. He acts this way as a method of survival and although it is not right, it is a psychological response and it is not as if he can help it. I'm really happy that the poor boy is free from his abusive father and I hope that in S6 he can be happy and get therapy.

the Harry Potter handsome men’s club

i’m not even kidding, I went on a word search rampage, motivated by an initially serious thought train about how JK Rowling depicts & portrays conventional attractiveness vs. non-attractiveness (inspired by me finally reading the Robert Galbraith books) and how it contributes to her characterizations. It has resulted in this:

The only characters ever outright called “handsome” by either the narration or another character, in the order of “handsome” appearance:

Gilderoy Lockhart: Actually indirectly called handsome: introduced as “very good-looking”; handsomeness only mentioned in that “he didn’t look remotely handsome anymore” and Ron going “*cough*Lockhart*” when accusing Hermione of only liking people (aka Cedric) for handsomeness’ sake.

Tom Riddle. Not introduced as handsome by 12-year-old Harry (16-year old Harry makes up for it by calling young Tom Riddle handsome EVERY time he is mentioned), just as a boy “much taller” than Harry with the same jet black hair. Dumbledore makes the handsome explicit* when at the end of CoS he refers to how most people failed to connect Voldemort to the “clever, handsome boy” Riddle had been.

Sirius Black: Pre-Azkaban, in the wedding picture: “handsome, full of laughter”; his “handsome, laughing face.” In the flashback, after we’re reminded he’s very good-looking he sits around looking: haughty and bored “but handsomely so”. Our last look at him alive is of his “wasted, once-handsome face” (this is where I cry); in the picture on his wall we see Sirius looking “carelessly handsome … slightly arrogant”, and of course break-our-hearts-one-last-time-Resurrection-Stone Sirius looks “tall and handsome” with a grin on his face and even walks handsome, really: “loped with an easy grace.”

Cedric Diggory: uh, Cedric may actually be the best-looking, according to the text.

Cedric alone gets adverbs of degree; he is “extremely handsome” and “exceptionally handsome”, thank you, fourteen-year-old Harry Potter. Cedric also gets called pretty boy at least twice, once by Seamus Finnegan, and once by a jealous Harry in his thoughts. Yet he is one of the few members of this club who shows no signs of a) evil b) vanity or c) arrogance. Cedric is downright lovely; poor Cedric.

Firenze: he’s confirmed as the “handsome centaur” in HBP, but we assumed as much before from Parvati & Lavender, whose giggles are probably the best non-explicit* barometer of male handsomeness in-text.

Bill Weasley: 14-year-old Harry actually calls long-haired Bill “cool”, not handsome. But we gather more information from Fleur’s eyeing him up: aka by “cool”, Harry, I think you meant “hot”, or possibly, since this is UK-set, “fit”. Hot/fit, being of course a distinctive category of literary attractiveness, it can, but does not always, crossover with “handsome”.

Mrs. Weasley (painfully) confirms Bill’s handsomeness after his face is ruined: “very handsome little b-boy”, “always very handsome”. Again, the handsome is there to make us sad- but not too sad this time, since it’s a glorious set-up for Fleur’s epic good-looking-enough-for-the-both-of-us moment of true <3.

Tom Riddle Sr. - the “handsome” Muggle, whose son looks like his “handsome father in miniature”; his handsomeness is both a huge plot point in Merope’s story and further re-emphasis of T.R. Jr.’s own looks.

Gellert Grindelwald - yes, the other Dark Wizard was also a card-carrying member of the handsome club. We first get him stealing the Elder Wand with “delight upon his handsome face”; later as Dumbledore’s “handsome companion,” “merry-faced” and “smiling lazily” in his picture. You wouldn’t remember it from the Very Serious version of the photograph used in the movies, but it’s also noted in the photograph Dumbledore and handsome friend Grindelwald are both “roaring with laughter”.

…which, interesting: the association of handsome + laughter is explicitly connected, repeatedly, with only one other character: Sirius Black.

-and not to go all psychoanalytic literary criticism, but THAT adds an angle to Dumbledore’s distrust of Sirius (offering to be the Potters’ Secret Keeper instead, buying into Pettigrew’s frame job) and how Dumbledore & Sirius have little rapport, especially compared to Dumbledore & anyone else from Sirius’ generation.

Am I making the ridiculous statement that Dumbledore didn’t like Sirius because he was handsome? …actually, sort of, yes.

Keeping in mind that Sirius and James are pretty confirmed to have gone around the school hexing people, that Grindelwald was kicked out of Durmstrange for much-more-extreme “near fatal” attacks on other students, and that Sirius did in fact set a “near fatal” situation up by telling Snape about the tunnel as a prank…

I think there’s a reasonable argument that Dumbledore looked at a clever, handsome boy, and thought of other clever handsome boys he’d known and how they’d turned out- particularly the one who was briefly part of his own laughing double act - and did not trust Sirius Black. And so offered to be the Potters’ Secret Keeper instead. And bought into Pettigrew’s frame job. And even later (in one of Dumbledore’s many What the Hell, Hero moments) letting that whole Sirius-confined-at-Grimmauld-Place situation build, and critiquing his character ten minutes after he’s dead. Sirius is one of the few characters in the series who Dumbledore never seems to give a fair shake, even while able to analyze him to a T…

But I digress, so back to the handsomeness:

runners-up:

11-year-old Dudley Dursley- looking v. “handsome and grown-up” in his uniform, but since it is Aunt Petunia saying so, and Harry is choking on laughter, HEAPS of salt from the narrative here.

Ron Weasley, assured he is “very handsome” by, of all people, Slughorn. Grain of salt for love-potion circumstances, but giggling sixth-years suggest it is not much of an exaggeration.

Regulus Black is “rather less handsome” than Sirius. While not 100% confirming handsomeness, given how often it comes up regarding Sirius, a remaining degree of reasonable handsomeness is implied.

handsome woman’s club:

Madame Maxime! at least three “handsomes” to her name

other “handsome” things: Fawkes except on Burning Day, silver platters, roaring fires, leather-covered books, tawny owls, a Christmas tree, and the face of the “noble-looking” from a distance but up-close vacant wizard of the Fountain of Magical Brethren, etc

*any other male characters’ handsomeness is either implicit, fanon, or movie-driven assumptions. There’s plenty of strong implicit arguments to be made, though, through the lovely showing-not-telling of attractiveness. But no one else is explicitly “handsome”, unless I missed one, in which case, do tell.

generally, though, if you are handsome in a Harry Potter novel, you are either evil or something terrible is going to happen to you. But handsomely so!

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krishnarjunforlife

2 months ago

every time i think book 6 can't get any drarryer i go back thru it and notice something else. just noticed this bit where harry is canonically able to recognize the sound of draco's footsteps.

it could've just as easily been snape walking towards the door. but harry doesn't need to wait for the door to open to know whether it's snape or draco who is walking out. just a split second of hearing draco's particular gait is enough for him to recognize it.

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krishnarjunforlife

1 month ago

Draco Malfoy hated Harry Potter so much that he…

Tried to befriend him in Madam Malkin’s even though he didn’t know who he was at the time, and Harry probably looked a bit raggedy

Tried to befriend him again on the train once he realized who he was

Was so upset that Harry didnt take his hand when they were 11 that he spent most of the next 5 years holding a grudge

Constantly talked about Harry to his friends

Even when he didn’t know Harry was listening, so it’s not like he was just doing it to annoy him

Spent the entire summer between first and second year talking about Harry Potter, to the point that his father actually lost his temper with him because he was so sick of hearing about Harry Potter all the time

Knew a startling amount about Harry despite the fact that they are 1) in different Houses and 2) decidedly not friends

Remember when Rita Skeeter recruited him as a source about Harry Potter and he was actually pretty good at it because he knew so much about Harry’s life?

Remember when everyone thought Harry must be the Heir of Slytherin but Draco knew that couldn’t be the truth because he instantly understood Harry wouldn’t do that?

Started avoiding Harry as soon as he (albeit unwillingly) became a Death Eater, even though then he should’ve wanted to go after Harry more than ever

Failed to seriously harm Harry or deliver him to Voldemort when he had him paralyzed, defenseless, and completely at his mercy on the train at the beginning of 6th year, even though killing or capturing Harry Potter would certainly have saved him and his family from Voldemort’s wrath, and probably would have ensured they received a rich reward beside.

Refused to identify Harry at Malfoy Manor, thus buying him enough time to escape, even though he knew that he was risking certain torture and quite possibly death for both himself and his family

He had Voldemort living in his house. He knew the price he was paying and he knew how valuable delivering Harry Potter could be for him and his family. And his still chose not to.

And he paid the price. Harry could feel Voldemort’s wrath and weeks later at the Battle of Hogwarts Lucius still bore visible marks from what Voldemort did despite the healing powers of magic in that world

Could not harm Harry in the Room of Requirement even though taking him in was probably the last chance he had for salvation for him and his family

Turned his back on the beliefs he had been raised with as soon as he was free to

Yeah. Seems legit.

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krishnarjunforlife

2 months ago

THIS BIT. THIS BIT THO. Because remember, this is from BEFORE Harry even lands on his "Malfoy is a Death Eater” theory. Like. He hasn't even figured it out yet. But he still spends the entire last week of his VACATION thinking about Draco.

He's in denial though. Obviously he's not obsessed with Draco. No. Draco is just objectively a fascinating topic. And therefore it's totally rational to be annoyed that Ron and Hermione don't want to take part in the perfectly normal hobby of discussing Draco Malfoy 24/7. How dare they?

I just know that after drarry finally happens someone asks Ron if seeing the two of them together feels weird and Ron's like 'honestly it was weirder when they weren't together.'

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krishnarjunforlife

2 months ago

So it seems that not only did Harry shift blame away from Draco in book 6 in the immediate aftermath of Dumbledore's death (x) but apparently based on this bit from book 7 it looks like when Ministry officials arrived he didn't implicate Draco at all and instead only gave evidence about Snape's guilt despite the fact that he heard Draco confess to a number of crimes.

The lengths he goes to to shield Draco are actually wild. Guess all our headcanons where he testifies on Draco's behalf don't go far enough lol.

Fanon Harry: Yes Draco made terrible mistakes but he shouldn't go to Azkaban because if you look at the whole context it's clear he was coerced and didn't want to do it and subsequently changed his mind and even risked his life to save mine so he deserves a second chance.

Canon Harry: Idk what you all are talking about. I was on the Astronomy Tower the night Dumbledore died and I only saw Snape. And sure someone Imperiused Rosmerta and made her pass on poisoned mead and a cursed necklace but anyone could've done that. If we had a witness who overheard the perpetrator confess their guilt then we'd know. But. Sadly. We don't. :)

Draco sitting in his own trial listening to Harry's version of events:

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krishnarjunforlife

2 months ago

lmao love how in the fiendfyre scene Ron is so desperately trying to convince Harry to not die for Draco and Harry is not having it.

Ron just like 'oh no. not his Malfoy thing. not NOW. I hate my life.'

What even is this bit lol?

Harry: I hate when my friends are in danger.

Harry when Draco's in trouble: ... but it's a risk we have to take.

The fact that this is canon is WILD.

Harry: *a full paragraph of thoughts about Draco*

Ron: *practically in tears* Please. Now is not the time. Can you at least introspect about him when were are not LITERALLY IN A ROOM THAT IS ON FIRE?! PLEASE????

Harry: Where's Draco? Burning to death is such a terrible way to go. I can't bear it. I must find him.

Ron: Remember me and Hermione? Your best friends in the whole world? WHO ARE CURRENTLY ALSO ABOUT TO BURN TO DEATH IF YOU DON'T LEAVE?!?!

And then he finds Draco holding Goyle who's unconscious and he just tries to grab Draco and ignores Goyle. Even though it would make sense to help the unconscious person first. Goyle probably only lives because Draco won't let go of him so finally Ron and Hermione come and get him so that Draco can get on Harry's broom.

Ron & Hermione must be so Done by that point.

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krishnarjunforlife

1 month ago

Ok, so here we go.

Today I lost someone from my family and I also started shit in here without meaning to. Since I can’t bring people back from the dead, I can at least clear the air with the person I offended (and I already did it). So anons, please stop sending me messages of support or calling me a bitch. It literally makes no difference to me.

What I would like to do then is share my views on the topic because I do think we need to discuss it. It’s extremely relevant right now.

And I do this because it’s what I should have done from the beginning: express my POV without lowkey saying “you’re wrong”. It’s a lovely process to be part of this fandom and we can disagree (as we usually do in everything) but respect each other’s POVs.

So here’s my personal experience with “Draco Malfoy is an analogy for Nazi youth” and I hope you can share yours and we can grow together.

It is common knowledge that the Death Eaters are an analogy to Nazis. I mean, it’s freaking obvious. So yes, sometimes I find it bizarre when people romanticise them and tattoo dark marks and shit. At the same time, though, I understand that fiction is not real life, so that doesn’t really mean they are Nazi sympathisers. Actually, most HP readers are just the opposite.

Now talking about Draco specifically: for a looooong time I felt like SHIT for liking this ship. It’s nothing new if you follow my personal posts. I used to literally ask God to cure me from this disorder. So yeah, highkey self-loathing.

The thing that made me make peace with this pairing was Deathly Hallows. I don’t think I would still be a shipper without it. Both because it developed their relationship and because it gave me a glimpse of hope for Draco’s redemption.

I love Draco. He’s one of my favourite characters in the whole of Literature. I am literally obsessed with him. And at the same time I am a crazy activist who wants to punch Nazis in the face. So how can I be both?

First of all, because I have so clear to me the difference between fiction and real life. And that’s something that I can only vouch for myself. Young girls don’t always have that. Even 40-something women don’t sometimes (50 Shades of Fake-BDSM, anyone?).

So yeah, I get why it’s a problem.

JKR said that several times and, although the way she said it was not cool at all (and she blocked a bunch of real HP fans for asking her about Draco and complaining about the way she was saying things) I can still see why she’s concerned.

But to be honest, I think Draco is not the best example of Nazi or alt-right in HP that people love and admire. Snape, for instance, never had real redemption. He was just in love with this ONE PERSON. Also, he was a 30-something yo man, not a 16 yo boy. And still JKR herself loves him.

So I don’t see how she really understands the problem. Her issue is with Drarry in particular - and she apparently changed her mind before Cursed Child, so really, it’s in the past.

Back to the issue: Draco is indeed a born and raised Nazi in that analogy. I do think we have to be careful when discussing fiction, even when problematic, because it’s really not the same as real life. But I can see where this point comes from. And I respect it, because I saw it like that for a long time.

How did I forgive him?

I am 25 yo right now and let me tell you, I was a child when I was 16. I didn’t know ANYTHING. In fact, my bullies/enemies didn’t know anything as well. I actually am friends with one nowadays and he’s a completely different person (a much better person). So yes, 16 is early to have a completely formed character.

From HBP you can see his redemption being slowly added into the main plotline and it’s a beautiful thing to see. Loving Drarry is about loving redemption and coming-of-age and to me that’s one of the most beautiful and addictive aspects of this pairing. It wouldn’t be the same at all without it.

But to be honest, in my head any fanfic I read has this same POV, so even if they don’t address it throughout the fanfic, to me it happened at some point. Because I do believe people need to address the things that happen to them before they can move on.

And come on, pretty dark shit happened between them. Harry tried to kill Draco, Draco tried to kill Ron AND Dumbledore. It’s something very dark and in MY personal experience, I would have to deal with it to be able to look the other person in the eye.

So yeah, I agree that to me, right now, these kinds of fanfics are the most relatable and I almost don’t consider anything else plausible TO ME. But also, if you feel forgetting is better, hey, be my guest. Liking fluffy Draco doesn’t mean you love Nazis. I think that should be obvious to you guys.

That was my point the whole time and I think she never said anything different from that: liking Draco DOES NOT make you a Nazi supporter. But thinking about it and trying to explore real redemption can be the best way to make peace with the actual political climate and our favourite characters.

And also, PLEASE try not to start shit with each other in here. Just because we disagree about something, it doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. It’s not like any of you are actual Nazi supporters, right? (In that case, please fuck off forever).

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krishnarjunforlife

4 months ago

Guys... i just watched s6e1 and i havent seen anyone talk about it but...

does Lila have DID/OSDD?

(season 6 spoilers under cut)

Like... yall heard what she said there:

Guys... I Just Watched S6e1 And I Havent Seen Anyone Talk About It But...

Us.

She said "us". She didn't have to say that but she did--

Like... we all know she goes by different names (i.e. Lila, Cerise, Iris) but what if those are her alter's names? What if it's not just some disguise/fake identity, but instead actually her alters??

And also when she akumatized the villain there are multiple voices. (Multiple alters?) And one of them sounded male.

(sorry for bad quality)

Male alter?? Maybe??

And also... the way she akumatizes the people... its like she creates an inner world for them where they can converse, unlike Gabriel who just talks. Like... guys... 👀

but idk this is just a theory lol

https://www.tumblr.com/kittenninja14/731916269075480576/hey-yall-i-just-found-this-incredible-video-and

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krishnarjunforlife

4 months ago

OH MY GOSH! Season 6 is here! And Cerise/Lila whoever was super creepy and amazing!

„Nothing. Hah. Nothing. You know nothing about me, about us, about them. I‘m everywhere. I‘m nowhere. I‘m a chameleon. Nowhere. You won‘t get anywhere.“

——~~~——

Not gonna lie, I really don‘t like what they did to Marinette. The girl is struggling…. We get that…. But did they really have to make her act like this? She can‘t even really keep it together als Ladybug anymore. She can be lucky that the miraculous prevents people from noticing the obvious similarities.

But back to Cerise! We don‘t see her face in the entire episode. We only have her voice but that’s enough already. After all, sound is almost more important than visuals. What would Micheal Myers be without the iconic sound. Try it. Mute the movies. It won‘t work.

But anyway. I wonder, when she akumatized that girl, this is how she handles things. She just talks and offers a solution like a good friend. Siding with her victim. She doesn’t even demand anything. No „I’ll give you that power. In return I want Ladybugs and Chat Noirs miraculous!“ No. None of that!

Also, the camera zoomed in, almost like we were going into the victims head. Is this what actually happens to you, when you get akumatized? Bah! Imagine having Gabriel in your head like that! No sir. Thank you!

Could it be, that up until now, we saw the whole process from the outside? That would be so cool. It would also mean that Cerise clearly….. goes deeper that Gabriel could.

Also, we learned something very important. Apparently, they don‘t know better yet, Cerise akumatizes people randomly without the goal to attack. She just lets them cause chaos and the heroes come out. At first.

We also learn that Cerise writes EVERYTHING down!! Like girl, be careful with your hand! That must hurt! Also she technically creates tons of evidence. If she looses ONE of those notebooks, it’s game over. Unless she writes in code….. would not be surprised.

Also the end of the episode, where she is in the café „Nothing. Hah. Nothing. You know nothing about me, about us, about them. I‘m everywhere. I‘m nowhere. I‘m a chameleon. Nowhere. You won‘t get anywhere.“

I am not sure if she completely lost it NOW, if she ALWAYS was crazy like this, or, with her disguises and all, she is completely stating the truth.

But I know one thing.

I LOVE HER FOR IT!! I can‘t wait to actually see her! Also it seems like she upgraded her miraculous, just like Marinette did with all the others. At least that’s what I heard, could be a leak. She got the guardians book too after all from Nathalie in that one episode, together with all of Gabriel’s secrets.

So yeah… the new season started…. A bit meh. I really wish they could have given us the REAL first episode. But it seems like there is something wrong with the continuity anyway. Alya and Nino interviewed Sublime‘s mom, but she didn’t appear yet…. Strange….

But anyway, we might be missing some lore here.

I am still excited for more.

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krishnarjunforlife

2 months ago

Can we talk about the scene where Draco gets dragged into Slughorn's party by Filch? Because that whole sequence is honestly wild from a drarry pov.

Draco of course was lurking around doing stuff for his mission - presumably he was on his way to the Room of Requirement. (Or else he wanted to steal supplies from Slughorn's office and forgot about the party).

Of course, he can't admit that so he says he was trying to gatecrash and it backfires a bit because Slughorn invites him to stay, which is the opposite of what he wants. No one else notices this though, except for Harry who sees how he really feels despite the fact that the fleeting look on his face is just there for a fraction of a second. Look at this.

Can We Talk About The Scene Where Draco Gets Dragged Into Slughorn's Party By Filch? Because That Whole

Harry immediately can tell exactly how Draco's feeling despite the fact that the look is gone so fast even he barely has time to register it. It must've literally been a millisecond that the look was on Draco's face. But that was enough for Harry.

And then of course this bit is immediately followed by Harry immediately noticing that's Draco's skin is a slightly different shade than usual - a fact that NO ONE else seems to pick up on, indicating it's a very subtle change. AND the lighting level is low.