#'but he betrayed Voldemort' if he hated Voldemort's ideology then why did he join

[here-for-thelols]

What if I said that all Slytherins ( in the HP universe not irl ) are bad people except Andromeda tonks , Albus Severus Potter , Scorpius Malfoy and Horace slughorn.

[midnightstargazer]

thoughts on sunshine james

I mean, it's not canon. I can see where it comes from, but it's not the James we see in the few actual flashbacks of him.

James, in canon, was very loyal and selfless towards the people he loved the most. He treated Sirius like a brother and welcomed him into his family's home when Sirius ran away. He accepted Remus when he found out he was a werewolf and went to great lengths to help him. He fought and died in a war that he could have opted out of, probably for Lily's sake and because it was the right thing to do. And, of course, he never questioned whether he could trust Peter, to disastrous results. This is where the sunshine characterization comes from, I think.

But he was also someone who had very black and white ideas about right and wrong. The other Marauders + Lily showed a capacity to see gray area when it came to the people they were closest to, or just in general.

Lily was friends with Snape for years, even after he started hanging out with the future Death Eaters' gang, even knowing he was using Dark magic.

Remus understood that the Marauders' bullying was wrong, but did not stand up to them about it and still saw them as good people. Later in life, he was able to tolerate Snape and trust Dumbledore's judgment on him.

Sirius gave us the line "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters" and was pretty forgiving in his assessment of Regulus ("stupid idiot" is a very mild insult to be immediately followed by "he joined the Death Eaters")

Peter - well, Peter betrayed them to Voldemort, so obviously he wasn't very concerned with morality.

James, on the other hand? Saw the world in black and white, not a lot of nuance. He absolutely despised pure-blood rhetoric and Dark Arts and wanted nothing to do with people who aligned themselves with those things. No exceptions. And while he was generous and loyal towards his friends, he had no problem being cruel to people he deemed bad. It's very strongly implied that his reasons for targeting Snape were connected to Snape's interest in the Dark Arts and use of the word "mudblood." He felt like it was acceptable to bully Snape because Snape was not a good person.

(I think there was definitely also some personal dislike involved, which would have existed regardless, hence the "it's more the fact that he exists" comment. But still, Remus and Sirius seem pretty convinced James hating the Dark Arts had a lot to do with it).

This sort of "it's okay to do bad things to bad people" mentality is pretty much opposite of what sunshine James usually ends up looking like in fanon. Largely because sunshine James is usually paired with Regulus. And, obviously, to make that work, even with the softer versions of Regulus that usually go with the ship, James has to be a very forgiving sort of person who's willing to see nuance and give people a chance, not someone who takes a hard line stance against blood purist ideology or Dark Arts.

This is why Jegulus doesn't work for me unless it's very far removed from canon. Because if Voldemort exists, and the war is happening, and they both have their canon views on blood purity and Dark Arts and join their respective sides, I just don't see it. If Regulus survived his trip to the lake and was actively working against Voldemort in the long term, then maybe. If his views also changed quite a bit. But even then, I still think James would be starting with a negative opinion of him and it would take a lot to get him to reconsider. I'm not saying Regulus doesn't deserve a second chance, or doesn't deserve to be loved by a good person. It's just... not how I see James at all.

tl;dr - canon James is a good and loyal friend but not an all-loving ray of sunshine who wants to see the best in everyone. The sunshine characterization makes Jegulus possible with a closer-to-canon plot and setting, but it isn't really compatible with James's canon characterization.

[grimmgossip]

Sitting down at a small table in the back corner of the Three Broomsticks, it was unsurprising that Pen was perfectly punctual. The tall figure was as imposing as ever, but the time spent in Azkaban was apparent in the gaunt pull to their skin, the dark circles and the barely hidden shake to their fingers.

The longer we spoke, the more haunted they became, as the memories were pushed to the surface, forced to relive the pain and terror within the four walls of the looming prison. 

Q: How did it feel to have your own father try to put you away for life?  It did not surprise me... He cared only for his own reputation, not for mum and I. I hated him. I’m relieved that he’s gone… He surely would have seen me die in Azkaban.

Q: Is it true you have no choice but to live with your mother for the rest of your life? Yes, according to the conditions of my release. This is an easy condition for me to meet… I have no intention of leaving Penny to live alone.

Q: Why did you choose to end the esteemed Crouch name?  I wanted to separate myself from Sir’s (Crouch Senior’s) memory. The family name would have ended with me regardless. I don’t want children.

Q: What did you miss the most when you were locked up?  My loved ones. They were constantly on my mind… The dementors feasted on my memories of them to the point where I feared I might forget their faces. Nothing could be worse.

Q: Did you ever think you wouldn't get out?  I was certain that I would die in that cell. I nearly did.

Q: What, exactly, did He Who Must Not Be Named have you do?  The specifics of that will remain between Voldemort and I, forever.

Q: Are there Death Eaters out there now we didn't know about?  Obviously. There were many more of us than the handful who joined me in Azkaban.

Q: What are your thoughts on blood status? You joined the Death Eaters, but your own mother, who you claim to love, is a muggleborn - why side with the Dark Lord? I’m indifferent on matters of blood status... My loyalty was to Voldemort specifically- He saw through my mask and valued the truth of my capability. He was a better father than Sir had ever been to me... I would have supported him in anything he wanted, no matter the ideology. We had an understanding when it came to mum. I love her and she serves me… As long as she did not fight against us she would be kept safe for me, and I could trust that she wouldn’t. She’s generally not the fighting sort.

Q: Would you return to being a Death Eater? There is no reason to continue without Voldemort. Who would the effort be for, if not him?

Q: What was it like to be in an Azkaban cell? The cells are small, cold, and sometimes wet. The bars in what little window there is allow wind, rain, and all other unpleasant weather inside… There are no beds, only wooden benches too small to lay across. The dementors wander freely through the halls and in and out of cells as they please. They swarm around anyone who actively has a happy thought. 

Q: How did it feel to have dementors around you all of the time? The cold misery they bring lingers… It lingers in me even now. It’s harder to feel warm since my release.

Q: Igor Karkarov’s testimony against you played a huge part in your conviction; How did it make you feel to have a trusted ally throw you under the bus? I trusted Karkarov based on the merit that Voldemort trusted him. I never questioned Voldemort’s decision to allow him to know of me and my work… He’s foolish to have betrayed the trust he had in him. Q: How did your time in Azkaban change your outlook? My priorities have changed, at the same time as they have remained the same as they always were. While before my conviction I had no fear of imprisonment, now I do fear the reality of an Azkaban cell.

Q: Do you believe that Azkaban was an effective punishment, or has it become outdated? As a legal form of torture and murder, it’s extremely effective. The misery contained within the walls of Azkaban prison is greater than anything the Death Eaters achieved… Were the dementors on our side things would have ended differently.

Q: What are your big plans for the future now that you’re free? I will focus on taking care of what’s mine. I will avoid any possibility of ever being thrown into another cell, as I wouldn’t survive it a second time.

--

And after an endless amount of drinks and an amount of time that was lost track of, that's where we left it! So there you have it, an interesting story this reporter was happy to be able to break for you, readers. 

If anyone else has a story worth telling, please don't hesitate to reach out and maybe I'll treat you to lunch, too! 

-- Rita Skeeter

[vajazzly]

alright first off -

having critical thinking skills isnt a privilege - regulus NOT having to critically think about his politics is actually the privilege there. despite going to a school where he interacts with halfbloods, muggleborns, etc., not only attending classes with them but also living with them, eating meals with them, playing sports with them, he chooses not to acknowledge their humanity or right to live and instead join a comically evil alt-right hate group.

and why does he join the death eaters? orion and walburga may have thought voldemort had the right idea, but they werent death eaters themselves. in fact, the closest relative regulus has who is directly involved in the war is - you guessed it - sirius!

the best explanation i can come up with for why regulus, who was in a position of immense privilege and could have completely stayed out of the war as many pureblood families did, would join an alt-right militia is that they were winning. joining up with the winning side would certainly mean benefits for not only regulus but the house of black in general, and regulus doesnt HAVE to think critically about the politics of what hes joining, so he doesnt! because joining voldemort benefits HIM.

and thats the crux of my issue with regulus. because even when regulus betrays voldemort, the catalyst isnt - i dont know - murdering muggles or muggleborns, its the realization that voldemort is trying to become immortal. that means that no matter what happens, in a world where voldemort succeeds regulus and his house will always be voldemorts subjects, always ruled over as opposed to ruling, and ruled by someone who has stepped outside of the bounds of what as seen as acceptable amounts of comic evil.

once again: regulus had more of an issue with voldemorts desire to become immortal than his politics.

i do agree with the point that hogwarts not teaching social sciences or humanities is a problem. that being said, the students live, for nine months out of the year, in a microcosm of wizarding society. admission to hogwarts is not based on blood status, socieconomic status, or any other factor besides magical ability (there are issues with that approach to admissions too, but i digress). in the books the students are depicted as being politically aware as early as their first year, and this is primarily because the issues of the wizarding world, especially when concerning blood status, are very real for them. hermione, for example, is not afforded the privilege of being politically unaware because she has slurs thrown at her and others belittling her constantly as early as second year, and this discrimination is being primarily perpetrated not by teachers or other adults but by other students her own age, who are able to parrot the things they learn from their parents without critical thought because they are coming from privilege.

its fair to say that hogwarts has more of a responsibility to teach its students to think critically about their politics, but its also fair to point out that developing ones politics is a personal responsibility, especially when the plan is to violently impose those politics on others. also, critical thinking isnt something people really learn through school, ive found - instead its a skill honed from life experiences, and pondering the consequences of those life experiences. regulus had plenty of opportunities to think about his own politics critically because he was surrounded by people who would be negatively impacted by his ideology EVERY DAY for SEVEN YEARS, but thinking of muggleborns as people was inconvenient for him, so he chose not to.

thats why regulus is a follower piece of shit to me, not a tragic figure. hes afforded every opportunity to think for himself, but doing so is inconvenient, so he doesnt. and the one time he does, its not spurred on by any greater moral epiphany, but because voldemorts desire for immortality and willingness to do what it takes to achieve it was morally wrong by his previously held conservative values.

edit: oh yeah, i forgot to add reguluss other main issue with voldemort: he hurt kreacher, his house elf, who, sure, was reguluss friend, but its not like regulus was a likely champion of house elf rights - no, regulus was mad because voldemort hurt someone he saw as being his property, and that pissed him off.

edit 2: oh yeah also remember the voldy vision board on his wall???? kpop stan behavior for a blood supremacist is his most prominent canon personality trait.

less regulus being an intellectual sad boy more regulus being the most brain-dead follower piece of shit ever. hes in a cult. a pyramid scheme. a frat. finance. he failed every humanities course he ever took because of his sheer inability to analyze anything or think for himself. all he wants is for someone to tell him what to do!!!!

[hedgiwithapen]

So, after hearing a rant on Snape, I noticed something. Movie Snape seems to have been... shall we say, dialed back. A lot of the worst things he did were cut from the movies. So, if I recall correctly, then just going off the movies, Snape was an emo kid who turned bitter when his crush rejected him for his bully, but he still loves her. Ok, tragic and sympathetic, if you ONLY go off the movies. I'll be over here in the group who's read the books and knows he's a horrible, petty, dick.

if you go by the movies only, a third of the characters don’t exist and the potters look like they were in their forties when they were murdered rather than being, y’know, 21. tiny babies. if someone’s only seen the movies, they do not get to talk accurately about the deeper nuances, much less declare someone a hero.  they can do it all they like but they will be wrong. 

god i will never stop being angry about snape. I hated him as a child, because I was the victim of a lot of bullying and while i had some teachers that, shamefully, contributed to that, i had good teachers too! so I knew that Good Teachers do not threaten to poison their student’s pets. [Elle Wood’s voice] they just don’t. a good teacher should never even bring up the concept of poisoning a struggling student’s pet. like. how the fuck. why the fuck. if you have a struggling student you fucking help them. assign the kid a damn tutor. i’m sure you have an upperclassman you can force to tutor neville, a ravenclaw or some shit. and his shit with hermoine vs the slytherins.. I was so furious as a tiny kiddo, and still am. I remember classmates who bullied me getting away with it all because people in authority covered it up (including That One Time Someone Tried to Kill Me) and to see snape doing that just...god i hated him. I waited, book after book, for someone to call him out. i insisted to anyone who listened that Snape Was A Bad Dude.

and then, oh god, let me tell you, he killed dumbledore. Snape fucking filled Dumbledore and i mean yeah I cried that book was sad but I was fucking gleeful because AT LAST no one could tell me, not even my own father, that Snape was a Good Person (tm)

and then the straight white boy bullshit in book seven. fuck that noise. he literally calls her slurs that he was /calling other people/ and hanging out with, you know, wizard supremacists and had expressed interest in a group that was not only calling for the murder of lily and most of her friends and her entire family but was /already starting to kill people/ 

and he has the gall to feel betrayed by her, to be upset with her, when she tells him “ my dude, you have no ideological issue with genocide of everyone like me, maybe this whole friendship thing isn’t gonna work out”

and here is what’s telling. what does snape do after lily calls him out for. like. you know. hanging out with deatheaters in training and using slurs against her? does heA) apologize and mean it, distancing himself from the fucking genocidal creeps that want to murder her and her friends, realizing how fucked up it is and throwing himself into heliping the Order and championing the rights of muggles and muggle borns everywhere out of earnest understanding that he fucked up

B) apologize and awkwardly try to distance himself from the fucking genocidal creeps, not joining the war but not fighting for Tom “I though elizabeth bathory had a good plan” Riddle, mostly because he hopes doing this bare minimum of not being an asshole will make lily love him

or C) apologize but then actively join voldemort for like three years at the height of voldemort’s terror, assisting in god knows what capacity of god knows how much torture and murder, actively betraying some unknown sap of a baby-- willingly! totally chill with a baby dying because why the fuck not?? 

the answer is C. i will never understand how anyone can see that he picked C and still think he’s a good person. 

and even then, even then. he doesn’t give a shit about, you know, innocent baby, or any of the others voldemort wants murdered. he doesn’t even genuinely care about lily’s happiness. spare her life, kill the rest of everyone she loves. hat the fuck do you think that’s gonna accomplish, snape? “ oh my husband, whom i loved, and my infant child, along with all of my family and friends, are murdered. Sev, good to see you, wanna bang?” like. Snape, this is why you weren’t in ravenclaw. 

(it’s been a while but they kept a lot of the lily snape shit in the movies and I feel like if that’s the case people should be able to infer that whole a/b/c choice. also casting Alan Rickman, whom many of my classmates thought was hot, was probably a bad move. like great actor, do not get me wrong, but they needed to cast some greasy haired 30 year old. i guarantee if they had, people would have been less conned into thinking snape was a good person) 

sorry nonnie, i just have a lot of fucking feelings about snape.