#and everything genuinely is his fault bc why else would he listen to an evil cat in starclan

[perenlop]

havent read tbc but i think its so funny how shadowsight seems to be popular to the people i follow just because “the narrative treats him like all the female characters do so hes an honorary girlie”

[nexyra]

Okay so This is just a way to let out some frustration so I can put it out there and stop mulling on it bc I'm bad at this sort of stuff - Feel free to ignore it

I'm putting this under Read More; if your fav past-time is to call anyone who likes Ironwood's character or was disappointed by his V8 turn to villainy a stupid bootlicker who "should have seen the signs he was always a tyrant !!" please don't interact with this post. You're ultimately free to think what you want but honestly I see enough of that in the main tag when left alone, I don't need it on my blog it doesn't make me feel good.

Anyone else... well you can read if you're interested but you don't have to either. Feel free to respectfully disagree though, I'm not that bullheaded that I can't partake in a friendly argument =) I'll just be listing some things about Ironwood's reading by the FNDM who get old or draining as someone who doesn't like the V8-characterization they went with

Can people please stop just... copy/pasting real world issues on a world/characters that have nothing to do with them or a completely different context ?

Like,, I genuinely try to educate myself on real-world issues. I know I'm rather privileged so I try to listen and hear out people who speak out about the issues they live through day by day. I know why the "ACAB" moniker exists. I understand the problem that lies within the american police system (and likely other countries as well). I see why the army, on our blue planet, is criticized & its many failings. Etc, the list can go on...

But I'm sorry to say, Remnant isn't OUR Earth. Their Army's primary job is to fight actual evil soulless monsters, not people. The Ace Opps or Huntsmen are not an organization directly inherited from slave-hunting groups. James Ironwood isn't the US army general bombing Middle East. Clover Ebi isn't the racist cop you want in prison. So WHY are they treated as such by so many people ? Stories are not a 1-1 where you can take everything you know and just apply it to a completely different world.

Has Atlas been presented as a country that suffers from racism & classism ? Certainly. Has it be shown this way ? That's already more debatable since the only racist arguments we got were in Mantle (which is the city we're supposed to be rooting for so that's a weird choice but eh it's whatever). Are the characters, as persons, shown to evoke these issues in a way that deserve our scorn ? Not really.

Is Ironwood depicted as particularly racist for example ? I wouldn't say so seeing as one (or more considering Tortuga) of his Ace-Opps are Faunus & it seems perfectly accepted; and he hates Jacques Schnee's guts. So why does he get to shoulder all of our real-world issues as if he was responsible for them, in a context where (pre V8) his army had most likely never killed anything else than Grimm and was shown to elicit very positive reactions from most of the population (V3) ? (In direct contrast to the polarization that the US army might evoke for example.)

You can totally hate Ironwood because of the feelings he evoke, the trope he stems from or the parallels to be made. That doesn't mean however, that he IS truly guilty of every one of OUR world issues (pre-V8)

Just because classism is prevalent in Atlas society does not make Ironwood the figurehead & leader of this issue.

Is classism an issue in Atlas ? Yes. That's been made clear because of Mantle's state as well as Jacques Schnee entire existence & even Cinder's backstory. Does that mean every single one of Ironwood's decisions reeks of classism ? NO

Trust me, as someone who found Ironwood's V8 characterization not... well-executed & too much; there's nothing more annoying than being assaulted by posts about his fall going "it was so obvious !! look at -" only for them to then list reasons in a really biased way or even headcannons based on (again) irl problems. An exemple...

Reasons his turn was good that I see thrown around : "Ironwood left Mantle behind because he only wanted to save the rich. He's a selfish coward & an asshole !"

What we were actually given : "Ironwood suffers from PTSD, and faced with Salem's imminent arrival, he tried to save what he was CERTAIN to be able to protect aka the flying city and all the people on it including Mantle evacuees. There is absolutely no text backing the idea that he wanted to leave with Atlas because it's rich. We could even suppose that he would have left with the 'poor' Mantle if it was the flying city and rich people were hanging safely on the ground. There is indeed an issue with Atlas & Mantle disparity, but Ironwood isn't directly responsible for it."

Does that make his decision to leave Mantle behind a morally right one ? That's of course NOT what I'm saying. The situation is still very ambiguous. But the classism theme has NO place here.

"Ironwood leads Atlas & Mantle. As such, he inherently holds responsability for the issues plaguing it." THIS is an acceptable reading according to me. I would probably argue that even if Ironwood's the only Atlas leader we're shown; he actually only oversees the military & academy (where we haven't ever seen classism issues), so putting Atlas' classism issues on him still doesn't sound fair to me. However the idea & argument is sound.

Acknowledging only how his actions look/the tyrannical surface reading and not the reasonnable justifications or glimpses we were given (pre-V7) of Ironwood being more than his trope

I'll probably stop after this one, but the last thing that is both tiring & annoying after too much of it; is seeing people boil down all of Ironwood's character to the most basic summary, inherently written to paint him in a bad line. And then saying that everything led up to his downfall by using these watered-down versions of the show's events to justify it. Or worse (imo), saying that people who are not satisfied with his V8 characterization that THEY don't understand how good a character he is and don't really appreciate him.... All the while only ever highlighting his characters flaws. Please stop this.

"Ironwood brought an army to the peace Olympics why are you surprised he turned out this way ?" ==> Ironwood brought an army to a country where the civilians visibly have no issue with said-army, to protect a peaceful event that he KNOWS to be targeted by foes. It's definitely overzealous & his conviction that threats should be dealt with by blunt force IS one of his flaws; but pretending that he did it for fun or because he's a tyran is just as misplaced.

"Ironwood said he'd shoot Qrow if he were one of his men why are you surprised he shot Oscar ?" ==> Do I really need to flip through every joke in this show and consider it as absolute truth & proof that the character would enact these words if given the occasion; even when we're shown with certainty that they actually don't mean it ? (IW hugging Qrow to welcome him, refusing to attack Qrow when he's certain Qrow IS attacking him...)

"Ironwood has his military all over Mantle, there's a curfew, all of this is tyrannical why are you surprised he's also down for genocide" ==> Damn, it sure is criminal to have Mantle defended from the litteral monsters roaming inside & out, and to make sure with a curfew that the people are not at risk during the night. I wonder if any recent events could make us reconsider our stance on how evil a enforced curfew is. Mhmmm maybe a pandemic ? Nah I must be imagining things. For real though, at what point did Tyrian's framing/lies (IW has his soldiers all over Mantle because of politics/he's a tyran who refuses opposition) became the truth of the situation for the FDNM too ? Again Mantle's situations SUCK, and that's a problem in itself. Making up problematic reasoning for the situation is dishonest though.

To end this, I'll just make clear. I do not condone any of Ironwood's actions post-V7. I don't think he had to be the big hero of the Atlas arc. Nor that he was without faults. I merely think that he'd have been a better antagonist than villain. And that it'd have been nice to keep the ambiguity/morally greyness that surrounds him; the knowledge that he's TRYING hard to do what's best for everyone; that he has good intentions. That he cares about individuals too to a lesser degree, and that he had people who cared about him as a person.

For short... Ironwood as an antagonist with understandable issues, flaws & failures; making questionable choices but with good intentions ? Hell yeah. Ironwood as a villain, more irredeemable than Hazel, willing to kill people for NO reason or even wipe out a city ? I'm not convinced.

[loveablehands]

RED GUARDIAN. absence makes the heart grow fonder.

there’s a reason why natasha & yelena knew where alexei was being kept: and it’s not just bc they’re spies and/or because it’s easily accesible information.

alexei genuinely tried contacting them multiple times. to the point of excess. and he succeeded, multiple times, enough to get the information to them about where he is, where they could find him, in a top secret government prison.

did he love them, as children? a good question, as he was not supposed to, was never supposed to. they were girls---and their organization treats girls, especially young girls, as trash that is made useful by becoming objectified murder dolls.

and alexei... he is, at his core, a self-centered, selfish and vain kind of man that often times feeds into the misogyny despite or maybe because of his tankie status. he was born for violence, he was born for great feats of heroism and patriotism and, while he believes in an end to capitalism and that the west is altogether evil---he is prone to chauvinism and violence & wanting glory above justice, action above kindness, immediate satisfaction and validation over true relationships.

melina and him were never more intimate than they needed to be, and he never wanted to adopt children in the fist place---always thought that if he was able to have children (as he too was sterilized by the serum) he would want little alexeis running around with his face & blood, and most of the time he spent with his ‘family’ were literal outings where they would PRETEND to be a middle class american family, doing things he hated at malls and museums and top secret photo studios in yelena’s most treasured memories, but doing much, much less intimate and vulnerable and fun things than that on average.

natasha & melina talk about how the photographs of their holidays in their scrapbook were all fake and there weren’t even any presents in the boxes, and yet natasha still experienced joy at this memory (likely bc while they had little in common and were very little like areal family---melina & alexei’s great senses of humor shined right through and made it fun for their children, and yelena’s childlike joy was infectious, but still). likewise, for the less than three years they were together---every outing and time spent together for milestones and major events was meant to be as empty and american as possible, even if it didn’t feel that way bc they tried to make it seem real and fun for the girls. even when alexei says goodbye to his girls---it is not with his real, true voice, his real, true accent. he is pantomiming an american father. he is not permitted even to tell yelena where she comes from, much less any stories about his own father, his own family, his own pride.

still, alexei and melina were mostly all alone in ohio, in a time before the internet and iphones so readily connected people across countries and borders. they would both spend a lot of time waiting for orders in discrete locations---wanting to hear from the people who raised them---who FELT like family, who FELT like friends. there were other families just like theirs---but spread so far apart, they felt completely alone sometimes, and trapped with each other, trapped with two little girls who they were not TAUGHT to love, who they were not taught to raise. they were forced to deal with the day-to-day aspect of raising them AND training them regardless. and in these moments, melina and alexei and natasha and yelena all found a strange kind of love, a dysfunctional kind of love, a camp kind of love where alexei and melina used their sense of humor to cope with this leave it to beaver lifestyle and made something special and warm about it.

because at his core, alexei has always had the wry, silly dad kind of humor. the kind of dad that sticks his tongue out at babies and infants and makes them laugh like no one else can, especially after an argument. who is thoughtful while still being rude, who is gentle while still being moody.

alexei doesn’t know if he loved his girls while they were truly his girls. not enough to count. not enough to save them from himself and every other man in russia.

but after the events of the opening---he was basically thrown in prison almost immediately after. and he went from having the world at his beck and call, to having only three people to care about and who cared about him---to having no one, no one at all, being a total joke in the prison.

and he just. kept checking up on all of them as much as he could. he would reach out to them almost constantly. mostly melina---to see if she could get him out of there. but as natasha and yelena grew in notoriety----well, he started asking them for favors too, interspersed between telling them how proud he is of them. AND HE GENUINELY IS PROUD of the great things they’ve done for the country, and how those have become his achievements when he COULD NOT make his own achievements. his girls, his achievements. their trauma, his pride.

getting in contact with them honestly isn’t easy--and it hurts, when he hears nothing back, but he shakes it off and keeps trying, keeps listening to tales of their latest exploits, and then, embellishing on them in his own stories. they’re giants in his head, heroes, the avenger and the greatest child soldier ever.

when he says they came! he’s not honestly surprised. he’s surprised they didn’t come SOONER. he never gave up hope, not truly.

bc in his head---they ARE his girls. he’s spent so much time alone, so much time talking about them. he’s grown quite fond of them and the fantasy of a family he has in his head of them, just like the fantasy in his head of beating captain america, of being the red guardian. he has a dream they will become a real superhero family team like the incredibles or something. he’s happy to see them. not sure why they’re not happy to see him.

he’s developed a relationship with them in his head that does not exist, and is too stubborn and willfully delusional to pretend to be normal---pretend that he ACTUALLY thinks he could have POSSIBLY hurt them, pretend that he actually thinks he wasn’t the best thing that could have happened to them. until the end.

they are a real family to him, now. the closest thing he’s ever had to one, and in his head and his heart, he spent every moment with them, slinging around tall tales to his fellow inmates in between tattoos to the point they might as well be real.

and, like a true, real dark bad dad humor fashion, every trauma he’s inflicted on them wasn’t that bad even if it IS his fault, and is, in his version of the truth, actually quite funny! something to drink and laugh about! you’re old enough to drink and laugh now, aren’t you, girls? lets drink and laugh then. you know this reminds me of a time when my father---

(he might not apologize that well for everything, but he’s at least willing to go against the people who put him in prison that he’s devoted his life to, and that’s something, right?)

[poisonepel]

Chemistry Between the Dorm Leaders and a Hero-Inspired S/O— (pt.1)

After that Snow White request, I had a small idea... so here are headcanons for each dorm leader with an s/o inspired by the heroes of their respective films. I had some hesitation with both Vil and Leona, since their heroes are the Evil Queen’s stepdaughter and Scar’s nephew respectively... I could get past the Snow White one bc Vil’s so different from the Evil Queen, but the Simba one weirded me out too much ;; so I substituted him for Nala. Sorry !!

Of course, this is disregarding the original characters’ ages and assuming they’re all students at Night Raven, in the same dorm as their villain. Please let me know if there’s a problem with anything though !!

Idia, Leona, and Malleus will come in a second post.

Riddle & Alice

I remember Alice as a bratty, opinionated girl who is dissatisfied with her normal life and prefers to escape to her imagination. Very stubborn, but also very sensible. Pairing these traits with Riddle’s hotheadedness and severe need to keep things under his command, I don’t think they would make a very good match. Alice constantly rolls her eyes at all of his decisions, and blatantly refuses to listen to him if she doesn’t agree with what he says.

It would be extremely difficult for these two to even tolerate each other. Alice sticks out to Riddle because she’s the only one who doesn’t fear him—but that might not be a good thing. He develops a “You will fear me, you will obey me” type mindset, to which she responds with an unimpressed, “Oh, really?”

Riddle gets so fed up with her that he marches down to Headmaster Crowley and demands that Alice be relocated to a different dorm—“She’d be great for Pomefiore, with all the other stuck-ups.” (Dire says no).

As much as she loathes Riddle though, Alice might enjoy some of his nonsensical rules. She hates boring things like order and routine, instead craving the thrill of things unique and unpredictable. Riddle is taken aback when one day she exclaims how much fun she’s having during one of his sudden events, which had annoyed and tired out everyone else. He’s not sure how to react.

He spends a long time thinking about this, and then curiosity gets the better of him; he tries to experiment to see if he can do anything else that doesn’t make her turn her nose up at him. So basically, this is his odd way of figuring out her interests - and he realizes she’s not just automatically appalled by everything he does; she’s simply very opinionated. He might even start to appreciate the fact that she’s got such a strong grip of her views and morals.

It takes much longer for Alice to fall in love with Riddle, though. She has such a great distaste for him that there’s no way she’ll even consider falling in love with him. She would have to catch him in a vulnerable state to realize there’s more to him than simply yelling at everyone all the time - maybe when he’s stressed from school, or sleeping, or witnessing him experiencing true happiness (perhaps with his friends? does he even have friends?) And then she, too, having a natural curiosity, might try to learn more about him.

Tbh, the only thing that might help bring them together is the fact that both of them are way too nosy for their own good.

Azul & Ariel

Like Alice, Ariel is very curious, stubborn, and determined, but she can be a little gullible and naive at times. She’s been sheltered her whole life and Night Raven is the first time she’s been away from home for so long. Azul, on the other hand, is very independent; he’s somewhat of an information broker, good at observing people and seeing what makes them tick - and also swindling what he wants out of them. Naive little Ariel makes a perfect target.

Azul is very gentlemanly and polite, enticing and friendly, so Ariel is immediately swayed. She pretty much falls into the honeymoon phase with him straight away, but not truly in love; she’s just excited to be socializing with a nice boy.

It’s easy for Azul to trap her in a deceptive contract with ambiguous conditions. He doesn’t have any personal interest in her initially, but Ariel responds to his betrayal with vigor and goes above and beyond in trying to void the contract. It is only here that Azul starts taking more of an interest in her, since she’s now causing problems for him and therefore in the way.

But, even he has to appreciate her fierce determination to get out of this contract. He even stops at one point to consider why he’s been trying so hard to prevent her from getting out of it; Ariel is nothing but sweet and pure, so why is he so intent on inconveniencing her? He tries to convince himself that his original mindset is the same as it was before: Ariel was unable to pay the price he had set. Perhaps under misleading terms, but it’s her fault for not reading the contract carefully enough - therefore he can’t give her any leeway until he’s collected his payment. Even so, a part of him feels regretful.

However, Ariel has developed a (rightfully) bitter attitude towards Azul, and even though he understands why, it still leaves a sour taste in his mouth. Witnessing how beautiful of a personality she has has made him rethink his whole view of her - and a part of him wishes they were on better terms.

If Azul was serious about remedying their relationship, it would take a serious amount of effort on his part to regain her trust. Ariel can be naive, but she’s not stupid; and she’s already established that Azul is not an ally. But, in the case that he is able to prove himself to her, then the same elation she had when she first met him would resurface.

For their relationship to work, Azul would need to be the one who’s most committed. He already has a personality Ariel would immediately grow infatuated with, so it really depends on him being able to truly become someone she can trust and rely on - and make sure she knows that too.

Kalim & Aladdin

These two are hopeless idiots together. They come from vastly different backgrounds: while Kalim grew up with basically everything handed to him on a silver platter, Aladdin comes from a poor family and barely scraped by in his youth. They share a common resourcefulness, though, as they both are very talented at making do with whatever situation they’ve landed in (but, Kalim always has the advantage of wealth and power).

While Aladdin might be initially turned off by Kalim’s extravagant wastefulness, he also admires it greatly; much like his canon love for Jasmine, he is struck by beauty and wealth and only dreams about what it might be like to live with such greatness. This overpowers his slight aversion for him.

It’s easy for Kalim and Aladdin to become friends. Aladdin is funny and bright, with a knack for socializing since he’s come across so many people from being in such open, unstable living conditions before. Overall, he’s just very easy to slide into conversation with and feel like you’ve known him forever. Kalim is also very extroverted, but in more of a you-will-pay-attention-to-me-now forceful kind of way. Like Jamil, Aladdin is one of the few people who doesn’t tire out from Kalim’s constant energy & semi-sheltered mindset.

Once they find out their shared extroversion is very compatible, Kamil and Aladdin talk nonstop. Aladdin is a natural storyteller, and loves sharing about all his experiences from his childhood. He had to be very independent and willing to defy authorities in order to secure his survival, while also helping all the other orphans and street rats obtain food and shelter as much as he could. Kalim finds this extremely admirable. To him, Aladdin is almost like a literal prince - he rose from nothing and now is thriving at the prestigious Night Raven College. Also, he seems to have turned out fairly normal for someone who suffered so many hardships as a child.

But evidently, the closer the get, the more Kalim realizes Aladdin is not as normal as he makes himself out to be. His traumas from his youth have and are still affecting him, and once Kalim sees this different, more somber side of Aladdin, he becomes desperate to help him any way he can. He first takes him on a “date.” This isn’t meant to be romantic, just a nice all-expenses-paid trip to give Aladdin something nice.

Jamil is surprised because this is the first time Kalim has ever thought about anyone other than himself. But then, once the “dates” keep happening, Jamil realizes there’s more between them than just Kalim “being nice.” Things might escalate between them both, and while the final trigger for Aladdin was Kalim’s little acts of kindness, there had been something clear between them since the beginning.

Vil & Snow White

This sort of piggybacks off the headcanons I wrote here.

Snow White is sweet and pure of heart, a girl who doesn’t fully realize when someone might be taking advantage of her. She is gentle and sweet when she talks to you, but also doesn’t mind keeping to herself for long periods of time. On the other hand, Vil is vain and proud, constantly needs attention, and keeps his own appearance as his top priority. He always makes sure his connections are up to his own beauty standards too, and if Snow White enters his social circle, this includes her. Fortunately, there’s not much for him to do, because she is already extremely beautiful.

Vil takes interest in her because of her beauty. He feels a bit threatened by it in the beginning, but every time he talks to her, she always, always acts like the nicest, most genuine human being he’d ever met. He gets a little frustrated because he wants to hate her for being so much more beautiful than him, but she’s so ridiculously precious.

Snow White doesn’t mind Vil much. Like with everyone, it’s basically impossible for her to view him in a bad light, and she respects him as Pomefiore’s dorm leader. That being said, he’s not a major interest for her - she has a very tight-knit circle of 3 or 4 girl friends who she spends most of her time with.

Their interactions are usually initiated by Vil. Half the time, it’s because he can’t understand how she’s so nice all the time, so he tries to draw out a negative reaction from her.

But with enough time spent together, the opposite effect happens. Snow White develops a small crush on him. She starts getting flustered whenever he talks to her, and even more fidgety and precious - and even more, starts picking up his little mannerisms and habits. She sometimes points out whenever she notices something’s changed in his appearance.

Then, it’s Vil’s turn to feel flustered. She noticed. She notices whenever he does his hair differently, or when he paints his nails a new color, or when he wears a new arrangement of jewelry. He’s taken aback when his own heart starts fluttering whenever he’s around her, and soon he drops his mission to find fault with her and refocuses his attention on trying to avoid her. He has no time for falling in love.

But now Snow White is the one nervously trying to get his attention. And he's fallen so head over heels for her, he can’t not interact with her - and would feel too bad if he was mean to her. For a while, there’s a lot of tension between them, and Vil feels hideously awkward. He hates it. So he tries to finally confess, as slyly as he can.

Snow White isn’t very good at reading between the lines, but Vil isn’t very good at being subtle when he’s struck by so much emotion - so their feelings for each other come to light very quickly. There isn’t much verbal communication between them when they “confess,” though - Snow is too shy and Vil can’t admit anything unless he’s not being serious. But, if they do establish that they love each other, their relationship would be stable and warm from both parties.

[legobiwan]

So i was just daydreaming of SW and fics & i was imagining two characters on opposites sides of light and dark both trying to turn each other bc they think they are right(don’t they all?). But i feel like sidious and maul and plenty of sith knew that they weren’t necessarily the ‘good’ guys, no matter their reason for why they ended up on the dark side. I think sidious knew he wasn’t a good person & was well aware of the ‘bad’ nature of the darkside and how it can corrupt a person entirely 1/

I think dooku was as well even though he thought he was doing the right thing & making change. Even Anakin knew in his own twisted mindset that despite why he turned, he wasn’t on the side of the good guys no matter their reason for why they ended up on the dark side.I think sidious knew he wasn’t a good person&was well aware of the ‘bad’ nature of the darkside and how it can corrupt a person entirely. I think dooku was as well even though he thought he was doing the right thing&making change.2/

But how would you convince someone that turned bc they thought they could keep it controlled. Revan himself turned thinking he could prevent the darkside from corrupting him entirely&we see how that turned out. What about people who just genuinely think that they are more free (they aren’t) on the darkside and just want to BE on the darkside and think that it’s not inherently bad. Bc some sith fics make it sound not that bad but we know that it actually really is very bad by nature ¾

I guess my question is how does someone who thinks they can have everything they want and not loose themselves, who is ruled by the dark side to the point of sith eyes, become convinced that going that far isn’t actually the right path to be on? 4/4 Sorry this is so long

Wow, anon, this is…a complicated question. (And off-topic, but daydreaming about SW fics totally got me through some horrible jobs a few years ago. Star Wars daydreaming ftw.)

For me, it comes down to what your definition of “light” (read, good) is. And I think either side, light or dark, taken too far to one extreme ends up wrapping back to the other, a kind of ouroboros. Too much light, as we saw with the Jedi, can lead to dark consequences. Too much dark, in a weird way, will lead to revolt, to a balancing. 

It’s thermodynamics, taken to a philosophical extent, where your variables seek equilibrium but there is only so much energy to share between them, as it cannot be created nor destroyed. 

But let’s extricate ourselves from such tangled webs, shall we, and take this analysis character by character. 

Sidious: Sidious is an unrepentant, manipulative bastard. I mean, the absolute worst, the whole shebang. I doubt there would be anyone who would have had the ability to pull him into the “Light,” just the ability to thwart his plans. Evil genius, psychopath, bereft of empathy, etc. Let’s just say Rey’s existence, at least from the first generation, was likely not an act of love. 

Dooku: Oh Dooku. My favorite bad guy is a lot more complicated. His motivations were idealistic and to some degree, justified. The Republic and the Jedi were failing certain underrepresented systems, the Republic bloated on corruption and the Jedi more and more backing themselves into a protective corner until they had no room left to move. His execution of the whole thing…well, that’s where his hubris (and nihilism) led him astray. And I still contend we see this darkening of Dooku between AotC and RotS, especially in TCW. The dark side won in Dooku, pulled him under its tide so perhaps by the time of RotS he just wasn’t able to see - or admit - Sidious’s plans for him. 

Now, would Dooku have been redeemed? Yes, but only under circumstances and I would say he would less be redeemed than returned to grey status. 

But what would possibly convince our resident iconoclast to renounce some of his ways? 

Or more, who?

Qui-gon or Obi-wan. Or both. Lineage is so important to Dooku, a man who felt the loss of his family, who felt he was alone in the universe, who, unlike Anakin, went out of his way to avoid close connections, to relieve everything of his past except his title and all the expectations that came with it. I mean, imagine that. You are raised a Jedi, taught to believe attachment is, if not bad, at least problematic. And then you leave that religious order to return to your homeworld where you inherit a title and presumably a million problems and identities and histories that come with said title. And Dooku knows none of these people but to rule them, but he does know the ones he has raised and the ones who they raised. Which leads me to believe that an alive Qui-gon (who, let’s face it, wouldn’t have been 100% light side) and/or a more convinced Obi-wan (who should have listened to Dooku on Geonosis but that is a whole other discussion because that was a Hail Mary by Dooku and the more I think about it, the more I believe it was a ballsy-as-ass move on his part) might have convinced him to realign himself.

Anakin: Ohhhh, Anakin. Anakin, who fell because he felt he had to, in order to save everyone he loved. Anakin, who was burdened with false expectation after a traumatic childhood. Anakin, who made so many bad choices and it’s both his fault and not his fault, a tragic combination of circumstance and proclivity. The thing is, we know Anakin is torn between the light and the dark, even after he turns. Anakin as Vader is kind of like the person who says, “Oh I ate 2 cookies, might as well eat the whole bag because nothing matters.” (Side note, I am a total supporter of eating the whole bag of cookies if that is the heart’s truest desire. Speaking as someone who has downed many bags of cookies in their lifetime.) Anyway, it’s the mindset that’s the problem. And Anakin does redeem himself in the end, when he finds something/someone to fight for and fight against and isn’t that so him, always fighting against something?

Look, dark side characterizations are fun. But there’s always something else behind it, and it is a big deal to abandon your principles, your ideals, your health, your everything to this festering, opaque disease that lives in your deepest gut and at times takes the controls, much to your horror (except if you are Sidious, in which case, the horrible darkness is always at the controls and that is by design). I, personally, like to explore the darker sides of these characters but also the why - what made them fall, why are they hurting, and what is the fallout of their actions?

Yes, it’s easy to hate, to fear - I mean, we see this in the real world on an everyday basis. What’s less easy is to be alone, and I mean truly alone. And I think minus extreme examples like Sidious (who, let’s admit, created clones to cheat death and kept a vast amount of servants so even he was not ever truly alone). If I might get a little existential for a moment, what I like about Jedi philosophy (and in all seriousness, I had a major breakdown about this a few years back and Jedi philosophy, weirdly enough, was a large part in saving my sanity) is that we are never alone, that we are all part of the Force, of life, of the breath and heartbeat of the universe no matter what corporeal form we take or not. The Sith see themselves as alone, but as we can observe, so many of them are motivated by connection, could possibly be spurred to change by connection in the correct circumstances. 

And by this, I don’t mean the Jedi were 100% correct. I feel like the version of the Jedi we got by TCW had been pushed to some extremes due to the Ruusan Reformation (gdi, that had better get recanonized, asap, because it is a pivotal moment and a HUGE explanation of why the Jedi ended up as they were by the time the Prequels rolled around and it makes So Much Sense), the emergence of Dooku, the war, etc.) There is something to be said about the Grey Jedi, not that they necessarily embraced light and dark - but perhaps so - but that they did not fall to one extreme or the other. And this is where I feel Qui-gon succeeded over many other of his peers, despite his myriad of other personality flaws. Possibly this was why he was able to access the Whills and pass on what he had learned, to the point of where we see Yoda in TLJ, who is a lot more philosophical about everything than he had been in life. 

So to answer your question - there is no making someone turn back to the light, as much as there is any way of forcing a sentient being to do anything. Once can only pave the way and forge relationships, and the rest is up to that person. I think a lot of our Sith friends knew they were going down a dark path but also saw no alternative and felt a need to vindicate themselves, to strike out in anger against their circumstances. I get it, I think we all have that urge sometimes. And I suppose the answer might come in having something to fight for as opposed to fight against, as ridiculous as that sounds. 

But then again, I am but a simple lego floating around the internet. :)

[hiuythn]

sorry to ask, but i saw u shared hc for the sick anon, im going thru a rough patch and ur fic rly cheered me up. Can i get some hcs as well?

this is how keith asks lance to marry him:

so we all know how from the beginning, from the moment things got resolved at the end of tnahp, that keith’s been upfront about never leaving lance. everyone knows he’s going to put a ring on that. he’s said it to lance’s face. “what else am i gonna do with you?”

it’s not until six years later that he actually does anything though. mostly bc of the war and the aftermath.

the team are in a meeting with the coalition, boring stuff, routine stuff, and the mind link is closed, bc sometimes keith and lance need breaks. he’s lucky that it was, though, because what happens next in his mind would’ve been enough to make lance fall out of his seat and ruin the meeting and coran would’ve killed them both lmao

lance is paying attention even though he looks just as bored as keith. diligent, as always. he’s even got a holoscreen projected, taking lazy notes. there are faint little sketches of the coalition members and the team. one is of shiro, snoring, comical Zs above his head. keith bites down on his cheek.

lance is twirling the pen in his left hand.

keith looks at that and thinks, loud and clear, there should be a ring on his finger.

he sits back.

huh.

it should be a surprise, he decides after a quiet minute. lance deserves that. it should be at the right moment, the right words, the right place. it should be soft and genuine and such a sweet shock that it takes lance seconds to reply. it should make his blue eyes fill with tears, it should make him curl into a ball before keith, who’ll still be kneeling, ring box open and laughing at him because wow, that’s nice reaction, lance. it should be a proposal so perfect that it makes lance kind of mad, makes him shove keith, makes him pout that frustrated-loving-happy pout.

(bros, as a gay, this is kind of really fucking gay)

keith spends the rest of the meeting laying out proposal plans. lance gets exasperated when he finds out keith remembers nothing of the meeting. “dude, you--tell me again, who’s the leader of voltron, here?” “it’s allura.” “....okay, but who flies bl--”

and some people might ask, what’s the point, if you’re already levertan-married? if you’ve mind-linked and basically achieved the pinnacle of ‘joining hands in holy matrimony’?

keith’s answer would probably be something like ‘fuck off, i love him that’s why’

(ngl that’s hella romantic. no? just me?)

the long answer is that he knows lance is a romantic. that he really likes gestures of affection, that his face gets all rosy and he always tries to bite back his smiles, and he gets so pleased and flustered and also adorably angry every time keith does anything for him. keith’s in love with that. he goes absolutely dumb over making lance happy, he’s fucking obsessed with it. every neuron in keith’s stupid head is devoted to lance like 24/7.

(it’s a given that lance is the same, if not worse. how tf do they get anything done?)

plus, levertan-married doesn’t really mean the same as human-married.

so keith--somehow--manages to pull off thinking up proposal plans without closing the link, without lance knowing--maybe bc his thoughts are purposefully fragmented like ‘white chocolate? milk?’ or ‘speakers? mic?’ or ‘beach sand feels sandy’ and yes it sounds absolutely dumb but it’s clever because after a while lance tunes it out. though, at the beginning, it really fucking worried him because it sounded like keith was having a stroke LMAO

over the next couple months, keith steadily puts his plan together: get the ring, figure out what to say, speak to allura about detouring to earth for some r&r, speak to shiro about not fucking things up for keith because i know you’ll do that somehow shiro no are you serious of course you would you’re evil do you even remember that time i said no to inviting people for my fourteenth birthday and you did it anyway even though i was looking forward to just playing video games for the whole day??? i had to deal with james griffin in my goddamn house you ass--

the day keith asks, everything--surprisingly--goes really well? like suspiciously so. like keith’s really glad but he’s itching to reach for his knife by the end of it, bc he was prepared for shiro to have done sth by now. 

but nah, keith and lance have a lovely day hanging out, doing activities keith planned and things lance spontaneously suggests. the weather is a perfect breezy, sunny day. when the sun sets they wordlessly head for the beach. lance chases keith though the surf. they throw clumps of wet sand at each other. keith hoists lance in his arms, listening to him yell as keith spins them around. lance picks him up and tosses him into the shallows, that fucking jerk. lance gets keith to forgive him. lance gives keith his shirt, goes half-naked for keith’s shivering form. ‘i’m going to get a cold,’ lance says. ‘and i’m not?’ keith snorts. they walk down the beach and lance tells him stories, pointing to this rock or that spot and saying oh i broke my arm there or dude i saved a baby turtle from a seagull that day and keith soaks it all up like he’s the sand and lance is the ocean waves, coming back to him every time.

lance hops onto a rock, demonstrating to keith how he used to pretend he was a sea prince looking for mermaids. the winds play with his hair, the setting sun brushing golden against his bare chest and the grin on his lips. like this, he’s a foot or two taller than keith.

keith gets down on one knee.

it’s lance’s fault that the ring box is damp, but he’s lucky this thing is olkari-made, because when keith opens it up, the ring shines just as bright as lance. almost as bright. it tries its best but keith really only has eyes for his soulmate.

keith says:

every day, i want to choose you. every day, i want to get to choose you. every day, growing up like i did, was spent learning what i needed to live, what food or drink or mantra was needed to make it another day alone. my body forced to me to focus on its needs, on the bare essentials. if i went a month without a caring touch, it didn’t matter, because it hadn’t killed me yet.

before i fell for you, i don’t think i knew what it meant to want. i never had a chance to think about it, a second to indulge. if i wanted a home, a family, it was a weakness, a distraction, and i couldn’t let myself admit it. so i never learned to want.

the only other thing that comes closest to what i feel for you is probably flying. it’s that addiction to diving through the clouds, it’s free-falling, it’s soaring with my heart in my throat. and even then, even now that i know you, it doesn’t quite compare. it’s a poor substitute.

in this world we exist in, where some force out there knows exactly what we need, who we need, it’s kind of a miracle that i still got to choose you. i’m glad i got the moments where it hurt to think of you, because i wanted you so bad i couldn’t stand not having you. i’m glad i got to slowly realize that you were everything to me, on my own time. it was my own conclusion, my own resolution to love you because you were you, and not because you were someone i was supposed to love. the universe kind of tricked us, but i think she meant well.

and now i know, that even in a world where soulmates didn’t exist....i know i’d still want you.

i want to want you, every day. i want to wake up wanting you, every day, fall asleep wanting you every night. i want to leave for missions wanting you, want to stay behind watching you go, wanting you to return faster than you can. i want you to want me, too. i want a ring on our fingers, reminding me that you do, that you feel the same and you always will.

i want to marry you, lance mcclain.

will you marry me?

[boglog]

Utopia (2013) notes

Despite the infantilised female assassin w a father complex trope being the Bane of my Existence (re: Hanna 2011) and the fact that she Literally has Ramona Flowers hair, Jessica is God and we stan

I don't understand this bizarre little peck she gives Becky's head in the last ep and I don't need to. Queen of emotionally stunted social skills.

We also stan reverse-eugenicist Ygritte and her manic pixie faux suicide at a black tie gala

We do not however stan Wilson whose motivations and subsequent double agency didn't make sense to me as much as Milna and Philip's philosophy

Which is sort of a tragedy considering he's one of two major characters of colour but considering we still have Ian we don't necessarily fall into the "The Brown Guy Was Evil All Along" horror trope

Necessarily

And upon finding out that not only is Philip Roma but also that Milna has "been in a genocide" meaning that she is probably for sure Jewish, I'm sure the show is framing Utopia as revenge for WWII, esp given that the adjustments to Janus is literally going to wipe out everyone who isn't Romani.

So wi this context, Wilson's sudden support of Janus is also revenge on white supremacy, colonialism, and genocide, and later his entire character is deliberately turned into a caricature with the fedora and the eye patch and the tattoo

Not to mention Wilson's name is itself a joke and perhaps a reference to Cast Away's greatest inanimate imaginary friend: the Wilson volleyball

Grace Lee of What's So Great About That made a Utopia analysis where she states that the show's colourful composition and stock characters are meant as an uncanny valley contrast to its realism and violence

And wrt to how it portrays violence I think it's well-done in that rather than feeling gratuitous its lack of theatre makes everything uncomfortably real and sometimes the quirky neons add to this tension

But with Wilson's character his goofy attributes feel like forced inconsistencies, as an antagonist he cannot carry the show's final stretch w as much authority and intimidation as Milna nor does he have the depth equivalent to her inner conflict about being in love w Phillip

There's nothing poignant or scary or ironic about him he's just so flat my belief has gone past unsuspension and lies dead on the ground

I know him cutting mr rabbit into his own chest was supposed to be visually symbolic but I actually thinks it takes away from his authority, his vanity making him more vulnerable than Milna whose identity as mr rabbit was ultimately hidden for three decades bc guess who didn't tattoo "rabbit" onto her chest????

I'm going to admit I didn't pay very good attention to some of finer plot details bc here's the next point, the overall thesis of my Wilson meta:

The show is overly complicated while being a very bad comedy: tone what is it

I think when it's playing it straight as a conspiracy thriller it's great (see also the infodump flashback episode 0201)

But whenever it's trying to play off its quirky ensemble cast of Girl Next Door, Nerd, Freaky Prepper and Violent Ten Year Old (occasionally ft The Whitest Family on Earth) there's something so flat and genuinely boring about all of them

And the characters forcing a sarcastic familiarity between each other with monickers like "shithead", "twat" etc? When they've known each other for 5 minutes? That's a CinemaSin ™ :/

Dialogue wise we could've toned down some name dropping and on-the-nose-ing

It's a v ambitious outlandish magical realism comedy v dark film noir balancing act that doesn't always land esp wrt its final antagonist which imo is the show's biggest flaw

The soundtrack as well is great but a little overused

Another problem I have is Becky's accidental addiction to opium, I'm sure I missed something obvious like maybe her "dealer" was connected to the network ? but when I saw it the twist felt tangential to the show at best. We know Becky is naive but to the point of being manipulated into a drug addiction? Wasn't she supposed to be intelligent? It would be smart if it weaved itself into the plot a bit better

Overall I think it's thematically tied to how we're easily manipulated esp via Big Pharma so I guess...? I guess that works? Kinda¿

The oddball family tableau near the end with Jessica, Milna, Phillip and Arby is thrilling and complicated by the internal conflict of wanting to kill each other out of their contrasting ethical beliefs and wanting to love each other out of a vague sense of loyalty / longing bc they're all lonely af

V surprised that I did not feel cheated at the reveals that Phillip was in fact alive and in a psychiatric ward (cliché) it was perhaps awkward that he was found in someone's basement, and meanwhile Arby's secret family felt totally normal AND Milna's hesitation to kill Jessica out of her love for Phillip ALSO WORKS

The intensity of the relationships btwn the family who've barely spent a second around each other for years is thrilling and to be honest way more interesting than anything else the show offers so it's a shame they didn't try to focus on that more but that's just me being predictably drawn in by dysfunctional families

So on the bright side the show is visually stunning, uses inherently interesting premises and parses out the information in a clever pace, Milna's entire arc must be my favourite bc everything about it was incredible, the chemistry between Milna and Philip was perfect (although an answer to why they never officially got together and ended up w different people other than plot convenience is still up in the air)

Ian faking a Somali accent when he's caught committing data theft is iconic and equivalent to when Chelsea Manning labelled the CD filled w war crime scandals as "Lady Gaga"

Jessica: [hardened by a lifetime of torture, slides her chained hands across the table and asks for the Bible because she's bored] / me: 😳

That one hacker guy who swears at his mother is the face of the far right movement

The blonde guy who was about to leave his family to die as he went into hiding in the Bahamas looks like Stan from The Americans so he kinda deserves that

And finally I would like to remind everyone that the notion of blaming global warming, plummeting economy and ressource scarcity on overpopulation is a bourgeoisie lie

It's their fault

We literally have enough food and water and shelter for everyone if only the 1% would put down their million dollar martinis

Once I eventually rewatch it and manage not to be overwhelmed by worldbuidiling I might have a better opinion

Thank you for listening to my TEDtalk

[glove23]

REASONS I HATE SEVERUS SNAPE AND ALBUS DUMBLEDORE- A Rant

@nooowestayandgetcaught made me post this

Disclaimer 1: this is very long so only read it if you've got some time

Disclaimer 2: if you think the friendzone is a thing stop reading now because you won't like what's in this and I don't want your comments because they'll just piss me off.

-Severus "Friendzone" Snape

We begin at the youngest we know Severus Snape, he's around nine. 

He meets Lily Evans and immediately insults Petunia, her sister, while trying to befriend Lily. 

Snape then goes on to tell Lily all about the wizarding world and when she asks if her being muggleborn will effect how people see and treat her, he lies to her face by saying "no". (I hate the entire chapter The Prince's Tale it's awful what is it chapter 33? Avoid at all costs) 

He drops a large tree branch on Petunia's head when she insults his shirt (petunia is another post) and then again lies to Lilly's face about it. 

When Lily is clearly distressed about Petunia saying she hates her Snapes first reaction is "so what she's only a-" and cuts himself off before Lily hears what he thinks of her sister. 

Snape doesn't take Lily's concerns about the people he hangs out with seriously even though they both know the people he hangs out with despise muggleborns like Lily. "I thought we were friends, best friends?" You manipulative piece of shit. 

He tries to change the subject from the dark magic they did on Mary Macdonald to James Potter and the Marauders bc he just doesn't like them (they did bully him at this point but he gave as good as he got and didn't go to anyone about it but that didn't have a place in this conversation) 

Says he "won't let her" think of James Potter in a positive light for SAVING HIS LIFE and only backtracks when Lily gets angry. 

Stops listening to Lily once she says James is an arrogant toerag and doesn't hear her say that his friends are EVIL. 

Do I need to describe this one? "I don't need help from a filthy little mudblood!" 

Tries to apologize and all he can think of to say is "sorry" and "it just slipped out" and "I didn't mean it" Lily tears him a new one and I love her.

 -Now we're on adult Snape woo if none of that convinced you bc he's still a child get a load of this.

 Joins The Death Eaters knowing that they attack and Kill muggleborns like he Supposed Love of His Life Lily 

Continues to pine for Lily even though she's MARRIED with a CHILD (OH NO SHE FRIENDZONED ME SHE MADE ME THINK I HAD A CHANCE no asshat the friendzone doesn't exist just bc a woman is nice to you doesn't mean she has to date you newsflash some people are just genuinely KIND and that's how they treat everybody it doesn't mean the girl owes you sex or a relationship a girl owes you NOTHING for being nice to you that is her choice that she's nice to you and she is allowed to change her opinion at anytime and she does not OWE YOU ANYTHING FOR HER KINDNESS if anything you owe her to be kind back and not demand sex and a Relationship from her just bc she is kind to you)

 Overhears a prophecy that could be about Lily and her family (bc he only hears the born as the seventh month dies he will have power the dark lord knows not) he has to know Lily is pregnant and he can count and figure out when she's going to have the baby and tells Voldemort anyways. 

Begs Dumbledore to spare Lily's life to protect her and says nothing about her husband and son.

 ONLY SAYS ANYTHING ABOUT JAMES AND HARRY after Dumbledore calls him out for it and even then its grudgingly bc he knows Dumbledore won't listen unless he includes them as well. 

Once James and Lily are dead (my loves I miss them) he goes to their house, steps of James' body, ignores their bleeding and crying son, and hugs and cries over Lily'a lifeless body even though she said she never wanted to see him again and didn't care about her own life as long as her son is safe and he's sitting there ignoring her son to care about her life because he doesn't give two shits about what she actually thinks only that he lost the potential to steal her away from her family.

 Doesn't do anything for the infant who is bleeding and sobbing 

DOESNT DO ANYTHING FOR THE INFANT WHO IS BLEEDING AND SOBBING

 Goes to Dumbledore upset bc he "let Lily die" (I'll get back to that) and only after persuasion agrees to "protect" Harry 

Snape gets a job as Potions Master and is a GIANT DICK to a bunch of CHILDREN who are there bc they have to be and they want to learn. 

Harry comes to Hogwarts (side note: if Snape really wanted to protect Harry bc it's what Lily would have wanted wouldn't he have at least sneakily checked up on Harry while he lived with the Dursleys? No one knew where that was it's not like other death eaters would see him.....) and Snape calls him out with questions that you don't actually learn about until sixth year at Hogwarts and verbally abuses him.

 I'm not going to write ever instance of Snape being a dick to students bc JK Rowling already published that and I don't feel like writing out the complete Harry Potter series.

 Snape is Neville Longbottom's WORST FEAR in the ENTIRE WORLD and Neville was dropped out of a WINDOW as a child what does that say abt Snape it says he's a dick

 "Potters been crossing lines ever since he got to this school he should be expelled" I mean just bc you were completely incompetent and couldn't get rid of Quirrell doesn't mean you can shout at a 12 yr old that he should be expelled for finding a way to get to school when he couldn't get to the train. (Wait the crossing lines bit is in goblet of fire isn't it he says something along those lines during COS tho whatever)

 Calls Hermione, a 14 year old girl, an insufferable know-it-all bc she knows the answer to his question when NO ONE ELSE DID Like how much more of a jackass can you be

 AFTER DRACO CURSED HERMIONES TEETH SNAPE LOOKS AT HER WITH HER FRONT TEETH DOWN TO HER COLLAR AND SAYS "I see no difference" I swear to god I would've decked him right then and there consequences be damned.

 Just. Gives Umbridge Veriteserum to use on CHILDREN WHICH IS ILLEGAL (not doing anything abt umbridge using the blood quills is mostly dumbledores fault but it can also be put on the whole rest of the staff who should've noticed)

 Not saying anything to Harry when he says Voldy has Sirius in the DOM and checking himself and then still not telling Harry so they go to the DOM and Sirius dies Snape is Responsible for Sirius' death (also Dumbledore but later)

 Just like. The entire sixth book.

 Book Seven he's headmaster of hogwarts and just fucking. Lets children be tortured. What a Good Guy am I right. I don't give a SHIT abt his cover as a "spy" he could've done something abt the kids under his care being tortured without giving himself away.

 Asks Harry to look at him when he dies so he can look into Harry's green eyes and pretend they're Lily's bc he is obsessed with her.

 Honestly I'm disgusted by this man. He was obsessed with who he thought Lily was and didn't care what she actually thought or felt. That isn't love. You can't tell me that Severus Snape was in love with Lily Potter because it simply isn't true.

 He was obsessed with the image of her that he had painted in his mind. He didn't love Lily Potter, he loved the IDEA of a girl sort of like Lily who he could control and who wouldn't care that he hates everything she stands for. Snape had this glorified image of Lily in his mind that no matter what he did, who he killed, hurt, or tortured, still loved him despite him being a dirty piece of shitty bigoted garbage.

I hate Severus Snape because he's the actual worst.

-Albus Pathetic Wanker Bullshitty Dumbledore

I would like to preface this part by saying Albus Dumbledore is a glorified piece of shit.

 ANYWAYS

 I'm going to just start at Harry's life because I'm too lazy to do Dumbledick's entire 150 years of life. 

If you want me to do it the rest of it message me and I'll do it later but rn you get the affects of his actions on an innocent child! Wooo!! 

So. Dumbledore had to have known Peter Pettigrew was the spy bc he also had his Spy (who will from now on be referred to as Friendzone) in the death eaters INNER CIRCLE so he would've known a majority of the people who are death eaters so he would've known who the spy is in the order and subsequently would tell Dumbledore. So. The only way he wouldn't have is if Dumbledore didn't even ask.

 Once the Potters are dead he???

 Okay wait. So that whole day before Dumbledore showed up at Privet Drive, McGonagall was watching the Dursleys. Was that November First? Did Dumbledore not drop Harry off until the end of the day November first? It had to have been bc Vernon Dursley saw the wizards talking abt voldies downfall. So??? Where was Harry that entire day???? Why couldn't Dumbledore have brought him??? Why did hagrid have to use Sirius' motorbike that he had gotten??? The night before??? Why couldn't Dumbledore have floo'd somewhere close? Or portkeyed? Why? The next day? This is a hole in information I would like filled.

 OKAY ANYWAY So the Potters are dead and Dumbledore decides "hey! You know what's a great idea!! I'm going to bring the one year old child to live with people who I know very well hate magic and who numerous people have told me are unfit to take care of this child but hey! Sounds like a blast! Let's do it!" Like what? What kind of person are you? I thought you learned that the Greater Good nonsense was exactly that. Nonsense.

 Keeps this child in aforementioned Abusive Home for TEN YEARS without checking up on him, without so much as a visit to see if he's still alive. Nope. Just ten years later "oh look a letter for me"

 Forcing Harry to return to the dursleys year after year STILL NOT CHECKING UP ON HIM HARRY RUNS AWAY IN THIRD YEAR AND DOES DUMBLEDORE CARE? NOPE.

 For a child he supposedly cares so much about he certainly does little to ensure he's okay.

 HARRYS FIRST YEAR- Dumbledore thought it was a great idea to bring the one thing at the time that can bring Voldemort back to life into hogwarts the year Harry gets there. Yeah. Suspicious? Wait. There's more.

 Dumbledore gives Harry the invisibility cloak for Christmas which allowed him to break the rules all the time. (It's literally Harry's property like James would probably have given it to Harry before he left for hogwarts. Why did Dumbledore keep it for so long? Why not put it in the Potter vault where Harry can get it when he comes of ages and has access to it? Why give it to him then?)

 Dumbledore puts the mirror of erised in a random classroom that the only other thing in it is some desks so it's not like that room is being used for storage. Where Harry conveniently finds it! While using his invisibility cloak to sneak out after curfew! For trying to protect someone he sure does give him a lot of opportunity to get into dangerous situations.

 The trials before the stone! Yeah! These will totally stop a wizard who is possessed by the dark lord! They're so hard three first year students can get through! What do you mean that doesn't mean they're difficult?

 I believe with all of my heart when he was asking people to put protections in front of the stone they all gave him REALLY DIFFICULT THINGS like that no one could get through without previous knowledge of how or being the one who created it (meaning they would all have to go down and disable their own trap before retrieving the stone which is the SMART COURSE OF ACTION) and Dumbledore was just like. Naaah. I think yours should be a plant that every first year class learns about. Yours should be some keys that fly around like a bunch of snitches with some brooms (fool proof amiright) yours should be a giant chess set bc NO ONE IN THE WIZARDING WORLD PLAYS CHESS ANYMORE. You can do whatever u want oh a troll? Cool cool. You should do some potions with a riddle telling you what's what that's a good idea yes yes and I'll do a mirror this is FOOL PROOF.

 I hate this man.

 He lets himself be manipulated into leaving the school so the trio can go try to DIE AGAINST VOLDEMORT yeah great idea

 Second year (I'm not doing every year this is getting long ) he KNEW it was Voldemort opening the chamber of secrets the easiest way for him to be doing that is through possession why didn't he search students belongings for the object that could be possessing them or the students for signs nope let's just let myself get kicked out of the school.

 Fourth year bc of him NOT WANTING TO CHEAT IN A GAME EVERYONE CHEATS AT Harry almost dies numerous times.

 Harry comes out of the maze clutching Cedric's body and Dumbledore tells Harry to stay near him when??? Harry very obviously was just TORTURED? He's beaten and bloody and can barely stand on his own and you expect him to be able to stay where you tell him to when there are a million people around who can take him away? Which happens? Barty Crouch takes him? 

And Dumbledore doesn't arrive on the scene UNTIL CROUCH IS DONE MONOLOGUING AND IS ABT TO KILL HARRY LIKE WTF 

"I suspected something like this would happen" IF YOU SUSPECTED IT WHY DIDNT YOU DO ANYTHING ABIUT IT UUUGGHHHHH

 Makes Harry's only source of familial comfort leave to go find some people when Dumbledore very well could have owled them himself? Sirius didn't have to leave lbr he could've been there a little while longer while Harry recovered.

 FIFTH YEAR. WHAT A SHIT SHOW.

 Dumbledore doesn't find a dada prof in time so the ministry sends umbitch and she tortures children and Dumbledore??? Never notices??? Umm? That sounds fake but okay. How does he not notice??

 DUMBLEDORE TELLS HARRY REPEATEDLY HES NOT READY TO HEAR THE PROPHECY BUT YEAH RIGHT AFTER YOUR ONLY PARENTAL FIGURE DIES THAT IS THE PERFECT TIME TO TELL HIM THAT HES THE REASON VOLDEMORT WENT AFTER AND KILLED HIS PARENTS GOOD JOB DUMBLEDOUCHE 

The entirety of the sixth book again.

 Dumbledore is grooming Harry to sacrifice himself and making Harry think of him as a grandfather-type figure, when he knows he going to die by the end of the year. You're a great person. I love ripping people's parental figures away from them REPEATEDLY ITS JUST GREAT FUN.

 The seventh book is just. All of the shit Dumbledore beat into Harry's head making him not trust anyone "Dumbledore gave me this job and I can't tell anybody about it sorry I can't ask for help Dumbledore said I can't and you know Dumbledore rules over my life even after he's dead bc that's a Good Thing I know I'm doing what Dumbledore wanted I'm gonna go fuckin DIE bc Dumbledore said that it is the ONLY WAY ITS THE ONLY WAY GOTTA DIE"

 The thing is. Dumbledore conditioned Harry so that he took his word as gospel and didn't even question it. And he conditioned him to think that he is not as important as everyone else, that his life doesn't matter as much as the lives of everyone else. Like??? Can you fucking not??? Every life is just as important as the next??? There are no NECESSARY SACRIFICES no one needs to be sacrificed. A lot of people died in the battle of hogwarts that didn't need to die who's deaths could've been avoided. People who died throughout the series who didn't need to die. A lot of the deaths in this series can be attributed to Dumbledore's careless attitude towards the lives of others.

 He threw children into a war when he should've let them be children. There were plenty of adults who could've done the job Harry Ron and Hermione did. Dumbledore himself could've spent the time he was conditioning Harry to be a sacrificial lamb LOOKING FOR HORCRUXES he knew existed at the latest by the time the end of the second book rolls around. Get With It Dumbledore.

I hate Albus Dumbledore because he's actual garbage.

The End