#grindeldore meta

[apicelladonna]

You guys are looking for cinematic tragedies elsewhere when Grindeldore exists !

Albus came first into the world and out. And Gellert always follows second a year later—😭

[repelomuggletum]

Listen, I’ve always been fascinated by Grindeldore...

First of all: yes, I'm aware that it's not exactly the least problematic ship. It canonically suffers from the "kill your gays" trope, and it's only canon because JKR retconed it and didn't care enough to actually write queer characters in her series (though, quite frankly, I wouldn't trust her to write queer characters at all, considering her incredibly harmful ideology).

However, I love the potential. 

We don't see enough of Grindelwald (in the original HP series, because I am consciously ignoring the fact that the Fantastic Beasts movies exist) to know much about his personality or how he would interact with Dumbledore, but he's canonically very powerful and, because he evidently had a large following, it's likely that he was also charismatic. Dumbledore is also both of these things, wielding enough power to not only defeat Grindelwald but also terrify Voldemort, and being charismatic enough to be a politician and essentially a war leader. Watching two people like that interact would be fascinating, especially in a context where they care for each other without agreeing with each other. The tension would be palpable. 

Still, my favorite thing about the ship isn't really the dynamics -- it's the tragedy. Dumbledore may have been misguided in his youth but he eventually grew to recognize that conquering and subjugating muggles would be bad, actually, and he acted accordingly: he began to dedicate a decent portion of his life to advocating not only for muggles and muggleborns but also other marginalized members of society (eg: letting Remus attend Hogwarts and employing Dobby). Now, I'm not saying that he does it well but, considering the state and prejudices of most of wizarding Britain, his actions seem almost radical. This, combined with him actively working against dark lords and being instrumental in their defeats, paints a pretty clear picture of him, morally speaking.

Grindelwald, on the other hand, was obsessed with power and did horrific things for it, never seeming to learn his lesson. Because of his relegation to the status of a minor character, we don't know that much about him other than the fact that, due to the very nature of the time he was active and what war his conflicts were running parallel to (and the fact that his name seems German, or at least Germanic), the narrative is implying that he's wizard H*tler. Naturally, that doesn't frame him in a good light, morally speaking. He never gets a redemption, either -- I've seen it suggested that Grindelwald intentionally lost his final battle against Dumbledore out of love but there's no actual evidence for that in HP, especially considering how it's mentioned that their final duel was legendary, implying that neither of them held back (and, in any case, losing a fight is not really deserving of redemption) -- though an argument can be made in regards to his final moments. The problem is, we’ll never know for certain whether Grindelwald’s refusal to admit that Dumbledore had the Elder Wand was him honoring what was most definitely Dumbledore’s wishes for the knowledge to be kept secret or if he was still upset that he’d lost ownership of it and he didn’t want anyone else, including Voldemort, to get it.

The bottom line is: Grindelwald and Dumbledore are moral opposites. Any reasonably healthy relationship between them would require a massive shift in personal/moral values (and this is not me saying that people with different values can’t have a happy relationship, but Grindelwald and Dumbledore are two extremes that simply aren’t compatible).

And that’s the tragedy of the whole thing.

Dumbledore is forever haunted by the specter of his relationship with Grindelwald. When Rita Skeeter publishes her biography about him, she talks at length about the summer of 1899, when the two had been lovers and co-conspirators. She mentions how he’d been the one to coin the very phrase that Grindelwald would later use to wreak mass havoc across Europe. There’s no way that someone like Albus Dumbledore, who seemed to prize moral virtue, would ever truly cope with what he’d had a hand in creating.

Grindelwald, on the other hand, was defeated by the very man he’d used to care for and is left imprisoned for fifty years with nothing to do but ponder his actions. Again, we don’t know enough about him to know his thoughts, but -- in the case of someone as ruthless and charismatic as a dark lord -- there was probably rage and betrayal, a sense that someone that used to be his had done this to him. 

To me, Grindeldore is not about how they’d be together but rather how they’re affected by the aftermath. Even separated by several countries and fifty years, they will never be rid of each other. Grindelwald was the one to open Dumbledore’s eyes to the injustices of the world and Dumbledore was the one who ultimately foiled all of Grindelwald’s plans.

Grindeldore, in its purest form, is a tragedy, and I find it absolutely fascinating.

[nuninho2000]

Grindeldore? Marthur? Ted/Adromeda? Do you like them

Grindelwald X Albus Dumbledore has a romantic ship i never had an exact opinion about, their dynamic, partnership and their ambition of ruling over the Muggles , the Deathly Hallows legend etc was quite interesting but like we know that all fell apart when Aberforth found out and called Albus out because he had a responsibility of taking care of Ariana and one thing led to another when Grindelwald found out and attacked Aberforth and Albus defend his brother and then during duel between the three it was Ariana ended up dying and we never found out who really killed her during duel .

Years passed and many things happened but eventually Albus and Aberforth made amends after years without speaking to each other because during Ariana's funeral Aberforth rightly punched Albus'nose and then in 1945 Albus Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald and won the Elder Wand from Grindelwald himself in the duel and the dark wizard was send to Nurmengard , ironically that was the prison Grindelwald build for his enemies.

In 1998 Grindelwald was killed by Lord Voldemort because he refused to tell where the Elder Wand was ( I will never forgive the movies for putting Grindelwald telling where it was) so in conclusion if I like their dynamic and storyline? I do and it's one my favourite side stories and if I ship them ? No .

About Arthur and Molly i just love them and they are in fact the best couple in the series because they are the definition of what is of being a realistic couple and extraordinary parents , they are not perfect but which loving parent is not ? They are so cute and remarkable people.

Ted and Andromeda are very interesting because of the three ships you ask me they are the least we know about , i would really would love to know the details how a pure blood witch who comes from Pure Blood fanatic family eventually fell in love with a Muggle born , i find Andromeda quite interesting character because unlike many people who easily try to make Slytherin character good people Andromeda is the character who should be used has role model that all Slytherin ( the House that produced the most dark wizards ) are not all bad people, she broke the rules of her family by marry a Muggle born and having a child with him so yes i do like a lot and would like to know more about them and more details about their love story.

[firendgold]

Pk now I want to hear tour rant about how Harrydore is bettter than Grindeldore. Bring it 🤣❤️

ohhh, this one's easy. I've been in this fandom on and off since 2006, and seen how Harry, Albus and Gellert were written pre- and post-'Dumbledore closet interview'. cracks knuckles

got to hit you with that readmore though. and it's going to be in two parts. I rambled again. ^^

🗲

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(...'rambled' is perhaps an understatement.)

🗲

grindeldore vs harrydore

grindeldore

the tl;dr of the below is the following sentences, and then I'll get into it. My philosophy on gr*ndeld*re extends to all other ships in all other fandoms, especially HP: if it's not an AU and you have to excessively mischaracterize Character A to get them to 'fit' with Character B, then it's not a good ship, canon or not. Albus Dumbledore is quite often mischaracterized in order to 'fit' or 'keep' him with Gellert Grindelwald.

here's my problems with how gr*ndeld*re is most often portrayed:

Inconsistency within canon. JKR is partly mostly to blame for this (because she has contradicted her original 2007 statement in the present day with more interviews in the 2010s and with the Fantastic Beasts movies), but the first problem is: gr*ndeld*re was originally an unrequited ship. The original statement was that Albus was dazzled by Gellert's power, his presence, their similarities, their shared ideals... but That Woman wasn't explicit on whether Gellert ever returned his feelings. But based on her quotes where she says "falling in love can blind you to an extent" and that [Dumbledore] was "terribly, terribly let down" by the result of that whirlwind relationship, I think it's safe to assume that her original idea of Gellert cared far more for seeing his grander plans realized than for the needs and feelings of his 'equal'. And yet... in fandom, they are most often portrayed instead as star-crossed lovers torn apart by 'conflicting ideals'.

The second problem is that in the avalanche of fics and art that have come from The Reveal, the original lesson (/moral...?) behind the reveal of gr*ndeld*re, and how it shaped Albus as an adult, leader, and progressive, just... got lost. Completely lost. The whole point of it was to show that even Albus (supposed 'paragon of goodness' until book 7 showed the fandom that he is a regular human being) can make 'relatable' mistakes like... you know... being friends with a fascist. Being in love with a fascist, even. Thanks to said retcon interviews and the new movies (and even before that tbh) the fandom has since: overexaggerated Albus' new clay feet to the point of bashing him, idolized Grindelwald's red flag traits and ideals to the point where he has become the new "Tom Riddle was just misunderstood!" guy, and twisted that lesson/moral/whatever to mean that actually Albus and Gellert were tragically kept away from each other by an itsy bitsy little difference of opinion. A minor little fight. Casual death of your sick sister. Haven't we all been there?

The fandom diminishing the real reasons why Albus and Gellert eventually clashed, were destined to clash, is bad enough. What's worse is the opposite end. Some Dumbledore-bashing fans go the other way and paint present-day Dumbledore with the same brush as Grindelwald, even going so far as to say he still supports The Greater Good even though his entire character is literally built on being the opposite of the pro-magic, anti-Muggle philosophy. Albus has also been painted in some fics and even meta discussions as someone who 'regrets' his past not because his sister died and his brother is estranged from him, but just because his ex-boyfriend is in prison and he maybe kind of regrets not going full fascist with him. Like... bruh. NO. There are people who ship gr*ndeld*re just because they feel like Grindelwald, the worst dark wizard in the world, the reason why Voldemort is only a minor league little lord in comparison, is an appropriate "punishment" for the character they already dislike and thus misinterpret. (Side note: I'm not sure if I'm in a worse hell watching Albus' character get whitewashed for fascism or demonized so he can be a miserable lonely gay.)

Albus diminishes himself to meet Gellert's needs. An in-universe problem this time instead of a meta/RL one: Albus and Gellert were lovers, yes, but in order to be so, Albus had to actively start neglecting his siblings (since in Aberforth's words he was 'doing all right' taking care of them before Gellert showed up) and leaning more into anti-Muggle sentiment. He put all his energy into what for most of the magical world was a wild goose chase after some fairy-tale items. (Remember, most wixen don't give a shit about the Deathly Hallows, or think they're even real.) He became the person Gellert needed/desired most. Albus became a version of himself that he despised later in his life and after his death.

Relationships often include the members changing, and it's easy for even the most devoted partners to fall out of love if they change and are now too different from one another, or one person changes and the other... doesn't. After Ariana died, Albus chose to become a different person and champion the same people he and his family once despised. He chose to stay away from Gellert, whether he called it cowardice or principles or whatever else. And his choice put him in conflict with Gellert, who at sixteen refused to change course or rethink his ideals even when his choices led to the death of a magical person (the type of person he supposedly prizes above all others). His magical boyfriend's magical sister, even. And we see no sign that Gellert changed, repented, or considered Albus until decades later, at the very end of his life—far too late.

Healthy relationships require give-and-take, sacrificing for your partner in things big and small. For high-stakes relationships like Albus and Gellert's (queer in the 1800s, sweet Merlin), that is even more true. During that steamy summer of 1899, it was Albus who did all the sacrifcing/giving and Gellert who did all the taking. Gellert may have entertained the idea of bringing Ariana along on his quest with Albus (we don't know), but Aberforth was right to say that it would have been torture for her—and no alternate idea was brought up that would prioritize the wellbeing of Albus' siblings while he was away. And in the moment of required reciprocity when Albus was at his lowest, Gellert left him behind and went off to go rule the world. Not even the most diehard shipper can argue against the fact that when Ariana died, Grindelwald left.

This problem is even more personal/biased than the other ones. Albus and Gellert parted ways in 1899. They didn't see each other again until the duel in 1945 (because fuck Fantastic Beasts, the scripts don't even make fucking sense). Albus defeated Gellert, put him in prison, and then went on living for another fifty-two years. And That Woman expects me to believe that Albus never had a relationship with anyone before Gellert, and never even looked at another wizard afterward? In 52 years, he was one-and-done? He never once fell in love with other people, whether or not he fully trusted them/let them in? Be serious. Pull the other one. It's not realistic, and it doesn't speak to the kind of man Albus Dumbledore is. He may not have found a man to check the same boxes Gellert did, but he wouldn't arguably be looking for someone too similar to his old flame. He might not trust them unconditionally or be the Perfect Partner for them (bc whew traumaaa), but there would be other people for Albus in a realistic Magical Britain (even discounting time travel shenanigans). Before the reveal, the most popular people to ship Albus with were Minerva, Alastor, and Elphias Doge; these options are still arguably more valid. Albus Dumbledore loves love, he champions love, and he doesn't think he deserves it after his sins, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't go looking. It's mind-boggling to me that with all the well-deserved disavowing of JKR following her anti-trans hate (and her shameless pandering to the same people calling her a witch poisoning their children's minds decades ago), that some people still treat her words about Albus and Gellert's relationship and its effects on Albus in particular as gospel. I sure don't. (Especially because she said he became "asexual" after His One Gay Experience when like. That's not. What asexuality is??? And ace gay people exist???) Whether you count the FB movies or not, there are still decades of Albus' life that are a mystery, and I refuse to believe he closed his heart and caged his dick for all of them.

IMPORTANT END NOTE: These observations obviously do not apply to all gr*ndeld*re shippers. Some people genuinely do like both characters, characterize them correctly, and still want to see them together for reasons. I'm not going to judge them. I ship a frigging time travel age gap ship, how the fuck could I. And I'm also aware that a lot of fics/art are made to color in between the lines of what we don't know in the fandom, bringing Albus and Gellert together during the mystery years, or making one wizard better for the other to address all the ship baggage. I just can't join them because of how rarely that occurs (and, admittedly, how much I personally can't see it). You would not believe how many fics and discussions I've seen that lionize Grindelwald and treat Dumbledore like an accessory, or completely mischaracterize Albus' motivations, intentions, and actions, and then put him with "the other Big Bad". UGH.

Most of the time, I see gr*ndeld*re the ship hurting Albus the individual. It's very rare to find an iteration where Albus is not bearing the consequences of Gellert's choices, Gellert's actions, Gellert's mistakes and harm done. I think Albus deserves better than to be Gellert's accessory just because he loved him deeply long ago.

okay. whew. that was a lot.

a character limit prevents me from continuing here, so the second half of this versus will go elsewhere, sorry!

[girl-with-goats]

QiB x Fanfic Maverick Podcast 💙

I don't appear on podcasts often, and I talk publicly even less frequently, but I appeared in today's episode of the @fanficmaverickpodcast hosted by the most wonderful ChaosBlue. 💙💙💙 It was a pleasure to talk to her and just drop all of my thoughts (I had A Lot of them) and it felt just right to talk about them with ChaosBlue.

I invite you all to listen to it, especially all fans of my fanfic Quiet in Blue–I talk about that fanfic in particular, about the hearing disability presented in the story, and about the whole writing process behind it.

Listen to the podcast here, and the link to the story is here. Enjoy!

[pro-dumbledores-office]

I want to talk about this scene because this is one of those moments that shows the difference between Voldemort and Grindelwald. They are both tyrants but they are tyrants of a different sort.

Grindelwald is a demagogue. This is an ancient Greek word that means something like rabble rouser. Over time political theorists have used the term to mean much more than this. It is a leader who appeals to the very worst instincts of the people - their anger, resentments, and fears - in order to gain power for themselves. In some cases, these emotions derive from legitimate grievances which does seem to be much more the case with Grindelwald. While Voldemort appeals to an elite minority and their racism, Grindelwald appeals to a minority (wizards) who have been historically oppressed by muggles to the point they are now in hiding. In short, Grindelwald takes a valid concern and whips the people up into a fury over it that is dangerous and unhelpful - unless like Grindelwald you want to seize power and overthrow contemporary wizarding society.

However, there is something even more revealing in Grindelwald's demagogy about who he is - Grindelwald does more than manipulate the people to his own ends, he needs their love. This scene in the limo is where its most evident, he does not fear the mob he has incited but relishes their praise. Unlike Voldemort who is incapable of love and needs no one else, Grindelwald is in his way quite needy. He is clearly stung by what he sees as Dumbleodre's betrayal and lack of returned affection. Likewise, he needs the people to love him too and that is quite possibly part of his motivation (as is usually the case with demagogues).

All of this makes Grindelwald a more complicated villain than Voldemort but I think also more dangerous. Ultimately, Voldemort does not fully understand the people he rules and dominates - he does not share in their emotional needs and longings. Grindelwald is the opposite, he feels things acutely and because of this is able to use the longings of others to his advantage.

Dangerous times favor dangerous men.

[saintsenara]

metas on ships

- in defence of amicable divorce - miscellaneous tomarrymort headcanons - thoughts on wolfstar from a non-wolfstar fan - unrequited prongsfoot is canon - why fandom needs to stop sleeping on dron - wow, luna is impossible to ship with anyone...

sirius black/severus snape

- could snack work as a couple in a world where james lives? - snape, sirius, childishness, and the werewolf prank - snack's sexual dynamics - miscellaneous snack headcanons

hermione granger/ron weasley

- romione are the best canon couple - no, ron and hermione wouldn't need couples therapy [no, they really wouldn't] - the best romione moment in the series [now with part two and three!] - are jily and romione meant to be narrative parallels? - would i write romione as the main pairing of a fic?

lily evans/james potter

- james and lily were love at first sight - would james and lily's marriage have lasted without the war?

remus lupin/nymphadora tonks

- a remadora answer which will please nobody - lupin's idealisation of tonks during their relationship - lupin's relationship with his sexuality, in remadora and snupin

harry potter/ginny weasley

- hinny's best narrative parallel? bellamort - ronarry versus hinny

severus snape/nymphadora tonks

- the stonks manifesto - stonks and the euphoria of queerness

severus snape/lord voldemort

- the snapemort manifesto - time-travelling snapemort would be a disaster

on...

short-form looks at various ships...

bellamione | blackcest | cissamione | dorlene | dracomort | dramione | drarry | drinny | flintwood | georgelina | georgemione | ginnymort | golden triad | grindeldore | grindelmort | hansy | harmony | hinny | jegulus | jily | lilymort | lilypad | linny | lucimort | lucissa | lunarry | luthur | mollytrix | moonflower | nottpott | pansmione | pavender | perciver | riddledore | ronarrymort | ronmort | siricissa | sirimione | siritrix | siritunia | sirry | tedoire | tomarrymort | tombraxas | tomione | wolfbucks | wormbucks

out of which snape has emerged as the fandom bike...

snaco | snagonagall | snames | snamione | snarcissa | snarity | snarry | snarrymort | snegulus | snetunia | snily | snilymort | snilypad | sniritunia | snon | snucissa | snucius | snulciber | snumbledore | snumblemort | snuna | snupin

unhinged and deranged...

send me the wildest pairing - platonic or romantic - that you can think of and i'll answer it here...

[mrose2000]

Since I've seen this get raised again...

It isn't just that there's no textual evidence for "Bellamort" (actually a lot to the contrary, in my opinion - for more on that see my meta) but the logic just isn't logic-ING (lol)

*Why couldn't Rowling simply tell us they're together like she did with every other couple? Why did it need to only exist in subtext? It's completely unnecessary and, frankly, seems like a very convenient argument for the shippers/"truthers".

*Not to mention she made 90% of their on-page interactions so negative & had him ghost her, seems like a weird way to hint to readers there was something between them?

*Why was it *universally* acknowledged as one-sided until "the play" came out?

*Why did Rowling never clarify the relationship in any of her interviews like she did with Grindeldore and Bellatrix's crush?

*Why is it so utterly unbelievable to the VAST majority of the fandom that TCC's canonicity is rejected by 3/4 of it as a result? Considering all the other garbage in it that borders on offensively stupid, it's saying a lot.

*Why does everybody who calls it canon seem to be a shipper? Because they are BIASED. Because they WANT them to be together (no idea why, it would be very abusive and the mental image is gross LOL).

*Furthermore, why do the non - biased parties not consider it to be canon? Because we are looking at the evidence and thinking rationally, not emotionally or with bias.

Can't wait to get more death threats 😁

[apicelladonna]

So, just found out that the white eerie world where Albus and Gellert fought when the blood troth was breaking was a similar state of the one of white King's Cross where Harry meets Dumbledore in Deathly Hallows p2.

Meaning that the suspended time they clashed washed were seconds in the real world, happening in one's head quite literally.

Meaning that the event in Bhutan was the equivalent of death for the two wizards' love (blood troth).

Meaning that this was the last time they would be holding each other's heart, or whatever remained in that cold rib cage of them in the shape of one's love before they fought again in 1945 as strangers, untethered and widowers.

I am so okay about this.

[dreamingbrownie]

Shards Masterpost

Prompt list by ao3commentoftheday, these are all unrelated Grindeldore oneshots.

Works:

Off to save the world again?

“You do not want to do this.”

“I thought we were past stating the obvious. Besides, you could have knocked.”

“Yeah, not gonna risk you apparating to Timbuktu or somethin’ just to avoid talking to me,” Aberforth huffed rounding the table. Sometimes Albus saw their father in the way he crossed his arms, the steel in his eyes, the set of his jaw that made ardently clear that he didn’t need magic to take zero bullshit from anyone. Even from his brother. Especially from his brother.

//

The night before everything comes to a head in Bhutan, Aberforth decides that he's had enough of Albus' secrets.

Prompt: A conversation you wish had happened in canon.

Canon for Fantastic Beasts 2, the Dumbledore brothers talking about their shared trauma.

Under a lilac canopy

Summary: To say that Gellert had not expected to wake up on another day at the western front to the Statute of Secrecy finally blasted to smithereens was a bit of an understatement. It fell as silently as a night-time truce: nobody knew who had fired the first shot that brought down the entire thing. To the stench of antiseptics and laudanum was added the cloyingly sweet scent of pain relief potions; the highest dose available in France was handed out like Penicillin: worth its weight in gold. After the initial shock of that surreal day had faded, he’d been ecstatic, of course, eager to write a woefully short, passionate letter to Albus about the possibilities this unlocked in the late war-effort – and not a single letter returned to him from Britain. In spite of the Royal Mail Service, those utter madlads, in spite of every owl and pigeon he could find in bumfuck nowhere, France – silence. He would have to find Albus himself, once he finally got to go home, but amidst London that was torn to shreds and filled with the hungering, grieving masses, nobody wanted to talk about the day Albus Dumbledore disappeared. The day the Statute fell.

Prompt: an expression of love.

Edwardian WW1 AU, hurt/comfort heavy on the comfort side. Hospital reunion fic.

The earth of me

Summary:

Maybe it had been foolish, then, of Albus to think himself safe from surprises. The kind which rocked the very ground underneath his feet, that was, a sort of shock that travelled up and down his spine and shot adrenaline through his entire system. Safe from war, if not from politics, he had considered himself hidden from Death’s crows upon his doorstep. He wasn’t.

He had long known the five stages of grief to be thestral dung. On that particular afternoon in late January of 1931, he appeared to have shot right past denial into depression, or directly into acceptance, perhaps, if one took into account that he had always known that this had had to happen eventually.

Prompt: Character meta

Albus ruminates on the death of his father in Azkaban and what this means for himself. Canon missing moment I guess.

Remnants

Summary:

“You could have mentioned that this dragon hoards eggs.”

In the darkness, Gellert was a mere shade. The ragged rocks cut the howling wind apart into ribbons that slashed the air: high, haunting sounds dancing over the wet grass. No human lived up here, not anymore. The next village was miles and miles away. Albus felt the ground vibrate with the dragon’s steps inside the castle ruins that spanned an entire hilltop. The bare bones of a grand church stuck up into the grey sky that had lifted away the roof from its ribs long ago; of the keep, only the northern and the eastern wall still stood. Everything else was naked stone filed down by the weather littering the grasslands like teeth. Here the remains of a hall as big as a lord’s manor, there circles in the mud: watchtowers, or what was left of them. Bones were scattered in between those trampled histories. The earth only yielded bushes with berries on them that should not be touched by anything that wished to live, no fields survived here. It was so cold Albus could feel his jaws jittering.

“Theseus said nothing of it. I presume that he did not know, else he would have. He only stressed how very unwise it is to go near a nesting dragon.”

Prompt instead of the origina prompt that didn't work for me was three lines of conversation, link lost, unfortunately.

Canon divergence, could be seen as a cousin to my Constellations series in as much as Albus and Gellert live togther throughout their life as professors on Hogwarts.

The red grief

Summary: In 1625, King James I of England and Scotland died, leaving his lover George de Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham, behind. Historically, the Duke decided to sack Cadíz on the Spanish coast soon after. In another world, a pair of immortal husbands are none too pleased about being asked for magical help on what others would call a thinly veiled act of piracy intended to escalate political tensions into outright war. How to cope?

Prompt: an emotional moment that you can't find a plot for.

Smut and fluff, immortal wizards AU, the most established of relationships

Golden mornings come again

Summary:

“I know for a fact that you have never asked me to go to the coast with you, but I dream of it, sometimes, finding you at the sea, and when I wake up, I am overcome with such a visceral urge to do exactly that; as if you were waiting for me with your hands in your coat pockets and your back turned to me, facing the sea – in fact, all of these… strange, inexplicable… Merlin, I don’t even know what to call them – these glimpses, these pictures I have of you in my mind that seem so impossibly real – you are waiting for me in all of them. Looking over your shoulder whenever I come close enough to touch, and there it always ends. As though I have been chasing and losing you for a very long time.”

//

It always takes a while for the memories to come back to them.

Prompt: a scene fully without context.

Reincarnation AU, established relationship, a lot of fluff with a side of emotional smut served gently

Historically proud

Summary: The man at the counter had hair so light it was almost white, looking natural, not dyed, but who really knew; his t-shirt had three lines of ancient Greek on it that Albus only realized had to be the first line of the Iliad after staring at it for way too long, toned muscles – arms, hello, damn – and he was oozing confidence. Well, that was all of Albus’ boxes ticked, ta very much. Fuck.

“I’m sorry, I kind of couldn’t not listen – you’re Professor Albus Dumbledore, yes?”

Puzzled, he gave a brief nod.

“Indeed I am. I like your t-shirt.”

The man looked down at it like he’d forgotten he was wearing it, grinning a bit.

“Thanks. I read your last article that you published – what was it, a few months ago? – Anyway, the way you dissected the outdated communist pirate theory with such poise and elegance, that was beautiful.” Then he cleared his throat and straightened from his casual slouch against the counter which looked entirely like a nervous act. “Sorry, where are my manners? Name’s Gellert Grindelwald, I’m the new Ancient Greek History Doctorate researcher and teacher at King’s College.”

“Oh!” Well, Albus was fucked. That beautiful, clever man was going to be his new colleague.

Prompt: The meeting part of a meet-cute AU

Modern AU, historians, getting together, uni colleagues AU with a side-dash of ToG characters mentioned

Candle Stains

Summary:

The different paths that their lives had taken so far had not merged upon accident: they’d worked to make it work. Once Aurelius was fully grown, theoretically, there was no reason why Gellert should still live with him then. The thought seized Albus' heart and held it captive.

“You must know that your continued support has been vital to me. I value you far, far beyond your excellent job as the tutor of my nephew.”

To his puzzlement, Gellert gave a breath of amusement that fast turned fond.

“I do believe that is British for ‘I love you.’”

“And if it is,” Albus responded, half question, half declaration.

Prompt: a shocking announcement (or the reaction to it)

Regency AU, Albus is a Lord living in London with his nephew Aurelius, Aberforth and Aurelius' tutor Gellert. Getting together fic.

All aflame (The fire has found a home in me)

Summary:

“When we are going on our tour together, I am going to make you scream above the Seine and you’re going to have me under the Venice moonlight.”

“Gellert,” he breathed out the pearling laughter in his chest, light as air, “I can’t wait.” Then he turned around, and awkward as the angle was, they made it work for a lingering kiss. Gellert nudged his big nose into Albus’ cheekbone smirking like the cat that got the cream.

“Better?”

“Much. Thank you. I’d say sorry for having woken you up, but in truth…”

“Don’t be,” he grinned, “I’m not."

Prompt: A missing moment from canon

Canon summer of 1899, smut, idiots in love, fluff and intimacy, no bad things in this one.

Heaven

Summary: “I am not used to how you look at me anymore.”

“And how do I look at you?”

“Like you would burn the world to have me again. I am not sure if I would call it love.”

I do, Gellert wanted to scream, I do, I do, I do, throbbing in his chest in a double-stutter. //

Prompt: an alternate ending to a scene from canon.

The restaurant scene from Fantastic Beasts 3 do-over, canon divergence, what if these two had actually talked and gotten their shit together?

Stay a thousand years

Summary:

“Gellert is blessed with foresight, wisdom, a cunning mind for strategy, and charms enough to have the whole court fall for him; he is a just and intelligent man and… I love him dearly. Anyone else but him would make no sense for me to marry.”

Percival gazed at him with something like trepidation in his watery eyes.

“He is powerful enough to match you, Albus. Having him so near you could be a dangerous decision… or the only wise thing to do.”

“He would never hurt me. Never,” Albus vowed with all the conviction of late-night conversations about spells that did not exist yet and the long-lost relics that haunted them both from the side-lines of their childhood fairy tales. The court might not know it yet, but Gellert was his, and he belonged to Gellert as firmly as any priest could profess; more so, they were made from the same stardust. It was the one thing that did not made him tremble these days, that knowledge.

“Very well,” sighed the dying king, and let go of his hands. “Get him for me, please.”

Prompt: Someone just having the worst luck.

Medieval Fantasy AU, proposal under rather difficult circumstances fic, royalty AU.

By your leave

Summary:

Captured. The thrice damned teenagers had gotten themselves captured. Bowed over Albus’ tombstone as he was every morning and every for longer than he cared to actively recount, Gellert took the news from one of his many birds scouting the grand, wide world out there for him without moving from his spot. Though he wanted nothing more than to rest his forehead on the white marble painted golden by the sunset until he faded into the stone itself, slowly, painfully slowly, his folded hands detangled to settle on the cool surface instead.

“My heart, I must do something,” he rasped over the polished stone. His knees creaked and hurt as he forced them to move like rusted hinges. “To the snake pit I go, is that not the funniest thing you ever heard – this might finally be my last sunset, my love.”

//

Albus Dumbledore was dead, Harry Potter captured at Malfoy Manor, but the last King had not yet been let off the chess board.

Prompt: An exchange of gifts or mementos.

Canon divergence, hurt with very little comfort, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows alternate ending.

in from the cold

Summary: Gellert comes back home to Camelot in the weeping rain to a row between Master Merlin and King Arthur. Nothing new there, though this time, a dragon is dead, the King is injured, and Gellert would simply like to squirrel away Albus from under Merlin's watchful eyes, thank you very much.

Prompt: That awesome line you simply can't find a plot for.

Camelot medieval fantasy AU. Reunion fic with a side of Merlin/Arthur.

Stained-glass window laments

Summary:

“I cannot bear the thought of life here without you. My head weighs heavy with the crown upon it, and that weight is not made to be carried alone. You must pull through now, my love, and be not afraid of my temper. I see how unusually quiet you are.”

Gellert’s eyes briefly flickered heavenward.

“I got stabbed.”

“After pushing an army of three thousand; twelve clans united despite that they’re squabbling in front of my doorstep now; through the murderous mountains, yes.” He kissed Gellert’s fingers, feeling the cool metal push smoothly into his lips, feeling the shape and weight of them in comparison to Gellert’s roughened skin. Eye contact kept him quiet. “You are thin, my heart. Have they who followed you into battle not treated you to every comfort?”

Prompt: The aftermath of a scene you’ll never actually write

Medieval Fantasy AU, King Albus and loyal knight Gellert, hurt/comfort.

Asja

Summary:

It had been Europe, they agreed on that much. Gellert remembered birches, and Albus still sometimes blinked at sunspots falling through oak leaves dappled with dew in dreams lost before he was fully awake. Sensual memory, that was what stuck the longest. Visuals, feelings, sounds.

Once, they had been like gods.

Prompt: the scene that would bring you personally the most joy.

Pre-historic Smut, rated E.

[arale2126]

Cherik 「Jean-acquisition」 fic list

Went over my Pocket List and here is the list of dads!Cherik and Jean as their daughter.

For those who want to skip my personal ramblings: my absolute top top top favorites [one] [two] [three] [four]

— turning tables

I didn't even mean to search for Cherik fics at the time as I don't even ship them. The ship was huge so I had always knew of them and enjoyed watching people going crazy over them for more than a decade but I didn't get deep into the fandom or anything. Until that very fateful night. I was knee deep in Grindeldore feels for unknown reasons (still am, btw) and got a huge urge to read Dumbledore using legilimency to soothe his crying daughter. Being not the top ship as Grindeldore was, there simply wasn't any fic that fit the criteria. And what did I do? Searched the Cherik tag, obviously. It was just a logical shortcut: what telepath with kids wouldn't do that? Stayed up until 2am to finish the entire thing and the rest was history. The idea of Cherik with wee!Jean had taken root like the most normal thing on Earth.

— An Earlier Heaven

Pre-DOFP so Erik is characterized as only borderline-abusive instead of, you know, full blown, Charles-need-to-file-a-restraining-order-against-his-ex-who-is-incapable-of-being-anything-but-angry kind of abusiveness.

— Red Riding Hood | 5 times Jean said something embarrassing + 1 she didn't

pure chaos wee!Jean crack and two very embarrassed and exasperated dads

— Looking Forwards (Backwards)

grown-up!Jean reminisces about growing up with Charles and Erik as she fills in for all the history that Logan has missed after DOFP. I wish it was longer because it's so sweet and warms my heart.

— Four times Erik was called dad and one time he was called husband

fluff domestic ASMR basically

— Rest of their Lives

Prompt from Mnemo_ink: After Jean destroys Vuk by letting the Phoenix force free, the light descends back on Earth and envelops Charles. When the light fades away, Charles has a baby in his arms: it's Jean. I can't describe how much I love this idea. It's a cultural thing, I think. There is a notion that if the bond between people are strong enough, it would continue lives after lives. Whatever you incarnates into in the next life, in one way or another, you would find a way to be back together again and again. This prompt reflects that idea really well. Of billions others on Earth, once again, Charles is chosen. He is forgiven. He gets a chance at redemption, to be a father again. It is just indescribably beautiful to me.

— To Love and Be Loved

👌🏼👏🏼😫 have to use emojis because i'm lost for words at how *chef kiss this is. It's domestic fluff on steroid strapped to a rocket. 「 of course erik would give the kids little metal tokens so he could always sense them--and there is some COMPLICATED meta to be written here about how charles's wheelchair binds them together too 」

— For I Mean to Conquer Troy

This fic purifies my heart and ascends me. It's like I'm wrapped around by warm comfort and soothing lullabies. You know how in First Class Charles tells Erik "There is good, too. I felt it." That is the Erik in this fic, the characterization that is grossly overlooked, I dare say. And the author predicts who he could be in Apocalypse in 2011 as well. 👏🏼

[dumbledore-and-grindelwald]

I don't know if anyone has pointed it out already, but "the kingdom of Buhtan: if you listen carefully enough, the past whispers to you", I was wondering how that would come into play... And then we had Albus and Gellert stop their fight and listen to each other's heartbeat. The past whispering to them. I'm dead.

I haven't thought of it that way and I just died... just a little.

This is an amazing observation and it has such a poetic beauty to it.

[judgmentalfishnun]

To slowly start working through my own list here, I’m gonna talk about: The Relationship - #1: What’s your timeline for the summer of 1899?

In DH, Albus mentions that he and Gellert were together for “two months of insanity” during the summer after he graduated Hogwarts. Aberforth says that the confrontation that ended their affair happened when it was ‘nearly time for him to go back to Hogwarts,’ so I’m going to call that the last week of August. That puts their first meeting at roughly the end of June, which fits with the not-totally-clear end date of the Hogwarts school year. I have a pet theory that they met on June 30th, the last day of today’s Pride month and also what would later be the date of Albus’ death.

I think Albus was pretty reserved, and if it had been up to him, they would have gone months without making any moves. Fortunately, Gellert was very outgoing and I think also read Albus as gay very early on even without the help of his Seer abilities. One day, maybe one to two weeks after they met, Gellert took it upon himself to put Albus out of his misery and kiss him. If we want to keep up with significant dates, we could say 7/7.

From there I think they had sex for the first time either immediately, or at most within a day or two.

Bizarrely, we still don’t know Albus’ birthday, but we know he was ‘approaching his eighteenth birthday’ when he graduated, so it’s probably sometime in July or early August, and I think Gellert got him something special is all I’m saying.

Making the blood troth was a big deal, and I think it took a little longer for them to decide to do that, and to research the ritual. My guess would be the end of July/beginning of August, maybe July 31st. I could also see it being closer to the end of the summer, but I want to be able to imagine them having blissful married sex for at least a few weeks. Narratively, I also like the idea of them spending time trading the pendant back and forth and getting attached to it before the falling out happens.

Then, of course, disaster strikes. I think Ariana’s funeral is the day before the Hogwarts Express leaves. 

At some point I’ll do a timeline from summer 1899 to FB!

[sandraharissa]

It’s kinda sad how all of wizarding world will forever remember Dumbledore primarily for defeating Grindelwald. 

From their point of view this was the most awesome thing Dumbledore ever did. Initially when he is introduced to Harry it’s as the good good guy who was so badass and great that he defeated in an epic duel the big baddy of the past (me paraphrasing the chocolate frog inscription coupled with what the narrative is insinuating). Their duel is the stuff of legends. 

And yet to Dumbledore personally this is probably one of the most shameful things he ever did. He was trying to postpone it as much as he possibly could, even tho people were dying. As the duel commenced I bet he tried convincing Gellert to stop and abscond with him, or things of that sort. He, through sense of responsibility and guilt, was forced to fight against someone he loved, which led to him being imprisoned for life. It must have been an extremely traumatic experience for Dumbledore, filled with a lot of guilt, the way he explains it to Harry as ‘faced him only when it would have been too shameful not to’. 

The thing he will be forever celebrated for the most is the thing that he personally finds as the most shameful thing he did, he failed to act sooner, he directly hurt someone he loved.

[litsetaure]

Oh, I could go into so much about why this is 100% true and in fact, I absolutely will because YES. 

Here we go! *cracks knuckles*

(By the way, if you ever watch Troy, just try to ignore the fact that Brad Pitt plays  Achilles. No disrespect to him, but if either of them was the cute twink, it was Achilles, not Patroclus. Granted, he was a very powerful twink, but he was still a twink.)

Okay, anyway, first things first, let’s get the superficial stuff out of the way and take their looks. We don’t have a huge amount to go off of with Patroclus, but I am positive I’ve seen something written that he had reddish hair, mind you there’s more that say he’s got dark hair, so there’s not really much to go on there. But then you look at Achilles. I’ve already mentioned that he’s a gorgeous twink, but he’s usually depicted as having golden curls, which...yeah, kind of sounds familiar. (His hair has also been described as ‘flaming’, which could imply a hint of red in there, but more often than not, he’s shown as being blonde, but that descriptor also makes me think of Gellert ‘inflaming’ Albus with his ideas.)

Put it this way, Jamie Campbell Bower could ABSOLUTELY play him, given the opportunity. And yes, I would absolutely LOVE a film version of The Song of Achilles, but only if it’s done PROPERLY, otherwise what’s the point?? Also, Achilles is known for his proficiency with a spear, and Gellert’s first name literally means ‘spear’, which I think is kind of hilarious. 

But anyway...let’s move on, because this is about to get REALLY interesting. Why? Because of how Patroclus ends up basically staying with Achilles. According to mythology, Patroclus is exiled from his home after killing a boy during a game, at which point he was taken to the house of Peleus and grew up alongside Achilles, where they formed a deep and close bond (you might say they ‘got on like a cauldron on fire’ even.) Of course, we don’t know the full details of why Gellert was expelled from Durmstrang, and it’s a subject of debate as to whether Patroclus killing the boy was intentional or accidental, but...does that sound familiar at all? I mean, yeah, that could easily be me saying that Patroclus is the equivalent to Gellert, but I actually don’t think so. I mean, yes, he’s objectively the outsider in the house of Peleus (though not for very long, I don’t think!), but I think it’s equally possible that Albus was also an outsider himself. Not because of him having a bad temper or that he killed someone (that we know of!), but because he was so brilliant-minded and he stood out amongst the others. You could also make the argument that Patroclus being forced away from his home after the death of his friend parallels Albus being forced back to his home at Godric’s Hollow following Kendra’s death; his freedom was snatched away from him in one terrible moment. (Actually, you could even equate the death of Patroclus’ friend to the death of Kendra when Ariana lost control since we don’t really know what happened there either.) But then, following his return to Godric’s Hollow, Albus finds a semblance of freedom when Gellert arrives. Finally, Albus has someone who understands him, who wants the same things he does, who can give him the intellectual stimulation - among other things - that he not only craves, but that he so desperately needs. Just as Achilles gave Patroclus the companionship that he wished for and that he had thought was lost. For a short time, they were both free to be who they wanted to be. But then came...

The Trojan War. (Ha, you thought I was going to mention the threeway duel, didn’t you? Give me a minute...)

And suddenly, two young men are forced into an insane war that neither of them asked for. It would perhaps be inevitable that their relationship might strain under the pressure, especially with an arrogant and egocentric leader like Agamemnon, who openly despised Achilles. And if you think I am basically comparing Agamemnon to Aberforth...you’re absolutely right. I've talked previously about how Aberforth’s attitude towards Albus and Gellert leaving with Ariana feels very controlling (when he has zero authority over Gellert and not much more over Albus, considering he’s an adult and can really do as he pleases), but in this case, you see Agamemnon and Achilles practically come to blows - only divine intervention (no, literally) stops Achilles from outright killing Agamemnon - over Briseis, Achilles’ war prize. Now, while Agamemnon’s and Aberforth’s motivations with regards to Briseis and Ariana are markedly different (at least I really hope they are, good lord!), the point still stands that two powerful men are at odds over a young woman, who should have the right to her own voice, but who does not, albeit for very different reasons. Either way, neither Achilles nor Gellert take the situation well and it almost deteriorates, ending with our blonde boys leaving, just in very different circumstances. Achilles eventually leaves in a furious temper with Patroclus by his side and Briseis (sadly) left with Agamemnon, whereas Gellert leaves alone in a terrible state with Ariana dead. (Interestingly, there’s fairly little mention in the Iliad as to what Patroclus is doing, thought we know he's there with Achilles, just as in the books there is relatively little mention of what Albus was doing during the duel, until he stops Gellert using the Cruciatus Curse on Aberforth, though the Secrets of Dumbledore film sheds some interesting context on this when Albus reveals that he drew his wand after Aberforth did, and only mentions that Gellert laughed, but that’s another story.)

Anyway, we mostly know the next part, the war continues without Achilles and his Myrmidons and the Greeks are not doing well because they’ve lost their best warrior...but then something very interesting happens. Namely, Patroclus begging Achilles to allow HIM to go and fight wearing his (Achilles’) armour if he will not do so himself. This is quite interesting, because it shows that Patroclus is basically the only person who can actually talk bluntly with Achilles and outright tell him when he’s acting like a dick. Similarly, we see that Albus wrote a letter to Gellert cautioning him against going too far when they came to begin their revolution. Of course, we know that this never came to pass for the two of them, but it’s an interesting note that Albus felt able to voice these concerns to Gellert. It gives the impression that, just as Patroclus can do so with Achilles, Albus can also speak freely with Gellert and communicate openly with him. Granted, they may not agree, but Albus is able to say what he thinks. He and Gellert are on equal footing, just as Achilles and Patroclus are - evidenced by how Achilles agrees to the plan, but tells Patroclus very clearly to only save the Greek ships and not to go further and attack Troy. Unfortunately, Patroclus disobeys this request and eventually gets killed. Yeah, I think we can see the parallel here; Albus puts on the Gaunt ring, which brings about the curse that is slowly killing him and...well, eventually Snape kills him. Spoiler alert. 

Needless to say, Achilles does not take the news of his beloved’s death well at all. He’s absolutely devastated. Interestingly, he also remarks about how he suspects Patroclus is dead and irritably grumbles about his hot temper, which may well be a parallel to the fact that Gellert is a Seer. There’s every likelihood that Gellert had a vision of Albus putting on the ring and eventually also dying, which would have shattered him, just as much as the death of Patroclus shattered Achilles. Granted, we don’t know this for sure, but it’s a reasonable assumption. 

Now, here’s where things get really tragic, as if they hadn’t already. With Patroclus dead, Achilles agrees to rejoin the Greek army and put aside his feud with Agamemnon. Which is kind of good for the Greeks, but maybe not so good for Achilles. Now that he has lost his reason to live, Achilles has gone wild. He’s unstoppable. He’s spilling rivers of blood. He’s literally fighting the river (oh, fun fact! It’s the River Scamander that he’s fighting, paralleling Gellert’s rage towards Newt!) blinded by rage and grief at his loss. At this point, Xanthus, his horse, prophesies his death, to which Achilles replies that he is well aware that he will die at Troy, but he is going to take down as many Trojans as he can first, which seems to imply a certain level of suicidal ideation about his actions. He knows he’s going to die, but he will go out in a blaze of glory first. He will take down Hector and avenge the man he loves.  

I mean...I don’t even need to spell out what the comparison is here, do I? Oh well, I'm going to do it anyway. Yeah. It’s Gellert’s last stand. The moment where Voldemort comes to Nurmengard in search of information about the Elder Wand and Gellert laughs in his face, taunts him and refuses to tell him anything. He knows that this will lead to his death, but he doesn’t care. He revels in it, he begs for it. Of course, he knows damn well where the wand is, knows who has it, but he has to protect Albus, has to ensure his tomb is not desecrated. But of course, the tragedy is that it doesn’t work. Voldemort gets the wand. He violates Albus’ tomb. Gellert’s sacrifice, as noble and brave and magnificent as it was...ultimately, was in vain. (Or perhaps not, since Harry needed to get the wand anyway, but who knows if Gellert knows that, or if he’d even care if he did. All that mattered to him was Albus.) In the same way, Achilles finally gets his heroic moment. He finally gets to fight and kill Hector. He gets his vengeance. But Patroclus still lies unmourned and (literally) haunts him, asking him to let him go, to bury him and let him go to the afterlife (in, I might add, what is an UNBEARABLY sad passage in the Iliad, implying that Patroclus is lingering somewhere, possibly in limbo...just as Albus is lingering in Kings Cross, his business unfinished.) Some days later, Achilles also agrees to return Hector’s body to his father, King Priam, finally doing what is right after going to such violent extremes...just as Gellert did with his brave final stand. 

Of course, we know that not long after, Achilles himself is also killed and his ashes are mixed with those of his beloved and they are buried together, just as they should be. And while we don’t know what happened to Gellert after his death, I like to think that he and Albus found each other once again and lived (or after-lived?) happily ever after. 

(I also have a funny feeling, considering JKR has a classics degree - just like I do - that this parallel was completely intentional. But...who knows?)

grindeldore is a patrochilles variant. its true and you cant say no to me.

[saintsenara]

So I found your blog a while back and I last night I finally found the time to browse through pretty much all your HP meta and ship takes (i slept way later than I should've yesterday, thanks to you ^^) and I'm astonished at how you manage to weave in well founded analysis even into your answers to even the most deranged ship-asks

That being said, I scrolled through a lot of your blog and I couldn't find your opinion on grindeldore as a ship. Since i really like your takes on ol dumbles (even though I don't agree with all of them. For example I don't think his whimsical traits are entirely a lie. I think they are a part of him he over-exaggerates as a coping mechanism and a comfort to himself and others) I was wondering how you think this relationship-dynamic worked, how it shaped him and how large a role it played in his later life

(This is not a reaction to the ask game obviously, since the ship has no gone rather mainstream. I sometimes miss its days of obscurity before the fb movies but that's another ask)

thank you very much for the ask, anon - and especially for the very kind message at the start.

my opinion on grindeldore is coloured by the fact that i've never seen any of the fantastic beasts films - and that i've also gone out of my way to forget anything i've ever accidentally learned about any of them. i just don't find the idea of them interesting in the slightest.

but i love the little flashes of grindeldore we get in the seven-book canon - the image of the owls flying back and forth at all hours of the night because they can’t bear not to be talking to each other has a good claim to be the most romantic thing which happens in the series - and i also love the way that grindelwald becomes another example of a narrative tool the series uses to great effect with many other main characters besides dumbledore: the figure, only ever fragmentarily known [both by the reader and by the character who loved them], who causes such immense grief that it dictates the entire course of that character's life.

grindelwald plays the role in dumbledore's narrative arc that james plays in harry's - he considers grindelwald perfect, wonderful, brilliant... until he can't pretend this is the case anymore, just as harry hero-worships his father until he is confronted by the proof that he was a bully. but while harry then begins to understand james with more nuance, dumbledore retreats - hides himself from grindelwald until he's literally forced to duel him, and then hides grindelwald away and never sees him again.

grindelwald is dumbledore's lily - his grief over losing him [and, specifically, his grief over losing the imagined version of him, when who he really was could no longer be ignored - which is exactly how snape thinks of lily] drives him towards a life which encapsulates what the series understands as "love": the willingness to steadfastly endure and suffer and sacrifice in silence.

and he's also dumbledore's merope - the person who didn't even try to stay alive be better for him, who irreparably ripped his chance at a happy family apart, and who abandoned him when things got hard - and, just as voldemort's entire life becomes about creating a place for himself in the world which soothes that grief, so too does dumbledore's. his public persona becomes unwaveringly noble for exactly the same reason that voldemort's becomes unassailably villainous - so that the fragility of the grieving man beneath the mask is never known.

these parallels are why i back the concepts of snumbledore and riddledore [and the triad - snumblemort] so utterly [i am not quite brave enough for harrydore, i fear], and so they certainly mean that i should find grindeldore compelling...

but i find - i think - that i like grindelwald better as a background character whose ghost haunts dumbledore's later relationships - romantic or otherwise. his shadow looming over the two dumbledore brothers, and the way that the memory of him rears up when the eleven-year-old tom riddle calls himself "special", and the way that dumbledore still loathes himself so strongly - a century later - for being taken in by his smile that he spits "you disgust me" at snape are canon moments which always stand out for me, and i love how these can be expanded in fanfiction - what happens when voldemort and/or snape find out about grindeldore obsesses me, for example.

and i am similarly interested in how dumbledore can't be written as a fully-rounded character unless the impact of his relationship with grindelwald [and how this drives his public performance of careful eccentricity, causes his obvious ivory-tower-ishness, and informs his thinking on love and desire and so on] is taken into account.

but i just am less interested in grindeldore as the central relationship in a piece [although there are definitely exceptions to this rule] - and i think being so stubborn about fantastic beasts is probably why. grindelwald works so well in the books as a shadow that i end up finding that more compelling than seeing him as a main character [which i also feel about james - i really like the ghost of unrequited prongsfoot, which is canon, haunting sirius in his adult life, but i care about it less as the main ship of a fic], but i'm sure that i would feel otherwise if i ever bothered to get into how he's written for the films, where he serves such a different narrative purpose that he gets more substance.

and i should also say that i don't find that grindeldore interests me to write myself because i think that filling grindelwald out into a main character on the basis of book-canon detail alone would mean confronting just how explicit an analogy for hitler he is in the text [my impression is that fantastic beasts changes this a lot], which is something i don't really have the energy for.

[although - since it's always worth reiterating this - the grindeldore girlies are perfectly entitled to ship the pairing in any way they like, and to write the characters and their motivations in any way they choose, without getting any grief about it. this is fiction.]

but who knows - maybe i'll change my mind the more grindeldore crosses my path. stranger things have happened.

because there is a little idea which continues to needle at me... that dumbledore's loathing of horcruxes, even in the 1940s, is because grindelwald had made one. and that this is why, when he meets harry at king's cross, he is so determined to believe that the rumours of his repentance were true...