He will fight the Darkness with whatever tactics he needs, and though he wishes these tactics did not include the Unforgivable Curses, he knows better...And so Albus's only choice is ensure that he has no equal in casting them.
Oh yes, this is how it always begins -- with rationalizations and the wish to do goo. Makes me think of what might have happened if Gandalf has accepted the One Ring.
But how cruel of you to end the story there!! I'm sure I will be up all night imagining all sorts of awful things...
Ah, very nice...if "very nice" were the type of thing I could say about this kind of story. Absolutely plausible, chilling self-justification in the name of the greater good. (Which, unfortunately, isn't actually as frightening to me as I imagine Minerva's humiliation or pain to be. What does that say about me?) M.
This strength of mind is one of the things that makes Minerva so interestingly powerful as a witch -- and so often annoyingly stubborn as a woman. What a perfectly IC Albus line. It’s exactly that, of course.
He will fight the Darkness with whatever tactics he needs, and though he wishes these tactics did not include the Unforgivable Curses, he knows better. I can believe that he truly wished he could do without Unforgivables. And that it’s truly impossible. The age-old dilemma of every war.
Albus Dumbledore is a patient man, though that virtue has come to him only slowly, the work of years. One of many lines in which the narrative voice is formal, almost poetic in an elegiac style, beautifully fitting both Albus Dumbledore’s age and thought processes.
They do not understand that when someone of Albus Dumbledore's stature and abilities crosses a moral line, it is not the same as when an ordinary person does so. That’s exactly the point, and the way you lead up to that point is utterly brilliant.
As always, my dear, your reviews are thoughtful and literate and wonderfully detailed. This story caused me all sorts of problems in the writing (trying to find that elusive, maddening line between eroticization/exploitation and legitimate darkness), and I'm glad that you find some legitimate elements in it.
Thank you for taking the time to craft such a satisfying response!
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Oh yes, this is how it always begins -- with rationalizations and the wish to do goo. Makes me think of what might have happened if Gandalf has accepted the One Ring.
But how cruel of you to end the story there!! I'm sure I will be up all night imagining all sorts of awful things...
Well done indeed!
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And you're right -- our imaginations can be worse than something concrete /g/.
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He will fight the Darkness with whatever tactics he needs, and though he wishes these tactics did not include the Unforgivable Curses, he knows better. I can believe that he truly wished he could do without Unforgivables. And that it’s truly impossible. The age-old dilemma of every war.
Albus Dumbledore is a patient man, though that virtue has come to him only slowly, the work of years. One of many lines in which the narrative voice is formal, almost poetic in an elegiac style, beautifully fitting both Albus Dumbledore’s age and thought processes.
They do not understand that when someone of Albus Dumbledore's stature and abilities crosses a moral line, it is not the same as when an ordinary person does so. That’s exactly the point, and the way you lead up to that point is utterly brilliant.
Minerva, he is certain, would say ( ... )
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Thank you for taking the time to craft such a satisfying response!
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