I had someone tell me that dislike of Umbridge is usually from ingrained sexism toward female villains. I kind of stared in shock — I mean I love my lady villains. I love nasty female villains. I love sneaky and clever female villains. I love female villains that wrap themselves up in what the patriarchy expects of them and uses those expectations to smash someone upside the head.
I tried to explain my hatred of Umbridge isn’t that she’s full of traditionally feminine attributes.
It’s that she’s lawful evil.
If you did an alignment chart, no one would represent lawful evil more than Umbridge. I don’t think there’s ever been a character that better sums up lawful evil.
And, to me, lawful evil is the most terrifying and disturbing evil there is.
To me, lawful evil is the shit that gets thousands of people killed while the person responsible walks away feeling like they did their duty.
Evil forces like Bellatrix and Voldemort are fairy tales. They’re the bad guys a good guy can chase away with a sword or wand.
Umbridge is that evil that really does lurk in the hearts of men (and women). The realness, the plausibility of it, makes her amazingly uncomfortable.
So, yeah, I can’t get as excited about her as a fantasy book creation as easily as some other female villains. Not because she’s a woman, or because of her gender presentation, but because she represents a sort of evil that’s far, far too close to home.
Voldemort is stereotypically scary, but he’s a very unreal kind of scary. Umbridge is different. Everyone’s had an umbridge.
yes because lawful evil wraps itself in righteousness and oppresses you through approved systems and hierarchies that nobody is supposed to question
And Umbridge really isn’t a villain. Voldemort is a villain, and were he a woman would likely have an arc that would have ‘loveable’ potential.
But Umbridge is a politician.
A power hungry, ultra conservative with the Law on their side, and (the ability to keep it that way). Every act, no matter how terrible is righteous, for my cause is righteous and Just.
It’s horrifying.
Not to mention the fact that she also does it while outwardly appearing as a kind lady in pink sweaters who loves cats and china plates gives it an extra level of creep. Voldemort, you couldn’t look at and NOT see a villain. But, Umbridge, she hides in plain sight.
I think what non-spoonies tend to forget is that chronically ill people do not just get ill more often than other people, but are ill all the time. When we miss school or cancel appointments, it is not because we ‘felt a bit peaky again’ and decided to not go – we feel bad most of the time, but still do things anyway. A lot of us feel ill, in pain etc. all the time, and we cancel plans/take time off when we physically or emotionally cannot cope with the day or the things required of us. Our ‘good’ or ‘okay’ is a healthy person’s ‘awful’. We are consistently making more effort than ‘normal people’ in order to live and make a living, and we often make that effort at the expense of our health. And it is so hurtful and offensive when people we know/ friends/ family/ teachers etc. get frustrated and annoyed because they think we are not trying hard enough. We are always trying. We are always fighting. Sometimes it’s too much.
Not wanting to start a discourse, but wanted to post this link about how much disrespect the field of veterinary medicine has. September is national suicide awareness month and veterinarians are pretty much at the top of the list for suicides now. It’s not a great title to have. If you ever wonder why that is, take a peek at this article. I could have written it, word for word.
Don’t get me wrong, I have a lot of *wonderful* clients. One elderly couple bakes us brownies every other week. One of my clients just sent us a ~$150 flower arrangement. I have die hard clients who love me and whom I love back.
But in those 11 years, I have definitely witnessed a shift in perception of the field. And I just lost yet another colleague after someone started a media storm against her resulting in loss of her business, death threats against her and her staff, and finally her taking her own life.
So if you love or appreciate your veterinarian (or any professional you work with routinely, could be a nurse or physical therapist, whatever), let them know. It costs nothing to be kind.
thranduil sleeps calmer knowing even if his son married a dwarf at least he married The Supermodel dwarf and singlehandedly crushed the hopes of single dwarves and dwarrowdams everywhere
this is my headcanon and you will never take it from me.
listen, just Listen for a second, okay.
Gimli Gloinul is from the line of Durin okay, he’s from the line of KINGS, his bloodline stands up against Legolas’ perfectly, if the elves and dwarves got their shit together for a hot second they would be like “YES, PERFECT, A DIPLOMATIC MARRIAGE TO BIND OUR HOUSES TOGETHER AND NEVER SHALL THE TWAIN THROW ONE ANOTHER TO DRAGONS…again.” because you have a king’s son and a king’s nephew which, well, I love Dain but he’s not an EREBOR KING and GIMLI IS FROM THE FAMILY OF EREBOR KINGS.
And Gimli acts like he’s from the line of Erebor kings, too, okay, he’s a diplomat and a warrior and a nobleman, he’s the sort of person who SAYS things like ‘faithless is he who says fairwell when the road darkens’ and stares down Elrond Peredhil in his own home when his strength and faith are questioned. And he’s the kind of person who swears his allegiance to people he barely knows because it’s Right and Good and Gimli knows it.
And Thorin Oakenshield was handsome, and his sister the lady Dis is beautiful, and Gimli’s cousins Fili and Kili were fine young dwarrows, and Gimli’s mother is a great beauty.
Basically my point here is that Gimli, proud strong gimli with his firebeard hair and bold laugh and mithril tongue and clever fingers, broke the hearts of everyone in Erebor and not a few people outside of Erebor when he married a goddamn elf. Like. Not even Arwen Undomiel (WHO MARRIED A GODDAMN HUMAN, it’s been a weird couple of years in Middle-Earth, everyone wonders strongly if they’ve been drinking too much). Like he’s not even marrying a great beauty of the elves, Legolas isn’t ugly by elvish standards but also he’s nothing particularly special, and he’s not a great diplomat, and he’s BARELY a king’s son because everyone knows that Mirkwood elves are…a little odd. Legolas is a big cheerful hunter who sings songs he doesn’t remember all of, who chatters to trees and has no sense of the right thing to say even if he’s developed enough self-preservation to know the wrong thing to say, and FOR THE LOVE OF MAHAL HE FIGHTS WITH A BOW.
“GIMLI” Gloin bellows “YOU TURNED DOWN THIRTY-TWO SUITORS FROM FINE DWARVISH LINES FOR THIS”
“Ignore him, amrâlime, he’ll get over it” Gimli says in amusement as he beckons Legolas over to his forge, where he’s carefully smithing mithril-inlaid gold marriage clasps that will grip fine elvish hair. It’s too hot in the forge to wear shirts, if you’re working. Every dwarf in twenty feet stops what they’re doing to watch Gimli’s biceps flex as he holds up a jewel for Legolas’ inspection.
“YOU COULD HAVE HAD A HAREM” Gloin wails from down the hall.
#a headcanon I never knew I needed until this very moment
They had to kill Yondu in vol 2 because they realized the Rocket/Yondu chemistry was so strong that they’d totally be dating by infinity war and Hollywood wasn’t ready for Gay Raccoon/alien representation yet.
Please register online if you aren’t already. Check your registration and your friends. Lots of people don’t have much time left to register! Don’t wait until the last minute!
hey, y’all the Gender Identity Center of Colorado is on the verge of closing its doors after more than 40 years of serving Colorado’s trans community. they’ve got a fundraiser going on facebook here, and if you could chip in a few dollars and/or spread the word, that would be great
EDIT: as of August 4, 2018, the fundraiser has ended!
EDIT 2: they’ve started another fundraiser, as they needed to get the money raised already distributed as quickly as possible! It can be found here!
EDIT 3: The second fundraiser has ended, but if you’d still like to help, go to GIC’s website here and scroll to the bottom. There’s a green button that says ‘donate now through Colorado gives’ where you can donate instead of the Facebook fundraiser, or you can just go directly to Colorado Gives right here
The second fundraiser has now ended, but you can still donate through GIC’s website or through Colorado Gives! They’re linked in the edit above or you can access GIC’s website here, or go directly to Colorado Gives here
Verilidaine's Scrapbook 