I didn't answer the first because my reaction was "Aha. Well, that's nice. Doesn't make me loath him less. At least it was unrequited because Dumbles deserves whatever pain comes his way." Your choices somehow didn't incorporate my reaction ^_^
I also thought it was a bit of a conciliatory gesture for the most painfully awkward "romance" ever written via which JKR pushed the most often pegged as gay characters Lupin and Tonks into hetero breeder-camp... A kind of "Alright, I admit among the tons of people popping up in 7 books there should minimum be a non-straight one among the non-evils. Here, have Dumbledore who the average fan wouldn't want to envision sexually active anyway, who hasn't a shipping fan base of note (let's face it: all other main characters have one!) and who's dead now. See, my universe consists of more than people who marry their first requited crushes right out of school, have children very early and stay together forever!"... And since she only informs us of it outside book!canon hopefully less protests from the ultra-conservatives and the wanky hategroups - also making calls for boycotts from said groups pretty pointless since the main sales in the English-speaking world already happened! YMMV of course.
For shipping it was "other" due to - him being dead now - him with Snape or Harry is just nasty imo: more than 110 years age-difference and the inherent abusive power-imbalance makes me shudder. And I've not once seen even a single fic addressing the limitations of severe old age on AD's sex-life even halfway realistically - instead it's magical geronto!stud!Albus all the way with the miraculously youthfully firm body. Eeeww. And I really wouldn't want to inflict him on poor Snape regardless - the man has suffered enough from fictional colleagues and non-fictional hateful authoresses alike: he doesn't need a heartless, manipulative hypocrite with no regard for his well-being or soul in his sexual life whose only concern is for Gryffindors, tolerates murder-attempts as long as they come from the "right" people and who finds children who happen to become Slytherins scum from age 11 on >_< Snape deserves better. - I don't ship him at all
If I did ship AD though: - I could see creepy, power-abusing, somewhat coercive sex with younger Riddle which Albus excuses to himself with Riddle's irredeemable evilness from day 1 of their acquaintance. Or Riddle using his younger good looks, taking the initiative to get something and getting in way over his head... - and of course AUrequited (or canon!unrequited or unrequited but still happening, lacking consent) Dumbledore/Grindelwald since it's JKR-sanctioned now
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I also thought it was a bit of a conciliatory gesture for the most painfully awkward "romance" ever written via which JKR pushed the most often pegged as gay characters Lupin and Tonks into hetero breeder-camp...
A kind of "Alright, I admit among the tons of people popping up in 7 books there should minimum be a non-straight one among the non-evils. Here, have Dumbledore who the average fan wouldn't want to envision sexually active anyway, who hasn't a shipping fan base of note (let's face it: all other main characters have one!) and who's dead now. See, my universe consists of more than people who marry their first requited crushes right out of school, have children very early and stay together forever!"...
And since she only informs us of it outside book!canon hopefully less protests from the ultra-conservatives and the wanky hategroups - also making calls for boycotts from said groups pretty pointless since the main sales in the English-speaking world already happened! YMMV of course.
For shipping it was "other" due to
- him being dead now
- him with Snape or Harry is just nasty imo: more than 110 years age-difference and the inherent abusive power-imbalance makes me shudder. And I've not once seen even a single fic addressing the limitations of severe old age on AD's sex-life even halfway realistically - instead it's magical geronto!stud!Albus all the way with the miraculously youthfully firm body. Eeeww.
And I really wouldn't want to inflict him on poor Snape regardless - the man has suffered enough from fictional colleagues and non-fictional hateful authoresses alike: he doesn't need a heartless, manipulative hypocrite with no regard for his well-being or soul in his sexual life whose only concern is for Gryffindors, tolerates murder-attempts as long as they come from the "right" people and who finds children who happen to become Slytherins scum from age 11 on >_< Snape deserves better.
- I don't ship him at all
If I did ship AD though:
- I could see creepy, power-abusing, somewhat coercive sex with younger Riddle which Albus excuses to himself with Riddle's irredeemable evilness from day 1 of their acquaintance. Or Riddle using his younger good looks, taking the initiative to get something and getting in way over his head...
- and of course AUrequited (or canon!unrequited or unrequited but still happening, lacking consent) Dumbledore/Grindelwald since it's JKR-sanctioned now