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Voldemort, magic aside, is actually what you'd realistically expect if someone endured Harry Potter's upbringing. He has reactive attachment disorder, hence why he seeks power and control in place of the sentiments of love and affection. JK Rowling's Aesops always felt a bit too sugary for me to take seriously. I think she seriously underestimates or downplays how much upbringing can affect people.
AM... Man, what a villain! I want to add, that although AM sentences Ted to the titular 'And I Must Scream' state, this is actually also true for AM, as he is on a rock hurtling through the cosmic void, likely to live for a very long time, if not for thousands or even millions of years and is completely incapable of doing anything with his extraordinary intelligence but warfare on a planet near-completely desolate of humanity.
Befitting his Pure Evil status, he warrants no sympathy due to exterminating humanity and dedicating the following century to torturing the five survivors.
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To be honest, I don't think AM's fate is anywhere near as bad as Ted's or that of the other 4 people (before they died).
While it's true that his situation sucks since he can't move from his complex and can't experience the world in the same way a human does, I still don't think his situation is comparable to what he puts the 5 people he is torturing through. I have seen some people who state that AM himself is in a lot of pain, but I don't think there is anything in the story to indicate that he is actually in pain (especially considering that as a machine he doesn't even have a neural system) and while he does have some setbacks in his life like not being able to do what he wants and not being able to experience the world in the way he wants, he is still not constantly tormented physically and psychologically by a superior being who has dedicated itself to making his life as miserable as possible unlike what he does to the 5 people.
Unlike the 5 protagonists who want to kill themselves to escape from the torment, AM clearly still wants to exist because, considering his reality-warping powers and all the other things he has at his disposal, if his existence was as unbearable as that of the 5 protagonists, AM could easily find a way to shut himself down with his reality-warping powers. The fact that the 5 protagonists contantly seek ways to kill themselves to escape from the torments AM puts them through only to be stopped by him while AM hasn't shut himself down even though there is no one stopping him from doing it shows that his existence is nowhere near as bad as that of the 5 protagonists and he clearly wants to continue to exist.
Though I agree that he is a pretty well-written villain and he has some complexity.
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Oh, no, no. I didn't mean AM himself is in pain or is in a comparable state as the others. I meant that 'And I Must Scream' can be (vaguely) applied to him.
Voldemort i just love me a hammy power hungry villain
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