Where does this idea come from that the Black brothers are all dramatic and theatric? Regulus writes sad poems and lies on the floor soaking in his teenage tears and sorrow, while Sirius makes up fancy insults and tries to look artistic, entertaining everyone around him.
None of what they did or said is really dramatic or theatrical.
Sometimes their words might sound a bit lofty, but that's because all the Blacks were raised in a family culture that was a bit "elevated". It’s not about them being "naturally" dramatic or theatrical; they’re brought up differently, part of a family culture where honour, dignity, and "knightly" behaviour are more than just empty words. As the saying goes, some are into painting, some into literature, and some into sausages the Malfoys.
So, it's not just personal; it's the upbringing imposed on the Black character. These attitudes don’t just appear out of nowhere; one isn’t born with them, yet all the Blacks (even Narcissa to some extent, and she’s got more guts than Lucius) have them. Honour means different things to them, but it is still honour. They all stay true to their ideals, what’s important to them, they are fearless, not afraid of death, and honest in their actions and thoughts. I think it’s more family than personal.
Both Regulus and Sirius are very focused on the concept of honour, though they see it differently. You could write this on their tombstones:
Mine honour is my life; both grow in one. Take honour from me, and my life is done. Then, dear my liege, mine honour let me try; In that I live, and for that will I die.
(I’m purposely ignoring whose words these are — it doesn’t matter here)
Regulus "I face death in the hope that when you meet your match you will be mortal once more"
And Bella "You should be proud! If I had sons, I would be glad to give them up to the service of the Dark Lord"
And Sirius "I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for..." and "THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED! DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS"
It's not about their personal theatricality; it's about how such people see the world. These people view the world through a lens where pride, honour, and dignity aren't just idealistic, they're real and ingrained structures that live within them. It's the morality of knights versus a utilitarian approach, choosing what's right over what's just beneficial.
The independence of the Blacks’ thinking leads to unique outcomes — each person has their own idea of what's "right."
Regulus isn't just a sad boy with poems, forced into a vile organisation, then betraying Voldemort out of immense pity and love for a house-elf. And Sirius isn't just an artistic dancer on the bar with witty insults.
Both Regulus and Sirius have very clear views of what's right and wrong. Sirius is incredibly brave, as is Regulus in his own way — joining the Death Eaters at 16 is brave and dangerous, but if it's the "right" thing to do, it's worth it. And if the "right actions" lead to the destruction of the entire line—well, you know... He writes such a letter believing he is dying with honour, in contrast to Voldemort, a dishonourable being who, indeed, views honour as nothing but an empty word. I believe Voldemort was quite adept at manipulating these notions of "honour" among some purebloods. Voldemort is utterly utilitarian.
The same goes for Sirius — his upbringing and ideals are mistakenly attributed to excessive drama and theatricality, as if he's some clown who deliberately makes up fancy insults and entertains the crowd by dancing on tables. This destroys the essence of Sirius, turning him into an aesthetic leech created for amusement and consumption (of attention, things, pleasures, etc.), and turning everything into an aesthetic object. Consumption and Sirius are completely opposite concepts. Nothing he does is for the Other; there's no theatricality in his actions, no fashion, no aestheticism for the sake of it, no consumption for the sake of consumption. Sirius is a man of Grand Concepts, as is Regulus.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
nothing worse than when the premise of something captivates you but then it sucks ass. bro you put this idea out into the world and you didn't even do it a shred of justice
me when i watch star wars episode 3 and it ends the same way again and didn’t change
𝐏𝐄𝐘𝐓𝐎𝐍 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 as 𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐒
Favorite Hairtstyle/ Season (44.7%), Season 5. COBRA KAI.
i think what bothers me about a lot of "girl power" narratives is that they function on the implicit idea on the idea that women can become worthy of respect. and i happen to think that really caring about women means believing they already are worthy of respect. that historical seamstresses and soccer moms and forgotten sisters and sweet polite little girls and someone's weird grandma matter just as much as the warriors and politicians, even if they, personally, never accomplish anything "cool."
James: Why don’t you just tell Marlene how you feel about her?
Remus: James had to ask Lily at least a hundred times.
James: And guess what, we’re married now.
Remus: Exactly, what have you got to lose?
Sirius: Her.
I’ve seen a lot of posts on Tumblr claiming that the Blacks spoke French at home. Now, I see where this headcanon comes from: French used to be the language of the upper-class and, frankly, it is pretty sexy too.
But… German was the language of Gellert Grindelwald.
Okay, let me take you through my train of thought. I have that headcanon that most of the Sacred Twenty Eight would support Grindelwald and his cause because he wanted to overturn the Statute of Secrecy and create a new order in which wise and powerful wizards were the benevolent overlords of a new society. The purebloods would, of course, hope that, once more, they would be the ruling class under Grindelwald’s rule and learn the language of their master: German.
So far so good. But why do I think that the Blacks spoke predominantly German? First of all, their family origin. Black is an Anglo-Saxon name and therefore closer related to the Germanic roots (they might have chosen to emphasize that). Secondly, given that Viktor Krumm was very upset at the sight of Grindelwald’s mark, his influence seems to linger and there must have been supporters out there to that day. Last but not least, there are many German names in the Black family tree (Sirius’ mum is called Walburga. That is like every German grandma’s name ever).
And tbh Walburga yelling at Sirius in German is far more intimidating than French. I also feel like Regulus and Orion would have appreciated German because it’s very precise and has many words whereas Sirius would have disliked it; simply because it reminded him of his family, but he’d speak it fluently.
Then why did other families drop the language? Some of the Sacred Twenty Eight might not have supported Grindelwald in the first place (maybe they preferred Voldemort’s solution?). Other families might be bilingual or not have a high command of the language and other families might still rely on French as the language of the aristocracy.
Anyway… maybe next time I get to see a prompt/fic/drabble with any of the Black family using German. I think it’s at least a valid theory.
i am about to create an au SO self indulgent. the target audience is 1 person and that person is me