Psyche

i HATE self-censorship for a lot of reasons, but being in crisis work makes it even more frustrating. who are you censoring for? like i am being so fr, WHO are you censoring for? have you even thought it through? people who have been raped know that they have been raped. if someone attempts suicide or is grieving someone who did, saying "sewer slide" isn't going to protect them from any of the feelings. a murder victim's family isn't going to feel better bc you said "unalived" instead of murdered. if anything, it's just extremely invalidating and othering. it's saying "what happened to you is so bad that i won't even say the word," which is NOT trauma-informed care. you are not protecting survivors/victims when you self-censor. the ONLY things you protect when you self-censor are the puritanical ideologies that are being encouraged by rich fascists who want your money and obedience

This is my first time reading a characterisation of Orion Black who is so immensely dedicated to his family because they are his family and not his legacy.

I find it really impressive how the author has taken that ‘typical’ characterisation and chosen to keep it at its core, but still finding a way to turn Orion into the kind of character you can see yourself latching onto just as the other characters in the story are. The fact that he has so many different dynamics with so many characters and each one makes complete sense? Not even a talent at that point, it’s a skill.

I’ve always been a firm believer that canon Orion and Walburga Black loved their sons. They adored them, and spoiled them, and were horrible people nonetheless. Horrible parents, too. They’d put pressure on Regulus to be more like Sirius, and would be frustrated by Sirius’ rebellion but always forgiving at the end of the day. In canon, it was common knowledge that Regulus deserted the Death Eaters and Sirius’ allegiance was to Dumbledore — Walburga and Orion would’ve known this. And yet they kept their sons things, kept their rooms clean and intact, exactly as they left them. Almost as if they’d be walking back through the doors at any minute.

So yeah, they did love their children. And I find it really special that I’ve found a fic that — although it’s an absolute wild ride of an AU — treats Orion in a way that makes it known how much his children mean to him and having that BE the reason he’s as hostile as he is.