MidnightStargazer

My fics on AO3

The list has gotten too long to fit in a single Tumblr post, so I'm breaking it up into three separate ones:

Black family

Marauders Era/First War

Lightning Era & Miscellaneous

All fics are rated G or T and No Archive Warnings Apply unless otherwise specified

Fic Recs

Regulus Black

Meta

I think James had a crush on Lily from early on. And a big part of it, I think, was that she was willing to stand up to him. James, pre-Hogwarts, seems to have been rather spoiled and sheltered. And at school, he was apparently popular in Gryffindor. Lily was someone he liked and understood to be a good person, but who wasn't so easily impressed by him. I think that presented a challenge that made her more appealing to him.

Lily, I think, truly disliked James at first, or at least disapproved of his behavior. Up until that behavior started to change. I think that towards the end of their time at Hogwarts, the situation going on outside was becoming more serious, and the Marauders grew up a lot. All of a sudden they weren't just schoolyard bullies or trouble makers anymore, they were starting to take a stand for something that mattered. Lily was always inclined to see the good in people (see also: Snape), and I think the idea of the reformed bad boy would actually be very appealing to her. Not in an "I can change him!" kind of way but in the sense of being impressed to see him change for the better on his own, and willing to reconsider her previous opinion of him.

And then, taking a closer look, I think she would find someone who is a very loyal friend. Which is something I think she would value, given her own bad experience with a broken friendship. As well as someone who despises blood status prejudice despite it working in his favor, and wants nothing to do with the Dark Arts. On some level, they share similar values, even though their backgrounds and personalities are very different.

And then, of course, there's the fact that they were Head Boy and Head Girl. Which obviously doesn't automatically lead to romance, but in their case I think it helped. Because now they're a team. They have to work together. And as they do, sparks fly.

I like that she challenges him and pushes him to grow as a person without being made responsible for fixing him or being portrayed as a prize for him to earn. I like that she learns to see a different side to him that was always there on some level, but isn't obvious to her at first. I like the almost but not quite enemies to lovers type of situation.

I like Dirk Cresswell for Head Boy that year. He seems like the kind of person Dumbledore would have picked. Much like Lily, he's someone who earned Slughorn's favoritism through merit (since as a Muggle-born he wouldn't have had connections). So he probably had qualities that would make a good Head Boy.

Wow, thank you!

So, there's definitely part of the fandom that likes the Marauders Era and favors closer-to-canon characterization. The thing about Regulus is that he's a character who's gotten much more popular since the new fanon interpretations took over. So a lot of his fans are very anti-canon, and a lot of more canon-aligned fans aren't particularly interested in him.

But I do have a few recommendations. These are all blogs that I follow, that have takes on Regulus that I personally find interesting. They're not all the same as mine, or each other. But if you like my take on him, you might like theirs, too.

@green-and-grey-kenaz @casquecest @leogichidaa @regulusarchieblack @amethystheart2421 @artemisia-black

There are probably more, but those are the first ones that come to mind.

Thank you, but I think you might have the wrong person? I can't remember writing Seer!Regulus, I usually have him fail Divination lol. I have a Seer!Narcissa fic with Regulus as a major character, and one where Regulus mistakes being in a time loop for being a Seer at first, not sure if it might have been one of those?

Hey, sorry this has been in my inbox for so long. Real life has been busy!

I like to think Regulus was a good Quidditch player. As I've mentioned before, it was clearly important to him, because the picture of his Quidditch team is one of the few personal touches in his bedroom, along with his Voldemort collage. I imagine he spent a lot of time practicing and honing his skill, both because he enjoyed it and because he would've wanted to make his House and family proud. And so, I imagine he was pretty good.

Did James ever notice that? Quite possibly. They weren't playing the same position. But especially as team captain, he would've needed to be aware of more than just what the Chasers were doing. I can see him talking to the Gryffindor Seeker before a game, discussing their strategy, and acknowledging that Regulus was a skilled opponent.

I think around his friends, though, he would have downplayed any "worthy opponent" type feelings he might have had. If only because he was Sirius's estranged brother, and his friendship with Sirius would've taken precedence.