#house of black meta

[alenablack]

This is deeply inspired by various conversations with some friends! namely Zöe (@/ladystardog) and @metalomagnetic , thank you both for encouraging my insanity about both of these families!

EXCEPTIONALISM

Both families think they are fundamentally unique and deserving of power, respect, and independence from other great houses/pureblood dynasties.

Examples:

Sirius parents were convinced that to be a "Black' made you "practically royal." A belief that seemed widely shared by various Blacks throughout history based upon they strict values and motivation to eliminate members who didn't upheld the family name - HP lexicon

The doctrine of exceptionalism in the asoiaf universe proclaims that Targaryens are other from ordinary men; this allowed them special privileges outside of claiming the throne. (Incestous marriages, claiming dragons, wide held beliefs that Targs didn't get ill as other men did)

BLOOD SUPREMACY & INCEST

Both families value bloodline supremacy/keeping their respective bloodlines pure. Although the asoiaf universe gives many more examples of incestous marriages to keep their bloodline pure we have canon relationships within the HP universe that show the Blacks also follow incestous marriages to keep their bloodline pure (Orion and Walburga are cousins through their fathers and would go on to have two children together)

The Black family's core value is blood supremacy as shown by their motto Toujours Pur "Always Pure" and while the Targaryen's aren't as outward there's many in universe examples of their share belief in blood supremacy; only allowing people with Targaryen blood access to dragons, intermarriage to keep power consolidated etc.

TRAGIC ENDINGS

This parallel was the first to jump out to me when making this essay; both families experience exceptional short lifespans for wealthy upper class families (and in the case of the blacks much shorter than the average wizard lifespan), and not only short life spans but often tragic deaths.

Examples:

Regulus Black: died age 18 by drowning/dragged under by inferi

Prince Aegon **the uncrowned": died age 17 killed by his uncle Maegor & his dragon Balerion. Died with his dragon Quicksilver.

Sirius Black: Died age 35, killed by his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange.

Princess Araea Targaryen: Died age 14, officially ruled as death by fever however witnesses claim there was moving creatures under her skin causing the princess great pain.

Nymphadora Lupin: Died age 25, killed by her aunt Bellatrix Lestrange.

These are only a few examples of each lineage suffering losses but a pattern of young often violent deaths is visible throughout both family trees.

FALL FROM GRACE/LOSS OF POWER

Both families suffer from hubris and a general distrust to outsiders which makes both of their eventual collapses interesting. In the case of the house of Black the family line ended due to infighting by various members joining opposite sides of a war, with most members ending at the hands of each other. In the case of the Targaryen's their line would continue for 200 years, however the power they held that granted them the throne was lost in one generation due to a civil war which ended the lives of 90% of the family as well as the total loss of dragons.

Both of these collapses can be contributed to outsiders working their way into the respective families; for the Targaryen's it was the intervention of the Hightowers and their various schemes that set the stage for a civil war, and for the Black's it was their alignment with Lord Voldemort that spelled their demise. Both families fought on opposing sides, violating the shared core value of family loyalty.

COMMON TRAITS

The similarities between the two families go beyond parallels of circumstances. The Black family and the Targaryen family both are described as passionat, confiden, and charismatic people. Many members of both households suffer from large egos and a reckless disregard for their lives, as well as a sense of superiority even among their peers.

Many members are known as powerful warriors/wizards and are sited to be born with innate abilities or genius. Both families are also described as otherworldly beauties, and despite their opposing color schemes are even depicted with similar features.

CHARACTER COUNTERPART

(*My personal opinions based on similar personalities and experiences*)

Bellatrix Lestrange = Daemon Targaryen (Both impulsive, powerful, loyal to a fault, violent, charismatic)

Andromeda Tonks = Saera Targaryen (disowned for engaging in relations deemed inappropriate by their families, built lives outside their respective families, never returned to the fold)

Regulus Black = Lucerys Velaryon (Both signaled the start of a shift in their respective wars, neither of them served as a strong political power but are important to the narrative, died young and tragically)

Rhaena Targaryen (daughter of Aenys I) = Narcissa Malfoy (Powerful women within their own families, uninterested in the lives of others beyond their children, inherently distrustful, withdrawn and detached)

Daeron I (the young dragon) = Sirius Black (Reckless charismatic warriors, considered talented but ultimately lost their lives due to avoidable circumstances, considered great by some but mad by others)

[siriusblack-the-third]

The Black Family: Indian?

Inspired by this meta by @narcissa-black-supermacy

.

Dani made some really good points about how the Black family could be MENA, and while reading it I couldn't help but notice the similarities between the culture there and the culture in India, specifically Maharashtra.

So many of the points Dani made are so reminiscent of the casteism in India that i absolutely had to make a separate meta instead of rambling in the tags over there.

A few of the points that i want to gloss over are taken directly from Dani's meta so. Let's get to it!

.

The first point I want to tackle is how large the Black family is, compared to other Pureblood families.

Yes I know what you're going to say; "but Amrut the Weasley family is also really big". I'm quite aware. The books state quite a lot that the Weasleys are weird for having such a large family. Well, the Blacks have a lot of people in their House, too (before the first world war, that is).

Walburga had 3 siblings, and so did Orion. Orion's father Arcturus had two siblings, and Walburga's father was the eldest out of four. Druella and Cygnus Black had three daughters. Arcturus' father was also one of four.

Indian familes are notorious for being large and complicated. I myself am the eldest of seven siblings, my father has four siblings of his own and my mother is one of three. My mother's father is the youngest of five, my father's father was the middle child of three.

The second thing that struck me was the similarities between the Black Family's brand of blood purism and the inherent casteism that prevails in the Kshatriya Maratha families of my Maharashtrian town.

Listen, listen. I don't give a fuck about the bullshit that the government feeds us about casteism being abolished. It might be "abolished" in theory but where I live, Maratha families are notorious for being hard-core when it comes to casteism and classism.

Caste intermarriage is considered "social suicide", especially if you're a person from an upper caste marrying someone from the lower caste. Sound familiar? A Pureblood marrying a Muggleborn sounds the same, doesn't it? The disowning of Andromeda and blasting her off the family tapestry is very similar to what happens here; disinheritance is very common for people who marry a "lower caste" person.

Casteism has been around for centuries, the same way the Blacks were blood purists for centuries. And keep in mind that the Black family were not your regular pureblood supremacists. Their views have been around for generations, passed down from parent to child. Unlike regular Pureblood "I'm-better-than-you" bullshit, the Black Family's brand of blood purism is so similar to casteism in India that I'm embarrassed it took me so long to realise.

The cousin intermarriage! That is such a huge point!

In many parts of India, marriage between cousins is pretty common. Orion and Walburga are second cousins, if I'm not mistaken.

If we look at it genetically, the people of Ancient India knew that chances of deformation and/or mutation of a child born to first cousins was almost the same as that of a child born to non-related people i.e an extremely low chance. Thus, cousins marrying each other wasn't and isn't considered weird or strange.

You may argue that the Gaunts were also inbred. Yes well, the Blacks were intelligent enough to know how far of a relation must be there between two people. And the Gaunts probably married their own siblings for them to be so inbred.

Now, as Dani said, 12GP being at the heart of Muggle London is pretty interesting.

As she mentioned about the Blacks, they're raging bigots, but they still live in a very muggle neighbourhood in a very muggle region of London.

Exactly like it makes sense with sectarianism as Dani explained it, it also makes sense with respect to casteism. Upper caste (Brahmin, Kshatriya) will mingle with intermediate castes and lower castes. They will talk, they will laugh, they will build friendships and make acquaintances. The different castes mingle a lot. But marriage? No. The Black family is essentially the same.

Like Dani puts it: we can work with muggleborns and blood-traitors.... They are allowed to exist.... remind them who is the boss, but do not engage. We will not marry them, we will not let them into our house.

This is literally what caste discrimination looks like. It's not based on fear or hatred like western bigotry. (I will not elaborate more on this bc the politics are wayy too complicated.)

The fifth point is niche, but it's there: Bellatrix wanting to kill Andromeda, Ted and Nymphadora Tonks because Andromeda "sullied her pure blood by associating with mudbloods"

Let me say this once and for all: honour killings are extremely common in India.

Families hire other people, or they themselves go out to perform honour killings. Many of the honour killing cases that I've heard/read about have been about the daughter/son marrying a person from a lower caste and running away, but being tracked down and murdered by their own family for "dirtying their blood" and "sullying the family name" (yes those are the actual words).

Andromeda's disinheritance was not surprising to me; i have seen people thrown into jail for marrying lower/higher. Obviously, the reason cited in court is not the marriage, no— the person is framed for crimes they did not commit.

Bellatrix wanting to murder her own sister— and actually murdering Dora— sounds so identical to the news I've heard over the years.

The Black Family could be Maharashtrian, is all I'm saying. Just because their slogan is French doesn't mean they're from France. India has several regions where France is spoken just as much as the local language. Like Dani said, kill the idea that French is spoken only in France.

This is all for now. I might come back later with more observations if I feel like it, but yeah. Feel free to flood my ask box with whatever questions you want.

.

.

Tag list:

@narcissa-black-supermacy @the-chaosbringer @in-flvx @padfootastic @gracelesslady23 @mycupofrum @mrunmione @thewinchestergirl1208 @fiendishfyre @ad1thi @prongsfoot-wolfstar @siriuslystarbucks @xxmysticrosexx @ghostie-0 @pan-diasaster @h-m-i-a-n @constant-diablerie @strwbi-laces @shanti-ashant-hai @roalinda @fooochka

[thequeenintheeast]

Rewatched Viserys dinner speech and Alicent and Rhaenyra look sad and like they believe him. Aemonds not even listening because he stopped thinking of him as anything to him the night he lost his eye. Aegon and Deamon look at him with doubt and irritation when he says he loves them all so dearly and apparently Haleana does too but her shot was cut.

The only people listening carefully are Rhaenyra and Daemons kids because they have been living in I’m so sheltered land for the past 6 years on Dragonstone and they believe his words at face value.

Also luke started that dinner fight. Aemond was literally staring into space and luc started laughing at him rudely. I loved the fight sequence because Aegon stopping luc and baela from intervening was like no 4 on 1 this time bitches let’s see how Jacey can do 1:1. Aegon clearly did feel guilt for the night Aemond was maimed weather his mother shamed him or not.

Team Green kids are mad but god damn are the Team Black kids spoiled entitled brats.

[hermit-frog]

for me personally‚ the flashlight in the museum (that Armand had stolen from the guard) represented her hope/dream (to be seen, to belong, to find home)‚ happiness (Madeleine)‚ and Claudia herself.

[drakaripykiros130ac]

Just a reminder that the only reason Alicent Hightower survived the Dance of the Dragons is because her spiteful and ungrateful behind was touched by Rhaenyra’s mercy.

Alicent was supposed to be executed along with her snake of a father after the Blacks took King’s Landing.

Rhaenyra decided to spare Alicent because she knew how much Viserys loved his second wife. She honored her father by sparing this woman who bullied her since she was 8 years old and plotted to steal her throne.

That’s the definition of mercy.

And through Rhaenyra’s mercy, Alicent got an even better punishment than death: live long enough to watch everything she worked for blow up in her face while her entire line ended.

[dragonpotter]

i see so many people be like "hmmm is rhaenyra actually fit to rule? because if she were, she would have done this and this and that"

... were any of the men in hotd/got fit to rule, though? was viserys fit to rule? was robert baratheon? the king named rhaenyra his heir. that's all there is. that's a monarchy! she shouldn't have to be fit to rule or do anything else really. rhaenyra having to prove herself fit to rule when not a single man has ever had to do that, her being held to highest standards just to have the same thing they did is sexism plain and simple.

if rhaenyra was exactly the same person but had been born a man, nothing (s)he ever did would be an obstacle to her (his?) claim of the iron throne. and when a modern audience doesn't see that and wants her to prove herself worthy when no man has ever needed to do that, there's no excuse anymore. the world she lives in may be way more sexist than ours, but the audience watching the show is living in the 21st century. and if a woman is expected to do more than a man just because she is a woman, that's misogyny! hope that helps!

[forestdeath1]

Regulus wasn't forced by his parents to join the Death Eaters

What do we know about the Black family? I'll write a post about this because there's quite a bit we know if we read the canon in depth.

But the main point for this post is that for the Blacks, the survival and prosperity of their lineage were critically important.

The survival of their surname was in a precarious state at that time because women did not keep their surname nor pass it on to their children. Only two people could continue the line – Sirius and Regulus.

Preserving their lineage was so crucial for the Blacks that they didn't officially disown Sirius after his escape, or they reinstated him after Regulus's death. Because Sirius was the last Black. The last one who could carry on their line. Even if he was a rebellious Gryffindor who liked "mudbloods," he was still a Black.

When Sirius died, even the portrait was upset, although it's not alive. It's simply a reflection of the Blacks' attitude towards the survival of their lineage.

Am I to understand,’ said Phineas Nigellus slowly from Harry’s left, ‘that my great-great-grandson – the last of the Blacks – is dead?’

‘Yes, Phineas,’ said Dumbledore.
‘I don’t believe it,’ said Phineas brusquely.
Harry turned his head in time to see Phineas marching out of his portrait and knew that he had gone to visit his other painting in Grimmauld Place. He would walk, perhaps, from portrait to portrait, calling for Sirius through the house ...

By the time Regulus was 16, Sirius had already run away from home.

Now, explain to me, all you fans of the "Regulus was forced" idea, what would be going through Orion and Walburga's heads to make them push their last hope for the continuation of their lineage into joining a combat organization where people are constantly being killed?

Considering they didn't join themselves because they disliked the methods and probably understood Tom's real goals.

Walburga was in school with Tom Riddle and was two years older than him. Orion Black was also in school with Tom, but he was two years younger. By that time, Tom Riddle aka Voldemort, hadn't yet changed his appearance to the point of being unrecognizable. They all knew who Voldemort was. Tom Riddle. An orphan boy. Likely, they knew he was the heir of Slytherin, which was important for the Blacks because, for them, it wasn't about money but about blood. True nobility and dignity are in the blood, not wealth. The Blacks aren't the Malfoys. And as Sirius said, at some point, they were inspired by Tom's ambition to change the situation in their country, although Sirius obviously knew very little about Voldemort, as he was hardly discussed in front of the children. But initially, the Blacks were inspired because he was worthy, the heir of Slytherin, right?

Probably Orion, Arcturus/Pollux realized that Tom didn't care about blood purity. He cared about his own power. By the time they understood this, Tom's power was already too strong, and he had won much support among the pure-blood society, who believed he genuinely cared about pure-blood wizards.

Why did Sirius say he was sure their parents were proud of Regulus?

Because most likely, not both parents were proud, as Sirius doesn't mention the father at all, and Walburga had an irrational desire to see her son as a hero. Sirius – the lineage's continuer, and Regulus – a brave and courageous warrior for blood purity. Because being a Death Eater was seen as brave and cool. They were revolutionaries. Chosen warriors.

Moreover, Bella was already in the organization and could influence Walburga's opinion against Orion and Arcturus's wishes. Playing on Walburga's emotional irrationality wasn't very hard, especially for Bella and Rodolphus.

Bella was in love with Voldemort. Rodolphus was devoted to Voldemort from the start, as Lestrange Sr. had been a supporter of Tom since their school days. The Rosiers fall into the same group. Surprise, surprise, Bella's mother – Druella Rosier, was likely the sister of that very Rosier who was with Tom from the start and who was Evan Rosier's father. Cygnus Black is open for interpretation, but my headcanon is that from a young age, he was a bit more aggressive than the others and didn't quite fit into the family dynamics and control (and Bella took after him in part).

Who convinced Regulus to join the organization, even knowing Orion and the Blacks were against it?

From the little we know about Regulus, it's clear he was a maximalist inclined to broad "heroic" actions, with his own understanding of honor. He had been committed to the idea of blood purity from childhood, believing it to be truly noble and important. He wanted to be a hero and admired Voldemort. Also, always being second to Sirius, he wanted to prove his worth. That he too was strong and brave and capable of significant, but correct actions. And, our beloved Bella was there. She helped him join the organization at 16.

If you want tragedy in Regulus Black's story, here it is:

Regulus Black went to his death knowing he was the last of the Blacks. He destroyed his family. His lineage. Put an end to it. Even for Sirius, running away was easier because Regulus was still there. When Regulus went to his death, Sirius had already run away from home.

There's much more interesting stuff here than "Regulus was forced." But who cares, right? Fuck canon, live fanon.

[lorhaghanima]

so, it finally happened. writers of the hotd finally destroyed everything good about it, any potential it once had, all for some kind of... agenda?

they were destroying greens slowly during the whole season two. aemond, being hateful and vengeful, but not towards ones, who deserve it (the blacks), no - to aegon, his brother, his king. aemond not having any interaction with alys rivers, instead of it the whole season and a potentially large part of their relationship was given to daemon - prophecies, visions, support in war, romantic implications. helaena, whose scene of great loss was cut, happened because of incompetence of writers royal guards (absolutely impossible for a setting), somehow her mother's affair (which is also impossible, since there's know way criston could be the only and personal protectpr of helaena and kids), and she was robbed of her burden (choice between sons) and her grieve (she is already unhappy most of the time, not cheerful, not beloved, and her loss doesn't haunt the narrative the way it should - the way it traumatized the whole family daeron who). aegon crippled not in battle and with glory, but by betrayal of his own brother (supposed to be his supporter), also deprived of his rightful grieve and anger, and even his dragon - the most beautiful, the most loyal, sunfyre, so important for the original story and our understanding, how strong and unbreakable this bond can be - erased to one scene. alicent - oh, my sweet alicent, i will remember the one, who could've been - the one we lose completely. alicent, who always loves and protected the monstrosity and beauty and destiny of motherhood and queenhood, what have they done to you? alicent, who stands in front of dragon, to protect aegon (at least try to protect him), alicent, who cuts her husband's beloved daughter and heir to the throne because all of the injustice done to aemond, alicent, who loves, loves, loves, her sweet daughter helaena (even in first part of season two she says - but what have they done to my daughter?). alicent, the actual queen, alicent, beloved by the smallfolk, alicent, respected by the council, alicent, loyal to her family to the core. where did you go, my beloved?

And to the worst part - all of this was done for one purpose - to remind us once again about this targaryen supremacy. that they are chosen ones, that they are supposed to save everyone, that they are gods, not men, and they will not be punished by the story, instead - they will be victimised, they will be martyred, they will be rewarded for cruelty. The blacks have only two options in season two - they are either absurdly boring (cause they can't have any flaws, and supposed to be heroic - that's why it safer to make them blank and dull), or they are chosen, special, destined - to rule westeros, to ride dragons, to get whatever they want. this, of course, are qualities of the right kind of targaryens - the blacks, the connected with daenerys ones, not the whole family, obviously. This is the reason, why rhaenyra has nothing to do with the death of a child, somehow goes to the king's Landing and tries negotiations with alicent, breaks up with not-so-perfect daemon, tames bronze fury just because she can, and acting incredibly passive most of the season. This is the reason, why we don't have nettles - girl of color, of unknown birth, younger and more beautiful, who tames the dragon using only her wits, survives the story, surpasses the tragedy. of course we don't have you, dear nettles - you are a mirror, where targaryen, mostly daemon and rhaenyra, were supposed to see their flaws.

I remind you, that hotd is supposed to be an interpretation of a very specific story. One where dragons dance and house targaryen falls. One where smallfolk kills the dragons, where dragons are monsters, destroying cities, and targaryens are false gods and precarious rulers. The cursed war - kin against kin. The narrative, where everyone is dead long before the beginning, everyone is doomed. It's not supposed to praise house targaryen, on the contrary - it says 'look, what they've done, look, what they do', 'look, how treacherous, flawed, hypocritical, unnatural, brutal, unreliable they ALL are, even to each other', and what is most important - 'look, they can be killed, look, they can fall, look the dragons and their riders bleed, and we can destroy them'.

and all of this potential, all of this greekish kind of tragedy, lost... and i have no idea, what for.

[kara-akaane]

You know sometimes I think too long about where the fuck the Kaminoians got millions of clone uniforms and armor sets and I start having some real question about how the hell the clones were a complete secret for over a decade

[greenqueenhightower]

Rhaenyra’s Hubris, 2x07

"If ever mortal man require how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye" (Homer 503)

Sophocles “Oedipus the King” | “Antigone” / Homer “Odyssey”

[atopcat]

Super worried about how they’re going to handle Nettles, my only hope is that the show makes parallels between how Daemon groomed teenage Rhaenyra to how he interacts with another teenage girl.

I want a scene where Rhaenyra realises the kind of monster Daemon has always been. This man would openly insult his “bronze bitch” older wife whilst fawning over his 14 year old niece. She’s the new Rhea Royce whilst Nettles is the new her, that realisation should hit like a ton of bricks.

Would honestly add so much more nuance to the story rather than it being Angry Wife vs. Teenage Mistress.

[iheartbookbran]

There’s something about Rhaenyra’s epithet being the Black Queen and how the color black is often associated with mourning and grief. Because Rhaenyra’s story really starts with the death of her mother, and that’s a grief that she carries onto her adulthood. But it goes deeper than that, we’re told how many children Aemma lost during her marriage to Viserys, and Rhaenyra, though just a child herself at the time, had to experience the loss of her siblings alongside her mother, never being enough for her father because she wasn’t a son. Then she finally becomes the heir, but not in time to save her mother, and the grief never really leaves her. She loses Harwin (and at least in the book, Laena). She learns about the usurpation of her throne at the same time that she learns about the death of her father. She loses her only daughter.

She watches her sons leave her one by one until only one is left.

How could she ever be anything other than the Black Queen?

[regheart]

there's something i find particularly annoying in this fandom and it's the way purebloods are written as highly sophisticated extremely rich and straight up a rip off of regency period novels

i understand the choice of this specific portrayal, i can see it as an approximation to historical drama, where the social restrictions are compelling and are relevant to the story, and a good writer can make any concept believable and good

HOWEVER as much as the worldbuilding on wizarding costumes (and a lot of other things) is extremely inconsistent and gets progressively worse towards the later three books, the implications that i see don't point towards this version of a sophisticated performatic elite who interacts only with itself

while i tend to see the blood status in the harry potter universe as a distinction of class and not at all a distinction of race, i don't think the difference is, in practice, as marked as it is in real world contexts, mostly because of how numerically small and insulated the wizarding community is

this post is part of my personal vendetta against purebloods as charming aristocrats & what appears to be the necessity of writing each and all of them as so very well spoken and politically savvy and never-caught-dead-speaking-to-a-half-blood

for once, the sacred twenty-eight is extra canon information and is disputed IN UNIVERSE, because it was anonymously published and received backlash for the inclusion (weasley, ollivander) and exclusion (crabbe, goyle, potter) of certain names

the malfoys are the only extremely rich family we see in canon. extra canon information tells us they made money before the statute of secrecy by trading with muggles

compare that to the potters who are also very rich (there's no scale to tell us who is the richer family), but made most of their money from the invention of sleakezy in the 20th century

the blacks are also implied to be wealthy: sirius manages to live off his inheritance after buying harry an expensive broom, and he says his grandfather likely paid for an order of merlin

there's a lot to be said about the blacks (e.g. they should have at least a couple more properties other than grimmauld place), but the big picture and the similarity with the gaunts (not about the incest, stop fixating on that) suggest they were a family in decadence by the time sirius was growing up

i believe that the implication is that neither of them had a proper job, which creates a similarity with gentry, but gentry lived off rentals and while it is possible they had a country state i don't think grimmauld place was making a lot of money

lucius malfoy also didn't work and spent a portion of his time being a school counselor (and obviously not being paid for it, as it was a way to exercise his political power over the main learning institution in his community)

it's also extra canon that the nott family had equal footing with the malfoys, so we can assume that crabbe, goyle, parkinson and bulstrode were slightly beneath them, either in social standing or money, despite the later two being part of the sacred twenty-eight (or it could appear to be so because pansy and milicent are girls)

the weasleys are obviously the main example of a poor sacred twenty-eight family, as were the gaunts

the crouch family was most like rich (they could afford a house elf), but it's likely that most of that money came from mr. crouch having a high level ministry job. his family and connections were probably an advantage to getting the job, but it's possible he wouldn't be able to maintain the lifestyle without work

longbottom, prewett and macmillan are families that appear to be very traditional, but not remarkably wealthy

other working members of the sacred twenty-eight are: horace slughorn (school teacher, but it can be argued that teaching hogwarts is a prestigious position), garrick ollivander (wand maker and shop owner, but, again, the only wand maker, which holds a certain prestige in itself), mr. burke (shop owner), arthur weasley (ministry employee), frank longbottom and kingsley shacklebolt (both aurors). amycus and alecto carrow are also temporary hogwarts teachers

the blacks married out of the sacred twenty-eight many times (max, gamp, crabbe, potter)

all of these people and every single muggleborn goes to the same school, buys magical supplies at the same place, drinks from the same pubs, etc. that alone should serve as evidence that there aren't many exclusive pureblood hangouts around

the only place that seems to attract the malfoys (arguably the richest and most important pureblood family in the 90s) and not most other people, is the knockturn alley, which is hardly a high brow sophisticated spot

except for malfoy and flint, no slytherin quidditch player during the 90s is in the sacred twenty-eight, so that's hardly a criterion for making it into the team

mulciber is not a sacred twenty-eight name, they could very well be half-bloods

tom riddle and severus snape were half-blood students who formed ties with purebloods while in school and held blood supremacist views, assimilation to a certain level was possible

[star-rises]

I’m endlessly curious about Andromeda’s interaction with privilege in the wizarding world. She walks away from her family to marry a muggleborn and casts herself out from the epicentre of power, but how much does she still hold as a pureblood witch? She might no longer be welcome at the country houses of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, but when facing down some middling Ministry official or a half-blood family she’s still a Black. How much does she lean into that?

As far as we know she doesn’t provide any support for Sirius when he runs away from home nor does she try and get him out of Azkaban. She doesn’t seem to play any part in the First War at all. I think all of this could be justified under an explanation of her cutting herself off from the wizarding world entirely in order to protect her family, but that kind of disconnect doesn’t make sense when Tonks not only goes to Hogwarts but becomes an Auror. So does that mean Andromeda doesn’t have any power or resources to lean into, or just that she doesn’t care about Sirius, or a bit of both?

Then there’s the fact that Auror is the profession Tonks pursues. For someone to choose to be part of upholding such a problematic institution, she has to be normalized to wizarding society’s power structures - enough to accept them, or maybe not question them at all. So that makes me envision an upbringing where Andromeda said her family were the problem, not pureblood power and privilege in itself. (And there’s a whole other conversation in there about the pressure of gender conformity and internalized homophobia that Tonks grapples with tbh.)

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge Andromeda fan. I actually think these gray areas are what make her fascinating. Like Sirius, she straddles contradictory worlds, and both benefits and suffers from wizarding social power. I think there’s a lot to dig into there.

[sparsilees]

the blacks aren’t an incestuous family

you can say sirius is rather unhinged and depressed from prolonged dementor exposure and the violent tragedy of betrayal and loss. you can say he’s traumatised by his upbringing and the first wizarding war. or that the horrors™ have done a real number on him. that bellatrix lestrange was too brilliant, too enchanted with the dark arts, or too broken from azkaban.

don’t blame it on ‘black family madness’, it doesn’t exist in canon. don’t blame it on inbreeding.

the pureblood families generally intermarried between ‘suitable’ bloodlines (sometimes they brought in halfbloods, too). the blacks are no exception—why marry your silly cousin when there’s a wider pool of eligible pureblood contenders? because according to the back family tree *checks note* walburga and orion are the only cousins known to have married in canon—specifically, they’re second cousins.

the black family tree roots are far-reaching and expansive. there’s always a black daughter that’s married into every other notable family—the burkes, the crouches, the lestranges, the longbottoms, the malfoys, the prewetts, the potters, and the weasleys—the wizarding world is built on the black bloodline.

everyone’s related in some capacity to the blacks, with certain individuals more closely than others, like how sirius black and arthur weasley are second cousins once removed, with their closest common ancestor being former headmaster phineas black.

the black family members featured in the books descend from either arcturus (the main branch) or pollux. this means that, due to their parents’ union, sirius and regulus have black, macmillan, and crabbe ancestry. whereas the black sisters are entirely removed from the heir line and share black, crabbe, and rosier bloodlines. sirius and regulus, and bellatrix, andromeda, and narcissa share exactly one set of grandparents and one set of great-grandparents.

(also, if you subscribe to the alternate canon that james’ parents are dorea and charlus, it means sirius and james are first cousins once removed; james and arthur are second cousins; and harry and ron are third cousins, placing them in the same generation as the black quintet and closer to phineas black than draco or tonks.)

canonically, it’s the gaunts who were “a very ancient wizarding family noted for a vein of instability and violence that flourished through the generations due to their habit of marrying their own cousins”, and even nearly pulled off sibling marriage to continue their line.

unlike the gaunts, the blacks did not bring together first cousins into a union and added various bloodlines into the family, so the ‘black family madness due to incestuous practices’ theory doesn’t hold water, bye.

[drakaripykiros130ac]

People are so insensitive when it comes to Rhaenyra’s situation. I have never seen so much cruelty directed towards a girl who was put between a rock and a hard place.

You all are acting as though Rhaenyra’s goal in life was to cheat on Laenor and undermine the Velaryons, her allies and her kin. She didn’t sleep around with the purpose of getting back at her husband and having children with other men out of spite (she’s not Cersei).

Rhaenyra was forced into marriage with a gay man and expected to produce heirs not only for the Iron Throne but also for Driftmark. So, an heir and a spare for House Targaryen. Another heir and another spare for House Velaryon. Four children (preferably sons) were expected from her womb. Good luck with that.

Let’s suppose that the rumors are true and Jacaerys, Lucerys and Joffrey are not Laenor’s. Rhaenyra’s decision to have children with another man should be less criticized, and regarded with more sympathy. She couldn’t spend her entire marriage life to Laenor without having children. Her “suitable” options were these:

1. Remain childless and let herself, the Princess of Dragonstone and Heir to the Throne, be called barren.

2. Demand an annulment by exposing Laenor’s nature (confirming the rumors), and not only humiliating House Velaryon (her allies) but also putting the succession of Driftmark into question (since Laenor was Corlys’ only son and his chosen heir).

At a time when a faction of snakes was constantly nipping at her heels, either one of these options would have left Rhaenyra vulnerable at Court.

She took matters into her own hands and had children with another man. And not just another man. This was a man she could trust, her sworn shield, a man who cared for her and who would never betray her (it’s hard to find someone like that).

To claim that she should have chosen a Valyrian (as though the options are unlimited) is extremely superficial. For this to work, she needed someone trustworthy, someone who would not attempt to claim the children later on. We all know that Daemon would have been the best option for her. She loved him, he was Valyrian and her ally. But alas, with his own marriage and life away from Court, it wasn’t really possible. And I am not really sure if Daemon would have been okay with another man laying claim to his children (that is up for debate).

Rhaenyra preferred a man who was trustworthy over a man with the “correct” features. The chances were 50/50 that the children would look like her, and unfortunately, they didn’t. That’s that.

Laenor and Corlys accepted the situation, because they understood what it would cost them all if they didn’t. This whole thing was on their heads. They provided the heir to the throne with a husband incapable of reproducing. It was not Rhaenyra’s fault.

As such, the children were recognized as Velaryons by the father (Laenor), the Lord of Driftmark (Corlys) and the King (Viserys). And these are the only opinions which matter. No one can prove that the boys didn’t inherit Baratheon and/or Arryn genes. Legally, Jacaerys, Lucerys and Joffrey are the sons of Rhaenyra and Laenor.

When it comes to the Iron Throne, it doesn’t matter who fathered Rhaenyra’s children, as long as they are hers. She is the ruling Queen. And we have no way of knowing how things would have gone down after Rhaenyra became Queen. Daemon had two sons of his own. He could have managed to convince Rhaenyra to acknowledge Jacaerys, Lucerys and Joffrey as bastards and then legitimize them, since she has the power to do so. If the boys wouldn’t have been accepted by the Realm (unlikely), there is also the possibility that Rhaenyra could have decided to pass the succession to her and Daemon’s children. Rhaenyra had legitimate heirs who could have taken the throne after her death.

As for Driftmark, despite greedy Vaemond’s ramblings, the succession was just fine. The Velaryon line would have continued through the marriage between Lucerys and Rhaena.

Lucerys had the Velaryon name and Rhaena had the Velaryon blood. Their children would have had the Velaryon name and blood. Problem solved.

People need to stop acting as through Vaemond was some sort of crusader, demanding “justice” for his House. He was just as much of an upstart as the Hightowers and he wanted to take Corlys’ power for himself, and so he took advantage of some rumors to discredit Rhaenyra’s children and advance himself.

Things are not black and white, and given Rhaenyra’s nearly impossible situation, exceptions can be made. And these exceptions wouldn’t have affected neither the succession of Driftmark nor that of the Seven Kingdoms.