DVD Commentary : Brothers
Original fic : Brothers
Sirius thinks of his friends as brothers.
The Marauder's friendship as brotherhood is a simile that's a bit of everywhere in canon. I've always wondered how it sat with Sirius' actual brother. Of course I've played with Regulus' jealousy of James before, but this is a bit different. What I wanted was a fic that showed all the way that his friends reminded Sirius of Regulus.
James, James is everything he ever wanted in a brother. He’s the wonder-filled fantasies of heroic adventures, ever ready for an escapade thought Hogwarts’ maze-like walkways, to become pirates, knights, rogues, half-gods.
Sirius and James are a platonician idea of friendship. They're perfect. At least they are in Sirius' head. They're that pure idea of boyish friendship or brotherhood. They're the Them. They in Neverland because Sirus is Peter Pan And they can be everything they want to be. It's gold-like and fantasy-like and everything people think as cool and seductive about the Marauders. Like the perfect, adventurous friendships you dream of and that's never actually real.
James is, Sirius thinks, his friend, his brother, his other self and soul-mate.
And they have a very strong connection. Not Weasley Twin like necessarly, but definitly the two-of-a-pair silent-communication sort. I used "soul mate" quite deliberately here. You can view it as shippy or not depending on taste. James was always my biggest objection to puppy shippers >_>;
So I don't actually utter a comparison between James and Regulus. But well, Regulus is real, and a younger brother one that Sirius would have fond annoying, brattish, weepy and utterly imperfect because that's what younger brothers are. Whereas James is that ideal that Sirius would have dreamed for himself.
He thinks of Peter as a younger brother, though Peter is no younger than him. Maybe it’s the way that Peter always looks for them for protection. Maybe it’s because of his adorable clumsiness. Or simply because Peter is always ready to cheer them on, egging them on to more mischief.
Ah Peter. Always difficult to get a hang of him. JKR writes in a way that makes it difficult to understand what the others might have seen in Peter. Obviously there's a vanity thing in the way that Peter obviously admires and requires their protection. It could be quite a high. I also think Peter might have been the source of many a mischievous adventure: the boy's daring, has no kind of respect for authority (unlike Remus), and I think he would have a taste for big, flashy, dramatic mess.
There’s something in Peter’s eyes that reminds Sirius of Regulus’ adoration when he was very young.
So I start bringing Regulus there. The Regulus-in-my head has always been rather shamelessly worshipful of Sirius. There's something of Sirius that appeals to that kind of love, because Sirius is a bit bigger than life in all his tragic flaws. Then of course when they grew up Regulus would stop showing this side of himself so much. And as Sirius would miss it, he would find it back in Peter.
It’s Remus, though, who’s like Regulus, Sirius thinks. Remus who hoards secrets like magpies keep gold, Remus whose shyness hides surprising wickedness, Remus who bows to authority but follows Sirius nonetheless.
Last is Remus. I love the phrase 'hoards secrets like magpies keep gold'. I love the idea of Remus as a very secretive yet wicked boy. Remus' full of contradictions, and in a way that Sirius doesn't always understand.
Whenever Remus speaks about rules, about what adults say, about being careful, all that Sirius hears is Regulus’ voice parroting back Mother’s rebuke and his throat tightens a little.
And Sirius wouldn't understand any apeal to caution or to slow down because they would all register as criticism. Sirus told Harry about Regulus buying onto their parents' discourse of supremacy but that might have started earlier. Sirius probably put Regulus in a position to choose between himself and their parents and of course Regulus wouldn't do that, and Sirius would read this as rejection. And I can't see Sirius taking rejection well.
Maybe that’s why he never can trust Remus totally.
And Remus would remind this to Sirius all the time. So how could Sirius trust Remus?
Sirius had a true brother, once, but blood is a perpetual wound.
If there's one leitmotiv about everything I write is that love always makes people hurt each others. Which I find to be especially true abiout family. Sirius mentionned Regulus everywere else, but he doesn't actually talk about Regulus as such. Wound. A gap. An absence.
Sirius thinks of his friends as brothers.
The Marauder's friendship as brotherhood is a simile that's a bit of everywhere in canon. I've always wondered how it sat with Sirius' actual brother. Of course I've played with Regulus' jealousy of James before, but this is a bit different. What I wanted was a fic that showed all the way that his friends reminded Sirius of Regulus.
James, James is everything he ever wanted in a brother. He’s the wonder-filled fantasies of heroic adventures, ever ready for an escapade thought Hogwarts’ maze-like walkways, to become pirates, knights, rogues, half-gods.
Sirius and James are a platonician idea of friendship. They're perfect. At least they are in Sirius' head. They're that pure idea of boyish friendship or brotherhood. They're the Them. They in Neverland because Sirus is Peter Pan And they can be everything they want to be. It's gold-like and fantasy-like and everything people think as cool and seductive about the Marauders. Like the perfect, adventurous friendships you dream of and that's never actually real.
James is, Sirius thinks, his friend, his brother, his other self and soul-mate.
And they have a very strong connection. Not Weasley Twin like necessarly, but definitly the two-of-a-pair silent-communication sort. I used "soul mate" quite deliberately here. You can view it as shippy or not depending on taste. James was always my biggest objection to puppy shippers >_>;
So I don't actually utter a comparison between James and Regulus. But well, Regulus is real, and a younger brother one that Sirius would have fond annoying, brattish, weepy and utterly imperfect because that's what younger brothers are. Whereas James is that ideal that Sirius would have dreamed for himself.
He thinks of Peter as a younger brother, though Peter is no younger than him. Maybe it’s the way that Peter always looks for them for protection. Maybe it’s because of his adorable clumsiness. Or simply because Peter is always ready to cheer them on, egging them on to more mischief.
Ah Peter. Always difficult to get a hang of him. JKR writes in a way that makes it difficult to understand what the others might have seen in Peter. Obviously there's a vanity thing in the way that Peter obviously admires and requires their protection. It could be quite a high. I also think Peter might have been the source of many a mischievous adventure: the boy's daring, has no kind of respect for authority (unlike Remus), and I think he would have a taste for big, flashy, dramatic mess.
There’s something in Peter’s eyes that reminds Sirius of Regulus’ adoration when he was very young.
So I start bringing Regulus there. The Regulus-in-my head has always been rather shamelessly worshipful of Sirius. There's something of Sirius that appeals to that kind of love, because Sirius is a bit bigger than life in all his tragic flaws. Then of course when they grew up Regulus would stop showing this side of himself so much. And as Sirius would miss it, he would find it back in Peter.
It’s Remus, though, who’s like Regulus, Sirius thinks. Remus who hoards secrets like magpies keep gold, Remus whose shyness hides surprising wickedness, Remus who bows to authority but follows Sirius nonetheless.
Last is Remus. I love the phrase 'hoards secrets like magpies keep gold'. I love the idea of Remus as a very secretive yet wicked boy. Remus' full of contradictions, and in a way that Sirius doesn't always understand.
Whenever Remus speaks about rules, about what adults say, about being careful, all that Sirius hears is Regulus’ voice parroting back Mother’s rebuke and his throat tightens a little.
And Sirius wouldn't understand any apeal to caution or to slow down because they would all register as criticism. Sirus told Harry about Regulus buying onto their parents' discourse of supremacy but that might have started earlier. Sirius probably put Regulus in a position to choose between himself and their parents and of course Regulus wouldn't do that, and Sirius would read this as rejection. And I can't see Sirius taking rejection well.
Maybe that’s why he never can trust Remus totally.
And Remus would remind this to Sirius all the time. So how could Sirius trust Remus?
Sirius had a true brother, once, but blood is a perpetual wound.
If there's one leitmotiv about everything I write is that love always makes people hurt each others. Which I find to be especially true abiout family. Sirius mentionned Regulus everywere else, but he doesn't actually talk about Regulus as such. Wound. A gap. An absence.