#in pureblood circles having a weird name is basically a status symbol

[flightlessfinch]

if james and regulus got married regulus would never take james’ last name, he is way too attached to his identity as a ‘member of the ancient and most noble house of black’ and i think a major aspect of regulus’ angst about his sexuality is coming to terms with the idea of not being able to maintain his family traditions. he wants to be a good son. he wants to maintain most of the traditions he was raised with, and a lot of his dreams about what his life would look like when he was a kid were wrapped up in what his mother told him he should want. some of it is true to him, though. he does want kids, but not for the same reasons james wants them. he wants them more for the very traditionalist/masculine “i must continue my bloodline and secure my legacy” caveman brain reasons. james wants them because he likes kids and he thinks he would be a good dad and he’s very family oriented.

i think regulus liked a lot of aspects of his upbringing. he liked being part of The Black Family. he likes that his name is “important.” he would not be happy to become a potter. his name doesn’t have anything super negative attached to it in his mind, and he feels like it’s an important part of who he is. he tried doodling Regulus Potter in the margins of his diary and had a viscerally terrible gut feeling, and wrote James Black and got butterflies. that’s just how he is. it’s also a possessive ownership thing for him imo… because he’s silly like that…

james on the other hand doesn’t really give a fuck about his last name and WOULD become a black, because then he’d also have the same last name as sirius (which he finds hilarious and fun). until sirius marries someone, at least. sirius wouldn’t keep his own last name even if he married a woman lmfao