Why do people make it look like it's Sirius who goes along with whatever james wants when it's clearly the other way round?
In the one scene we get from their teenage years it's pretty clear that james is the one who keeps trying to get Sirius's attention. He looks for Sirius's reaction after he yawns hugely and ruffles his hair in the exam hall, then stops showing off only for Sirius (despite his inflated ego being a huge part of his personality at the time), and bullies Snape because Sirius just says he's bored. Personally I see Sirius as having a more independent personality that doesn't rely on external validation, given that he rejected his family's pure blood ideology and ran away at 16, while james at that age was ruffling his hair to look like he just got off his broom, showing off with the snitch, enjoying wormtail's admiration, constantly looking to see if lily was watching him, etc etc(and all of this is just from 1 memory lol).
Also Sirius has no qualms about disagreeing with him (unlike how he's portrayed to be james's yesman in the fandom), he asks james to stop showing off and points out that he's conceited when he wonders why lily is turned off by him. I just can't see Sirius blindly following someone even if it is james, because I think he would have learnt early on that he couldn't blindly trust the people he loved, so while he would trust james with everything, he simply wouldn't be inclined to behave that way. Even so he's way too independent for something like that. The real simp was the spoilt and pampered guy tracing the initials of his future wife lol
✨This✨ In canon:
If anyone is the hype man between the two, it’s James. Sirius is the one who usually instigates the chaos and James jumps in right behind him. When James instigates, it’s to show off for Sirius.
Sirius is a leader. He doesn’t require anyone’s approval or validation. While he is clearly traumatized, he is also self-absorbed and reckless. His actions in memories and post-Azkaban validate that read of his character. Sirius is quite comfortable with dragging both James and Harry into risky situations. He only cautions Harry to be careful is when he can’t be at his side.
James isn’t a follower by nature, but he is impressed by Sirius. Whether that’s because he was brave enough to leave his family and their ideology behind or because Sirius is bold and confident, we don’t really know. James does lead the group fairly often, but he also wants Sirius’s attention and validation. He doesn’t need it though. James is plenty confident enough on his own.
Peter is a follower who generally agrees to whatever James and Sirius suggest to feel included. He idolizes the two of them because they’re popular. While he does goad them on, he doesn’t always participate and appears to play look-out or audience instead. Peter needs validation from his friends. He is insecure and desperate for their approval.
Remus is a follower who doesn’t intervene, but he doesn’t particularly engage either. He’s portrayed as apathetic, unconcerned by Sirius and James’s behaviour, or at very least, unwilling to challenge them on it. He is always with them, however, because he has low self-esteem and fears abandonment. While he is compassionate, even to Snape after Prisoner of Azkaban, he still defends or excuses his friends’ behaviour the majority of the time.


















