Opening scene (jousting tournament at Whitewall) of Chapter 17 from @mungeon-disaster-writes fic If Dreams Die

This is stunning!! Absolutely stunning!! 😭

dmay update???? in THIS economy????????? under THIS administration??????????????? wild

Some pursue, above all, a tale of redemption, of equals, of change, of a path diverging toward some better outcome.

Others search for something lighter, though still forced and complex; others yet, in alternate worlds entirely of far more sweeter content.

As for myself, I am drawn toward the gothic and the intricate, the danger of engaging with another so powerful, the peril of obsession. I like when Harry is placed in truly difficult situations within the dynamic, forced to learn and adapt around them.

Like y’all. I don’t care how much of an overachieving genius Tom was, that man is canonically a patchwork of the worst character flaws anyone could ever have. I love him because he is a loser. He is beautiful and smart and over-emotional and egotistic and cruel and antisocial and it ruins his life.

Fics tend to write Harry as surly and reacting with anger, but in canon the only time we see him genuinely get angry after all the shit he’s been through is 1) when he has to deal with Umbridge, and 2) after Sirius dies at the Ministry. I’d go so far as to say that he is less emotional than Tom.

Harry’s levels of idgaf are so unapologetically high that he literally sees no point in pandering or lying to anyone about anything. He goes to formal networking events with outcasts, breaks rules on the regular, blows up his aunt because she pissed him off, casually murders his DADA professors on a Tuesday afternoon… he literally asked the Minister for Magic to sign his Hogsmeade permission form and crucio’d a Death Eater for spitting on McGonagall.

There’s no realistic scenario where Harry James Potter would be submissive or overly insecure.

In America the president rules over the nation as supreme leader, a sort of reified god-king. A few nations notorious for jingoism do this. The fact you can even say #NotMyPresident, as if an elected government position was analogous to accepting your stepfather when you are 12 years old, is very telling.

In countries like the UK, Australia, and Canada, the prime minister is just a civil servant, a guy who works for the citizens.

In a constitutional monarchy we have a 2point ruling system of head of state (the king) and the head of government (the prime minister). The king grants his consent to bills through a governer-general selected by the king. The king/governer general exists mostly as a final stamp and doesn't impact policies, but theoretically has absolute power when the constitution is being violated. I assume this is how it works everywhere with a prime minister/king combo.

We see Voldemort's MO, and it is VERY recognizable as someone who wants to be head of state, but has no interest in being head of government. He inserts puppet leaders whenever possible and stays away from politics, because he's placed himself above beurocracy. He wants a constitutional monarchy, just without the democracy. He wants to Make The Royal Family Relevant To The Magic Community Again, But There's No Royal Family Just Meeeee

This is not a position one ascends through becoming prime minister. The fact you can't go up the ladder to become king in governments structured like this is precisely why he was so disinterested in Slughorn's offers of sponsoring him. It's pointless, diminishing, and full of dead ends.