#jen's asks

Ooooohhhhh I forgot.

Let's look at everything of him in the book:

Chapter 4

He is not at all happy to see Harry and only grimly greets him, barely acknowledges him by screaming at his mother's painting telling her to shut up

Chapter 5

When discussing the Dementor attack (which was traumatising for Harry), Sirius shows Harry no sympathy and when Harry hopes for comfort due to his lousy summer, Sirius not only said he had no idea what Harry was complaining about as he would've welcomed a Dementor attack, but he also dismissed Harry's problems and whined about how his problems were much worse since he wasn't allowed to step outside and that was really selfish since he was comparing a Dementor attack where Harry and Dudley nearly had their souls sucked out to him not being able to go outside, comparing Harry being alone all summer to Sirius being locked up and surrounded by his loved ones. While this is hard since Sirius wants to be in action, he should've been sympathetic.

Chapter 6

When Harry simply tries to say he didn't know about Bellatrix being Sirius's cousin, Sirius snaps, which takes Harry aback and just makes Sirius grumpy and terrible.

Chapter 9

Sirius isn't exactly happy that Harry would be returning to Hogwarts, instead he's moodier and surlier than he was before.

Chapter 22

At the Black family home, after Harry tells Sirius his worries about Arthur being attacked, he disregards everything Harry says, telling him that he needed sleep, that it was just a dream and that his anger meant nothing. And Sirius finishes this conversation by telling Harry to stop worrying, making him no help whatsoever to Harry and in turn makes him struggle worse.

• It might've been better if Sirius was more the way he was in the movie version (especially since Sirius ended up dying in the end and all readers remember is him being a jerk to Harry):

The reunion with him and Harry was heartwarming since Sirius excitedly hugged him

Sirius was able to calm Harry down after Arthur's attack by telling him he was not a bad person, but a good person whom bad things have happened to, then assured him they were family and hugged Harry.

Unlike in the third and fourth books, Sirius was completely out of character in the fifth book.

Especially when you remember him doing these selfless things for Harry:

Risking to get him a new broom and to get his money out of Gringotts via Crookshanks

Risking his identity to watch Harry playing Quidditch

Living in the Hogsmeade cave to be near Harry and living off rats

Going at any length go protect Harry

One thing Rowling could've done was to write Sirius as his Book 3 and Book 4 self and have him switching in between his home and someone else's home via a Vanishing Cabinet or even maybe Floo Powder.

But I also wish Sirius could've been revealed as innocent in the third book.”

Thoughts??

The thing about Sirius in books 3/4 and book 5 is that in book 5, JKR already knew that she wanted to/planned to kill him, so I think that factors into things, but there's obviously canon reasons for the different behavior.

In Books 3/4, Sirius doesn't have to answer anyone and he's on the run but he's FREE. This, I think, is the important difference between Sirius in books 3&4 ad Book 5.

Sirius in books 3/4 has the same goals as he does in book 5, but in book 5 - Sirius is stuck in prison a second time. He is in a comfier prison (I'm sure), but prison none-the-less.

He's stuck in the one place that he hates more than any other (and Harry even comments that he doesn't think he would be doing any better if he were stuck at the Dursleys after finally escaping).

and that's the biggest point I have - he ESCAPED GP, moved on with his life, went to prison as an innocent man, ESCAPED PRISON, was free even if he had to live in a cave, and then WAS FORCED TO RETURN TO FIRST PLACE HE EVER ESCAPED FROM.

Sirius was dealing with his trauma from both GP and Azkaban, he was imprisoned a second time (because JKR just wanted to punish him, 'cause let's be real there are MULTIPLE ways he could've not been in that situation), and ON TOP OF ALL THAT - he had everyone and their mother taking potshots at him, telling him he was a terrible godfather that everything was all his fault and treating him like a criminal in his own house.

So his mental state crumbled.

Sure, he had people he could talk to - but did any of them act like they wanted to talk or be around him? No. So, that's a bust.

Plus, most of those people were talking shit behind his back and to his face.

He had a bed, but that bed was surrounded by haunted memories.

And he wasn't allowed outside. Do you remember what Covid Lockdowns were like? I live alone (and I LOVE IT), but like, it was *Hard as fuck* to be forced to *not leave* and I was allowed to *go outside whenever I wanted*. Can you imagine. - NOT BEING ALLOWED TO GO OUTSIDE FOR FRESH AIR FOR A FUCKING YEAR???

And then, on top of it, getting shit on by the people around you, stuck in a place you hate and have terrible memories plaguing, worried about your godson - who *everyone* is telling you have no real say over - and you can't do anything to help him when the previous year you were allowed to A) write him, B) live near him and C) help him WHEN NO OTHER ADULT DID???

Like, you have to understand that Sirius was in a terrible, terrible place mentally, physically and emotionally in book 5. He literally does the best he can, and yes, he's a bit callous, but he's *struggling*.

The fact that there's SUCH a big difference between book 4 Sirius and Book 5 Sirius tells us a lot about how *bad* and how *quickly* his mental state deteriorated.

So, I guess my thoughts are that Sirius deserves a lot of slack for Book 5. I feel like he's not exactly OOC, but we really have to get inside his head to understand *the why* he's behaving this way.

It sucks, honestly. I don't think he does too bad considering everything, but he's not perfect - no one is.

Sorry, this was ... long. Hope I answered what you were looking for.

I agree. It was very hamfisted and obvious what the goal was.

I think it mightve been more interesting if instead of fucking up with Jeff (the amazing waiter... Dude, how is that a thing?) that she ended up having dinner with Jay (not a date) or Sunil and actually have a conversation with the man who does a lot for someone he can't see.

Instead of fucking up his restaurant and chances for more success. What Jay said was harsh but real and Hettys feelings may of been hurt but she needed to hear it.

I guess they dropped the Patience thing, but I really wish they had gone a different way with Sass/Bela and I hope she quickly realizes that she can't have a family and the life she wants (that she said in the breakup episode with Eric) with a ghost!

I love Bela, and I loved her being into Trevor, genuinely even when she found out he was a ghost, but adding Sass into it as more than rebounding feels off.

Wasn't it just a few episodes (few months in the show since we jumped to March) that she was telling Abby how much she loved Trevor and pumped she was about him? Whereas there's no connection from "my backup ghost" to "I genuinely wanna date Sass".

The true ending should have been "Sass, I'm sorry, I can only be with you in my dreams and if I learned anything from my ill fated relationship with Trevor, it's that this is never going to work" and then explains to Kyle that she was rebounding and Sass made her feel good.

Also - why are Sass and Hetty allowed to date livings but Trevor???

Isaac constantly saying "I got in on one day", has replaced Pete's "I can leave the property" as number one line that makes me want to toss something at my tv.

Oooohhhhh.

Huh. It is definitely getting repetitive but I hadn't noticed it yet to be annoyed.

But I'm sure I will be.

Unrelated.

It's interesting Pete hasn't gone on another adventure.

Also that it's been apparently months and there still wasn't a follow-up to Trevor / Patience and how she went back to the dirt.

Like him? That's an... interesting question.

As a character, I do and I don't.

The problem with Dumbledore is that he is supposedly hates having power and yet, has an incredible amount of power (particularly in books 1-4, and 6-7). He supposedly was the only one that knew how to defeat Voldemort - everyone did so so many things just because 'Dumbledore said', even when they should've known better.

This is a problem for me.

Dumbledore can't be the end all-be all always right, and yet, absolved of the way he treated certain characters.

Now, I am probably biased, but he straight up says 'I knew I was condemning you to ten dark and difficult years' to Harry. That is something that I can't forgive. Abuse is never okay. Knowingly condemning a child is not okay. And what's worse? Who gave him the authority? Because I don't believe for a second that a headmaster has that kind of authority.

I think for that alone he deserves to be questioned. But he also had the power to DO SOMETHING in the years between 1981 and 1995 when Voldemort rose again and he DIDN'T. He let known death eaters rise in the ranks of Ministry. He let Snape bully his students. He let the Ministry be easy for Voldemort to take over.

He straight up says the he KNEW that Voldemort would return one day and he did NOTHING to make it A) more difficult and B) tell other people so that they could help prepare for that inevitability.

Now, I get it, it's a children's book, but when analyzing a character, you can't say 'well, it's a book' - you look at the character and his decisions and whether or not they were good decisions... they *weren't*.

Dumbledore made terrible decisions that may have worked out, but it doesn't change the fact that he got straight up lucky. He got lucky that V stole Harry's blood. He got lucky that Harry didn't just say fuck it and take off. He got lucky that Harry managed an unbelievable task that was ... completely unfair to put on a seventeen year old kid.

So, do I like him? I like his complications. I like his shades of gray, but overall, I don't paint him in the best light when it comes to fics because I use his canon decisions that straight up sucked to make decisions in the story.

So, when I said James is not as much of a devottee to Sirius in prongsfoot fics as Sirius is- I was talking about after school James. Or atleast after 6th year of school James. When he is really getting into that adulthood phase and leaving behind his boyish times.

Like mostly any fic I read with this pair, Jily happening is a given 80% of times. And there is a me problem that in my friends to lovers fic i typically don't like a person who one of the friends used to date being there in the mix. this is not just about this pair, anytime I read friends to lovers, I like the ex to leave there life or turn out to be super big psyco etc etc.

But with Jily almost all the time precceding Porngsfoot, it is that either her ghost is always hanging above their head, she is dead. Or she is best freinds with James and they are playing a supposedly good family but are divorced.

WHat I disgress about is that if James had such a good marriage with her then atleast for begininng 4 years, his prioroty will be Lily and Harry and then SIrius. Which would be absolutely fine if I was reading a Jily fic. But in prongsfoot it feels one sided for so long and then suddenly James is into SIrius and then they live happily ever after. THis like the chasis of many long Prongsfoot fics i have come accross.

Also, Sirius takes the typical girly role in Prongsfoot fics. Not shown as feminine. What i mean is that those typical romance stories we read that the herione is facing so many troubles and her life is so difficult then hero swoops in and now all of a sudden she has everything she has ever wanted. etc etc. Shr pines for her hero who is oblivious and then bam, she does make up, hero sees that oh she has looks going on for her..and they marry...

Hahahaha...

ANyways, jokes aside. You see in Wolfstar fandom, there must have been some start where few fics in the beginning must have decided that Remus has to be the macho man and Sirius has to be the girly drama queen and now everywhere Wolfstar works on this absolutely given basis.

I know you don't like Wolfstar but I was giving an example as to how fandom keeps developing from the early phases. Just like that in Porngsfoot fics, I think the given is that Sirius is the pinner. SIrius is hte one who either will never work to get in a decent enough relationship outside of James becasue he knows he is in love and he knows no is better that James so why try or even if he does then the partner he is with will be some evil person or not as good compared to James's Lily who is swettum duddikins. (P.s.- I saw on your page that you have posted a fic recently. And it may seem that I am targeting that in particular. But I promise, this rant is not about any fic in general. )

Like Prongsfoot has a given that James has a life all set and adult him is going to have the best of his life even if he divorces than he is chumy with Lily who is super supportive. Sirius spends years solving one problem or another.

THis is specially my trigger because in the scene in SWM, James is so not emotionally mature. He doesn't even understand that Lily is not comfortable with his over the top flirting and all. Sirius has to explain it to him. In OOTP also we see that Sirius is very mature despite spending years in Jail.

WHat i am trying to say is that between the two of them, James is the one who i see as someone who will have trouble transitioning into a well adjusted adult, not from the lack of trying but because of the naivety he is yet to loose. Him i can see as someone befreinding people of all types and then regretting over helping etc. So, often seeing well adjuted James, playing the role of a friend whose life is almost all settled. Of seeing jily break up being such a simple thing like it is not a big deal. It all makes it seem that James had it comparatively easy, in fanfictions.

Sirius, in turn, is so accurate in his assesment of people so seeing him being ludged with the wrong sorts of people feels a bit ooc.

I think Prongsfoot, is one of the ship that despite not being canon ship, is the only ship in which authors try to go by the canon the most. so, the route has to be taken of why jilly didn't happen.

But Back to my original ask. Adult James is a great friend to adult sirius. I am not denying that, but, adult Sirius is mostly in love with adult James. and he is so much devoting himself to James, his wife, his child. I don't know why. But it seems that his 'dog like nature' often makes it seem like he is doing more.

And the problem is not that James is late to the party. it is that as soon as he starts to see sirius that way. he is already all that way there. Not over the time getting there. He is suddenly jealous, he is suddenly too much touchy feelly. and Sirius who has spent years pinning,, we as a reader who know Sirius's side because mostly sirius is the pov character, are like, if he needed only this much time to be there, then why so late...

I don't know. Maybe if I see adult James having his own struggles, other than about his sexuality. or his having real actual troubles with Lily for actually wanting to divorce. Like being friends with her seems that they could have stayed couple if they are so good to each other.

In the country from where I come, after children are born to a couple, only the most explosive and violent relationship lead to divorce. Just not being attracted to your spouse is not a reason poeple divorce here. (I am not talking about cheating as a result of that). If they can still stay respectful and concerned about the spouse then they stayed married for the sake of children. So, Jily break up in fics for prongsfoot to hppen doesn't give adult James the credibility if he takes divorce for abolutely no seemingly good reason. Marriage is a big decision but so is divorce. And Divorce between couple who later become best friends is super cliche which i have never seen happen in adult life.....

So, i feel disconnected with James's reasonings, his almost nil personal growth after reaching adulthood, his almost too good to be true marriage with Lily, his perfect relationship with his son, his life has no struggles other than to get Lily to see him date material when he was a teen. When this is all shown in contrast to Sirius who has his life still in shambles. He looks more real in that case. in comparision to James, whose problems are triffle and not out of control sort of. JAmes's problems are the ones he can solve within himself. sriius's problems are on the outside.

I don't know if i was able to share with you my struggles. I left wolfstar because I thought that Siirus can do better than Remus. But then James in Prongsfoot is problem free whereas as Remus from Wolfstar was full of problems.

Reading Prongsfoot which is non canon compliment has helped but they are so less and i in my hunger for more, somehow reach the lands where i promise myself i won't return to.

Wow, this was a really long ask, with a lot of details.  So, I had to spend some time to think about it.  

Long ass answer below the cut.

OMG.

I don't even know. Is cheating to say all of them? Probably.

I loved all of the letters - for sure! Every one was just perfect.

especially the first one where he proves what an awesome godfather he is - let's not forget that's RIGHT after he does the BEST THING EVER and offers Harry a home (it's not his fault Fudge sucks).

and then, there was the moments in the cave or how Harry IMMEDIATELY thinks of Sirius has a father figure not 2 months later.

But I think my favorite (because it's the most father/son-ish moment) is Sirius in the fire. Dude BREAKS IN SOMEWHERE and just lets Harry rant and he listens and it's just... so perfect. In just a few months, he's everything Harry ever wanted.

same anon here!

I think that if such an AU is there where Sirius is the one with kid and James is the bachelor one. ANd Sirius is friends with the woman he is divorced to. THen Prongsfoot may happen But it won;t last much if Sirius gets any indication that James in not being good to his child.

I know that Sirius's whole life is about James. THat is canon. He is pitiful like that.

But this is that one of the things in the list that can break the image of James in his brain and the love he has for james.

Sirius who comes from a home where he is either unloved or loved with condition and he is sure that Regulus is loved more. I think that i would begin to hate his character if in such an au, despite knowing that James is not fully accepting of his kid, he goes on to his relationship with James.

I want him to stand up for his kid, the way he wanted some adult to do when he himself was a kid.

I also want him to be really good dad to his own kid. Canonically we see him being really good figure to HArry despite all problems. So, i wold hate to see a Sirius who in his mad devotion towards James is super chumy with Harry but neglects his own kid.

I think SIrius, if he ever became a dad to his own biological kid, would like every kid who is abused as a child at the hands of his parnets, want to do everything for his kid.

But it would be lovely to see him chosing someone other than James. It would lovely to see that in such an au his priority is straight as it should be. As James's priority is Harry.

THis is what I was telling you, James is so selfish, i don't like SIrius's devotion to be left unfound and him having to come to the terms that James is this person. Especially it would be difficult to reconcile that James who has given him home at 16 is being so bad to another kid, Sirius's son.

But anyways, i have starting to resent Prongsfoot beacause of its power imbalance. It is always too skewed in James's favour. Giving more of a Dark Ship vibe rather than the friends to lover thing, soft and sweet, i thought it would be when i entered the fandom..... I think it may be becuse that just like Wolfstar, Prongsfoot is just another reason to enhance whump Sirius.

Didn’t get a chance to answer this yesterday with my other long-ass answer.

Anyway, I disagree that James would EVER treat a child of Sirius’ in a bad way.  James is perfectly capable of sharing Sirius and he’s just not the kind of man.  In fact, I’d think he’d endeavor to be just like Sirius is in canon.  But I do believe that both of them would put the well-being of their child first.  Any good parent would. 

As for Sirius’ ‘whole life’ being James in Canon, we don’t actually know that.  The books are about Harry, so we don’t get Sirius’ POV or much of his past.  What we DO know is that after Hogwarts, he joins the Order and becomes a warrior.  A great one, apparently, if everyone was scared of him.  Also, even if he had nothing else going on in his life (ignoring that he’s in a F-ing war and has plenty of life to live at that point), it’s not pitiful to love your friends and have a close bond with them.  

I don’t think there’s any AUs where Sirius is the dad that James isn’t and James doesn’t absolutely ADORE Sirius’ child.  If that were the case (where he mistreats Sirius’ kid) of course I wouldn’t ship Prongsfoot, but I can’t imagine James ever doing that, as I said above.  I’m not sure why he would need to choose someone other than James?  Like, you’re imagining a scenario that would never come up in PF fics, so why not choose James?  

I strongly disagree that James is selfish.  

James canonically decided that he would risk being maimed or prison for Remus by becoming an illegal animagus.  James gave Sirius a safe place to land by inviting him into his home when he ran away.  James made himself a target in a war that he never had to fight in if he didn’t have good morals.  James gave up his freedom to do fight for what’s right - and that’s selfish? 

Plus, like, I just don’t agree about the lack of devotion or power imbalance.  “Never saw one without the other” - “Ringleaders of their little gang” - the fact that they constantly are referred to as a DUO.  There’s no imbalance here.  Everything is equal and I just… don’t get it where you’re coming from, honestly.