Name: Chemical_Pixie (Signed) · Date: 29 Apr 2020 02:01 PM · For: Chapter 1

Hey Kayla! Here for our swap and also RvG POGs edition (GOOOOOOLLLLDDDD!)

 

In case you haven't noticed, I'm on a bit of a Marlene McKinnion kick, and when I found this *~Straight Sirius~* fic on your AP, I had to check this out--especially with the amusing Twitter background to this story. :P 

 

WELL HELLO THERE HETERO SIRIUS! He's in quite to perdicament here, isn't he?! For someone with such straight swag, he certainly is having his moment of the utmost despair. To a normal person, this would be an ideal scenario when dealing with a crush. You're mates. You're already sort of dating. You've already established some chemistry in the bedroom. Sirius, mate, what more could you ask for?! 

 

But being in a relationship involves an emotional vulnerability that is a scary thing to behold, especially in an intimate and romantic one. Sirius hasn't had the strongest foundation when it comes to this kind of intimacy, having grown up in the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, so taking the plunge is a huge step, no matter his sexuality and his preferred choice of partner.

 

Serious note on Sirius (bahaha) aside, the way you explore this vulnerability is hysterically endearing, especially because he's also a horomonal teenage boy! I think your take works here because this is a bit of a rite of passage in life, realizing you like someone and then putting it out there while fearing for rejection--a totally human experience. And then you play on the Hetero Sirius trope in a way that isn't as fitting for a non-LGBTQIA+ writer to capture--which is even more proof as to why we need representative writers! There are so many rich perspectives to explore, including parodies like this story!

 

I love your characterization of Marlene, who sees through Sirius's crap and demands that he own up to his actions. It also goes to show that she accepts Sirius and his silly ways and spiraling anxiety, and she's overall a strong woman who knows what she wants and goes for it full force (in a very Gryffindor-like manner)--and a Beater to boot! Marlene is amazing, and Sirius is lucky to have her. ;) 

 

This is a great parody on your part, and I hope that Ashley followed through on her end of things, ahaha. If she has, perhaps you can put an update in the story notes or something, so future nosy readers (like me) know if she's pulled through. Wonderful and funny work, Kayla!

Name: dreamshadow (Signed) · Date: 07 Mar 2020 03:23 PM · For: Chapter 1

Kayla! Here for swap 1/3

Okay, so after all the talk of this fic, it seemed only natural to pick this one because I still can't fathom the fact that you've managed to write a convincing straight Sirius. But like, you did? And after just this one fic I lowkey ship him with Marlene (I mean, ideally Remus first, but Marlene seems to be an excellent choice if Sirius were to date a girl).

I love how this starts with a near Quidditch accident.  Having Sirius fall for Marlene after she saves his life is absolutely perfect. And rather embarrassing, I love that she called him out on that later on in their conversation. And it's so fitting that they're already casually dating -- I enjoyed that a lot more, that they already have something established (and therefore, Sirius has something to lose) before he realizes he's in love with her. And oh my god, his panicked crush is one of the cutest things. He really is out of his element here, isn't he?

The conversation in the boys' dorm was fantastic. There's Remus, being annoyingly logical, and then James, trying to give actual advice. To be honest, I almost prefer Sirius' method of attack; wait it out. Even though it's clear he's procrastinating, it makes sense to make sure that he's genuine. That right there should've been the first clue, and maybe the second that they've been casually dating for a few months now. Like, if he didn't have at least genuine feelings for her, he probably would've dropped her by now, right? I just really loved the friendship dynamics you set up with the Marauders; you really do write them all so well.

And then the confession scene! Of course Sirius is the one to blurt it out in a rather less than poetic sense, but it's so adorable. And it's one thing to say that Marlene doesn't take shit from anyone, but it's another thing to see it -- to see her round on Sirius like that.  She does seem like a good match for him and he needs someone who won't put up with his crap and lay it out. I'm glad they were able to sort of everything out and make each other smile like idiots. 

You did such a great job with this!! It really is a testament to your skills, that you can write something so out of your normal zone but do such a fantastic job with this. ♥

Name: TreacleTart (Signed) · Date: 02 Feb 2020 10:02 PM · For: Chapter 1

Hey Kayla!

 

I'm here to leave you a review for the CDMC event - Round 2 - Incantations!

 

Oh dear...a straight Sirius story. You actually wrote one. I don't know what to do about this. It's as if my world has gone upside down. I never thought I would actually see this day.

 

I mean, Marlene sounds like a badass. She's good at Quidditch. She doesn't take anything from anyone. She saved Sirius. She's apparently pleasing him in bed.  And she's got really nice tits. What's not to love? I'm not sure I see Sirus' dilemma yet.

 

Oh, ok. Falling in love with her will interrupt his playboy ways. I do like that he's self-aware about his habits and that he realizes he's not very good at relationships. I feel like that's an important thing to communicate to people you may potentially have a situationship with, so everyone is on the same page with expectations.

 

I'm so glad that the Marauders are taking the piss out of him for this. It's too funny not to. And OMG. I almost died at Remus' casual remarks about Sirius' alone time with Marlene a month back. What, does he not reciprocate for all the women he sees?

 

Ugh. Sirius is so impossible. He's making this so much harder for himself than I feel it needs to be. I mean I get that he's commitment-phobic, but he's bound to lose Marlene with all of these shenanigans. I feel like he's going to plan and overthink until he blurts it out in a super awkward fashion.

 

Called it.

 

Marlene's response to Sirius' confession was brilliant. He needs someone forward like her or else I feel like nothing would ever happen. I think it's funny that she already knows what's going on with them and she's just sort of waiting for him to catch up.

 

Aww. I really like how you ended this. It wasn't overly sappy. Just the right amount of newfound optimism for Sirius. I think Marlene will keep him happy (at least until he realizes he's actually bi and in love with Remus)

 

I know this was way outside of your usual comfort zone, but you really did an excellent job with the story. While I still ship Sirius/Remus, I did really enjoy this pairing too and thought you created a lovely story around them. Good work!

 

I also don't usually comment on chapter notes and end notes, but they are hilarious and I need updates on what Ashley did with her move. (Also, I remember that whole twitter convo happening and I have to say, I didn't think you'd actually write a straight Sirius. You truly are a Gryffindor.)

 

Now, a little bit about the podfic of this....I am so glad that Paula did the podfic for this because she reads it so well. She adds humor exactly where it needs to be. She puts emphasis on words in all the write places. She really captures the different characters so well and the pace of the reading was really good. It was really enjoyable listening to it.

 

Great job to both of you!

 

~Kaitlin

Name: LadyMarauder (Signed) · Date: 01 Feb 2020 09:16 PM · For: Chapter 1

Right, so Kayla writes Sirius Black straight and I’m clicking faster than ever, because I never thought I’d see the day! Is the title a nod to the fact it's just not the norm for you??

 

The whole story was hilarious from start to finish. I love Sirius’s internal voice throughout and that he just freaks out completely from the moment he realises he's in love with Marlene. He is such a drama queen in this and I am in love with him, obviously!

 

I loved the opening section where it’s like girl saves his life and he falls head over heels for her all of a sudden was brilliant. I thought the fact he and Marlene were really great friends that hooked up now and again and were sort of dating kind of made it believable that he finally realised his feelings for her, which really expanded on that opening. But what really made me laugh was just how horrified he was about it all. Not just by the fact that being in love with someone seems like a lot of work for him, but that he really likes her enough as a mate that he didn’t want to fuck it all up and hurt her feelings - what a sweetheart. Also, he noted that apparently you don’t really get much of a choice with who you fall in love with, bless him.

 

The chat with the rest of the Marauders was hilarious and the dialogue between them all was excellent here. I loved that all their advice was spot onto their characters - Remus as the voice of very mature reason, Peter said to put the whole thing off for a bit and James making fun of him. I can just imagine most conversations between them going this way.

 

It’s so funny that he kind of just waits it out just in case the falling in love thing was just a false alarm and his feelings were just a huge mistake. It seems like he doesn’t quite know if he wants to run for the hills, but then that’d be too far away from Marlene, or just ignore her long enough to make her hate him.

 

I loved that it was her who finally challenged him on why he was avoiding her and then he blurted it out like a giant idiot. It was really sweet and so funny, and of course she likes him too. I really loved the ending and with them back to their cheeky flirting and being friends who are also in love with each other.

 

Now, as much as I love you breaking my heart with your WolfStar fics, I love this funny and dramatic Sirius here, so feel free to carry on!

 

Tasha xx

Name: nott theodore (Signed) · Date: 01 Feb 2020 10:31 AM · For: Chapter 1

Kayla!  I'm a terrible human who's taken far too long to review this, but FINALLY, here I am!

 

Okay, so I feel partly responsible for making you write this story, but in the nicest way possible, I didn't think... you'd actually do it?  Your writing is brilliant, as always, but I know that your Sirius is Definitely Gay, so writing him straight - and writing it straight as well - just wasn't something I ever saw you doing.  You've proven me wrong here, though - not only have you written straight Sirius, you've written him incredibly well in this.  It's so believable in this story.  Honestly, I feel like someone who hadn't read your other stories might get a shock if they read this first and then read others - just because your Sirius/Marlene ship is written so authentically and convincingly.

 

The fact that Sirius would realise that he's fallen for Marlene properly in the moment that she saves him from a Bludger is just so believable.  I mean, he never does anything by halves, does he?  And a dramatic lightbulb moment is very in character for him.  It's also a great introduction to Marlene and how awesome she is in this story, saving him from that Bludger because she's a great Quidditch player and strong and fun.  It's pretty easy to see, even from the opening paragraphs, why Sirius would have fallen for her.

 

But the way he deals with it... oh, man.  It's just so Sirius.  I could easily imagine him sulking in his room and being worried about telling his friends, and then they're all just like "yeah, Sirius, we know, deal with it".  That kind of shows how close they are, because it's so easy to tell when your friends like someone if you know them well, but I do love the idea that Sirius was completely oblivious until that moment on the Quidditch pitch.

 

Also, the role reversals between Marlene and Remus here compared to your other stories are unusual to read, but you've written them so convincingly that it's not jarring at all?  I feel like that's very impressive because I've been so invested in your other stories.

 

(Can I just mention how adorable James is talking about Lily, blushing about being in love with her and then trying to change the subject?)

 

Of course Sirius decides he's going to do something about it and be a mature adult and talk to Marlene... and then he just ignores her for a month.  Of course he does.  He's a hopeless mess, isn't he?  (Not that it's not understandable, with the way that he's grown up and emotions in that family and stuff, but it makes for quite an amusing story to read.)

 

I was so glad that he finally talked to Marlene, and that she was just herself, and not prepared to put up with his idiocy and wouldn't just accept easy excuses from him.  I like her, and I feel like she's a great match for Sirius - I think the fact that she's willing to stand up to him and that they were friends first is what makes them so good together.  I can't really blame her for being sceptical at Sirius's confession at first, either - I mean, it's not exactly normal to fall for someone and then just spend the month after that realisation ignoring them completely.  But I'm so glad that they worked it out and that she's just accepted who he is - I have a feeling she's going to be very good for him (I hope you realise how weird it feels to write that in a review on one of your stories).

 

Anywayyyy, sorry it took so long for me to review this, but as difficult as this might have been for you to write, you did a brilliant job!

 

Sian :)

Name: clairevergreen (Signed) · Date: 25 Jan 2020 12:24 AM · For: Chapter 1

KAYLA, LOOK I DIDN'T FORGET :) :)

 

I know I should've reviewed this months ago but better late than never. And it means I get to read this gem of a bribe once again and cackle through the whole thing because you really did manage to write Straight Sirius without it being (complete) crack. 

 

Honestly, he's really incredibly adorable with his crush on Marlene. He really genuinely doesn't want her to get hurt and I highkey respect that even as I'm half expecting him to suddenly profess his love for Remus (because what else should Sirius ever do?). I really do buy that he has a thing for her and that he honestly has the best intentions about said thing. 

 

Remus's comment about walking in on them has me on the floor. It's a mental image that is both absolutely hilarious and one that I never want to have to think about again. 

 

Marlene is a badass and I love her. I know this whole thing is about Sirius being straight, but honestly, I'd date this Marlene. I fully understand why Sirius is properly in love with her. I hope she continuously gives him a hard time about asking her out when they were already basically going out and brings it up at every possible chance she gets.

 

Honestly, you get a million gold stars for actually going through with this and I hope that Ch 3 was worth it ;) (even if it came about six months too late :P)

Name: Noelle Zingarella (Signed) · Date: 12 Nov 2019 03:37 AM · For: Chapter 1

Hi Kayla! I’m here for your first prize review :D

 

 

So, based on the summary and the story notes, I simply had to see what you did with a straight Sirius Black. 

 

This story is sparkling. I love your wit as a writer, the way you capture Sirius’s voice with his self-deprecating pride. He knows his good points—and his not so good points. I found myself smiling the whole way through the story, especially when he was thinking about how difficult he is and how he doesn’t know how his friends put up with him. 

 

I also really enjoyed his self-imposed agony. The scene where he is telling the other marauders that he’s in love with Marlene and he doesn’t know what to do was so funny. You write this crew so well in every context. When Remus is both the voice of reason, encouraging Sirius to do the right thing and just talk to Marlene, while at the same time having a pretty good laugh at Sirius’s expense I thought that was very much in character for him. And Sirius, burying his head and moaning about his fate also seemed like what he would do. He’s sort of melodramatic isn’t he? 

 

When he starts of taking Peter’s advice (who does that?) of course it makes him miserable. I’m not surprised that three weeks go by without him just talking to Marlene already. I suspect that Sirius was more keen on avoiding a difficult conversation than he was in discovering if he really loved Marlene or not. And its sort of funny to me that three weeks is the magic number for him to decide—after a lot of hand wringing—that he does really love Marlene.

 

We actually don’t see too much of Marlene in this story after her fabulous Quidditch moves at the beginning until the very end. And she’s sexy and just the sort of girl that Sirius would like (assuming he liked girls). She has, of course, noticed that Sirius has been ignoring her and she, of course, assumes it’s because he doesn’t like her—rather than because he’s in love with her.

 

The way that Sirius suddenly blurts out that he loves Marlene was so funny—and too sweet for words. And the way that Sirius would tell someone he loved them—out of the blue (for them) and all of the sudden. I’m glad that it doesn’t take too long for her to believe him and that things end happily (for now) for them.

 

You did a great job with this story!

 

Yours,

Noelle

Name: down-in-flames (Signed) · Date: 14 Aug 2019 10:33 PM · For: Chapter 1

hi kayla, here with the first of your five challenge award reviews!

 

I followed the saga that lead to the writing of this fic (I also really need to go read mutually beneficial now, if it’s apparently worthy of writing straight sirius for) and I just… I can’t believe you actually did it.

 

and not only that, but… you did it WELL.

 

seriously, i don’t think i’ve shipped blackkinnon as an actual pairing since like, high school (why would I, when sirius is obviously meant for remus and marlene is obviously not straight either) and all of a sudden i’m like, weirdly rooting for them in this fic? truly, what the hell have you done.

 

anyways, your characterization of sirius is still spot-on - he’s still got all the sass and also all the emotional damage as he always does. and I love his friendship with all the marauders here and the way you’ve written their dynamic - they’re all giving sirius such a hard time in the funniest way, and their banter just flows so well. (i’m also cracking up at remus being the one to deliver the whole ‘It's just that, what with the way you were applying yourself when I walked in on you eating her out last month, I figured you already knew you were gone for her-‘ line)

 

i’m also dying at ‘lightball moment,’ i’m a sucker for wizards effing up muggle idioms in fic.

 

and I love your marlene in this. she’s also got so much sass and absolutely does not take shit from anyone, and if there was anyone who could put up with sirius being, well, himself, it’s her. (once again kayla what have you done) like, they’re just so well suited for each other in this fic? and i’m just completely going with it?

 

i’m just all kinds of shook right now.

 

anyways, you’ve knocked it out of the park as usual and i’m still so impressed that you managed to write this in a way that doesn’t actually seem satirical at all and genuinely seems like a good pairing. although now i feel like I need to go read more of your wolfstar stuff to get my head back on right, lol.

 

-taylor