poppunkpadfoot

[poppunkpadfoot]

So, once again, my NaNo project is my (hopefully) novel, The Department! I feel like most of you are probably familiar with it by now, but just in case you're not, I'll give a quick rundown:

When Sirius learns of Regulus's death through his position as a rookie Auror, he becomes determined to prevent what happened to his brother from happening to anyone else. Realizing that the Ministry of Magic has no mechanism by which to intervene in cases of child abuse - no laws, let alone a way to enforce them - he sets out to create an office of child welfare. Meanwhile, as part of his work with the Order of the Phoenix, Sirius is involved in a dangerous operation that forces him to get up close and personal with the life he left behind. When these two worlds unexpectedly collide, the stakes are raised and Sirius finds himself struggling against opposition, indifference, and the trauma of a past that he can't seem to escape.

Pinterest boards! (All M)
+The Department
+Sirius Black
+Regulus Black
+Remus Lupin
+James Potter

Chapter images!

 

 

And, of course: +link to the existing chapters! (M)

[Guest Tanda]

Hi, Kayla. I'm glad to know you will continue this story.

You have two big themes : Why and how Regulus died, which Sirius had to face.

: Sirius is going to create an office of child welfare. (As I know you did write a great story about Remus and his Muggle boyfriend, I believe you can do it, Kayla!)

 

I will keep sending cheers!

[FlamingQuilltips]

HELLO Fellow Marauder-addict!!!

Here's a shiny picspam to spice up your nest!

[poppunkpadfoot]

@StarFeather thanks for the encouragement kenny! i'm hoping to have chapter 4 up in the next few days!

@FlamingQuilltips omg THANK YOU! i love it!

[Guest Rumpelstiltskin]

I sincerely love your writing--I need to spend some more time reading your works! I also haven't had the chance to start really getting into the Department, yet! 

First, I come bearing encouragement: YOU CAN DO IT! <3 Secondly, I come bearing love:  I completely adore every way I've seen you portray Sirius. I'm really excited to start reading this piece!  And lastly, a question--what was your greatest inspiration for this? It's so interesting and unique (just like the rest of your stories I've seen)! 

Happy NaNo'ing! I know you'll do great! 

[poppunkpadfoot]

@Rumpelstiltskin omg I'm flattered! Thank you!

To be completely honest - I started writing this back in 2016 and by this point I've forgotten what initially inspired it, exactly.  But what I like about it is it lets me look at Regulus Black - and Sirius's relationship with/to him - with more nuance. It's something I explored a little in Breathe, and then Drown, but obviously those events take place before the two of them become estranged and before Regulus dies. I want(ed) to explore how Regulus's death would affect Sirius but I really don't remember how I got from there to "Sirius is working as an Auror and decides to create an office that deals with child abuse and neglect". Sorry I can't give you a firmer/more interesting answer bahaha.

Thanks for stopping by!

[firewhiskey_ginger]

YYYESSSSS NANO PENPAL I LOVE THIS.

First of all I'm a sucker for an AU, especially one that changes Sirius's fate (hopefully.) And it's so believable that he would become invested in child welfare because of his own past. 

That being said, how much of this is an AU? (Or at least as much as you're willing to share!) Is he still close friends with James, Peter and Remus?

Happy writing!

[poppunkpadfoot]

@firewhiskey hiiii!

my tendency across all my stories is very much to build them on the foundations of what's established in canon. it's very rare that i outright change something important from the backstory of a character (although i'm not the type to obsess over dates or anything, so sometimes my timelines get wonky - for example, in breathe, sirius runs away from home a year early. oops!). what i do do is build on top of established motivations, canon events, existing relationships - etc. often, the changes that i make are things that don't directly alter canon facts about a character's past/backstory, but also don't directly alter the character's future either.

so, for example, remus and sirius are a couple in the department. that doesn't directly contradict canon - it just fills in a hole where nothing firmly established exists. sirius ran away from home for reasons relating to his sexuality - again, doesn't really contradict canon, as the reasoning we were given was very vague, along the lines of "i got sick of their nonsense".

the only place where the department really starts to veer off canon lines is.... well, sirius being an auror and the establishment of the child protection office. which i recognize is basically the whole plot of the story ahaha. but my point is that most of my stories i would say are not... NOT aus, you could definitely call them aus, but in my opinion they fit fine into established canon because they don't drastically alter the path of a character. this is different, because while i've stuck to my usual method of leaving backstory intact, i've meddled with sirius's "present" (i.e. the post-hogwarts pre-azkaban years) and future.

so this was basically a very protracted way of saying: backstory up to the department's "present" remains intact along canon lines, as usual. james plays a fairly prominent role in chapter one (M), and the whole gang makes an appearance in chapter two, with remus being most heavily featured.  regarding my plans for "future" canon events, i am comfortable revealing that

Spoiler

harry will be born

- won't say anything beyond that, because that would get right into spoilers territory! 

thanks for stopping by! 

Edit by staff:  Added rating for a link to a mature-rated chapter.

Edited November 11, 2017 by Veritaserum27

[poppunkpadfoot]

Chapter 4 is now posted! 

+Link (M)

[nott theodore]

Kayla!  So nobody has asked many questions yet and I'm here to correct that.  Also because I know you love me pestering you and poking you to write more 

 

1. silence. death. HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?  Why did you choose Remus as the main character for this rather than an original character?

2. How much research did you have to do for the story?

3. Have you been surprised by the reaction to it?

4. The Department.  Why do you insist on torturing poor Sirius?  What have been the biggest challenges in writing this story?

5. Similarly, what have you enjoyed the most?

6. Am I going to need some bandages for my heart for the rest of the story?

7. You've written so many different stories about Remus and Sirius and the Marauders.  What gives you inspiration for new stories about them?

8. If you weren't allowed to write any stories about any of the Marauders for the rest of your life, which characters would be your go-to to write about next?

[poppunkpadfoot]

On 1/1/2018 at 12:02 PM, nott theodore said:

Kayla!  So nobody has asked many questions yet and I'm here to correct that.  Also because I know you love me pestering you and poking you to write more 

 

1. silence. death. HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?  Why did you choose Remus as the main character for this rather than an original character?

2. How much research did you have to do for the story?

3. Have you been surprised by the reaction to it?

4. The Department.  Why do you insist on torturing poor Sirius?  What have been the biggest challenges in writing this story?

5. Similarly, what have you enjoyed the most?

6. Am I going to need some bandages for my heart for the rest of the story?

7. You've written so many different stories about Remus and Sirius and the Marauders.  What gives you inspiration for new stories about them?

8. If you weren't allowed to write any stories about any of the Marauders for the rest of your life, which characters would be your go-to to write about next?

Sian 

1. Heheheh I'm not even sorry. Tbh an original character didn't even occur to me. I really have no idea how to approach OCs and I definitely don't feel like I could've written as emotional/impactful a piece with an OC. For one thing I'd have to spend time building that character up rather than relying on readers to understand backstory, character traits, etc from canon (/is lazy ).  The very few OCs i do have are minor characters and I never feel like I'm very good at developing them or that I have a good grasp on who they are/how to write them even as I write. Re: why Remus, he was the natural choice after I realized Sirius wasn't going to work lol because he was the only one of the Marauders who was around and not dead/in Azkaban/a rat when the AIDS crisis exploded, and as we all know I have no range

Really though, I did feel like he fit very well for the part, as he had that proximity to some of the worst parts of the war and therefore I could make the parallels that I did.

2. Honestly, not a lot. Most of the research that I did was very supplementary - either fact-checking to make sure I was remembering things correctly, or research on the specifics of what happened in the UK during the epidemic as compared to the US, which is more my area of expertise (for some reason... /is not American). For the most part, I relied on my own knowledge. (Although I don't want to sound like I was just making stuff up - this is just something I've done a fair amount of research on for other reasons  )

3. I've been a bit surprised! I really didn't expect it to win your challenge (<3) and I think I kind of expected it would be mostly passed over by readers because the subject matter could be considered kind of "niche". But on the other hand, the HPFT community is lovely and always really supportive, which is amazing, and I find that there's a receptive audience here for all kinds of unusual and wonderful stuff. <3

4. It's complicated ahaha. This story for me has basically been challenge after challenge, to the point where the next question might be tricky to answer  I've discovered with The Department that long stories are just... really not my forte. I frequently find myself just not knowing what to do - having space to fill up and just having no idea whatsoever what to fill it up with. It's really daunting. Almost everything else I've written takes place within a very small time period - even Breathe, the longest story I have posted right now, takes place over the course of like... two months, or something? And there's ample room to skip time within those two months.

So yeah, definitely the biggest challenge is having a longer timeline and needing to find ways to fill it up. And not really knowing what I'm doing makes it kinda hard a lot of the time to just sit down and write. Which makes it difficult to motivate myself to write at all. Sooo tl;dr I'm a mess and have no idea what I'm doing but I really care about and believe in the basic idea and bones of the story, so I really hope I'll be able to figure it out and make it work. (For the sake of the people who read it, too, because I've been pretty blown away by the response and I really don't want to let people down.)

Ahaha I've made this sound so bleak! I promise I'm doing my best and not just falling into a pit of despair, lol.

5. I think what I've enjoyed most is definitely being able to explore Sirius's feelings towards and about Regulus. It's something I've never really done before but it's something I think about a lot, so being able to work those thoughts out within a story has been great.

6.  Ummm ahaha possibly? I mean, you know me, but also I'm gonna tentatively say that you may not need as many bandages as you're worried you're going to need? Things should settle down a bit soon and be calmer for a while

7. Hmmm I'm not sure I have a definitive answer for this one. I mean, it depends on the context. With challenges, at this point I kind of just work under the assumption that I'm going to be writing a Marauders story and enter challenges/choose prompts/etc accordingly, although if I look at a challenge and get a plunny for different characters or a different era or whatever, I'm not opposed to that at all. And then sometimes I just, y'know... get ideas, maybe based on something I've been watching or listening to, or maybe because I've been pondering some element of one of their canon arcs, or whatever. It's not unusual at all for music to spark something in me, and I have little mini-playlists or even individual songs that I relate to certain characters or stories of mine. (And I have a playlist for The Department that I update every so often, which people can hit me up for if they'd like.)

8. I would just lay down and die lol jk  Tbh, my first instinct is to say Mr Harry Potter himself! (/has a type, apparently ) And also Ginny too, cause she's awesome. Harry/Ginny is where I got my start in fanfiction and was my first OTP, so I like to think I could go back to it sometime if I tried, haha.

 

Thanks for the awesome questions, lovely! <3

[poppunkpadfoot]

Just an update to say that I'm (finally!) working on The Department again, and I also have a new short story in the queue (which is an entry for Eva's Love, _____ Challenge) ?

[crowsb4bros]

Hi Kayla!

I have a few questions for you! 

1. Okay, we all know you live and breathe wolfstar, but what other ship do you typically enjoy?

2. Does writing energize or exhaust you?

3. What are your perfect writing conditions?

4. If you could administer veritaserum to one character in any fandom, who would they be and what would you ask them?

Happy holidays! 

[poppunkpadfoot]

18 hours ago, PaulaTheProkaryote said:

Hi Kayla!

I have a few questions for you! 

1. Okay, we all know you live and breathe wolfstar, but what other ship do you typically enjoy?

2. Does writing energize or exhaust you?

3. What are your perfect writing conditions?

4. If you could administer veritaserum to one character in any fandom, who would they be and what would you ask them?

Happy holidays! 

Ah! Thank you Paula!

1. Honestly, there isn't another HP ship that I pay much attention to (although I used to really love Harry/Ginny, hahaha), but I really like Steve/Bucky as well! (As in Captain America hahaha) I've never tried writing it but I really enjoy reading it!

2. Sadly it usually exhausts me  Sometimes I get super inspired and can just write and write, and that's super energizing but also pretty rare. But I don't think that's about writing itself so much as it's about my own energy levels, hahaha.

3. Oooh hm. Maybe like... in my bedroom, while it's raining outside, and I have music playing? Or maybe on a nice beach somewhere, or in a cozy cafe? 

4. Omg this is a hard question. Maybe... Dumbledore? Just because he was so secretive and had such a long life, so I'm sure he'd have some interesting stuff to reveal.

Happy holidays to you too! ❤️ 

[grumpy cat]

hey kayla! i'm here with a couple of questions

1. what inspires you to write wolfstar and why is it your favourite HP ship? i recently read something someone posted on tumblr (i think taylor reblogged it) about how the most touching (or something?) moment in HP for them is when sirius is discussing umbridge with harry and says 'you should hear remus talk about her' and how remus, the one who is usually so very calm and who tries hard to maintain control and not confirm people's prejudice against werewolves can be completely himself in front of sirius and let all the anger he feels towards umbridge (in this case) show in front of sirius. it's a blog post i thoroughly enjoyed reading *_* it just showed me another side to their friendship/relationship

2. if you could change one thing in HP, what would it be?

3. fluff or angst? (both in reading and in writing) (and why? )

[LadyMarauder]

Hi fellow Marauder lover! Here to spread a bit of holiday cheer with a few questions.

1. You made me cry with Breathe, it was perfect. Did you find it hard to get into Sirius' head in such an emotional way?
2. I know Sirius is your favourite character, but where do the rest of the Marauders come? Like what is your order of favourites?
3. Is there a character you'd love to write but haven't had the chance to yet?

Tasha xx

[Shadowkat678]

Questions.

1. As someone who loves both Punk music and Sirius, I love your name. Do you listen to any punk bands?
2. For Wolfstar, how do you think the relationship after Azkaban would have gone if they'd gotten together? They'd both been through so much. Personally I can't see them working after, so I always headcanon that they were together in Hogwarts and then Remus/Tonks became a thing after, while Sirius was too wrapped up in recovery to really get into a romantic relationship that was healthy. Especially with limited options being stuck in his childhood home. ?
3. If you had an animungus form, what would it be?

[crimson quill]

hey kayla.

so you're back on the horse with a new short piece to add your sirius collection.

1. what was the motivations behind writing 'Things left unsaid' ?

2. things left unsaid and a lot of your other stories tackle heavy issues - do you feel quite emotional when writing?

3. you've written Marlene in passionfruit - did you always have headcanon for her or she is a more recent creation?

4. will we see more your Marlene in any future stories?

 

 

[facingthenorthwind]

kaaaaaaaayla ❤️❤️❤️❤️ 

1. The year is 2020. It's become illegal to write about Sirius Black or Remus Lupin. Which HP character do you write about instead and why? 
2. I know you have very strong feelings about Sirius Black's characterisation, but do you have similarly strong feelings about any other HP characters? Who?
3. What's a situation/era/fic concept that you desperately want to explore but haven't, for whatever reason?
4. You can change ONE thing about HP canon. What do you change?
5. Do you have any feelings about Wizarding Canada? Any headcanons on where their Ministry is, that kind of thing?

LOVE YOU BYE

[poppunkpadfoot]

On 12/28/2018 at 5:13 PM, starbuck said:

hey kayla! i'm here with a couple of questions

1. what inspires you to write wolfstar and why is it your favourite HP ship? i recently read something someone posted on tumblr (i think taylor reblogged it) about how the most touching (or something?) moment in HP for them is when sirius is discussing umbridge with harry and says 'you should hear remus talk about her' and how remus, the one who is usually so very calm and who tries hard to maintain control and not confirm people's prejudice against werewolves can be completely himself in front of sirius and let all the anger he feels towards umbridge (in this case) show in front of sirius. it's a blog post i thoroughly enjoyed reading *_* it just showed me another side to their friendship/relationship

 2. if you could change one thing in HP, what would it be?

3. fluff or angst? (both in reading and in writing) (and why? )

Hi Kris! Thank you for the questions and sorry I'm so late answering them!

1. Honestly at this point I've been so obsessed for so long that I can hardly answer why I like Wolfstar or why I write it, because it just feels so completely natural to me? I'm just like "well what on earth would I write instead" hahahaha. But I'll try for a real answer. For one thing, I'm very huge on friends-to-lovers pairings, I don't know why. And I think that Remus and Sirius make for a great friends-to-lovers story just because the Marauders were so very close. I think I'm very drawn to the Marauders in general because it's just such a wonderful story with so many fun elements and so many touching elements as well, so it makes sense that I write a pairing from within the Marauders. Also I think they just fit really well together and are able to balance each other out. Remus is a little more quiet/serious and can calm Sirius down, Sirius is more loud/chaotic and can pull Remus out of his shell, and I think they would be able to help each other a lot with their respective issues. (This answer is a mess, I am so sorry hahaha.)

2. I'd make wolfstar canon  Actually maybe I would change the end of the third book. I'd somehow make it so that Peter still escapes but not before Sirius's innocence has been proven. And then Sirius never has to go on the run and Harry never has to go back to the Dursleys 

3. Angst all the way lol, for reading and writing. IDK I just like to have a bad time I guess? I can't really explain it, I just find angst way more entertaining and compelling than fluff. Although a good fluff story is great sometimes too.

On 12/30/2018 at 8:02 AM, LadyMarauder said:

Hi fellow Marauder lover! Here to spread a bit of holiday cheer with a few questions.

1. You made me cry with Breathe, it was perfect. Did you find it hard to get into Sirius' head in such an emotional way?
2. I know Sirius is your favourite character, but where do the rest of the Marauders come? Like what is your order of favourites?
3. Is there a character you'd love to write but haven't had the chance to yet?

Tasha xx

Hi Tasha! Again, I'm sorry for my late response.

1. Breathe was probably one of the easiest stories I've ever written. I knew exactly what I was doing and where I was going from the jump and all I had to do was take it there. (I got a little stuck in the middle but nowhere near as much as usual, lol.) So I guess I'm going to have to say no? It came very naturally to me!

2. Ah man Tasha, this is impossible. It's obviously Peter dead last but I don't think I have a strong feeling on the order besides that. I love them all so much ❤️ except Peter lol.

3. I... don't think so?  There's not a character that I've never touched before that I'm dying to write. I'd like to write more about Regulus though!

Thank you for the questions ❤️ 

On 1/6/2019 at 1:16 PM, Shadowkat678 said:

Questions.

1. As someone who loves both Punk music and Sirius, I love your name. Do you listen to any punk bands?
2. For Wolfstar, how do you think the relationship after Azkaban would have gone if they'd gotten together? They'd both been through so much. Personally I can't see them working after, so I always headcanon that they were together in Hogwarts and then Remus/Tonks became a thing after, while Sirius was too wrapped up in recovery to really get into a romantic relationship that was healthy. Especially with limited options being stuck in his childhood home. ?
3. If you had an animungus form, what would it be?

1. I listen to a lot of pop punk and emo music  I don't listen to very much proper punk. I think Sirius would though!

2. I tend to disagree, I think that there was potential for them after Azkaban. They'd been through a lot but I think that they would be able to understand each other and ground each other in a way that no one else could've. I obviously don't picture it as being smooth sailing but I also don't think of it as doomed/a lost cause. And I especially think that having Remus with him at Grimmauld Place would've helped Sirius a lot.

3. I have no idea  I'm not a big animal person. I really like bunnies but I don't think I'd want to turn into one because they're a little fragile ? Maybe a manatee but then I could only turn into an animagus in the water. I really don't know hahahaha.

Thanks for dropping by!!

10 hours ago, Crimson Quill said:

hey kayla.

so you're back on the horse with a new short piece to add your sirius collection.

1. what was the motivations behind writing 'Things left unsaid' ?

2. things left unsaid and a lot of your other stories tackle heavy issues - do you feel quite emotional when writing?

3. you've written Marlene in passionfruit - did you always have headcanon for her or she is a more recent creation?

4. will we see more your Marlene in any future stories?

Hey Abbi! I suppose I am! ❤️

1. The motivation behind 'things left unsaid' was to give people something to review for that one Menagerie category where we were meant to review fics that told the story in an unusual way (or however they phrased it). ? No joke. I just thought it seemed like a category with fairly limited options.

2. No, is that bad?  Most of the time I'm just having fun. Take that as you will, I suppose  

3. I definitely did not always have a headcanon for Marlene! I forget exactly how passionfruit came about, I just remember that I wanted to write another story like Secret Keeper where I took a common Sirius Black trope (or, in the case of passionfruit, pairing) and flipped the script. But it was for the prefect's challenge that involved a vacation, a meet-the-family situation, and something to do with Pride month, and I didn't really want to write about meeting the Blacks, so I guess it all just spiralled from there?

4. I don't have any plans for Marlene right now, but never say never

Thank you for the questions, Abs! ❤️

8 hours ago, facingthenorthwind said:

kaaaaaaaayla ❤️❤️❤️❤️ 

1. The year is 2020. It's become illegal to write about Sirius Black or Remus Lupin. Which HP character do you write about instead and why? 
2. I know you have very strong feelings about Sirius Black's characterisation, but do you have similarly strong feelings about any other HP characters? Who?
3. What's a situation/era/fic concept that you desperately want to explore but haven't, for whatever reason?
4. You can change ONE thing about HP canon. What do you change?
5.  Do you have any feelings about Wizarding Canada? Any headcanons on where their Ministry is, that kind of thing?

 LOVE YOU BYE

Emmmaaaaaa ❤️❤️❤️

1. I am far too busy rioting in the streets over this unfair, unjust, and frankly homophobic law to have any time to write Harry Potter fanfiction.

Spoiler

 

(....if I say James is that cheating?)

(.......if I had to pick a non-Marauder's era character, I might say Ginny Weasley.)

 

2. I definitely have by far the strongest feelings about Sirius (I know, shocking, right?) but I also actually have pretty strong feelings about James's characterization, mostly because I've seen it done so badly so many times hahaha. I actually am weirdly shaky on writing Remus which is a big part of why I love YOUR stories so much because you're EXCELLENT at Remus.

3. A few years ago for NaNo I had this idea for a story where Sirius was the lead singer of a punk band, but I got like 300 words in and then stalled and gave up and haven't touched it since. I'm still SUPER into the concept but I don't know where to actually go with it, like it's just a premise without a plot. So yeah.... maybe one day?

4. If the movies count as canon, I would get rid of "Nice one, James!" and let Sirius die with dignity, lmao.
But really though, explicitly gay Sirius is the dream, so probably that.
(Or I would include a wizarding election and explain the mechanics to make my own life easier and clear up The Department, hahaha.)

5. I am embarrassed to say that I have literally never thought about Wizarding Canada ever in my life.  I'm not a worldbuilder like you are, hahahaha. Even now that I'm thinking about it I've really got nothing. I'm sorry!! 

LOVE YOU TOO BYE

[poppunkpadfoot]

hey there, anyone who might be reading this!

it's been a while, and i've got some new stuff going on, so i just wanted to make a bit of an update post here in my writer's journal.

 

first and foremost: i've made the decision to scrap the current iteration of The Department.

i've been struggling with this for a while, and i'm sure anybody who was reading that story has noticed that it hadn't been updated in eons. basically, i just feel like i never had a very good grip on what i was doing, and i didn't feel in control of the story. it became something that was stressful and difficult and an obligation instead of something i was doing for fun. so i've hidden the chapters i had posted.

however... if you happen to be thinking "nooooo! i loved The Department!"..... don't despair! because i have ALSO made the decision to start it over from scratch! same premise, new title, fresh start.

so, (re-)introducing... Leave a Trace.

the basic summary remains the same as what's written in my very first post up there ^:

Spoiler

When Sirius learns of Regulus's death through his position as a rookie Auror, he becomes determined to prevent what happened to his brother from happening to anyone else. Realizing that the Ministry of Magic has no mechanism by which to intervene in cases of child abuse - no laws, let alone a way to enforce them - he sets out to create an office of child welfare. Meanwhile, as part of his work with the Order of the Phoenix, Sirius is involved in a dangerous operation that forces him to get up close and personal with the life he left behind. When these two worlds unexpectedly collide, the stakes are raised and Sirius finds himself struggling against opposition, indifference, and the trauma of a past that he can't seem to escape.

Pinterest boards! (All M)
+Leave a Trace
+Sirius Black
+Regulus Black
+Remus Lupin
+James Potter

plus... +playlist (M)

... but i'll be scrapping most of the 6 chapters i'd already written, and reworking the details.

i'm not usually one for planning, but given how this went the first time around, i've decided to give planning a shot. so rather than diving in head-first and starting the re-write, i've been carefully making a thorough timeline, working through the characterization of the main OC, and figuring out the important details of the story arc. i've also decided that i won't be posting as i go this time around, or at the very least i won't be posting each chapter the second its written. my goal is to get at least 10 chapters written before i post chapter 1.

so yeah, that's that on that!

 

secondly, i also wanted to say a bit about another project i've been working on. for anyone who follows me on twitter, you've probably seen me talking about the rabbit hole i've recently gone down - a rabbit hole that i colloquially refer to as "Iain-verse", but which does actually have a formal series title: a body from the balcony.

for those who aren't familiar, back during the Great Collab house cup event, we were given the theme of Back from the Brink and one of the challenges my team received was Internalized Oppression. i honestly don't remember how this even came about, but i ended up writing an entry which featured Sirius paired not with Remus, but with a male OC i came up with, whose name is Iain. then a few months later i signed up for the picspam challenge (hosted by Abbi / Crimson Quill) and was assigned the world's most serendipitous picspam (+here) and the inspiration just came to me for another story featuring this OC. now i'm completely obsessed, and this pairing/universe has turned into a Whole Thing for me. i honestly never write OCs, and creating characters is probably my biggest weakness/insecurity when it comes to writing, so this whole process has been really new and strange and exciting! the current plan is to write three more stories, making this a 5-story series - but with the way this rabbit hole has been going so far, i can't make any promises that i'll stop after three.

i. Hitting the Ground
ii. Crushed Little Stars
iii. still untitled, direct sequel to Crushed Little Stars
iv. I Bet On Losing Dogs (Iain POV)
v. A Body From the Balcony (the plan is for this to be the climax & conclusion of the series, hence sharing a title with the series overall - but we'll see what happens!)

oh, plus some (M-rated) bonus content:
+playlist
+pinterest board

if anyone has any questions about this 'verse, definitely hit me up, because i'm really excited about it right now and am super eager to talk about it to anyone who'll listen! hahaha

 

my third and last point for this update is my word count goal for 2019. back in august i did some math and realized that i had written over 30k words so far in 2019, compared to approx. 20k in both 2018 and 2017. so i set myself the goal to hit 40k by the end of 2019. since then i've written approximately 8k more words, so i'm aiming to write 3k more before the end of the year so i can be sure i'm over 40k. (i have to approximate a lot since @facingthenorthwind and i write together so often and i'm never quite sure who wrote what percentage of each story, lol.) anyway, even though i've slowed down in output significantly since august, 3k is super doable! so i'm pretty excited about that.

 

anyway, i think that's about everything! if you made it through this whole thing, thanks for reading (and thanks for your interest)! and if you have any questions about any of this stuff, i'd love it if you dropped them in this thread!

 

-Kayla

[grumpy cat]

hey kayla! i've just read hitting the ground and crushed little stars - both are such great stories, i loved them!

like, hitting the ground is, at its heart, quite angsty and deals with internalised oppression and the very sad shame that sirius feels but! you've managed to turn it around, to even make me chuckle at the end when iain asks if he's creeping on him i thought it was a really cool...turn around (? not the right phrase but still.)

so i've got a couple of questions for you

we all know that wolfstar is your otp (one of them?) and you write sirius and remus so well (especially sirius' characterisation(s) hah) - i'm wondering how difficult (and was it difficult?) was it to write stories (now a series) about sirius and iain, a muggle oc that you've created and the entire thing doesn't have anything to do with wolfstar? for me, some ships are basically set in stone and i can't wrap my head around the people in those ships ending up with someone else, so i'm curious how you handled it and whether you used any tricks to put yourself into a not-wolfstar headspace (though, i know you've also somehow written a straight sirius which must've been even stranger heh.) iain seems like such a cool guy, though, and for me, it wasn't hard to imagine why sirius would like him so much. he's handsome, clever and witty and also! he's a muggle who doesn't have anything to do with the dangerous part of sirius' life. i wonder if that last part is something that's especially appealing to sirius?

if it's not too spoilery, when will sirius let iain into his life fully? tell him about magic and the wizarding world? will iain meet the marauders? i'm excited to read about it when he does because i can't imagine that sirius will manage to keep things a secret for too long. first, james will be too curious, second, he has to protect iain and obviously, to do that properly he'd have to tell him. ahhh, i think it'll be awesome reading. but i hope this ends up being very au and sirius lives. happy. with iain. you know, all that good stuff

[TreacleTart]

Hey Kayla! I've just finished reviewing your A Body From The Balcony series and I loved it! Just wanted to drop a few questions off.

1. As long as I've known you, Wolfstar has been your OTP. How did you decide to write Sirius with a different partner?

2. Does this universe exist in the same universe as your other stories or is it completely on it's own? 

3. What/who inspired Iain's character? 

4. And a non-related question....awhile back I saw that you wrote a straight Sirius. How was that experience for you? What was the most challenging part of it? 

5. You and @facingthenorthwind have been doing a ton of collabs lately! (Very exciting.) How have they influenced your writing? 

[poppunkpadfoot]

On 12/5/2019 at 2:25 PM, grumpy cat said:

hey kayla! i've just read hitting the ground and crushed little stars - both are such great stories, i loved them!

like, hitting the ground is, at its heart, quite angsty and deals with internalised oppression and the very sad shame that sirius feels but! you've managed to turn it around, to even make me chuckle at the end when iain asks if he's creeping on him i thought it was a really cool...turn around (? not the right phrase but still.)

so i've got a couple of questions for you

we all know that wolfstar is your otp (one of them?) and you write sirius and remus so well (especially sirius' characterisation(s) hah) - i'm wondering how difficult (and was it difficult?) was it to write stories (now a series) about sirius and iain, a muggle oc that you've created and the entire thing doesn't have anything to do with wolfstar? for me, some ships are basically set in stone and i can't wrap my head around the people in those ships ending up with someone else, so i'm curious how you handled it and whether you used any tricks to put yourself into a not-wolfstar headspace (though, i know you've also somehow written a straight sirius which must've been even stranger heh.) iain seems like such a cool guy, though, and for me, it wasn't hard to imagine why sirius would like him so much. he's handsome, clever and witty and also! he's a muggle who doesn't have anything to do with the dangerous part of sirius' life. i wonder if that last part is something that's especially appealing to sirius?

if it's not too spoilery, when will sirius let iain into his life fully? tell him about magic and the wizarding world? will iain meet the marauders? i'm excited to read about it when he does because i can't imagine that sirius will manage to keep things a secret for too long. first, james will be too curious, second, he has to protect iain and obviously, to do that properly he'd have to tell him. ahhh, i think it'll be awesome reading. but i hope this ends up being very au and sirius lives. happy. with iain. you know, all that good stuff

Hey Kris! Thanks so much, I'm really excited that you enjoyed the series so far!

I would definitely call wolfstar my Harry Potter otp, but when it comes to writing Sirius/Iain, I haven't really found it difficult! However, I think that's because I'm thinking of it as an AU (I mean, I guess all my stories are kind of AUs, but this is an AU of MY "canon" - does that make any sense?). In my headcanon wolfstar is definitely endgame, but this series isn't really my headcanon, it's just an idea I had. Idk if that made any sense?! I hope I answered your question!

I definitely would say that Iain being separate from the rest of Sirius's life is part of the appeal. But I would say it has a bit less to do with the war/danger aspect of it and more to do with the fact that Sirius is closeted and Iain being a Muggle keeps him away from Sirius's normal life.

Is it too spoilery to say I can't answer these last few questions without being too spoilery? LOL, sorry Kris! But I've made really good progress on the third instalment and it should be coming soon.

Thank you for the questions and I'm really glad you enjoyed my stories! ❤️

 

On 12/6/2019 at 4:20 PM, TreacleTart said:

Hey Kayla! I've just finished reviewing your A Body From The Balcony series and I loved it! Just wanted to drop a few questions off.

1. As long as I've known you, Wolfstar has been your OTP. How did you decide to write Sirius with a different partner?

2. Does this universe exist in the same universe as your other stories or is it completely on it's own? 

3. What/who inspired Iain's character? 

4. And a non-related question....awhile back I saw that you wrote a straight Sirius. How was that experience for you? What was the most challenging part of it? 

5. You and @facingthenorthwind have been doing a ton of collabs lately! (Very exciting.) How have they influenced your writing? 

Hey Kaitlin! Thanks so much for the questions ❤️

1. I have the memory of a grape, but if I recall correctly, I just wanted to write a story where, unlike in most of my stories, Sirius is a closeted adult still actively struggling with his sexuality after leaving Hogwarts. Not that that rules out Wolfstar entirely, but it seemed easier/more intuitive to leave Remus out of it. Iain was actually incidental to the story at first, but after finishing with Hitting the Ground, I kept finding myself coming back to the idea of this Sirius/OC relationship. So now here I am!

2. No, it's completely on it's own! Just about everything is different from how I usually do it. Sirius even has short hair! 😱

3. Iain at first was a completely utilitarian character, similar to Oliver in silence. death. - I just created him to fulfill a specific purpose in Hitting the Ground. But now he's taken on a life of his own. That being said, I don't think I can say that there's a "who" that inspired Iain's character. I'm very much just building him as I go along! However, next abftb story on my list is Iain's POV, so I might need to look for some inspiration at that point!

4. Hah, yes! That was actually really hilarious and I ended up having a super fun time writing that! The most challenging part of it though was definitely just... taking it seriously and writing it straight, without veering off into satire

5. Yes we have! It's been so awesome! One way they've influenced my writing has been that I use a lot more exclamation points now but also I think (I hope?) my ability to write dialogue has improved! Emma is a dialogue wizard and if it has rubbed off on me even slightly then that's fantastic news for me. Also, a big thing has been that I get stalled on stories a LOT less often now - Emma has an amazing ability to help me get over walls and out of holes.

[poppunkpadfoot]

wow, i am.... just absolutely awful at updating this thing   yikes!

i really thought i'd included the following info in my last update back in..... november (yyyyyiiiiiikes), but apparently i did not? so i guess i'll just say now that my plan since the beginning of this year has been as follows.

1. a) finish planning (or at the very least get down the broad strokes) leave a trace (fka the department) in time for julno
b) work on leave a trace as my julno project

2. finish a body from the balcony before julno (to free me up for leave a trace)

so... let's check in on how this plan is going, shall we?

 

1.

On 11/22/2019 at 1:29 PM, poppunkpadfoot said:

first and foremost: i've made the decision to scrap the current iteration of The Department.

i've been struggling with this for a while, and i'm sure anybody who was reading that story has noticed that it hadn't been updated in eons. basically, i just feel like i never had a very good grip on what i was doing, and i didn't feel in control of the story. it became something that was stressful and difficult and an obligation instead of something i was doing for fun. so i've hidden the chapters i had posted.

however... if you happen to be thinking "nooooo! i loved The Department!"..... don't despair! because i have ALSO made the decision to start it over from scratch! same premise, new title, fresh start.

so, (re-)introducing... Leave a Trace.

the basic summary remains the same as what's written in my very first post up there ^:

  Reveal hidden contents

When Sirius learns of Regulus's death through his position as a rookie Auror, he becomes determined to prevent what happened to his brother from happening to anyone else. Realizing that the Ministry of Magic has no mechanism by which to intervene in cases of child abuse - no laws, let alone a way to enforce them - he sets out to create an office of child welfare. Meanwhile, as part of his work with the Order of the Phoenix, Sirius is involved in a dangerous operation that forces him to get up close and personal with the life he left behind. When these two worlds unexpectedly collide, the stakes are raised and Sirius finds himself struggling against opposition, indifference, and the trauma of a past that he can't seem to escape.

Pinterest boards! (All M)
+Leave a Trace
+Sirius Black
+Regulus Black
+Remus Lupin
+James Potter

plus... +playlist (M)

... but i'll be scrapping most of the 6 chapters i'd already written, and reworking the details.

i'm not usually one for planning, but given how this went the first time around, i've decided to give planning a shot. so rather than diving in head-first and starting the re-write, i've been carefully making a thorough timeline, working through the characterization of the main OC, and figuring out the important details of the story arc. i've also decided that i won't be posting as i go this time around, or at the very least i won't be posting each chapter the second its written. my goal is to get at least 10 chapters written before i post chapter 1.

so yeah, that's that on that!

surprise surprise, i have made... no progress on this planning situation whatsoever. again: yikes! however, it is very much still my plan to work on leave a trace as my julno project. all that being said, i will admit that i am daunted by the concept of Planning™️ - if anyone has any helpful resources on that front, shoot them my way and in exchange you shall have my eternal gratitude!

as an aside, i do plan to put up a novel nest for this fic at some point in the next few weeks  

 

2.

On 11/22/2019 at 1:29 PM, poppunkpadfoot said:

secondly, i also wanted to say a bit about another project i've been working on. for anyone who follows me on twitter, you've probably seen me talking about the rabbit hole i've recently gone down - a rabbit hole that i colloquially refer to as "Iain-verse", but which does actually have a formal series title: a body from the balcony.

for those who aren't familiar, back during the Great Collab house cup event, we were given the theme of Back from the Brink and one of the challenges my team received was Internalized Oppression. i honestly don't remember how this even came about, but i ended up writing an entry which featured Sirius paired not with Remus, but with a male OC i came up with, whose name is Iain. then a few months later i signed up for the picspam challenge (hosted by Abbi / Crimson Quill) and was assigned the world's most serendipitous picspam (+here) and the inspiration just came to me for another story featuring this OC. now i'm completely obsessed, and this pairing/universe has turned into a Whole Thing for me. i honestly never write OCs, and creating characters is probably my biggest weakness/insecurity when it comes to writing, so this whole process has been really new and strange and exciting! the current plan is to write three more stories, making this a 5-story series - but with the way this rabbit hole has been going so far, i can't make any promises that i'll stop after three.

well, this goal is going... better than the other one! i'm pleased to say that fic 3/5 is in fact live on the archives, which means i can update my list:

i. Hitting the Ground
ii. Crushed Little Stars
iii. Geyser
iv. I Bet On Losing Dogs
v. A Body From the Balcony

i........ have not started losing dogs yet, lol, but if you like abftb you'll be delighted to know that i do have a plan for the final installment, it is devilish and you're all going to hate it

 

while i'm here, i might as well give an update on this:

On 11/22/2019 at 1:29 PM, poppunkpadfoot said:

my third and last point for this update is my word count goal for 2019. back in august i did some math and realized that i had written over 30k words so far in 2019, compared to approx. 20k in both 2018 and 2017. so i set myself the goal to hit 40k by the end of 2019.

smashed it!!! woohoo

 

some other assorted tidbits since my last update:

• i entered and won a challenge!! 
• i'm almost done a new story from a new series, because apparently i don't have enough to do already - i'm calling it sikenwolfstar, and it's basically extremely angsty wolfstars based on sikenbot tweets (that is, snippets of richard siken poetry). and it's an open series on the archives, so if any of you feel inspired to join me...
• @facingthenorthwind and i have two new collabs: one Actual Fic That We Worked Hard On for lex's only one bed challenge (reading the room), and one >1000-word epistolary crackfic that we churned out in like an hour on discord and which i am honestly quite chuffed about (best regards)

 

i.... think that's all in terms of updates? if you made it this far.... thanks!

 

TTFN! ❤️