Name: justawillowtree (Signed) · Date: 26 Apr 2020 03:12 AM · For: every hand that has beckoned me to come

Hi, Kayla! Here for the third of your prize reviews. <3

THE PLOT OF THIS ONE WAS SO INTERESTING. When I got to the end, I wanted to fling my laptop away from me because the cliffhanger was so intense. I don’t even know how you managed this because a lot of this chapter is in Sirius’s head, but it really shows how talented of a Sirius writer you are -- like always, I was absolutely invested!

Every time Sirius thinks badly of himself I want to find a way to raise his self-esteem; his reliance on alcohol and drugs to get him through tough emotions is so worrying to me! No wonder James was alarmed and concerned when he barged into Sirius’s place! That confrontation about Iain, by the way, was SO well-written -- Sirius’s perspective is tinted a little bit with his shame, while it’s abundantly clear that James feels hurt that Sirius is keeping such a huge part of his life from him. It was painful and angsty yet remarkably sweet, which I loved. Of course James would have been supportive of his best friend, no matter what.

I was super excited when they started sifting through darker materials to find a way to protect Iain (even though it’s slightly morally questionable :P)! That was really clever of you! I kind of love how far Sirius will go to keep Iain safe (so long as he’s not like. hurting others ahaha).

I have so many thoughts about what James said at the end there!! It was a teensy bit rude/insensitive of him to say that he would feel uncomfortable doing the dark magic that Sirius was planning on performing to save Lily, especially since ALL OF THIS WAS JAMES’S IDEA. It’s almost like James was saying that it makes sense for *Sirius* to do all this immoral dark stuff, while James can’t even imagine doing so. I don’t think there’s any way James could have expressed that sentiment in a way that wouldn’t make Sirius feel ashamed of himself.

Obviously James probably didn’t mean to hurt Sirius, and just wanted to help, but, sigh. He probably should’ve stopped his explanation for why he didn’t want the alexandrite stone for Lily at “because she’s magical, and Iain’s not” haha. :P

I’m sooo looking forward to the next installment of the Iain-verse! <3

Love,

 

Eva

Name: Crimson Quill (Signed) · Date: 02 Apr 2020 09:37 PM · For: every hand that has beckoned me to come

 

Hey Kayla!

 

I thought that I would come and review this on a NaNo break and as challenge winner review too.

 

I really love how you've shown Sirius' inner conflict in this first section. I think you've really captured how that he was feeling about Iain. The way that you describe that type of temptation is really effective. I love them as a pairing. I think there is just something really refreshing about their dynamic. I like their dialogue in this section. Iain is being really patient with Sirius who isn't really making much sense from Iain' POV. I do think you've given Iain some really nice characteristics. You can see that he is caring, patient but he has a good sense of humour too. I think that's the type of person that Sirius probably really does need in his life so I'm totally seeing their chemistry together.

 

I'm so glad to have James back! I think he is such a good character. They have such a good rapport together. I think there is some much good tension in the conversation between the two of them. James thinks Sirius might be a spy. The coming out scene was so powerful. I really felt all the emotions that Sirius has during that scene. I thought you put Sirius' emotions and struggles across perfectly which made that whole scene really emotional charged. I think that whole scene was amazing done. The friendship between them was so beautifully written. 

 

I love the storyline about Alexandrite and the blood rituals. I really didn't see this coming at all so it was an interesting way to get more adventure feel into this story but it's still very character based. What I really like this about this piece is how you've developed the wider story. You started out with a simple one-shot which was really powerful as standalone. I think it's amazing that you've got this story when it's really turned into a bit of an action adventure story with the blood ritual storyline, it feels fresh and unique. I think it is really this one-shot sits really nicely as part of a bigger story. It feels interesting and natural. 

 

I'm so looking forward to see more of this story. I'm excited to get to meet Iain more in the next story too! He has so much potential! I can't wait for the next installment!

 

Abbi xx

 

Name: Chemical_Pixie (Signed) · Date: 01 Apr 2020 04:00 AM · For: every hand that has beckoned me to come

Kayla!!!! EEEEEE! Thank you for responding to my Tweet and dropping the link to this story. I am LONG overdue for reviewing this fic, especially since I make it abundantly clear how much I adore this universe!

 

Technically we're halfway through this Iain-verse... AND HALP, I'M SCARED. Iain in danger?!?! *internally cries for all of eternity*

 

ANYWAY... I like how this chapter picks up right after the last one, giving this series a sense of continuity, like.. aha! We're going somewhere with Iain (my instinct tells me that it won't end well, but! I have hope. Maybe it's from the wine, or maybe the wine is giving me the courage to DARE YOU TO END THIS WELL (:P), I'm not entirely sure, lol (*more internal crying at the angst and high stakes*). 

 

The way that the opening scene plays out with Iain and Sirius has it's moments of fluff. They truly do care for each other, and I wish that Sirius wouldn't brush away Iain's authentic feelings of affection. Of course, I do understand that this is a major defense mechanism of Sirius's, which only goes to show how much work he has to do on himself, imo. But Sirius, you are worth it. You have value (*internally cries again* Hmmm, I wonder if this is the wine? I think I'd be feeling this anyway). 

 

I MUST add that Sirius's description of his situation kinda sounds like he's in the mob... lol I wonder what Iain must be thinking. (Wait, isn't chapter four in Iain's POV? (*internally screams of glee*)) Soooo many feelings happening, Kayla. <3 (Or is is </3? I can't be sure because Iain's in danger but the story hasn't ended yet, gahhhhh).

 

Five years. Five whole years of... of terror, and vigilance, and constant self-monitoring; of hiding and fibbing and working so bloody hard to make sure that the constant, crushing shame never bubbles to the surface to make people ask questions. He's worked so hard, and now it's all gone to shit, and he can't even fully blame Lestrange because it was him who lost control like that in front of James; and moreover, it was him who was weak enough to keep going back to Iain in the first place.

 

If James finds out, Sirius will lose everything.

 

THIS is an award winning passage, imo. This experience is something I've never personally dealth with but have seen many timeless with my LGBTQIA+ friends and associates. This fear is very real. I relate to the pureblood ideology upbringing, growing up in a very conservative Christian household, so I can relate to Sirius's feelings in that way. But this description is absolutely breathtaking. It's heart wrenching and I weep (internally, lol), and I want to reach out and hug Sirius.

 

But James finds out--and accepts Sirius. sdhjfkal sdfakljsdfaklsdjfhalsdfba TRUE FRIENDSHIP, omg. James Potter is a TRUE PAL. I'm curious to know how James's reaction is interpreted by LGBTQIA+ folks, but as a cis staight woman, I'd say that, while there's an element of surprise and temporary confusion as to why Sirius hadn't said anything sooner, James's reaction is really supportive (eg making a cup of tea). 

 

And then James and Sirius go on an adventure! And not like the ones they've gone on before in the safety of Hogwarts. Blood magic? That's some weird shit right there (omg, I'm smelling doughnuts right now.... what I would give to have a doughtnut... *sips wine*). 

 

I wonder if, assuming Iain-verse conforms to canon, Sirius will look back on these moments with James and have regret over not pushing James to use this blood magic. (Oooh, that'd be a super angsty spin off of this series, ahem). It's dark shit, for sure, but I am here for this! This is part of the Potter-verse that isn't as explored, imo, especially since we have friggin' Professor Squirrell the Quirrell slaying unicorns and drinking their silvery blood in THE FIRST BOOK when Harry is merely ELEVEN YEARS OLD. Anyway....

 

your writing is beautiful, your plot is enticing, your characters are so real (and so flawed). This is such a great universe, and I hope that we'll have the next installment soon! Xx

Name: down-in-flames (Signed) · Date: 04 Mar 2020 02:47 AM · For: every hand that has beckoned me to come

helloooooooo i am back again!

 

ah, i’ve missed iain-verse sirius. he’s so messy and emotionally screwed-up and full of an entirely unwarranted amount of self-hatred. he’s just constantly convincing himself that he’s unworthy of love and has the worst library of coping mechanisms (aka literally just drinking at this point, along with the occasional punching of walls). 

 

this morning-after conversation with iain is… kind of hilarious. like, it’s definitely awkward for sirius as he tries to skirt around literally all of the details of the situation, because literally all of the details are more information than iain is allowed to have, and then iain at the end is more or less just like, ‘sure, bud, i’m really not sure if you’re okay because this sounds fake.’ like, this is obviously not great for their communication and whatnot because sirius isn’t able to tell him about this major and important part of his life and it’s kind of sad in the larger context of no one really knowing everything about sirius and him keeping various secrets from pretty much everyone in his life, but it’s also just really funny when taken at face value.

 

aaaaaand it’s time for the necessary james potter tangent. there’s so much tension in this interaction with sirius and james - first because james thinks he might be a spy (which like, is actually a valid first conclusion given what james has seen and how dodgy sirius is being), but it’s also a testament to the strength of their friendship that the moment sirius tells the truth, james’s suspicion level immediately goes back to zero. but there’s also a lot that james doesn’t really seem to *get* about sirius in this chapter either - the way that he just so readily accepts that sirius is gay and out of all things, is more concerned about why sirius didn’t tell him earlier than with the actual contents of his confession, and then doesn’t really see much of an issue with it or see why sirius is ashamed of it and thinks he needs to stop seeing iain. meanwhile, sirius’s entire headspace about these same things is just…. *infinitely* messier.

 

blood magic time!! okay, so lol, magic is literally SO gruesome sometimes, all of this shit sounds horrifying. but also yes i feel like sirius is right, any ritual involving unicorn blood is like guaranteed to get him cursed. finding the alexandrite as a result of a nightmare is such an interesting twist - also i love that brief comparison of lily using middle-of-the-night energy to clean everything and sirius using it to get high. that checks out. (i'm reading this paragraph again as i go to post this review and lol it makes zero sense and is so incredibly disjoined, i'm sorry)

 

on the note of lily, i also think james is completely right that lily would hate this sort of thing being used to protect her. *especially* if james did it behind her back. like honestly, just imagining her reaction to that is yikes.

 

but it makes sense for sirius to shove james away as soon as it comes time to actually manage this blood magic ritual. the whole process sounds like it’s going to be a bit gruesome, and given how much shame sirius manages to feel about pretty much everything, it makes sense that he’d also feel ashamed of this, and not want any witnesses.

 

very excited for next installment - which will maybe have some aftermath of this sketchy magical protection attempt? but also SUPER excited to get inside iain’s head, i’ve been so curious about his thoughts on everything for so long.

 

thanks for swapping with me!

 

-taylor