Name: PinsandKneazles (Signed) · Date: 14 Jun 2021 10:51 AM · For: Lucy Jones

Hello! So I thought I'd pop along and check out your author page. I absolutely adore reading little snippets about daily life. 

 

It's very frustrating when people won't read signs or directions, especially when it happens a lot. Sometimes instructions aren't clear, or people aren't able to read them, but it doesn't prevent it from being annoying as H*ll for the staff. And then the man didn't even follow the instructions! I wouldn't have blamed Lucy for screaming at that point.

 

Interesting that Lucy changed her name from Weasley to Jones; what about her references for the job? Did she manage to persuade her referees to go along with the name change?

 

It's always difficult when there's someone giving off a foul odour in the workplace, because it's so easy to fall into the trap of judging them negatively (and dealing discreetly with the smell), but Lucy's right; the person may have a legitimate reason to smoke pot.

 

Ooh, that woman with the child!! I swear a LOT, but I cannot stand hearing people swear in front of young children, or even worse, swearing directly at them. Lucy does the right thing by confronting it with the reason that bad language is not acceptable in this particular building, even if it doesn't sound as though the woman has any intention of taking the "advice" on board.

 

Great job with this story! I really enjoyed reading it. I wonder what happens to Lucy next...

 

Pins x

Author's Response:

Thank you for the review! 

And this was actually just a one-shot, so you'll have to rely on your imagination for what happens next. Though if you're wondering what happened to me, I did end up getting another job that's better. 

Though if you like Lucy, I am working on a Lucy story about where she gets kidnapped... but that won't be out for awhile yet :)

Name: Oregonian (Signed) · Date: 19 Feb 2021 07:08 AM · For: Lucy Jones

Hi, Aubrey.

 

This is the third of your stories that I have read, and unlike the first two, it's not amusing.  but like them, it's refreshingly original.

 

You have woven the culture  of magic deftly into the setting of the Department of Public Welfare in such a natural way, replacing muggle elemnts with their magical substitutes, that the reader has to stop, think twice, and say, "Wait a minute, the wizarding world has a welfare office?  I seem to have missed that fact up until now."

 

One has  to respect Lucy for taking this job on her own instead of trading on her family name for a cushier job in less gritty surroundings.  If we live long enough, we all see scenes like what Lucy witnessed in the interview room.  Your last line is perfect.  "Lucy Weasley could ever do somenting like this, but Lucy Jones was more than capable."  Change your name, and you are free to become your alter ego.

 

Interesting and thought-provoing throughout.  Thank you for writing.

 

Vicki

Snow Foxes

Name: Chemical_Pixie (Signed) · Date: 27 Apr 2019 12:21 PM · For: Lucy Jones

Aubrey! Here for CTF Round 1, Team Red.

 

This story is absolutely, positively incredible. You are absolutely, positively incredible.

 

Your choice of Lucy Weasley is very interesting. I personally have not read much with her being the starring character, but I think you do this character an incredible justice. For a Weasley child, it is totally believable that Lucy would want to make her career on her own, that she wouldn't want to get hired just because of her family. And that minor, defining detail really sets up Lucy's character: determined, a bit noble, a little perplexed at her current working situation, wanting to do the right thing. What an amazingly complex character within the scope of a story less than 2,000 words!

 

This story is so nuanced. One thing happens right after another, all bearing its own significance, but there is nothing overtly grandiose about these moments. Ignoring the signs--slightly annoying, but it builds because he hasn't been the only one who's done it. The smell of pot--and all the red tape that comes with it leaves one a bit dejected. The mother swearing at her child (oh come on, I don't care what she says, she totally was), which is probably the most upsetting thing to happen. Your story's events build and play onto each other is such a natural way. And Lucy's reactions, still so human: frustrated, empathetic, tired, determined, really sell what's happening here.

 

What you do for a job, Aubrey, is thankless but so important. I am so glad that you have shed light on this world that is easily brushed under the rug in society--or worse, in the limelight, calling people who are on welfare "lazy" to try to defund the very programs that are barely keeping them afloat... (okay, now I'm getting a little political here, but I am of the belief that everything we do is political, so we should OWN IT.) If someone were to ask me to show them what I meant by my belief that "Poverty is violence," I would be inclined to show them this piece, since it's still a story, based on real life, but set in the wizarding world. Hopefully then, that would open their minds to seeing the reality that marginalized peoples live.

 

Gahh, I really cannot say enough about this piece. I love it so much. Thank you for writing this and for sharing your story. <3

Name: you-make-me-wander (Signed) · Date: 10 Apr 2019 04:59 PM · For: Lucy Jones

Hey Aubrey. Here to review your entry for the Take a Wizard to Work Day Challenge!

There were quite a few things that stuck with me with your story! First of all, I really liked your Lucy as a character. Her fierceness and independence really stood out, and the fact that she wants some "distance" from her name and family background makes her all the more interesting. Not wanting to ask her parents for help, and given the pressure that must come with being a kid of the Potter-Weasleys after the war, I can't really say I blame her for wanting to make it on her own.

Then, some of the details you put into the story I really related to. Like having customers that really just can't take directions, that happens all the time. And well, people who are just generally bad and should probably not relate to other humasn, let alone kids. I totally feel you. Plus, it impressed me that you let your personal experiences affect the way you wrote this piece. It turned out powerful and showed a side of working with the public that it's not often seen in fics, which I really appreciated.

Lastly, for some reason I can't get past the use of the mirrors as cameras o.0 it's so simple, yet freaking genius! And that floral smell spell could have definitely come in handy sometimes, when I wroked back at the hospital.

All in all, I really enjoyed it!

Thank you so much for participating in the challenge. The results will be announced later today.

Keep on writing :)
Susana