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Emily hi! Here to leave you a review for the holiday wishlist thang! First of all, I hope all has been well with you. :) Secondly, I am here for my Tedromeda fix (and also silently hoping/wondering when we might get more AWR because I know you are busy and no pressure ;)).
Ahh...I love how this story between them has this heightened, sexual edge. Or tension. It just makes the moments when they do physically come together more satisfying.
I really like how it's becoming this "cat and mouse," thing with them. She trails him, he's already trailing her (or a magical person in general, but he's thoroughly pleased when it ends up being her). I like how he knows it is her who is following him. But how could it not be? Not only does he recognize her particular brand of magic, but she's also done no harm to him as he just carefree strolls back to his flat hah. It also speaks to Ted's character that he is so chill, in what might not necessarily be a chill situation.
I also love that she's taking a robe of his each time they encounter one another. It feels like the modern equivalent of "let me take your sweater or hoodie." It's another "claim," she wants laid on her. Like when he bites her or is rough in the way he touches her and she wants to touch it. And while the practice of borrowing his clothes is not overtly sexual, it's still kind of sexy. Though I worry it could land Andromeda into trouble later on if her family discovers her secret stash of Ted Tonks robes.
And that cabinet! I am intrigued! Of course, even when you're writing a smut driven story there's a plot. And I love you for it.
As always, your descriptions of emotional things as well as physical places and the magic is top notch. I love the banter and the teasing. They're edgier than they are in AWR and yet, it still feels like THEM.
Fabulous job, Emily! I do hope you have a lovely holiday season and that AWR makes a come back in the new year! (I swear, I'm totally normal with my interest level with that fic ;)). ((P.S. I'm not...I love it so much! xD))
<3 Courtney
Emily another totally gripping chapter! The tension in this one was...oof! Everyone was on fire! From the build up banter to the smuttiness...I was gripping my laptop and clenching internally the entire time.
I really liked how you've taken Ted's character, who is totally affable and lovable in a lot of other stories, and as the middle aged man we know in canon, and given him this dark streak. His laughter and quips are darker in this piece, but I think it totally suits for what is transpiring between these two in this story. It speaks to his involvement in The Order and it makes him this "dangerous," figure that Andromeda should be afraid of, but she's more intrigued and I kind of love this approach to your Tedromeda as well.
Another instance of wall sex...ope! I mean, logistically that is challenging, but you definitely keep it real with what position their bodies are taking. And their constant teasing and banter during is maddening, but you allow them to give into one another right when they (and we) need it hah.
I also liked that ending where she just blatantly asks her father for the DE list and stumbles through a response. We get the sense that she's not as polished of a spy in this story, but again, she's still recognizable as your Andromeda.
Anyway, I like this unique scenario you place both of these characters in (compared to All The Waves Resounded), but yet they are still recognizable as Emily's Tedromeda.
Well done!
<3 Courtney
Hey Emily! Here for some more review tag! :)
There's something sensual about describing a post-coital ache. And you do a great job of sort of seducing me into going on with this chapter by giving us this pleasurable sort of hook. Also, sorry if that was an altogether creepy statement. I can assure you I mean it a flowery sort of compliment in regards to your writing and nothing more. (:
"...especially before she’d figured out how to make it shut up about her figure every time she looked in it..." Again, your small magical details such as this one are utterly brilliant. This mirror feels like such a toxic object that Purebloods would employ.
I love that she sort of finds a pleasure all her own in being marked by Ted and by analyzing them the morning after. It's like this is one thing that no one can take away from her, which is lovely in a forbidden romance situation. And then again where she tries to feel that pleasurable ache again in the presence of the man she's supposed to marry--such scandal. But I love being privy to it as the reader. :)
I like how Andromeda is a little bit more vocal in her doubts of the cause in this story. It makes sense, considering she's not playing the part of spy in this story and is sort of engaging in this forbidden sexual thing with Tedward as a way to distract herself from her impending marriage. We feel her shortcomings in the exchange with her mother. She's trying very hard to live the life everyone wants for her, and I'm curious as to why. I mean, I could sort of seeing it as "she knows nothing else," and that is totally plausible. Until Ted. ;)
"After enough contemplation her hand starts to feel as though it belongs to someone else, some other body, the lines and shapes of it alien and unrecognisable." I really love this line. It's totally believable when this "big moment," thing is happening to you and you can hardly believe it. I know when I was first engaged, my hand felt foreign because of the ring. So you bring this totally relatable sentiment to life in such a lovely manner.
"Venturing out tonight had been the impulsive, emotional move of a girl, not a young woman of her status." I love how we see Andromeda in this sort of "coming of age," stage of life. She's caught between doing things that someone her age might generally do and this whole other order of expectation that has been thrust on her since she was born into the family she was born into. It's a great way to give us an idea of who she is as a character.
Ooh, I also remember this whole wedding planning exchange in the tea room. I thought it was absolutely brilliant. It builds tension within Andromeda about the prospect of having to marry Andares and also whenever she happens to spot Ted. I love how she checks him out from across the room and is trying so very hard to focus on what her mother is saying, but her mind chooses to betray her and rebel against this. It's a delightful picture you paint for us here. And then in the end, she gives into her feelings for him, even if they're merely carnal, and you make us wonder where they are headed next.
Amazing chapter as always!
<3 Courtney
I am back for my Tedromeda fix because, this is becoming something of an addiction for me.
Confession time: I actually read this story whenever I first joined. But I think I was so overwhelmed and/or intimidated that I never got around to properly reviewing it. When talking with another FFTer about how amazing your writing of these two characters is she mentioned this story and I believe I referred to it as "the one where they have alley sex?" because it lodged itself into my memory and still lives there over one year later. Well done for being memorable.
Anyway, I am back to properly give you a review of this story. :D
I sort of love how Andromeda doesn't give an eff in this story? I mean, she does to an extent, but also she knows her reaction of going to a Muggle pub is a gross exaggeration to what is expected of her. But also, I get the impression that she is someone who has done absolutely everything that is expected of her, and so, she just needs something that is for herself and will give her some inkling of freedom.
And Ted immediately recognizes her and goes into Order mode. I think this explains when this is set and what is happening in the grander scheme of this world in a subtle yet effective manner. :)
And oop, there's the alley sex. Very good alley sex too. Well as good as alley sex goes. Ok, I need to stop saying alley sex LOLZ.
But I love the little details that build the tension and show this devious, human side of "I need to get laid." Ted's observations about the bartender with her, the way his fingers dip in her skirt, the breathlessness you convey effortlessly with a dash (like amazingly done, because even before I knew she was getting a bit breathless, I read it as such), it all builds up quite well to this moment and allows us to see what both characters motivations are in this instance. And it is very carnal and needy and I love it, ok?
"Andromeda turns her head, hides a wild, reckless smile into her wrist." This is such a perfect image ok? Like the cat who got the canary and I just love that you end it like this, ok?
Such an exhilarating start! I cannot wait to read onward again and share all the thoughts and feels I have because. Your writing warrants it.
<3 Courtney
Also, tag! ;)
Emily I'm here to talk to you about my feelings.
Has anyone ever told you that this is one of the most gorgeous things ever written? Because it is.
First of all, how did I come to be reading and reviewing this fic you completed 2 years ago instead of your WIP magnum opus AWR (which I do actually need to get back to)? Well, when I decided to write that Tedromeda one-shot I was like, "Emily's cool with smut right? Because I distinctly recall reading a couple chapters of some Tedromeda smut a couple years ago. Wait, did I hallucinate that?" So I came back here to check and no, obviously, I had not hallucinated that.
So today I set out to read this in earnest and I just tore through the whole thing in an entire sitting. And I just don't even know where to start with what I love about it.
So I guess I'll get this out of the way -- in a story about a relationship that is built on a foundation of rough, antagonistic angry/hate sex, what absolutely punches you in the gut in the end is the tenderness. (And not only in the end -- very distinctly in ch 5 as well after that super angry sex where Ted's checking in on her wellbeing afterwards.) And it's just like... breathtaking and gives you all the feelings. Like you wouldn't think that a fic that starts out the way it did in chapter 1 would make you pine like this.
And yet, all the rough, antagonistic stuff doesn't feel discordant with what it ultimately turns into which is like... how?? did you do it???
And I just love that it became what it did, and that it felt so organic. Like you really faked us out in chapter 1, I recall the first time I read chapter 1 and I thought this was going to be like a toxic relationship trope the whole way through, or that even if they did eventually develop real feelings, I never expected the depth and believability of their emotional attachment to each other that you were able to pull off here. And I just kind of loved that given the way they started out with each other, the tension and conflict involved in the ship didn't come so much from the "why am I attracted to this person, it's wrong" stuff -- they kind of just accept the attraction and the dynamic and the tension was "what are we to each other now" if that makes any sense at all, idk. And the struggle to be truly vulnerable and open which is super ironic considering the vulnerability they have to embrace in order to be having this kind of sexual dynamic together.
Which brings me to all the amazing stuff in here having to do with power and control, and the great irony involved in how Andromeda's life has been so tightly controlled and that's her problem, and what's setting her free is just being totally dominated by a perfect stranger who in the beginning really is genuinely hostile to her. Obviously any sexiness in sexual dynamics like this comes from the fact that there's trust and consent involved, and Andromeda has full agency over what she's doing, and it turns out that embracing being treated this way is actually so empowering for her -- there's just SO much here that's amazing.
I feel like I'm going to be telling on myself if I tell you how much I loooooove everything about Ted here. Like. Okay, we have the sexy dominance and the swagger -- but like, not arrogant (or if/when he is, it feels like he's affecting it) -- more just casual and unconcerned (like that paragraph where she's just observing how he walks? I ate it up. And the earlier description of him as "limbs draped every which way." HELLO.) And outwardly in control in so many ways (though, see below for more about that because he is actually clinging to his control by a thread).
But then he's also a cinnamon roll. I did not realize I could have the best of both worlds so believably.
And I loved that this wasn't like, a fuckboy-with-a-heart-of-gold (modern day reformed rake) thing -- like I never got the sense that casual raunchy sex is just a thing he does; I got the sense that it was a thing he did specifically with her. It was always driven by emotions from the very beginning, and man, does this man actually have a lot of feelings in him. He is bursting at the seams with them. Like when Glad ends up in the hospital and he's so shaken up and angry, and angry at her, and probably angry at himself for being angry at her, and his hands are shaking and he annihilates his cigarette and he just doesn't know what to do with it, which made that such a powerful scene because Andromeda's like "here's what you can do with it" because she knows trying to soothe him will be no use. And then we are back at the heart-stopping tenderness that has me all twisted up about this fic.
The last thing I will say before I will finally stop going on like a lunatic, is holy shit at this final sex scene. What. Mind explosion. Because they're not just like, done with the control/dominance aspect of it now that they've figured their shit out and are no longer having emotionally twisty sex. He puts her in this -- for lack of a better way to describe it -- disabling position much like he's done before but it's entirely in a "watch me take so much care of you way" and ksjdfhasjk I do not have words. There is so much being communicated in that scene.
(Also I will have you know that as I was sitting here trying to put words to my analysis, I was thinking of like, how someone taking a dominant/controlling role like that has a lot of responsibility to their partner to observe their limits and care for their wellbeing and so forth, and how that's part of why that scene is so great because it underscores that this dynamic is sexy because of the actual care and respect involved -- and anyway, the words "with great power comes great responsibility" flashed through my mind and askdhjsk I am not totally sure whether this is what Spiderman's Uncle Ben was talking about when he said that.) XD
I am signing off now. Clearly, I love this to death and back.
<3 Melanie
It’s so thrilling to know that she’s finally, finally getting to do something worthwhile with her own talents!! I will take this over any mega-million blockbuster, thank you very much; literally the amount of euphoria I feel knowing that she’s using her own hands and re-honing former skills far surpasses anything I’ve felt watching a movie!! (Perhaps it is on par with First Comes Courage. :D)
“And though it surely can’t compare to the meals she’d had at home, she’s not sure she’s ever tasted anything as satisfying.” THIS IS SUCH A GOOD LINE. Sometimes, going through a ridiculous amount of trouble to accomplish your own task, whether it’s making a meal or learning how to manage money, makes the end result so much sweeter.
I looove the way you wrote the disownment. It’s very cold and understated -- there were no shouts or large-scale arguments -- which fits your design of the Blacks so very well. And it’s also quite creepy, too; it’s so disturbing when people like Andromeda’s mother disguise their emotions in this way. She’s clearly trying to manipulate her daughter into staying again, which. NO. I love the subtle hints of just complete propaganda and brainwashing that Andromeda’s mother uses (and perhaps of which she herself is a victim), when she goes so far as to call Andromeda’s side-switching “treason.” I’m so glad that Andromeda stood her ground!!! I love her!!
TED. TED AND ANDROMEDA. The way he was pacing!! The way he said “I’d like to kiss you” sdgkhlsSDKGHLSKskdgls !!! I could swoon over everything these two do omg.
The moment I loved best was when Andromeda became so so bashful after he called her gorgeous -- I am so very in love with everything about this. The complete difference in her emotions accompanying sex between this chapter and the first!! Everything developed so, so organically, shifting from anger to attraction to comfort to love in this way.
This is the best thing ever, you’re utterly brilliant. <333333
Love, Eva
I AM SO PROUD OF ANDROMEDA. SO VERY MUCH. I love that she acknowledged her own mistake in using her family as a crutch; it is obviously completely understandable to be anxious and sickened at the idea of being permanently disowned from family, as horrible as they might be, but at the same time to continue staying safe under their protective umbrella means that she’s willing to suffer their abhorrence, as Dumbledore calls it, for her own safety/comfort. And for her to fight back against that when there’s nothing to motivate her but her own conscience (with her feeling as though Ted is permanently lost), it’s so perfect! I love it!!
“I’ve been lying down all my life.” Emily this quote killed me very much dead; I got shivers, chills, and everything in between. The way Andromeda faces her own complicity! The bravery it took to escape her horrible, controlling family!! This may be one of my favorite fics ever, ever ever ever. <3
When she went to Dumbledore and got her flat and stipend, I was so so proud! I know that she’s been sheltered and privileged and so this hard style of living might be a well-deserved dose of reality, but it’s still a lot for someone to live through, and I love that she’s so stubborn that she’s has this attitude like ‘I am never asking for help, goodbye Dumbledore.’ This chapter is so significant in her development as a character -- the satisfaction that it gives me is the kind of reaction that I presume those makeover scenes in romcoms are supposed to elicit in viewers, except this is so much better! It’s so real and thoughtful, and she’s actually being made to suffer in this new life, as so many of the other Order members must be suffering!
Oh my gosh working with unfamiliar money is so stressful. But also it seems as though Andromeda has rarely worked with money at all, which is definitely a luxury she can’t really afford anymore. Ugh the way you depict her hardships here is so good, I love it so much I don’t even know what to say sdkghls.
Re: your author’s note, what in the world is a pound sterling and how does English money work?? :’)
AMAZING. <3
Love, Eva
HI I’M BACK. Nothing could keep me from finishing this story, not even if I caught the plague and was on a sickbed. :P
I do hope this doesn’t become a habit hahaha but there’s one thing that I forgot to mention in the previous review that I absolutely must: THE ROBES. She’s stealing his robes!! I feel like she’ll have amassed this giant collection by the end of their time like this together, which ultimately won’t matter because they’ll be married! Though I think it would be hilarious if she kept his own robes from him even after their elopement. :P
Even the way that they FIGHT is so full of chemistry and care -- Ted’s initial anger and frustration upon returning home evidently wasn’t directed at her, and the way that she helped him cool down was so quintessentially THEM. And how Soft they were afterwards, with their fond glances! I could flail for ages!
I do love Tosh very much (that name, dear goodness, is perhaps the cutest and weirdest thing I’ve ever heard), but I must say I hold a grudge for him catalyzing their argument like this! Though it would have happened anyway, I know!! Their final, final break-up fight just made me so unbelievably sad because both are coming from such valid places -- but I hope that soon Andromeda really really breaks free of the chain connecting her to her family so she can live with Ted happily without fear.
The way she wrapped his robe around her when she Apparated home I OSB.
ANOTHER AMAZING CHAPTER. <3
Love, Eva
The way she squared her shoulders and asked her father for the Death Eater watchlist files just so she could find Ted made me want to stand up and cheer -- it’s so immensely satisfying knowing that, for once, she’s manipulating her family for her own sanity, for her own pleasure! (I forgot to mention that in my previous review so I’m sticking it here at the top. :P)
The CCTV mentioned in this chapter!! It makes me ridiculously giddy that you’ve thought of this, but it’s so telling that despite fighting against Muggles and Muggle-borns, Death Eaters (and their children) don’t have any idea of how Muggle security works. So this very simple thing that we often take for granted -- the CCTV -- becomes something that confuses Andromeda and outsmarts all her best magic.
“The small room lights up yellow at once, warm even against the spartan setup.” I LOVE THIS. I love that Andromeda sees this warmth and associates this warmth with Ted -- he’s never gentle with her but in the past couple chapters he’s seemed genuinely glad to see to her, which in turn makes ME feel all warm and happy. Even in this unused, unlived-in place, Ted manages to bring a bit of his warmth into it. <3
There is so much for me to love about this story I could ramble forever and ever and ever. But what I REALLY want to say is how much I adore the trust between these two. Because Ted always pushes her to her limits, but he never pushes her PAST her limits -- he never hurts her beyond what her body is capable of withstanding -- and that degree of control and care and trust is something that really really struck me. And Andromeda is willing to give herself to him completely because she knows that he knows how to handle her!! This line: “she hates that nobody else has done this to her, with her, that she’s increasingly doubtful anyone ever will”; I love it so much because it shows how unbelievably intimate this is for the two of them, that it’s not just sexual pleasure (though of course there’s that as well :P) but also so much vulnerability.
IN OTHER WORDS YOU’RE BRILLIANT. <333
Love, Eva
Aghhh your WRITING, I cannot get enough of it!! The sexual chemistry between these two is just through the roof, and as a result all their scenes together are so intense, like there’re literal electric pulses when they touch one another. I read something on Twitter recently about sex scenes and how they have the potential to convey so much about the characters, and I find that so so remarkably true here -- you’re so in tune with Andromeda, with her desire to be used and loved in this way, and so every choice she makes with Ted is just unbelievably revealing about her as a person. It’s incredible omg. <3
“Perseus laughs, honest-to-Merlin laughs, and the sound is rattlingly familiar” this LAUGH and her familiarity god I want to weep. She doesn’t know his name but she knows that yes this is HIS laugh, one that she’ll be getting very acquainted to if she can help it, and I love this I love this so very much.
THEIR BANTER. I will never get over how incredible the word “pedestrian” sounds coming out of Andromeda’s mouth in that context oh my god -- she wants him to be rough but dextrous, I love her. I am SO excited for her to find his apartment -- this is a mystery of a different sort that I haven’t read before and my hands are actually shaking with anticipation!
This story is amazing I’m so mad I hadn’t come here sooner. :D
Love, Eva
Those bruises -- you described them so beautifully. There’s something so sensual and enchanting about Andromeda observing her naked, bruised body in front of a full-length mirror! Your Andromeda is the most perfect Andromeda, and no matter how you write her, I adore her characterization ! That she likes these bruises, takes pleasure in these bruises, is something that I love -- she’s already such an interesting, fully-fledged character.
The way they talk about the Dark Lord, it’s like a religion/cult -- which is so disturbing. This is the first time I’ve actually shuddered when reading someone utter the words “Dark Lord” (apart from seeing Bellatrix’s obsessed murmurings in the books). Andromeda’s mother reminds me so much of a more forceful, manipulative version of Mrs Bennet from Pride and Prejudice -- her devotion to the most trivial details of a wedding would almost be funny if it weren’t surrounded by her intolerance, guilt-tripping, and cruelty.
PERSEUS IS HERE. The way she keeps calling him that -- I keep blushing somehow! It’s so intimate, despite the fact that she doesn’t even know his real name, which makes it even more delightful. Your descriptions of him make me swoon: “that long figure, the self-assured stride” !!! I love them. I love them both so much to death already, it’s ridiculous!! I eagerly await their confrontation! :D
Love, Eva
HELLO, FRIEND. I read the first chapter of this many months ago on AO3, and it was SO GOOD. So I reread it here, and it is STILL SO GOOD. This version of Andromeda and Ted is so different from anything I’ve seen -- they’re angrier, darker, rougher, and more openly passionate -- and it’s delicious to read. Your writing style fits this so perfectly; I spent half of this utterly engrossed in your gorgeous turns of phrases, and the other half admiring how you made both Andromeda and Ted so so attractive without once describing their faces that way.
I love that the root of their passion stems from being furious but also hot and bothered (on Ted’s side) and taking sheer delight in being the subject of anger (Andromeda), then blossoming into this wild uncontrollable thing. The fact that they did this outside in an alley fits these two SO well omg.
Andromeda calling Ted “Perseus” to his face oh my god I think my heart skipped five beats there. And a very small thing I noticed: the magical cigarettes that Andromeda smokes are gorgeously designed -- I love first the automatic-lighting, and then the colorful smoke. I’d imagine that creates QUITE the aesthetic, and I now want to see an image of Andromeda smoking outside in an alleyway with swirls of dusty blues and reds leaving her mouth.
This is amazing omg I love this story, and I’m so excited to read the rest of it. :D
Love, Eva
okay so I binge-read all of this last night because it was so freaking good but then I had to sleep because it was like 1am and now here I am to review properly like an adult who understands how to write a sentence. OKAY.
so first off, I think this is the only Adromeda/Ted fic I've properly read before which is weird because Tonks (nymphadora) is one of my all-time favorite characters period, forever, end of story. And now I'm really going to have to start reading more stories about her parents because holy guacamole THIS WAS SO GOOD !!!!
like we gotta talk about the smut because it's there and it was excellently written, I was like /fans self, ooo that's steamy, but it was also really lovely in how it did actually add to the narrative and the plot and their relationship and it was sex but it wasn't just sex by the end of the story, there was a gradual shift in how they interacted and things changed and I LOVED THAT, I just thought it was so well done.
And then her relationship with her parents and her family I just!! I loved that it was hard for her to pull away and she had to think about things and like it just wasn't an easy choice because I don't think that choosing to leave the life you've always known ever is an easy choice, especially when she went from luxury to near-poverty, in essence, and she survived it, and I loved reading about her learning how to live in this 'new' world, but I loved that by the time we got to that part of the story, I believed it was something she would do because of all the build up you had written to get Andromeda to that point. Just, good stuff. Really good stuff.
12/10, would read you write Andromeda and Ted all day every day. <3
Julie
hello emily, i'm finally judging my challenge! /after a shameful amoutn of time since it ended but still, i'm here :P
i really loved this first chapter (and i've read the rest of the fic and loved it as well hah so this review will surely end up touching upon other parts of the story and not just this first chapter....sorry if i ramble) because i feel as if it shows us exactly who andromeda is (in this iteration of her). she's been mostly sheltered, she finds muggle london confusing, her (first) act of rebellion against her parents and the dreaded arranged marriage is to go out in a muggle bar and have sex with a stranger. which, when we look at later chapters, really shows the progress she goes through during the course of the story. (and also how being with ted influenced her decision to leave her family and help the order, though i do think that the actual decision to do so came from within her.
she's obviously been unhappy for a time with her family the way it is, but in a passive way, until this one huge, monumental thing happens (is supposed to happen, at least) without so much as a question thrown her way. it sort of unbalances her enough to make her rethink her life, to see what she really wants from it, how she wants to live and not how someone else (her family) thinks she should live. and i feel as if that's a very realisitic way to portray someone deciding to change their life entirely. it's not for a person, it's for them, it's for the chance to be who they want to be, to be who they are. and a stressful life event is often the thing that triggers it, like it is here with andromeda - the looming arranged marriage causing her to seek something else, something different, first in muggle london, then in a muggle bar, and then with this mysterious man who seems to know her, who seems to hate her (at first :P)
and she's almost entranced by her experience in this first chapter, it's like nothing she's ever done or experienced before and she likes it. she likes doing something different and secret and just....hers. (and perseus' of course, but id i read her right i kinda feel it's not even purely about him, it's more about her, and how she lets him take control but in fact, she's in control of her own wants and needs, if that makes sense /bc i feel like i really am rambling).
the scandal aspect of andromeda's story (and by extension her relationship with ted) is really perfect and you did a marvelous job portraying it and how it affects, not just her, but also ted and her family and ultimately, at least in some parts, the course of the war. it's such a great exploration of this particular moment in time that you captured.
and the sex scenes were great. it needed to be said :D
thank you for entering my challenge!
kris
I finally found time to start reading this, woo!!! I know you got a bunch of reviews on AtWR for CMDC, but none for this story, which felt unjust to me, so I wanted to be sure to leave a review, even though I never ended up doing so for AtWR =/
I’m really curious, with all of your different versions of Ted and Andromeda, if they are different paths to get to the same endgame, or if the entirety of their narratives are different? I ask because I have always headcanoned Andromeda having more regrets about choosing Ted over her family than most people write, and I wonder if any of your versions of her might lean that direction.
I was ready for a darker version of Andromeda, but this version of Ted caught me by surprise. The difference between this and your other version of him seems more dramatic to me than with Andromeda. I guess with Andromeda it’s not a surprise, that she’d have not questioned a lot of her family’s views, but seeing a version of Ted that is not just rough, but willing to so quickly set aside his principles for some alley sex was quite surprising. I kind of like it - I’m a sucker for bringing out imperfections in characters people tend to see as flawless.
I’m sure you know this was super hot. I was on the edge of my seat through their inside interactions. I was a little surprised at how quickly things turned sexual. I felt the heat, but I didn’t expect Ted to act on it so soon. Though to be fair, at that point I was reading through so quickly to see what came next that I might have missed some details.
Is Andromeda a full on death eater in this? If so and she betrays the cause in such a dramatic way, how on earth does she not get murdered for it?
I am so eager to see where this goes!
hi emily! i’ve been meaning to start reading one (or more) of your tedromeda fics for a while now, so i’m using the holiday gift-giving event as a way of kicking myself into starting one. i know all the waves resounded is the main one, but tbh i heard this one involved a lot of hate sex and that sounded fun, so… here we are instead. :P
the andromeda you’ve written in this fic is actually so interesting - she’s still that well-behaved pureblood, but she’s taking a walk on the wild side by venturing out into muggle london, something that her family would hate. and from the way this chapter ends - which, by the way, i love those final two sentences so much - it’s something she’s going to keep doing. i love that we’re getting her fall from grace, so to speak, in this fic - hooking up with a random muggleborn in a back alleyway is definitely very far off from what’s expected of her. usually when i see andromeda in fic, she’s been resistant to her family and their ideology since her hogwarts years, but i’m really intrigued by the exploration of what might’ve happened if she didn’t start defying them until later in life.
and then there’s ‘perseus,’ who i imagine is ted. this is also such a unique take on a character we don’t see much in canon?? he’s downright aggressive in this, which actually yeah, i kind of understand. she’s from the exact sort of family who wants people like him gone, and then she’s just suddenly showing up in a muggle bar and observing everything - i’d be wary of her too. although clearly there’s some *other* feelings there as well, given that he basically dragged her into a back alley to hook up with her. (… ask me how many times in the course of this review i’ve written the f-word and had to go back and change it, lol)
also!! another thing i wanted to comment on is your descriptions in this fic, which are just SO lovely. everything’s so vivid and thorough, you’ve really set the scene so perfectly and made it all seem so real. and the smutty parts of this chapter are also really fantastically done - the balance between describing action and sensation was great.
this is such a great first chapter and a great introduction to these two characters - i’m really intrigued to see where this story goes from here. i’ll have to come back for later chapters soon!
-taylor
Hiya Emily <3 Here to leave you a gift <3 hope you had a brilliant holiday season!
I disagree with the sentiment that Muggle London is impossible to navigate. I do agree with her sentiment with walking and no eye-contact, I just wish it helped stop tourists from asking me the way whenever I’m over in London.
Oh good god, does her mother want to do an arranged marriage to some dude she hardly knows?
Oooh, but she’s being a rebel. I love it.
I love how you describe the setting and that while it’s headache givenly awful (is that even a sentence i don’t even know), she still loves it. It’s contrasting, but at the same time a thing you might end up finding you need to just escape from it all.
I legit would not accept that drink.
But this truly sounds like a typical ngiht at the bar even though I never really did that. It’s really easy to picture yourself being there, but in the shoes of Andromeda.
LOL I can imagine the dancing being wildly different oh my god.
Why is the dude so angry?
Ooh she truly is living the dangerous life.
Oooh she’s truly testing him…
Oh my god she keeps on going
Perseus is a terrible name
Oh damn she’s into this
Lol what vampires
Oh my god im so glad im not at work reading this (though, tbh, it would ot have stopped me in the slightest) but god this was so good? Punishing, hot, demanding, but also they’re absolutely into it and it was actually just hot and it makes me wonder who it was (was it Ted, pleae let it be Ted) but also the vampire commnet was brilliant but also Andromeda is so into it and i need more and goddd, this was brilliant writing, truly excellent, do remind me to come back to this!
Hello, hello! I'm here with a gift review on behalf of Kaitlin/TreacleTart!
Tedromeda is a ship that I don't read enough of. I really like them, but they're just not a couple that I go hunting for fic, you know? But I'm glad I chose this story to read!
I really like how this chapter sets up both these characters as really flawed, somewhat reckless human beings. Like Ted Ted (I'm assuming it's Ted, until Perseus is proven to be someone else) is just so mean! I was sooo angry in the way he treat Andromeda when they first met in the bar/pub/nightclub. If someone I didn't know touched me like that with clearly malicious intent, I'd scream - or be very, very scared. If I were a witch, I'd hopefully literally blast them across the room. I have no idea why Andromeda doesn't do the same. Is it because she believes that the power balance is in her favour? Or is she just an adrenaline junkie in a way I don't understand?
The sexy times was rather fast! You warned me before the chapter started, and I still didn't believe you! I'm too used to reading stories where the sex comes later - definitely not in chapter one, haha. I thought it was well written, and got across the feelings and motivations of the characters well. And it was still safe sex! Woohoo! I've been to chicken to try my hand at writing smut, so I commend you on this. Well done!
This is quite the intriguing start to this story! I did have one more random question: when is this story set? During their Hogwarts years? Post-Hogwarts years? Is that something I'll just have to read on to find out? :P
xx 800
Oh no! The last chapter. Please, tell me there's more coming. Where will I get my Tedromeda fix?
The beginning of this chapter is really nice. I like seeing Andromeda learning to be self-sufficient. I know it's hard for her and she feels isolated, but I see her own self image improving. I think the fact that she has something of value to contribute makes her feel better.
It's pretty sad seeing her delude herself into thinking that her parents will accept her choices. I understand her desire to try, but I think even she knew deep down that it was a done deal even before she went. I'm more personally surprised that they didn't try to curse her or imperiuse her or anything.
Dumbledore has such issues with boundaries, I swear. I'm glad that he admits he's underestimated her though. Now that she's proven herself, I think she deserves it. I feel like the interview is a pretty big ask of her and I can definitely get why she's hesitant to air her dirty laundry. I wonder where she'll land on that.
And finally a reunification with Ted! That makes me so happy. The idea of them on a little tiny bed jammed in a tiny little apartment made me giggle, but overall it was a well done scene.
Looking forward to reading more when you get around to posting. Again, wishing you the happiest of holiday seasons.
~Kaitlin
Wow. I did not expect Andromeda to make this turn around so quickly. I mean I get that she's upset and the pressure of the wedding is mounting, but I imagined it would still take her longer to come to terms with.
I'm impressed with how brave she is to actually stand up to her parents. Maybe part of it is her being naive. I'm glad she's finally seeing clearly whatever it is. She absolutely is a pawn in the war effort and any children would be doomed to serve in it too.
I love that she turns to Dumbledore and not Ted. I think she has a lot to sort out on her own without involving the complexities Ted brings to things at this moment. The arrangement is pragmatic and straightforward and allows her some time to figure out what she needs/wants. I get that maybe the small stipend and horrid apartment are meant as punishments, but I also see them as a sort of opportunity for her to grow and learn what the rest of the world is like.
You can really tell by the bit with the bread that Andromeda is way out of her depths, but we know she's strong. I'm sure slowly she'll adjust. I also imagine that at some point Ted will be along to help her, but I kind of like the idea of her making these baby steps on her own. She needs to know how resilient she is instead of just following orders.
Another good chapter! I can't wait to see what comes next.
~Kaitlin
Ahh And the two worlds start to collide. I had wondered when that might happen. I get that Ted is only implying that Andromeda would know about the attack out of pain, but it's still a pretty low blow. And naturally instead of talking out any of the issues, they fall into bed together. Effective, but not necessarily the healthiest coping mechanism.
The tenderness afterwards is pretty telling too. It's a big risk for him to ask her to stay and a big risk for her to stay. They're both more invested than I think they care to let on.
It's got to be pretty terrifying for Andromeda to be woken up to some random stranger apparating into Tonks' house. It could've been the ruin of both of them had she been caught. Also, super awkward being naked in someone's bed when someone walks in.
Yeah. I knew that fight was coming. After all of the adrenaline of almost being caught. Tonks' flippant attitude towards the very real repercussions that Andromeda might experience were bound to set her off. I know that things are very black and white for him, but Andromeda is faced with giving up her entire life, her family, the only world she's known if the secret gets out. It's a choice she has to make up on her own.
On to the next chapter!
~Kaitlin
Ooh. Sneaky Andromeda on stalking him the way she does. It's kind of foolish for her to assume though that Ted wouldn't have protections and surveilance in place. I mean he is an Order member after all. He'd have to keep himself safe somehow. I love that in her hurry she didn't think to consider that he might have surveilance on the club.
Her confusion at several of the muggle terms he used had me giggling for sure. She's so out of depths.
I feel like you can really tell that this is a turning point for them. You don't start taking people's clothes until you feel a fairly deep affection for them. I know she's trying to be haughty about it, but to me this signifies she's fallen hard.
I imagine the wedding proceedings must feel very strange indeed since Andromeda clearly has no interest in following through with them. I do wonder how long she'll wait to call this charade off.
Another good chapter!
~Kaitlin
Ugh. The way Ted and Andromeda dance around each other is infuriating. Clearly, they both feel an intense attraction or else neither of them would be putting themselves into risky positions. It seems crazy to think that he's showing up in Pureblood tea shops and she's chasing him down magical alleyways all so that they can have a rough shag. There's way more to it than that.
And that shag! Wow. I need a glass of cold water. lol. Again, very tastefully done.
I love Ted's challenge to her to come find him. I think that's part of what's so attractive about him to Andromeda. He understands her intelligence and making himself a riddle makes it all the more enticing. Of course, she would find him off of the scrolls of wanted order members.
I'm curious to see how she tracks him down now that she knows what his name is. That still doesn't make it much easier for her.
On to the next chapter now because let's be real, how could I not be?
~Kaitlin
Oh dear! Poor Andromeda and the horrific choice of marrying Antares Selwyn. I know she doesn't seem particularly receptive of him at the breakfast, but it doesn't really seem like he's trying either. Maybe he's been rejected and shut down so much by her that he's given up. Either way, it's an ominous start to their engagement.
This is a very interesting portrayal of Druella. I actually really like it. She isn't wild and unhinged, screaming abuses. She's calm and even affectionate at points. She uses that affection to manipulate and it's very effective.
I really like that Andromeda's response is to put on a submissive face at home and then to wildly rebel in the evenings. Clearly, Perseus has really gotten to her and shaken her up. I have a feeling she may really have gotten to him too.
OOh. I was wondering when he might show back up. I had a feeling he was going to be slightly more invested in her than she initially expected. I hope there are more hot hook up scenes and maybe Ted..I mean Perseus will manage to steal her away from her proposal.
~Kaitlin
Hello again!
While checking out your wishlist, I noticed this story listed for reviews and thought I'd come check it out. I'm always happy for an opportunity to read more Tedromeda.
Wow. This is quite a different tone from All The Waves. I don't know what I was expecting initially, but I'm certain it wasn't this. Not that I'm complaining because this was super hot.
I love the idea of Andromeda, the spoiled, pampered pureblood taking a walk on the wild side in muggle London. I think it makes a lot of sense that she'd have some natural curiosity or even feel like it was a bit dangerous. The loud music, the dancing, the drinking, I imagine it's all so different from the way she grew up.
I'm assuming that Perseus was Ted and if so, wow! You wrote him so completely different from the way he's usually portrayed. He's rough and sexy and confident. It's a really nice characterization. I could see why Andromeda might find him attractive.
And the sex scene! The way they went at it against the wall in the alley, the roughness of the whole thing, it was really well done. It was enough to make things very visual without it verging into gratuitous. I struggle a llot with writing these sorts of scenes, so kudos on a job well done!
~Kaitlin
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