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Hi, betee! :D Here for our swap, and to leave an official review on this chapter! <3 And since this is a reread, I'll try to review as I go, let's see how this works... ;) Oh, and thank you so much for the dedication!!! Always happy to beta for you! <3 Snowball hugs right back! <3
But now, let's go with the review! :D
I love the opening paragraph already! The idea that Andromeda doesn't hate her family, but is just an anomaly within it... and all the ways she fits in and all the ways she doesn't... and how her father is accepting of her differences in the name of family loyalty... I love the nuance of it all! You make the relationship to the Blacks so complicated, and give us all that in just one paragraph, and it's just brilliant writing!
The whole discussion that comes later among the family members is... wow, they sound so vicious! But it made me smile how Druella had that Let's keep it clean moment! Maybe because I've written the Blacks a couple of times, and my Druella is exactly like that, much more focused on propriety than politics... :P And I liked to see that your Druella is similar here... :D
"Mudbloods don't live as long as purebloods anyway. It seems a waste of resources to save those that aren't strong enough to survive." Okay, maybe I was too quick in praising Druella... this comment is not only absolutely unfounded, but also (if it were true) eugenic? It's honestly quite disturbing, but definitely how the Blacks would reason, so not surprising at all... I love how you bring up again Andromeda's trait of relying on facts to create her disconnect from her mother's claim, even if she doesn't loudly disagree, because she knows it would be pointless. I like how you are building a big part of Andromeda's personality around this specific trait!
And then of course, the inevitable turn of conversation towards engagements... :P That also sounds very typical Black/Pureblood society... a girl has to marry in the right circle and produce heirs, that's the most important thing, right? I wonder how Evan feels about this, how their relationship is working (or not working), but I guess I'll get back on the subject later... :P
Poor Andromeda... of course she'd rather take a busy night at the hospital than a long and embarrassing family dinner... :P But also, Lissy breaking her little moment of rest like that... :P she knows how to be convincing, doesn't she? ;) Or at least, she's not one to take no as an answer... :P
And well, she's not wrong in saying that the patient was hot... :P Hello, there, Ted! Nice to see you again! :D
"You got hit by two different dark curses in two days?" Someone likes to play with fire, it seems... (or he's just involved in Order stuff...? Is the Order a thing already?) Anyway, I love the way he seems to read her mind, how he answers all her questions before she asks them... and his sheepishness makes him so cute!!! I'm already loving Ted Tonks, and we hardly know him... he just seems so sweet! <3
And aww, their banter!!! They are so adorable, love them so much already!!! :D
"I think you're quite dashing just the way you are," Oooh... what was that, Annie? So smitten already? :P Can't blame you, honestly... ;)
Ahahah! Lissy is such a little devil! :P "What she/he doesn't know..." lol!
And we are back at Evan... what is it that Andromeda isn't telling him? "Are you doing that thing where you pretend something doesn't exist so you don't have to deal with it?" I mean, it's not the wisest approach, but I can't blame Andromeda, since that's what I do most of the time... :P
I'm feeling a bit bad for Clara... :/ I mean, some people are just free spirits and it happens that in a couple the two people don't want the exact same things/don't feel at the same stage of a relationship... it's sad, though... and Lissy should really be honest with her, or she might end up hurting her worse in the long run... :/ I hope they'll figure it out... I don't know Clara, but I have a feeling I'd like her... I know I like Lissy, as crazy as she is... <3
I wonder how this pact will work out... :P And I wonder what is it with Evan... but I'm sure we'll find out soon, right? ;)
"Gross, Ann. Don't go all Hufflepuff on me now." Ahahah! Nothing wrong in going a bit Hufflepuff from time to time... :P
I absolutely adored this chapter when I read it for betaing, and I absolutely adored re-reading it now! Such a wonderful job, my little betee! <3
Big snowball hug, and thank you so much for the swap!
Your beta,
Chiara
Hey here for our swap.
I love your characterization of Andromeda. I always thought Andromeda could be a healer. The same with Molly. I like Felicity (I've used that name before).
I immediately thought of Sirius when I read about the motorcycle but this is more than likely Ted using a code name and under polyjuice.
I wonder what Andromeda's boyfriend is like.
Omg the implication that Abraxas Malfoy had a fling with Queen Elizabeth. XD
Ted's a charmer, the way he has Andromeda flirting with him even while she's probably suspicious about what's going on with him and/or thinking he's a dumbass for getting himself injured so spectacularly so often.
All the family/pureblood dynamics felt really well done.
And I see there's the complication of her engagement to Evan Fawley!
<3 Melanie
Hi Ysh!! Here to drop some flash reviews. Apologies that they won't be up to my normal review quality but I'm using the flash review challenge to try to catch up on everything I've missed in the past couple months. XD
I LOVE me some Tedromeda, and seeing different takes on them. Your Andromeda is very self-possessed, very much not the princess trapped in the castle. I think the part where it said she'd learned how to choose when to give a fuck, but she also never forgets an offense, really seems to sum her up nicely, tells you a lot about her.
"Is it like a leaf blower" lmao fantastic
<3 Melanie
Hiii! I'm here for our swap <3
I really appreciate the fact the realistic portayal of the Black family - or at least Andromeda's feelings about them. Often times, the character either loves her family or (as is often the case with purebloods), they entirely hate them, but Andromeda doesn't hate her family - she just realizes she's not exactly like them. I also liked the bit where her father supports her having a career. It shows that even though he thinks quite differently from his daughter, he loves enough to support her, at least in this area.
Still, the Black family remains the Black family and though Andromeda doesn't hate them, we can see that they still have some pretty awful ideologies. Their discussion of current events was every bit as snobbish and ugly as you'd expect. That question, "do you have treat mudbloods too?" made my blood boil. Andromeda's really learned how to navigate those converstions though, although it seems to me like she suppresses a lot of her own thoughts/feelings about things.
"I think you're quite dashing just the way you are." This and the fact that he blushes afterwards gave me all the vibes!
What is that Andromeda needs to tell Evans??? Oh by the way, I love her friendship with Lissy. Neither of them are too righteous with each other and they're honest with each other but not judgey or anything so I love that for them.
It was another great chapter and I can't wait for more Andromeda (and that mysterious patient of hers ;p)
Love, Quilly.
heyy ysh, i'm here for our swap!
i think my favourite part of this chapter has to be the friendship you're showing us between andromeda and lissy -- they really complement each other in their "worst-ness" (which isn't actually the worst lololo obviously), i mean i just get the feel that they'd be there for each other no matter what. except...at the end of the chapter when andromeda is thinking about how lissy always left and that she'd leave andromeda as well, i can't help but wonder about that sentiment and what prompted it and what's it foreshadowing in the future :EYES:
the black family is as awful as you'd think they'd be -- i have some of my own headcanons about them, none of them pretty, but i like seeing how other people interpret the family :D the fact that at least they're not so backwards that they wouldn't let andromeda pursue her career is at least some small concession towards them not being the actual worst people but they're still pretty close. i wonder how andromeda's worldview will shift throughout the story - right now she's pretty passive when it comes to purist politics and acting as if that's got nothing to do with her which is a lil disheartening but i think it's realistic and makes sense with the way you've crafted her character and it'll be a super interesting journey we'll follow her on as the world changes and she has to change with it.
and of course mr humphrey hahah so yeah it's ted, right? just undercover-y sortof. i love that they have this easy banter between them but then for andromeda right now it still is jjust banter but ted/mr humphrey is obviously a lil more interested in her, and going red, making her think something was medically wrong with him made me laugh :D i wonder what new dark curse he'll end up with next and how long it takes for andromeda to get entirely too curious about this mysterious patient :D
kris
I decided to do one more :D
I have to say, I love the nickname Annie for Andromeda! It’s super charming.
This is a tense family dinner at the beginning. I think it’s very interesting that Andromeda loves her family, and yet there are many things her family says/does that make her very uncomfortable. Talking openly about “slimy Abraxas Malfoy’s” sexual conquests and manipulations. Opining that Muggle-borns don’t live as long as Purebloods. Pushing Andromeda to get engaged to her boyfriend, when she clearly isn’t read. This dinner is just a minefield that Andromeda navigates by keeping a low profile and not rocking the boat. It must be exhausting for her.
ANNNND “Mr Humphery” is back. He definitely needs to be more careful. I do sort of love how Andromeda is taking his injuries mostly in stride. Their banter is lovely, and she doesn’t even try to make him stay in the hospital this time. Instead she just gives him what he needs to try to keep himself alive and lets him go.
The ear tentacle bit was really funny :D
I’m definitely loving Andromeda and Lissy’s friendship. It seems like they’ve been enabling each other to avoid having difficult conversations with their significant others—but maybe they are about to change that up by encouraging each other to speak the truth. I am curious to know why Lissy always leaves and why Andromeda assumes she will be left alone.
Can’t wait to see the dishy patient again :D
Thank you so much for swapping with me!
Yours,
Noelle
Author's Response: Omigosh thank you for making it to chapter 2 as well ::single tear happy smilie:: Aww I was so on the fence about Annie, but YAy so glad you like it! Ahh aren't family dinners exhausting in one way or the other? Honestly the high polarization of world politics have given enough and more "family dinner" experiences for me to draw from. I imagine Andromeda as the middle child might try to steer away from open conflict and get through without drawing much attention to herself - after all, she needs to be on their good side for her to pursue what she really wants! Yess, Andromeda being clinically detatched is one of the things Ted is going to challenge in the chapters to come ;) Ah yess, I definitely see Andromeda and Lissy enabling a lot of each others' dysfunction honestly. Lissy is quite the interesting character, and Andromeda has a few insecurities herself. Andromeda's not really been the type to form emotional attachments, and maybe that's why she refuses to believe Lissy would stay. Super super astute of you to pick up o that. I loved reading all your observations in this chapter and it's all so on point. Thank you so much for swapping, and for the bonus review, and for your kind words :) XOXO ~Ysh
Hi Ysh! I’m here for our swap :D
I love how you are characterizing Andromeda right of the bat. She’s no-nonsense, curious, logical, cool headed—all good attributes for a Healer. I particularly liked the part where you said that over time, Andromeda learned what questions to ask. I imagine that she has many more questions running through her mind that don’t get asked out loud.
Ugh. I hate being talked down to by male co-workers too Andromeda. It’s clear that she hates this part of her job.
Lmao—is a motorcycle like a leaf-blower.
I’m also enjoying your world building with how Andromeda’s healing magic works, the protocols she uses, how she figures out how to heal Mr Monterey’s injury.
Speaking of Mr Monterey—is this Ted I wonder :eyes:
Okay, my guess is this is Ted (or some other Order of the Phoenix member), and he was on Order of the Phoenix business when he got knocked off his motorcycle. I wonder what is going down now that he has to leave the hospital when he’s in this bad of shape…
Oh I wonder who Andromeda’s boyfriend is. Lissy seems like a good friend so far. At least good for moral support and a chat.
You’ve set up a lot of interesting things in this chapter! I’m interested to see where it goes :D
Yours,
Noelle
Author's Response: Hi Noelle, So excited to swap with you! I had this headcanon of Andromeda swirling around for a while and decided to pen it down. I drew inspiration for her from my sister who is a brainiac scientist with so many questions - and that trait of choosing questions is totally lifted from her. I've always been fascinated by medical diagnostics and excited to draw inspiration from that for magical healing as well. Ahaaa theres indeed more to Monterey than meets the eye :D - your observatons are quite astute :D Lissy is sort of my favorite character so far, the way her muse has turned out at least. I'm thinking her muse wants to play a much bigger role in this story than originally intended :D I'm glad you liked this chapter :) Thank you so much for your kind words!
heyyy, i'm here for our swappy swap!
i love the way you introduced us to andromeda here - she's distinctly different than most andromedas i've read so far, and i'm intrigued by the way you're portraying her as a trainee healer when we know what her family was like (as much as we can know...) -- i love that you've done it and i'm super curious to see how the rest of the black family interacts with her and what they think about her having a job, healing people and all that good stuff instead of just blindly giving in to *the cause*, yk? i feel like you've immediately set her up for some interesting family dynamics that will be intense and fun to explore!
she made me laugh with her not believing in gods, or prophecies, or tea leaf readings and stuff like that when she's a witch living in a magical world where all of those could, in theory, exist and be facts :P kinda reminds me a little bit of hermione but a lot less highly strung lololo
which is another thing i'm loving about her character, she seems pretty cool in the face of this guy who's bleeding all over her and then later when she's talking to lissy, just her own kinda person that doesn't get impressed easily and doesn't get phased and idk, i just loved that and i feel like it's a good fit for what she's doing.
for a hot sec i thought the motorcycle guy would be ted or someone else we know, and i guess he could've been in disguise or something -- him refusing to stay in the hospital has me suspiciously eyeing him :eyes:
i really liked this first chapter and i'm excited to read more when you post more of the story!
kris
Author's Response: Hiii Kris! Andromeda as a healer was definitely a but more far fetched but I wanted to write this plunny that was swirling in my head for a while now. I did struggle with how the Black family would handle her career, but I've shown a peek of that in the dinner in Ch2. Plus Andromeda's motivation for healing does come around as a major plot point soon! Yess - I did want Andromeda stubbornly so against all the things common in the magical world that she can't make sense of :D Andromeda's cool rational head is what really helps her be so great at what she does - she doesn't get too emotionally invested which is perfectly aligned with her personality. Ahh Lissy, she's my favorite here! I'm excited for the role she goes on to play in Andromeda's life. Your suspecions are not at all unfounded :D I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you so much for your kind words! XOXO ~Ysh
Tag! And YES PLEASE some Andromeda Black. I'm so excited by your characterisation of one of my favourites! I love this calm, logical version of Andromeda and can absolutely see how it's led her into healing. Your description of the diagnostic spells being like puzzles was spot on and I definitely understand why she loves her job, but also like how you've included some of the frustrations that come with it.
And then we have our motorcycle crash victim. The motorbike made me think of Sirius, and I'm wondering whether maybe this was him with polyjuice and that's he was in such a rush to leave (before it wore off)? I'm not sure yet when this is set, so maybe Sirius would be too young at this point and it was somebody else, but that's where my head went. Either way, I don't think we've seen the last of this character.
Very excited to raed on and see what happens at family dinner! Jem xx
Author's Response: Hi Jem!! I'm glad you like this version of Andromeda. I've had this plunny for a year now and decided to finally write it. I'm excited to see how her personality really shapes her life and how she becomes :D Aha yess, the whole Sirius connection. Very astute - you may actually see the link somewhere in this story soon ;) You're absolutely right, we haven't seen the last of Mr. Monterey! Thank you so much for stopping by and your kind words! I hope you come back for the next one :D XOXO ~ Ysh
Hi, betee! :D
Thought I'd check out this first chapter, so I'm fully on board for betaing the second one! :P That, and I'm going to profit since you are in the tag line... :P
Ah, I love Tedromeda fics and I'm so excited that you are writing one! I'm already loving what you have so far, Andromeda as a trainee Healer is a very cool idea! And I also love the introduction you give of her, as this extremely rational, practical and fact-driven person. It's a very interesting character trait, and I can't wait to see how it will influence the story and, I'm guessing, how Ted's going to challenge that. :P
Speaking of Ted... I'm guessing, based on your summary, that Mr Monterey is a cover name or something? And his incident, and the urgency to leave the hospital... does it have anything to do with the Order? It seems like Voldemort is starting to make his moves, based on that Prophet article (yes, those events sound like they might be correlated...) I guess we'll find out more about what's going on later, right? ;)
St Mungo's does sound like a harsh environment for women in that time period, but I love how fierce Andromeda is. And I love that little rebellious strike she already has! :D Lissy seems a cool character, too, and I'm curious about what her role will be later in the story... also, Andromeda is engaged to her cousin? Mmmh... wonder where this is all going to go...
A great first chapter! Now I'm off to beta the second one! ;)
Snowball hug,
your beta Chi! <3 <3 <3
Author's Response: Hiiiii Betaaaaa!! So so sweet of you to stop by and leave a note on the first chapter. I'm sort of daunted by writing Tedromeda because they're just such a good fit and I don't want to mess them up. You definitely got that right - Ted is going to challenge her in more ways than one. She's quite level headed and rational, but perhaps a bit TOO much :D YES YES and YES - you've definitely caught on to so much more (not that I tried too hard to cover it up LOL) I drew from some personal experiences in the hospital to reflect on the sexism in Medical field. I do think the magical world is not exempt from societal evils unfortunately :( Lissy is actually my favorite muse because I didn't write her as I had originally planned, and the muse just got away from me. I'm as curious as you to see how she develops :D Thank you so much for your kind words ::hearts:: Many many snowball hugs!
Hi! Catching you for some review tag and also to get started on this new wonderful fic you've started <3
I really enjoyed that very direct, immediate meeting meeting we have with Andromeda as someone who believes in reason and who is more interested in facts than fiction. It makes sense to see her as such a person, especially given her profession.
That must have been a really awful motorcycle accident. Andromeda obviously works really well under pressure though. I enjoyed the patient too. He seems daredevilish and a bit cocky but there was something about him that pulled me towards him. I hope we do get to see him again. I have feeling that there's much more to him that meets the eye.
I'm already loving the friends dyanmics between Lissy and Andromeda. They feel really comfortable and genuine with each other. From what I've gathered, Andromeda also has a boyfriend? Maybe? There's also talk about marriage, so I'm intrigued to find out more about what's going on there.
An excellent first chapter!
Love, Quilly.
Author's Response: Hi Quilly!! I've had this headcanon of Andromeda for a while so figured I'd put it to use :D Your feeling is indeed right, there's a lot more to the patient than meets the eye - and you've not seen the last of him. I do think Andromeda's clinical detatchment and cool head is something that sets her up for a career in Healing, but I also envision her unlearning a lot of things as life offers her more :) Lissy is someone I'm genuinely excited about. I might even like her a lot more than Andromeda as the muse got away from me :D Thank you so much for stopping by and your kind words :D
Hey Ysh! Thought I'd drop by with a tag review :)
I am so excited to start this story! Andromeda's introduction really lays out the foundation of her character and why Healing is the perfect choice of career for her. If Healing is anything like Medicine, some of those male Healers must make life at St Mungo's quite unbearable for women, or whichever hospital this story is taking place in - I assume Mungo's :)
Wow, that was quite an accident to cause so much blood loss :eyes: and love the differences between muggle and magical culture you've highlighted here when Andromeda doesn't know what a motorbike is. As a side note, I am dyyying to know what happened to the leaf-blower patient?!
As if the fall at speed wasn't enough, the poor bloke's been hit by an unknown curse too. Gooing against Healer advice and discharging himself isn't wise (didn't he wind up there in the first place because of an injury he thought he could deal with?) I wonder how quickly he'll be back...and is Mr Monterey his real name?? Or who is he really? Or am I just being suspicious for no good reason??! :joy:
Love the banter between Lissy and Andromeda <3 Felicity sounds like a good sort of friend to go through Healer training with; dedicated enough without being a complete bookworm, and someone that Andromeda can laugh with. Black humour is something that definitely gets medics through their day and I suspect Healers too.
Andromeda at a Black family dinner and she's mentioned marriage/procreation? Hell yes; this signifies something dramatic on the way! Bring it on!
AMAZING start to this story; I really loved this opening chapter and can't wait to read on!
Meera <3
Author's Response: Hi Meera, Thank you so much for stopping by! Yess - this is set in Mungos :D I do imagine Healing to parallel the sexism in Medicine, sadly so, but I did want to show the struggle women in STEM face :( Haha, I don't have a lot of background on the leaf blower patient. It popped in my head only because I spotted someone using it right as I was typing this chapter LOL Ooh you certainly are right to be suspecious about Monterey. He's not made the best of choices with his health, but perhaps he didn't quite have a choice? I sort of love Lissy. She popped in my head suddenly and her muse completely ran away from me. Lissy was initially intended to be a studious, sticker-for-rules kind of person but somehow Lissy decided to be someone else and is quickly becoming my favorite muse :D Thank you so much for your kind words - I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter :) XOXO ~Ysh
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