You have done such a wonderful job, trying to explain what painting feels like.

Author's Response: Thank you! There will be many more scenes with painting, I promise. I loved writing that part so I'm happy you liked it. Thank you so much for leaving a review. It really means a lot.

 Report Review

Sunflower,

I was a little sad when I realized you only have two chapters posted so far because I'm ready to read more of your story. It is intriguing to me. I'm enjoying the plot so far.

I'm horrible with Next-Gen because I haven't read much of it so Darren baffled me a bit. I feel as though I am missing something and I don't quite understand the closness between Darren and the Weasleys/Potters. Is this something that will be explained with time?? I got the feeling that he is Dom's ex but is that the only connection? I did like Darren quite a bit. He seems warm and caring.

I smiled to myself at the Scorpius's delight to be stuck in the backseat with James. Scorpius was amusing though why did he not apparate himself and Lucy to somewhere to get help?? Just wondering.

James' character was great in this chapter. He treatment of Lucy makes me wonder even more to what actually happened between Ted and Lucy.

BTW... I really like the flashbacks, they add so much depth to the story between what is going on now and what happened in the past.

Flow was good. I didn't get hung up at any point in the chapter and nothing stood out to me. I could tell this chapter was a filler but you had so much going on and information that it wasn't distracting or uninteresting.

I can't wait to read what you have in store for Lucy next.

Meg

Author's Response: Hi there! :)

Darren is Dom's ex, yes. He actually lives in Grimsby, but with his mother. He's Ted's best friend and kind of got pulled into the entire group through Ted. Ted, Darren, Vic and Molly were all in the same year = Darren knows all of them. Ted & Luce were together + best friends, so they know each other too, and Darren met Dom through Vic and Luce. I hope that made sense, if not, it'll get explained soon enough.

You're actually right about Scorpius; he could have just apparated couldn't he? Hm... Gotta look into that.

I'm so happy you liked James! He's a doll. And I'm glad the flashbacks weren't jarring. Yay. Thank you so much for all your kind words. This really means a lot. xx

 Report Review

Hi there! I am finally here with your review and I am sorry that it has taken me so long to get to, I have been quiet sick.

Okay so first of all the plot...I love it! I think it's great and refreshing. I know that you are worried about it dancing that fine line between cliche or not, but I really found this unique and highly intriguing. I really do want to read more and I found myself being pulled in by the story line, the summary and just the way you write. It's brilliant.

I really liked teh characterization. I can sense that shy Weasley side and it is so sweet, but there is also a hint of a temper there that doesn't want to surface. Scorpius was funny. I liked how he responds in the story and he is a little over the top, but in such a great way it doesn't take away from him.

I didn't feel like any of this seemed dull or overused. I think you are working with a wonderful angle here and it is honestly different.

The flow of the story was well done. I didn't see anything that I would consider messy during transition as I read along.

Keep up the awesome writing! =)

-SR17

Author's Response: Thank you so much! I'm happy you liked this :) I was so worried about the plot, but you've calmed me down. Thank you for all those kind words - it really means a lot.

 Report Review

Hello, this is CalypsoJenna from the forums, here with your requested review!

Wow- I was really impressed by this! You have a truly lovely writing style that seems to flow beautifully and made your writing really enjoyable to read. I thought you did a good job of writing this in perhaps a lighter style than usual (you mentioned in your A/N that you usually write more serious things), without making it too fluffy.

I actually really like that this is a Lucy/Ted pairing- I enjoy reading more unusual Next Gen pairings and it's always nice to see some of Lucy, or Molly, or Roxanne instead of just Rose!
Thinking about it, I suppose the plot is a little bit cliche, but honestly you write it so well that it hardly seems to matter! And your characters seem developed enough for them to carry it through.

Which brings me to your characters! They were one of my favourite things in this fic. Lucy is instantly likable and her rapport with Scorpius sounds exactly how friends talk. I'm going to mention Miranda Catchglove because I think she has an awesome name, and your portrayal of Dominique was good as well. It was an original idea to have her living in France- I would love to see more of her relationship with Lucy. They both feel like really interesting people.

I didn't feel that your flashbacks upset the flow of the story at all- they seemed to blend in really well and have piqued my curiosity about what happened between Lucy and Ted. In the second one their relationship seems so beautiful. I will be interested to find out what takes them from that to the pink rose invitation- which was also well described.

The only thing I would say is that- as a first chapter- it does seem very long, and I guiltily admit to having been put off fics before because of their length, especially in a starting chapter.

However, you did manage to keep the interest up all the way through with some wonderful characters and incredible writing. I loved the sort of climatic ending to this chapter, and I think this story could go some wonderful places. Thankyou for requesting!

-Bethany

Author's Response: Hi there!

Exactly, my plot is the tiniest bit cliche, which has been my worry all along. I'm so happy you thought my characters carried it through! That's what I've been hoping to achieve: to make what could be a cliche good because of my writing. I'm so happy you liked it.

And Miranda Catchlove is awesome haha I'm so happy you liked my name for her. There was never really any doubt that she had to be named that. She's such a character and I love writing her.

Dom and Luce are going to have loads of scenes together - Dom plays a big part in all of this mess, so you can look forward to that!

About the length: I know. I've been so worried about it and I know that some people are totally put off by such a lengthy chapter. I'm happy you didn't find it boring anyways. It's one of my great weaknesses: I can't limit myself to 2500 words.

I'm so happy you liked this and thank you so much for this wonderful review and all those kind words. Thank you!

 Report Review

Back again!

Okay, you may or may not have got me shipping these two -- I'm a sucker for a good-written childhood sweetheart story (maybe because I never had one)

Can I steal your talent? Honestly, it's hard to believe that you usually write more serious/angst-y stories. If this was the first story I read of yours, I would never had picked up on it.

As I read on this chapter, I think that it was better that you changed the protagonist because you couldn't have the sweet child-scenes with Rose and Teddy that you had with Teddy and Lucy.

I liked your characterisation of James. It was different to what he is normally portrayed as; I like how he had that Potter/Weasley charm (he reminded me a little of Fred, don't know why) but he didn't overdo (like he didn't think he was God's gift to woman and things like that). An odd joke here and there = a perfect James Potter II.

Just two things that I noticed in this chapter, one, why did they take a car when they, as wizards, could have easily have apparated there and saved a car-wreck and two, where did Scorpius go in the last half of this chapter? Now, those questions may be easily answered and I may have just missed it because I'm almost falling asleep as I type but I thought that I should just point this out :)

Another great chapter, can't wait for another one!

Jasmine! x

Author's Response: Hello again! I'm so happy you liked these two darlings! I love a childhood-sweetheart story, too! It's just so tragic and at the same time SO romantic.

I'm really pleased you liked the not so angsty side to my writing! You have no idea. I've been so hesitant to write anything other than my usual stuff, so this was such a relief.

I'm happy you liked James. He's such a gem. I think that's where the problem lies with some writers: overdoing characters. I really wanted to make him normal, but with a twist. (and trust me, he's got a MAYOR twist).

They took a car because Lucy doesn't apparate (she hasn't taken the test). It was mentioned in the previous chapter. She refuses to even side-along-apparate. Plus, she likes to have a chance to escape = Betty (aka. her precious car). Scorpius was by the car, watching Darren sweat. (YUM). Hah, I've just added a bit with him just now, I guess you're right he went missing a bit after greeting Darren. Thanks for pointing it out!

Thank you so much for reviewing! This really means a lot.

-- Emma xx

 Report Review

javct45 here with your requested review!

This is very different to your normal stories. I like it. Most writers have a special type of genre that they write better than others (romance, angst etc.) but there is a small minority that are just really talented in everything they do: you're in that small minority. Honestly, I am really enjoying this so far (and I usually detest humor; give me angst!)

I can see why you would have had to change the protagonist though (with an eight year difference, though that doesn't seem like such a big age gap to me), anyway! I strangely like this pairing, I don't even know why. I don't give much thought into next-gen pairings, truthfully, I don't even know many (except for, of course, ScoRose) but this pairing is different, and I like different,

Cliche's, hmm, the only cliche that stood out for me was that Scorpius was gay; it's not cliche'd that he is gay but because she has a gay best friend. I didn't really pick up any more cliche's, because I don't find her working for a magazine cliche'd, for me, it's only cliche'd if he worked with her and she was swooning over him behind closed door (which thankfully, your story DID NOT do)

As you can probably tell, I tend to ramble in my reviews (it also doesn't help that I'm tired :P) Onto the next chapter!

Jasmine

Author's Response: Hi there!

I know, it's SO different - and challenging! But somehow I like writing this? It's easy. But I do have the occasional urge to write some good old angst and I'll write a oneshot just to get it out of my system, hah. I'm glad you liked it. My readers haven't ever read anything like this by me before so I was a bit nervous about all of this. This pleases me to no end.

I love Lucy too. She's not really appreciated in the fanfiction world, yet somehow she really spoke to me. I had some help from TGS when I was trying to figure out who to replace Rose and she was just perfect. I wanted something different, which was also a reason why I chose to replace Rose. I haven't read that many NextGen stories so I thought Rose/Ted was an unusual pairing, but apparently everyone's done one? That kind of put me off it, too. That's why I didn't want to do a Vic/Ted or a Dom/Ted. I wanted something different and with Lucy I got it!

I know... I've been thinking about it, but I'm trying to make him not as gay gay as some people do with gay people. It's hard. I have a gay friend and he loves the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus and High School Musical and he's a stylist. So in my head that's who I see when I see Scorpius. On the other hand, some of his boyfriends... my oh my. Some are gorgeous and totally manly and all. I'm trying very hard to waver from the all stereotypical image of gays. And no, Lucy is NOT pining for Scorpius hah.

I love rambles - this response was a total ramble. Thank you so much for your review! It was a great help.

 Report Review

Hi darling! Finally here for your review!

So, first of all.. I don't do cliches. Not in the way that I won't read a story if it's cliche, I mean I just don't believe in the anti cliche thing that some people seem so set on. We are all different writers and if something is used often, that means it's because it's good. Sure, it can get boring and monotonous, but a good writer can turn the most annoying cliche to the best story. Your writing is clearly very polished and you do an awesome job at giving me characters to relate to, so I really don't think you should worry/dread revolving into cliche land.

I am happy this is a Lucy story! I like reading about Rose quite a lot, but I've never read much of Lucy so I think it will be really interesting to be able to read a character that you basically created (which out having any canon personality to go off of).

With the flashbacks. Some people won't like them just because some people don't enjoy when the story is interrupted. I love them, I think it was a great breather to stop away and get a different picture, get an idea of what things were like. Will everyone like them? No. But it won't be because they are poorly written, just differences in taste. They transitioned in and out beautifully and it was clear what was happening. No confusion on my part!

I really can't wait to get to know more about the families. How do the Malfoys handle their son? Do they care that he's gay/journalist/best friends with a Weasley? How does Lucy do with being so far away from her family, emotionally and physically? I just think you've opened up a lot of great ideas here and can't wait to see where it heads to! I couldn't image writing a story on the wedding of the love of my life... when he's getting married to someone that's NOT me! Poor girl!

My only bit of CC, and this isn't even really that. I love long chapters, I enjoyed this one immensely. But for a first chapter, over 6,000 words may be a bit much for some people. Again, it didn't bother me and I loved it, so unless you've had people complain, I wouldn't worry about it. If you are concerned about that, my suggestion would be to not include the memory in this, and have it at the start of the next chapter and weave it into there. But, do I think this chapter is too long and did I become uninterested? Absolutely not.

I think this is a wonderful start and I'm excited to see where it goes!

Please feel free to request again! I know there isn't much in terms of characterization in this review, but as I continue to read and get a better handle on them, I'll be able to comment more on that :)!

Thanks for requesting!!

Jami

Author's Response: Hi there!

Aw I'm so happy you liked this! I really like your philosophy, actually. It makes sense. I think the reason I sometimes shy away from clichés in stories is because I've had some bad experiences with stories written badly that cling to clichés and nothing else. You've reassured me in writing this story and for that I'm grateful.

I'm so pleased you caught onto all the details of Scorpius and Lucy! They're both quite flawed and broken, which will be explained further when delving further into the story.

And I know about the length. It's one of my great weaknesses (and strengths?). I can't write short chapters so it's quite a challenge. I've been really worried about it, but at the same time I don't know how to cut it short. I suppose that I could cut one of the flashbacks out... Hm. I'll have to think about it. I definitely agree that it's on the long side.

This review was really great, thank you so much for all those encouraging words. This helped heaps! Thank you so much.

 Report Review

the OMG A SUNFLOWER NOVEL novelty still hasn't worn off

beautiful writing

i love all your characters, they actually seem like people ready to walk right out the screen. well done!

Author's Response: haha I'm so glad it hasn't worn off! I'm so happy you liked my characters, that was exactly what I was aiming for. These kids are just regular old people, living it up in Northern England! Thank you so much for reviewing. The next chapter will be posted in the upcoming week or so. Thank you so much for reviewing! This really means a lot.

 Report Review

*Creeps in* I am SO sorry for how long this took me! I'd read through it, ready to review, but was distracted by RL and never got round to it. I'm here now though!

First off, good job on the summary! Some can be really boring and can make me feel quite dubious about reading the story, but I was honestly really interested before I even clicked the link!

Obviously I don't know what this story was like when it was Rose instead of Lucy - although I guess it was still just as well written! - but I'm glad you chose Lucy. Rose and Scorpius being good friends is...cliché. Even if they weren't together, and Rose is a character who is written about quite a lot, whereas Lucy is invisible and barely mentioned. It's different, and unique. Who knew that the major turning point would be the switching of two characters?

I love how Scorpius is in this. At first I would think - Gay guy working for a gossip mag? Cliché? - but this works, every story needs it's little stereotype, and since it's not overly relevant to the plot of the story(as far as I know) it's great. Plus, he makes me chuckle. It's nice that they are friends, though at times I do wonder what the Malfoys think ^.^

So as far as the plot goes, I think it's very intriguing. I would second the mention in a previous review about the reason Lucy was invited if everyone knew her and Ted were together. This led me to wonder, did everyone know? Or was it just Dom? Although I wouldn't think Ted did it to rub it in her face(again, who knows? ;) ) but that it'd just be a standard 'All Weasleys invited' thing :P

I like the characterizations, although Scorpius is far from Pureblood Slytherin family stereotype, they are basically your own characters to create - since all JK gave us was the name and family background, so I won't comment on whether or not it's "canon" but just say that they were well written and stayed consistent throughout the chapter :D

It flows well, and I don't think the flashbacks ruin it at all - in fact, they make it far more interesting :P And I think they also add a few explanations - concerning her reluctance to attend the wedding - but also add a few questions, which will keep the reader intrigued - especially the "what on earth happened in this relationship?"

Finally, great plot - and a great idea - having to cover her ex's wedding? Could be cringey and humiliating for Lucy, or it could be cringey and humiliating for Ted/Pippa...of course I couldn't say anything more, since I'm still not aware of the extent or reason for the break up, though I'm mega excited to find out!

LOVING Mr.Gobbles! All cats need cute/funny/sweet names...unfortunately my Mother named our cat, which I just call, er, Cat. ^.^

Next chapter, here I come! Keep up the amazing writing!

~ Em

Author's Response: Hi there! No worries at all! :) I get how RL tends to rear its ugly head in at unfortunate times! I'm so happy you liked this! I've been a bit nervous about it, so this was a great comfort. I liked having changed Rose to Lucy as well. I don't know. She is definitely overlooked in fan fiction. And yeah, Scorpius... I really adore him. And I guess he is a bit cliché, seeing as he is working as a journalist, being fashionable. But there is some depth to him, which will be revealed. As you mentioned, he seems awfully distant to the pureblood-families. There's more to it than that and he has a lot of depth, trust me. Anyways, I'm glad you liked him at least. I love writing him - he's so snappy and sassy. And Mr. Gobbles. I just had to name him that! But... Cat is a good name too? Hahaha we used to have one too and nobody could decide on a name, so we ended up calling him different names. A bit confusing, really :P

Thank you so much for your review! I'm really happy you liked this, yay!

 Report Review

Sunflower,

I think one of the best things I have done is open that review thread because I have began to find some really talented authors. You are among them that I have found. I love the way you write.

I like the gay Scorpius in this chapter. He seems like a good friend and I am glad you have switched to Lucy instead of Rose. I think Rose is a cliche character in Next-Gen and Lucy has been overlooked alot. I like the Lucy in this chapter.

Lucy is great with her reaction to the invite and then trying to deal with the fall out from receiving it. Though, I was wondering why she received it if everyone knows they were together and she left him. Why would he want her there? Is it because all Weasley's received the invite? Or is it because he wants to rub it in Lucy's face that he can and has moved on from their relationship? (Sorry if I'm painting a bad picture of Ted but we don't know much about him yet so I'm guessing). Anyway, those are a few of the questions that have been popping up in my head while I was reading this.

I think you did perfectly in setting the tone in this chapter with Lucy. I can feel her sadness at not being with Ted. That was clear throughout the chapter yet it didn't distract from what was actually going on in her life.

I love the description of Miranda in this chapter. She is the type of person you want to hit and if I was Lucy, I would want to. :) I can imagine Miranda perfectly.

I don't think that the flashback's ruin the flow. They are intriguing and help with the feel of your story. Though, I'm confused on what happened in the past I'm sure more will surface later and the flashback's will make a lot more sense. I think they are good just the way they are.

I really hope you re-request because i enjoy reading your work.

Megthechef43 aka Meg

Author's Response: hi there! I'm so happy you liked this! And yes, finding new authors is always great.

I'm really happy you found that the flashbacks didn't ruin the flow of the chapter. I was really concerned about this, especially since it's a whopping 6000 words! I'm happy with my decision of changing the pairing too. It's a lot easier, and I've been looking around the archive and I've realised that there are so many Rose/Ted stories! So yeah, happy about this.

I can't answer any of the questions right now, but Ted would have to send an invite no matter what. He's practically a member of the Potter-household, meaning he's a member of the Weasley clan. And weddings are big. Especially up North. So he'd have to invite her no matter what. There may or may not be another reason.

:) I'm really happy you liked all of this. Thank you so much for reviewing, it really means a lot! I'll come back and re-request for sure!

 Report Review

:( This was so sad. I'm sad now. Forever sad.

10/10

Author's Response: Thank you so much for your review!

 Report Review

So... Lucy and Ted were together? What happened to them?? TELL ME NOW?!!!? This was so good. 10/10

Author's Response: Thank you so much for your review!

 Report Review

OMG I COULD HAVE SWORN IT WAS ROSE.

okay i just checked and it *was* rose, why'd you change it? anyway, whatever the reason might be, you should probably mention it in the summary or something, because all of your old readers will be confused as hell.

okay so now that the story is slightly different, did lucy still date ted? and why was ted a meanie poohead? and is this the first time shes been back since she ran away? why did she run away? because of something ted did obviously. but then why is everyone mad at her? its ted's fault.
im confused. update soon please!(:

Author's Response: Hi there! It was Rose, yep. I know, I know, I've mentioned it at the beginning of chapter 1; the age-gap between Ted & Rose just kept on causing problems, so I decided to change the character. It's still basically the same person, just tweaked to be Lucy instead. Lucy still dated Ted hahaha and Ted was a meanie poohead for reasons unknown so far. And yes, it's the first time in 5 years she's coming back. And... I'm not answering all those other questions yet :P time will tell, time will tell...

It's good to be confused. Confused is good. Readers should always be confused. I'm updating asap. Promise. Thank you so much for reviewing! It really means a lot.

 Report Review

:'(

thats all i have to say.

Author's Response: haha Thank you so much for your review! I don't know whether that's a good thing or not, but thanks for reviewing nonetheless!

 Report Review

So I think I forgot to send my other review for this chapter so I'm sending it again. If you now receive two from me, SORRY!

So, the chapter was brilliant. 10/10 worthy, again, I could not believe that it was so long and it flew by. Though it was ruined by the swap from Rose to Lucy, I liked it when it was Rose and I think everyone else did. Also, now because it's Lucy, she's five years older than Scorpius. Just saying.

Other than that, good.

Author's Response: Hi there! Thank you so much for your review! I know, but the age-gap between Ted & Rose was just too big - I kept on getting in trouble with the TOS. Plus, Scorpius is gay hehe so I don't really think the age-gap between those two is that important :b I'm really happy you liked this chapter. The action will pick up now, promise! Thank you so much for sticking with the story despite the pairing changing. I promise that Lucy is a nice girl!

 Report Review

OMG! LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!

I adore your characterisations of Rose and Scorpius (especially Scorpius) and I love the ideas of the flashbacks.

At first I was like 'hmm, do I want to read this?' and I gave it a go and I was not disappointed. Normally a chapter this long makes me want to die a little bit inside but I could not believe it when it ended, words fly when you're having fun.

You say it might go to cliche but so far that is certainly not the case. I HATE cliche and I LOVE your story, so you know, no cliche so far. YAY!

NOTE - now cliche sounds weird in my head.

ANYWAY - Can't wait to see the next chapter, especially cannot wait to see how the rest of the story pans out.

Author's Response: Hahaha cliche sounds weird in my head too :P Anyways, thank you so much for this great review. The next chapter should be up any day now, so look out for it! I'm pleased you gave it a go even though it's lengthy. I do that.

I'm so happy you liked Scorpius - I adore him too. He's sassy and cheeky and just plain adorable.

Thank you so much for reviewing!

 Report Review

First i must say that both your banner and summary did a great job to make me interested in your story and decide to read it. From what i can see so far, i dont see any cliches and the only thing i could possibly say is cliched would be the rose/teddy thing. I like the idea of rose and scorpius being friends and both writing at witch weekly, i think that thats pretty original. I thought this chapter flowed really well and that it was a great set up to ur story. It makes me wonder what is going to happen in future chaters. In particular, im interested to see what is going to happen in the next chapter with rose showing up at home after all that time and with scorpius. Your description was wonderful as well and i really enjoyed it. I will be favoriting this story and keeping an eye on it as well as you really have me interested in continuing this. Great job!

~slytherinchica08~

Author's Response: Thank you so much. I'm glad you liked my description and the two of them working at Witch Weekly. Thank you so much for reviewing!

 Report Review

Woah. UPDATE PLEASE AGH! Loving it!
Shindig :D

Author's Response: hahaha it's coming in a few days, promise! Thank you so much for reviewing!

 Report Review

wait, is Scorpius...gay? but I absolutely LOVE this story! yeah no, i mean, its not serious in a bad way, but like its well written and not awkward and weird, and its good. comedy is fine, too. and all that suspence! i mean, if it wasn't mentioned that Ted is Rose's ex in the summary, then i doubt any of us readers would have guessed it at all!(:
update soon!

Author's Response: Scorpius is gay :P I'm so happy you liked this. I've had my doubts, with it being a bit cliché and (possibly) overdone, but I'm trying to nail it anyways and make it mine. It's one of the first things in a very long time that I've felt was easy to write. This comes out like air, easy peasy. :) Thank you so much for telling me and the next part is coming soon!

 Report Review

there's not a lot of rose and teddy fan fiction because of their age difference, but this is beautiful.

i mean your writing style is amazing. can i trade my shoddy writing skills for your excellent ones?

flashbacks are often hard to write in fan fiction without being pestering and annoying, but i actually enjoyed reading all of it. they were really insightful.

this is fabulous, you need to update soon :) x

Author's Response: I wanted to write Ted/Rose just because of that. So I'm hoping that part won't scare people away. I'm so happy you didn't find the flashbacks boring or anything. The next bit is coming very very soon! Promise!

 Report Review

I actually really like this chapter, I love the way that Scorpius is Rose's gay best friend instead of boyfriend ;) did you mean for the 'George is not a sexy name' bit to be a reference to Easy A, it made me giggle so much! I don't think I've ever read any of your other stories before but I'll check them out because this is really good ;) can't wait to read more!

Author's Response: Thank you so much for reviewing! It really means a lot. I'm glad you liked the chapter, I'm getting to the next one, promise! :)

 Report Review

What's this?! A NOVEL?!

OMG A SUNFLOWER NOVEL

I'M SO EXCITEED

Author's Response: bahahaahahaha! You made me laugh. Thank you so much. This'll start taking off soon enough! Thank you so much for reviewing!

 Report Review