Recently another writer on A03 posted a one-shot with Jim as the Professor and it got me to thinking about The Human Professor.
Here are some fun facts about it.
It was 16 chapters but only 20,583 words
It was written between January 05, 2016-July 04,2016.
It has a whopping 51,610 hits and 2,655 kudos (and nope that’s not my highest of either)
It’s been translated into another language and inspired a much less popular sequel called Home for the Holidays.
By contrast, Home for the Holidays had just 12,152 words, 763 kudos and 15,099 hits. Big big difference. No idea why but this is one of the reasons I loathe doing sequels. Readers beg for them and then…it’s never the same. I mean I do them but it’s NOT my preference.
And there you are. I love the original story and hope you do too.

PS. I did receive a comment at one point implying I was fetishizing glasses wearing in that story. LOL. I wear glasses myself so was a bit surprised by the comment. They told me that people who wear glasses don’t act like Jim in the story. It was news to me! Anyway, eventually they apologized and admitted their comments were out of line and exaggerated. I think those comments are gone, I dunno. But another fun fact!
April 16, 2022 at 4:26 am
Oooh. I did like that one a lot.
I liked the sequel too.
But you know how I am about sequels. You know.
It’s so weird to me how people act and react to certain stories (or even certain plot points in them as per your glasses commenter. Which…people who wear glasses don’t act like that?! What does that even mean??). Anyway! I just don’t understand the way certain folk react or what they say or….well what they like.
Thanks for the fun facts. I like the behind the scenes stuff!
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April 16, 2022 at 8:51 am
Yeah I don’t know and maybe I am misremembering her comments at this point, that is possible too lol
But I do recall her saying that I was fetishizing them because Spock was so turned on by Jim’s glasses
You should like it, as that story was gifted to YOU lol
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April 16, 2022 at 8:53 am
Heh heh heh. I know. 😘 but just saying. I liked it a lot!! Lol
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April 16, 2022 at 6:47 am
Just what way do people with glasses behave? Like WTF?! 🤦🏻♀️ If a story is not your cup of tea, just move along.
Personally I love sequels to stories that I hate to see end. It’s like I’ve developed a personal relationship with the characters.
One theory of mine that would account for less people reading sequels, is if they didn’t read the original story they’re not likely to read it without also reading the preceding work(s). I can imagine that sometimes rhey just say to themselves, I don’t have the time to be reading two or more stories in order to get all the nuances of the latest story.
It has happened to me with TV shows that continue a story arc from episode to episode. It’s happened with Discovery and it’s happening now with Picard. If I miss an episode, or more, and have to catch up, it takes me forever to get around to watching it all. I’m not one to binge numerous episodes all in a day in order to catch up. Idk, that’s one plausible reason you get less readers on sequels. 🤷🏻♀️
Now I need to go back to read The Human Professor. The day needs to be much longer so I can fit Spirk into it and still get other things done. Lol!!! Who am I kidding, if the day was longer I would just read more Spirk.
Speaking of Spirky goodness, I discovered this song on YouTube, Don’t Let Go.
It’s very poetic. I’ve watched it several times, since I found it yesterday. .
It has one line, “let me lay down in the shadow by your side.” It sounds like a title to a story. Lol!
Well I hope you have a good weekend and Happy Easter! 🐇🐣🥚 My twins are home for Easter and heading back, on their 22nd birthday on Monday, to finish their final semester!!! 🤦🏻♀️ Easter Sunday, we are going to go to a Mets game. They and my husband are big Mets fans. 💙🧡 Then my oldest will join us eating at a Vegan Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, in lower Manhattan. Not your typical Easter!
Don’t they eat in a Chinese restaurant in the movie The Christmas Story? You know, the movie with the leg lamp and Santa saying, ”you’re gonna shoot your eye out.”
Next Holiday will be Mother’s Day /my Birthday, but my twins won’t be able to get off from college for that. Then they graduate at the end of May. Yikes! 😳🤯
This comment is long and rambling… sorry!
Have a great weekend and Happy-Happy Easter!
💕🐇🖖
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April 16, 2022 at 8:58 am
Yes they do after the dogs next door ruin their Christmas turkey lol
I have a big family thing today. My cousin and her granddaughter are visiting from Maine. They arrived Thursday. Whole family get to gether today as they are going to Disneyland on Easter.
On Easter I will be home doing laundry and watching some stuff and writing some of next week’s flashes. Pretty exciting!
Well the commenter didn’t hate the story she just didn’t like the way Spock was turned on by Jim’s glasses and claimed that glasses didn’t get fogged up and some other stuff. I forget everything. But she did come back and apologize so that’s something. I just remember it being weird!
Hope you have a nice Easter
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April 16, 2022 at 9:16 am
Would someone please kindly give me a link to that list of things we’re allowed to be turned on by and not allowed to be turned on by – I can’t believe I started writing in this fandom 5 years ago and NOBODY gave me that list!! Though probably, according to THAT commenter, that which turns them on – ok-check. That which doesn’t, NOT OK – check. Got it.
That’s the way those things go, right?
Anyone who drives faster than me is a maniac – get off the road!
And anyone who drives slower than me is an idiot – get off the road!
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April 16, 2022 at 9:23 am
No one sent me that list either.
YES on the driving ha ha you got it in one!
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April 16, 2022 at 8:02 am
Well, that person was SO SMART. Because ABSOLUTELY, EVERY.SINGLE.PERSON who wears glasses acts EXACTLY THE SAME.
I wish you had told them – “HAVE YOU EVER WATCHED EVEN ONE EPISODE OF PHIL DONAHUE?” Because that is EXACTLY how he acted with his glasses every single episode. People used to literally write HIM, the super millionaire with zillions of fans, and complain how he acts with his glasses. He read one of the letters on his show. I remember it well! (See, when you’re super old, you have those memories. Until they disappear.)
So screw ’em, as ALWAYS. People who make ANY comments about fetishizing anything are just – well, I think sick people who are just bullies and trolls. Because they’d be the first to complain about the “thought police” coming around THEIR stuff.
And since when is fetishizing about anything wrong? Who died and made them da judge?
They attend that same school of people who condemn artists or word artists who mention Spock blushing green. Though he has green blood. And HE’S an alien. And yet they NEVER b*^%$% about Orions being green, because, uh, they ARE green, or even Mr. Gorn – yeah, GREEN.
There are many alcoholics and people who use drugs and people with mental issues that lurk all over the internet. They land on us sometimes. We’re probably lucky, as many as there are, that they don’t land on us more. It’s about THEM, not us.
I can think of about a zillion things I’d complain to a writer about before how someone treats their glasses – like promising to complete popular fics and 5 years go by and the promise is still there and they haven’t written another word. And they get mad if anyone asks them about it. THAT is worth commenting about. Yet people usually are very polite in their comments. The writers’ replies just often aren’t.
I knew somebody like that. Made promises to do easy things. Didn’t do them. You ask them about it and their answer is, “Have I died yet? No. I’m still alive. So I’m not lying. I said I’d do it and I will.” (Too bad people don’t come with ‘block’ buttons.)
NOW – back to hits.
Any story with more chapters is going to get more hits. That’s just logic. 6 chapters? Readers following it hit it 6 times each (or more if they reread it more often.) 25 chapters? 25 hits each. And etc.
Your original story had more chapters, thus it required more hits.
Plus, it’s been there longer.
Now obviously that doesn’t account for everything. And I fully see your point. Just, there’s some math involved that doesn’t just show by hit numbers.
Yeah, math, from the person who just this week said there were 2X more days left in April than there really were. I hear ya!
Anyway it’s an awesome story and so is the sequel.. Movie sequels seldom do as well as their originals too. Though we all know a few examples of the opposite.
And there’s no accounting for any of this.
I know on my present fic, there have been 2 distinct times I was there while you were reading and commenting. And both times the hit count didn’t go up. At all. I refreshed several times. And next day, same thing – it didn’t register either of those hits. So – honestly, even today with all the updates, AO3 doesn’t work perfectly. It just doesn’t.
And we know it’s tons better now than it was in 2016.
So. that MIGHT factor into it too some.
And now I know what I’m going to reread today!!!!
I AM captain shatKirk. I WILL do my part for king and country.
Happy Easter! I’m guessing you’re spending it with family and getting to do something special. Stay safe!
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April 16, 2022 at 8:35 am
Oh – and the more comments, the more hits too. I mean, on mine, I’ve written 20 chapters but it shows you’ve hit it 54 times now – That means you’ve read each chapter – 20 hits. But the others are from after I reply to your comment, you go back and reply to my reply. Sometimes more than once. And 4 of my hits are when I forgot to change pseuds so I hit it myself from another name. I HATE that!
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April 16, 2022 at 9:05 am
Don’t know why you were in comment jail. so weird
They are bullies and trolls I agree! Ha poor Phil.
People are so strange.
I once had a commenter say I wrote “trauma porn” too, lol. I think that was their way of saying I was fetishizing trauma. Whatever lol
Yeah they said a while back they were refiguring the way hits were figured and I think that also accounts for lack of counts NOW which kinda sucks because I’ve gotten kudoes where it says I have zero hits. So weird.
Anyway it doesn’t discourage me from any sequels but it does give me pause
My big get-together is today. Tomorrow will just be a quiet Sunday!
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April 16, 2022 at 9:08 am
Good grief! My glasses fog up ALL THE TIME. And of course even more so when wearing masks. Mine fog up my first sip of hot coffee every day.
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April 16, 2022 at 9:21 am
So do mine! I even told her, uh, lady, I wear glasses, So I get a lot of this from ME. But you know people are uh people and just have to tell you what you are doing “wrong”
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April 16, 2022 at 9:10 am
I’ve left comments on yours and you’ve had maybe 4 kudos and it still showed you had no hits. I’ve seen that myself. And more than just once.
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April 16, 2022 at 9:21 am
Yeah whatever they did to change the hits made them far less and I don’t like it!
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