The Events of Room 218 (EXO School AU): Part 4

[leejaehwa7]

Title: The Events of Room 218
Author: leejaehwa7
Fandom: EXO
Pairing: Baekhyun/Zitao
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Baekhyun transfers to a new boarding school and of all people, he ends up rooming with Zitao, who has a tendency of scaring away all of his roommates. Surprisingly, Baekhyun’s not easily scared and Zitao might have found his match.

A/N:

Comments

[theraincometh]

I just found this gem because of your update, aaand it's already easily one of my faavorite Baektao fics on the whole stinkin' net. Your characterization of Baekhyun and Tao are really, really spot-on (I get BUTTERFLIES from how much I love how you wrote bossy but not obnoxious Baekhyun and intimidating but tender (i.e. ~~~tsundere~~~) Zitao) and the consequent relationship between them in this fic blossoms as naturally under your care as I think it does in real life.

Also, the nuances of Tao's secret you handle with aplomb and careful attention, something which a lesser author would fumble and make awkward. I really like everywhere the plot is going, and you really manage to make what could be a fanfiction cliche (the supernatural, especially the *URK* teenage werewolf/vampire) come to life in a warm and realistic way. Really the characters are incredibly endearing and the descriptions are tight and focused and EVERYTHING is jiving for me in this fic! I am outraged at how criminally underexposed it is.

I'm waiting on TENTERHOOKS for your update!!! (Hiking trails around Baekhyun's house?? National park? Remote locale????? Sounds like a recipe for disaster........... delicious disaster. I CAN'T WAIT.)

Thank you for sharing this with us~

[leejaehwa7]

OMG OMG OMG...You are amazing and I do not deserve such praise but you are stroking my writer's ego in all the right ways and it's making me giddy. After I've been on and off the fence about how to continue this fic and whether or not I'm doing justice with Tao's condition/secret, you tell me I'm getting it right and that it's not cliche (which I was trying really hard not to do) and your words just make me all kinds of fuzzy inside.

It's comments like this that make me like my writing again because sometimes I start to really hate it. I'll read other works and over analyze other writing styles that I like and I'll try to figure out what I want for myself and I just get confused and frustrated. Sometimes I just think too much because I want it to be so much better than it is and then I receive a comment from a reader, something absolutely wonderful, and I realize that maybe others like my writing and maybe I just need to step back and read it from someone else's perspective.

Seriously, I cannot thank you enough for your lovely comment. <33333333 It made writing the next update so much more easier.

Speaking of the next update, it came to me a lot faster than the previous one and I hope you will be pleasantly surprised by what's to come.

[theraincometh]

I think it is so natural as a writer to question yourself and lose sight of your personal style and inspiration over and over and over. In fact I (sadly) think this never ends, no matter how experienced you become. I don't know that that's terribly comforting haha, but it IS natural and just remember the self-doubt really uncorrelated with the actual quality of your writing (because every writer, no matter their individual skill level, suffers this). But this is why you just need some outside perspective, like you said. And I'm really, really happy if I can provide it for you! Just trust me, you are a talented and nuanced writer, and whether consciously or not your attention to detail (both in its inclusion or exclusion) you bring a lovely realism to your writing, especially in regards to respecting your characters' original personalities. I love your measured but not sluggish pacing and the humanity in all of your descriptions and characterizations and oh by the way that reminds me did I mention how much I like your characterization? :)

You are so sweet and I honestly am so glad I was able to facilitate your writing and make you feel inspired and content with yourself again. You absolutely deserve to feel that way, and honestly I think your comment probably made ME feel happier than mine made you!

AAAAND now on to read your latest update and geek the fuck out over it. 9000% sure I'm not ready.