MAIA WHAT DO I EVEN SAY. TT___TT Your stories are always so complete, so thorough; I don't know what I could possibly add to them in a comment. :(
First, your Yixing. The way you developed him throughout the story, like developing an old roll of film filled with favorite moments that we get to rediscover all over again when we see the finished product. Yixing forgetting to zip his backpack, his clumsiness when it comes to the parts of his life that isn't his art. Wondering if it's selfish to be a photographer, to steal memories from other people. Yixing, so focused on his craft (wandering off to look at photographs instead of mingling, constantly framing pictures in his mind, thinking about textures and shadows and hues), his compulsive need to take photographs, so accurately mirrored with his irl love of performance. He's so wonderful here.
I love that moment when Yixing's perspective shifts from Kai to Jongin - hard edges disappearing into softness and warmth, that split-second click when Yixing realizes that he's interested, that he wants him. Kai, trying to hide and make himself smaller in posture when we first meet him, and Yixing drawing out his colors. A boy who is sometimes a man, sometimes shy and sometimes cocky and always moving. AHHH LET ME DROWN IN ALL MY JONGIN FEELINGS. I don't know why I'm so drawn to this pairing, except that I want to believe that they pull the best out of each other, that each of them challenges the other's weaknesses, and you wrote their dynamic in a way where I wanted so desperately for them to both find happiness, to know that if they only let themselves, the missing answers to all their questions are right in front of them.
The idea that they're each the exception in the other's life, yes - Jongin breaking all of Yixing's imposed rules, even the ones in his dreams, the solitary hello in a sea of goodbyes. And Yixing discovering Jongin in a way that Jongin doesn't even know himself; Yixing showing him that he's more than gloss and images, that he's real and layered and so, so priceless, worth so much more than just a pretty smile and a sculpted face. I love that entire section about how Jongin usually feels trapped in pictures, suffocated by tireless recognition, the fame and expectations, the stalking - except when it's Yixing behind the camera, those pictures are what help set him free from the idol constraints.
You are so impossibly good at depicting friendships. ♥ All those amazing nuances like Yixing knowing which side of the desk Kris keeps the important papers, Jongdae's terrible cooking that Yixing eats anyway, Lu Han knowing when to press and when to pull back, Yixing joking about Kyungsoo rumors with Jongin. And your tiny details that stay with me long after I finish reading, like Kris missing his pockets and sliding his hands down his pants instead (is this a "History" dig, keke), Sehun crossing his ankles delicately (maknae pls u___u), and Zitao's false modesty.
And the humor is so subtle and delightful!! Minseok salting Lu Han's rice, the bowl sneakily getting passed around until it reaches Yixing. /:) I think that scene is my favorite, especially the ending line to that passage - Now Yixing can taste the salt. It stings on the edges of his tongue. - because that's what I love most about your Yixing, how you're so good at zeroing in on all those moments where we can tangibly see him learning more about himself, growing, recovering. Discovering old pieces of himself that he thought he'd closed off that Jongin slowly teases to the surface, and that crowning breakthrough when Yixing finally sees the larger picture.
Last but not least! This fic is so.... instructional, almost. I'm so impressed with how you managed to weave all the technical aspects of photography into the actual fabric of the story itself, and it's clear a lot of research and planning went into the details and descriptions. I'm not a skilled photographer by any stretch of definition, but reading this has totally made me want to learn more and expand my own limits. Thank you always for the inspiration. ♥
no subject
First, your Yixing. The way you developed him throughout the story, like developing an old roll of film filled with favorite moments that we get to rediscover all over again when we see the finished product. Yixing forgetting to zip his backpack, his clumsiness when it comes to the parts of his life that isn't his art. Wondering if it's selfish to be a photographer, to steal memories from other people. Yixing, so focused on his craft (wandering off to look at photographs instead of mingling, constantly framing pictures in his mind, thinking about textures and shadows and hues), his compulsive need to take photographs, so accurately mirrored with his irl love of performance. He's so wonderful here.
I love that moment when Yixing's perspective shifts from Kai to Jongin - hard edges disappearing into softness and warmth, that split-second click when Yixing realizes that he's interested, that he wants him. Kai, trying to hide and make himself smaller in posture when we first meet him, and Yixing drawing out his colors. A boy who is sometimes a man, sometimes shy and sometimes cocky and always moving. AHHH LET ME DROWN IN ALL MY JONGIN FEELINGS. I don't know why I'm so drawn to this pairing, except that I want to believe that they pull the best out of each other, that each of them challenges the other's weaknesses, and you wrote their dynamic in a way where I wanted so desperately for them to both find happiness, to know that if they only let themselves, the missing answers to all their questions are right in front of them.
The idea that they're each the exception in the other's life, yes - Jongin breaking all of Yixing's imposed rules, even the ones in his dreams, the solitary hello in a sea of goodbyes. And Yixing discovering Jongin in a way that Jongin doesn't even know himself; Yixing showing him that he's more than gloss and images, that he's real and layered and so, so priceless, worth so much more than just a pretty smile and a sculpted face. I love that entire section about how Jongin usually feels trapped in pictures, suffocated by tireless recognition, the fame and expectations, the stalking - except when it's Yixing behind the camera, those pictures are what help set him free from the idol constraints.
You are so impossibly good at depicting friendships. ♥ All those amazing nuances like Yixing knowing which side of the desk Kris keeps the important papers, Jongdae's terrible cooking that Yixing eats anyway, Lu Han knowing when to press and when to pull back, Yixing joking about Kyungsoo rumors with Jongin. And your tiny details that stay with me long after I finish reading, like Kris missing his pockets and sliding his hands down his pants instead (is this a "History" dig, keke), Sehun crossing his ankles delicately (maknae pls u___u), and Zitao's false modesty.
And the humor is so subtle and delightful!! Minseok salting Lu Han's rice, the bowl sneakily getting passed around until it reaches Yixing. /:) I think that scene is my favorite, especially the ending line to that passage - Now Yixing can taste the salt. It stings on the edges of his tongue. - because that's what I love most about your Yixing, how you're so good at zeroing in on all those moments where we can tangibly see him learning more about himself, growing, recovering. Discovering old pieces of himself that he thought he'd closed off that Jongin slowly teases to the surface, and that crowning breakthrough when Yixing finally sees the larger picture.
Last but not least! This fic is so.... instructional, almost. I'm so impressed with how you managed to weave all the technical aspects of photography into the actual fabric of the story itself, and it's clear a lot of research and planning went into the details and descriptions. I'm not a skilled photographer by any stretch of definition, but reading this has totally made me want to learn more and expand my own limits. Thank you always for the inspiration. ♥