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Reviews for Campus Life




MissEdith 02/06/06 - 08:05PM 7: 5. Two Moons Signed
I've resisted this fic for so long because a) Connor never really interested me, and b) it's so long (this is the main reason). But today I gave in, and it's really good, and now I don't have time to read it. I especially like what you're doing with Dawn. Not so sure about Connor. I mean, talk about rebounding.

Author's Response: Thanks for finally giving in. I can use all the readers I can get, especially those who take the time to give me thoughtful reviews like yours. I'm glad you like it. Sorry you don't have enough time to read it. I'm also happy you like the directions I'm going with Dawn. Dawn is a character I thought was underutilized on the show and I want to do more with her. I want to show her growing up a little bit at a time. She'll get more confident and self reliant, but that won't mean she'll totally lose all her insecurity or her need for other people and their approval. In short, I want to take a character on the show who was often presented as a whiny brat and try to develop her into a balanced character with some strengths and some weaknesses. Ultimately, I want her to become someone with whom people can identify.
Sorry the fic is so long. I basically wanted to do 22 chapters the way the show did 22 episodes a season. I try to keep the chapters around 2500-3500 words, which I think is a good average. I know some drabble fics go for about 100. Yours are about 1500, which is a nice size. But keep in mind there are fics out there that have chapters with over 10,000 words. So in the end, I hope 2500-3500 per chapter is doable. I'm also sorry to hear Connor doesn't interest you because he's my favorite character and pretty much the central character in this fic. I think he, Dawn, and Kennedy were really misused and in some cases underdeveloped on the show. As I said before, I'm hoping to develop them and make them characters with whom readers can sympathize and identify.
Thanks again for taking so much time to read the fic and to share your thoughts. I know everyone only has a limited amount of leisure time. I'm very, very honored that you chose to spend some of that time reading my stroy and sharing your thoughts about that story with me.

Quortoth 12/17/05 - 11:35PM 7: 5. Two Moons Signed
I don't know why, I still like Emily. I get a sort of satifaction from her not having Conner. I don't understand it but, this story is working for me.

Author's Response: Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you like Emily. I like her myself, actually, but most of my readers don't.

angelsbabigurl08 04/02/05 - 08:17PM 7: 5. Two Moons Signed
I like Emily but I don't like Emily.She totally needs to keep her hormones in check.She wanted to do it in the hospital.How amazingly GROSS!He really belongs with Dawn.Emily is and I don't wanna souynd rude but a total slut.I can't wait to see what happens.Great story so far.

Author's Response: I’m glad you like Emily, but said you don’t like her. She’s not as popular as I’d like her to be, but part of that is a natural result of her taking “Dawn’s guy.” I’m hoping to make the story a college version of Buffy. In college, many women experience a lot more freedom and power. Sometimes they don’t know what to do with it and go a little wild. That’s particularly true for Emily. She’s a werewolf. As for being a slut, she’s only been with one guy.

Poison Pen 11/19/04 - 05:35PM 7: 5. Two Moons Signed
I’m going to babble a bit here—just a little disclaimer. It’s strange. I like Emily. I really don’t want to like Emily—the girl needs to get a grip on her hormones, she seriously lacks self-respect, and she’s way too needy, which makes her, in my opinion, an insult to women in general, but I’m warming up to her. I have hope for her. I see a lot of potential for growth, and that’s a positive and endearing thing. I’m hoping, especially with the latest development, she’ll “come into her own” a bunch. In any case, she’s really becoming a person for me, and that says a lot, considering I’m not all that keen on original characters in fan fic. They tend to be flat, or they don’t fit in, or they’re author ego. Emily’s not. And Dawn—I’m really appreciating the sarcasm and mischievousness of her attitude toward the whole Connor/Emily deal. I was worried she was going to revert back to her season five persona (because I really couldn’t stand her). I’m glad you’re letting her show her adult side. It makes her worthy of Connor’s affections, and an interesting character with or without him. Willow though—I thought you went more than a tad over the top with her reaction. Just didn’t seem like Willow to me. Seemed more like Dawn, season five. Sorry, just calling it like I see it. I’m wearing my Kevlar, so feel free to take aim. ;) Buffy . . . I thought she was the highlight of this whole chapter. Great characterization there. Nice depth. I really hope we see her interact with Connor more (just not in an “Eww” way, please—lol). Loved the action sequences here—one of your obvious strengths, and always fun to read. And your pace is just fantastic. Four thousand words is a good chunk of story, and you manage to make it feel like a mere few paragraphs, and all without skimping on setting. I always have a strong sense of place—can always see the picture. Great job. As always, looking forward to more.

Author's Response: Thanks for the review. I want to respond to this in depth later, but several people have mentioned something about Willow I wanted to address real quickly. I'd be extremely grateful if someone wouldn't read this as "He's writing Willow over the top. Bad Author!" It'd be nice if somebody said, "Wow, Willow's acting strangely. I wonder what's going on there. *Why* is she acting like that?" it's not all about protecting Dawn. She's angry about something else. Pay attention to some of things she said that almost didn't make sense. As for Emily, she does need to grip on her hormones, but there *are* some heavy mitigating circumstances. She needs to get a grip on a lot of things that are changing about her. I always wanted this story to be for college what Buffy was for high school. It's real life augmented by science fiction elements. In college, people have to decide who they are, much like Connor *really* has to decide who he is. He literally has two lives to choose from and a world of possibilities in between. Emily, like many college students, has to cope with change. She has new freedom coupled with new strengths and new responsibilities. I'll respond more to this later if I don't go A.D.D. I realize that your review was 90% flattering and I'm focusing on the negative. It's not that I'm a brat. I just wanted to put these thoughts out there so they *might* put the story in a different context for you. In the end, you may find the whole thing was still stupid and lacked any coherent explanation. But try to keep in mind that this story is not complete.

Author's Response: Thanks again for your review. More importantly, thanks again for focusing attention on Willow and her behavior. I’m glad Emil’s growing on you and hope she continues to do so. There will be ups and downs for her, but I can’t take this story where I want it to go if the character isn’t liked. I hated season 5 Dawn, too. In fact, I kind of don’t like Dawn in general. It’s odd that a guy who’s such a fan of bratty Connor hates bratty Dawn. But rather than abandon her, I decided to grow her up and make her someone I would like. Since the show is gone now, I can do this with relatively few obstacles. But she too will be up and down. No one constantly ascends in his or her maturity level. We all regress sometimes. Much like Dawn, I wanted to reform Buffy. She’s actually been increasingly on my nerves since the second half of season 4. But I’m baking her, so she’ll be less and less cookie dough as time goes on. To some extent, I wanted a contrast between Buffy and Willow. Willow is still treating Dawn like a child and Buffy knows Dawn has to grow up. Willow sees only Dawn’s side because Willow sees herself in Dawn. Willow was the girl who liked the guy who liked another girl. Part of Willow’s anger stems form that. Buffy sees the whole picture. You can’t make someone love you just by loving them. I was going to put as line about heart break in the story, but I’m saving it for Spike in RoF s.2. My chapters are long, so I’m always worried that people will be bored. I can’t tell you how relieved I am that you thought it flowed quickly. Hopefully the next chapter, “Mausoleum”, won’t test that patience. Thanks again!

Michael J 11/19/04 - 12:05PM 7: 5. Two Moons Signed
Warning: This will be incoherent rambling. You said you weren't going to make things easy for Connor and Dawn. In my eyes, you've made it impossible. Dawn really has no claim on Connor whatsoever, but is perfectly in character in her reaction to his coupling with Emily. I actually like Connor with Emily. Sure it's a direct parallel to his dad (and come OFF IT Bangel shippers, there's no plausible reason why Buffy and Angel should be together in this fic...at all), but it still works in terms of setting up a dynamic with Connor and Dawn that you can play off of for however long you want. I don't see Dawn getting over her jealousy anytime soon (love her resigning herself to being the odd one out at the end there) and that's got to piss Connor off at one point. You've got your work cut out for you to get me to want Connor and Dawn together. I liked Willow being hyperdefensive of Dawn. I think you over did it just a little, but Willow had to be flashing back to when she found out about Xander and Cordelia. Anger doesn't bring out the champion in us. Honestly, my favorite character in the whole thing so far is Buffy. This is the Buffy we didn't get for the last two years of the show. She's hurting for her sister, but not so blinded by empathy that she can't look at the situation logically and be angry at Connor. She mediates the dinner situation and keeps everyone focused on the real task. She figures out who the werewolf is on pure instinct. Great writing for her. I don't want her in the story too much until you let everyone in Dawn's camp in on who Connor's dad is. Loving this so far.

Author's Response: I'm so glad you like Emily. I'm with you that Dawn has no claim on Connor whatsoever, but that doesn't mean it's impossible that they'll get together. But I'm not saying they will, either. Like you, I like Connor with Emily. I'm glad you think I overdid Willow's defense of Dawn. There was a bit more at work than her protectiveness at Dawn and her own flashbacks to Xander's crushes on Buffy and Cordy. So hopefully you'll be wondering "Why was Willow THAT pissed?" Buffy really is the old Buffy again, but with the maturity of recent years as well. Buffy won't be in the story much and what makes you think *anyone* in Dawn's camp will be let in on who Connor's dad is? Thanks again for the review! I'm happy you're enjoying the story.

frenchtoast101 11/17/04 - 06:37PM 7: 5. Two Moons Signed
This chapter is AWESOME!!! You write each character's personalitly perfectly. Please write more soon!

Author's Response: Thanks! I'm working on the next chpter of RoF2 and CL simmultaneously, meaning it'll probably be 100 years before I update, but I'll do my best.

crayonbreaky gal 11/17/04 - 01:40PM 7: 5. Two Moons Signed
I hate to say this, but I don't particularly like Emily. I'm not sure why, but there's something about her that I just don't like. Maybe it's because this is hurting Dawn a lot. Connor is still being portrayed perfectly. Willow's defense of Dawn was quite interesting too.

Author's Response: It's okay to say you don't particularly like Emily. I was hoping to make her sympathetic, thereby creating conflict within the love triangle. I always hate love triangles where the romantic rival is a complete jerk. I think it's cheap writing. Granted, that's what I did with Craig, but that was a secondary plot that I didn't feel needed to be complex. However, don't be surprised if I make it harder and harder for you to not like Emily. It's actually very important to me if I'm going to move forward with a particular plot. Thanks *so* much for your compliment on my Connor writing. . Thanks also for saying Willow's defense is "interesting." Partly it's protectiveness of Dawn. Partly it's empathy; after the Will/Xand/Buff triangle of BtVS season 1, Willow knows how Dawn feels. But there's more in there. Or at least I hope there is. Thanks again for reading. I really love my readers! Especially because you're so smart and (I'm pretty sure) figured out who one of the werewolves was. I just hope my future surprises will be more, well, surprising. Thanks Again!
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