Hi Pinboo-nim,

This is exofinitehearters but you can call me Skye. I just want to tell you how much I enjoyed reading Der Marchen Club. 

I usually only read fics with exo but this fic was really exceptional. The german title really drew me in and one look at the forward had me spending sleepless nights reading the story. I discovered and started reading the story at about its 20-ish chapter and have been reading (and re-read it twice) ever since. Every single time reading it still gave me creeps even though I read it before.

I always surf for AU/Murder fics but they aren't plentiful. Even if I did find some of these fics, their plot were often shallow and somehow disappointed me. However, your plot was thick, filled with substance and realistic (at least realistic enough for an AU murder mystery). To this day, I still wonder how you can come up with this plot (and how some doll world thing can evolve into this perfect crime thriller xD). Did you take as long as it took Tiffany to plan out everybody's murder? Anyway, I just wanted to point out some of the things in the story I liked a lot. 

Firstly, as I mentioned above, is the plot. The plot from the start to the end had me on the edge of my chair. It was a perfect crime, really. The way you included fairytales into the murders with a sinister twist in it is definitely something not just anyone can do. There were many unexpected things in the story too, like Donghae's alter ego and feelings for Yoona etc. Every chapter has something that sent my head flying about in shock. 

Another thing I really liked was your language. I command you never to discriminate your own language skill TT. If you don't write well then what about the rest of the world? The plot builts only half the suspense and excitement. The other half comes from the language and how the writer manuvoures English language such that it brings out the suspense and excitement. That, I say without doubt that you're the best at. I really admire your style of writing, more than any other writer (not only in fanfic world but writers of best-selling books too). There's just this special anointing in your writing that once I read it, I know it's you. And I love it.

I liked how the story is well organised too. You knew when is the right to reveal a certain secret or identity such that it adds impact to the story. The fact that Tiffany is the mastermind was definitely shocking but re-reading the story made me realise the subtle hints you dropped before revealing her identity as The Impossible e.g. how you did not end the chapter of her death with a "Dear (fairytale character), you are hereby invited to..." or how Tiffany's father had been murdered by the last generation of Der Marchen Club members 14 years back. Damn it, I should have known.

Last but definitely not least, is your characters. I don't understand why you say that some characters aren't well developed. I must admit that I do not really have a deep understanding in characters like Kwon Yuri, but regardless, I still have a basic understanding of how she is like. You say that you're not satisfied by how Yuri turned out, bad Mary Sue and all, but I like it that way. A Yuri like that is suitable for this story. Yuri is the character I least like in the story. I know that sounds bad, but hey look at it from this point of view, because of her bad Mary Sue character, she had made an impact on a mere reader. Not just any character gets remembered as a person's least favourite character. Other characters especially the main ones such as Heechul, Jessica, Yoona, Donghae, Sungmin, Tiffany, Kibum and Ryeowook (there are more) are really well developed. They are realistic and well, are round characters. Their personality is not flat. Making a 4-dimensional character that seem realistic enough is not easy but all 20 over DMC characters are pretty real, to me at least. They are believable and the chances of them existing in the real world is much higher than normal fic characters. What makes the characters in DMC special is that they portray the darker side of humans that other fanfics fail to touch.

My favourite character is Kim Taeyeon. Or as I prefer calling, The Nightingale. The completion of the fic let me to a frenzy of what I would call "nightingale craze". I spent hours and days trying to imagine how Oryu Orphranage was like. It was about the same time divergent was in fame, and while other dreamt of being Beatrice Prior, Tris, I dreamt of being Kim Taeyeon, The Nightingale. In fact, my kakao display name is still "The Nightingale" coupled with a picture of Taeyeon looking angsty in white clothes and blood red lipstick. My status is "a fairytale is never this absurb". Yeap, I'm some delusional DMC hardcore fan and I'm proud of it. At least the Dauntless training grounds in divergent is just a modern version of the training room in Oryu Orphranage so my line of thinking isn't that far from the rest of my friends. Not that I would bother but that prevented me from being an oddball in a way or two I guess.

Whoops I kinda went off topic.

I think I should end this fanmail-turned-review here before I start screaming into your face how you gotta publish this as a book (you should someday though, no kidd). I'm shaking a little while posting this because it's the first "fanmail" I've sent and probably the only one I'm going to send in a long time. It's nerve-wrecking but I couldn't go about not thanking you for your efforts to write this fic. Well, I'll just see how this goes. That's all! Once again, thank you for writing this revolutional fic. However long it has been since the series ended, it still is and will always be my favourite fic. Thank you author-nim.

Sincerely,
Skye (exofinitehearters)