December 22nd, 2008 at 02:52am
Story/Review game:
I usually don't read alot of Panic! fiction, even though I like the band, because I feel that it's a bit like Frerard in the sense that it can get repetitive. But I chose to read this because the three statements in the summary really drew me in due to their randomness and humor, and I thought the idea of having a funny almost-deathfic could be interesting if pulled off properly. And pulled off properly it most certainly was.
It wasn't directly laugh out loud funny, but it really wouldn't have suited overly-exaggerated jokes. It did, however, make me smile and chuckle to myself, both because of the way it was told and because of some of the dialogue, respectively. It was told in a kind of matter-of-fact way but contained just the right amount of emotion and description; your style of writing is addictive.
I loved the part about the rap music. Partly because Brendon's response to his father's question was classic, and the image of Brendon listening to rap (even though he said he didn't) amuses me alot. :XD
The therapist was an interesting addition to the story. She added humour too, and it was like you took all the cliches about death and stamped on them - now, if it was done any less well than you did, it may have come across as unthoughtful, but it was actually very funny and clever, and I can tell you're not really disrespectful to therapists, or people who do feel as though they hate their dead family/freinds for leaving them. I loved this line: “Oh.” His face settled down into thought. “Dying? That really wasn’t her fault – why would I be mad?” Just the way that line was spoken and alot of other lines I won't clog up the review by quoting gave Brendon a teenage innocence and intelligence. He's like, taking apart these typical therapist questions in a way that's humorous to the reader, and also it made me realise how stereotype these questions can be... if that makes any sense.
The introduction of Ryan was sweet. It wasn't essential, I thought, but it provided a perfect ending and someone else for Brendon to interact with. Ryan’s face pulled into a grimace. “That sounds really fucking shitty.” That actually did make me laugh out loud, and I love Ryan's up-frontness, he's kind of like Brendon in that way.
Overall, it was a well-done oneshot with just the right amount of humour and sincerity to become unoffendable and a truly enjoyable read. I loved it, well done. :cute:
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, I just think that there needs to be just a little bit more.