by Jenn and Lauryn (link)
Genre slash, drama/angst, romance
Pairings Scott Moffatt/OFC, Scott Moffatt/OMC, Taylor/OMC, Taylor/Scott Moffatt, Zac/OFC, Zac/OMC
Length 6 parts
Status Unfinished
Like so many other stories, The Moffson Tapes put off young me due to its length. I began reading it, found it long and unfinished, and moved on before the story could make much of an impression on me. Now that I’m reading and reviewing older stories, it seemed like a good time to pick this one up again, even though it’s still unfinished.
The title, while not especially creative, does at least convey exactly what the story is. Moffson, obviously, refers to the Hanson/Moffatt slash pairing, and Tapes refers to the fact that the story was conceived as a series of physical recordings that were then transcribed into something resembling a script, along with journal entries interspersed. It’s a very unique way to write a story, and it takes a while to adjust to, but I can’t help admiring someone (or in this case, two someones) who think outside the box.
In spite of, or perhaps because of, the unique structure, the authors manage to weave Taylor and Scott’s backstories into the story very well. Unfortunately, I find a lot of the details a bit over the top, but as the story goes on, I grow to like the characters enough that I don’t mind. Their journal entries add an extra layer to their characterization that really puts everything into perspective.
One big portion of Scott’s background remained a mystery — he refused to speak of it with Taylor and only alluded to it in his journals — for a large portion of the story. After a while, it became a little annoying to read only vague mentions of some big event and not know what it was, but it did keep me engaged and waiting to find out the whole story. Unless I managed to miss it, though, it’s never fully explained.
At the end of the fourth tape, the story becomes little more than summaries. While I can appreciate Lauryn’s commitment to making sure the story receives some sort of ending, this is a little disappointing. At the same time, there are certain highly emotional stories that are almost easier to read in summary form, and this just might be one of them. The tape format lends a lot to the story; a roleplayed story always has a certain sort of honesty, especially to the dialogue, that you can’t really fake quite the same with just one author. The story suffers for the loss of that, but I still hope that it is, in some form, completed someday.
Review by Bethany (website)