by Haley (link)
Genre het, romance, comedy
Pairings Zac/OFC
Length 13 chapters
Status Unfinished
With a title like You’re Like My Favorite Underwear, it’s easy to assume that this is a comedy. That isn’t the only genre it tries for, but it barely hits the mark with any of them, unfortunately.
The story kicks off in a sadly typical way, with the main character explaining how she’s been friends with Hanson since their childhood. It’s not impossible to do that sort of plot well, but it is hard to make it not seem like something straight out of 1997. Haley does add in a few more modern details, especially with the (fairly accurate) portrayal of certain message boards. Still, the attitude her narrator takes toward many of the fans is unpleasant and sometimes even inconsistent with her actions in other scenes.
As for the comedy aspect, that tends to fall flat as well, relying on played out tropes and jokes that don’t feel natural or organic to the plot. The romance also falls a bit flat. Zac and Erin are meant to be the sort of couple that everyone else realizes is in love even if they don’t. That can be a difficult thing to pull off within a narrative, and it doesn’t quite work for me here–not helped at all by the fact that Zac rarely sounds anything like himself.
Haley stumbles upon a few good ideas here, and I think the fandom reaction to Zac and Erin’s relationship is an interesting angle to look at. Unfortunately, I’m just not sure Haley could have handled that with the necessary subtlety, but she abandoned the story before ever proving me right or wrong.
Review by Bethany (website)