by Bethany (link)
Genre cest, drama, romance
Pairings Taylor/OMC, Zaylor
Length 42 chapters
Status Completed (with sequel)
I’m a relatively new fan of Hanson, so when I discovered Hanfic – and specifically, the Zaylor/cest sub genre, I binged on every story that I could get my hands on; as a result, a lot of the more similar canon stories merged into another in my head and I’d often get confused, mixing up different plot lines and characters. That’s the main reason why I’m not the greatest fan of canon: stories can be very… samey.
That is not the case with ‘Audience of One’. Despite being almost-canon (albeit with a few creative licences) this fic has a different feel from the rest. It might be due to the fact that the story – which is mostly set on tour – doesn’t heavily feature wives and family; or possibly because one of the main characters is actually an OMC named Seamus, for whom Taylor quickly develops a pretty serious infatuation. And of course, the central pairing is Zaylor, the equivalent, in hanfic terms, of Hollywood box office draw.
Now, let’s talk about this Taylor. Hanfic Taylor usually falls into three categories: perfect, beautiful, selfless, almost-too-good-to-be-true-Taylor; psychotic Taylor; diva Taylor. “Audience Of One” Taylor belongs to the latter category, but unlike his namesakes in other stories, his comedy side is expertly reined in by the author, so that there is just enough humour to make this character amusing, without descending into cartoon-like parody. The story is scattered with truly brilliant insights into Taylor’s mind – during which the inner monologue of our favourite front man oscillates between jaded rockstar self-absorption and an occasional glimpse of the harsh reality – that the world does not, after all, revolve around Taylor Hanson.
“Audience of One” was always destined to be a success; it contains all the essential ingredients for a very popular mid-length fiction: a love triangle, enough sex scenes to titillate readers and the tortured, forbidden love between two brothers. But it’s the perfectly pitched characterisation of its protagonist that places this story head and shoulders above the rest, and that makes ‘Audience of One’ my absolute favourite canon hanfic so far.
Review by Paola (tumblr)