Title: Of Cigarettes and Tar

Author: slyferris

Status: Completed

Characters: Heechul, Kyuhyun, Sungmin, Ryeowook

Genre: angst... drugs/smoking//ion and the like?

My Comments:  I've only read a few of slyferris' fics, but I've noticed that she has a talent for writing angst and stories with darker themes.  Out of the ones that I've read, this one scared me the most.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but when I read a fic that I really get into, I tend to worry about the characters and whether or not they're making the right choices or whether or not they're gonna get in trouble for the things they do.  There have been times where I've literally had to stop reading something for long periods of time because I just couldn't handle worrying so much the plotline and characters because they stressed me out so much.  Maybe that's just me though?

I subscribed to Of Cigarettes and Tar almost a year ago and read the first few chapters, then stopped reading because I couldn't bear to read any more.  This story terrified me because it's so relatable to the way my school works and the way a lot of schools and parents and communities out there work.  It's so incredibly easy for someone to snap under all the pressure society gives us and to just break and give in to the " it all, I don't want to do any of this, I'm going to break the rules and do whatever I want regardless of the consequences because I'm so tired of living like this" attitude.  Unfortunately, there are people in the world who are treated horribly and put under so much pressure that they just crack and go on the wrong path and start doing illegal things.

This story made me realize how far things could go, and it scared me because I felt I could understand Kyuhyun's situation perfectly and I understood the reasoning behind all his actions, no matter how immoral they were.

A few weeks ago, I finally forced myself to go back to the fic and finish reading it.  And even though tried not to read so into detail because it scared me and I was wincing the entire time and making terrified faces, but it was worth reading.  This is very much worth reading.