I really liked this, and I must say that the ending is not lame at all. Mikey relies so heavily on Gerard's opinion, and that line really shows it. It's like his opinion is more important than what the bullies think. This may be a little depressing, but not at all boring. There's nothig wrong with depressing fics though. I really like them, and this one in particular really expressed Mikey's thoughts and feelings with so much emotion. Anyway, I really liked that this was brotherly. I always like those kinds, but I really liked how it was more than just being a brother. It was about being a friend and being a shoulder to cry on. Gerard was so caring and loving and he would do anything to keep Mikey safe. He would even kill. You portrayed just how far Gerard would go just as good, if not better, than someone who would have used dialogue. I really like your dialogue, but the fact that there was no dialogue in this just added to all the emotion. I liked how this was written. It was written in a very powerful way. It means so much more when he's speaking to the bullies about it all an I thought it was a really creative idea to do that. I really liked it. I also liked how Mikey let himself believe all of the things that the bullies said and when Gerard said otherwise, he instantly believes that he isn't any of the things that the bullies said he is. Well, at least not all of them. He's still insecure, but if he's learned anything from what Gerard told him is that he's not as bad as people believe him to be. The bullies are just as bad as him, maybe worse, but at least he has someone that cares about him. Well, this is fabulous. I thought this was really clever and creative, and I thought it was really interesting. Extremely great job. I loved this.
Author's response
Thank you soooo much; I'm really happy that you liked this and didn't find the ending lame. I really wanted it show how much Mikey and Gerard care about each other, so I hope that came across.
I love brotherly fics, despite the fact that my current chaptered fic is kind of anti-brotherly, and haven't really written one for a while so I thought it'd be a nice change.
I was really worried that the lack of dialogue in this would make it boring and have little/no plot, so to hear that you think it worked alright without is really encouraging, especially as I murder any kind of dialogue.
Thank you very much for taking the time to leave such a friendly, detailed review; your reviews really do help me to write! :)