Discussion of Fics We're Currently Loving

[starwatersong]

I was just about to mention Bruising the Sun! It’s updates are giving me most of the content at the moment.

I also am really enjoying Flares by Huphilpuffs and The Water Might be Lovely by isleofbants.

I love a long fic.

[glitterintheair]

For your fake relationship needs I highly recommend The Last Act of the Show by vvelna. I read it today and I can't stop thinking about it. It was just so so good.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18203894

[Templeofshame]

For your fake relationship needs I highly recommend The Last Act of the Show by vvelna. I read it today and I can't stop thinking about it. It was just so so good.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18203894

Yes! Much agree!

[kavat]

I just finished it too, it's so good!

[Philena]

^^Thanks for the recommendation! I really enjoyed The Last Act of the Show!

Still loving too high by danfanciesphil. Spoilers to my fave section of the newest chapter...

“Oh,” Dan says, simmering with heat and confusion. Naked. Phil is naked right now, right behind me. All I’d have to do is turn ninety degrees and- “Right. Well… okay, then.” Naked. Naked, naked, naked. No clothes, no towels, all wet and- “I’ll just...”

“I’ll have a double macchiato,” Phil says, nakedly. “Didn’t get much sleep last night.”

[alittledizzy]

i am over every single update of Bruising the Sun

and I also wanna rec @thestigdrivesamini's first fic because oh my godddddd if you want some 2009 happies: Are You Feeling What I'm Feeling

[kavat]

i am over every single update of Bruising the Sun

and I also wanna rec @thestigdrivesamini's first fic because oh my godddddd if you want some 2009 happies: Are You Feeling What I'm Feeling

+1 on both accounts!

[thestigdrivesamini]

Thank you so much

Ahh!! Bruising the Sun!! I’m obsessed!! I can’t get enough!!

[wiccamoody]

Bruising The Sun is k i l l i n g me!!!! Every chapter just stabs me in the best way harder, and I'm left in this state for hours

It's really everything I need right now

[kavat]

Bruising The Sun is k i l l i n g me!!!! Every chapter just stabs me in the best way harder, and I'm left in this state for hours

It's really everything I need right now

Yess I loved the whole pool scene. And I'm so curious to see what happens when you add Phil's family to the mix.

[Templeofshame]

I'm excited for Cornelia. I really love the Kath dynamic in this chapter, and I'm looking forward to all of them, but there's something about the little taste of Cornelia we got in this chapter that whets my appetite. Just seems like it's gonna be a great characterization, but I don't know yet what all we'll get from her.

(I may be experimenting with new ways to talk about fic in this thread beyond just OMG the chapter it's great! Because I love that, but sometimes it's hard to think of something not totally obvious to say in terms of that? But maybe theorizing or talking about what we're looking forward to could be good positive ways to discuss fic we're loving?)

[wiccamoody]

I'm excited for Cornelia. I really love the Kath dynamic in this chapter, and I'm looking forward to all of them, but there's something about the little taste of Cornelia we got in this chapter that whets my appetite. Just seems like it's gonna be a great characterization, but I don't know yet what all we'll get from her.

I agree about Cornelia! I'm very interested to see her role in this, especially with how Dan has observed and interacted with her. It's lovely characterization on both parts, and the vibe that lies underneath Dan's initial panic where she's kind of gently cheeky balanced with a caring sort of demeanor is so intriguing.

I'm also interested to see how Dan continues to cope in a new environment. Of course he's with Phil, but at the end of the chapter where his anxiety comes out more is both very fitting and very gripping in showing who he is and how that might play into their dynamic while on this holiday.

[Templeofshame]

I'm also interested to see how Dan continues to cope in a new environment. Of course he's with Phil, but at the end of the chapter where his anxiety comes out more is both very fitting and very gripping in showing who he is and how that might play into their dynamic while on this holiday.

Ooh yes I love the ending, how it highlights the beginning of this part in a new environment, and the way the fic can be soft and warm and lovely, and not have tension between Dan and Phil (apart from sexual tension), but that doesn't solve everything. There are so many ways for the story to move forward, in terms of their relationship to each other, in terms of Bryony, in terms of how they handle other people, and also in terms of the inside of Dan's head. Sarah is a pro at chapter endings and with this one I love how I didn't predict it but it feels so right and complex and more interesting than just soft happy cuddle sleep.

[Templeofshame]

I wrote up a post and got it eaten because I make the same mistake all the time when I forget I'm not logged in.

There's so much I love and identify with in this chapter, but I keep coming back to this bit:

"What would you do if you could do anything?”

“Phil…”

“No, seriously. I want to know.”

He bites back his sigh and tries. He tries to think about what brings him joy, what he could imagine fulfilling him in a way that would make him satisfied, but the only thing he can come up with is Phil. The only thing he’s sure about is Phil.

“God, Phil,” he says, panic cloying at his chest. “I don’t know. I don’t know anything. I’m like a fucking cardboard cutout of a person.”

“No you’re not. You’re a person, Dan. You’re an amazing person. I like you so much and I don’t even have a thing for cardboard so that’s how I know you’re wrong."

Dan is so deeply dissatisfied and so convinced that it's his own fault, from his own choices, and that he's trapped with them now. And Phil just wants him to be happy, but he's so gentle about it, not dismissive, not thinking he has all the answers or can save Dan, but genuinely caring and wanting to help and support Dan at wherever he's at. I don't really know what I'm saying, I'm just moved.

[kavat]

I can definitely recognize being in a shitty life situation but feeling like you have to stay there, either because you have made your bed and now have to lay in it or just because you can't see any other resonable alternative. When you are in that mode of just seeing obstacles instead of opportunities, it can be so hard to shift your mindset and find a way out. I hope Phil can show him the light a little bit.

[Templeofshame]

Does anyone wanna freak out about teenagers with me? There are so many great teases at future things in the interlude and I just want to grabby hands it! I don't know where to focus my excitement to make this a cohesive post; maybe the most substantial and self-contained thing I'm eeeeing about today is the part about words and labels and not being able to explain feelings and identities and define sex without simplifying, and like what matters outside of words. Just so great and thoughtful and such a useful thing to be figuring out at that age!

Sorry I am being scattered and excited but I would love to hear people getting excited (whether or not scattered) about fic!

[jestbee]

Anyone else reading they don't know (about us) by calvinahobbes? I am loving it so much, it's exploring elements of the Jamaica trip that I don't think is often covered as much,

[Templeofshame]

Anyone else reading they don't know (about us) by calvinahobbes? I am loving it so much, it's exploring elements of the Jamaica trip that I don't think is often covered as much,

Yes, I'm excited for this! Well-researched thoughtful Jamaica fic taking on all that public/private stuff... yes yes please and thank you.

I also wanted to post about a certain @jestbee's dog fic, After All These Years... I don't know if you guys are reading but we are coming to a breaking point and everything is soft and sweet and lovely but there's this edge of tension that something is going to Happen, they're gonna have to work through some of the silence and denial and I am so here for it.

[poweroftriangles]

My WIP-phobe ass just finished Bruising The Sun and the end Dan's come so far

I loved Bryony in the fic too!

[Templeofshame]

My WIP-phobe ass just finished Bruising The Sun and the end Dan's come so far

I loved Bryony in the fic too!

I love seeing how people (especially Sarah) use Bryony in fics! She's got such complexity, with her abrasiveness and the depth of her friendship with Dan and Phil, and it's really cool how the character can be based firmly in canon details (like quilting and kpop and coming out as bi) but also so well suited to the specific needs of the fic, and the way she amplifies Dan's struggles and adds a great way to explore Dan's and Phil's journeys and relationship outside of sheer introspection or scenes of them together.

I think for me, in general, I feel like Bryony humanizes D&P in a way, because we know she's a real friend of theirs outside of branding, and we know she isn't trying to be palatable to their fanbase? Like, she is open about all the things she hates or thinks are stupid, and about her departure from YouTube, and she reads to me as pretty unapologetically herself. So I love when I get that from a fic-Bryony too, and she's very much not just there to be a generic female friend. Like, generic female friends are useful and sometimes great in fic tbh, but idk, there's a thing for me about a well-developed Bryony that transcends.

Wow, I talk a lot.

[sonicgreen]

Just gonna mention IDB's own alittledizzy. I just finished the short 5 chapter fic "Of the healing kind"
if anyone is looking for a semi-quick (~9K) sweet read, I recommend.

[poweroftriangles]

Just gonna mention IDB's own alittledizzy. I just finished the short 5 chapter fic "Of the healing kind"
if anyone is looking for a semi-quick (~9K) sweet read, I recommend.

I'm loving this one!

The line after the burrito line kicked me in the face. Opposite of a slow burn if there ever was one.

[sonicgreen]

Just gonna mention IDB's own alittledizzy. I just finished the short 5 chapter fic "Of the healing kind"
if anyone is looking for a semi-quick (~9K) sweet read, I recommend.

I'm loving this one!

The line after the burrito line kicked me in the face. Opposite of a slow burn if there ever was one.

i liVE for that progression. 0-100 is all i ask for in fics of this length

[alittledizzy]

coffee at midnight just has me full with every new chapter in a way that i can't even really explain

[Templeofshame]

Other people reading they don't know (about us), is it me or was today's an especially great chapter? I know I'm biased about cannibalism references, but there's an intensity of what it means for them to hold back, and the ways they can interact, and the "best friend" speech reminded me a little of the speech in Friends With Kids and probably the odds that anyone has both read this fic and seen that movie is very low. Anyway, so good, read it!