Phanfiction recs to warm us on lonely nights

Our two favourite full time internet nerds who never go outside!
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Susanisnotafish
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So I've officially fallen down the Phanfic rabbit hole. Been reading and crying as the sun's been rising. Thanks to all the great authors here on IDB (shoutouts to Oqua, LeftHandedism, and Rizzo). I'm sure I'll get to the rest of you soon at the rate I'm going. Starting with 2009. Might jump around to the other stuff mentioned in this thread (which I''m so thankful for).
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Susanisnotafish
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Sorry about the double post. This thread needs to get more active! Two questions:

Am I going to run out of good phan fics anytime soon? How do I pace myself? Been reading about 3 a day. How do I get notified of new ones?

Is it rude and/or pointless to point out errors in grammar or facts (when the fics seem to be following canon)?
"Rub those freckles all over me!" --Daniel Howell
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LtrllySusan
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Susanisnotafish wrote:Sorry about the double post. This thread needs to get more active! Two questions:

Am I going to run out of good phan fics anytime soon? How do I pace myself? Been reading about 3 a day. How do I get notified of new ones?

Is it rude and/or pointless to point out errors in grammar or facts (when the fics seem to be following canon)?
I've been down the rabbit hole for a long time now, and I am still finding new stuff all the time. So don't wory about that. If you like reading on AO3, you can sort after kudos (and tick the "complete" box if you don't wanna get into WIPs) and go from there. Find some authors you like and check their other works and their bookmarks. You can make an account on AO3 (it's still in beta so you have to wait a few days to get the registration email) and either bookmark works or subscribe to works or authors. Bookmarking just means that they are all saved on your profile (public or private, based on what you choose), so you can manually check for new updates. Subscription means that you get an email when there's something new.

Regarding commenting - no idea, I don't comment
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alittledizzy
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Susanisnotafish wrote:Is it rude and/or pointless to point out errors in grammar or facts (when the fics seem to be following canon)?
I wouldn't leave a comment that is nothing but that, but if you are leaving a comment that is primarily positive feedback you could also just ask the author if they'd like you to point out an error. If they are the sort who doesn't want to hear that, they just won't respond; if they are, they'll be grateful.

(I am definitely the type who encourages people to do that! But I probably have a thicker skin than newer writers might.

Also, bless you for commenting. You don't even know how much of a motivating factor comments actually are.)
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Susanisnotafish
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alittledizzy wrote:
Susanisnotafish wrote:Is it rude and/or pointless to point out errors in grammar or facts (when the fics seem to be following canon)?
I wouldn't leave a comment that is nothing but that, but if you are leaving a comment that is primarily positive feedback you could also just ask the author if they'd like you to point out an error. If they are the sort who doesn't want to hear that, they just won't respond; if they are, they'll be grateful.

(I am definitely the type who encourages people to do that! But I probably have a thicker skin than newer writers might.

Also, bless you for commenting. You don't even know how much of a motivating factor comments actually are.)
Thanks for the advice. It's the weirdest thing, but I am pretty much compelled to comment on fics I like, or at least on one of an author I likes works. I guess it's bc I am so grateful that people are sharing their really impressive talent and I am benefitting from that. Could also be an overflow of positive emotion that your work and others are giving me; so I would say you authors are really making the phandom a happier, nicer place. Kudos!
"Rub those freckles all over me!" --Daniel Howell
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i just read this fic yesterday called Dan And Phil: Lords of The Internet, Masters of Ambiguity and i am sososo in love with it!! it's written in the style of an article/interview which i find rly unique and creative + it just seems so real, their character's are so like them and i can totally imagine something like this happening which makes it even better than the concept of it already is. here's the link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/5027737
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interruptfireworks wrote:i just read this fic yesterday called Dan And Phil: Lords of The Internet, Masters of Ambiguity and i am sososo in love with it!! it's written in the style of an article/interview which i find rly unique and creative + it just seems so real, their character's are so like them and i can totally imagine something like this happening which makes it even better than the concept of it already is. here's the link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/5027737
One of my faves - and one of my favourite phanfic writers ever

Speaking of favourite phanfic writers, the wonderful parentaladvisorybullshitcontent has added to her vampire!au with In Bloom For You - I am LOVING it.
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kay
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interruptfireworks wrote:i just read this fic yesterday called Dan And Phil: Lords of The Internet, Masters of Ambiguity and i am sososo in love with it!! it's written in the style of an article/interview which i find rly unique and creative + it just seems so real, their character's are so like them and i can totally imagine something like this happening which makes it even better than the concept of it already is. here's the link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/5027737
WOW this was incredible. Thank you for sharing this, I had never heard of this story or author, now I'm sitting here mainlining this person's entire library.
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fondsmiles
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the wonderful, wonderful nihilist-toothpaste wrote this wonderful, wonderful 22k poolboy au that is one of the coziest and best things i've read in a while.
Love That Passes (Is Enough) is what it's called. They have a beautiful characterization of Dan and Phil, a story that is just this side of a bit weird and unexpected that makes it feel so much like actual life, and- there's a lot of feelings and the exact right amount of them tugging at your heart while never actually hurting you. It's a very honest take on relationships and figuring out feelings that feels warm and cozy. A perfect read for a night like tonight
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BuffyFiona
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fondsmiles wrote:the wonderful, wonderful nihilist-toothpaste wrote this wonderful, wonderful 22k poolboy au that is one of the coziest and best things i've read in a while.
Love That Passes (Is Enough) is what it's called. They have a beautiful characterization of Dan and Phil, a story that is just this side of a bit weird and unexpected that makes it feel so much like actual life, and- there's a lot of feelings and the exact right amount of them tugging at your heart while never actually hurting you. It's a very honest take on relationships and figuring out feelings that feels warm and cozy. A perfect read for a night like tonight
I would like to second this, especially as it was inspired by my anon ask, which I sent to alittledizzy's tumblr months ago after that pic of Dan with the pool skimmer. Also, just in case anyone is dubious about the prompt (which was totally a joke and not actually meant as a fic prompt), I think she did a great job of addressing the power dynamics issue, and took a joking, trope-y prompt and turned it into a well-characterized, realistic, and emotional story. Leela's the best!
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DatCog
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fondsmiles wrote:the wonderful, wonderful nihilist-toothpaste wrote this wonderful, wonderful 22k poolboy au that is one of the coziest and best things i've read in a while.
Love That Passes (Is Enough) is what it's called. They have a beautiful characterization of Dan and Phil, a story that is just this side of a bit weird and unexpected that makes it feel so much like actual life, and- there's a lot of feelings and the exact right amount of them tugging at your heart while never actually hurting you. It's a very honest take on relationships and figuring out feelings that feels warm and cozy. A perfect read for a night like tonight
Just this minute finished this fic and had to come on here and say thank you for the recommendation, it was such a lovely read and gave me lots of warm and fuzzy feels

I'm off on holiday in a few weeks and would love some recommendations of really long fics that I can save on to my Kindle (so ideally on AO3). I tend to prefer reality although I don't mind AUs if D&P are still similar in character. Thanks in anticipation
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fondsmiles
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DatCog wrote:
fondsmiles wrote:the wonderful, wonderful nihilist-toothpaste wrote this wonderful, wonderful 22k poolboy au that is one of the coziest and best things i've read in a while.
Love That Passes (Is Enough) is what it's called. They have a beautiful characterization of Dan and Phil, a story that is just this side of a bit weird and unexpected that makes it feel so much like actual life, and- there's a lot of feelings and the exact right amount of them tugging at your heart while never actually hurting you. It's a very honest take on relationships and figuring out feelings that feels warm and cozy. A perfect read for a night like tonight
Just this minute finished this fic and had to come on here and say thank you for the recommendation, it was such a lovely read and gave me lots of warm and fuzzy feels

I'm off on holiday in a few weeks and would love some recommendations of really long fics that I can save on to my Kindle (so ideally on AO3). I tend to prefer reality although I don't mind AUs if D&P are still similar in character. Thanks in anticipation
aww that makes me happy.

*whacks out bookmarked list on ao3* *is terribly in shock at how angsty and sad all my long bookmarked fics are. i am messed up*

here's two tv show au's that i VERY much enjoyed:
Stirring In Love - 70k - Dan and Phil are contestants on the Great British Bake Off. Phil hates Dan but then he doesn't anymore. (warning: by the end you might be more into the show part than the phan part, and you might be a foreigner but will suddenly binge watch two seasons of gbbo and actually cry at it because this show is so damn good)
Sidetracked - 87k - Dan and Phil are on The Bachelorette, but instead of falling in love with the girl, they fall for each other. drama and fluff and very much cuteness.

here's the sad ones (they are all very well written and imo more a take on real life issues that are just fucking hard to deal with. i dislike reading fics that have lots of drama and awful things happening but it seems to be mainly a plot device for the romance. all of those aren't that; i love them because they gave me a glimpse into tough life situations and how one might deal with them):
A Cough You Can't Shake - 32k - post-TATINOF, they aren't together at first. Dan gets sick. Major Character Death. This will HURT you.
The End Of Paralysis - 22k - Vietnam War AU? although not in the actual war. DnP are together (they take history into account, I like that; with coming out things), but Phil gets drafted for war. Dan stays back. (the tags already state that it gets happier so don't worry too much)
Breathe My Rust - 22k - Zombie AU (kinda like Walking Dead). they don't know each other, but Phil saves Dan's life and then things go from there.
One Step at a Time - 35k - Dan gets seriously injured and can't walk anymore. canon compliant and they're together. much drama, very angst.

i swear i really like fluffy fanfic, i guess there's just not that many fluffy ones out there that are longer too (or that have enough of an impact on me to bookmark them)
[offtopic]i have really good drarry ones too so if you read that i'll gladly recommend. the majority of them aren't even angsty.[/offtopic]
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The_Blonde
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DatCog wrote:I'm off on holiday in a few weeks and would love some recommendations of really long fics that I can save on to my Kindle (so ideally on AO3). I tend to prefer reality although I don't mind AUs if D&P are still similar in character. Thanks in anticipation
Hey!

I pretty much only read AUs, which I just realised when trying to find some recs for you, but they're all in character, I promise!

There You Were (Inside My Brain) - a university AU where "Dan needs someone to take notes for him in lectures and ends up with Phil". It's very sweet and full of pining and misunderstandings.

The Pull (To You) - pure fluff. Phil's a gardener, Dan's a writer. They meet on a rooftop. It's cute af.

There's also So Many Stars - a really lovely fic where they're English teachers in Japan.

Emergency Substitute - Harry Potter AU. Dan is a reluctant Quidditch player. Phil is a Hufflepuff (obvs).

Edit to add: Our Threadbare Lies - an amazing reality based 2009 fic. The research that must have gone into this is crazy.
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alittledizzy
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every atom belonging by iihappydaysii - only two parts (so far) but both read fantastically as standalone, early phan conversations building into relationship. it's sooooooo goooooooood. /eloquent review
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Flomy
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DatCog wrote:
fondsmiles wrote:the wonderful, wonderful nihilist-toothpaste wrote this wonderful, wonderful 22k poolboy au that is one of the coziest and best things i've read in a while.
Love That Passes (Is Enough) is what it's called. They have a beautiful characterization of Dan and Phil, a story that is just this side of a bit weird and unexpected that makes it feel so much like actual life, and- there's a lot of feelings and the exact right amount of them tugging at your heart while never actually hurting you. It's a very honest take on relationships and figuring out feelings that feels warm and cozy. A perfect read for a night like tonight
Just this minute finished this fic and had to come on here and say thank you for the recommendation, it was such a lovely read and gave me lots of warm and fuzzy feels

I'm off on holiday in a few weeks and would love some recommendations of really long fics that I can save on to my Kindle (so ideally on AO3). I tend to prefer reality although I don't mind AUs if D&P are still similar in character. Thanks in anticipation
Hi! I absolutely loved Let Me Down Gently (51k) by Ineverhadmyinternerphase (she is the best) on ao3!

http://archiveofourown.org/works/8589502

It's about lawyer!Dan who gets kicked out of the house and finds shelter at Phil's B&B.

Have a great holiday!
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DatCog
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Thank you so much for the long fic recommendations!! I shall add all of them to my Kindle and they will undoubtedly help me survive the 16-hour journey from the UK to Japan next month
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BuffyFiona
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It's still a WIP, but I just can't wait any longer to rec alittledizzy's new fic waiting to be found, because I love it so much! It's an AU, but a canon-divergent AU (which is weird wording when canon is just real life), where Dan and Phil don't meet online, but instead a few years later meet by hooking up in a club in London, but in such a realistic, in character way for them. I don't really know how to explain it, but the characterization is so well done, and it explores what directions their lives might have gone in if they hadn't had each others guidance, support, and shared internet fame to turn into a career. It has 6 chapters as of now, but she's been updating very regularly, and none of them end on cliffhangers or anything, so I haven't had trouble with it being a WIP. Very interested where this will go!
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Lain
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BuffyFiona wrote:It's still a WIP, but I just can't wait any longer to rec alittledizzy's new fic waiting to be found, because I love it so much! It's an AU, but a canon-divergent AU (which is weird wording when canon is just real life), where Dan and Phil don't meet online, but instead a few years later meet by hooking up in a club in London, but in such a realistic, in character way for them. I don't really know how to explain it, but the characterization is so well done, and it explores what directions their lives might have gone in if they hadn't had each others guidance, support, and shared internet fame to turn into a career. It has 6 chapters as of now, but she's been updating very regularly, and none of them end on cliffhangers or anything, so I haven't had trouble with it being a WIP. Very interested where this will go!
Just logged in to rec this but found your (superior-to-whatever-I-would-have-written) post instead, immediately noticed "6 chapters", and broke out in some sort of happy rash. :-o I just finished chapter 5, and can confirm it's so great.
I would read in detail about Dan and Phil brushing their teeth in this story, tbh, and I know I love a fic when I could just roll around in the mundane details.
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Lain wrote:
BuffyFiona wrote:It's still a WIP, but I just can't wait any longer to rec alittledizzy's new fic waiting to be found, because I love it so much! It's an AU, but a canon-divergent AU (which is weird wording when canon is just real life), where Dan and Phil don't meet online, but instead a few years later meet by hooking up in a club in London, but in such a realistic, in character way for them. I don't really know how to explain it, but the characterization is so well done, and it explores what directions their lives might have gone in if they hadn't had each others guidance, support, and shared internet fame to turn into a career. It has 6 chapters as of now, but she's been updating very regularly, and none of them end on cliffhangers or anything, so I haven't had trouble with it being a WIP. Very interested where this will go!
Just logged in to rec this but found your (superior-to-whatever-I-would-have-written) post instead, immediately noticed "6 chapters", and broke out in some sort of happy rash. :-o I just finished chapter 5, and can confirm it's so great.
I would read in detail about Dan and Phil brushing their teeth in this story, tbh, and I know I love a fic when I could just roll around in the mundane details.
Thirding this. (Also seconding Dan and Phil brushing their teeth.... I'd read it. I might even ship the toothbrushes.)

It's such a treat every day. So so good. I'll be a wreck when it's over tbh.
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somethingsketchy
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I am bringing you two WIP recs today. The first one is all sorts of not sleeping by kay_okay. There are currently only two chapters available, but since they work well as one-shots, you should give this fic a go even if you don't usually read WIPs.

The other one is The Serenity Prayer by TwistedRocketPower. It is a YouTuber AU where Phil is the AmazingPhil we all know and love and Dan is a Christian vlogger. They meet at a YouTube convention and become friends (and I am assuming the story is heading in the romance direction). I don't usually go for this kind of fic where one of the pairing is religious and the other one isn't because it can easily turn disrespectful of people's personal faith, but the author really seems to know what they are writing about. So far the story has been gripping and characters well-written. Also, the author has a track record of updating regularly and finishing their works, which is why I feel like I can recommend this even though it isn't finished yet.
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fondsmiles
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seconding the recommendation of dizzy's story (or stories; seriously if you haven't read all of hers what are you doing in the phanfiction world), and also all sorts of not sleeping and The Serenity Prayer. all brilliant.

I've recently discovered an author that I today finished reading all of their stories, and they are incredible, honestly one of the best authors I've ever read.
dragonlisette has the recent story freezeframe, a 3k one where Phil is very fond of Dan in their recent Singapore trip.
Other ones I've very much liked are Andromeda (science-fiction AU; Dan and Phil don't know each other but meet when they both decide to travel to a colony that is a 15 month travel away from earth. not that romance-y, but very precious.) or Chez Nous (a 2010 canon compliant story where Dan's miserable in his uni dorms and Phil takes care of him and it's a bit angsty and very much sweet and soft) but really, all of them are so great. They barely have any reads or comments and kudos and that hurts my heart a bit because they might just be one of the top five high quality authors in the phandom, and mind you, I've read a fuck ton of fanfiction.
Their stories are also sometimes aro/ace themed, if you are looking for that.

okay that's enough of me praising stranger's works, have fun reading
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iwishiwasacasual
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The Art of Progress is a wip written by iihappydaysii it only has two chapters but i'm loving it so far
and now and forever is another wip by waveydnp and it is amazing.
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somethingsketchy
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fondsmiles wrote:I've recently discovered an author that I today finished reading all of their stories, and they are incredible, honestly one of the best authors I've ever read.
dragonlisette has the recent story freezeframe, a 3k one where Phil is very fond of Dan in their recent Singapore trip.
Other ones I've very much liked are Andromeda (science-fiction AU; Dan and Phil don't know each other but meet when they both decide to travel to a colony that is a 15 month travel away from earth. not that romance-y, but very precious.) or Chez Nous (a 2010 canon compliant story where Dan's miserable in his uni dorms and Phil takes care of him and it's a bit angsty and very much sweet and soft) but really, all of them are so great. They barely have any reads or comments and kudos and that hurts my heart a bit because they might just be one of the top five high quality authors in the phandom, and mind you, I've read a fuck ton of fanfiction.
Their stories are also sometimes aro/ace themed, if you are looking for that.
I'll second the rec for dragonlisette! I took a special liking to their fic Holding On To You, which is just so comforting and full of cuddles.
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Susanisnotafish
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somethingsketchy wrote:I am bringing you two WIP recs today. The first one is all sorts of not sleeping by kay_okay. There are currently only two chapters available, but since they work well as one-shots, you should give this fic a go even if you don't usually read WIPs.

The other one is The Serenity Prayer by TwistedRocketPower. It is a YouTuber AU where Phil is the AmazingPhil we all know and love and Dan is a Christian vlogger. They meet at a YouTube convention and become friends (and I am assuming the story is heading in the romance direction). I don't usually go for this kind of fic where one of the pairing is religious and the other one isn't because it can easily turn disrespectful of people's personal faith, but the author really seems to know what they are writing about. So far the story has been gripping and characters well-written. Also, the author has a track record of updating regularly and finishing their works, which is why I feel like I can recommend this even though it isn't finished yet.
These are both really good! Found this one today that I enjoyed. What We've Been Hiding-Secret Project and More! by tooqueerforyou on AO3. (Sorry, can't link on my tablet.)
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somethingsketchy
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Susanisnotafish wrote:
somethingsketchy wrote:I am bringing you two WIP recs today. The first one is all sorts of not sleeping by kay_okay. There are currently only two chapters available, but since they work well as one-shots, you should give this fic a go even if you don't usually read WIPs.

The other one is The Serenity Prayer by TwistedRocketPower. It is a YouTuber AU where Phil is the AmazingPhil we all know and love and Dan is a Christian vlogger. They meet at a YouTube convention and become friends (and I am assuming the story is heading in the romance direction). I don't usually go for this kind of fic where one of the pairing is religious and the other one isn't because it can easily turn disrespectful of people's personal faith, but the author really seems to know what they are writing about. So far the story has been gripping and characters well-written. Also, the author has a track record of updating regularly and finishing their works, which is why I feel like I can recommend this even though it isn't finished yet.
These are both really good! Found this one today that I enjoyed. What We've Been Hiding-Secret Project and More! by tooqueerforyou on AO3. (Sorry, can't link on my tablet.)
Here's the link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/11659020
Ah, sweet wish-fulfillment.
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