#also seems incredibly dull so honestly kudos to him for reading it later just because ted gave it to him

[izzyspussy]

reading the summary of the beautiful and damned and tbh it's a very shallow / not very relevant pick for life-lessons-through-fiction for jamie, even just going on the limited info ted had about him when he gave it.

[beebuddyreviews-blog]

Title: Here in the Afterglow // Author: fondleeds (@fondleeds) // Rating: Not Rated // Words: 88,649 // Chapters: 3/3 AU // Completed: 12/8/16

Official Summary: “If you hadn’t noticed, I don’t have many friends,” Louis whispers, the blossom of insecurity in his stomach unfurling and clawing its way into his throat.

Harry is silent for a long time, and then he speaks; a soft, slow uncurl that makes Louis’ stomach shake. “I’ll be your friend.”

-

1970’s AU. In a tiny town in Idaho, Louis’ life is changed forever by the arrival of a curious stranger.

Green’s Review: This fanfiction begins with the election of Harvey Milk and itt features an honest portrayal of the attitudes of that period. Louis is a closeted high school soccer player, Harry is new to town, and the two of them form a quick bond. Full review under the cut.

Fondleeds has written a few other fics for the Louis/Harry fandom including, I Could Dream All Night and a Rhythm in Rush. She is a diverse author with an incredible ability to depict and incite emotion and she continued this ability in Here in the Afterglow.

Here in the Afterglow is a shining star in a sea of Louis/Harry fanfiction. It captures your attention from the first sentence and does not let it go for three chapters. Fondleeds presents the issue of homophobia in the 1970’s in a raw and honest way. She creates characters that inspire anger, but also hope because you want to see them rise above their prejudices. The title is a great homage to the end of the fic when everything seems to fall into place for these two boys. They do get to sit in the afterglow of their experiences.

Here in the Afterglow is around 88,000 words. It is not an incredibly lengthy fic and yet it achieves just as much, if not more, as you would expect from a 150,000-word fic. Fondleeds manages to create well-rounded characters with understandable motives and a lot of depth. The characters are not just the villains and the good guys – there is much more to every single one of them. Louis is charismatic, as usual, and incredibly loyal to his friends and to his mom. He internalizes most of his struggles and wants to make everyone happy even if that is impeding his own happiness. Harry is a loveable and genuine kid who you begin rooting for as soon as he steps into the story. He and Louis together is something truly beautiful. They become best friends before anything else, care for each other deeply, and offer copious amounts of support to one another. This portrayal of them is one of the most vulnerable I have ever read and I wanted more than anything for them to have their happy ending.

Some villains of the story are Stan – it was interesting to see him in this light, Harry’s mother – who is not Anne, and Jimmy – an actual piece of trash. Stan’s character was very hard for me to reconcile with. He was the character I was rooting for and sadly, he does end up disappointing you. Harry’s mother, Lisa, is another character that I was hoping would surprise me and I think there is hope for her later. A few years past when this story ends, I think she could end up surprising them. In this story I was glad she wasn’t Anne and I think that was a perfect decision on the author’s part because I could never see Anne pulling half of what Lisa did.

Jimmy was always the bad guy and I am glad he got what was coming to him. One of the most powerful moments of the fic for me was when Louis enacted a little revenge on Jimmy. “I came back,” it actually sent chills down my spine and I fist pumped the air. I don’t know if I have ever been as proud of a fictional character as I was of Louis in that moment. I won’t spoil anything for the readers but it was a moving and beautiful moment.

One of my favorite types of fic is slow burn. I literally live and breathe for good slow burn fics. I’m pretty picky though, and I have a limit for how long the “slow burn” portion of the fic can last before it just becomes ridiculous. Here in the Afterglow was the perfect amount of build-up. The pacing was so solid throughout the entire story. No part of Harry and Louis’ relationship seemed rushed or too slow. It was the perfect amount of time between every stage of their relationship. AND THE TENSION. Jesus. It was brilliant. Honestly. I’ll include one of my favorite parts of the fic here, warnings for recreational drug use:

“Fuck, that’s smooth,” Louis says as he exhales, following Harry and leaning back against the tree.

Harry giggles, and his cheek is almost mushed up against the trunk, eyes bright. “Thought you didn’t do ‘this’ a lot.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Louis inhales again, sticky and sweet. When he exhales, lips wet, he catches

Harry’s eyes. They’re dark in the hazy light. “Doesn’t mean I don’t know what’s good and what’s shit.”

“I like your mouth,” Harry says suddenly, and Louis blinks, pulling back.

“What?” He says, too sharp, too bitter.

“I like the way you talk,” Harry says, lips quirking. “I like your words.”

“You don’t even know me,” Louis says. Harry holds his hand out and Louis passes the joint over, careful not to brush their skin together.

“I want to,” Harry says. “Gotta make friends, don’t I?”

“I suppose,” Louis says indifferently.

“Everyone else is…dull,” Harry says with a wave of his hand, like he’s explaining some great revelation.

“Oh?” Louis splutters a laugh. “We’re a dull bunch are we, down in Post Falls?”

“Everyone else,” Harry repeats with a purposed smile.

Their chemistry is so tangible and brilliant, even in this short preview. Their ability to work off each other just continues to improve as the story goes on. These two characters were perfectly crafted for each other. Here is another quote from a point in the story that I was very excited to get to:

But then Harry lifts a hand, his smooth, delicate hand, and runs a long finger down Louis’ cheek, coming to rest just by the hinge of his jaw. Louis stutters out a breath, gravitating closer, his eyes threatening to flutter closed as Harry touches him.

Harry rests their foreheads together gently, his thumb coming to rub at his jaw, his hand cupping the back of his neck and head. Louis’ body is covered in goosebumps, every inch of him shaking like a leaf, so nervous, so unused to this sort of touch.

I am completely here for characters being soft with each other and Louis and Harry are so incredibly soft in this scene. I think it was the perfect way for them to reach this point of their story.

Another thing I appreciated about this fic was that they bonded over great music as well. The author clearly did a lot of background research on the artists and the albums of that time and it was an amazing addition to her storytelling.

The only thing I have to say I was unsure of in this fic were the parallels between Harry’s back-story and Louis coming into himself. I do understand the reason the author took it into that territory but I’m not 100% behind it. I think she portrayed both of the instances perfectly and was able to get the desperation and hurt across amazingly, but it just didn’t completely work for me. Still, I understand the decision and I still support this beautiful fic. I recommend it to anyone in the fandom who needs a fresh story that is very well written and has well-rounded, compelling characters.

Finally, would you recommend it to Blue: Blue loves her fluff fic. She reads angst but it is usually per my suggestion – except for the Sweet Home Alabama fic, which she forced on me. However, she also loves fics that are well written and I know she would love this portrayal of Louis and Harry. Therefore, yes I would recommend it to her and warn her that the fic is a lot of angst but it’s not pointless and it does end. The ending is very happy and full of hope.

READ IT BLUE.

I have linked to the fic in the title at the top of this post. You can find the author on Tumblr at fondleeds. We always suggest that you leave the author comments and kudos because positive feedback is important! I hope that you have enjoyed my first review. If you have any comments or suggestions feel free to message me!

-GREEN.