#chfil

Oh of course!! The “deflated” feeling you described is how I felt as I wrote it haha🤣, I guess it is meant to make readers stop and think and consider what happens in a relationship once it begins. If my writing can help anyone enter a relationship with caution and care, I’ll have accomplished what has been one of my ultimate desires with this fic: to help others, to make them feel seen and happy, and to paint a picture of a healthy relationship.

bc like. I certainly am not trying to dissuade people from dating. but it’s important to consider the consequences before jumping into anything headfirst, you know? It’s very important to me that Phineas and Isabella double down on the fact that, no matter what, they will not leave each other behind. They’ll proceed with care, regardless of the future, and they will treat one another with care no matter what.

maybe that’s not entirely true to real life? but it’s what I needed to write. And it CAN be true to real life. That’s true love, in my opinion, love in its purest most simple form.

AW, thank you so much for reading and reaching out!! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the fic!

First of all I want to dispel any worries (and spoilers): phineas and Isabella are NOT going to break up they are together and in it for the long haul. I wish it didn’t take me so long to write fic chapters these days but that’s where the story is headed!!! I’m sorry that ending bit deflated you but just know it isn’t the end!!!!!! I’m planning to post a final chapter this summer.

For some context: I’ve been writing CHFIL for five years now, since I was 20. I’ve very much used it as a vehicle to explore what I want out of a relationship and how I’d advise others to proceed in one. My perspective on this shifted a lot between the ages of 20 and 24 (I’m 25 now but last update I was 24 lol).

Tho it is sad, it was important for me to include the most recent chapter where they talk through the potential pitfalls of their romance because, unfortunately, that is real life. Not for phineas and Isabella necessarily, but I wanted to give them the space to talk about that and consider the repercussions to show they are fully committing to one another. I believe romantic relationships must be approached with care, especially if it’s a friends to lovers situation, ESPECIALLY if it’s within a friend group. Romance doesn’t end when the couple gets together: it is built on consistency and care. Things should not be assumed or left unsaid.

It would’ve been inauthentic to myself to keep writing them as carefree and happy as I did as a 20-21 yr old at the age of 24. If this was a published piece of work or a film, I maybe wouldn’t have written the most recent chapter the way I did. I know doesn’t make sense for two characters to go through four years of character development in a single night 🥲. BUT! since it’s a self indulgent fanfic written over the span of half a decade (that is crazy🫠), I had to write what I needed at the time. Ultimately I write for myself.

Perhaps this was to Phin and Isa’s detriment but, I’m not sure. I do think it is in character for them, at least the older versions of them we see in “Act Your Age”. AYA shows us an Isabella that is jaded and working nonstop, afraid to be hurt again. She would proceed with caution I think, at least until she had reassurance that Phineas would not leave her. I used to hate her hesitancy when AYA came out, but I understand it now.