#thebreadvansstuff

ok so yes i did a masterlist of my fav fics of 2021/2022 but i wanted to end the year w some fics from 2021/2022 that, in my opinion, are underrated! as a smaller writer, i know how discouraging it can be to see lots of popular writers/fics on everyones’ lists all the time, but never see yours. & that’s no one’s fault! but i wanted to balance it all out a bit w this. just a friendly reminder that not getting many hits, kudos, comments, etc is not an indicator of your talent !!! write something because you want to & it makes you happy -- you’ll find your audience along the way!

i actually didn’t read a ton of fics that came out this year (i was surprised before i remembered that i work in retail & we’ve been short staffed the majority of the year & i pet sit on the side & am a student .... makes sense that i wasn’t able to read nearly as many fics as i wanted to lol.) so i’m incorporating some fics from 2021 as well, just like i did w my previous list & managed to compile a list of my top 15 underrated fics :)

as usual, the fics are in alphabetical order 

consequences of public breeding by @jaerie / jaerie

as someone who’s very passionate about social justice & inequalities, this fic spoke to me. i love the way jaerie writes harry’s internal monologues acknowledging the difficulties & bleak realities of the situation while still allowing himself to be/feel empowered however he can. we love to see it! & the tension & dynamic between harry & louis? top tier!

charm your pants off by @evilovesyou / 4ureyesonly28

i know this was released super recently but i’m counting it anyway lol. from the banter to louis’ immediate flirting to harry’s clumsiness, everything packed into this short fic is so cute and is guaranteed to have you grinning the whole time. 

darling, can’t you see by @tommokat / tommokat

this fic is such a good combination of crack, humor, fluff, hurt/comfort & smut. it was on my ‘marked for later’ list for a while before i finally got to sit down & read it this past week & it was so worth the wait !! plus we love cat mom harry hehe

do you think the tides know by @loveislarryislove / livelaughlovelarry

i betaed & helped out with this fic BUT would i still think the writing & story telling is phenomenal even if i hadn’t? yep! annika’s ability to write the raw emotions, navigation, dynamics, etc of this fic is incredible.

gotta get (me) outta my head by @parmahamlarrie / parmahamlarrie

as someone who has severe adhd, this fic made me feel super seen. i, unfortunately, do not have a lovely dom like harry does, but i am perfectly content with living through harry for this fic. the way bee describes harry’s feelings going from trying to navigate the scrambled mess that is her head to how louis’ praise makes her feel to how safe & protected she feels with louis? amazing. groundbreaking. we love to see it!!!

i need you right now, baby (won’t you come home?) by @non-binharry / enbyharry

this fic is a great representation of the fact that a fic does not need to be long to good!!! things happen fast but they don’t feel rushed. louis & harry’s dynamic right off the bat is cute & sexy. is sexy even an applicable word to describe a dynamic? idk either way i’m going with it lol

ari please you flatter me 🫣💕

OKAY so 'tfw bestie becomes baby daddy' is for a fic fest next year (i think you can guess which one), and basically: finding he's at the perfect time in his life to start a family but without any romantic leads in sight to make that a nearby possibility, harry decides to give up on his search for love and asks louis, his best friend since secondary school, to both have a baby with and coparent alongside him. there's a side detail to this i'm intentionally leaving out for now as i don't want to give away the entire premise, BUT i will add on that it's told in louis' POV (idk why i like to write pining from louis' pov so much??), there's a lot of grown-up adult conversations, the typical 'very obvious to us but less obvious to them' mutual pining thing goes on, and there's a happy ending 🫶

and here's a wee snippet:

“So, how are we going to do this, exactly?”

Harry leans back against the sofa arm to look at him proper, suddenly bearing a funny expression. “Uh, what d’you mean?” he asks, chuckling slightly.

Louis stares at him blankly for a moment, hoping to convey with his eyes alone so he doesn't have to actually come out and say it—are we going to have sex or not?—but the way Harry stays staring back at him expectantly, brows raised in invitation, Louis knows he’s beat. That he’s going to have to sound like such a dick and ask point blank.

“Like…” moving his hands as if weighing options, “am I supposed t’go toss off in the loo and then bring the stuff to you in a cup and wait? Am I stuffing you with one of them baster things? Like—what’s the plan here, Styles.”

Which—makes it sound like sex isn't on the table. Because he's thirty-two years old and asking out the gate if his best friend, who's going to be impregnated either way at the end of this, is willing to follow the most natural course of action to be impregnated, is something he just can't handle doing right now.

At first, Harry only blinks a few times and slow nods like he's mulling it over.

Then, he raises one finger up and says, “Well, first, that’s not how that works,” half-amused, and very hopefully like he's not currently rethinking this whole thing just because Louis doesn't know the medical terminology for a, fucking, baby baster, “and second, I was actually thinking we might just, uhm, y’know…” he trails off and looks down at his lap instead, starts drumming his fingers on his knees, only to leave Louis at the edge of his seat to murmur, “do things as nature intended?”

and unfortunately there's not much more i have to say about the gross hot sugar baby college thing right now besides if i actually make it into a Thing, i might make it into a series of one shots if i get anymore ideas for it, aaand here's a tiny (gross) snippet i cleaned up really quick:

(cw for daddy kink, slight age gap between consenting adults; h is 21, l is 32)

“Lift up your skirt and show Daddy, then,” he gently instructs, still petting over Harry’s thighs just under the hem of his skirt.

Harry hesitates to comply, only pinching at the bottom of the pleated fabric and toying with it for a moment, abruptly contrasting his previous lack of shame. It’s an act, though, and Louis knows it; the blotted pink Harry is wearing on his cheeks and down his neck isn’t one of embarrassment, but arousal. Especially considering how his lips are parted around soft exhales, and the quiver Louis can feel in his spread legs.

But Harry also knows there's something about this act of faux innocence that gets Louis off, and that he’ll be sooner rewarded for his hesitation than he will immediate greed. Funny how everybody wins, like that.

Cocking an eyebrow, Louis lays a thin layer of impatience to his tone with a drawn-out, “Harry…”