#sbbbookclub

[skepticbeliever-bookclub]

Hi guys! Just wanted to say I am very flattered and tickled absolutely pink that you chose to read my fic last week and super happy to see you liked it 🥰🥰🥰

Honestly, it was a whole treat to read and from this mod personally, the style and the premise really felt like coming home conceptually.

Thank you for writing it and giving our little club a lovely week of reading

[skepticbeliever-bookclub]

Hi friends!

Ever wonder about the fics that don’t make it through the final round of voting for the bi-weekly read in the book club? You’re in luck!

The book club is structured so that we solicit nominations from our members, either based on a theme or a trope or simply a request for their favorites, and develop a list of ten nominations, which are then narrowed down to a top three. The top three fics end up in our weekend vote and the winner of that vote becomes our book club fic for that week.

This week we went looking for hidden gems; fics with less than 300 kudos. We like these rounds 'cause it means our members dig deep and find us some very cool nominations!

Our runners-up this week were:

watch things on vcr with me - romanceisb0ring

“Y’know what would be really dumb?” Ryan says, exhaling the smoke through his nostrils like he’s a cartoon dragon as he speaks. He tucks the pen into the pocket of his jacket, then shrugs it off his shoulders. He struggles to get one of his arms out of it as the jacket gets caught between his back and the chair, but eventually he manages to free it. Shane can’t help but trace the lines of Ryan’s biceps with his eyes for just a second before asking, his voice low, “what, Ryan?” He’s uncertain where this could possibly be going. When Ryan is like this, he’s unpredictable in the best way. He could either say the stupidest thing you’ve ever heard that’ll make you cry laughing for five minutes, or he could say the most earnest, heartfelt shit that makes you so thankful to be allowed to be part of Ryan’s life. Turns out, in this case, it’s neither of those. “What if we watched one of those VHS tapes.” _______ Or, Ryan and Shane get high and watch one of the porn video tapes from the Mystery Files set.

Schaumburg Abbey - Siria

When a young man is born to be a hero, some adventure must happen his way, no matter how quiet the market town into which he is born. So, when young Mr Ryan Bergara receives an invitation to spend the season in Bath, it is inevitable that the dashing Mr Madej catch his eye—and that Ryan is soon caught up in the mysteries surrounding Schaumburg Abbey.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT DISCUSSION? CHECK OUT THE FAQ, AND SEND US AN ASK! IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR FIC RECS, PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR READS, NOMINEES AND BOOK CLUB REC LISTS!

[skepticbeliever-bookclub]

Hello shippers and & readers!

After a little bit of a post-long read break, our cycle had come to an end and because of that, we declared a Raffle Winner. One of the three-placement prizes is to select our theme an the winner chose "Fics that take place outdoors!" With a lovely and meaty list of some of our faves, we chose one that really takes the relationship our favourite pair has with the outdoors and the charming insular world they tend to share together. That was stay with me, go places by beethechange.

The book club agreed that, as one of those fics inspired by a few conversations in our own chat, this fic signified a very fond moment in our history as a shyan server. Moreso that it treats us to drinking games, a little shared smoke and speculating on a future they could share under the trees and stars

Rating: E

Summary:

“Never have I ever,” Shane says, feeling his way delicately around the syllables, making nice with all the consonants and vowels, “hooked up with a friend at a wedding.”

Neither of them drinks. Neither of them breathes, either.

Ryan wants to curl in on himself, to kick his feet and pound on the wood of the pier. He wants to throw his head back and yell up to the sky. The shock, the pure adrenaline of the sudden turn this night has taken, has punched right through the chill of his high.

Instead he presses his fingernails into the palms of his hands, giddy and terrified, and asks, “Why, do you want to?”

Book Club Thoughts

when i was thinking outdoor fics, this was one of the first that came to mind tbh!! i love the idea of the national parks being like shane's church and finally a place to get An Authentic Emotion from him [the author's] fics have a way of dragging all your thoughts and fears to the surface with them, and then making something revelatory, and this one is a prime example of that. they're both so like that. shane says marriage is a scam because he thinks he can't marry ryan. ryan thinks it won't be worth it to date men because he thinks he can't date shane. but both of them are feeling more than they know what to do with. i think one of my favourite things about this fic, actually, is the way [the author] plays with these flaws they both have - ryan's anxiety about not meeting societal expectations which leads him to have a bit of a selfish spiral about himself, and shane's repression and fear of reaching out for the thing he wants because it might burn him in the process shane preferring to "joke" about marrying ryan instead of just admitting his feelings because he's so afraid of what he thinks is the inevitable fall out it seems like he'd rather start the vulnerability after they're literally legally bound every single thing about the dock scene makes me feel insane. it’s the way that shane knows when ryan needs to get out of there for a bit and is ready to let ryan talk about it if he wants to and then when he doesn’t he’s ready to distract him. and the way that the game of never have i ever slowly starts to shift until ryan’s basically asking to be kissed and the shotgunning WOOF.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT DISCUSSION? CHECK OUT THE FAQ, AND SEND US AN ASK! IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR FIC RECS, PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR READS, NOMINEES AND BOOK CLUB REC LISTS!

[skepticbeliever-bookclub]

Hello friends and readers! 

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve had some modly vacation time, which is wonderful of course, but in so doing, we knew we’d want to pick a fic that would fill up the extra week of time we allotted to this round of reads. 

So, we decided to ask our members for fics between 30k to 45k in length, to be read over that period of time, and boy, oh boy, did our book club deliver. 

We had the pleasure of reading When the sun sets, we’re both the same by Fraudgara. On the surface, this fic is about falling in love while doing a little light murdering, but underneath, it’s so much more than that, and the book club was thrilled to dig in and tease out the complexities of character, plot and theme. It also features an absolutely titanic sex scene, which our live table read gave all the gravitas it deserved and held us all spellbound while we listened.

Rating: E

Summary: 

It happened very quickly, and yet not very quickly at all. Shane was paralyzed as the blade part of Ryan’s katana swiped up when he swung it thoughtlessly—drunkenly—and Shane remembered blinking like the scene would change if he opened his eyes again, but the man was still writhing around on the ground with a stripe of glistening red on his throat and Ryan was staring down at him like he’d never seen anything so horrific or gripping.

They both stared numbly, intently, until the man’s erratic choking spasms on the cement became a haunting stillness in a pool of his own blood.

“Whoops,” Ryan said, the low register of his voice seeming like a shout to Shane in the silence of the night and of the now dead man laying at their feet. --

On Halloween night, Ryan accidentally kills someone, and Shane has seen too many movies to do anything sensible about it.

Book Club Thoughts: 

this fic is not a warm hug but instead it's the thrill and satisfaction of cutting up a big slab of meat with a perfectly sharpened knife

banger starting line this. i read it like the voice of ryan justifying himself after the fact

There are pieces of dialogue and word choices that just like...it goes so hard and so amazing. Like oh not only are you gonna write this epic af fic but you're gonna just punch out fantastic prose and dialogue?

I can tell every word of it is very intentional and has been put down as a labour of real love, and it all comes together to be incredibly effective.

one of the best things is the subtle descriptions of Shane and Ryan, their body language, their dialogue, the way their feelings develop over the fic

one of my favorite ever things in fics is weird roland cameos and this takes that and turns it up and up and i just loved it

this was one of those fics where i was, like, filming it in my head as i was reading. and scoring and blocking it.

The really intuitive pacing really carries the action along well.

for me the strongest element of the whole fic is the way they just barely even question the way they are 100% in this together

there is something deeply romantic about showing someone else your worst possible self and them loving you, not in spite of it, but for it. (toxic! but romantic. look it's all fiction here you get me)

every time i reread it, i'm just as gripped by it all as the first time i did, and every time i enjoy the ending so much, as if i didn't know what happens

WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT DISCUSSION? CHECK OUT THE FAQ, AND SEND US AN ASK! IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR FIC RECS, PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR READS, NOMINEES AND BOOK CLUB REC LISTS!

[skepticbeliever-bookclub]

Hello shippers & readers!

Ever wonder about the fics that don’t make it through the final round of voting for the bi-weekly read in the book club? You’re in luck! The book club is structured so that we solicit nominations from our members, either based on a theme or a trope or simply a request for their favourites, and develop a list of ten nominations, which are then narrowed down to a top three. The top three fics end up in our weekend vote and the winner of that vote becomes our book club fic for that week. This week, in the shaken wake of our last round which had us in a cycle of grief and feelings, we decided we wanted a round that could bring us a little levity. We asked the members to nominate fic that made them laugh, so anything between dark humour, light-hearted comedy or ridiculous and fun premises and they delivered. After a rousing and close vote, the majority swayed, however, here are our two runners-up!

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered Am I -  colazitron | E, 17k, complete

Look, just because Ryan looks good dressed as Indiana Jones, or dressed in various other things, and just because Shane maybe has a feeling or two about it, doesn’t mean it’s a thing, okay? Shane’s got this.

Or: 5 times Shane had a feeling about Ryan’s outfit, +1 time he did something about it

The Adventurers’ Club of Los Angeles - allredpen | 6.3k, E, Complete

The Adventurers’ Club of Los Angeles’ Annual Tiki Night won’t know what hit it when the Watcher boys turn up. Shane and Ryan drink too much, throw knives, lack professionalism, and make their crew’s life hard. Written as part of the Skeptic Believer Book Club’s Lost Season Collection.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT DISCUSSION? CHECK OUT THE FAQ, AND SEND US AN ASK! IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR FIC RECS, PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR READS, NOMINEES AND BOOK CLUB REC LISTS!

[skepticbeliever-bookclub]

Welcome to 2022 and our first read of the year! 

This week, we read easy livin’ by sarcasticfishes. We asked the bookclub for soft fics to ease us into the new year, and were provided with this AU of a world after a nuclear apocalypse, and with Shane and Ryan in the Wasteland, building a friendship, a home and a life together. 

It’s full of sweet domesticity, a delicious zing of hurt/comfort, and just the right tenor of danger given their setting. 

Rating: M

Summary: Shane has always fallen easy. He’s had a crush on every single one of his friends and can’t help that he really sees the good in people. And he certainly can’t help that Ryan, even at his worst, is so incredibly beautiful.

--

The Wasteland - and Ryan - through Shane's eyes.

Book Club Thoughts

to find someone out in apocalyptic wastelands, slowly build trust, better each others lives, become life partners and stay together forever? building a life together and finding safety in terrible conditions? because they love each other? wow

This is a favorite genre of apocalypse stories for me, the living in the ruins planting farms and finding love. Like, yes there are mutants and radiation and raiders, but that’s not the important part of the story. It’s about the people continuing to live and grow.  These types of post-apocolypse stories are about hope.

I felt very drawn into the characters in this; like I was able to relate to their feelings and thoughts. Author did a great job of describing the inward turmoil of uncertainty when combined with strong emotions towards someone.

an au that gets it just right in terms of giving me enough info to roll with it without expecting me to know anything

i enjoyed that [author] really did so well creating a world that they could easily fit into and a reader with no prior knowledge could follow along. good context clues

I always forget just how much I enjoy Shane and Ryan as an action duo and I need more of it all the time

I like at the beginning, that shane learns all these things about ryan, even before there's much dialogue

it's like "yeah they're gonna" but boy oh boy, let's seat ourselves in the intimacy of it, the almost tantric energy of domesticity, of intimacy without performance or release. Just closeness because even if they never got together, they're together forever anyway

i really like this kind of domesticity because it feels hard-won, you know? the emotional stakes really hit well for me as someone who does like conflict in fic

the spareness of the prose suits it so well. I aspire to figure out how to tell a story in the margins this well.

just adore the prose in this, it feels different than other fics (by [author] and in general) and i think it's SO effective

WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT DISCUSSION? CHECK OUT THE FAQ, AND SEND US AN ASK! IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR FIC RECS, PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR READS, NOMINEES AND BOOK CLUB REC LISTS!

[skepticbeliever-bookclub]

Hello everyone! 

We’re back again with our read of the week! 

This week, we asked the book club to pick us a fic that makes them laugh, and well, we got a fic full of laughs, heart and that juicy touch of obliviousness that happens when you are just not quite in on the story happening just off-screen.

Big Apple Steve and That Time He Obliviously Third-Wheeled His Friends All Summer by beethechange is an insightful portrayal of Shane and Ryan and all their weirdness via our most beloved Steven Lim. It is at turns absolutely fucking hilarious, and at other turns, refusing to pull it’s punches about the potential fallout for the situation. 

Rating: Teen

Summary: 

Steven Lim is not a stupid man. Steven Lim is a capable man, an ex-scientist, creator and producer of Buzzfeed’s most popular video series. He helped invent Tide Pods, for Pete’s sake. Tide Pods.

So he knows he’s no idiot. He’s naïve, perhaps. He has blind spots, like anyone, particularly when it comes to relationships, especially when it comes to sex.

Still, when he walks in on Ryan sitting astride Shane’s lap on the sofa, tongue fully in the guy’s mouth, hand fully down his pants, Steven reckons he should probably have seen this one coming.

Book Club Thoughts

I love hijinks and I love third party perspective fic

what I like most also about that pov is that when we write or read fic, we tend to do it in third person limited so we never quite get the full view of what them together looks like. An outsider POV lends a very clear and gorgeous image. 

I like how it's not only an outsider point-of-view, but also an illustration of how, every morning, Steven gets up and actively chooses to give people the best-faith-interpretation that he's capable of

The outside perspective is so lovely because like you get those slice of life moments like when they're having dinner, and it's somehow more intimate than if it had been described from Shane or Ryan's perspectives, because it's like Stevens just walking in on it

I also like the fact that you really captured Steven's flavor of emotional intelligence. He seems like he's good at reading people, but maybe not always relationships and ust.

i love the steady progression of "alright i can see how he'd justify that one" to "how the hell do you misinterpret THAT" because that's gotta be what happens when you're staring at something 0.5 inch away from your face and unfolding in real time

i like that shane and ryan both have their separate moments of realizing they were excluding steven and wanting to make sure he knew they wanted him there

my favourite relationship in this fic is shane and steven getting to be better friends

My favorite Shane and Steven scene in this (or one of them) is when Shane is like "you're not just here as an afterthought, we want you because you bring a different perspective." I think really describes their relationship well.

my favorite part about the fic is that it has the side effect of helping you fall in love with steven lim

The author’s grasp of Steven’s particular character voice is honestly so masterful

One of the details of the fic that I enjoyed very much was actually the portrayal of Steven's relationship w his faith, because it's pretty similar to my own. We have convictions, we know the connotations it brings, we just wanna have friends. 

I love this fic. Very funny miscommunication and hijinks covering all these emotions and deep character stuff.

I want to praise the immaculate narrative flow, use of character voice, and truly excellent pacing

It not only is perfectly written but it's just so fucking fun and silly. It still makes me laugh unbearably hard every time I read it

that's the word i keep coming back to: this fic is SATISFYING

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[skepticbeliever-bookclub]

Hello again, shippers & readers!

March came in hot for us this year so we thought we'd do a little Spring Cleaning and by that, we mean we went into our very diverse selection on our nominations page and had our members choose the one they've been dying to put in the running again. After a close poll and some very last minute tie breakers, our choice for this week wound up being ready if it happens with you by sarcasticfishes.

This fic is one of those cozy little journeys people write home about when it comes to reading Shane and Ryan falling for one another and it references a very particular quirk of Ryan's that we've only seen grow in sensitivity as the years wear on making this fic and its premise a very timeless classic.

Rating: E

Summary: It’s not a thing. Ryan’s just a little… touch-starved. Intimacy-starved.

Shane passes behind him when he’s sitting at his desk, idly touches Ryan’s shoulder, thumb brushing the curve of his neck — and goosebumps erupt down the length of Ryan’s arms.

Book Club Thoughts

I think [the author] really did something when they set about reminding us that Shane's voice is great for listening to him ramble even before we were beset by meandering commentaries

Other than the incredible softness, I feel like this fic has some sort of a timeless quality

Lying on the floor during the power outage is just so good. The atmosphere there. Vulnerable and soft, and just them. And then wrist touching!

I also really dig just like Ryan knowing what he wants as it gets there. It’s the easy click.

it's such a small thing but i LOVE the formatting of this fic for the voice memos. it's just so immersive and wonderful and is the sorta thing that immediately ensnares me in a fic.

im such a sucker for casual, growing affections that you don't even realise are going to lead to more than just platonic feelings

i adore the vibe of ryan listening to the message 3 times but not actually listening to what shane's saying. it's classic ryan in a way that's both funny and tender. like he's enjoying shane's voice so much he forgets to listen for content

I can't believe this fic is as short as it is, it feels like it contains multitudes, like it's got a whole ass love story packed into such a small and wonderful package

the line in the last recording "I hope it’s something good." i just love because he betrays just the tiniest bit of doubt but he also knows that its going to be great

there’s so much left unsaid here, which i love? we dont see their first kiss! we come into the scene in the middle of it which i think is a great choice and just emphasises how natural this all is for them, how it’s not a huge leap from where they are already

THIS FIC. Is one of my favorites. There is nothing that I love more than a gradual build up of touch.

like, when people just stay together because they feel good n right in the world! And we know that shyan is like that, n it was just really cool to see the author basically expand on that

WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT DISCUSSION? CHECK OUT THE FAQ, AND SEND US AN ASK! IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR FIC RECS, PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR READS, NOMINEES AND BOOK CLUB REC LISTS!

[skepticbeliever-bookclub]

Hello shippers & readers! Ever wonder about the fics that don’t make it through the final round of voting for the bi-weekly read in the book club? You’re in luck! The book club is structured so that we solicit nominations from our members, either based on a theme or a trope or simply a request for their favourites, and develop a list of ten nominations, which are then narrowed down to a top three. The top three fics end up in our weekend vote and the winner of that vote becomes our book club fic for that week.

This week, we reached into our hats and pulled out a theme based on word count! We asked for recs between 10k and 15k words, looking for a juicy fic to sink our collective teeth into as we roll on into spring.

Our runners-up this week are:

Frozen Pines - orphan_account | 11k, G, complete

“Hey man, you alright?” he asks even though Ryan obviously isn’t, but what the hell else can he say? Sorry you fell through the floor and nearly died? Welcome back to the world of the living, by the way I think I realised some things about how important you are to me, anyway how’s the head trauma?

Something goes badly wrong on a shoot and Ryan is hurt. It leaves Shane to examine his feelings towards his best friend, and just how much they mean to each other.

want you in my room - beethechange | 13k, E, complete

As they watch, Tall Guy takes his beanie off, revealing a mess of thick, shiny brown hair. He runs his hand through it to shake out the hat hair and Ryan feels like he’s stuck in an Herbal Essences commercial, except he’s the one making inappropriate lustful noises.

Ryan adjusts his snapback, determined. He is, after all, wearing his very finest basketball shorts, without even a single hole at the hem, and the knowledge puts an extra spring in his step.

“I’m gonna climb that dude like a tree,” he tells Curly.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT DISCUSSION? CHECK OUT THE FAQ, AND SEND US AN ASK! IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR FIC RECS, PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR READS, NOMINEES AND BOOK CLUB REC LISTS!

[skepticbeliever-bookclub]

Hey friends! 

Ever wonder about the fics that don’t make it through the final round of voting for the bi-weekly read in the book club? You’re in luck!

The book club is structured so that we solicit nominations from our members, either based on a theme or a trope or simply a request for their favourites, and develop a list of ten nominations, which are then narrowed down to a top three. The top three fics end up in our weekend vote and the winner of that vote becomes our book club fic for that week.

This week, in the run up to Valentine’s, the book club requested soulmate/soulmark aus. We were looking for that fated romance feeling, that looking in someone’s eyes across a crowded room knowing, that thrill of discovering the person who is meant for you, out of all the people in the universe. Your kernel mate, if you will. 

Here are our runners-up for the previous round of reads: 

Third Time’s A Charm - quackers | 31k, M, complete

Shane can't help but fall for the hot young lifeguard that stars in his Baywatch inspired daydreams, but he has a secret that no one can know. Not even Ryan.

Once is chance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is fate.

Yellow Sapphire - denimwrapped | T, 6.4k, complete

Ryan and Shane are not soulmates. Shane has no proof of this; he just knows that the alternative is too good to be true. And Ryan is already his best friend, fellow ghosthunter, and business partner, which is more than Shane can say for most of the people in his life, let alone his crushes. So he's fine with what he has now.

Just fine.

Or: a brief tale of hope, courage, and love, featuring a ghostly basketball, an airplane, and Sigourney Weaver.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT DISCUSSION? CHECK OUT THE FAQ, AND SEND US AN ASK! IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR FIC RECS, PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR READS, NOMINEES AND BOOK CLUB REC LISTS!

[skepticbeliever-bookclub]

Hello, shippers and readers!

Ever wonder about the fics that don’t make it through the final round of voting for the bi-weekly read in the book club? You’re in luck!

The book club is structured so that we solicit nominations from our members, either based on a theme or a trope or simply a request for their favourites, and develop a list of ten nominations, which are then narrowed down to a top three. The top three fics end up in our weekend vote and the winner of that vote becomes our book club fic for that week.

For this round, with another season of Top 5 Beatdown to look forward to, and not quite expecting such a soft season, we asked our members to recommend some of their favourite enemies/rivals/strangers to lovers fic, and while our winner was an absolute treat and a banger, our runners up are ones we surely hope to circle back to one day when we're inevitably hungry for more of this brilliant trope!

if i knew what you'd do - abovetheruins | T, 2.9k, complete

"Who the hell is Shane?"

Ryan sinks into his seat. "Necromancer," he mutters, ignoring the embarrassed flush seeping into his cheeks. Fuck, this is humiliating. It's one thing for the others to know; he can put up with Steven and Curly's teasing. Telling his boss is another matter entirely. "Look, it's no big deal, he just likes to... fuck with me."

He knows he's chosen the wrong words the moment they leave his mouth. At his sides, Steven and Curly are practically giggling.

Resuscitation, Sounding Heartbeats - sunlight_sonata | M, 17k, Complete

"Very funny," he said shakily, looking nervously at the pair. Shane was now avoiding his gaze, not the usual emotion for someone who just pulled a wicked prank. "Yeah, that’s a good one. Now, we need to decide-"

"I’m not joking, Mr Bergara," Madame Alexandrina said. "Or should I say, Mr. Bergara-Madej.

And oh, fate was nasty. Because now the name that had chased Ryan’s nightmares and taunted him wherever he went was the second half of his own.

He really ought to have learned to read the terms and conditions.

--

OR, Ryan knows only too well that being a Private Detective isn't as cool as it's all made out to be. His pursuit of a certain infamous criminal ends up solving more problems than it creates.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT DISCUSSION? CHECK OUT THE FAQ, AND SEND US AN ASK! IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR FIC RECS, PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR READS, NOMINEES AND BOOK CLUB REC LISTS!

[skepticbeliever-bookclub]

Hello again, folks; we're back with yet another delicious Fic of the Week. This time round we solicited our members for a nomination that served the trope "forced intimacy" and our final selection served that to us on a silver platter with side dishes to boot.

YELLOW SQUARE by dejavu is a gorgeously written case fic where the forced intimacy comes in the form of Shane and Ryan ghost-hunting an infamous location that demands a romantic entanglement to invoke a murderous ghost. With some gasp-worthy turns of phrase and a startlingly steamy examination of their dynamic in a scene that haunts every single one of us, this fic was an absolute treat!

Rating: M

Summary: “Since being the scene of those two, grisly double homicides in the early 1950’s, the Bringle House Bed and Breakfast has sat empty, waiting for the next couple stupid enough to try to stay all four nights.”

“That’s us then? The couple stupid enough?”

“Apparently,” Ryan said to the camera. TJ, one hand on the side of the lens, smirked, and Ryan quickly continued with, “now, we may not have any actual couples on Unsolved, but we figured the ghosts won’t be able to tell the difference if there are two people sleeping here.”

“Yeah, if ghosts want to kill someone, they’re probably not looking at the fine print to decide what kind of couple their victims are,” Shane said. “Because we are, obviously, a couple.”

“Wh—”

“A couple of ghosthunters.”

He winked dramatically at the left-most camera, and Ryan shook his head.

“You realize you just admitted to being a ghosthunter, right?”

(Or; Ryan and Shane spend four nights in one haunted house—four nights twisting closer to either each other, or insanity)

Book Club Thoughts:

[This fic] is the first case fic i read and it's partially responsible for getting me hooked!

i also really really love when a place they investigate is ambiguously haunted

i love how this fic is very self-contained, it feels like so much happens (the case, the relationship, the characterization via little references) but it's like "here, this spans four days, and i'm only gonna include the relevant bits".

I loved the seamless way the author is able to bridge from moments of sweetness to a shocking little argument to Ryan feeling the full brunt of Shane's own hurt and anger in this line and what it does to him; the representation of their separation

i also loved having shane hover the line between "i'm providing comfort because you need it" and "i am providing comfort because i really want to be touching you right now". the struggle! the vulnerability!

the way this unexpected kiss in the pitch black dark is described mingled with Shane leading toward this with his cautious touches, his inability to stop himself you can just hear it!!

I need to say again that the entire scene where Shane is narrating his touching Ryan was incredible and I might never get over it.

i read this. and i like..fucking almost dissociated from how fucking good it was. something about the writing just like put me on a different plane

i am always fascinated by fic written in this era that still rings true to what we know of them now

the way they describe shane is just....i want to write like that

the like, way they have it in the intimacy of the dark and the quiet and shane narrating his actions and holy moly

they say that you should always show, don't tell, but the sheer fucking softness of shane narrating his actions, for ryan's sake and maybe even for his own, to convinve himself that yes, he's doing it... there are exceptions to every writing rule

i need this author to do a class on how to write kisses so that i can show up and take notes and LEARN a thing

I enjoy how this fic was set around Ryan at the brink of realization for his own feelings and Shane. It makes the frustration so real.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT DISCUSSION? CHECK OUT THE FAQ, AND SEND US AN ASK! IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR FIC RECS, PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR READS, NOMINEES AND BOOK CLUB REC LISTS!

[skepticbeliever-bookclub]

Hello, shippers & readers, we're back at it again with yet another of our voted and majority-chosen reads.

This time we, once again, found ourselves revisiting a very dear-to-our-heart fandom classic: Ghouls in my head, Fires Underground, a skilled surgical dissection into the experience of the "and they were roommates" trope with a heaping dose of an emotional cross-section of these two men trying to navigate sexuality, intimacy, and trust as written by the very talented liminalweirdo.

When we say that there were tears, yells and even at times speechlessness, we're not exaggerating. This fic was a hot and gorgeous study in a reader's reaction to being confronted with a reality where two people fit in all the right ways but insecurity, social cues and anxieties keep them at odds-- which is perhaps why our discussion excerpts are longer this time!

Rating: E

Summary: Shane ends up living at Ryan's and really, it's no big deal. Until it is.

Book Club Thoughts

I always know when it comes to this author that we're about to get long descriptions of either boys' psyche and the depth of feeling is always going to get uncomfortably close to home

it's almost strange that this was written in 2018 because it feels like a 2021 fic and then suddenly you hear an off detail and it's like, damn, how did they so perfectly capture their neuroses even back then. really impressive

i think this is the first fic we've done in some time that just sits us down and makes us vicariously experience the discomfort of deep insecurities and anxieties that come with being queer and in love with your best friend

There's something universal in there - of settling and not realising you are until you see what you could have 'cause the strung up glass is pretty and probably fun but god imagine having the whole window to look at. Glass fragments don't keep out the rain! The window does!

[the author's] metaphors though. Her prose gut punches but not in a sequential fashion. She gets you comfortable, at ease with exposition and dialogue that's snappy and real and rhythmic then she goes in

The author writes truly poetically and beautifully. The way Shane is described always pulling back and having trouble opening or saying what he really wants and how it always breaks down when he is around Ryan.

for me, this fic like, set a tone for what friends to lovers could be. the descriptions are incredible, especially when we get down into it, and there's so much introspection on either side

When we were doing the live read for the first chapter, we were talking about how good the dialogue is in this fic - and it really is excellent

I think it actually fucking rips me apart how incredibly beautiful it is when Ryan says he’s willing to take the time to make sure sex is pleasurable for Shane

i thought the pov switching was unbelievably adept

the nice...symmetry perhaps of them both having that family relationship. and they've reached a point by then when they are ready to open up emotionally about the real stuff and what's realer than family

there's a lot going on and a lot to think about, but it all sort of boils down to the magnetism and how they try to fight it, and eventually just snap together

I think it’s one of the most realistic characterization of Shane I’ve seen seen even thought a lot of fics get him right. But this one just feels so close for some reason? Ryan being the one that pulls him through is just chefs kiss

WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT DISCUSSION? CHECK OUT THE FAQ, AND SEND US AN ASK! IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR FIC RECS, PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR READS, NOMINEES AND BOOK CLUB REC LISTS!

[skepticbeliever-bookclub]

Hey friends!

Ever wonder about the fics that don’t make it through the final round of voting for the bi-weekly read in the book club? You’re in luck!

The book club is structured so that we solicit nominations from our members, either based on a theme or a trope or simply a request for their favourites, and develop a list of ten nominations, which are then narrowed down to a top three. The top three fics end up in our weekend vote and the winner of that vote becomes our book club fic for that week.

On the tails of our last round of enemies to lovers, for this round, we asked for fics with a lot of ~sexual tension~. We wanted something that had that build up, that good push and pull of when will they. Not quite slowburn, but in that excellent sweet spot where the finally still tastes so good. We received a great response from our members with incredible recommendations. After voting down to our top three, we chose one hell of a read, but we'd like to shed some light on the just as great runner ups.

when you move, I move - waitforhightide | 13k, E, Complete

The GoPro harnesses look kind of like bondage gear, Ryan has a bad habit of muscling things around, Sara knows something but won't push, and Shane has to deal with all of these things at once.

I Just Want to Start a Flame in Your Heart - trinityofone | 10k, E, Complete

Welcome to Here's What You Do!

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WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT DISCUSSION? CHECK OUT THE FAQ, AND SEND US AN ASK! IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR FIC RECS, PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR READS, NOMINEES AND BOOK CLUB REC LISTS!

[skepticbeliever-bookclub]

Greetings once again, shippers & readers!

If there is one thing that can be gained from the experience of fulfilling fantasy and elements of our own relationship with romance through the art of fanfiction, it is absolutely the euphoria of taking a film that contains familiar and traditional tropes and making them one's own. It's an act of revolution in and of itself to both create and consume affirming art like that. So, on that note, I am very proud to announce that our third work in our dynamically developing catalogue has premiered as of Sunday!

New and Used Boos

Alternate universes in any capacity explore the compatibility in a relationship when put to the test of circumstance and this fic allows us this immense glimpse into this very test via the furor of celebrity culture, the challenge of authenticity when our own attachments to the comforting static of a routine under society's glare makes us insecure. Come along and get swept up in the cinematic glee of a classic romantic comedy told through a dignifying and heart-warming queer lens by clicking that link!

Author: beethechange

Rating: M

Summary: The guy’s teeth are large and even and starkly white—not Midwest white—and it’s then, at last, that Shane realizes who he’s talking to. Because that’s a distinctive smile. A famous smile.

It’s Ryan Bergara.

Ryan Bergara, star of Source of Fortune, the titular duke in Duke of Payback—rumored to be in the conversation for the lead in the Mission Impossible reboot, which Shane can’t even talk about, he’s so excited—is in Shane’s poky little bookshop, flipping through a book called Haunt Him, Honey: Ten Steps to Achieving a Spiteful Afterlife.

A LIST OF FILMS WE HAVE IN THE WORKS INCLUDE SUCH TITLES AS 3:10 to YUMA, SUPERMAN, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING, THE BROTHERS BLOOM, AND A FEW MORE! SO KEEP AN EYE ON THIS SPACE AND OUR COLLECTION FOR NEW FICS TO MAKE THEIR WAY IN!

[skepticbeliever-bookclub]

hello!! there's this one kinda?? period au?? where shane gets hired by the bergaras as a tutor for jake's kids? and there's liek background standrew with steven as ryan's childhood friend and andrew is a cook and I remember it had a spinoff focused on standrew too? I just remember loving it a lot but i unfortunately didn't get to bookmark it 😭 on the off chance its been mentioned here,,,thank you 😔✊

Hey there,

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