My Neighbors the YouTubers (A danisnotonfire and AmazingPhil fanfiction)

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Hello, everyone! Just so you know right away - this section I am currently publishing in this book is not a new chapter. I'm sorry if I got your hopes up. Though, if you do not know, there is a completed second book in this series "Living London" and a third one "Finding Home" which is on-going. For whatever reason, a number of people reading those books is lower. I hope, first of all, that is not because you do not know of their existence.

I was thinking about a way to answer your questions about this book, or rather, respond to some reoccurring comments in some sections. Instead of responding to every individual, I hope this FAQ is an easier way to answer or respond to questions or comments people left or comments and questions people may have thought of but not commented.

Please be free to leave or remind me of any other common comments or questions on this part if you want me to answer them. I will gladly update the part with those additional responses.

....

"Rachel could have stayed with Dan and Phil. Why didn't she?"
One thing I was trying to show in this book was the reality of how difficult it is to immigrate to the UK. For any people more familiar with U.S. immigration, it's quite the same. To stay within the country for more than six months, you have to have a work or school visa. These visas have to be approved by the government. Work visas are not given to people who work entry-level jobs, such as waitressing, cashiering, etc, but rather for people in high positions within companies that are transferred to their company's location abroad. Therefore, Rachel could not have stayed in the country, being out of school and work.

"But she could have married Dan to stay."
One thing I really wanted to show in this story is Rachel's path to self-discovery and independence. While being apart from Dan was something she didn't want to do, she didn't want to rely on him for security as much as she did with her mother. Granted, Dan is a much kinder and a non-manipulative person. But I think you see what I mean.
Plus, they had known each other for less than a year. While some people get married after knowing each other for a short time and end up being happily married for many years, I don't think that where Rachel and Dan were in their relationship, or in their lives, would be wise to get married. I have interpreted Dan to struggle with insecurity and jealousy, which is how I decided to write him in this story. Rachel is also insecure and still has maturing to do to find herself. Dan also has to grow. They both need to learn. This isn't me bad-mouthing Dan, but rather saying that he's a flawed human like the rest of us.

You might say that this is all too complicated and too realistic for a fanfiction, but I really like the realistic touch of real problems in fanfiction, as much as they suck in real life. In a way, I brainstorm how I would solve real-life problems through writing. It's refreshing.

"You wrote Phil as a pedophile."

I never meant or intended to do so. Looking back at comments, I can understand why that's a valid interpretation of what I wrote. 

- I wrote this book literally three years ago. The age gap was smaller back then. 

-While Phil drunkenly kisses Rachel, he never does more than that, nor intends to. He is sorry for doing so and apologizes. 

- When Phil describes Rachel as having a "childlike body" and that he "likes how it suits her" I didn't mean to say that he is at all sexually attracted to her body or childlike features. What I meant to convey was that Phil recognizes how people have many different bodies and that bodies that are not conventionally attractive can still be beautiful. This is an asexual realization, not a lustful one.

- I hoped to write, and this shows over the next books too, Phil as a misunderstood character. He ends up not truly in love with Rachel romantically or sexually, but rather somewhat insecure that he doesn't have a long-term relationship like Dan does. He also feels without realizing that he's lonely as Dan spends less time with him and more time with Rachel. He's not jealous nor hopes to sabotage their relationship, but rather tries to be understood by people who are important to him, mistakenly interpreting this want with romantic attraction.

"That's not how we say that in England."
I try my best to research what people on the other side of the pond say that we don't. Sometimes I get misinformed or overlook that there might be a difference in the dialects.

"You spelled that wrong."
I don't purposely make typos. When I look over a chapter before publishing it, sometimes I make errors.

...

Thank you all so much for your support! I can't believe it's been three years since I published the first chapter of this book. All your encouraging comments are what keeps me writing. Please read the next books, if you wish, and give me feedback as well as you did for this one!