Brian and Justin in character (for Queer As Folk purists everywhere)

[fictionbycereza.livejournal.com]

(I tried to find a similar post but there is no such tag. The closest thing was somebody asking if some specific fanfics are in character and this is what actually gave me the idea to file such request.)

There are many fanfics out there - epic in proportions, well-written, with great plots. But I have to admit that many of them, even those considered must reads and classics - give me a feeling of OOC-ness. There's Brian - nice and affectionate in a schmoopy way, not afraid of commitment. There's Justin - pliant and a completely damsel in distress-like, letting others abuse and manipulate him. There's evil and plotting Michael that actively tries to break Justin and Brian up... No matter that according to canon!Brian, there's nothing to break up. There's even more evil Ethan, Mel and Lindsay being such bad mothers that their children have to be taken away and even though all of those plots are fun to play with, they're not very much true to the characters from the show.

So I was thinking about compiling a list of stories and authors, that could be considered QAF purists when it comes to characterization. No matter if it's a gap-filler, or an AU story, I just need something to sooth my QAF withdrawal, something that will really feel like the show.

I trust your judgement, even though I'm aware that people can feel very differently about some stories. It doesn't matter, I still want your opinion! (After a while, I'll compile your recs into a nice list and put it in this post, under the cut).

Here are all authors and stories mentioned in the comments. I personally do not choose from them, leaving it to you to decide if you think they write in character or don't:

myrna1_2_3 (with caution that the author herself does not consider her portrayal of Brian as being in character, but it is perceived that way by some readers)
ragingpixie (see her site)
vamphile
suzvoy
justvisiting (visitingagain)
bdeviled (especially her A Love That Will Never Grow Old)
Jealous Lover by kinwad
Not My Boyfriend by lindtti
The Break-Up by moonbrightnites
kachelofen
Only Time series by xie_xie_xie (which include Plans, Decisions, Desires, Risks, Famlies, Bieliefs and Directions)
justinlovesart
besame_bj (and beyond_besame, semi-locked, to read some fics you have to be added to the community or friended at the main journal)
severina (especially her Gold and Silver Shines)
netfics (locked, requires being friended)
yoursweater (her stories can be found at queerasfandom, which is locked)
Glowing Rooms by ohmyjetsabel
not-yet-defined
jule1122
testdog65
luceononuro (see her memories; unfortunately, her stories are f-locked)
bigboobedcanuck see her memories
adoringaudience
Sesto's Aria by seperis
darksylvia (see her memories)
In Paris by scoobygang8
Work Inside Out by Keewick
Metamorphosis bynightvision55
So We'll Go No More A Roving by... Author unknown! (If you do know who wrote that one, please, comment below and I'll edit this link.)
windtossed
gradiva
The Untitled Straight!Brian Fic or Conviction by alantie
ellyrianna
burnitbackwards
josselin (see her site, thanks to the Wayback Machine)
xhaleslowly (also known as Ethan, who has his own site)
Brian Like Me by sweetestdrain
flashfly (especially her Catching Fire, Live Action Short and Reliquary; more can be found in her memories)

And my contribution:

soundczech (see her site, thanks to the Wayback Machine)
etharei at rei_of_writing
mojokid (see her tags)
throughadoor (see her site)
sakesushimaki
museme87

Hopefully, to be continued!

Comments

[lanbeo.livejournal.com]

Fics by ragingpixie and myrna1_2_3 pop out of my head whenever I think of In Character fics.

[chloris01.livejournal.com]

If you want strict charaterization then bdeviled wrote the perfect 6th season, Brian and Justin are very much IC. The same for the others characters, because the story gives many POV. One of my favorite of all times !
http://bdeviled.livejournal.com/988.html

[fictionbycereza.livejournal.com]

Seconded! Even when Myrna herself admitted that she's not a fan of a canon Brian, she did manage to write him in character... Just a little less destructive and hateful. And I enjoyed Raginpixie's stuff immensely.

Thank you!

[fictionbycereza.livejournal.com]

I actually haven't read that one! Thank you :)

[chloris01.livejournal.com]

The break Up, by moonbrightnites It's a post 513 story, with Gus's POV. Brian and Justin's relationship is writting in very realistic way. Brian is prfectly IC, and the ending makes sense. : http://moonbrightnites.livejournal.com/7407.html

And you can choose all kachelofen stories. It's amazing how she manages to put Brian and Justin in any kind of AU, and stays ALWAYS IC ! It's brilliant.

[lanbeo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the fact that she didn't like Brian (or even Justin) is really funny but I think her Brian is what Brian should be after 3-4 years on air. I'm so tired of that over-hill-club-boy image CowLip built for him.

[fictionbycereza.livejournal.com]

The best thing is, that Myrna's Justin and Brian are still fucking around and hitting clubs but they are seemingly more mature. They don't have to call themselves boyfriends, buy flowers or say I love you every five minutes - and yet, you just know how much they care about each other.

She really managed to write them totally in character and better at the same time :) In my head canon - where there are only three seasons, mind you - Brian and Justin grow to people resembling those from Myrna's stories :)

[swallow79.livejournal.com]

Great idea. I like to read stuff that is canon based and in character too. I'm not a big fan of anti-Michael fics, even when he's annoying he serves a purpose. That being said, anti-Ethan fics can be fun sometimes since he did turn out to be a dick. I think Xie's Only Time series is really great for being in character, I'm really looking forward to it being finished.

[swallow79.livejournal.com]

LOVE the Break Up!

[fictionbycereza.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And I'm very happy that we're getting some AUs, as well. I always thought it's so much fun to read about the very same characters in totally different setting and with different story lines :) And it takes real talent to pull something like that off! (Off to read! :)

[sandraj60.livejournal.com]

"There's Brian - nice and affectionate, not afraid of commitment, even becoming monogamous."

I don't get it. Isn't that what Brian became when he asked Justin to marry him and when he turned down the bachelor party favor? Is it that you don't want any fic that deals with the last season 3 (not sure how many) episodes?

[chloris01.livejournal.com]

I remember another story IC and canon (between 208-215) : Hey, Jealous lover, by kinwad. Wonderfully written.
http://kinfic2.livejournal.com/38536.html#cutid1

[fictionbycereza.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad to see that people get involved in making such a list :) Somebody made a similar post, compiling all Other Character POV fics - which are one of my biggest kinks - in a neat list with links and all, and it was extremely helpful. I think that in character fics deserve something similar.

I have to admit, I actually hate most "anti" stories, but anti-Michael are one of those that piss me off the most. I know that Michael tends to be prissy and petty and generally annoying, but underneath it all, he's such a good and caring person. He's also like, the only one from the gang that felt even a little responsible for Justin at the very beginning of the show, and that was when he was crazily jealous of him. I think that speaks more about him than everything he ever said.

Anti-Ethan stories... It depends. I've read quite a few, but I didn't enjoy them as much as I thought I would. In the end, I found myself wanting to read something where Ethan and Justin break up not because of the out-of-blue cheating (like, huh?) but just because. I really wish that the writers handled Ethan differently. He was a very big break-through for both Justin and Brian, but I believe there could be much more interesting, angsty material when he was involved.

Sorry for the rant, I get like that a lot :) And thank you for the rec! If you have a link to this story somewhere, it would make it much easier for me to later put it on the list :)

[fictionbycereza.livejournal.com]

No, no, sorry, I must have phrased it wrong. It's about the way he's sometimes written, that I don't buy. (Two much season 1 and 2 fluff, I guess :) And in the end, Justin does say that Brian kinda wasn't himself...? Still, I don't want to argue, I really would like everyone to rec what they feel is in character for, well, the characters. Um, don't mind my own preferences, I'm one of those readers who live for angst ;)

[fictionbycereza.livejournal.com]

I love stories that take place in the earlier parts of the show! :)

[sandraj60.livejournal.com]

Okay then, Besame is considered by some to be the Angst Queen. Her stories are very well written and most appear very much in character. Try her Mirror universe. You have to befriend her to read her fics.

http://besame-bj.livejournal.com/

[fictionbycereza.livejournal.com]

I wanted to read her fics but I don't post on my journal (I'm using it only for managing communities and commenting on fanfiction), so I unfortunately don't fit the requirements... Still, I downloaded that one story she wrote from GIH 4-Shared Fic Folder and I'll certainly include her in the links later :) Thank you!

ETA: Huh, it seems that some stories are now unlocked. Not all of them but it's something :)

[lanbeo.livejournal.com]

vamphile suzvoy and justvisiting a.k.a visitingagain is my fav as well!!!

[chloris01.livejournal.com]

Why don't you post this on your LJ? You could talk about the fics you read, you loved...Make a list of your favorites QaF stories.

[tubazrcool.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a great idea, but I don't read near enough QAF fic as opposed to other fandoms (probably because the ones I've read are OOC) - I will definitely check back here later to see the recs.

[michele659.livejournal.com]

Myrna did love Justin-she said so many times. She "loved to torture him" too,lol-mostly because she liked writing Brian's reaction to these things(according to her journal and from what I've read from comments she responded to and from the old "What Love Means" site.)

I agree with you. She wrote Brian as he would be if he actually grew out of the club boy image.

[michele659.livejournal.com]

I like that they become actual partners in her stories and that they both want the same things,with a bit of compromise on both parts.
It's so much better than reading stories where Justin is the submissive person in the relationship,just going along with whateever Brian wanted.
I don't think that the idea of them being monogamous in the future is necessarily OOC. There are a lot of people like Brian who do eventually decide to be with one person as they get older. Few people are exactly as they were when they were in their 20's and 30's,in spite of Lindsay's calling Brian Peter Pan I think that would include Brian,jmo.

[fictionbycereza.livejournal.com]

Um, my LJ's pretty much dead and if there's one place where I'll find people who have read enough GAF fic to rec something - it's here, I guess. And I thought that it would be a good idea to make such a list here, where everybody can find it easily.

What is more, I don't want a list of my favourite fics, but fics that people view as IC. These are two very different things, since I often love and enjoy OOC stories. I'm looking for recs, as well :)

[michele659.livejournal.com]

That was one of my problems with the ending. The writers went way OTT because they were mocking the fans desire to see Brian and Justin end up together. And Judtin saying in the end that Brian wasn't himself was just another way to make Justin seem like he didn't know what he wanted(something the writers did from the time Justin and Brian reunited in S3)and keep Brian the single club boy he was in the beginning. The fact is they could've shown the two of them committing without all the OTT stuff and it would've been a much more satisfying ending.
I like justinlovesart's stories because she does show them in character,with both characters growing and Justin not EVER being the "damsel in distress" that he often is in other stories(,or a doormat or someone who worships Brian and comes to think everything Brian says is right). You can find her stories on bjfic. I'm not sure where else they're located.

[ipitydaf00l.livejournal.com]

Not that I know what either chloris01 or even besame_bj's ideas/feelings on the matter are, but the idea I got from chloris01's comment was meant it would open your LJ up a bit by stating that you don't really post anything, but you are a reader of QAF. That way if you haven't yet, you could contact besame_bj and ask to be friended and start with fanfic that is unlocked and work your way through them.

That was going to be my question to you earlier was to ask if you've ever talked to besame_bj about friending you, but figured she might pop up on this thread at some point.

It's a thought at least. Hell, she tolerates me and I don't even read fanfic at this point in time. :)