Looking for long, scrupulously & painstakingly in-character, angsty, realistic, post 5-13 fics

[queerasfray.livejournal.com]

(Confession alert!) I'm having trouble finding the "right" post-series fic. I've started several that seemed quite promising at first but then later went off the reservation character-wise. It's a bummer to start a multi-chaptered fic only to have it wander off into the tangled wilderness of OoC land. I'm not particularly a fan of fluff (especially Fluffy!Brian) or nothing but sex-sex-sex 24/7. I'm looking for something gritty and real and angsty, and the longer, the better. I want something that is going to totally engross me and satisfy my bottomless need for The Feels.

Thanks ahead of time!

ETA: Wow! Thank you all for the response! Some great suggestions in the comments!

Comments

[vlredreign.livejournal.com]

I see someone rec'd vamphile;'s Keeping series. There's more angst than you can shake a stick at. It's also funny as hell, has lots of sex, and it's LONG. The first part, Brother's Keeper, starts with the premise of Justin having a long-lost brother. Before you go 'no way', think about this. Craig cheating on Jenniefer is canon. It's entirely possible that he fathered a child out of wedlock. Justin finds out when the kid (16) shows up at his door in NYC. And he's gay.

Trust me, it gets even better after that opening scene.

There are 5 parts; if you go to her LJ (all her fic is unlocked), she has the series in order.

And I can't leave without rec'ing plumsuede's Beyond The Yellow Brick Road. It does veer off in the middle for a bit, but there's a reason for it. think of it as outside perspective. Also, her original characters are frigging hysterical. It's post-513 by 6 years. She does take you back to tell you what happened during that time, and it's interesting to see how, even when they weren't together, their lives overlapped. She's not done with the fic yet, she says there's an epilogue to come. But where it ends right now is fine, no cliffhangers to speak of. And the angst is...jfc.

One more, and I'm done. Check out allie_quixotic's How We Got Where We're Going (http://www.mediafire.com/?8sz5vz2dx5p0z). It's post-513 by like...12 years or something. And it's very Gus-centric. Basically, Brian and Justin live in NYC, Gus comes to live with them post-graduation. The angst is mostly on Gus's part, but what it does to Brian and Justin is...please read this. Trust me. It will give you chills, it's so good. She deleted her LJ, but the link will take you to the mediafire file where you can download the fic.

[mmmorpheusq.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed the story of Justin's half-brother, but just to be nit-picky, where in canon was it said or implied that Craig cheated on Jennifer? I can't remember any reference to that in the show...?

[vlredreign.livejournal.com]

Justin says it in 508...I think? When he goes to Taylor Electronics and confronts his dad. He says something to Craig about being holier-than-thou while he was fucking his secretary. Craig doesn't deny it.

[mmmorpheusq.livejournal.com]

Okay, thanks. Still don't remember that - but then, S5 is the only season I haven't re-watched multiple times. I TRY to forget a lot of that season!

Seasons 1-4, I've watced in their entirely at least fifty times. Otherwise, I have DVD's a friend made with ONLY BJ scenes from all seasons, and when I'm in the mood for the boys, that is what I watch. Since Brian wasn't in this particular scene, I guess I've seen it only once or twice.

Thought I knew everything about QAF; obviously not!

[vlredreign.livejournal.com]

I've only watched a few episodes out of order. Usually when I watch, I marathon. So I've seen S5 a few times. I keep trying to make sense of it. Mostly, I'm good with it. I decided that even when the writing went stupid and Justin went all pod people, there were scenes that shined.

[mmmorpheusq.livejournal.com]

Never did reconcile myself to much of S5. Pod Justin being only part of it. I've never forgiven CowLip for that ending. I don't think many fans were waiting for or wanting an actual marriage; I think that most would have been happy with just a hint that BJ would continue in some way. But when CowLip dangled the wedding in front of us, then ripped it away, and left Brian sadly alone as an aging club boy - that really created a lot of disappointment and even anger among most fans at the time.

I'm speaking of the original fans who watched from day one and suffered during endless hiatuses. Maybe it was less traumatic for later "generations," as they did not have to wait and wonder for weeks or months until the next episode.

[vlredreign.livejournal.com]

I watched S5 in January of 2006. That was when Showtime re-aired it for the first time after the initial run. So I had to wait each week for the next episode. Yeah, I got to marathon S1-S4 before that, so I didn't have to wait. And it is a different experience when you watch each episode as it airs. So when original watchers express extreme dislike for S5, I get where that comes from. That said, watching in one shot gives you time to watch/rewatch and figure out stuff.

Considering that the 'wedding' was presented in the very last episode, and all this other shit had to happen first, I kinda knew it wasn't gonna happen. And when I saw the end of 513 for the first time, I was like O.o Like, did I miss something!!? With that episode, I took it for what *I* thought was going on. And I never thought of Brian as being left to turn back into an aging club boy. That final scene with Michael, I just saw that as Michael going, "hey, get up, you have things to do." And I saw Brian re-building Babylon not because he needed a place to hang out, but so that he could say, 'look fuckers, I rebuilt it, now what?' Part of me sees Brian spending more time in an office in Babylon, as opposed to the backroom.

But that's just me. Maybe I just want to believe that Brian actually grew up. Kinda hard to be Peter Pan when Wendy and all the Lost Boys are gone.

[queerasfray.livejournal.com]

I agree with all the above - thanks for the excellent summary. Nice to know people feel like I do. Imo, they really did leave Brian alone & with nothing new ahead of him. I was weepy for days after watching 5-13. It was so upsetting that for awhile I wished I hadn't watched show.

[queerasfray.livejournal.com]

I don't know if it's hugely less traumatic because I was pretty damn traumatized! But that said, I probably would've had a complete break-down if I'd been watching in real time. I wish very much that I'd found this fandom sooner, but I'm really glad I watched the DVDs. I can imagine people's head exploded.

I had the exact same reaction to the end as you did. Here (http://frayach.livejournal.com/111930.html) was my first reaction. My thoughts have changed a bit - but only a bit :(

[amelialourdes.livejournal.com]

Seconding the lack of sequel. I got so attached to those characters!

[queerasfray.livejournal.com]

Argh! I hate that when that happens!

[queerasfray.livejournal.com]

Thanks, hon! I'm very curious to read a convincingly dorky Brian.

[queerasfray.livejournal.com]

Awesome! Thank you so much, my dear. These will keep me busy for a good chunk of time :)