(no subject)
May. 2nd, 2005 02:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rusty_haloI realized that Brian/Michael hits the same kinks for me as Sirius/Remus.
Seriously, aren't those couples, like, so similar?
Best friends who are just a little too close to be just friends. Known each other since they were very young. There's the wild, brilliant, fucked-up one, and the steadier one who keeps his friend grounded.
You can totally see Sirius wanting to protect werewolf-Remus, becoming an animagus to accompany him, just like you can see Brian wanting to protect Mikey from bullies or whatever. And you can totally see Remus or Mikey being there for Sirius or Brian when they'd otherwise have totally lost it from having to deal with their fucked-up families. And Sirius and Brian totally hit the same character kinks with me, that arrogant brilliant fucked-up asshole type.
Right?
Christ, I'm comparing Queer as Folk to Harry Potter.
I spent an inordinate amount of time reading QaF fanfic this weekend. My brain hurts from all the badfic. *sob* And I DESPISE shipper agenda fics. BRIAN AND JUSTIN ARE NOT INTENDED BY FATE TO BE TOGETHER 4EVA OMG!!!!11!!
It's weird to watch how writers twist canon to fit their agendas. Did you know Brian never really liked Michael at all, and only hung out with him because he felt sorry for him, and now that Brian has Justin, Michael's just an irritating nuisance who only shows up every once in a while to whine?
Yeah, I didn't either.
I could tolerate the Brian/Michael stories better, since I actually like those two together, and I think they make more sense. But I really didn't find a single good one that wasn't a high school flashback. They all basically go like
"One day Brian realized that he had always been in love with Michael, but had been too afraid to admit it. Michael, of course, felt the same. Brian admitted that he'd been an emotionally closed-off jerk, and he promised to always be open about his feelings forever and ever. So they dumped Ben and Justin, and Brian he swore that he'd always be faithful to Michael, and then they had the hottest sex ever, and got married, and exchanged rings, and bought curtains. The end!"
This is really only slightly better than the Brian/Justin fic, which goes nauseatingly like
"Brian realized that he and Justin were FATED BY THE STARS to be together. So he admitted that he'd been an emotionally closed-off jerk, and he promised to always be open about his feelings forever and ever. (Michael was annoyed, but no one cared because Michael was just an annoying twit that Brian had never really liked anyway.) So Justin graciously forgave Brian, and Brian swore that he'd always be faithful to Justin, and then they had the hottest sex ever, and got married, and exchanged rings, and bought curtains. The end!"
And I try hard not to vomit.
But anyway. The best story I read so far was "The Importance of Being Brian" by Julad. All of Julad's stories are good and worth reading. Unforunately they're Brian/Justin.
Honestly, I don't think I can ever read another Brian/Justin story. Reading so many this weekend has left me with a reflex of nausea at the very thought. It sucks, because I want badly to read Brian fic. But I really can't stand Justin at all. I hate that he's so annoying and intrusive and whiny and that he's constantly trying to change Brian. I like Brian just the way he is, thanks. I'm reading these stories thinking "my god, Brian, get the hell away from that creep, don't fall for his bullshit, don't change yourself for him, ewwwww ewwwww ewwwww!!"
I found the one thing that I'll read no matter how badly it's written, though. Brian in high school, preferably with Michael around. Because, no Justin, and also, fic writers like to water Brian down and make him talk about his feelings (uuuugh), which is completely implausible, but if you imagine he's high school age it's slightly more plausible. And when you put him with Michael, it's even more plausible. Plus, high school Brian is just so delightfully fucked up, what with his badass attitude and his hideous family and Michael the only thing keeping him from losing it. :)
Seriously, aren't those couples, like, so similar?
Best friends who are just a little too close to be just friends. Known each other since they were very young. There's the wild, brilliant, fucked-up one, and the steadier one who keeps his friend grounded.
You can totally see Sirius wanting to protect werewolf-Remus, becoming an animagus to accompany him, just like you can see Brian wanting to protect Mikey from bullies or whatever. And you can totally see Remus or Mikey being there for Sirius or Brian when they'd otherwise have totally lost it from having to deal with their fucked-up families. And Sirius and Brian totally hit the same character kinks with me, that arrogant brilliant fucked-up asshole type.
Right?
Christ, I'm comparing Queer as Folk to Harry Potter.
I spent an inordinate amount of time reading QaF fanfic this weekend. My brain hurts from all the badfic. *sob* And I DESPISE shipper agenda fics. BRIAN AND JUSTIN ARE NOT INTENDED BY FATE TO BE TOGETHER 4EVA OMG!!!!11!!
It's weird to watch how writers twist canon to fit their agendas. Did you know Brian never really liked Michael at all, and only hung out with him because he felt sorry for him, and now that Brian has Justin, Michael's just an irritating nuisance who only shows up every once in a while to whine?
Yeah, I didn't either.
I could tolerate the Brian/Michael stories better, since I actually like those two together, and I think they make more sense. But I really didn't find a single good one that wasn't a high school flashback. They all basically go like
"One day Brian realized that he had always been in love with Michael, but had been too afraid to admit it. Michael, of course, felt the same. Brian admitted that he'd been an emotionally closed-off jerk, and he promised to always be open about his feelings forever and ever. So they dumped Ben and Justin, and Brian he swore that he'd always be faithful to Michael, and then they had the hottest sex ever, and got married, and exchanged rings, and bought curtains. The end!"
This is really only slightly better than the Brian/Justin fic, which goes nauseatingly like
"Brian realized that he and Justin were FATED BY THE STARS to be together. So he admitted that he'd been an emotionally closed-off jerk, and he promised to always be open about his feelings forever and ever. (Michael was annoyed, but no one cared because Michael was just an annoying twit that Brian had never really liked anyway.) So Justin graciously forgave Brian, and Brian swore that he'd always be faithful to Justin, and then they had the hottest sex ever, and got married, and exchanged rings, and bought curtains. The end!"
And I try hard not to vomit.
But anyway. The best story I read so far was "The Importance of Being Brian" by Julad. All of Julad's stories are good and worth reading. Unforunately they're Brian/Justin.
Honestly, I don't think I can ever read another Brian/Justin story. Reading so many this weekend has left me with a reflex of nausea at the very thought. It sucks, because I want badly to read Brian fic. But I really can't stand Justin at all. I hate that he's so annoying and intrusive and whiny and that he's constantly trying to change Brian. I like Brian just the way he is, thanks. I'm reading these stories thinking "my god, Brian, get the hell away from that creep, don't fall for his bullshit, don't change yourself for him, ewwwww ewwwww ewwwww!!"
I found the one thing that I'll read no matter how badly it's written, though. Brian in high school, preferably with Michael around. Because, no Justin, and also, fic writers like to water Brian down and make him talk about his feelings (uuuugh), which is completely implausible, but if you imagine he's high school age it's slightly more plausible. And when you put him with Michael, it's even more plausible. Plus, high school Brian is just so delightfully fucked up, what with his badass attitude and his hideous family and Michael the only thing keeping him from losing it. :)
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(no subject)
Date: 2005-05-03 03:26 pm (UTC)Oh yeah, so where was I? Right, fiction is a reflection of culture and fiction helps to shape culture. So it's not totally out of line to want at least ONE tiny bit of popular fiction to reflect YOUR way of life. That's why Brian Kinney makes me squee, because I go "OMG I've never seen a mainstream fictional character say these things, that I think but that mainstream culture treats as totally invalid!"
But then I remember that whole Spike nightmare. I got so involved in that, saw so much of myself in that character, was so desperate for validation. Free will triumphs over fate, right? And when ME said it didn't, fate wins, and get down and lick Buffy's boots, I felt so devastated. I cried when Spike got a soul.
And I look back and think, damn, why in the world did I ever think I needed a bunch of dumbass Hollywood TV script writers to validate my existence? I know I believe in free will, MY Spike never needed a soul, and who the hell cares what anyone else thinks?
And yeah, I know that I don't want to get married and I don't want a man and I don't want to breed and I definitely don't want to live in suburbia. And if anyone else has a problem with that, I really could care less, because it's their problem, not mine. (Though I understand that not everyone has this privilege, people who live in more conservative areas or work more conservative jobs or are young and stuck with parents or whatever, and who feel like freaks or who have to hide who they are, and that's one of those arguments for the importance of fiction to at least show other options to the typical mainstream ideal. But there's nothing I can do about that; I have to live my own life.)
(no subject)
Date: 2005-05-09 02:09 pm (UTC)I think your main point is incredibly valid--the stories we tell ourselves are important to how we see ourselves and the real world around us. Which is why it's so important when narratives don't always appeal to the safest, most middle-American common denominator. When the purveyors of entertainment give us something different from the same damn stories we've been hearing since we popped out of the womb.
In this instance, I think Russell T. Davies, the original creator of QaF, is to be worshiped for creating a story where a real and viable alternative to the white-picket fence model was presented. I don't think Cowlip did a very good job at expanding on what Davies created, and I'm certainly not happy with what they did to Brian Kinney in the past couple of seasons of the show.
However, I must give them a little credit for S1-3 Brian, and S1-3 Brian/Michael, when they did seem invested in portraying a friendship between two people that was at least as deep and real as any marriage could be. Those are the kinds of relationships I cherish in my own life, and the ones that I'm most interested these days in capturing in my work.
Thanks again for the great insights, Laura. It is amazing how much we agree on the issues. So nice to hear I'm not the only one who turns green at the thought of suburban bliss. :)