let's talk about bob/brian for a second

[harborshore]

See, here's the thing. You lot know I will read and write pretty much any pairing, up to and including Lyn-Z/Mac from Veronica Mars and Bob/Batman, right? But I have an OTP, I've come to realize that. An OTP that I can deviate from, sort of, if the story or the idea is compelling enough--emotions and relationships depend on the underlying characterization, after all, and I certainly don't loathe alternative pairings at all (Bob/Batman, for example). But ultimately, I find them so interesting together that I default to writing them when I can, and I love reading them, love it so much.



I've talked about the fact that I fell into bandom because of Lyn-Z, right? And the idea for a longer revolutionary AU that I couldn't ignore. But I don't think I've talked about how I first wrote fic too much. Wait For The Morning happened because I made an innocent remark in torakowalski's journal, the first time I talked to her, actually, about how Bob should kidnap Brian and take him on a roadtrip. She told me that was an excellent idea, and because she's been able to make me tell stories even before we knew each other, that was it.

50 comments or so later, we had to take it to email, because I realized I had an actual fic. Writing is never as easy as when I'm writing about the two of them, oh man. And what's in the story, the way Bob cares about Brian and Brian slowly realizes that he loves Bob, that's why I love writing them. Because they know each other so well, they can pull each other out of the worst of hells by yelling or not saying anything or by holding on. Because the tiniest comments ("Stop being such a goddamn idiot," or "Fuck you, asshole, you said you wouldn't do that any more," or "Shut up, Schechter," or even "I like you too") and the tiniest touches, they mean a hell of a whole lot more because they normally wouldn't say anything.

So that's a godsend for a writer, right? There is meaning in everything. Like this moment from my big bang:

Then Brian walks in, and the quiet is instantaneous, like someone flipped a switch. He looks even more frazzled than usual, ripping out his ear piece and saying “Mikey said--Mikey said to come back, because--” and then he sees Bob. For one second, Brian's face is completely, frighteningly open. “You fucking idiot,” he says, voice breaking. Lindsey wants to look away, but she can't; she gets it now, gets why he's been wound so tight she sometimes thought anything at all could make him snap.
.

And I wish I could take credit for that, but really, it's that dynamic, it's easy, so easy. And goddamn gorgeous, too. ♥

It works when they're girls, too: One More Time With Feeling was the easiest of all the ficlets I've written, and I want to turn it into a story--a canon-based girl!Bob/girl!Brian would work, right? Tora says it would and I tend to agree.

The canon is one of my favorite things about them (and I don't mean I think they're actually dating, obviously)--they've canonically known each other for a long time, having met way before MCR; Brian shaves Bob in LOTMS before the GoY video, which, JFC, that was ridiculously hot; every time Bob talks about Brian it's with this half-disgruntled, half-fond tone in his voice, and I love it lots. Also, individually, they tend to put themselves in danger, work way too fucking hard, be ridiculously competent, make a lot of snarky jokes and then manage this earnestness that is just too adorable for words.

So they're my favorites, most of all when you put them together. *beams*

And now for what I meant to do when I started writing this: torakowalski wrote me a telepathic Brian ficlet, and it is so exactly what I love that I don't even know what to say. Like this:

Eventually, Bob decides on what he wants to say. Brian keeps picking at his jeans and pretends to be surprised when Bob touches his elbow. “You want me to keep it a secret?” Bob asks. He doesn’t approve, but he’s willing to do it for Brian. Brian fights down a smile.

“Yeah,” Brian tells him. “I don’t like lying to the guys but I can’t do my job if everyone’s weird around me.”

“I’m not being weird around you,” Bob says.

Brian laughs. “You are totally being weird around me,” he says, letting himself relax just enough to nudge Bob’s shoe with the side of his boot.

Fuck off, Bob thinks loud and clear and obviously deliberate.

“You fuck off,” Brian says, nudging him again.

“That’s really weird,” Bob says and thinks in tandem (Brian suspects most people would be surprised at how rarely anyone thinks exactly the same words that come out of their mouths. Bob’s more honest than most at that though; it’s refreshing).

HEARTS IN MY EYES, YOU GUYS. I want her to write me Bob/Brian forever and ever. And ever. If you haven't read her big bang from last year, you should get on that--it's alwaysagirl where it means something, where Bry grows up in the scene and figures her shit out and falls in love, and it is perfect.

In other recs, also read graceoftheworld, who gets them so right. And secrethappiness. And anything else under my bob/brian tag. And then tell Mango to get on her space!au, because space mechanic Bob is one of my favoritest things.

But before you read them, you could tell me why you like Bob/Brian, or ask me questions about them--the girls or the revolutionaries or the canon!verse boys, or whatever. Or tell me about an AU that should exist. Come talk to me about them, basically. ♥

Comments

[mahoni.livejournal.com]

Dude, I love it when people get all flappy-hands about Bob-related stuff. It warms my cold, cold (well, not very cold) heart. ♥___♥

Bob/Brian isn't my OTP, but I can totally understand why other people see it so clearly. And this is quite timely, actually, because one of the prompts I got for the trope meme was Bob/Brian, and I've kind of been staring at it going "but how do I even write them?" It's helpful to try to see them through other peoples' POVs. Especially Brian; I have a hell of a time conceptualizing him as a character. (He's not the only one; I have a tough time with Brendon, Spencer, and to some extent Patrick, too.)

So, okay, there's a question: talk to me about Brian. Who is he? What is he like? Defining characteristics/personality traits/etc? What was going through his head during/how did he react to some of the really well-known canon events (Gerard hitting rock bottom, Bob getting set on fire, Bob nearly dying)? I have an idea of what was going through his head while Gerard crashed and burned via LotMS, but I've wondered how he must have acted, right? Because he clearly didn't get Gerard clean; Gerard got there himself. But did he talk to Gerard about it, or did he not push it at all, or...what? I've just always thought it would have been different for him than for the rest of the band or Gerard's other friends, because while also worrying about Gerard Brian would have had to deal with venues, deal with, I don't know, Gerard hurling all over a hotel room when he got really drunk, deal with insurance people who want to hike up the cost of insuring Gerard because of his obvious downward spiral...mundane things like that, you know?

And, you know, given that he himself fell into the same pit not too long after Gerard crawled out of it, did Brian maybe look the other way? Did he think "wow, this is tragic, but that's the scene and it's probably going to be okay, and if it's not, well, I just won't think about that" because on some level he was also thinking about how he was falling into the same trap and wanting to believe it was okay (it's the scene, right) and everything would turn out fine (he wouldn't get *too* bad, he'd stop before that happened) and there's no need to worry about it (he doesn't want to think about potential bad consequences because it makes his life feel scarier than it already is)...? You know what I mean?

(I feel like I'm being really pedantic wanting to know about weird little specifics like that. Erm. But that's how I get comfortable with characters, I wonder about weird little specifics like that and try to settle on a way I think the person would have acted. And then that informs how I write him/her. You know? I have had a hard time figuring things like that out for Brian for some reason.)

Aaaaaanyway. /ramble

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

Oh man. Brian? This is my primary reference for all things Brian. I reread that interview every few months or so, and it's where I take all my Brian characterization. And dude, he was the one Gerard called EVERY NIGHT while he was working himself toward rock bottom and the band was on tour without Brian, so he was very closely involved in that. I think Brian's a lot like Gerard, actually, or he was in his twenties, in that sense of "this is my dream." He was in the music scene for years, from the point when he left home until now, really.

And I have no idea how he reacted to Gerard, but in my head it went something like, okay, I'm going to deal with what I have in front of me right now, which is a drunk/drug-fueled/suicidal lead singer, and I have to get him through this intact plus the rest of the tour has to work out, jesus--uh, I think he was probably working way too fucking hard and then helping hold Gerard together, and I don't think he had time to think, and then suddenly they were all okay, and then it got too much.

Does that make sense? Feel free to ask me more questions!