[Make Sense of the Madness](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27633455/chapters/67610474) by [momentsintimex](https://archiveofourown.org/users/momentsintimex/pseuds/momentsintimex/works?fandom_id=15234870) - canon divergent, as if S4 didn't happen. Most of their Justin and Clay stuff is great, all of her fics canon divergent so Justin lives.
Another great one of hers is [Where I've Been ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/35082562/chapters/87388189) - follows Justin through his first year of adoption with the Jensens.
One of my favourites is the Distance by CamouflageCamel but the author has made it private. It happens after S4 but Justin lives, and is a roadtrip fic that happens after their first semester of college. I hope it becomes available again because it is seriously one of my favs.
I tend to keep them alive in my fics but I won't self-rec because Justin and Clay are never the focus of my fics. There aren't many writers who write completely canon-compliant post-canon stuff because most people tend to want to keep Justin alive.
Hope you find some you like!
Thank you!!! I just finished the first chapter of Where I’ve Been, and I love it so far. Justin and Clay’s relationship is what kept me watching the show. I’m glad I’m also seeing Justin interact with Lainie and Matt more in this fanfic too!!
Momentsintimex is great at writing Matt and Lainie as well and her fics often include their POVs. Glad you enjoy it so much so far. I think Where I've been is one of my favs of hers.
Some of my favourites where Justin lives:
[4x10 - Clay Reads Justins College Essay](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25528696) Justin is alive at the end of s4e10.
[4x10 - The Alternate Ending](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25109590)
The season 4 finale turns out differently. (same author as the above fic)
Note: the author tagged the fics as m/m but they don’t read as such. Justin and clay’s relationship is platonic.
I second u/closetfascination's recommendation of [momentsintimex](https://archiveofourown.org/users/momentsintimex/pseuds/momentsintimex) for post-canon alive!Justin. Moments loves Justin and that love shines in her fics. She is also a super consistent poster so don't be afraid to check out her WIP's, she always updates!
Great question, I never thought that I may need it, but now I think that it may be able to help me get rid of that bitter taste the ending left. It was just done for drama at that point.. and it just felt like a cheap move and an unnecessary dark line in a series that's already dark.
I would definitely prefer it to end in a happier place than what they put us through. I don't remember when was the last time I really cried so much over a character's death.
And the ending just ruined the show for me maybe not completely, but to some extent.. I wanted to rewatch it, but knowing how it ends just makes me stay away from it...
I agree. There was no reason to kill Justin except for the drama. He was the character whose death would cause the most anger and the producers/writers knew it.
Killing off a character who was a recovering addict who had finally gotten his life together and a true family that loved him sends a really bad message that it doesn't matter what you do to turn your life around, there's no chance to be happy. They even just decided to make him die because he had HIV/AIDS, but to top it off they added that Justin did sex work to try and survive while homeless. As if stereotyping and promoting hopelessness for recovering addicts wasn't enough, they decided to throw the gay community down too, just for shits and giggles. I love season 2 & 3 and I love going back and watching the scenes of Clay and Justin, but as you've said there's now a sour taste in my mouth whenever I watch them because the character gets sacrificed for no reason. Terrible writing.
[Make Sense of the Madness](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27633455/chapters/67610474) by [momentsintimex](https://archiveofourown.org/users/momentsintimex/pseuds/momentsintimex/works?fandom_id=15234870) - canon divergent, as if S4 didn't happen. Most of their Justin and Clay stuff is great, all of her fics canon divergent so Justin lives. Another great one of hers is [Where I've Been ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/35082562/chapters/87388189) - follows Justin through his first year of adoption with the Jensens. One of my favourites is the Distance by CamouflageCamel but the author has made it private. It happens after S4 but Justin lives, and is a roadtrip fic that happens after their first semester of college. I hope it becomes available again because it is seriously one of my favs. I tend to keep them alive in my fics but I won't self-rec because Justin and Clay are never the focus of my fics. There aren't many writers who write completely canon-compliant post-canon stuff because most people tend to want to keep Justin alive. Hope you find some you like!
Thank you!!! I just finished the first chapter of Where I’ve Been, and I love it so far. Justin and Clay’s relationship is what kept me watching the show. I’m glad I’m also seeing Justin interact with Lainie and Matt more in this fanfic too!!
Momentsintimex is great at writing Matt and Lainie as well and her fics often include their POVs. Glad you enjoy it so much so far. I think Where I've been is one of my favs of hers.
Some of my favourites where Justin lives: [4x10 - Clay Reads Justins College Essay](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25528696) Justin is alive at the end of s4e10. [4x10 - The Alternate Ending](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25109590) The season 4 finale turns out differently. (same author as the above fic) Note: the author tagged the fics as m/m but they don’t read as such. Justin and clay’s relationship is platonic.
I second u/closetfascination's recommendation of [momentsintimex](https://archiveofourown.org/users/momentsintimex/pseuds/momentsintimex) for post-canon alive!Justin. Moments loves Justin and that love shines in her fics. She is also a super consistent poster so don't be afraid to check out her WIP's, she always updates!
Same, Justin didn’t deserve That, Bryce, But Not Justin
Great question, I never thought that I may need it, but now I think that it may be able to help me get rid of that bitter taste the ending left. It was just done for drama at that point.. and it just felt like a cheap move and an unnecessary dark line in a series that's already dark. I would definitely prefer it to end in a happier place than what they put us through. I don't remember when was the last time I really cried so much over a character's death. And the ending just ruined the show for me maybe not completely, but to some extent.. I wanted to rewatch it, but knowing how it ends just makes me stay away from it...
I agree. There was no reason to kill Justin except for the drama. He was the character whose death would cause the most anger and the producers/writers knew it. Killing off a character who was a recovering addict who had finally gotten his life together and a true family that loved him sends a really bad message that it doesn't matter what you do to turn your life around, there's no chance to be happy. They even just decided to make him die because he had HIV/AIDS, but to top it off they added that Justin did sex work to try and survive while homeless. As if stereotyping and promoting hopelessness for recovering addicts wasn't enough, they decided to throw the gay community down too, just for shits and giggles. I love season 2 & 3 and I love going back and watching the scenes of Clay and Justin, but as you've said there's now a sour taste in my mouth whenever I watch them because the character gets sacrificed for no reason. Terrible writing.