InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "a b c d e E E"

philflam (philflam) wrote in qaf_drabbles,
@ 2008-01-12 10:11:00

Entry tags:

author: philflam, challenge #47: icons

Challenge #47 - Icons - #2 - Always
Title: Always
Author: Philflam
Timeline: After season 5
Condoms: Brian

Brian and Justin belonged together - always. Everyone knew it, except maybe Lindsay who was jealous. Same for Mikey but he came around. Debbie knew right away and said so. Emmett and Ted knew. Ethan found out the hard way. Daphne always knew. Jennifer didn’t like it but she learned to accept it.

Everyone knew - except the 2 clueless people who mattered most. The two people who made the decisions; who made all the excuses. The only two people in the world who didn’t realize that Brian and Justin belonged together - always - were Don Cowan and Ron Lipman.

And I will hate them for it - always!

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	queerasfruit 2008-01-12 04:33 pm UTC (link)
	Genius! I love it. :) (Reply to this) (Thread)

	philflam 2008-01-12 04:52 pm UTC (link)
	Thanks! I don't want anyone to think I'm still bitter or anything - LOL! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	(Anonymous) 2008-01-12 05:19 pm UTC (link)
	Brilliant!! And I will hate them for it - always! WORD! Nolyana. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	philflam 2008-01-13 01:38 am UTC (link)
	Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. (Reply to this) (Parent)

court1429
2008-01-12 06:34 pm UTC (link)

lol Very clever!

While the last episode is far from my favorite (because I'm a big sap who likes clearly defined ~~Harlequin Romance~~ happy endings), I can't help but wonder whether there'd still be fanfic and an active fandom if C/L had tied things up all shiny with a big bow.

I know a lot of the "old guard" left shortly after the show ended and I never got to know them since I didn't find fandom until after the end. But that ending sure spurred a lot of fic and LJ activity for which I'm tremendously grateful. *huggles flist* And when new viewers see the DVDs now, there's still someplace for them to come play that there might not be otherwise.

And if we aren't in the mood to squee about an episode, we can have a meeting of the minds over lipstick and shoes, theatre, graphics & vids, rallying around one member or another who is needing some support and shoring up, politics, working on personal improvement, meta, or pets. All courtesy of fandom. *squishes flist again*

So, maybe that ending which felt, depending on your point of view, like perfection/ambiguous/a big fuck-you was a blessing in disguise and it extended the life of this fandom. ;) Besides, B/J are together forever. It's their destiny and their desire. We all know that. ;)

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xie_xie_xie
2008-01-12 08:34 pm UTC (link)

I love you for posting this, court!

I don't want to hijack the comments section on a drabble to get into meta.... but I also have to just say I love Dan and Ron for bringing us this beautiful show and five years of Brian and Justin. I'd like to have seen some things a bit different in the ending, but I've actually become very grateful for the open endedness of it... for the reasons you express here, and others.

I was thinking about a post I wanted to make that touches on some of these issues... you've given me a direction for it.

philflam... forgive me for the mini-hijack here! I don't see the show or CowLip how you do, but of course, this is a fiction community and not a place for fandom analysis. So I promise to shut up now. :)

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(Anonymous)
2008-01-13 01:17 am UTC (link)

As one of the "old guard" who is still here because Cowlip could kill my characters but not my love for them, I in no way see how their dreadful ending helped the fandom. A lot of people gave up in disgust and left. Newer people coming in seem to be warned of the ending ahead of time, and are primed to see it according to the current thinking in the fandom. I'm happy for them (that is not sarcastic) but it was not a satisfying experience for those who suffered through the actual five years of waiting for B/J to be allowed happiness on-screen. Not in our imaginations,not in the hands of fanfic writers, but on-screen, with the amazing two actors whose chemistry made it happen in the first place.

I love this drabble. I also love philflam, but everybody knows that. : ) - justvisiting

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	philflam 2008-01-13 02:37 am UTC (link)
	SMOOCHES and HUGS (Reply to this) (Parent)

court1429
2008-01-13 06:44 am UTC (link)

It may not have helped at all. It's just something I've wondered about. Whether the ending spurred people to write fics to correct or expand/explain that ending. I have heard people talk about other fandoms that kind of withered away after the show ended. Buffy seems to be an exception to that. Probably some other shows are, too, I just don't know anything about many tv shows.

I've never been in a fandom before. I didn't even know they existed, apart from Star Trek Conventions, until I came online a couple days after 513 because I was so extremely distressed at the ending and I wanted to see if anyone else had taken it as badly as I had. Oh boy, had they! lol So, with the QAF ending how it did, I was happy to not only find other fans and fanfic (had no idea!), but then post-series fics that kept them together.

I will freely admit to being in the "well, that was a big fuck-you to the viewers" camp. And I had only about two months plus most of season 5 invested. (I can't remember now if I saw S5 from the beginning or if I was still watching the previous ones on dvd and had to play a little catch-up via On Demand for the first few eps.)

I was shocked at how upset I was and how personally I took that ending. In fact, I'm still kinda surprised about it. It's not something I expect to ever happen again.

And it's certainly a valid point to wonder if not only would we have a lot of new writers who've become favorites writing fic, but would my old faves still be writing, too? Like, oh, I don't know. Lessee... Just Visiting? (ahem! Wouldn't mind *at all* something new and post series from you. At all. ;D) Morph? Jane2005? Myrna? Galedreamer? Bigboobedcanuck? Raging Pixie? Danny? Violet Jones? Trisky? The Erins and their writing partner? Ethan? etc., etc., etc. I don't know. That'd sure be the best of both worlds, though, wouldn't it? ;)

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philflam
2008-01-13 02:35 am UTC (link)

Thanks for commenting.

I'm not good at voicing my opinion so I'm going to let JustVisiting talk for me - she expresses herself much better than I do. I'll just agree with her that the "old guard" spent five years waiting, believing, and loving 2 characters and we deserved to see them happy and together on-screen. The fandom would not only have survived but IMO it would have been stronger.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	court1429 2008-01-13 06:47 am UTC (link)
	I just responded to JV. And I certainly didn't mean any offense by my first comment and hope you didn't think I did. Just voicing something I've wondered about from time to time. And I did enjoy this drabble. ;) (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	philflam 2008-01-14 02:05 am UTC (link)
	Thanks! Glad you liked the drabble. I sent you an email. Let me know if you get it. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	singlewoman 2008-01-12 07:45 pm UTC (link)
	Very funny and very clever. And you nailed it! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	philflam 2008-01-13 01:45 am UTC (link)
	Thanks! Glad you liked it. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	prilli 2008-01-12 09:35 pm UTC (link)
	i love it and totally agree with you (Reply to this) (Thread)

	philflam 2008-01-13 01:46 am UTC (link)
	Thanks - glad to hear you agree. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	herefordroad 2008-01-12 10:19 pm UTC (link)
	this is a very interesting drabble, i've never seen one like it. thanks for posting. i was not fond of season 5 and sometimes i feel very alone in this frame of mind! jeannie (Reply to this) (Thread)

	philflam 2008-01-13 01:50 am UTC (link)
	Believe me Jeannie - you are not alone! There are many of us out there. Many people left the fandom but lots of us stuck around because we can't let go of the love we have for these characters. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	noteverything 2008-01-12 10:25 pm UTC (link)
	One thing that I love most about this asylum is the infinite amountof interpretations it brings to the Queer as Folk story. Your is exceedingly different than mine would have been for that icon, considering my unwavering love for S5 and especially 513. And I'm glad that we can both express what matters to each of us. Thanks for sharing. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	noteverything 2008-01-12 11:16 pm UTC (link)
	Goodlord. The typos, they hurt. Sorry... (Reply to this) (Parent)

	philflam 2008-01-13 01:51 am UTC (link)
	Thanks for commenting! (Reply to this) (Parent)

(Anonymous)
2008-01-14 11:22 am UTC (link)

Thanks

philflam! I love a good twist ending. As opposed to a bad twist ending :)

I always just supposed that Cowan's and Lipman's thinking was, "If they're together, then I can't have one of them!" Just kiddin'. I don't think Cowan and Lipman do thinking.

I recovered by following RTD to his next home/s and being moved, over and over again, by his ability to conjure variations on that Brian character, and his mastery of that endless yearning that is the essence of B/J. Also his ability to be absolutely seditious in defence of gay issues - that talent alone makes Cowlip look like rank amateurs.

I don't need fanfic to sort Brian and Justin out; the master is still working on it in AU. Show me the fanfic where Brian burnt out an entire sun to acquire the energy to see Justin for three minutes, on a beach at the end of the world.
- Lucinda428

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	(Anonymous) 2008-01-15 02:51 am UTC (link)
	Now that sounds ridiculously romantic! - jv (Reply to this) (Parent)

	philflam 2008-01-15 02:53 am UTC (link)
	I love a good twist ending. As opposed to a bad twist ending :) Yeah - me too. Thanks for commenting! I love your thoughts about RTD and his talent. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	doppelganger44 2008-01-14 07:16 pm UTC (link)
	Brilliant. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	philflam 2008-01-15 01:27 am UTC (link)
	Thanks! Glad you liked it. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	(Anonymous) 2008-01-17 10:57 am UTC (link)
	you're damned right!!!!!! genious! ebo_loves_bk (Reply to this) (Thread)

	philflam 2008-01-17 02:06 pm UTC (link)
	Thanks! Phil loves BK too! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	marilla_pm67 2008-09-05 04:19 pm UTC (link)
	HAHAHHAHHHA So true.... you're not the only one believe me to think they fucked things up. Sam (Reply to this)