(no subject)

[bndjsfaghag15.livejournal.com]

I know this isn't solely a fic request, but it is a request that will help me to write a current fic I myself am working on. But so as to follow the rules, I will be asking for a fic as well.

I was just wondering if anyone knew of where I might be able to find a timeline for the QaF episodes.... like, anyone who may have been able to somehow figure out what months certain episodes happened on. I am specifically trying to figure out the time between Justin leaving Brian in season 2, and Justin coming to the loft to talk to Brian about his tuition payments in the beginning of season 3.

I'd also love to read a fic based in the future, post-513, where Brian&Justin run into Ethan and he sees them together and happy. I know fics like that have been requested, but I've read all that are in the memories and was wondering if there are any more.

Thanks for all the help in advance!


Edit: The timeline has been found, and I've gotten one fic response. More are always welcome.

Comments

[gaedhal.livejournal.com]

Then a timeline is, essentially, pointless, especially
since it contradicts the only actual canon, i.e., what
we are seeing on screen.

The truth is that CowLip didn't give a damn about timelines
or being consistent -- they changed things to suit themselves
or else they were lazy and forgot/didn't bother (that's my
belief). Writers who came in during S2 admitted that they
didn't even bother to watch S1, so unless the actors said
something or someone else called it to their attention,
they made everything up out of whole cloth. When things
suited them to bring up again -- i.e., Dumpster Boy or
whatever -- then they sort of looked things up, but they
didn't bother to reconcile facts. They figured no one
would be paying that close attention. In other words,
they know nothing about fandom (and could care less!).

For instance -- was Vic the older or younger sibling? He
is another one with 2 birth years -- one on the Babylon
Membership Card he gives Justin in 103 (1952) and another
on his headstone (1951-2004) -- which dates Vic's death
during late January or early February 2004 (Emmett says
it's February when Deb is decorating for the Christmas
Party). But if either of those dates is true, that
would make him older than Deb, who says that she had
Michael when she was 17 -- Michael born in 1970 = Deb
born in 1953. Which also means that she was at Woodstock
when she was 16 (and those Three Guys Named Julio weren't
her first, since she told Jennifer in 106 that she lost
her virginity at 15).

So any kind of timeline will always be up for grabs. There
is no definitive interpretation -- like the Bible, you
can always quote another scripture to contradict it.

[dhrachth.livejournal.com]

There's not a definitive timeline as far as specific dates go. I think specific dates are pretty much irrelevant anyway. Whether Vic was born in 1952 or 1951, who cares? What does it matter?

However, a relative timeline does affect interpretation of the story. For example, if Justin's relationship with Ethan was 3 months long that's a very different scenario than if they were together for nearly a year. I used a calendar for convenience sake, but my object was to figure out when events in the series could plausibly have happened in relation to each other--which is an entirely possible task.

For those of us, unlike QAF's original writers, who do care about internal consistency in our fic, having a concrete idea of when and how long before you start writing is a must. I am simply offering my figuring so that people don't have to start from scratch.

If there's some specific interval you have a problem with, ie the span of time between season 1 & 2, tell me. I probably won't change it, but I'll explain my reasoning and you might convince me otherwise. If you just don't like the idea of a timeline, don't look at it.

I wanted to make one. Other people have asked me for it. Your harping on how a timeline is impossible is not in the least appreciated.

[bndjsfaghag15.livejournal.com]

i appreciate the work you've put into a timeline. it's just, if you want to put specific dates into your fic, you don't want to feel completely off base, you know? so thank you, you have helped me feel better about the realism (as far as that can go in an AU fic) in my fic.

[gaedhal.livejournal.com]

I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm simply saying
that it's going to be subjective no matter what.

I've been in this fandom for a long time and there
have been many timelines. Everyone who writes a
fic makes a timeline, which is as it should be.
But it's still a timeline that will fit that fic
and not the show, per se.

I'm not harping -- this is an open community and you
posted something that comes up at least twice a
year, if not more often on the LJ. Everyone would
love a definitive answer. I would love a definitive
answer -- it would make things so much easier! But
even the writers didn't know. They've said so.

People need to write their fics with an internal
logic. Then we'll buy it. That's all that's really
needed.