Date: Jul 19, 2018 4:05 am Title: Chapter 12
Thank you! I was hoping for a minute that Justin wasn't backing down from feeling betrayed and you didn't let me down! Brian finally realizing he did wrong is great! I still want Jen and Deb to suffer though. They were even more wrong to not tell Justin. Thank you for updating and can't wait for more!
Author's Response:
We'll see about Jennifer and Debbie soon...
As for Brian - he is slowly starting to realise how wrong he has been and it will be interesting to see how he will deal with that knowledge. So far he has always told himself he had done what was best for Justin, but now he can't justify his actions like that anymore...
More will be up soon!
Date: Jul 19, 2018 3:38 am Title: Chapter 12
A long due discussion and some back story: very interesting chapter.
Author's Response:
Yes, this conversation was long overdue and needed.
Hopefully it will help them move on in the long run :)
Date: Jul 19, 2018 3:15 am Title: Chapter 12
More weak Justin. Lindsay and Michael in jail whoop de do... making Justin cave likes this makes him the sucker. Brian thinking now 5 years to late I might have fucked up, who cares, it is 5 years to late. Justin does NOT need to forgive any of them he just needs to love his child preferably in New York. Gus should be told what his Mother did and be allowed to decide if he believes and forgives he does not have to do either.
I am so annoyed by all of them, I want to find special methods of torture for Brian, Jen and Deb and no for Luke to be happy Justin DOES NOT HAVE TO FORGIVE, I prefer avoidance...
Author's Response:
I think it has been well established at this point that Justin will not take Luke to New York, but will stay in Pittsburgh ;)
As for Gus - how do you know that he doesn't know what Lindsay did? How do you know that he doesn't know that his mother is in prison?
As for avoidance - not really healthy ;) Sometimes it's better to deal with issues head on instead of just avoiding them. We saw on the show for five years where avoidance got Brian :P
I agree - Justin DOES not have to forgive them, but maybe he WANTS to or maybe he NEEDS to for his own sake as well. Huge difference...
More will be up soon :)
Date: Jul 19, 2018 1:05 am Title: Chapter 12
Holy shit! Can believe Lindsay would try and keep Brian and Justin apart but to try and kidnap Luke. Damn I hope she and that fucking weasle rot in jail. Where was Mel during this time? Did she even know about Lindsay wanting to bring Luke back to Toronto? Debbie didn't know what Michael was up to? That, I can't believe.
So much lost time because they never talked. Even with Lindsay's meddling why didn't Justin question Brian? So much unnecessary pain.
Ok they talked. Justin got the explanation he wanted. Now what?
Author's Response:
We will find out more about Mel and her involvement or non-involvement over the course of the story. Just as with Debbie. Just remember that Emmett already mentioned that there had been a huge falling out between Debbie and Michael and he had never thought that to be possible. Could it have been about the kidnapping attempt? Hmmm, we'll see...
Justin tried to confront Brian - it was mentioned in the first chapter that he had come to Pittsburgh to try and talk to Brian, but that Brian had hidden from him and had avoided all attempts of contact that Justin tried to make. At one point Justin got the message and tried to move on, knowing that Brian had once again pushed him off one of his cliffs.
We'll see what will happen now. Will Justin be able to move on? Will he even be able to forgive the people involved in this mess? Will Brian come to realise how much damage he has really caused? And if yes, will he be able to move on from that?
So much exciting stuff coming our way :)
More will be up soon!
[Report This]Date: Jul 18, 2018 11:33 pm Title: Chapter 1
Plus Brian is A COWARD!!
He would rather his son tell Justin about Luke then face Justin like a man.
If he cared as has been implied then why the Hell didn't he find out why Justin stopped seeing Gus??
Wanna know why Justin believed Lindsay because her lies was more than he got from Brian.
Brian hid and forced everyone to hide with him to protect what Luke or his Reputation???
Brian put value on the power he wielded and Justin valued Love.
How is Justin supposed to forgive any of these lying A-Holes, when none of them ever thought of him.
Brian should feel guilty because he denied Justin moments he can never get back and helped to destroy the bound Gus and Justin shared.
Brian you're foundation is built on lies and it deserves to crash because you never considered Luke or Gus's feelings you just considered your own.
Whoa...I feel better now :)
Author's Response:
Haha, I hope it helped ;) Feel free to vent all you want! I love your comments :)
As for Brian - he always had to be the one in control and he always had to call the shots. And he has never been able to really understand that Justin was fundamentally different to him and looking for different things in life. He thought he could just project his own goals and aspirations onto Justin, but now finds out that didn't work.
He knows he made a mistake and he's slowly starting to realise just how wrong he has been :(
The question is: Will they be able to move on from this? Will Justin find it in himself to forgive all of them for what they have done? Will Brian be able to move on from his own guilt?
More will be up soon :)
[Report This]Date: Jul 18, 2018 11:19 pm Title: Chapter 12
Brian chose to take on Lindsay and Michael by himself instead of letting Justin help to protect Their Sons because as usual he needed to be in control.
Justin didn't need to be raised by anyone he was seventeen, smart as Hell and twice the adult Brian, Michael, Ted, Emmett, Melanie, Lindsay and Deb could ever be. (Hell he was more adult and stronger than Jennifer at seventeen)
Deb didn't raise Justin she gave him shelter and meals for a fee and not out of the goodness of her heart.
Everyone was so busy listening to Brian that it never occurred to any of them to Simply ASK JUSTIN WHAT HE WANTED!!!!!!!!!
Excuses Are Like Assholes Everybody Has One and THEY ALL STINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not surprised by Lindsay she always enjoyed gloating that she had Brian Kinney's Baby and no one could take that away from her.
Until Brian got pregnant by Justin and both of them stole her thunder.
Michael is a spineless jellyfish who will follow anyone if it means Brian will give him an inch.
Michael and Lindsay in jail is good but doesn't excuse how selfish and self-absorbed Brian was.
So I guess Mel is out for blood and Deb is living in delusion about Michael?
Is there a chance Deb is working with Mel to take the kids away from Brian???
I tried but can't stay away ;)
Author's Response:
Haha, another person who is not a big fan of Michael and Lindsay ;) Welcome to the club! I have never liked those two and it was an easy choice to make them the villains here...
As for Mel and Debbie - we'll see. We will find out about both of their reactions to the kidnapping attempt by Lindsay and Michael and will see how it has affected everyone's relationships.
Just remember that Emmett mentioned that there had been a huge falling out between Debbie and Michael at one point and that he had never imagined that to be possible, but that it had happened. Was it about the kidnapping attempt? Hmmm...
As for Brian... well, he always had to be in control and he always had a problem seeing different point of views than his own. We can only hope that he will realise how much he has messed up and will learn his lesson :(
More will be up soon!
Date: Jul 18, 2018 10:25 pm Title: Chapter 12
Wow, what a great chapter. Finally the words are being said to make each of them understand. More pain to come, I am sure, but somewhere along the line, Love will win out.
Author's Response:
We will have to wait and see if love can even overcome this... Right now, as you said, there's mostly only pain :(
But this conversation was needed and long overdue...
Thanks for your comment! More will be up soon :)
Date: Jul 18, 2018 9:38 pm Title: Chapter 12
I wish I could take some comfort in Brian's come-to-Jesus moment, but I can't. The damage is done and can never be undone. At this point, my hatred and disgust for these people who manipulated Justin is so deep that it isn't redeemable. Brian could go to hell in pain and suffer for eternity and it wouldn't be enough for me at this point. He stole the biggest dream Justin had ever had because he just had to be right, he had to make sure he wasn't seen as a disappointment, he had to call the shots. And when the son he shared with Justin was threatened by kidnapping, court cases, jail terms for the kidnappers, etc., Justin wasn't even an afterthought. All this and not a single person felt that Justin had any right to know.
Yep, this is pretty much a Trump situation for me at this point. And that's saying a lot.
Brian asked Justin why he would believe Lindsay, implying that Justin should have trusted Brian to never say anything like that. But Brian held the cards. Brian had ended the relationship in one fell swoop, Brian then obviously believed the worst about Justin when he stopped seeing Gus. He wanted Justin to trust *him* but never gave a single fuck about whether *he* trusted *Justin*. Not even when he found out what Lindsay and Michael were capable of? Didn't he ever even wonder?
There is an implied complicity on Justin's part in all this and I find that grossly unfair. Grossly. You simply cannot blame the victim here. Justin is every whit as innocent in all this as is Luke. Every whit. They were both used so Brian would not someday in the future feel like he was a disappointment. I just don't see that he did any of this for Luke or Justin. He did all this for himself. And the rest of them fell in line for whatever reason.
And you simply can't create a Camelot around the kids by using lies and half-truths as a foundation. Lying to them about where Justin was and why he wasn't around is a pretty weak foundation for building any kind of relationship between Luke, Gus and Justin. One day, Luke WILL wonder why he wasn't as important as Justin's career, why that career was more worthy of putting five years into than he himself was, without even a phone call or birthday card. And then... that disappointment Brian was so afraid of being? Yeah, it'll slap him in the face. There's no good way to lie about this. None.
Author's Response:
In Brian's twisted mind he really thought he was doing Justin a favour by allowing him to have a career. Just as Justin accused him, he was going by his own goals for his life and just projected them onto Justin, never taking into account that Justin has always been very different from him and not like him at all.
Something Brian in his supposed wisdom never took into account or even thought about...
As you say, Brian just had to be in control and just had to call all the shots because that's who he is, but this... he definitely went too far :(
I agree, there is no good way to lie about this and lying to the kids won't help anyone as one day they will be old enough to ask more questions, so it will be interesting to see how Brian will deal with that!
It will also be interesting to see how Justin will deal with everything and everyone and if he'll be able to move on or even forgive the people involved or not?!?
Thanks for your great comment :) More will be up soon!
[Report This]Date: Jul 18, 2018 9:20 pm Title: Chapter 12
Well that answered a lot of questions, but it's still going to be hard to forgive being left out of Lukes life. Gus needs to know the truth, it's the only way he will heal.
Author's Response:
Yes, forgiving will be hard and we'll have to see if Justin can find it in himself to forgive everyone involved :(
As for Justin and Gus - we'll find out more about their relationship soon!
Date: Jul 17, 2018 1:43 am Title: Chapter 1
You replied: I have to respectfully disagree with you however about Brian not having tried to atone: When Justin reappeared in Pittsburgh, Brian had a custody agreement for him merely 12 hours later that allowed Justin free access to his son.
-- (This is one of those times I wish we had a threaded response capability!) When you rob a bank, giving back the remainder of the money because you got caught is *not* atonement. It's self interest. That's pretty much what Brian did. Atonement is sincere apologies to the wronged party, admitting in no uncertain terms that you were wrong and setting out *how* you were wrong. Accepting the guilt of one's actions. I don't get even a flicker here that Brian thinks he was wrong. Even Justin says "he thought he was doing me a favor." But in effect, the agreement Brian presented was superfluous. Justin could have sued and accomplished the same thing. He didn't offer Justin anything that Justin couldn't have gotten anyway. (All of this is actually in keeping with Brian's *public* persona in canon, though carried to the limit.) And Jennifer leaving Justin alone after his tirade? Doesn't sound like atonement either. No one is admitting their wrong actions in definitive terms. Not a single person so far has admitted to Justin that they were damned wrong and treated him like some criminal who didn't deserve to have a child. They are like a cult - excusing and placing the burden on their leader - in this case, Brian. And nope, not gonna hate you, my friend. LOL. Even though I hate the behaviors of the characters with a passion surpassing reason, I keep reading. Like I said to you before, it offers something or I wouldn't be back. And..... it lets me vent. Or rant. It caught me in a way few stories have done in a long time, even if I want to bitch-slap everyone in every chapter! I probably do need to up my blood pressure medicine, though. ::grin::
Author's Response:
Feel free to bitch-slap and vent your anger at the characters all you want :) That's the good thing about stories and characters - they're not real, so they won't care ;)
I heard tea is very helpful to calm people - maybe you'd want to have a nice cup of camomile tea with every chapter to help keep your blood pressure down ;)
As for Jennifer and Debbie: I do agree that as of now they seem to take the easy way out by blaming Brian and hiding behind him. However, we've only ever seen them meet Justin once after everything about Luke has come to light. Obviously there will be more interactions and conversations and hopefully Justin will get to say what he really feels then - poor guy :(
As for Brian, I think in his own Brian Kinney way he does feel sorry. Ted mentioned he had never seen Brian as guilty and miserable before, we saw Brian's guilt at the meeting at Debbie's house. Is it enough? No way! Is it the apology Justin deserves? No way! But I think in Brian's own Kinney way, he knows he fucked up and does feel bad for it :(
We'll see how he will deal with that in the future and if he can ever bring himself to say that he's sorry. The last time he tried to say that he was sorry, Justin didn't want to hear it, knowing that Brian doesn't believe in sorrys and probably thinking it wouldn't mean anything anyway...
Thanks for your additional comment, I really appreciate it :D
Date: Jul 16, 2018 2:46 pm Title: Chapter 11
Obviously sarcasm doesn’t translate in words. When I said next chapter they fuck it was SARCASM. Except with the weak way you write Justin having that happen would not shock me.
Why are you forcing Justin in a room even for the Holidays with everyone that betrayed him. Why can’t Luke spend the morning with him and the evening without him. Why does Justin have to forgive, you are making this easy for everyone else. You gave Justin 1 second of backbone with Deb then you took it away.
Even Luke is not a good enough reason to forgive any of them.
Author's Response:
Unfortunately, sarcasm hardly ever works in written form unless clearly indicated that it's supposed to be sarcasm. I think that's why the big, bad internet-God invented smileys and lol's ;)
I think we just have fundamentally different views on life. You call Justin weak, while for me he is the strongest character in this story. For me being able to forgive what they did to him and being able to move on for his son and his son's happiness doesn't make Justin weak, but makes him very mature and very strong.
Then again, I believe that as a parent you always have to put your child's well-being first. Obviously children are strong and can deal with a lot of things, but as a parent we have to decide what is necessary and what kind of pain we can avoid for them by being less egoistical.
But that's just my opinion and everyone has a right to disagree - that's the great thing about life :)
As for the holidays: Nothing has been decided yet. Justin doesn't even know if or how Brian and the boys celebrate the holidays. Emmett merely raised a point, but nothing is fixed and decided yet.
So no reason to get angry about Justin spending the holidays just yet ;) And so far nobody has been forgiven for anything!
And as I've said before, for me there is a huge difference between forgiving and forgetting. One doesn't mean the other...
More will be up soon :)
Date: Jul 16, 2018 11:00 am Title: Chapter 11
WHOO honestly rignt now i don't even know the personality of your characters. This story is really hard to digest.
Sooo Emmet the one suppose to understand Justin situation and what he have been going through suggest him to forgive a cluster of traitors for the sake of Luke.
Please Emmet tell me. What make you think those guys even need Justin forgiveness??? until now i have just hear them make excuse for their stupid choices and of course threats from TED and Brian to put Luke above everything, like this situation was Justin fault.
You will probably tell me all this forgiveness shit is for Luke not for them, but that is also the wrong path kids are fragile but they are also strong, sometimes more stronger than adult Justin and Brian need to tell the truth to their children. they will understand but they also need to know why there is a "TENSION" between them.
Justin don't have to take the role of the martyr. it's definitly not the solution to be the "SO HAPPY FAMILY"
Author's Response:
I don't think it's as much that they need Justin's forgiveness, but that Justin needs to find a way to move on from the hurt and betrayal.
We will find out how Brian and Justin will deal with Gus and Luke and what Brian might have already told them or not...
And just because Justin might be willing to move forward and might be willing to consider to forgive Brian, doesn't mean he'll ever forget. There is a very big difference between forgiving and forgetting!
Thanks for your comment! I really appreciate it :) More will be up soon!
Date: Jul 16, 2018 10:50 am Title: Chapter 11
Hi! Again too short :-)
My goodness, Debbie has nerves, and not in a good way! Come along and can’t even make an apology. I'm curious about what's going on here, but so far she's just as unsympathetic to me as Jennifer. It's cheeky to accuse Justin of the kind of greeting. What did she expect? And it's also shameful to apologize her silence with Brian. She makes it damn easy for herself. There is always a choice, and both Debbie and Jennifer should have inform Justin, and they could have without telling Brian.
I am very curious what really happened with Lindsay and I totally agree with Justin here. That doesn’t sound like Brian. I could imagine that Lindsay and Mel were arguing about custody of Gus with Brian at that time. And I also think that Brian didn’t know about the conversation between Lindsay and Justin at the time.
It's time for Brian and Justin to talk! I am glad that Em is such a good friend and gives Justin such good advice. Of course, Justin should not immediately forgive everything, but for both the welfare of the children and to find his own peace, he must find a way to forgive. Whereby this definitely takes time and won’t be easy.
As I said, it's time for Brian and Justin to talk! It’s clear that this couldn’t happen on the first evening, but now two weeks have already passed ... I missed the mention of Luke's behavior or state of mind during this time jump. Okay, he's unsure if his daddy will come back the next day, but can he let him go willingly in the evening? Does he not ask questions?
Furthermore, very good story, very exciting, very well written! Hopefully soon and warmest greetings!
Author's Response:
The next one will be longer - way longer! I promise ;)
I totally agree with your assessment of Debbie. That woman sure has some gall to come over and pretend as if everything was okay :(
We'll find out more about Lindsay, Melanie and also Michael in the next chapter - some much needed answers are finally coming!
Yes, a talk between Brian and Justin is overdue for many reasons. And maybe that talk will help Justin to finally start moving forward. How can he forgive and move on if he doesn't know or understand what really happened?
As mentioned in the last chapter, Brian talked to Luke before he met Justin for the first time. Both Luke and Brian hinted at that conversation. During that conversation Brian would obviously also have explained to Luke that Justin would come for visits and spend time with him, but wouldn't be staying with them at Britin. So Luke had been prepared for what Justin's visits would be like. How much Brian really told Luke about the whole mess and his part in it? We'll find out later ;)
Thanks so much for your comment! I really appreciate all the thoughts you pour into them and all the questions you raise!
More will be up soon :)
Date: Jul 16, 2018 3:15 am Title: Chapter 11
Em the voice of reason. Love him and the way Justin turned the tables on him.
I did like how Justin greeted and treated Deb, she deserved it
Author's Response:
The question is: Will Justin follow Emmett's advice? And is it good advice? We'll see ;)
She absolutely did! That woman sure has some gall to come over and act as if everything was okay...
More will be up soon!
[Report This]Date: Jul 16, 2018 1:46 am Title: Chapter 11
I guess the only thing to do is tell Gus and Luke the truth. That the reason Justin hadn't been there is because he had no idea about Luke. I wonder why Lindsay was the spike in the wheel and where was Emmett all this time?
Author's Response:
We'll see if it will come down to telling Gus and Luke the whole truth. Or only parts of it. Or nothing at all...
We'll find out more about Lindsay very soon!
As for Emmett - as hinted in previous chapters, he has pretty much removed himself from the Liberty Avenue family years ago and has mostly only been in contact with Ted. As for why Ted never told Emmett anything - that will be revealed.
More will be up soon!
Date: Jul 15, 2018 9:36 pm Title: Chapter 11
"...he thought he was doing me a favour..."
Umm.............................
Date: Jul 15, 2018 9:01 pm Title: Chapter 11
Okay, so now I know where this is going. Forgiveness-is-necessary. And therein lies my problem, I suppose. As a survivor of abuse (and yes, what Brian and the family did is definitely very abusive), years of therapy, pastoral counseling, and the whole shebang, forgiveness is not a necessary part of healing, even when others are involved.
There has been NO attempt on Brian's part to atone for his actions.
There has been NO attempt on Jen's part to atone for her actions.
There has been NO attempt on Deb's or Ted's or anyone else's part to atone for their actions.
Yet, Justin is expected to 'forgive' to keep things happy for the holidays?
Hell to the no. Forgiveness is something that is not done 'to keep the peace'. It is done because it is necessary to healing. And that doesn't have a time table. When I was considering a divorce, I stayed because my daughter's birthday was coming up. Then I stayed because Thanksgiving was coming up. Then I stayed because Christmas was coming up. Forcing oneself to accept or forgive or forget or get-along for the sake of the kids is a recipe for disaster.
It is an unfortunate fact of life that the bad actions of parents can really hurt the children. You do NOT forgive unforgiveable actions for the sake of the children. This can be a learning moment for the kids - they can learn that Brian's and the family's horrid behavior has real life consequences. Hopefully they will also learn never to treat someone as terribly as they have treated Justin.
We end relationship of all kinds all the time because there are just some things that cannot be forgiven. Rape, kidnapping, murder, abuse...
Remember, Justin is already the victim of a father who betrayed him, of a classmate who betrayed him, and of a judicial system that betrayed him. Now this?
Again, hell to the no.
Author's Response:
I am so sorry to hear about your personal history with abuse and I am glad that you got help to move on and survived :) That is an impressive feat!
I have to respectfully disagree with you however about Brian not having tried to atone: When Justin reappeared in Pittsburgh, Brian had a custody agreement for him merely 12 hours later that allowed Justin free access to his son. Brian offered Justin the chance to take Luke to his place, so he wouldn't have to come to Britin. When Justin said he didn't want a custody agreement, Brian went along, when Justin said he wanted to meet Luke at Britin, Brian went along. Brian has tried to make this as easy for Justin as is possible under the current circumstances (not trying to defend what he did five years ago and not trying to say what he did was okay! No way - he made a big mistake and he will become aware of how big soon!).
He also knows that he hurt Justin and that there is a lot of pain. So does Jennifer. And both are more than aware that talking to them is probably the last thing Justin would want at this moment. I think they are just trying to be respectful and give Justin some time to work through everything before crowding him with their apologies.
Also Justin is not expected to do anything. Emmett merely gave his friend some advice that he thought was helpful. Doesn't mean that Justin will follow the advice or won't make his own decisions. Emmett is only trying to be helpful, but of course that doesn't mean he has to be right.
Thank you so much for your detailed comment - I really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me :D
I hope this story won't make you too angry and won't make you hate me too much ;)
Date: Jul 15, 2018 8:45 pm Title: Chapter 11
WHOA!!! The family fucked him over in the worst way possible and Justin is the one who needs to compromise??? Now I’ve heard it all
Author's Response:
That's not really how I saw this chapter and the previous ones... But obviously everyone takes something else from stories :)
And Emmett only gave him some advice - doesn't mean Justin actually will follow it ;)
Date: Jul 15, 2018 7:38 pm Title: Chapter 11
great chapter. moving forward will be hard, but worth it in the end. terrific writing.
Author's Response:
We'll see if Justin will actually be able to move forward or if the pain and betrayal is still too fresh :(
More will be up soon :)
Date: Jul 14, 2018 3:58 am Title: Chapter 1
I hope not signing the agreement was not a mistake on justin's part. Right now, except for emmet and daphne, the rest of the gang is really not my favourite character anymore. And we still haven' t met the terrible trio yet. I wonder how much i'm going to hate them.
It doesn't matter if brian blackmailed them into anything. They should have found ways to tell justin. That makes that as bad as brian. Telling justin that brian feels regret and guilt for doing all that is as if they are excusing his action. Justin lost 5 yrs of luke's life.
I hope justin doesn't just let brian,debbie, and jennifer back in again. He should really make them pay!! ( sorry, i'm getting way too emotional over this. I know he isn't like that,but one can hope ;)).
Somebody is going to get seriously hurt by all of this and i truly bope it isn't going to be justin, luke or gus.
Author's Response:
Somebody already got seriously hurt - poor Justin :( We can only hope that he and the kids won't get hurt any further and that he and Brian have at least found some sort of common ground now...
I totally understand your feelings about the Liberty Avenue family - what they did is unforgivable :(
Thanks for your comment! More will be up soon :)
Date: Jul 13, 2018 3:18 am Title: Chapter 10
"Why, he didn't know after Brian had betrayed him, but somehow he just knew that he could trust Brian on this."
Ah, yes. The emotional abuser uses a velvet glove, rather than a baseball bat.
Brian learned to wield Lindsay's techniques well, didn't he?
Justin being smart enough to protect himself from future betrayal is not the same thing as putting his child last. That's a false dichotomy. It's the kind of reasoning abused spouses use to justify staying with their abusers. He can love his child, worship his child and learn about him, and still understand that Brian has proven himself to be someone he needs to protect himself from. No number of pictures, no number of stories can make up for the deliberate separation of a child from the love of his parent - without that other parent's consent. There's a name for that.
Brian and crew fucked everyone over six ways from Sunday all in the name of "I know best". Many young people have been forced to have abortions, or give away children because their mom and dad "knew best". This is honestly one of the most horrible crimes one can commit in the 'name of love'. Brian, Jennifer, Deb, Ted stole Justin's right to hear those first words, to see the first tooth, the first steps. Brian, Jennifer, Deb, Ted stole Justin's right to worry over mystery fevers and learn what Luke's reaction to seeing a butterfly for the first time would have been. They all got to enjoy those things. Brian, Jennifer, Deb, Ted stole Justin's choice, and in the process they stole Luke's choice, as well.
I seriously can't think of any situation that would justify what Brian and, especially, Jennifer have done.
Author's Response:
I do feel your anger at Brian, Jennifer and everyone else :( What they did was absolutely despicable and it will be hard for Justin to move on from their betrayal (if at all!).
However, I don't think that Brian would further hurt Justin. He is seeing firsthand what his decision did to Justin and I think it's giving him a completely new perspective on his choice for the first time in almost six years...
Not that that's excusing anything :(
Date: Jul 12, 2018 11:40 pm Title: Chapter 10
I’m sorry, but I have to disagree with the whole making sense from Brian’s POV on the whole situation. I mean seriously, Brian’s only reason really was because HE thought Justin needed his career more? I call bullshit. There is no sense in it and now they are getting Luke’s hopes up for them to be OBHF when they should really be telling him the whole truth about how Justin is going to be involved in his life. Sorry to be so negative, but I just don’t see the great, beautiful beginning that everyone else does. Honestly what I see is more unnecessary hurt because everyone is trying to put a band-aid on a rather large wound when it really needs to be dealt with and given time to heal.
The only thing I can see the boys doing is co-parenting together, I don’t see them being able to be with each other again.
Author's Response:
I am sorry, but I have to disagree, for me Brian's motivation makes total sense. It was an extreme decision, but to me it just adds up to decisions we saw him make on the show. He has always pushed Justin away to enable him to become the best homosexual possible and to Brian that has always included a good career/income. Brian always valued his money/job very highly and he was very adamant that Justin would get everything in life that he deserved.
Obviously, everyone sees something different in these characters and likes them for different reasons, but to me Brian has always loved Justin on a level that was sometimes detrimental to his own well-being. He would sometimes sacrifice his own happiness, so that Justin could be happy... (Ethan, sending him to New York). But that's just how I see his character, obviously everyone is welcome to disagree :)
I think that Brian, even though he made a very bad decision and a very wrong one (not gonna disagree there!), was doing it out of good (misguided!) intentions. I am sure in his mind he was really doing what he thought was best for Justin.
I definitely agree with you on the co-parenting: At this point there isn't anything more we can expect from either of them. Especially Justin. The pain and hurt of Brian's and Jennifer's betrayal still cuts too deep. And yes, they will also have to talk to the children about what happened and how they are going to move forward - definitely!
I really appreciate your comment and you taking the time to share your thoughts with me :)
Date: Jul 12, 2018 6:20 pm Title: Chapter 10
Hi! Another great chapter! Just one thing I didn't like about it... it was too short :-)
It's somehow crazy, when I started reading your story I wanted, I expected some kind of big or reasonable explanation for Brian's decision. But now, while writing my reviews and trying to take a look inside of Brian's mind, I realize that enable Justin to have a career at NY was, at least for Brian, reason enough. And although I still think this was one of his worst mistakes, I totally agree with you, from Brian's point of view, it's (not acceptable) but in a sad kind of way it makes sense. Giving Luke this family picture of the three of them (Brian, Gus and Justin) shows that he included Justin, he was always in some strange kind of way a part of their family, of their “happy family”. He could have given Luke a picture just of himself, Gus and Luke... I wouldn't be surprised if there is somewhere at Britin a closed room full of everything an artist could wish for. Still, on one hand, he is ridiculous romantic and on the other hand so awfully wrong. Some part of him must have been totally lonely.
I'm so in love with Luke – not just with his looks but also how he behaves. He seems to be real happy, but also desperate for his Papa, who he knows all along his life. This short conversation nearly made me cry: "but don't go again" - "Never". I don't know if it's realistic how Luke acts, that he's so openly to Justin, but I don't care because it's your story, it's fiction and I love it! And I'm sure at some point he will asks where Justin were, why he wasn't there. But then, I think it's Brian who have to answer...
I’m also so sorry for Justin. It must be real confusing to get these different signs from Brian… this picture… or knowing that they don’t need “papers and a schedule to tell us as much” just as they didn’t “need rings or vows to proof that they love each other” and on the other hand being betrayed like this…
I'm very curious what will happen when it's time for Justin to go, when this first day comes to an end... Justin doesn't live there but I'm sure that Luke won't let Justin go... I’m so curious about what’ll happen next…
Your writing-style is amazing. I love how you let us feel their emotions, no matter if it's happiness, hurt, anger, hate, love, despair, sadness…. Can’t wait to read more! Warmest regards!!!
Author's Response:
Thanks for your great review - I appreciate it so much.
You raise some very valid points about Brian and it seems as if we have a pretty similar view of how he and his character work. I totally agree with everything you said about his motivation, his inclusion of Justin in their "strange" family and also about him feeling lonely...
I work in education and have worked a lot with children aged 6-10 (slightly older than Luke is here) and I based him on a mixture of those kids. I have always admired how open and welcoming kids that age can be. They don't care who you are and where you come from, they just include you and make you part of their group without question (well, some, not all :P). I just imagined that being Justin's child, he would have this open, welcoming character as well and would welcome his Papa with open arms. After all it's a Papa he has heard great stories about for years and has been eager to meet himself. And sometimes simple explanations are enough for children that age. But obviously Justin's five year long absence will come up over the course of the story and will be a talking point in future chapters.
I am glad you're enjoying this little craziness my mind has come up with :) More will be up soon and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on it!
Date: Jul 12, 2018 3:47 pm Title: Chapter 10
I didn't mean that Justin wouldn't be a part of Luke's life, I meant he would expect Justin to stay with them in the house. Also, Justin has already started their new relationship with a lie. Everyone is gonna have to realize that Luke's feelings are going to get hurt sometimes. It's just a fact of life. The first time your kid calls you mean or says they don't like you can break your heart, but Justin is going to have to toughen up quick. Also, not let anyone else make him bad for not covering for everyone else. That's why I keep saying Justin is going to look like the bad guy, because you know none of the other co-conspirators in this shitfest are going to want their parts in this brought out, especially where Luke and Gus are concerned. I just feel so bad for Justin and the kids to an extent, but mostly Justin. I know I keep bringing up all the bad things that could happen, instead the excitement of Justin and Luke's first meeting, but I just can't help it. This story just feels so real, that's why I like so much. Can't wait for more.
Author's Response:
Ah sorry, I totally misunderstood you then. My bad :( Please accept my apologies!
Obviously Brian has talked to Luke before he was picked up by Justin (as indicated by both Luke and Brian) and Brian would have explained to Luke that Justin is not gonna stay at Britin with them and won't move in with them. We can trust Brian to be at least that honest.
I know we can't trust Brian and Jennifer and anyone else right now, but neither of them would hurt Justin even more by making him the bad guy. Everyone is well aware of the part they played in this whole mess and they're all ready to face up to that. The question is: How to explain all that to Gus and Luke? It will definitely come up over the course of the story, that's for sure...
Don't worry about focusing on the bad stuff - it is emotionally heavy material and hard to stomach. I totally get you and I am much like you when reading a book or story. I always think about the worst that could happen and my fantasy goes crazy ;)
I love your comments and I do appreciate your interest in this story :)
More will be up soon!
Date: Jul 12, 2018 3:53 am Title: Chapter 10
So the next chapter Brian and Justin fuck and all is forgiven. Please give Justin some backbone, I officially dislike him now almost as much as Jenn and Brian. I know you could care less about my opinion obvious from last review comments. I can deal with detesting Brian and Jenn at least give me back Justin let him show me something I can respect in him...
Author's Response:
I am really not sure where you get the idea that Brian and Justin will fuck in the next chapter - I think it's pretty obvious that we're not at any point in the story where sex is an option between them. They hardly talk and barely said "hello" in this chapter. Not quite sure how that equals sex in the next chapter ?!?
I am sorry you can't respect a man for putting his child first and making his child's well-being more important than his own pain. To me Justin is showing incredible strength and also showing how mature he is in how he handles the situation. But maybe that's just me *shrugs*