Reviewer: aglaja5 Signed [Report This]
Date: Jan 23, 2022 3:38 am Title: Chapter 4

What a great and intense chapter. First the glimpses into Brian's mind, who is finally confronted with what he did and the impact it had. He's done some cruel things to Justin before, but as I've already previously written, that "Take a shower. You stink"-scene is probably the most horrible thing Brian has done to Justin. Yes, mental abuse. Debbie later says, "I don't know what set him off, Brian." Brian should know. And yes, I know it's a TV series, but they started so many interesting storylines and then didn't finish them. They didn't let them talk enough. Whatever. And then that scene with Brian and Debbie. Very well written. "She laughed at me and said that you were the least of her concerns, that you were at least honest about the fact that you took pleasure in humiliating people." Heavy stuff, but not entirely untrue. "Justin said that he had been told that we would've been better off if you'd just left him lying there" - So, in your story, Michael didn't say that to Brian , but straight to Justin? Michael - what can I say, I don't like him at all, but I've always hoped that Brian and Michael would also have a clarifying conversation about their toxic addiction friendship - and not in the form that Brian offers Michael to fuck him.

Reviewer: BlueMyst Signed [Report This]
Date: Dec 10, 2017 12:20 am Title: Chapter 4

Brian may have been protecting himself from pain but he cast Justin in darkness by keeping him at a distance.

How could Justin fight for his place in Brian's life if he couldn't remember the person he was before?

Michael is partially to blame for this and the others have their parts to play in this sad story.

For all their mocking tones and catty remarks they all never once considered how a

Justin might feel about them being cruel because they were to afraid to admit that they knew nothing about relationships just like him

 

Author's Response:

Very true - you read between the lines very well. 

Reviewer: Glo Signed [Report This]
Date: Dec 02, 2017 2:22 am Title: Chapter 4

Jesus...What an emotional chapter. I have tears coming down my face...omg I hope the family rallies together for Justin. Debbie is going to freak when she finds out it was Michael who said those things. 

Author's Response:

Thanks, hon, I'm glad you're feeling this fic so strongly. x

Reviewer: NoChaser Signed [Report This]
Date: Dec 01, 2017 6:43 am Title: Chapter 4

Oh, god in heaven, this is painful. And rings so very, very true. 

I don't have a lot of sympathy for Brian yet. As I said on another chapter, the scene you describe in this chapter is one of only a very few times I actually hated Brian Kinney. Regardless of his own demons, the psychological rape of Justin in that scene is so damned unforgivable! And right now, I want Brian to hurt and hurt badly. 

I'll be honest that all the media attention right now on sexual abuse by manipulating men, the #metoo movement, the seemingly hourly discovery of yet another powerful man using that power to sexually manipulate someone who is less powerful, more vulnerable, has me rethinking my love of the Brian/Justin relationship. It was inherently one-sided on the power dynamic. It pushed the boundaries of moral behavior by an adult toward a barely legal minor. And I admit that I've had a bit of "QaF crisis of faith", as I told one friend here. To be frank, the show could not be made today without a huge outcry, and probably rightfully so. I'm saying this because my own reaction to the abusively charged climate we are in right now colors how I read these stories now, and this is a great one. 

There is so much going on in this chapter, too: the ignored psychological damage from the bashing, Brian's own willfully ignored need for psychotherapy, the abandonment by the gang, and, of course, the "whoever" who told Justin he should have died in the garage. We all know who that was. (I'm eager to see how you handle Deb's reaction to finding out THAT piece of info!)

Well, well, well done. My heart is breaking and racing and flying all around my emotions right now. 

Dayum...

Author's Response:

And rings so very, very true. 

I have always said write what you know; write the truth, and be honest in the telling.  I don't think I could write fluff if my life depended upon it. ;)  Have I ever been suicidal or depressed?  No.  But my BF has and my brother has.  I lost my cousin who was gay when I was eighteen to suicide.  So there is a little bit of my story within the story.  A catharsis, if you like.  

I don't have a lot of sympathy for Brian yet.  And right now, I want Brian to hurt and hurt badly. 

He is in for a world of hurt - I can damn well promise you that. 

QaF crisis of faith

I honestly don't think I was meant to discover the fandom before now.  I love the B/J relationship, but I have always viewed it as a strange one too.  When I was in the Riddick fandom, I loved the Riddick/Jack (Kyra) pairing and that was a 30-year-old man and a 13-year-old girl.  For me, it was never sexual until the second movie when she was over 17, but before that, it was the fact that she forced him to confront his inner animal and discover his own humanity.  The Brian/Justin pairing reminds me of this; Justin almost becomes Brian's little piece of conscience.  The little piece of the shiv left in the spine. ;)

What's going on in the media at the moment has been a shit storm that has been brewing for decades.  Men and women have spoken up in the past, and it has been shoved under the rug and ignored, but with the whole push for change with the gay community, and their rights, suddenly you can't push any topic like this away.  I mean, we're in 2017 for fuck's sake - I live in Australia and it was literally only a few weeks ago that our government allowed us to vote for gay marriage - we as a country gave a resounding YES!.  They are changing the laws by Christmas.   But in regards to the #metoo thing, if my daughter or son came to me and told me that a person in a position of power had touched them, there would be no place on earth they could hide; I would literally hunt them to the ends of the earth, and fucking annihilate them.  *Grrr*

(I'm eager to see how you handle Deb's reaction to finding out THAT piece of info!)

*Grins cheekily* 

Thanks so much for such a wonderful review - I'm glad that you're enjoying it, and that it is giving you the feels.  As a writer, that's all you can ask for. xx