Date: Sep 27, 2018 9:32 am Title: Chapter 15
She was doing him a "favor"...wow the character just lost a lot of respect in my eyes. A favor, jesus.
Deb and her got to play grandma and Justin was left with nothing, what kind of mothers are they.
Author's Response:
The ones who made a mistake, a grave mistake and now have to live with that for the rest of their lives :/
Date: Jul 31, 2018 3:06 pm Title: Chapter 15
Okay, so I waited a bit before I wanted to post a review....and I am sorry but I just don’t see the strength the some think Justin is showing. What stuck out to me was Justin silently asking for Jennifer’s permission to read his own son a bedtime story. At this point the theories of insecurities and not wanting to upset some delicate balance that the grandmas have going just don’t fly with me. This is why Justin NEEDED that time alone with the boys because the more he lets things continue on, the more comfortable and justified the others are going to feel about what they have done. I said it before and I’ll say it again, Justin is allowing himself to remain a victim instead of telling everyone that he is TRULY done hearing their bullshit excuses and doing things to make it easier for them while he continues to suffer. I guess the problem for me is that I can’t suspend reality enough to see the situation you’re presenting playing out this way. All the passive aggressive placating that is going on is unreal and really shouldn’t be entertained. I’m not even going to start in on Jennifer and her selfish ass. Bottom line is she spouted a bunch of bullshit that left her looking like she didn’t give one single fuck about her son.....pathetic absolutely pathetic.
Author's Response:
We're never going to agree on Justin's character in this story ;)
I am not going into why he's the strongest character in this story for me again, but I will say that for me it's totally understandable that he would feel insecure and scared about having Luke and Gus stay at his place. He has been thrown into the role of being a father to two boys from one day to the other without any time to prepare. Brian had the 6 months between finding out that he was pregnant and Luke being born to get used to the idea of being a father. Justin showed up at Britin and from one day to the other found himself as a father of two... That needs time adjusting to.
As simple as it is: Justin was just not ready to have the boys stay at his place. If that makes him weak, then he is weak. To me it makes him human and normal. I would be more concerned if he wouldn't feel insecure and wouldn't be scared of suddenly being responsible for two little boys.
As for Jennifer - yes, she was definitely selfish. No doubt about that!
Thanks for your comment!
Date: Jul 31, 2018 2:24 pm Title: Chapter 15
Hi again! That's funny, you're also from Germany? Where do you come from? Yeah, I'm from Berlin, I was born here and still live here. Hej, then I could write my reviews in German :-) , my English is so terrible... Sadly, there was a weather warning on Saturday and at 8 pm the storm started. The police had to cancel the closing event for security reasons. It was sooo sad! I can understand your joy dancing to "Chiquitita" on such an occasion! There are so many beautiful scenes of those two, but this scene at justin's first Pride is one of my many favourite ones, because on one hand Justin could let Brian be Brian, letting him go, telling him to have fun and on the other hand Brian for once decided against this kind of fun and actually just choosed Justin. And their dance, it was so beautiful and cute. And everytime I hear this song (and my son is a big Abba-Fan :-) ), it reminds me of this scene!
Now, this chapter. I love this scenes between Justin and Luke. Luke is just so adorable (no wonder, being a combination of Brian and Justin) and it's beautiful to see that they've already bonded so well. I'm so happy for Justin. Some readers may again see his behavior as weak but in my opinion, it's not weakness, but just a normal insecurity. He's not sure how do deal with his mother which on one hand he loves so much and on the other hand he feels so hurt by her. He also seems to be a little insecure being alone with Gus and Luke. I can understand this also. I remember being so insecure with my first son, although I was the one being pregnant, I gave life to him, I've raised him since then. So, I can imagine that Justin's also a little afraid doing something wrong. The more beautiful is the reaction of Luke. That he tells Justin, that he wants to spend more time at justin's home more often, that he wants to spend more and more time with him. I could imagine, that there soon comes the question to spend also nights with his Papa...
What can I say... I'm really sooo disappointed by Jennifer. I really believed that there had to be more or other reasons for her silence. Are there really no other reasons than this threat by Brian? Maybe I'm wrong to judge her, but for me there's such a big diffenrece between Jennifer's and Brian's behavior. With Brian, I see and understand where it came from, but Jennifer... I judged her differently, I expected more from her, I saw her as a strong woman. But, who knows, so far, your story hold some surprises...
At the end of the chapter, I nearly expected Luke to show up again. I could well imagine that he would wake up from the conversation between the two and listen to them unnoticed and even if he is only five, hearing certain things and understands... But maybe it's good - at least for him - that he doesn't hear the whole truth through a quarrel between his grandma and his Papa... It's so exciting and I'm looking forward to the next chapter! Warmest regards!!!
Author's Response:
Ja, ich bin auch deutsch. Ich komme aus der Ecke Osnabrück und habe bis vor fünf Jahren in Osnabrück gewohnt. Dann hat mich das Irland-Fieber gepackt und ich bin auf die grüne Insel ausgewandert :) Ich bin auch regelmäßig in Berlin, meistens für die Berlinale. Eine echt schöne Stadt :) Und dein Englisch ist super - absolut!
Switching back ;) Yeah, the end of that Pride is one of my all-time favourite Brian/Justin moments. For once Brian did the right thing and showed Justin that he was important to him :D
As for the story, Justin has basically been thrown into the role of being a father. He had no time to prepare, he had no time to even think if he wanted this or not (and we know, he wanted it, but when it finally happens that is still a completely different thing) and then from one day to the other he finds himself with a 5-year old son (and a ten year old if we add Gus to the mix). To me it's perfectly understandable that he would feel insecure about his new role. Every new parent does and yes, that's mostly when dealing with newborns, but Justin never got to experience that stage and this time with Luke and Gus now are his first steps of being a real father. Poor guy deserves to be cut some slack for feeling scared and insecure and maybe slightly overwhelmed by everything :(
The question of spending nights at Justin's place will come sooner than Justin might expect;)
As for Jennifer: Maybe there were other reasons she's not willing to admit yet. Maybe there were other reasons she's not even realising herself yet and she's just hiding behind Brian's threat of disappearing with the baby. We'll have to wait and see...
Luke didn't hear them - but someone else did and that someone understood :(
Thanks for your great comment - I love reading your thoughts!
[Report This]Date: Jul 30, 2018 3:51 pm Title: Chapter 15
It's nice that Justin had a fun day with Luke and Gus. Jennifer made the wrong choice and it would serve her right if Justin took the kids and just went off like she thought Brian would do.
Author's Response:
Yes, the fun day for Justin and the boys was really needed and they all deserved it!
As for Jennifer - yes, she would deserve that and much worse, but Justin would never do that... He is too good for that!
Date: Jul 30, 2018 2:37 pm Title: Chapter 15
Justin is right: he is the father, Brian couldn't have been able to get away with Luke. Furthermore, Jennifer had 9 months to think and get some legal advice. She has no excuse.
Great moments with Luke and Gus, then Luke and Justin. It lessens the huge pain he must feel being near his mother.
Author's Response:
No, she doesn't :(
Justin and the boys deserve some happiness and this happy afternoon was needed! And yes, Justin sure draws strength from those two boys. They are helping him more than they know :)
Date: Jul 30, 2018 3:05 am Title: Chapter 15
A conversation that solved nothing. At least he could voice his pain and get some of it off his chest. It's a step in the right direction to getting all his anger out.
I'm happy for Justin and the boys. They had a great afternoon. Don't know how Brian will feel about the new painting though.
Author's Response:
Yes, Justin and the boys deserved a good time. As for the painting... we'll see what Brian's reaction will be...
More will be up later today :)
Date: Jul 30, 2018 1:20 am Title: Chapter 15
Jennifer is full of BS. What is Brian the CIA and would know if Jennifer told Justin to come home. No way. She could have told him not to tell Brian and paid for him to come home and then hid him at her house when Brian was bringing Luke over. Also when Lindsay and Michael tried to kidnap Luke brian could have used Justin's help then to prove who both fathers were. You know, I love a good AU story, but in the end this is about QAF and B/J's love story. At least in my opinion. Most people look at tags in the fanfics to decide if a certain story is their "cup of tea". You have Brian and Justin tagged as a pairing and angst with a happy ending. I'm all for angst as long as I know they will be happy AND together in the end. However, you have eluded on some comments that there will be a "happy" ending just that what constitutes one happy ending isn't someone else's. As a writer you can and should certainly write whatever you want to write. BUT as a reader we are given the same choice. That is why there are tags and/or a writer can put a note in the summary to explain. IMO I can't help but feel deceived but the Tags. B/J are not a pairing in this story and your references to happy endings hint that they will not be together either. I don't know how they could ever be together in this universe. I have certainly read many stories post 513 about the "Kinney cliff" for Justin's career, but they were believable and brian was redeemable. Maybe if it wasn't almost 6 years and EVERYONE except Emmett betrayed Justin it would be more believable.
I'm not trying to criticize at all. Your writing is superb! I know from reading the comments that others agree with me. Had I had an idea what this really about with the tags or an author's note in the beginning, I never would have read this story. I'm sorry if I am sounding rude and mean. I've been burned so many times in other stories that I invested a lot of time in, so I'm really careful to lot at tags first. As I said please write what you want, just please place a warning in the beginning and be careful of the tags. I can't remember ANY stories that I have read that have angst with a happy ending NOT having brian and Justin together at the end and happy together.
Also, as so many others have said, Justin can be as mature as an 80 year old man and not want to hurt the kids, BUT that is not how he comes across here at all. Everyone has excuses, no REAL apologies, and above all NO CONSEQUENCES!!! Justin seems very weak and taking all of the blame in this story. Luke and Gus are old enough to understand certain things. Justin does not have to be around Brian all that time at Britin. He can be cordial to brian in front of the kids, but that's it. He can go out and buy clothes and toys etc for his house. He has had the time now. I don't care if his house was not meant for kids. Any house can be rearranged to accommodate. Im sorry it is just too unrealistic for the characters.
As much as I love your writing, I think I am going to have to abandon this story like others have. Good luck and please keep writing, maybe just please consider a warning on future stories.
Author's Response:
Hi, thanks for your comments - of course everyone is entitled to their own opinions and I do accept that people will have different opinions from mine. That's life and that's what makes life so interesting :)
As for the tags: The Brian/Justin tag and the Angst with Happy Ending tag were chosen for good reason! This is a Brian/Justin story and yes, there will be a Happy Ending! I have not said anything about them not ending up together and I am aware of what those tags mean. Again - chosen for a good reason! What I was refering to concerning the Happy Ending is that not everyone will want them to have a happy ending after what Brian did and not everyone might like the happy ending I have chosen for them. After what they have been through, people might expect different things and not everyone might be happy with the happy ending this story will have. Some people might be, others might not. But having said that: I AM aware of what Happy Ending in a fandom means and that's why the tag was chosen ;)
As for anything else - there is always the option of contacting an author. Several people have chosen that option and contacted me with questions about the story before starting to read it. I have answered to all those questions and comments and would have answered your questions as well. What I will not do and will never ever do is spoil a story in a public forum like this. While you might like to know where a story is going and want to know in advance what you're getting in for, many people don't want that and I don't want them to get accidentally spoiled by any comments I might leave here.
Once again, I can only go by my own experience, but when I go into a book store, I only have 3-5 sentences at the back of a book to get me interested. There are no warnings either about what might or might not happen to characters. I do appreciate that everyone is different, but for me that's the thrill of reading: You never know what might be coming your way!
So please, if you have any specific questions concerning the happy ending or where this story is going - I am more than happy to answer them outside of a public forum as I have done for several other readers as well :)
As for Justin being weak or not - I realise that some people will never agree with me as we have very different outlooks on life. For me he is the strongest character in this story and I stand by that. Being angry and ignoring people that have hurt you is the easy way - facing them and trying to move on from the hurt: That's the hard work. That's the painful thing to do.
I have mentioned before that I don't believe in revenge, vindictiveness or anything like that - to me it's just a waste of time. So yes, I can totally relate to Justin, but I do understand that other people can't. That's life :)
At this point we've barely reached the half-way point of the story, a lot is still going to happen before we make it to the end (where the tags will come true ;) ).
I am sorry to see you leave this story behind, but maybe it's for the best. The story is finished and I am not going to change Justin's view of things, so there probably isn't much hope for him in some people's eyes.
Having said all that: Thank you so much for all your comments and all the time you have spent on leaving them. I do appreciate that and loved reading your thoughts :)
[Report This]Date: Jul 29, 2018 11:29 pm Title: Chapter 15
Brian, Jennifer, Deb and Ted are all using Justin's Career as a crutch no one considered what Justin wanted because they are all Selfish People.
Justin was building a career in Pittsburgh he could've been successful and still have a family too.
All of them have excuses but no one is just willing to admit and say I'm Sorry, I Was Wrong, I Deserve Your Anger and So Much More.
They are all too busy trying to cover their own Asses!
Jennifer wants to congratulate Justin for his attempts at parenting and but she is forgetting that Justin could've had all this from the beginning if everyone had just thought about Him first.
Even after knowing that she has Royally Screwed Up her relationship with Justin she is still making excuses and taking Brian's side.
What is valid to you sounds like Bullshit to Justin who has lost nearly six years with his son and none of you Pillars of Truth Were Planning to Tell Justin He Had A Son!!!!!!!
Where were Jennifer's tears for Justin when Luke cried, smiled for the first time, walked, talked said Dada for the First time, had his first birthday, Christmas, New Year, Easter, Father's Day, 4th of July?
Where Her, Brian, Deb and Ted's Damn Tears Then???
What Good Is A Apology If You're The Only One Who Feels Good About It??
Author's Response:
The thing is that at least Brian thought the career was what Justin wanted. After all Justin had cancelled the wedding and had moved to New York. To Brian that was a clear indicator that Justin wanted the career.
I don't think Jennifer will ever forget that Justin could have had that from the very beginning - they all know what they did and that they will have to live with that for the rest of their days :( It doesn't excuse anything and they are all aware of that!
It's just a big mess for everyone involved and Justin is the innocent party in this mess :(
Thanks for your comment! I really appreciate it :D