Date: Apr 13, 2021 6:30 am Title: Chapter 14
Hi there! Yes, everything you wrote about the vaccinations and the second vaccination is correct, but somehow I am still not feeling well at the thought of having myself vaccinated a second time with Astra Zeneca. I'm already 47 years old, I smoke ... hm ... And I've probably just been working in neurosurgery for far too long... ïŠ I see exactly these clinical pictures here. And too often I think, hopefully I don't have an aneurysm or a cerebral hemorrhage. But I still have six weeks to think about it and listen to opinions and then build my own...
This chapter... First of all, I totally disagree with Justin. In my opinion, Gus isn't too young to hear about lawyers and the possibility of a court hearing. And i also can understand that Brian wants to be honest with Gus. What surprised me anyway is that he hasn't already asked Justin about his relationship with his father. I mean, he was around seven when they were forced to split up, they were more or less together until he was 7 years old, he saw how deeply Justin mourned Brian, and Ethan has only been in the picture for two years... so ... I am surprised that he has not yet talked to Justin about it or asked him about it
Oh man, they are in a totally difficult situation anyway, but with these nightmares you make it even more difficult for them ... Ui, now I might make myself unpopular with other readers... In the last few reviews I have almost exclusively expressed my anger over Justin's impossible behavior, but this time I have to say that I agree with him a little. I have two children of my own and if I imagine that one of my boys at the age of 12 would have spent the nights with someone who had terrible nightmares like Brian, I probably wouldn't have agreed with that either. Justin knows himself what it is like to have such nightmares and he also knows that Brian had these nightmares both in the hospital and also the one night Gus spent with him so far. So he has to assume that Brian could have those any night. And it's not about Brian possibly hurting Gus, but it can't be good for a twelve-year-old child to be alone in this situation and see his father like this every night. So, what I want to express is, that this is a difficult situation and I can understand that Justin can't just let it got and the best would be if Brian would be reasonable and did something about it. But what also annoys me and makes me sad about it is that Justin should know better. He knows Brian, he knows the Brian Kinney manual and he should know that trying to pressure Brian like this won't help and won't get anywhere. In doing so, he achieves the opposite. He should know that he would have to act differently. And the "old Justin" would certainly have behaved differently. It's so sad. I have absolutely no idea about the law and legal process, and I don't know how a judge would rule in this situation. Brian is Gus' biological father and I think he should clearly have custody, but wouldn't a judge make it a condition that Brian should go to therapy? I'm really excited to see how it goes on in this regard ...
Emmett ... Oh yeah, that could have worked. I mean, you reminded us how lonely Brian is ... The only people he knows in Canada are Justin, Gus, Daphne and Em ... So sad. I was really hoping Brian would open up to Emmett because I think Emmett has the gift of being impartial.. I think he would be able to be a friend for both Justin and Brian in this situation and he would stand by Brian and give him honest and good advice. I really hope more will develop here...
So, looking forward to Sunday, stay healthy and warmest regards!
Author's Response:
Oh, I totally understand about the AstraZeneca vaccine and your worries there. And especially with your job, I can understand how that would only worry you more. As said before, it's a very difficult decision and I don't envy anyone who is in that position right now. Maybe I should be glad that it will be at least another month or two before I will even be up for a first shot... By then they will hopefully have figured out what to do and who to give what vaccine to. For the moment, Ireland is only giving AstraZeneca to over 60 year olds as well, so maybe my chances of getting the BioNTech vaccine have now gone up ;)
I agree, I also think that Gus is old enough to be told about these things. First of all because it involves him and this whole argument is about him and who he should spend time with and secondly because as a 12 year old, he can understand these things if explained properly to him. I have always been a fan of treating children with honesty and not lying to them and I will stand by that. As a former primary school teacher, I have seen again and again how resilient kids can be and most of all, how much they understand even if they're not being told the truth. Kids can look right through adults on the best of days.
As for why he has not spoken to Justin about his relationship with Brian: I think Gus understands that things have changed and Justin is now with Ethan. He has been living with Justin and Ethan for two years now and they have become his surrogate fathers. On a certain level Gus probably understands that there is no place for Brian in Justin's life in the capacity of boyfriend/partner. As for why is he not talking to Justin in general about Brian's reappearance? I think he knows what a sore topic Brian is for Justin right now, so he'll rather not bring up Brian more than needs be... sad but true :(
You might make yourself unpopular with other readers, but you're making yourself very popular with me :) I am glad you're seeing some of Justin's concerns regarding the nightmares.
I will totally agree that Justin is going about it all wrong and that he should know better how to get Brian to get the help he needs instead of just pushing the wrong buttons over and over again. But deep down some of his behaviour is coming from real concern over these nightmares. He has been plagued by nightmares himself after his prom, he knows how they can impact you and due to working through the loss of Brian, he has learned that dealing with and talking about your traumas is way healthier than just ignoring it and trying to move on.
He is going about it all the wrong way, but he's coming from the right place. Brian has been through some unimaginable things in Gilead (which we'll find out about at a later point), is plagued by nightmares of that time and obviously needs help to deal with what happened. And yes, he is also concerned about the effect seeing his father have these nightmares will have on Gus. Justin has been the one who picked up the call and had to listen to a crying and scared Gus, he's the one that held and hugged a crying and scared Gus and got him to go back to sleep that night. Yes, Gus might have been alright the next day and afterwards, but Justin was the one who saw that Gus was not okay that night and his first priority right now is to make sure that Gus is alright and won't have to go through that again.
Once again, Justin is going about it all the wrong way and should know that he won't reach Brian that way, but his concern for Gus and the effect his dad's nightmares will have on the boy is real!
As for the law and legal process - we'll unfortunately move in that direction very soon :( We will find out and you raise a good point about what a judge might say to all of this when presented with the evidence from both sides...Unfortunately, custody issues are hardly ever resolved without problems and this one won't be any different :(
But, I promise it will only be a couple more chapters before we start moving in the right direction. We are quickly coming to the worst point in this story and will then be able to move on in the right direction. I promise! Just hang on for a bit longer ;)
Emmett - I love him! He's such a good friend :) And I agree with you, he would be a friend to both Brian and Justin without taking anyone's sides. And he's coming from a real place of concern and worry as well. He saw his best friend not being able to deal with the trauma Gilead has caused in his life and he doesn't want to lose Brian the same way he lost Ted. He wants to help his friend, unfortunately Brian is not at a point yet to accept that help :(
Thanks as always for your very insightful comment :) It's much appreciated! Stay safe! More will be up tomorrow :)
Date: Apr 11, 2021 4:30 pm Title: Chapter 14
This was tagged as a Brian/Justin and getting back together but I’m not seeing any potential for that.
Author's Response:
They will, I promise!
Only a couple more chapters and then Justin will finally get his head out of his ass ;)
Thanks for your comment. More will be up soon!