~DresdenDoll~

Who said anything about drinking? Nah I just think that it'd be easy for someone like Brian to turn to the person he knows would provide him security of his feelings - he wouldn't even have to love him (since all of his love would die with Justin) b/c Mikey never really wanted Brian to love him this way - he'd be too scared for that to happen. Mikey isn't someone who likes big changes and Brian returning his feelings would change his universe - something he certainly would never be ready for. Emotionnally he's pretty masochist. He loves being the poor unloved bff. It turns him on more than having a normal relationship. Why he's been pining over Brian for so long knowing fully well nothing will ever happen? He subconsciously prefere suffer by seeing his beloved Brian falling in love with someone else and it gives him a bigger thrill than possibility of Brian falling in love with him.

galesgirl645

Wow you summed up mikey pretty nicely.

~DresdenDoll~

I like B/J/M dynamic to analyze - nothing against BM shippers but IMO you have to be blind to even consider any kind of "true love" between BM. In UK version Nathan (Justin) was there only to open Stewart's (Brian) eyes to his true feelings for Vince (Mikey) - it's the same in the US version. The only thing that changes is that thanks to Justin Brian realized the improbability of being with Mikey and the fact that it's something he never really wanted. He could fool himself in S1 with the idea of 2 old queens finishing their days together in Palm Springs or wherever but the truth is he already knew that it's never gonna happen. B/c Mikey isn't the one. Brian might have play all tough when it comes to love but I always thought that among all of the gang - he actually craved it the most. He could've easily send Justin away for good if he wanted. I'm sure he's done and said worse to get rid of a trick and yet he kept letting him in under his skin. It was more than just a f*** since I'm sorry but Justin started as a virgin and I don't think he suddenly became a sex god the next time he and Brian hooked up. Brian just felt that it waas the right time and person to maybe change his rules a bit. Slowly try something else without fear it'll completely destroy everything he knew about himself.

galesgirl645

I've only watched the first 3 episodes of the U.K version so I can't say anything about that.

ITA that brian craved love but he just didn't know how to react to it since his parents never really loved him. Justin's feelings for him kinda scared him at first.

~DresdenDoll~

I think Justin scared him b/c he was capable of something Brian never learnt how to do - openly express your feelings. The environment Brian grew up in taught him that the only way to survive is to hide feelings. So he set himself up a bunch of rules to protect himself and it worked just fine for years. And then Justin came along and practically told him and showed him that it's all bulls*** which no one actually ever bothered to do before. His bff was satisfied with the image of Brian he created in his head for his own comic book hero fantasy and the others never really bothered to look behind the facade. It was easier to have him categorized as the one who only thinks of sex and doesn't care about anyone except for himself and his d***.

galesgirl645

exactly. It always annoys that they ask things of him but they never take the time to see the real him.

~DresdenDoll~

It's the easiest way of thinking about people - create little boxes and shove them into the categories you've created. But for someone considered selfish Brian is an extremely giving person who never asks for anything in return. Which is opposite of being selfish I think what bothered me the most was how low expectations everybody had of him and how they tended to think the worst of him. When Justin was in the hospital I'm more than sure no one bothered to check on Brian how he was holding up. All they did was assume he was ass***e enough to ditch Justin once he woke up to go back to his wicked ways without one second thought.

galesgirl645

They didn't consider that maybe he was hurt too seeing justin like that. Justin was the only that saw through the whole facade.

milestogo

*bows to Do*

Brillant posts; and ITA. Brian was certainly craving love without admitting it openly. He kept Justin around for a reason I think; and I agree with you, it was probably not only for sex because Justin was unexperienced in the beginning. Justin is a good people reader, he figured out who Mickey was after a few minutes with him; the same with Brian. And he wasn't affraid to tell him. Brian and Justin both learn a lot with each other and that what's make an interesting relationship.

I just read that in a fic and I thought that it was an interesting line "their private relation ship was far different from their public one" what do you think?

Aikaterini

He sorta did. We've seen him in the backroom right at the beginning of season 2, which showed us what he did and how Michael found him. And we all know how much he loves to gossip and tell others about stuff he just witnessed etc. So, he probably told the others and they've never seen what Brian really did before and after being in the backroom or at work - was he even at work then?! But you're right, his friends must have never checked what he was really doing. I doubt that asking him would have helped, since we all know that Brian would have never told them where he was or what he did. But they could have at least tried, and we've never seen that and knowing the "family", they never did that. Some of them can be way too selfish for their own good sometimes. *sighs*

~DresdenDoll~

True but he was acting on something that was subconsciously inducted by his environment, his "family", somthing expected from him. He was managing his pain the only way he knew and the onle way people expected him to. Did any of them actually took time to do something about it once they felt his withdraw? Nope b/c it was actually conforting for them in a way it totally matched their way of thinking about Brian. We all have tendencies of looking for an info comfirming our pre existing opinions. The whole gang prefered to see the I-go-to-the-backroom-coz-I-don't-care-about-anyone side of Brian than the I-go-to-the-backroom-coz-I-don't-know-how-to-deal-with-what-happened for simple reason that it was something they knew. I think there's a major difference between them and Justin and major point against any possible BM relationship - Justin challenged Brian while Mikey and the gang were satisfied with the false image they created of him.


ETA: About what you said in lj - I guess we had the same idea. I thought a little discussion would be a cool change from all the squeeing we did lately

Aikaterini

I think I can't even compete with your when it comes to analyzing the character's actions, since I have never had a psychology class in all my life. So, this is only my poor excuse of what I see in the show and what it makes me feel.

We all know that what Brian did in the beginning of S2 was pure pain management. He couldn't really deal with the pain of knowing what happened to Justin and felt sorta guilty, so he tried to do what he always did: seek pleasure with guys he doesn't even know, just to forget about what happened. But I think this time he didn't manage to do it. When Mikey "found" him in the backroom and we could finally see Brian there, did you see his eyes? They seemed so...empty. It seemed as if all the life was gone from them and he was just this hollow thing without any feelings at all. I think he did that, so that he could shield himself from any more pain - or maybe I'm overanalyzing things now. But that haunted look really got to me.

~DresdenDoll~

You're doing pretty good job on this analyze though

I agree. The way he looked in the backroom - it was like he wasn't even there. Emotionnally he was still in this parking trying to stop Hobbs, trying to change something to ease his pain and guilt. That's why he never faced Justin once he woke up. Facing him would mean facing his own pain and since he never knew how to deal with strong feelings he prefered to act the way he always did. Which was comforting for him to, since it gave him a security and a false feeling of control - something he lost the moment Justin took that bat.

Aikaterini

Later on, he still had problems facing Justin. Like when they were in the loft and Justin tried to talk to Brian, who had his back turned to him and had this really painful expression on his face. I think it was some kind of emotional pain that never left. I mean, it was pretty obvious with the bloody scarf he was wearing all the time. He felt guilty and probably tried to punish himself by doing this. At least it seemed that way to me. And when Justin got there, he looked as if he would loose it right then and there, and there was nothing he could hold onto. Like when he tried to help Justin to remember what happened that night and started to cry. Up to this moment, Justin has never seen Brian cry, so he must have noticed what all this must have done to him. And even though he never knew that Brian was there at the hospital, I'm sure he must have felt it somehow.

And if you think my thoughts are jumping all over the place right now, then you are right.

~DresdenDoll~

I'm sure Justin felt his presence - they created an even stronger emotionnal bond by experiencing together something that dramatic. Too bad CowLip never got to go deeper with Brian's way of dealing and once they got back together they only focused attention on Justin getting better. I always thought Brian never really recovered from the bashing. He definitely didn't get as much of a support as Justin did and since he's a very shut down person he never really had a chance to evacuate these feelings. I can only imagine what he went through when he heard about the bombing. It must've bring back the good old bashing guilt and fear he still had somewhere inside him.