♥ Policy of Truth for scarletwoman710 2/2 ♥
Title: Policy of Truth
Summary: Trying to kill that kid for her had been a mistake. He was merely a gift, a grand gesture; something to show that Tate was serious about making sure that he always took care of her. Desperation and anger had made him sloppy and all she saw were his actions negating his words. That was not going to happen again.
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Summary: Trying to kill that kid for her had been a mistake. He was merely a gift, a grand gesture; something to show that Tate was serious about making sure that he always took care of her. Desperation and anger had made him sloppy and all she saw were his actions negating his words. That was not going to happen again.
( Read more... )
First, let me say this - the smut was hot, the remembered encounters between the two and the encounter at the end - smutty perfection. I just wanted to get that out of the way because it definitely needed to be said, but now I want to gush over your storytelling.
1) There is absolutely nothing better in fic than Tate as a master manipulator. I ADORE seeing that character trait play out. All throughout this story, I really felt that "wheels turning" aspect of him taking shape - just really got the vibe that everything he did was calculated, every action measured against a thousand possible reactions. You could FEEL it in the story, imagine him considering outcomes in milliseconds before finding the perfect expression, inflection, body language, and pointed words to elicit a response. I LOVED that.
2)As I said in the prompt, I've always felt that there was a stronger connection between Tate and the house. The section you threw in, with Travis noticing that as Tate grew more despondent the house seemed to react around him - more fighting, more killing - was a masterstroke. I mean, we know that it's because TATE's been orchestrating all the violence, but it was lovely of you to underscore that connection.
3) I adored EVERY SINGLE INTERACTION Tate had with the other characters. God, they were all perfect. I loved all the ways he played the residents off one another, pushing and pulling them, molding them in different ways, all knowing how it will reflect to Violet. I think the fact that we saw or heard Tate discuss so many games in the show was very telling. Cards, Scrabble, Chess - all games of strategy. Games where you read your opponent and wait for the opportunity to make your move. We saw that here, over and over. Watching Tate manipulate so many different people could have been a disaster, a lesser writer would have made it repetitive. You did it perfectly. It felt fresh and new each time, I was constantly wondering what game Tate was playing or what he would do next. You never did what I expected (I would have expected a contrite weepy interaction with Vivien, but Tate played her just like he played Ben!! Genius!). Just FANTASTIC writing.
4) I wanted a fic where Tate finally came off as the stronger of the pair between him and Violet. I got one, done perfectly. But you also kept Violet strong. I love that they're both strong characters in this, that one's strength doesn't need to diminish the strength of the other. A fitting king and queen of Murder House. Brilliant.
5) I picked that song for a reason - 1) I love it, 2) It's very smolderingly sexy to me and 3) It always seemed like a kind of Violate reunion song. You completely and totally picked up on the vibe of the song in the story - "Our love is like water, pinned down and abused for being strange." It's very much an "us against the world" kind of song, a song about forbidden love that's just fucking WORTH it, about saying "fuck it" and being together anyway. The final section - Violet blowing up at Ben, saying she was going to be with Tate, like it or not - was just so perfectly in sync with that song. Wonderfully done, really. (As was Tate's naughty smirk when he realized that he "won" and now has Violet entirely to himself. LOVE IT!!!)
The prompt I gave was incredibly detailed and specific and you still found ways to surprise me and make the story your own, yet give me exactly what I wanted. I cannot praise you enough. Whoever you are - this is fantastic. I have nothing to criticize, nothing but wonderful things to say about it.
Thank you. THANK YOU. Seriously, you made my day, week, year.
We better be having fic exchange awards because this needs to win ALL THE AWARDS. If not, once I find out who you are I will make you my very own ScarWo AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE.
Perfect writing. Thank you.
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It was honestly a joy to write to, and if it sounds trite I don't really don't care. Of course I'm elated that you like it. I mean I loved writing it, but I'm not writing it for me, so I'm glad the finished product lived up to your expectations.
Of course I need to say Jess thanks to Jess for being a wonderful editor and sounding board, and Stella too :)
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