[fic] Gravity Hurts 6/9

[badboy_fangirl]

Title: Gravity Hurts (6/9)
Author: badboy_fangirl
Characters/Pairings: Alaric POV; Jeremy + Damon (+ Alaric); Damon/Elena, Stefan/Elena, Jeremy/Bonnie; Elena and Sheila Bennett are on hand this chapter.
Word Count: ~2900
Rating/Warnings: PG-13 (for language)
Spoilers: Everything through S3.
Summary: A bromance for the ages.
Author's notes: This fic is derived

Comments

[shipperjunkie]

Ric can tell with both the pose and the tone of his voice he's trying to remind Elena of Grayson Gilbert, because her smile grows wider at she stares at her brother.

Awww! My Jeremy-Elena feels are through the roof already.

"Mentor?" like she's never heard it before. "Damon? What?"

lololol I can see the expression on her face.

"Stefan is a good person, you know that he is!"

"The point is, he's not a good vampire," Ric says.

Exactly! EXACTLY! JP can talk about Stefan and his 'beautiful soul' all she wants to, but it boils down to this. He was a good person. He is a dark, truly twisted vampire.

"He loves you, Elena. He'll do anything for you. Ask him to teach you."
and There is a tenderness there that he has rarely seen in Damon, except when he's with Elena, and that's sort of the point, all the way around.

*meep*

Elena turns on him then, all rage and beauty and Damon smiles, as though his goal has been accomplished. (Knowing him, it probably has.) "Don't shoot the messenger," he says, lifting his hands up innocently.

[badboy_fangirl]

OH, I'M SO GLAD IT GAVE YOU ALL THE FEELS. In actuality, this part has been planned for so long--like the whole 'you taught me to be human' bit, I've had that in my email inbox since I wrote the first chapter. I always knew where this was going. The rest of it came later, but this part, was always the same.

He is a dark, truly twisted vampire.I view Stefan the way I do sexually unhealthy people: I choose to be chaste for religious reasons; that does not however make me unsexual. I don't think of it as a dirty secret or something I should be ashamed of. So many people who grow up in a conservative environment have that feeling and attitude that sex is dark and dirty and illicit, when really it is perfect normal and natural to feel that way, whether you choose to act upon it or not. This is Stefan as a vampire: he has all the inclinations, which he hates for obvious reasons. This is an exaggerated version of the same thing; Stefan has to accept himself as a vampire before he can ever start to heal and hope to find some middle ground.

[k_stjames]

Loved the beginning with the very realistic family vibe you created with Elena, Ric and Jeremy. Poor girl never stood a chance against those two. Elena’s continued denial about the real Stefan and lack of accountability for his actions was frustrating and about the only thing that didn’t ring true in this chapter considering that she was able to learn to deal with her bloodlust relatively quickly. Her insistence that Ripper Stefan isn’t the real Stefan annoys me to no end and shows a marked and continued denial on her part. I don’t argue that Stefan wants to be a good person but his actions taken in totality show that he’s not and no amount of wishing will make it better. But you did include that beautiful line about his wanting to be better but just sucking as a vampire. Very nice symmetry

[badboy_fangirl]

Thank you for such an insightful comment. I love the ideas you've challenged here and I just want to share my mindset with you to see it if helps make it ring more true for you -- Elena's ability not to kill Matt, for me, isn't about her controlling her bloodlust. I think for her, it would be easier not to lose control if she were doing it to someone she cares for -- I don't think she has her bloodlust under control at all; I think she hasn't really been challenged yet. So that's point A

[k_stjames]

Your point about Matt is very valid and makes a lot of sense as I hadn't even consider it from that angle. It will be something to see Elena lose it and this false sense of security / control she’s built for herself.

You are completely correct about Stefan and Elena, all their interactions are like some censored tv show from the 1950s where they show nothing but you know that more should be happening behind the scenes but for SE there is no more just a facade. Thanks for writing such thought-provoking stories that beg the reader to get engaged in.

[jamdourado]

The Jeremy- Elena part was so beautiful, I love the Gilbert's.
I love how Damon and Elena can be two stubborn and suddenly agree with each other, we never know what will happen with these two.

[badboy_fangirl]

Awww, thanks. I love Jeremy and Elena, too.

Damon and Elena are gloriously messed up, so fun and interesting. And yes, I never know what they're going to do either.

Thanks for commenting!

[gabby227]

This story is just AMAZING. I am really loving it. The whole Elena being mad at Damon for compelling her thing is very real to me, it's a reaction that I can actually see. And the Alaric and Sheila thing is just too interesting. I can't wait to read more.

[badboy_fangirl]

Thank you! I'm so glad it's engaging to you. It hasn't been everything I expected, and the twists and turns are exciting for me too. I especially loved Elena's feelings about the compulsion.

Thanks for reading and commenting!

[isilwath]

Oh wonderful. I love thus fic and I'm so happy for the new chapter. Looking forward to Ch 7.

[badboy_fangirl]

Thank you! I'm working on it right now!