( Things she missed, but tried to comprehend. He feels bad, too, because forget what they missed of his life and his decisions. Elena's life was far more complicated, and hopefully, not disappointing, like his sister thinks. )
[He takes a breath as he passes over the change of clothes, trying to figure out how to put it into words.]
Well, Mary was a hunter, and hunting is one of the few things that hadn't changed in forty years, so she went back into that for a while. She needed her space to figure things out. But the great thing about the modern age is that we still had ways to communicate. She and Dean played Words with Friends while she was on the road. It helped.
You just have to keep talking to each other, and they'll figure it out.
And if everything we've done goes in the face of what they believe? ( He leans against the doorway. ) My dad was taught to hate vampires. He was on the council, I don't -- know if you and Dean knew that stuff, then, or what he was doing there with you guys but -- that's how I was supposed to be raised. And, for a time, I hated them, too. But it wasn't my choice.
( They still hadn't gotten around to Jeremy, the Hunter - or when Elena was a vampire, too. Her stint with Damon. And Jeremy had even more. Anna. Disappointing and betraying Bonnie. And lying about leaving in the last place.
Yeah, that you're not going to be able to fix for them. They have to figure that out themselves.
[And Sam remembers the way his father talked about the Council. A group of old money locals posing themselves as protectors of the people, while a lot of the less important members of the town got eaten.]
They're going to have to figure out how to deal with Caroline eventually, because I doubt that she's going to stay away from her best friend forever. And the Salvatore School sitting in their home town. And the fact that their kids are immersed in the supernatural, whether they like it or not. Especially if Elena stays here with Dean and you and Buffy's sister keep doing what you're doing which means Stefan is going to be part of things too.
[A pause.]
Eventually they're going to have to choose. And if they love you enough, hopefully they'll choose you over their prejudices.
[Let's be real, Buffy may be the Slayer but Dawn was the trouble magnet. She was never just an academic, no matter what she tries to play herself as now.]
Listen. Answer their questions in good faith if they have any.
[Sometimes that's the easiest way to change people's minds. Just to answer their questions as though they're real questions and not just gotcha points trying to trip you up and prove you wrong.]
( He nods at that, thanks Sam, and takes the clothes back to his room. He uses the facilities, finally and properly washes up and then sits, pulling up his girlfriend's number. He tries to do math, tired from his conversation with his parents and dials Dawn's number anyway, settling up against the headboard. )
[Dawn is up late, because sister time sometimes means roaming in a graveyard time, but she's climbing into bed when her phone rings. She smiles, and reaches for her device as she brings it to her ear.]
( Already, he feels more grounded, calmer as he stretches a leg out under him. )
There's a little of that, for sure. But, there's also -- Elena called me back to Lawrence. ( He pauses, pushing the words out, slowly. ) Our parents are back. They're alive.
[There's a moment of silence as she processes that. In some ways, it feels as though her brain's stopped working because she knows pain of losing a parent young - it's a record scratch with the idea that twenty years later, they came back.]
I'm -- I don't know. I was sitting there across from them while Elena was explaining only the first year and a half they missed and, I just came right out and told them I'm a hunter. And, I feel like, somehow, we both disappointed em in our ways. And, I hate that I don't feel worse about it, like, I know who I am and where I come from and what I went through.
( But the disappointment is palpable. He knows his sister can feel it. )
[She pauses for a minute, trying to discern what he needs when he isn't right in front of her for her to read. Not that Jeremy Gilbert is a particularly easy read, but he emotes in a way that you can feel, even if it doesn't show on his face.
So in lieu of not responding correctly, she asks:]
Do you want me to validate your feelings or help figure out their's? Because I think you're right to believe in who you are. You've put a lot of work into it, and I happen to like him a lot.
[She shifts up into a sitting position, before tucking her legs under her.]
Did you know that my mom kicked Buffy out when she found out she was the Slayer? I mean, it was a little more complicated than that. She reacted badly, and Buffy ran away, but I remember that after Buffy was gone and we realized that Buffy was really gone, Mom spent the entire summer worried about her. It isn't that she didn't love her. She wanted to keep her safe, and didn't know if she could do that and let Buffy be the Slayer. She felt that she should be the one protecting Buffy, not the other way around.
[It still hurts to talk about Joyce sometimes, but Dawn also still needs to talk about her. She misses her every day, especially since her father is such a disappointment.]
I think they're grappling with what they feel is an either-or proposition. They can either keep you safe or you can be a hunter. I think they need to understand that no matter what this is the world we live in, and hunting is keeping you safe.
( He didn't, didn't know how Buffy was parented before their mom died. )
And others. ( He nods, though, making the connection. ) Thank you. It's only going to get harder from here, so I don't think I'm leaving any time soon. How about you and Scotland?
I'll probably stay through Thanksgiving. I did promise Buffy that we could actually do a holiday this year, and Stefan's inviting his brother and their old southern vampire friends.
[She has no idea how this holiday is going to go.]
But so far so good. And, if you feel the strong need to flee, you can always get on a plane to Scotland and join in the fun?
[She's mostly kidding, because she doesn't think he would leave his parents like that, but the out is an honest one, should he decide he needs the space.]
Thanks. I'll remember that. And maybe after all of this - if we get the outcome we need - then maybe. But, if -- I think I want to stay close. Their first Thanksgiving back in an underground bunker in Kansas. But, I love you. And miss you, Dawn.
So, literally Southern. Did you know we show that in Mystic Falls, like practically every year. Even now. Ironically, the last few years, but it's tradition.
( He's not tuned into why it's out there, anyway, but, it's something. )
If they get out of this still alive... You will, okay?
Okay. If it lasts long enough, let me know and I can change my flight to Kansas, rather than home.
[If he needs the support she'll be there for him.
Also she's heard things about this bunker. Rumors on the supernatural superhighway that there is a group of hunters sitting on a bunker of supernatural knowledge and she wants to see it.
So. Bad.
But no she's really going for girlfriend support. She can do both.]
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praevaricatio) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
everyonelives2024-11-30 05:12 pm
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( Things she missed, but tried to comprehend. He feels bad, too, because forget what they missed of his life and his decisions. Elena's life was far more complicated, and hopefully, not disappointing, like his sister thinks. )
How'd you guys deal?
no subject
[He takes a breath as he passes over the change of clothes, trying to figure out how to put it into words.]
Well, Mary was a hunter, and hunting is one of the few things that hadn't changed in forty years, so she went back into that for a while. She needed her space to figure things out. But the great thing about the modern age is that we still had ways to communicate. She and Dean played Words with Friends while she was on the road. It helped.
You just have to keep talking to each other, and they'll figure it out.
no subject
And if everything we've done goes in the face of what they believe? ( He leans against the doorway. ) My dad was taught to hate vampires. He was on the council, I don't -- know if you and Dean knew that stuff, then, or what he was doing there with you guys but -- that's how I was supposed to be raised. And, for a time, I hated them, too. But it wasn't my choice.
( They still hadn't gotten around to Jeremy, the Hunter - or when Elena was a vampire, too. Her stint with Damon. And Jeremy had even more. Anna. Disappointing and betraying Bonnie. And lying about leaving in the last place.
"Art School." )
no subject
[And Sam remembers the way his father talked about the Council. A group of old money locals posing themselves as protectors of the people, while a lot of the less important members of the town got eaten.]
They're going to have to figure out how to deal with Caroline eventually, because I doubt that she's going to stay away from her best friend forever. And the Salvatore School sitting in their home town. And the fact that their kids are immersed in the supernatural, whether they like it or not. Especially if Elena stays here with Dean and you and Buffy's sister keep doing what you're doing which means Stefan is going to be part of things too.
[A pause.]
Eventually they're going to have to choose. And if they love you enough, hopefully they'll choose you over their prejudices.
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What can we do. In the meantime?
no subject
Listen. Answer their questions in good faith if they have any.
[Sometimes that's the easiest way to change people's minds. Just to answer their questions as though they're real questions and not just gotcha points trying to trip you up and prove you wrong.]
Sometimes all you can do is give them time.
no subject
no subject
Hey, you. Miss me already?
no subject
( Already, he feels more grounded, calmer as he stretches a leg out under him. )
There's a little of that, for sure. But, there's also -- Elena called me back to Lawrence. ( He pauses, pushing the words out, slowly. ) Our parents are back. They're alive.
( And lost and disappointed. )
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Oh my god.
[There's a couple more blinks before:]
Are you okay?
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( But the disappointment is palpable. He knows his sister can feel it. )
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So in lieu of not responding correctly, she asks:]
Do you want me to validate your feelings or help figure out their's? Because I think you're right to believe in who you are. You've put a lot of work into it, and I happen to like him a lot.
no subject
( And if not good, on the way to being good. )
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[She shifts up into a sitting position, before tucking her legs under her.]
Did you know that my mom kicked Buffy out when she found out she was the Slayer? I mean, it was a little more complicated than that. She reacted badly, and Buffy ran away, but I remember that after Buffy was gone and we realized that Buffy was really gone, Mom spent the entire summer worried about her. It isn't that she didn't love her. She wanted to keep her safe, and didn't know if she could do that and let Buffy be the Slayer. She felt that she should be the one protecting Buffy, not the other way around.
[It still hurts to talk about Joyce sometimes, but Dawn also still needs to talk about her. She misses her every day, especially since her father is such a disappointment.]
I think they're grappling with what they feel is an either-or proposition. They can either keep you safe or you can be a hunter. I think they need to understand that no matter what this is the world we live in, and hunting is keeping you safe.
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And others. ( He nods, though, making the connection. ) Thank you. It's only going to get harder from here, so I don't think I'm leaving any time soon. How about you and Scotland?
no subject
[She has no idea how this holiday is going to go.]
But so far so good. And, if you feel the strong need to flee, you can always get on a plane to Scotland and join in the fun?
[She's mostly kidding, because she doesn't think he would leave his parents like that, but the out is an honest one, should he decide he needs the space.]
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( Neither does Jeremy. )
Thanks. I'll remember that. And maybe after all of this - if we get the outcome we need - then maybe. But, if -- I think I want to stay close. Their first Thanksgiving back in an underground bunker in Kansas. But, I love you. And miss you, Dawn.
no subject
[But she will. Oh she will.]
I love and miss you too. And it will be okay. I'm here if you need me. And I can't wait to meet them too.
[Because she very much does want to meet the two people responsible for her favorite person.]
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( He's not tuned into why it's out there, anyway, but, it's something. )
If they get out of this still alive... You will, okay?
no subject
[If he needs the support she'll be there for him.
Also she's heard things about this bunker. Rumors on the supernatural superhighway that there is a group of hunters sitting on a bunker of supernatural knowledge and she wants to see it.
So. Bad.
But no she's really going for girlfriend support. She can do both.]
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( And, fine, Damon or whatever. )
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[And with that, she will hang up and get some sleep before she goes back to family time in the morning.]