Moonlightaholics

this is such an impressive story shadow. I'm really being pulled along, like MIck is.

Poor Mick and Esme, both wanting the impossible, but unwilling to give up the dream. To me that just seems...sad.

Luxe de Luxe wrote:this is such an impressive story shadow. I'm really being pulled along, like MIck is.

Thank you Luxe, that is so great to hear.

wollstonecraft61 wrote:Poor Mick and Esme, both wanting the impossible, but unwilling to give up the dream. To me that just seems...sad.

Oh yes, too sad, especially since they're so well aware how hopeless it is .....

I have the feeling this story gets better with every chapter!
To see Mick get some closure about mary and his past - and to see he is not the only vampire searching for a permanent cure... just to get the earth swept away under his feet because of one name...
His whole existence is such a roller-coaster racing through the field of emotions but always crashing down and burying a part of him with every downfall.

so very sad but beautifully written

Ooh. Starting at the last line--which is a grabber, by the way--obviously, Rosie is a bad, bad memory for poor Mick.

I think I have to disagree with Francis here. Beth is so compartmentalized that she is utterly capable of unselfishness. Look at the bathtub scene in Fever and at the hallway scene in Sleeping Beauty for perfect examples of this. She's a tormented soul too, and she certainly has her share of self-absorbed moments, but she has her moments of pure giving, too; and it fits well that this is one of 'em. Mick's pain and heartache are just palpable here. How could that not affect her?

Esme is a wonderful character. I would love to learn more about her. I imagine that Mick feels a combination of guilt (for giving her hope and then snatching it away) and comfort that he's not the only one who feels the way he does about being a vampire. I look forward to learning more about Esme; she's fascinating, and really sympathetic.

Mick's realization that it's the woman, not the dog, who's doing the finding is wonderful--as is his sudden realization that he couldn't have realized before that she was a vampire. Isn't it true that when we have a life-changing event, we forget that things were different before. It's as if we've always been that way. Mick's rediscovering what it's like to be human, with its limitations and its extras. (I love that his sense of touch is stronger now.)

By the way, Esme's dogs have great names. Does she always give her dogs names that reflect their true purpose?

I also love, love, love the way you have portrayed the war as having such an immense effect on Mick. Everyone I've ever known who went through hard action in a war has been utterly changed in major ways by the experience. Mick is a person who has had so many life-altering events; no wonder he's so moody. It's a marvel that he's not in the fetal position all the time.

draco wrote:I have the feeling this story gets better with every chapter!
To see Mick get some closure about mary and his past - and to see he is not the only vampire searching for a permanent cure... just to get the earth swept away under his feet because of one name...
His whole existence is such a roller-coaster racing through the field of emotions but always crashing down and burying a part of him with every downfall.

so very sad but beautifully written

Thank you draco - and I really loved this comment - pure poetry! A gorgeous image, the roller coaster in the field of emotions. I did want this story to be just a sea of emotions for Mick, so that's especially nice .....

allegrita wrote:Ooh. Starting at the last line--which is a grabber, by the way--obviously, Rosie is a bad, bad memory for poor Mick.

I think I have to disagree with Francis here. Beth is so compartmentalized that she is utterly capable of unselfishness. Look at the bathtub scene in Fever and at the hallway scene in Sleeping Beauty for perfect examples of this. She's a tormented soul too, and she certainly has her share of self-absorbed moments, but she has her moments of pure giving, too; and it fits well that this is one of 'em. Mick's pain and heartache are just palpable here. How could that not affect her?

Esme is a wonderful character. I would love to learn more about her. I imagine that Mick feels a combination of guilt (for giving her hope and then snatching it away) and comfort that he's not the only one who feels the way he does about being a vampire. I look forward to learning more about Esme; she's fascinating, and really sympathetic.

Mick's realization that it's the woman, not the dog, who's doing the finding is wonderful--as is his sudden realization that he couldn't have realized before that she was a vampire. Isn't it true that when we have a life-changing event, we forget that things were different before. It's as if we've always been that way. Mick's rediscovering what it's like to be human, with its limitations and its extras. (I love that his sense of touch is stronger now.)

By the way, Esme's dogs have great names. Does she always give her dogs names that reflect their true purpose?

I also love, love, love the way you have portrayed the war as having such an immense effect on Mick. Everyone I've ever known who went through hard action in a war has been utterly changed in major ways by the experience. Mick is a person who has had so many life-altering events; no wonder he's so moody. It's a marvel that he's not in the fetal position all the time.

Apologies for quoting your whole comment back ....
but I haven't figured out yet how to pull out bits to quote
plus I want to reply to all of it anyway!

I loved that you called Beth compartmentalized - that is just the perfect way to describe her, and a word I've been searching for for a while. I keep thinking there must be something else in Beth's past which made her the way she is.... when Joel Silver said at the Paley event that the writers were planning to delve into the pasts of Mick, Josef, and Beth, I was really hoping we'd get to find that out ..... ah, well. I'm so glad you found Beth to be in character in the story. I was definitely thinking about her in Fever most of all here - the way she reacted under that kind of pressure.

I'm glad you liked Esme too. She really came out of nowhere and I'd love to do more with her - hopefully in another story one of these days. And I was really stunned by your comment about her dogs' names because - I had no idea where the names had come from, and was really quite puzzled by them! I never actually realized how perfectly they fit. Coincidence, or the subconscious at work? Huh. Anyway, from here on out (thanks to you) Esme does always give her dogs names that reflect their true purpose!

Mick's reactions to the war were based a lot on my granddad (an ambulance driver in the war, but he would never, ever talk about it.)

That's got to be one of the real hazards of a vampire-length life - going through that many huge and traumatic events.

Thank you Allegrita for all the insight - and revelations!

This story is fabulous! I stopped in for a reread and noticed that I did not leave a comment when I was here before. Sorry.

I do so love the ambiance of this piece--thoughtful, introspective, awash in memories.

Beautifully done, Shadow.

Not sure I have much to add, but I did love this chapter. I suspected Esme was...Esme, before Mick did, but I do have the advantage of being "outside" the story.

And as Alle commented so well, the dog names are just perfect. After I saw Cipher, I was waiting to see the current dog's name...and Tangent. Love it.

This is a very nice second chapter, and I look forward to reading the next one!

Lucky

librarian_7 wrote:And as Alle commented so well, the dog names are just perfect. After I saw Cipher, I was waiting to see the current dog's name...and Tangent. Love it.

I'm still mystified how my subconscious came up with those names without me knowing about it ....

Once Alle pointed out the fit, I was quite delighted with them! (Even if it maybe was a total accident.)

Thank you, Lucky.

Well, well, well, we meet again...my dear friend, if I had known the first time that I watched your Newborn video that I had bumped onto a treasure chest.....moonlightaholics has been my part of the day only to myself....and yet I had not realised how talented you yourself are...I got through parts 1 and 2 of Rose and Thorn holding my breath.. so full of emotion, so full of pain..describing afterwar syndroms and after-cure feelings and senses , and that deep relationship between them, it was a wonderful experience to me... and now , I cannot stop. Do you think I m gonna make a mess in my mind if I read your story parallel to BOTL? I ll take my chances, anyway..Now, I m double happy to know you are already working on another story...

This is wonderful for Mick to experience for many reasons, but one of the main ones is that he has proof here that there are other vampires who choose to use their special abilities to help people. All people. Human, vampire and whatever else is out there.

Thank you!

Jenna

maggatha3 wrote:Well, well, well, we meet again...my dear friend, if I had known the first time that I watched your Newborn video that I had bumped onto a treasure chest.....moonlightaholics has been my part of the day only to myself....and yet I had not realised how talented you yourself are...I got through parts 1 and 2 of Rose and Thorn holding my breath.. so full of emotion, so full of pain..describing afterwar syndroms and after-cure feelings and senses , and that deep relationship between them, it was a wonderful experience to me... and now , I cannot stop. Do you think I m gonna make a mess in my mind if I read your story parallel to BOTL? I ll take my chances, anyway..Now, I m double happy to know you are already working on another story...

Oh maggatha, moonlightaholics is indeed a treasure chest! SO glad that my video was able to lead you here. And I'm just delighted that you've found my stories too! Especially this one, the first one I wrote - and my favorite - so I'm also glad you found it first. Well, and I think you'll do just fine reading this alongside BOTL -- let's hope so anyway as I see you have already finished this one!

jen wrote:This is wonderful for Mick to experience for many reasons, but one of the main ones is that he has proof here that there are other vampires who choose to use their special abilities to help people. All people. Human, vampire and whatever else is out there.

You know, I can't actually think of any other vampires on the show who were remotely like Mick . . .which was nice in a way, as it made him so unique . . . but there would just have to be others who used their abilities to help others, even if that was quite rare. Seemed like it was time that Mick got to meet one.
Thank you, Jenna!