Turn Me to Dust (In Between 2 and 3, PG)

[wpgrace]

Man! I am so loving both the concept and your brilliant execution of this story series! What a perfect set of events for the interim between these 2 eps! It just makes it all make sense... wonderful Mick and Josef, and bit with Beth hanging in there til Josef showed up makes sense too... HOW could she leave him all injured like that? And again, soooo intrigued by Elaine.

[Shadow]

Man! I am so loving both the concept and your brilliant execution of this story series! What a perfect set of events for the interim between these 2 eps! It just makes it all make sense... wonderful Mick and Josef, and bit with Beth hanging in there til Josef showed up makes sense too... HOW could she leave him all injured like that? And again, soooo intrigued by Elaine.

hi Grace, I'm glad it's making sense! It was always disturbing to think of Beth just leaving at the end of ep 2 .... she just wouldn't DO that, like you said .... yet it was hard to fit much else with her reactions at the beginning of ep 3. In my own mind at least I had to find something that would fit with both!
And there's lots more coming for Elaine ....

[jen]

Shadow

This is so fabulous!!!!!!

[Shadow]

Thanks so much, jen!

[redwinter101]

Just stopped in for a re-read ahead of Dr. Feelgood tonight. This is a beautiful chapter in a brilliant series. Amazing, Shadow - I love it to pieces.

Red

[Shadow]

Just stopped in for a re-read ahead of Dr. Feelgood tonight. This is a beautiful chapter in a brilliant series. Amazing, Shadow - I love it to pieces.

Red

Ohh, how lovely that you thought to reread this chapter at such a time.
Thanks so very much, Red!

[darkstarrising]

Wow! You weave an elegant tapestry, Shadow, bringing the individual episodes together seamlessly. In this chapter, you've filled in so well the missing hours between the time Beth learns Mick's secret and her returning to talk with him the next day.

Mick's reaction to Beth seeing him a vampire was first about what she'd think of him - not so much worried about keeping his promise to Josef as fearing her thinking him the monster he believes himself to be. When she tries to take care of him, he realizes that she's now in danger if Josef finds her in his apartment. He begs her to leave, and reluctantly she does.

What I loved about your take on this is that she is reluctant to leave; she's not afraid of the vampire before her, but she's not sure why. While Mick wants her to go, for her own sake, he fears that she'll never return, a fear he confronts when he goes to the station.

When the cab pulled up at the station, he saw Beth on the sidewalk, walking alone toward the parking lot. He watched her from the window, from a distance, just as he had done for so many long years. How can I go back to this? Now that he’d talked to her, laughed with her, held her in his arms – now, watching her from a distance was almost too painful to bear.

There are just so many interactions beyond Mick and Beth here that you capture so well. Josef tending to his friend's injuries, scolding him as though reassuring himself that Mick wouldn't die.

“Four hundred years I’ve been a vampire, have I ever been shot with a silver bullet? No, not once. And here you are with a goddamn collection. Told you you were off your game.”

The entire interview with Carl and Josh was great...already, Josh's dislike of Mick is evident, but he's willing to end the investigation to protect Beth. Again, the attention to detail about the shotgun pellet wounds not healing due to silver works to Mick's advantage to show that he'd been attacked by Lee Jay.

The impact of the silver on Mick's system was very detailed and actually makes sense when thinking about the scene in BC, when he gets silver on his hands. But it's the effect on his senses that I found intriguing; things he should normally be able to sense, he can't very well, while others are nearly overwhelming. And who was the person Josef lost to silver? Those memories are brought to mind and Mick picks up on them.

Even more intriguing is Elaine. Need to keep reading.

This is a wonderful story, Shadow

[jen]

Shadow

What a treat to read this again!!!

You speculation of events just enhance my enjoyment of the episodes immediately preceeding and following by expounding on relationships clarified in later episodes. Both Carl and Josh got a look at Mick's soul here, when he came in to give his statement, when he was hurting. They had heart Julia's account of events, and Beth's but Mick showing up, in the shape he was in, solidified him in the 'Good Guy' column.

I mean, who would not put Mick in the 'Good Guy' column...

Beautifully, beautifully done!

Thank you!

Jenna

[Shadow]

Wow! You weave an elegant tapestry, Shadow, bringing the individual episodes together seamlessly. In this chapter, you've filled in so well the missing hours between the time Beth learns Mick's secret and her returning to talk with him the next day.

Thank you darkstarrising, what a marvelous comment! It was really a treat whenever I was able to literally use the end of the first episode and the beginning of the second ... I would have liked to do that for all of them but sometimes it would just have been too awkward. It worked for this one, and the next two or three chapters, though. Being seamless was a big goal, so I do love that you used that word!

The impact of the silver on Mick's system was very detailed and actually makes sense when thinking about the scene in BC, when he gets silver on his hands. But it's the effect on his senses that I found intriguing; things he should normally be able to sense, he can't very well, while others are nearly overwhelming.

So nice that you mentioned that detail about the silver. I probably got the idea for these effects from that scene in BC ... Mick seemed very disoriented and sick for a moment there, when he came in contact with silver. I thought a vampire's heightened senses might be particularly sensitive to such a poison, and that it would actually take quite a while to heal from it.

It's so great that you are continuing with this series!

[Shadow]

Shadow

What a treat to read this again!!!

You speculation of events just enhance my enjoyment of the episodes immediately preceeding and following by expounding on relationships clarified in later episodes. Both Carl and Josh got a look at Mick's soul here, when he came in to give his statement, when he was hurting. They had heart Julia's account of events, and Beth's but Mick showing up, in the shape he was in, solidified him in the 'Good Guy' column.

I mean, who would not put Mick in the 'Good Guy' column...

Beautifully, beautifully done!

Thank you!

Jenna

Wow, it is wonderful to know that you are re-reading! You'd think that Carl and Josh would indeed have to have been affected when Mick dragged himself in that way ....even if they don't much like him, there would have to be some natural sympathy there.
Thank you, Jenna!

[susieb]

Part 1 was great. But this is brilliant. You've hit your stride. It all rings true and blends seemlessly with what we've seen onscreen. There is way too much goodness here to comment on.

So much stood out to me, but this:

Josh was only going through the motions. This was Josh’s case, and he was going to make it disappear. To protect Beth. He could probably do it without compromising himself, since Spaulding had convicted himself so thoroughly on tape. But he’d jeopardize his career for her if had to, Mick realized unwillingly. He cares about her, more than anything. On some level, Mick was actually glad that Beth had a real human relationship with someone who cared about her so much. He knew it was the best thing for her. But on every other level . . . it was very, very hard for Mick to even speak to Josh.

I love this. One of the most fascinating scenes of ML for me is the scene in Ep 4 Fever when Beth and Josh are at Mick's apartment. Then how Mick relates to Josh from that point on. Of course, he was already in love with her. You've caught his torn feelings so well.

Really appreciated your take on what happened immediately following Ep 2. I've always felt Beth would not simply leave. Great dialog between Mick and Josef. Especially liked your details on how silver would affect a vampire, as well as the hint of humanity revealed re: Josef having lost someone dear to silver and fearing that with Mick.

Just a brilliant chapter and fill-in!

[Shadow]

Love your comment, Susie! Thanks so much. I did like getting the chance to give Mick and Josh a scene together in these very early days. They do have a quite interesting relationship throughout the show -- I was especially struck by what went on between them in LLF.

Really appreciated your take on what happened immediately following Ep 2. I've always felt Beth would not simply leave.

I just couldn't believe that she would either, in spite of the way things appeared at the beginning of episode 3. There just had to be more to it than that!

Especially liked your details on how silver would affect a vampire, as well as the hint of humanity revealed re: Josef having lost someone dear to silver and fearing that with Mick.

I'm so glad to know that you liked those parts. They were really my favorites to do. Between the way Mick looked and acted at the end of ep. 2, and his disorientation when he touched the silver in ep. 6, it seemed like it would have some pretty dramatic effects, and that it could very well be deadly - and it seemed pretty likely that Josef would have had personal experience with that at some point in his life.

[maggatha3]

Your story is getting so noir as Moonlight itself has been. And although it seems reasonable that an In Between will fit perfectly to the story...I was still kind of worried she would not show up. It is a bit weard though, but I have had such thoughts in between the episodes while watching the series for the first time, summer of 2010..

It was relieving to hear she didn't run away , but stayed and even waited till he was in safe hands, although he had tried to scare her about the man he was expecting.And oh my God, Shadow, these dreams of Mick are definitely gonna kill me.. and he had to listen to Josh talking so lovingly to Beth...

I am running while I still have the time...

[Shadow]

Your story is getting so noir as Moonlight itself has been. And although it seems reasonable that an In Between will fit perfectly to the story...I was still kind of worried she would not show up. It is a bit weard though, but I have had such thoughts in between the episodes while watching the series for the first time, summer of 2010..

It was relieving to hear she didn't run away , but stayed and even waited till he was in safe hands, although he had tried to scare her about the man he was expecting.And oh my God, Shadow, these dreams of Mick are definitely gonna kill me.. and he had to listen to Josh talking so lovingly to Beth...

Oh Maggatha, how great that you found yourself worried that Beth might not show up in the end! Even knowing full well that she would. And yeah, I just couldn't believe that Beth would run away. That's something that really bothered me about the beginning of ep. 3; it seemed as if she had, and that felt so wrong to me. So I had to come up with some different explanation that still fit the beginning of ep. 3. I'm glad you liked that!

[maggatha3]

Just watched episode 2 and re-read your in-between..

This guy knows how to torture himself..( who taught him so well? I bet it was Coraline). I really loved the point where he compared himself to that poor excuse of a man, Lee J.
And the thought that Julia's words could ever be Beth's feelings for him???????? I have wondered about that before, if Mick had another sire, let's say Josef for example, would he then think so little of himself? He is so destroyed..

And his mixed feelings abour Josh, oh, I loved that part, too..He likes the fact that Josh takes care of things for Beth and offers her a healthy human relationship, but on the other hand can't bear even talking to him. Mick is more man/human than he thinks he is, after all.

Shadow