Shock (Mick, PG-13) Champagne Challenge #115

[coco]

This is such a great story, Alle. Mick's stream of thoughts pick up right from that moment we saw him on screen looking over at Coraline and her sacrifice and there are so many conflicting feelings - regret, confusion, pain, fear, sadness. I do adore a 'fill in the blanks' piece and this is certainly one of the best from a moment that was all too short on the show itself.

[allegrita]

Thank you so much, coco. I'm just thrilled that you approve. I have such respect for your vision of Mick.

[BlueEyedMonster]

Again catching up on stories. I don't know if I've ever told you Alle but I adore the way you write and this story was no exception. Perfect Mick I can hear that sexy voice like he was next to me.

[allegrita]

Thanks so much, BEM! I'm thrilled that you like it. I think this whole section of TMC was crying out for voiceovers... so I wrote one.

[cassysj]

I'm revisiting old challenges and this is a great story. Mick dealing with his very new mortalness.

[allegrita]

Thanks, Cassy! I'm pretty proud of this one and I'm glad you liked it.

[jen]

Somewhere upthread I read something about a charcoal sketch and that fits well here. The scenes we saw in TMC were like a charcoal sketch, establishing the outlines and here you have added shadow, color and dimension.

It is very interesting (and not really explored anywhere that I've seen) that when whatever it is that makes Mick a vampire is suppressed, his humanity surges back to the fore and is only held back by...whatever it is. I like the virus explanation, though some don't. These are 'what' questions that would have been explored, I'm sure but the more important ones were. Mick understood his fragility at the moment, and while I think he would have found a way to go after Coraline eventually, he recognized that it would be suicide in his current state. It is also interesting that Beth's name never appears in this...at least I don't recall it.

All in all, a wonderful fic. Thank you.

Jenna

[allegrita]

Thanks for the lovely comment, Jenna! Mick only mentions Beth once in this story--near the end, when he's thinking that perhaps the reason he got together with Coraline was so that he could live long enough to meet her. But mostly, his thoughts are about his new humanity--mostly the physical parts of it (ouch! hungry! can't see!) and about Coraline. I think Human Mick was much more "in the moment" than Vamp Mick, and I tried to capture that in this story. Plus, well, the name of the story says a lot. He was in shock, both from the amazing experience of being human again, and from the physical beating he'd just taken. Plus, he was dealing with the fact that Coraline had not only given him his humanity back, she'd saved him from Lance by sacrificing herself. Lots to deal with at one time!!

[Emerald]

You are an incredible writer, the way you craft words and characters. Wonderful *sigh*

[allegrita]

Oh, Emerald, I'm so touched--thank you very much!

[maggatha3]

What an amazing piece, alle!! Mick had been a vampire for decades but in your words his senses all seem to be in full alert right now that he is human again. All those things he notices, the feelings he has, he seems so startled by all those little but important details!

Fantastic!!

[allegrita]

Thank you, Tula! I'm so glad you liked it.

[BlueEyedMonster]

Just back here for a reread one of my favorite stories.

Perfect Mick voice over felt like I was watching Moonlight again thanks.

[allegrita]

Thank you so much for rereading and commenting, BEM!

[Shadow]

This is such a great depiction of the whirlwind of thoughts that Mick must have had, with so much craziness and trauma happening right after he'd turned human. It's perfect the way his mind keeps jumping from one thought to another when he's so overwhelmed, without being able to settle on one thought. (At least until he realizes he's really, really hungry!)

And I'm not sure if I noticed this properly the last time I read this story:
Now I’m full of… what? Life? The illusion of life?
I love this. He doesn't really know if the humanity he just acquired is real, or if it's only an illusion of being human, with the vampire still hidden somewhere underneath. He has no idea how long it might last or if it's even real, the pain and injury notwithstanding.

And I loved how he thought of Coraline, how he feared for her, his bewilderment at the fact that she saved him....not to mention nervously wondering who "he" was. With all this mixed in with his ribs hurting and his eye swelling and otherwise feeling so many new sensations, distracting him and interrupting his thoughts in such a very human way.