Looking in on Christmas - PG-13

[allegrita]

How lovely, Pgal. Watching Mick watching others through the years... it's so poignant and so very, very sad. But time goes on, and Mick changes despite himself. And bless Beth, she helps him grow and come to accept the possibilities. First she made him see that he's not a monster in everyone's eyes, and finally she helps him understand that he won't make her into a monster by sharing eternity with her.

Thank you very much for continuing to work on this despite missing your self-imposed Christmas deadline. It was worth the wait. It's very Mick--tears and smiles and a full heart. What better present can you give us than that?

[wpgrace]

Upon re-reading, had to re-comment.

First of all, we had some amazing fanfics appear this holiday season, some holiday themed but many not... I don't know if this was due to francis's cool challenge or if the muse just struck en masse, but I'm very grateful for what we got.

Second of all, you guys all write your own things, in your own styles, and I love dipping in and out of the variety that we have here...

BUT on occasion, one of you happens to produce something that dovetails with the POV or storyline that another produces--names and events and specifics may not fit neatly, but the overall vibe does, and for me as a reader, this produces a brief little lovely sense of symmetry...

Your piece, here, is one of those. I don't mean it's derivative, as it most certainly is not. I mean your distinct POV, your individual telling of Mick's stories (coz this really is several stories all rolled into one package, incredibly generous of you, dear Pgal, btw) really fit with some of the other Mick stories, such as Dark's Snow Angel piece or Red's recent Stealing Home piece. There are just elements of the Mick, and the backstory, here that fit with pieces of the picture that a couple other authors have painted as well. I just LOVE that; it seems particularly fitting for a Christmas story...

[jen]

Oh, PNWgal

This is so lovely. A wonderful, rich piece that looks into the hearts and souls of a vampire and human that he loves.

Thank you for sharing this lovely, lovely gift with us all.

[jen]

PNWGal

This is so lovely!

Mick has been through so much, and a lot of his trials have been of his own making. It is so delightful seeing him accept Beth's love, and her willingness to join him in eternity.

Thank you!

Jenna

[allegrita]

Ah, I couldn't resist rereading this incredible chronicle of Mick's Christmases. Your storytelling is just so rich, so full of emotion. Thank you for writing this story. I like to think that Mick would eventually realize that having Beth's love for an eternity isn't wrong. He's a bit resistant to change, our angsty vamp, but he does adapt. Sometimes very, very reluctantly.

Now I'm feeling all sentimental and a little teary (again!) Darn you and your emotional stories!

[MickLifeCrisis]

This was wonderful, PNW, even with a few tears here and there. Seeing Mick through his past Christmases, and finally realizing that with Beth he no longer needed to observe Christmas sadly from the shadows. What a beautiful story!

This is my comment from last year when I first read this. Every word is just as true on the reread. Even the tears. Mick will never be lonely on Christmas again!

[fairytoes]

I don't know how I managed to miss this so far. This is absolutely fabulous! I got teary eyed quite a few times though. But I love, love, love the ending! Thank you for this fantastic Christmas story.

[baywinger]

What I've loved about all your work is the very depth of thought that allows us to see the Mick from the show--the little snips they gave us--and you fleshed out, made real, painful, and rich.

This one is one of the best of those, and one that will always stand out to me. And since I remembered the yellow roses, I guess I was able to nip in here or there and see this one before. Nevertheless, I'm very glad to see it again.

Baywinger

[PNWgal]

Upon seeing this one coming to the top, I realized I never thanked everyone who was so kind to leave feedback last year. My apologies.

Thank you ALL, from last year and this year, for giving this a read.

This one was difficult to do - actually five stories in one. The thing that always made me the saddest about Mick was how much he was forced to give up when he was Turned - not just his family and friends in 1952, but those family and friends over the years, remaining the same while they aged and died. Beth was a light in that darkness for him, and in the end, I love a happy Mick - and having Beth with him for Christmases uncounted makes Mick happy, and me too.

[allegrita]

I can't believe it's been 11 years since I read this amazing story cycle! PGal, you did such an amazing job of capturing Mick's sadness and yearning for what he's lost, and his struggles to come to terms with what it means to be a vampire--physically. mentally, and emotionally. And we get to see Mick's dear, lost family, find out how their lives turned out, at least glimpses. And I can't tell you how happy (in a teary way) it made me that Mick visited his mom and brought her roses.

But the parts with Beth... those are the bits that I loved best. Little Beth and the angel that her angel gave her. Beth talking to her dad soon after that amazing kiss at BuzzWire, and being overheard by Mick. Beth a couple of years after the end of the series, waking up her frozen sweetie, fighting the urge to argue with him on Christmas. And Mick, finally (FINALLY!) realizing that a lifetime--or unlifetime--with Beth was truly his heart's desire. And Beth's, too.

What a lovely gift this is.

[Shadow]

So wonderful to read these again. And weirdly, I saw completely different things in these stories than I had before, and reacted to them differently as well. I still find the ending to be beautiful and loving and right, but I felt Mick's bitterness and despair at the beginning much more strongly, and I felt a shiver of fear at the end as well.

(And I somehow missed, the first time I read these, Beth mentioning that Josef would be picking up Ruth for the party. So now I'm wondering, could she possibly be talking about Mick's sister? Think I'd better read these a third time! There's so much here, I'm sure I'm still missing important details.)

Most of me is delighted that Mick finally decided to give in to Beth's wish to be turned. It's her choice, which makes such a difference, and she knows as much about being a vampire as any human could. And it's so wonderful to think of Mick and Beth together forever. But part of me is worried.....because Beth still can't know what it will really be like. What will it be like for her, as everyone around her grows old and dies and leaves her behind? As she disappears from the lives of her mother and her friends? And if Mick should get himself killed, leaving her alone, what will she have left?

I can't help but imagine Beth cycling through these very same stories that Mick lived through, in the shadows and on the outside forever, looking in with bitterness and despair.

Well, of course Beth certainly will have thought this through, and her personality is so different from Mick's, likely she'll manage fine even in the worst case scenario. But the thought of this even possibly happening to her still gives me the shivers.

And so does Mick's description of the vampires at Josef's parties. "Flash and feathers, diamonds and despair - lovely and perfect bodies frozen in time, animated on the outside, but cold and dead as a tomb on the inside." 
(Which is one stunning piece of writing, by the way. And after reading that line, perhaps it's no wonder that I found the thought of Beth being turned a bit disturbing.)

Fabulous set of stories. I'll be coming back to read them again.

[MickLifeCrisis]

Glad this got bumped so I could enjoy reading it again! So much going on, written out so beautifully.

[aolver]

I don’t remember this one. Loved it.