Family Reunion. (challenge #106 with co-author Grace) PG-13

[Luxe de Luxe]

And Lucky, Lance also stuck in my craw until I came to the conclusion that the name must be a nick-name. Something like the 'Red Knight' or 'One-Armed Johnny'. I know this is silly but it helps me get by the obvious issue of a non-French name. So temporarily until the story is written Lance refers to his unparalleled skill in a duel, or perhaps he is a nasty and evil sort when using the gentlemans weapons of his time. I'm sure there is a fic in that story-line. Anyway, congratulation ladies, great story.

I always thought that Lancelot was a french knight at the court of King Arthur. The name is certainly from the old french, by a 12th century french writer Chretien de Troyes. Certainly in King Arthur's time, the language at court was french. So I just assumed that our Lance had a name relating to Lancelot - the most chivalrous of all Arthur's knights. An interesting namesake for our anti-hero perhaps.

[wpgrace]

I have no idea about the name... tho I guess I too assumed Lancelot, Luxe!

And I agree with you... I think Phee has written a major piece here... I think she bridged a gap in a plot hole and did it with amazing finesse. I can see these two men talking... Lance with his swishy coat and Mick with his quiet gestures and pauses...

I hadn't thought much about it until she wrote of Lance's coat so poetically... he too could rock a coat! Besides their relationships with Cora... these men also have THAT in common!

I actually would've loved to have seen Lance in another ep... he was such an excellent opponent for Mick... eventually they would've had to have had Mick beat him, but as a recurring villain, that could have gone on for awhile... with Mick's frustration ever building! Oh I love that thought!

[Luxe de Luxe]

yes, grace. Lance would have made a deliciously complex villain.. Sigh... there was just so much material to work with. And I totally agree, that MIck would HAVE to have gone in search of Coraline - that they didn't send him straight away was a travesty. Of course he would have gone after her!

[wpgrace]

yes, grace. Lance would have made a deliciously complex villain.. Sigh... there was just so much material to work with. And I totally agree, that MIck would HAVE to have gone in search of Coraline - that they didn't send him straight away was a travesty. Of course he would have gone after her!

But the cool thing about Phee's fic here is, assuming we DO stick with canon and Mick DIDN'T do what his own nature would've suggested and gone to rescue Cora, this conversation forces him to confront that decision. To confront how that inaction really conflicts with his do=gooder protective self. So she is dealing with the show writers' blip in their characterization of Mick and keeping him, bringing him back, IN character! I just think she did this brilliantly! She has finessed their mistake, and Mick's!

And I had loved the Mick and Lance interaction in the show, which is why I bugged poor Phee to write another one... because Lance's attitude of superiority so got to Mick but he was never able to do jack-sh** about it. It rattled Mick... and I just DO love rattled Mick!

And in this piece, Lance wins again. He's still bested Mick, tho this time not physically but with playing on Mick's sense of right and wrong. LANCE isn't the villain in this PARTICULAR conversation... or at least, he isn't the ONLY one.

[Luxe de Luxe]

No, one of the things I liked about this piece was Lance's genuinely protective attitude toward his sister. Ya hafta luvva guy who loves his sis. I really do love it when our heroes are bested, especially when the issue they're fighting is with themselves. I wonder whether, canon wise, Mick would have resented Beth a little later on, for being somehow responsible (not that I thought she was) for him staying in the U.S. rather than helping Coraline.

[wpgrace]

No, one of the things I liked about this piece was Lance's genuinely protective attitude toward his sister. Ya hafta luvva guy who loves his sis. I really do love it when our heroes are bested, especially when the issue they're fighting is with themselves. I wonder whether, canon wise, Mick would have resented Beth a little later on, for being somehow responsible (not that I thought she was) for him staying in the U.S. rather than helping Coraline.

I love the way Phee put that, in one of her comments... how siblings can tear one another apart and then go after anyone ELSE who dares hurt their sibling! Soooooo true, as I have daily evidence in my house....

I would think Mick would brood about not helping her... he brooded about not being able to save Eileen (wasn't that her name? LeeJay's wife??) and not being able to save Tierney... he likes to beat himself up. Now he's got another regret to erase...

[Luxe de Luxe]

Yes. And wouldn't Mick's need to assuage his guilt toward Coraline have made for some interesting viewing? Poor Coraline. I really do think despite her behaviour toward baby Beth that she was a tragic figure. Someone deplorably abused or neglected in her early life.

[wpgrace]

Oh I DO love rattled Mick... I truly do! Alex did SUCH a magnificent job portraying rattled Mick, with emotions roiling beneath the surface...

Maybe we can prevail upon Phee to write something to follow up this fic... will MIck go have a chat with Cora now? How will he explain himself? How will he excuse himself? How will he berate himself? In fact, even his own internal monologue following this conversation would be interesting...

Phee? Any muses chatting to you about Mick and Cora's confrontation here????

*ducking flying objects... soooooo totally ducking...*

[GuardianAngel]

This was a hell of a painful conversation. I could picture them perfectly, Lance the impeccable aristocrat and a simmering Mick.

Lance continued as if Mick hadn’t interrupted. “–since she returned to L.A., but did she tell you what she suffered at the hands of our sire, after she sacrificed herself to save your ungrateful hide? He really made an example of her.” Lance paused, lost in clearly unpleasant memories. He looked into Mick’s eyes. “You know, there were a few times when I feared that he had gone too far, and that even Coraline’s vampiric healing abilities wouldn’t be enough to preserve her beauty – or her life.”

Mick closed his eyes. Bad move. His mind was flooded with images of the terror in Coraline’s eyes as she knelt before her brother – waiting for him to plunge the stake into her heart.

I could barely stand to imagine what happened to her - Mick must have felt gutted.

We never got to see what happened regarding Coraline and her 'punishment'. I could not imagine our noble Mick not going to France. If he didn't there had to be some fantastic reason. I don't think he could truly settle down and be happy with her fate hanging over his head. But then, in this AU, who says he's happy, right?

Would you consider continuing this? I'd love to see what happens - what Mick does with this information.

[Phoenix]

wow grace and Phee, that was awesome! Such powerful emotions portrayed with simple, yet elegant prose. This is a major piece, Phoenix. You both should be proud.

Thank you so much, Luxe.

I have no idea about the name... tho I guess I too assumed Lancelot, Luxe!

And I agree with you... I think Phee has written a major piece here... I think she bridged a gap in a plot hole and did it with amazing finesse. I can see these two men talking... Lance with his swishy coat and Mick with his quiet gestures and pauses...

I hadn't thought much about it until she wrote of Lance's coat so poetically... he too could rock a coat! Besides their relationships with Cora... these men also have THAT in common!

I actually would've loved to have seen Lance in another ep... he was such an excellent opponent for Mick... eventually they would've had to have had Mick beat him, but as a recurring villain, that could have gone on for awhile... with Mick's frustration ever building! Oh I love that thought!

Grace, Lance's sartorial elegance really stuck in my mind. Vampires really know how to dress.

No, one of the things I liked about this piece was Lance's genuinely protective attitude toward his sister. Ya hafta luvva guy who loves his sis. I really do love it when our heroes are bested, especially when the issue they're fighting is with themselves. I wonder whether, canon wise, Mick would have resented Beth a little later on, for being somehow responsible (not that I thought she was) for him staying in the U.S. rather than helping Coraline.

Luxe, I just love the way your mind works. I thought the same thing. And before anyone throws tomatoes like Luxe, I don't think it was Beth's fault that Mick didn't go after Coraline. Mick is a big boy and responsible for his own choices.

No, one of the things I liked about this piece was Lance's genuinely protective attitude toward his sister. Ya hafta luvva guy who loves his sis. I really do love it when our heroes are bested, especially when the issue they're fighting is with themselves. I wonder whether, canon wise, Mick would have resented Beth a little later on, for being somehow responsible (not that I thought she was) for him staying in the U.S. rather than helping Coraline.

I love the way Phee put that, in one of her comments... how siblings can tear one another apart and then go after anyone ELSE who dares hurt their sibling! Soooooo true, as I have daily evidence in my house....

I would think Mick would brood about not helping her... he brooded about not being able to save Eileen (wasn't that her name? LeeJay's wife??) and not being able to save Tierney... he likes to beat himself up. Now he's got another regret to erase...

Grace? I wrote it that way because you told me that's the way siblings behave...

Oh I DO love rattled Mick... I truly do! Alex did SUCH a magnificent job portraying rattled Mick, with emotions roiling beneath the surface...

Maybe we can prevail upon Phee to write something to follow up this fic... will MIck go have a chat with Cora now? How will he explain himself? How will he excuse himself? How will he berate himself? In fact, even his own internal monologue following this conversation would be interesting...

Phee? Any muses chatting to you about Mick and Cora's confrontation here????

*ducking flying objects... soooooo totally ducking...*

*helps Grace up*

No flying objects.

This was a hell of a painful conversation. I could picture them perfectly, Lance the impeccable aristocrat and a simmering Mick.

Lance continued as if Mick hadn’t interrupted. “–since she returned to L.A., but did she tell you what she suffered at the hands of our sire, after she sacrificed herself to save your ungrateful hide? He really made an example of her.” Lance paused, lost in clearly unpleasant memories. He looked into Mick’s eyes. “You know, there were a few times when I feared that he had gone too far, and that even Coraline’s vampiric healing abilities wouldn’t be enough to preserve her beauty – or her life.”

Mick closed his eyes. Bad move. His mind was flooded with images of the terror in Coraline’s eyes as she knelt before her brother – waiting for him to plunge the stake into her heart.

I could barely stand to imagine what happened to her - Mick must have felt gutted.

We never got to see what happened regarding Coraline and her 'punishment'. I could not imagine our noble Mick not going to France. If he didn't there had to be some fantastic reason. I don't think he could truly settle down and be happy with her fate hanging over his head. But then, in this AU, who says he's happy, right?

Would you consider continuing this? I'd love to see what happens - what Mick does with this information.

Thanks, GA. I have given a lot of thought to what Coraline went through at the hands of her sire, since it is back story in an ongoing series.

Yes, I'll consider continuing the story. (Thank you for asking; I'm honoured.) In my Josef & Emma AU series, Coraline returned to L.A. and over the course of a year, she and Mick have developed something approximating a friendship probably for the first time. (BTW, in the story, Mick and Beth are a couple.) It would be feasible that Mick could finally broach the subject with Coraline...

For the next week or so I'll be too busy to work on any fic - but I'll let the idea percolate and see what comes up.

[RangerCM]

Came back for a re-read of this one after Phoenix reminded me of this trilogy. Enjoying it just as much and happy to give it a bump, just in case there are others who haven't read these yet.

[Phoenix]

Came back for a re-read of this one after Phoenix reminded me of this trilogy. Enjoying it just as much and happy to give it a bump, just in case there are others who haven't read these yet.

Thanks, Ranger.

And for the record, I was not (necessarily) pimping my own fic. Ranger had raised a query about fics where Mick went to rescue Coraline; that was how this came into the conversation.

[wollstonecraft61]

Wow, I can actually close my eyes after reading each line and hear Lance's slow French drawl, savoring each syllable. When Lance actually betrayed the love for his sister in his demeanor...wow...I agree with the previous comments: He became a real character, fleshed out and complicated, evil, yet able to love. How much of that is his innate nature and how much is environment? It would be interesting to find out. Great job, Phee!

[Phoenix]

Wow, I can actually close my eyes after reading each line and hear Lance's slow French drawl, savoring each syllable. When Lance actually betrayed the love for his sister in his demeanor...wow...I agree with the previous comments: He became a real character, fleshed out and complicated, evil, yet able to love. How much of that is his innate nature and how much is environment? It would be interesting to find out. Great job, Phee!

Thank you, woll.

Grace really wanted to put Lance and Mick back in the same room again - and that was the result.

[jen]

Stunning.


Lance was always more complex to me than the one dimensional antagonist we saw on the show. If what we saw was to be taken at face value, Coraline stayed his hand effectively saving Mick's life, possibly at the cost of her own. Although honestly, I wondered if he afterward decided that it was all an alaborate play for his benefit--and he refused to play.

You have taken the other tac--that Coraline's fear and sacrifice were genuine. Here, Lance has more depth, more compassion. Obviously, he saw something in Mick. He did say, 'welcome to the family' after all.

Well written!!!

Thank you!!