When Night Comes Down by havocthecat (PG, Gen)

[havocthecat]

Title: When Night Comes Down
Author: havocthecat
Rating: PG
Pairing: None
Warnings: None
Word Count: 5,813
Recipient: leela_cat
Prompt: Vampires are being killed, mortals are being turned against their will, and the Enforcers have given Nick X number of days to find the culprit and fix the problem before they fix it for him.
Summary: Nick is trying to figure out who'

Comments

[skieswideopen]

This is a fascinating (and frightening!) take on what might have happened if Divia had been released earlier (or if Lacroix really had died). It's a very different kind of revenge--poor Lisa, who has no idea what challenges she'll face as an eternal child!--and a very scary idea, Divia running free.

I really like the portrayal of Janette trying to hold the community together, "step-mother" to the vampire community. The description of her interactions with Natalie--protectiveness and uncertainty and distancing--are perfect. And Natalie's refusal to leave town, and her reactions to being brought across--and refusing to blame Nick for it--are also seem very much her.

[havocthecat]

Thank you! I love Divia as an antagonist. She's just so very different from all of the rest of the vampires; in some ways, though, she's not different at all.

Honestly, my brain has been spinning off an entire season's worth of events that will, admittedly, probably never get written. But Lisa is certainly going to realize that being eternally a child will suck. Lots. (There's always the option of Daniel blowing into town and letting her know.)

Janette is one of my favorites in the series. She's the glue that holds everything together, and she's so strong about it, but when Natalie shows up, all of the complicated issues involved with Nat and her relationship with Nick get so very tangled up. So I'm glad that all of that worked for you!

I used to spend hours dissecting the characterization, background and motivations of all of these characters, and I'm so glad to hear it paid off in an enjoyable story.

[skieswideopen]

Janette was always one of my favourites too, and I'm very happy she's getting so much attention in the ficathon.

There's definitely room for more stories with this concept. ;) But of course, finding the time to write every idea is always a challenge.

[havocthecat]

Thank you very much! Oh, Lacroix. He's a brilliant antagonist for the series, but that's what makes me wish he'd stayed dead. I, um, kind of gave myself that wish, but made it worse anyway. (I have a history of writing creepybad AUs.) Because Divia is awesome.

[wiliqueen]

I always love your scary AUs, and this is no exception. Divia supplanting LaCroix as the Big Bad, and the newly-configured "family" looking forward at the end, are my favorite elements of this one.

[havocthecat]

Hee! You're always so very encouraging when I write a creepy AU, which I really appreciate. :) I think the newly-configured family looking forward is my favorite scene of the whole story.

Though things are going to be very interesting if Nat tries to go back to work. Which I think she's going to.

"He didn't know what would happen, now that Divia was here."

[brightknightie]

Thank you again for letting me beta-read on this story; you have most of my thoughts on it from that exchange. "When Night Comes Down" is fast-moving and, with the conversions of the children, deeply creepy, reminding me of certain late-night first-run FK airings when I turned off the television liable to leap at the least little midnight sound. I appreciate the places that this story lines up in parallel with "Killer Instinct," including IA suspecting Nick of the crimes as well as Divia returning from the dead in Lacroix's place. The whole parade of guest stars is a treat -- especially Miklos -- even under such disturbing circumstances as the obstacles piled up for Nick and the others to fight through to the end.

My favorite individual lines from the story are:

• Most nights, walking through the Raven was like coming home.


• Nicolas carried the full weight of his years in his eyes.


• She had pieces of others' lives to pick up and mend together once again.


• Alexandra hated Nicolas, it was true, but after he'd let her escape, Janette had

Re: "He didn't know what would happen, now that Divia was here."

[havocthecat]

Oh, the late-night showings! I remember those! Those were deeply, deeply atmospheric, especially when watching them in the basement with most of the lights off in the middle of the night.

God, I'm glad Miklos worked. I totally watched Bad Blood solely so I could get a read on him to work him in, if at all possible. My intent had been to include only a few sentences, because I didn't think I could get more out of that scene. Apparently I was very, very wrong! He and Nick ran away with it, which I love.

Divia is so damn creepy. I love that about her!

Thank you again for betareading. This story wouldn't have been nearly so good without you and natmerc helping me out.

[havocthecat]

Isn't Janette awesome? :) She's so much fun to write! And Divia is horribly creepy, which also makes writing her an enjoyable experience. I'm so glad you liked it!