TorontoBatFan’s Let Me In
series is a set of fics looking at Owen and Abby’s life together after the events of the film. Mixing a series of flashbacks with a clearer narrative of their life together, these fics look at how Owen and Abby got out of the city and relocated to live with Owen’s grandfather Oscar in Missouri.
The main fics in this series are “I Was Almost Too Late”, “On This Winter’s Night With You”, “Eternally Bonded” and “Closing the Door to the Past” (the last has been dormant since September 2014, but there has been no indication that it has been abandoned completely). There are also a range of one-shot spin-off fics.
TorontoBatFan’s Let Me In series contains examples of:
- Actor Allusion: The Dark Shadows crossover fic ‘Meeting of Monarchs’ reveals that Abby and Barnabas Collins are distant relatives, which the author affirms is inspired by the fact that Chloë Grace Moretz appeared in both films (although Moretz’s characters don’t meet directly).
- Adaptational Heroism: Depends a bit on whether viewers saw Abby as a victim or a manipulator in the original film, but here her actions are portrayed in the most sympathetic manner possible, making it clear that she only killed humans for blood because she had genuinely never thought about drinking from animals and had no other way to survive.
- Asshole Victim: The bullies who nearly drowned and/or mutilated Owen are the last people Abby will ever kill for human blood, and considering what they almost did to Owen she has no problem with killing them.
- Big Bad: "Eternally Bonded" establishes the clear threat of Abby’s uncle, Jebediah, who turned his niece so that he could make her his ‘bride’.
- Creepy Child: As Abby spends more time with Owen and Oscar, the 'creepy' part is downplayed to make her just socially awkward.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Various details are revealed about Abby’s past, including that she was turned by her uncle and was shot by her own father when she tried to go home after the attack (which also marked the moment she learned that she was now immortal). Abby also discusses her history with her past guardians, including how and why she chose them and how they died.
- Due to the Dead: Abby's second mortal guardian, Samuel, was a veteran of the Civil War who lost his wife and daughter to a fever and saw Abby as a replacement for his daughter. After he spent his life caring for her, Abby took his body back to his home town after he died so that he could be buried alongside his family.
- Entitled to Have You: Jebediah wanted to make Abby his mate, despite the fact that they were biologically related and she was only twelve years old when he turned her.
- Happily Adopted: It obviously can’t be legally ratified, but Oscar makes it clear more than once that he sees Abby as a granddaughter despite her chronological age, with Abby freely referring to him as ‘Grandpa’ in return.
- Hands-Off Parenting: Owen’s parents might come back together because of his disappearance, but the fact that they each in their way express relief that Owen is gone from their lives says it all about their ability to care for him.
- Incest-ant Admirer: Abby’s uncle turned her to make her his mate and still has a twisted fixation on her that makes other people uncomfortable when he starts talking about his niece even when they don’t know about the vampire angle.
- Like a Granddaughter To Me: Abby freely refers to Oscar as ‘Grandpa’ and Oscar makes it clear that he reciprocates the sentiment despite Abby being at least a century Oscar’s senior.
- Metaphorical Marriage: Discussed after Owen becomes a vampire, as he recalls how Dracula films would call Dracula's female victims his "brides" and suggests that a similar rule could apply to Abby turning him, the two agreeing that they are content to consider themselves married as they recognise they could never have a legal ceremony given their apparent physical ages.
- Must Be Invited: Owen and Abby use this against Jebediah during the confrontation with him, forcing him inside their house where the lack of an invitation will affect Jebediah just as it initially hit Abby in the film.
- Our Vampires Are Different: As well as the depicted need for an invitation, Abby reveals that she and other vampires like her are also vulnerable to silver, to the extent that a simple silver necklace is as heavy to Abby as thick chains. “Meeting of Monarchs” affirms that there are different types of vampire even in-universe depending on the circumstances of their creation, such as Barnabas lacking a reflection and being able to hypnotise others.
- The Renfield: Abby discusses her past human guardians with Owen, but makes it clear that Owen is the only one she has actually loved, with one guardian being a convicted criminal that she admits was a bad choice and another man seeing Abby as a substitute for his own lost daughter.
- Roaring Rampage of Rescue: The series basically opens looking at Abby rescuing Oscar from the bullies from her perspective, the four serving as the last victims of her thirst before Owen suggests she try animal blood (apart from when she drinks Owen's blood to turn him).
- Secret-Keeper: Even before Owen becomes a vampire, Oscar has to keep Owen and Abby's presence secret because it would inspire too many questions if Owen turned up here after he vanished from his mother's apartment, even without the fact that people may wonder about why Abby is never seen during the day if they knew about her.
- Staking the Loved One: Peripherally applies in "Eternally Bonded", when Owen and Abby kill one of Jebediah’s victims by burning down the morgue before she can ‘wake up’, as the woman’s husband was a friend of Oscar’s.
- Supporting the Monster Loved One: Essentially applies to Oscar as he is providing a home for his ‘adopted’ vampire granddaughter and his subsequently vamped grandson, but by the time she arrives at Oscar's ranch Abby is only drinking animal blood, and it has been made clear that Owen will never have to feed on humans thanks to Abby’s discovery that animal blood is a suitable substitute.
- True Love is Exceptional: Oscar is aware of Owen and Abby’s sexual relationship, and freely acknowledges that he would object to them being sexually active if Abby was a normal girl of her apparent age, but accepts it even before Owen becomes a vampire himself as he acknowledges the unconventional circumstances.
- Young and in Charge: "Meeting of Monarchs" confirms that Owen and Abby are the joint vampire rulers of Montana, even though Owen is basically the youngest vampire present given that he isn't even a legal adult yet.
