Fic for colebaltblue: The Better Part of Valour

[holmesticemods]

Title: The Better Part of Valour
Recipient: Colebaltblue
Author: rachelindeed
Verse: ACD Holmes
Characters/Pairings: Mr Melas, Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Paul Kratides, Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Rating: Teen
Warnings: non-graphic reference to the canonical torture described in Doyle's "The Greek Interpreter"
Summary: Mr Melas considers himself a coward, but more than one man's courage comes with complicated cracks.

Read on AO3: The Better Part of Valour

Comments

[ancientreader]

I commented on the AO3 post but must add a note here -- this story is so, so good. I loved the narrator and his perceptiveness, his self-doubt, his whole character.

[colebaltblue]

I'm so excited to read this. I wasn't able to get to it yesterday when it was posted, but I am now!

[gardnerhill]

A beautifully-told story from Mr. Melas' POV. And what a clever, believable way to spare not only Mr. Kratides but John Oppenshaw!

[rachelindeed]

Thank you so much, I'm so happy you enjoyed it!

And what a clever, believable way to spare not only Mr. Kratides but John Oppenshaw!

Ha ha! Watson's unreliable narration is the lifeboat with which I will rescue all my favorites. YOU CAN'T STOP ME, DOYLE!

[gardnerhill]

Heck, I've saved that poor kid a couple of times myself (once, at poor Watson's expense...) - I'm a huge believer in "When ACD gets his friggin' timeline right I'll worry about Canon adherence."

[marta_bee]

First things first, a harsh word for Mr Melas: you are much braver than you give yourself credit for. "Civilians" really are not equipped for dealing with sudden kidnappings, and as was already pointed out, you put yourself at considerable risk for an essential stranger. You are heroic here.

That said.... I loved so much about this story. The clever canonical reworkings, and the equally clever way you tackled the shoulder-or-leg injury. The way you turned FIN/EMP on their respective head and gave Watson a more perceptive role to play than Doyle afforded him. Pretty much everything about Mycroft here, who I love in any 'verse; that line, "It was just possible, I thought, that he was not in actuality an accountant.", had me laughing out loud. The intelligent way Sophie resolved her problem and used gender expectations against her aggressors - I actually respected her more here than I did in Watson's "official" version. Holmes's vulnerabilities both how his limited experience left him exposed in his romantic inclinations and also how his bravado cost him so dearly with his ability to use a handgun.

I could go on. But really, this is such an intelligent, intertextual story -- I loved it from start to finish.

[rachelindeed]

First things first, a harsh word for Mr Melas: you are much braver than you give yourself credit for. "Civilians" really are not equipped for dealing with sudden kidnappings, and as was already pointed out, you put yourself at considerable risk for an essential stranger. You are heroic here.

YES!! I'm so glad that's your reaction to the story! The theme of Melas's heroism was intended to be central, even though he didn't see himself that way. It was his moral courage that mattered - that is, in one sense, why he represents 'the better part of valour.' He put himself at risk for a stranger's sake. And once he became mentally/physically capable of it, he did get that window open, which bought time for the rescue to arrive. But Melas shows his integrity in other ways, too - he becomes privy to so many secrets and vulnerabilities, from Holmes's homosexuality to his hang-ups with guns to the trick behind Reichenbach. The second, unspoken part of the title comes from the saying: "Discretion is the better part of valour." Melas protects everyone through the secrets he faithfully keeps. He is most definitely my hero :)

Thank you so much for mentioning the details of the story that you particularly enjoyed, that is so wonderful to hear! I'm especially glad that you liked the spin this puts on Watson's role in Reichenbach - that's a piece of the ACD canon that I'm always looking for ways to fix! - and also that you respected Sophie's resourcefulness here. One of the worthwhile parts of the original "Greek Interpreter" tale was the agency that she had in making her own escape, and I didn't want to take that away from her. So I altered it in a way that I hoped would still honor her character.

Thank you so much for reading and for such thoughtful and wonderful commentary!

[ficklepig]

I would probably like all of ACD better if it were told from your interpreter's point of view.

As for the story itself, I am particularly impressed with Holmes's confession - not only for the explanation it offers for ACD's inconsistency, but for the character development purposes it serves in the story and the implications it has for other stories.

[rachelindeed]

Thank you so much -- that's a lovely compliment, and I'm so glad that you enjoyed Melas's narrative voice :)

I'm so pleased that Holmes's confession worked for you in the context of the canon and of this fic, and that it seemed to carry storytelling potential. I so hoped it would!

The idea was inspired by the famous Three Garridebs scene. Specifically, it struck me as strange that when the criminal started shooting and Watson went down - either wounded or dead - Holmes's response was not to use the gun in his hand to return fire, but rather to run up to the shooter and hit him over the head with the butt of his pistol. Like, why on earth would you do that, Holmes? Just shoot him, for heaven's sake!

So, in the back of my head, I decided: maybe he doesn't shoot him because he can't. And in searching for a backstory that could explain why Holmes might have problems with guns, I lit upon the vagueries surrounding Watson's leg wound and thought...there's potential there.

Thank you so much for reading and for your lovely comments!

[ficklepig]

Excellent thinking! Isn't it amazing what treasures come out of excavating those little surface irregularities that barely hint at what lies below?