Re: Mycroft saying please. When powerful men beg it is hotter than the sun.
Thereās a lot of reasons I fell for Mystrade.Ā
I like how their differences match up as tight as jigsaw pieces. Openhearted bravery, and emotionless logic; a man who clearly once owned a motorbike, and a man who takes time each morning to match his pocket handkerchief to his suit.Ā Mycroft delegates; Greg rolls his sleeves up.Ā
Mycroft is, in a word, difficult.Ā Greg is easy.Ā
I like the emotional quality of the things they share - a certain weariness, a touch of impatience, a force of will.Ā
And I reallyĀ like that when you put them together, itās not at all obvious whoās coming out on top.
In every sense of the phrase.
These two are decisive, intelligent, successful men - committed professionals, used to being listened to, used to a certain level of respect.
It reminds me of the whole reason I fell so hard for slash fiction.Ā
A romance between two heroes? Yes please. I donāt want to read about one heroic bell-end and a suitably accommodating love interest, whoās only there to reflect back at him how heroic he is. I want to read about two people, who both deserve my adoration as a reader, and the things that they do together.Ā
I like reading about characters who have weaknesses and cracks and flaws, but are strong enough to do something about it - and strong enough to look out for someone else on the way.
I love reading stuff where two men manage to fall in love while remaining as the men they were. Slash couples shouldnāt be crammed into some creepyĀ āIāll be The Man, you be The Womanā parody of that heterosexual fairytale weāre all so forcefully told is the only possible True Love.
And Mystrade is so awesome for illustrating that.Ā
Isnāt it fascinating that Established Relationship stories are so easy and plentiful in our pairing? Because we all know it works so well.Ā
All those āI had a terrible day at the officeā stories work because thatās the kind of thing two real, rounded people do in an actual relationship.Ā
Mycroft and Greg, as characters, both contain a huge amount of strength and weakness. Mycroft in particular runs the full gamut fromĀ āI am the power of the British nationā to āoh shit, I absolutely cannot copeā.Ā
And yeahā¦ I like it when he begs.
Because thatās the utter joy of most slash pairings. Two decisive, intelligent, successful people who can occupy the entirety of the emotional scale in their own right - from way up on high, āIāve got this, weāre going to be okay,ā all the way down to, āI need you to help me, I am not okayā. They can occupy that scale around each other, transform each other, drag each other up from the dirt - kicking and screaming if necessary. But thereās movement. Thereās dynamism.
And thatās really sexy.
And it means more to us as readers.Ā
Thatās all of our lives, right? One day youāre leading the front line attack. The next youāre curled in a ball somewhere. Weāve all done it. And weāve all known what it feels like when someone reaches down for you and says,Ā āIām strong today - because yesterday, you dragged me up here. Now youāre down there. So get a hold of my hand.ā
I like when powerful men beg because thereās not actually any such thing as a powerful man.
Society has tried convincing us of it for years, and itās not true. Weāre constantly fed these Hollywood blockbusters and TV shows and cultural myths about supposedly Powerful Men who blow up the helicopter, get the girl and save the day.
Itās unrealistic. Itās boring.Ā
It doesnāt mean anything to us.Ā
Iād much rather have the story about two blokes who try their hardest, feel like shit sometimes but donāt give in, get hold of each other, and together become more than the sum of their parts.
Who wouldnāt rather have that?
So yes, heās The British Government - and yes, he can have people dragged off into limousines - and sure, he could probably have the whole world moved an inch to the left if he wantedā¦
But now and then, he needs somebody to say,Ā āI know youāre not alright. Just show me that youāre weak, and Iāll give you my strength.ā
Thatās why I like it when Mycroft says āpleaseā.
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