A Study in Scarlet: Words

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Canon Story: A Study in Scarlet
Title: Words
Author: spacemutineer
Rating: PG-13
Author's Notes: The angst fairy had a lot of magic dust to sprinkle on me this week. Be warned.


Words are chosen carefully by many, but writers select words as others select fruit, picking only the best, most apt of specimens.

These words were horrible. I should have been prepared, given his dark history, countenance, and carriage. Still, it was chilling.

Watson's lost mates were "hacked to pieces".

He never spoke of them again. Certainly I never asked.

Comments

[debriswoman]

All the more chilling for not being described further...

Nicely done.

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Yes, there's a great deal of meaning in just three of Watson's words. Thank you very much for reading!

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

And that is one of the reasons that the ACD stories work so well - they truly capture the period.

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

That's an excellent point. They're a form of time travel, really.

[hisietari.livejournal.com]

The art of leaving out the most horrific in order to highten its impact, so well exercised. Kudos to the angst fairy, too! ;)

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

I should fix up the spare bedroom since the angst fairy is here so much! ;) Glad you liked.

[sabrinaphynn.livejournal.com]

Ooo. Shivers.

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Shivers are what I was going for, because that's definitely what I felt reading Watson's description of war.

[trillsabells.livejournal.com]

Very poignant and chilling. Well done on picking out three words that really do tell a tale in themselves

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

They stuck out to me so much. Just a disturbing way to describe something, and I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Thank you very much for reading!

[bwblack.livejournal.com]

You weren't kidding about the angst fairy. I loved it! Hacked to pieces, indeed!

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Oh, fantastic! I'm glad you didn't think it was too dark. That pesky fairy is heavy-handed sometimes with the angst dust. ;)

[methylviolet10b]

Oooh, nice! You do a very good job demonstrating just how powerful those simple words 'hacked to pieces' really are.

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

The phrase stuck with me, even from the last time we read STUD. Such an unsettling turn of a phrase with so much meaning and horror in it.

Very happy you liked.

Sunday, 2 September 2012

[livejournal.livejournal.com]

User thisprettywren referenced to your post from Sunday, 2 September 2012 (http://holmesian-news.livejournal.com/233352.html) saying: [...] by (Holmes, Watson | PG | ACD) Words [...]

[castiron.livejournal.com]

Yes, Watson's military career is not one that anyone would particularly like to live through. Well done!

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Definitely not. Holmes is lucky Watson's such a solid man to have survived it, mentally and physically.

Thank you!

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

Wow. Angsty indeed!

I love that you're waxing lyrical about the words that writers choose within a 60!

Excellent, very affecting for such a short piece.

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

I confess, I love a little meta when I can get it in, and word choice is my favorite thing about writing these 60s. Watson is a writer, so it's always fun to work that angle. :)

Thank you so much!

[snycock.livejournal.com]

Ooh, gives me shivers to read that. Well done! And the meta-comment on word choice in a 60 is brilliant. :-)

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Hehe, I can't resist a little meta. :) Glad to hear you liked it even if it did give you the shivers -- I had them too, that's why I wrote it!

[smoothe1.livejournal.com]

Nice and dark. Lovely!

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Ah, thank you kindly!

[hardboiledbaby]

*feeds angst fairy biscuits and tea* ;)

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

I don't think you need to feed her -- she's made herself quite comfortable anyway. ;)

[musamihi.livejournal.com]

It's interesting to think about why Watson spends so much time writing about Holmes and almost never, after STUD, slips in anything about himself. I like this explanation, I think!

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

His life has a great deal of darkness in it, but he himself is a warm, happy man. He's a testament to centering your life on what you love, and letting the past go, perhaps.