Discussion Post: The Musgrave Ritual

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

It's discussion time! What did you think of The Musgrave Ritual, canon or the Granada version? As always, I've written up a few of my random thoughts and questions, which are behind the cut. Please add your own in the comments!

( Onward to talk! )

The Musgrave Ritual: Brunton's Blunder

[ennui-enigma.livejournal.com]

Canon: The Musgrave Ritual (MUSG)
Title: Brunton’s Blunder
Author: ennui_enigma
Rating: G
Warnings: none
A/N: I imagine Holmes did not lament the death of Brunton too much; but he must have felt a small pang of regret over the loss of a kindred intellect. As I think about Holmes reflecting on the butler’s mistake with his jilted lover the canon story, A Scandal in Bohemia, comes to mind.


“He had a brilliant intellect with a reasoning aptitude equal to my own logical powers. Never mind that he was a butler. He proved cleverer than generations of noblemen. One’s station in life is no predictor of mental capability.”

Holmes sighed. “It’s a shame his ego caused him to misjudge her true nature. I shall not make the same mistake.”

The Musgrave Ritual: Promises

[trillsabells.livejournal.com]

Canon Story: The Musgrave Ritual
Title: Promises
Author: trillsabells
Rating: G



He had promised her treasure. Jewels.

“Diamonds the size of your fist, Rachel,” he had said. “Sparkling just like your eyes.”

But then he had promised her marriage as well, with words just as sweet.

She had promised to make sure the block didn’t slip.

It turned out both of them made promises as worthless as pebbles from the mud.

The Musgrave Ritual - Winter Nights Beside the Fire

[methylviolet10b]

Author: methylviolet10b
Rating: PG
Character(s): Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John Watson
Summary: Clutter, cases, strategies, and storage.
Warnings: Once again, nearly spoiler-free for the actual story.
Word Count: 60
Author's Notes: 60 words of my own inspired by one of the canon stories.
Disclaimer: I don't own them.

MUSG2 – Winter Nights Beside the Fire

I had seen the signs coming for days. Winter had set in early, and the brutal weather kept us confined to our rooms.

I distracted Watson with one of my early cases, with promises of more. And so, like Scheherazade, my papers won a nightly reprieve until I managed to coax the use of a lumber-room out of Mrs. Hudson.

The Musgrave Ritual: The Musgrave Spider: View from the Cellar

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Canon Story: The Musgrave Ritual
Title: The Musgrave Spider: View from the Cellar (part of the Ocelot Tales)
Author: thesmallhobbit
Rating: G (We do not see the spider, merely hear her thoughts)
A/N: After last week I decided I would continue with the Ocelot Tales, wherein various members of the animal kingdom reflect on Holmes, and as we progress Holmes and/or Watson.

This second man seems to be copying the first one, without having watched his actions.  The first one’s movements flowed, this one acts and then pauses, as if thinking what to do next.  Yet the second even picks up the same logs the first one used.  I wonder if his companion will take on the role of the other’s companion.

The Musgrave Ritual: Double Bluff

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

Canon Story: The Musgrave Ritual
Title: Double Bluff
Author: impulsereader
Rating: G
A/N: Holmes isn't the only one with a cunning plan.

--------

One winter’s night I found myself at a loss for occupation. Sitting quietly by the fire with Holmes was pleasant, of course, but certainly the evening would only be improved by his relating an early case?

“Holmes,” I said, “do be a good fellow and contrive to make our chambers a bit less cluttered with the detritus of your work.”

The Musgrave Ritual: Treasure x 2

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Canon Story: The Musgrave Ritual
Title: Treasure x 2
Author: spacemutineer
Rating: G
Author's Notes: A matched set for this week. I am having so much fun this time through. Thanks to everyone for playing along with us here!

He panted from the effort. "Can you see it?"

"See what?" Rachel dipped the lamp down into the stale air of the pit. "Wait, there's a box, a wooden chest. Richard, what is it?"

Brunton grinned and knelt. "It's a treasure, fy anwylyd, a secret well kept. And we are the only souls in the world who know it exists."

///

Watson's gawked openly as soon as I opened the lid. There was no ignoring a treasure trove so eagerly sought. My biographer was predictable in the best way.

Inside their slumber chest, my pretty little problems glistened. I dug beneath the layers of gold to pull out the gem I wished him to see, a peculiar but crowning achievement.

MUSG: The Moriarty Ritual

[hisietari.livejournal.com]

Canon Story: The Musgrave Ritual
Title: The Moriarty Ritual
Author: hisietari
Rating: PG
A/N: My second round of 60s will concentrate on the Moriarty family, which I've based on canon as far as possible, but tweaked a lot due to gaps in canon. You can find a family tree and some explanation in my journal, but please feel free to ask, too.
Jane's POV again, about 10 years old at the time. I had planned comedy... well, that's the Moriartys for you.

-------

John II introduced me to the Moriarty Ritual the very morning we were to be separated. He said that it was custom for the firstborn to get rid of the patriarch when signs of deterioration appeared. That moment I knew why our father had not defended himself when they found Mother’s poison in his room.

Every family has its recipes.

The Musgrave Ritual

[flawedamythyst.livejournal.com]

Canon Story: The Musgrave Ritual
Title: Old Acquaintances & The Tutor
Rating: PG
A/N: And this week I have 2. Yeah, I'm really failing at not joining in this time round.

“See much of that Trevor fellow?”

Holmes gritted his teeth. “No,” he bit out. He's a client. You need to be polite. “He went to India,” he allowed.

“Ah,” said Musgrave, in a too-knowing voice. Holmes did his best to ignore it. The work is all you need, he reminded himself. Companionship is an unnecessary distraction.

*

Go on now, Reggie. Run along and spend the day measuring shadows and working out trigonometric equations – you've not yet told me the height of that elm tree. That's a good boy. While you keep yourself busy, I'll sample some of your father's brandy and cigars, then see if the new chamber maid is as friendly as the last.

*

Also screencapped my favourite moment from the Granada episode at my LJ, if anyone's interested.


*

60 for 60 II: 2 -The Musgrave Ritual; Not His Father's Son/ Not Her Father's Daughter

[sabrinaphynn.livejournal.com]

Canon Story:MUSG

Title:Not His Father's Son

Author:sabrinaphynn

Rating: G

Warnings: excessive abuse of canon,  crossover with Dorothy L Sayers canon

I left Musgrave's service soon after the incident, taking Mother's surname to free myself from Brunton's taint.  I found a place as a footman with a good family in Kent, married, and raised my children as paragons of service. In fact, my second son, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mervyn_Bunter , has just made head footman to Sir John Sanderton. He will go far.

John Bunter

Author's Note: Yes, well... the story mentions a boy in the list of the servants, and also that Brunton  was a widower.  I thought the boy was possibly his son, who would, of course, do the very opposite of his father.  From that leap, a connection to Lord Peter Whimsey's devoted and highly intelligent manservant, Mervyn Bunter, and Musgrave's schoolteacher-turned-servant followed.  So I made them family, naturally.

(The illegitimate one follows, also resolving the 'Whatever happened to Rachel?' issue. ) 

Canon Story: MUSG

Title: Not Her Father's Daughter

Author: "sabrinaphynn"

Rating: PG

Warnings: child out of wedlock, me being a nerd and therefore abusing of Doyle and Sayers' canonical characters
Also: This story is separate to 'Not His Father's Child' Otherwise it would be half-sibling incest- far too many common genes/chromosomes.

Rachel told me she needed to leave a week before he went missing.  I pitied her; bereft, discarded, retching daily over her morning gruel. Rather than Wales, I suggested she head towards my people in Kent. I had brothers who were not averse to a pretty face and inclined to overlook a babe born "early". 

Alicia Smithers,  nee Bunter.  

Author's Note: Yes, well... Don Juan is not a flattering label.  I never thought well of Brunton, anyway.  I think Alicia - the cook, by the way- liked Rachel and really just wanted to help her.  As Rachel was pregnant and this loathsome man tossed her aside, one can see she would have cause to at least feel murderous, more so if one considers how she would be treated at the time. She certainly would not be inclined to get help on his behalf.  Rachel's baby, by the way, is a girl, who grows up to become Mervyn Bunter's mother. 

Who is Mervyn Bunter, you ask?  well...  click  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mervyn_Bunter