FIC: Masked Ball. 7/11.(H/W)

[waid]

Six months after Holmes’ return from the dead, the delicate equilibrium in Baker Street is disturbed when a stranger walks out of the London fog with a case – for Watson. Holmes is wary, Watson is fascinated. But who is the man calling himself Álvaro de León? And what does he really want?

In this chapter: De León revealed!

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6 Chapter 7 on A03. Comment either there or here.

BTW don't read the comments here until you've read the chapter! SPOILERS!

Comments

[blackwoolsocks.livejournal.com]

Midway through this chapter I thought...surely not...
BUT YES! YES YES YES, it's Irene! Of COURSE the trickster figure is Irene, of course, OF COURSE! And you managed to keep it from us all this time, yet dropped enough hints that now I'm kicking myself (in a good way) for not getting it sooner. I was so caught up in the connection to Gruner and thinking it was going to tie in with Illustrious Client that I didn't even think about other stories...

Not only that, but you've given me the Irene Adler story I've always wanted, the one where she is cunning and subversive and utterly her own. The one where she may be a little dark, a little morally flexible, but is far from a villain (much like Holmes himself, in truth). The one where she's madly in love with Godfrey Norton, and she's not in love with Holmes, and she's not working for the bad guy. I have no words. YOU. askdfgl.

[w-a-i-d.livejournal.com]

Ahh, thank you so much, that is exactly the response I was hoping for and exactly what I wanted to do with Irene! What is this always making her the villain or besotted with Holmes or both bullshit?

SERIOUSLY WHO WOULD NOT LOVE GODFREY NORTON. Victorian Society is all "Godfrey! You are a respectable English gentleman! There are women you fuck and women you marry! Do we really need to spell out what category genius opera-singing former mistresses of other men fall into?" And he's all *blank staring* "What are you even talking about, what is wrong with you, have you seen how amazing this woman is? Fuck you, Victorian Society, fuck you AND the King of Bohemia."

[blackwoolsocks.livejournal.com]

RIGHT?! There is a sad, sad lack of Godfrey Norton in adaptations. I think it's because he has a rather silly name. And I understand that the-hero-falls-for-the-villainess is a trope, and a temptingly dramatic one, but must we inflict it on Holmes and Irene? They are both way too interesting for that.

I forgot to say in my original post that I also love that your Irene is a redhead. It immediately calls to mind Granada's Irene, who is far and away the best version.

[illereyn.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, great reveal! Really liked it, and really enjoying the story!