It occurs to me as I’m elbow-deep in editing this Mycroft/Lestrade story—and feeling that exquisite torment of loving this story, of being proud of it—that there are those who will never bother to read the thing simply because they can’t be bothered reading anything with the pairing. That gives me a sad. I wish I could convince them otherwise.
See, to me, there’s so much potential in these two. They’re visceral. They’re compelling. As someone who writes both, the problems, issues, and dynamics between Mycroft and Lestrade are just so different from those between John and Sherlock. There’s so much to explore between the two that isn’t often explored with John and Sherlock, or is explored in vastly different ways: Age. Experience. Interaction with work colleagues. The various manners in which they enact the business of caring for others. How the two must fight to fit a relationship between them into such busy, work-entrenched lives.
All pairings are different from one another, obviously. That’s the way of it. Well-written stories are the volatile combination of two or more characters, and that reaction is by definition going to be different with any other combination. However, I’ve talked to many people who have said, “oh, I read Johnlock, but I just don’t care about Mystrade.” And when I ask why, it turns out that they’ve built up this image of the pairing that may reflect the way Mycroft and Lestrade appear to be, but it doesn’t consider what happens beneath the surface when you put these two disparate elements in a room together, shake it up, and let it go.
It can be explosive. Illuminating. Rich. Satisfying. Real.
It can be a story of two men who have achieved within their own particular spheres negotiating how they interact with each other. Two men who have separate lives of their own who nevertheless decide to meet in the middle. Two men whose baggage doesn’t necessarily match, but they decide, regardless, to try.
The combination of Mycroft Holmes and Gregory Lestrade is so much more than the sum of its parts.
I admit, I didn’t get it at first. I read books, I wrote my own original pairings, I read and wrote Sherlock/John. My dance card was full up, I thought. I knew Mycroft/Lestrade existed, of course, but I just didn’t bother to get involved. Greg has silvering hair, and Mycroft carries an umbrella, and what else can there be between them? What more did I really need to know?
But then for some forgotten reason I read one of their stories, and all that changed. I read a story, and I finally understood that there was a there, there. I read a story, and all my barriers crumbled away into nothing the first time Greg made Mycroft smile. I fell in love.
If you’ve read good Mycroft/Lestrade and it’s not been your cup of tea, that’s one thing. I can understand that. But if you haven’t even tried any, if you’ve rejected them on spec, I just really wish I could convince you to give them a try.
I wonder if you wouldn’t fall just a bit in love, too.
I was just reminded of this piece, on the perfect day to put out a call. So to celebrate Mystrade Thursday, why not tell us all what you find so compelling about the combination of Mycroft/Lestrade? MYSTRADE LOVE FEST, GO
I love it for all the reasons you said. To me it can also be a mirror of the John/Sherlock relationship, but with a maturity and confidence that comes with being a little bit older and a little more settled in life.
I like the way that they can fit together, find common ground, explore things one or the other of them might not have considered. I like Greg drawing Mycroft out of his shell. I like Mycroft giving Greg the love and support that he deserves.
There’s lots of great stuff out there, Mydwynter and ChasingRiver and probably more that I’m not thinking of off the top of my head. DuchessCloverly for her amazing videos. (Of course I have my own on Janto321, MerHums and MerKat too)
I’m really loyal. If i’m your friend I’ll stick with you through anything and everything. Hell even if you’re an acquaintance I’ve talked to, like, once.
I too sometimes feel like my job is herding cats.
Coffee. Coffee is a magical thing.
3 things I don’t
I’m not in a position of responsibility
I don’t think I’d a yelled when my friends were hung over from stag night
I’d have said something to sally on the sniping
Oh and on the common side I also kick stuff when i’m mad
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It is absolutely true that when Rupert came in to audition, he gave us a version of Lestrade we weren’t expecting, which was a really good copper. A copper whom you believe could be the star of another series in which, presumably, he fails to solve crimes.“ You have to accommodate your casting. “I think Sherlock and John are just a bit resentful because they know Lestrade is more handsome than them – Benedict and Martin certainly are!
Steven Moffat at SDCC 2015 when asked “Was Lestrade written as more likeable in the series because that was best for the show, or because Rupert was so charming?“ via DigitalSpy
He also described Rupert as “the most attractive man in the world” 🙂
So I’ve been thinking about it, and I’m quite certain, that canonically, Greg is probably the best lover on the show.
Sherlock would be unpredictable – either too intense, or too detached.
John would be very gentle and soft, alternating with fierce passion, but I feel like it’d be at the wrong times. Like, you need passion, and he’s gentle, or you need soft and he’s wild.
Irene has a specific skill set, but that means she’s also only best for a specific subset. And everything seems to indicate that her relationship with Kate is no exception.
Sally and Anderson cheat. Even that aside, I imagine Sally, giving everything she’s had to fight against her whole life to end up where she is, would refuse to let go and share the necessary vulnerability that makes sex truly spectacular. Anderson is woefully unobservant. He’d do the same things, not noticing what made you gasp with pleasure as compared to gasp in discomfort.
Mycroft would be too proper, if he deigned to his bodily needs at all. I feel like to lose any ounce of control would burst the damn so to speak, and so he’d be just as controlled in sex as he is in a diplomatic meeting.
Molly, I think would be perfectly lovely, albeit unadventurous. She’s mostly unobtrusive, and even in season 3, as she learns to speak up for herself more loudly, I can see that translating to getting the pleasure she wants. Whereas perhaps in the past, she’d just accept that she didn’t always achieve climax. (I’ll bet she does now, though).
Anthea is shrouded in too much mystery to make a good call. I daresay she likes the power and touch of intrigue, and that she’d be more turned on by the courtship than the sex itself.
Mrs Hudson might have won a few decades ago, but you know she’s got that hip now, dear.
I think it’s safe to say that Moriarty probably doesn’t take his sexual partner’s wants and needs into high consideration.
But Greg.
Greg.
Greg, who can see the good in Sherlock, despite the coarse personality Sherlock puts on, who can concede when he is out of his depth and ask for help? Greg, who can make the power play when he needs to, who knows when to push, and when to relent. Who rises to occasion when he’s needed, but doesn’t involve himself where he’s not needed. Greg can play the bad guy, the good guy, and anyone in between. He hopes for the best; gives second chances, and cares so much about what he does.
Now translate all that.
Greg, very much living in the moment, seeing the best of you, knowing when to ask what you like, and knowing how to find what you like just as well. Instinctively being the good, soft, gentle lover, or the rough, passionate fuck, because he always rises to the occasion. He knows when you need space, when you need comfort; he knows when to tell you what he needs, and he knows when it’s time to lay back and let you take what you need.
Not to mention:
(Of course this all assumes they are at the very least, not sex-adverse, and likely demi and/or allosexual. I think that many of the characters could be read in a variety of ways regarding their sexuality. This is just one interpretation.)
My favorite part of the whole holiday special is that, somewhere in Sherlock’s mind, he truly believes Lestrade would help him dig a 120 year old grave for no actual reason.
