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stonepicnicking_okapiTitle: Compassionate
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (ACD)
Rating: Gen
Length: 300
Prompt: Compassionate
For: GYWO Yahtzee Roll #1
Summary: A guilty person begs Holmes for mercy.
“Mister Holmes, please! I’m begging!”
I waited in silence, studying the tableau and wondering what Holmes’ reaction would be. The culprit had been caught red-handed. Extenuating circumstances abounded, but a crime had been committed, and Holmes had discovered its origin, uncovered its source, and met its architect.
The air was charged, and even after so many years of companionship, in that moment, I could not predict what my friend would say next.
Readers of my chronicles sometimes accused me of the crime of inconsistency when it comes to descriptions of Holmes’ character. Is he a cold, rationale thinking machine or is he a compassionate soul who bends the rules of justice to offer mercy to an offender?
Why can he not be both?
If consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, then a great mind like the one possessed by Sherlock Holmes must be inconsistent to the extreme.
On occasion, Holmes dispenses his own justice, but just as often, he is deaf to pleas and leaves the guilty to their fates.
Sometimes he asks my opinion on the matter, but I do not think my response sways him in either direction. I think by the time he seeks my counsel he has already made up his mind; he simply asks me out of courtesy and, perhaps, curiosity.
I struggle with the matter of recidivism. If we let a criminal go free, are we freeing them to commit the crime again? If we hand them over to the police and the courts, are we doing them any better? I let my conscience be my guide, knowing full well I may be made a fool of.
I waited.
“Go.”
“Yes?”
“Go! But if our paths cross again, I will not show a sliver of compassion.”
“Thank you, Mister Holmes! Oh, thank you!”
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (ACD)
Rating: Gen
Length: 300
Prompt: Compassionate
For: GYWO Yahtzee Roll #1
Summary: A guilty person begs Holmes for mercy.
“Mister Holmes, please! I’m begging!”
I waited in silence, studying the tableau and wondering what Holmes’ reaction would be. The culprit had been caught red-handed. Extenuating circumstances abounded, but a crime had been committed, and Holmes had discovered its origin, uncovered its source, and met its architect.
The air was charged, and even after so many years of companionship, in that moment, I could not predict what my friend would say next.
Readers of my chronicles sometimes accused me of the crime of inconsistency when it comes to descriptions of Holmes’ character. Is he a cold, rationale thinking machine or is he a compassionate soul who bends the rules of justice to offer mercy to an offender?
Why can he not be both?
If consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, then a great mind like the one possessed by Sherlock Holmes must be inconsistent to the extreme.
On occasion, Holmes dispenses his own justice, but just as often, he is deaf to pleas and leaves the guilty to their fates.
Sometimes he asks my opinion on the matter, but I do not think my response sways him in either direction. I think by the time he seeks my counsel he has already made up his mind; he simply asks me out of courtesy and, perhaps, curiosity.
I struggle with the matter of recidivism. If we let a criminal go free, are we freeing them to commit the crime again? If we hand them over to the police and the courts, are we doing them any better? I let my conscience be my guide, knowing full well I may be made a fool of.
I waited.
“Go.”
“Yes?”
“Go! But if our paths cross again, I will not show a sliver of compassion.”
“Thank you, Mister Holmes! Oh, thank you!”
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Date: 2023-03-18 04:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-03-19 03:54 am (UTC)