Fic - "An Unpredictable Life"

[colonel_bastard]

Title: An Unpredictable Life
Author: colonel_bastard
Characters/Fandom: Basil, Ratigan, OCs. The Great Mouse Detective.
Word Count: 10,790
Rating: R
Summary: Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you can push back towards the surface. Sometimes you have to fall from grace before you can rise again.
Warnings: Violence, masturbation, general

Comments

[vejiicakes]

Yeah, no, I couldn't hold out at all.

This was fantastic! A little murder mystery, a meaty chunk of Basil backstory (allllways love~) with a healthy helping of our hero's major character arc.. and what a beginning to Basil and Ratigan's professional rivalry! :D

Forgive me these next bits, I just commented as I read.

Th-they turned his bedroom into the guest room :( So much dislike for the Hume patriarch and heir. Dickbags..

And huzzah, the return of Basil's mother! God, bedridden and mysteriously ill, she's still such a powerful presence. I'd misinterpreted some of the Hume family background you gave in the meme thread--you weren't kidding about Basil and his brother being bred to specific things by their parents O_O It was kind of a relief to see Basil with the favor of someone in his distressing family, but what a complex and fraught sort of familial tie theirs was! (Think Basil taking off again might've sped her decline? I can see them both thinking it--his mum especially and, well, she was always all about mind over body..)

I got a little crush on Catherine. What a sweet lady, and obviously the sort of friend Basil needs in his life, even if neither of them could be the romantic presence that the other needed.

It was such a thrill, after Ratigan's mounting obsession with Basil in Smoke and Mirrors, to see the flipside, as well as some confirmation of Basil's... interest in Ratigan >:) Beyond what he represents as an intellectual challenge and validation, of course.

You’re the back end of the family and you’re full of---”

SNAPS.

And oh, that moment after he quits the force, and you see Basil shift away from the disoriented, damaged young "spare son", more into that doesn't-give-a-shit-about-social-niceties, ball-of-energy Basil we see in the movie..! Gah, my heart leaped into my throat ^_^

And dear Mrs. Judson.. *sigh* What would Basil do without someone solid and down to earth and compassionate in his life?

I loved this. I seriously want to fanart every key moment in this, it's so VIVID and rich in detail and great little character moments!! Gaaah so much love T___T Thank you for the well-worth-it distraction from.. everything else XD As always, can't wait to see where you take this amazing world next! *sigh* All right, back to animation finals >_<

[colonel_bastard]

lol, sorry to tempt you away from your finals, but always glad to hear from you. ^_^

Haha, necessity drove my parents to turn my old bedroom into the guest room, and I gotta say, the first time I came home for a visit, it really sucked. It was like, "Oh. Oh, I see." So it's great that you were able to get a hint of Basil's distress from that detail. :P

Mama Huma has been such a powerful unseen presence in the stories that I was really nervous about writing her in person. Very glad to hear that she hasn't lost any of her potency, even when she's coughing her lungs out. And I wouldn't be surprise if she willed herself to an early death, just to punish Basil for abandoning her a second time. She's a nasty piece of work.

Aww, yay, I'm glad you liked Catherine! I wanted her to be a sweetie so that there would be nothing standing between her and Basil's romance except for Basil himself. T_T

What are you talking about. Ratigan is ONLY an intellectual challenge. Nothing more. Don't be ridiculous. What are you implying. What nonsense. *Basil breaks out into a cold sweat.* XD

You know, that scene in the station house lobby was the very last one I wrote. The fic was all done and I was doing a read-through, and I realized we needed one more beat in there. We needed to see, like you said, Basil shifting towards his new persona. I'm really glad you liked that scene--- I was quite proud of if myself. ^_^

Fanart is... encouraged. O____O Seriously, though, fanart is pretty much my favorite thing ever. I can't draw so I write fic. You're in animation finals? omg fanart pleassssse don't make me beg.

...are you the anon who drew Constable Basil? Someone drew Constable Basil and it pretty much made my life. I set it as my computer desktop. *______*

Thanks so much for such a complex and thoughtful review! It's so rewarding for me to see people getting so involved in my little fanon. I can't wait for the next one, either--- we can finally get back to the Basil/Ratigan heart of the saga! :D

[vejiicakes]

If anything, Mama Hume still being such a force for command and manipulation in spite of being a frail little bedridden body just reinforces why she's such a powerful presence in Basil's life and his subconscious. So I thought that worked out beautifully!

OF COURSE OF COURSE BASIL, purely intellectual challenge, it's perfectly common to picture those when you beat off, there there.. *patpat*

Oh my no, I haven't had time for fun fanarty stuff (also haven't drawn anthros before, which is sure to prove a challenge.. Though actually I guess these are just furs... *cries* Might have to reverse-engineer some human versions or something... or just leave them like that -_-) Wh-where might one find this delightful Constable Basil fanart? :D

[colonel_bastard]

Oh, poor Basil. He needs all the comfort he can get. XD

CONSTABLE BASIL. The helmet. The cigarette. I died when I saw it. 8)