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mithenrileyc asked me about Ian Rutledge/Hamish McLeod, AKA My Detective/Ghost OTP. Ian Rutledge is the hero of a series of mysteries by mother and son writing team Charles Todd. Rutledge is a veteran of WWI and the mysteries are set in England shortly after the war, usually involving some angle about the repercussions of the Great War. The mysteries are decent but not always compelling: the draw for me is instead the relationship between Rutledge and the "voice in his head," the voice of a dead solder, Hamish McLeod.We see early in the first book that Rutledge suffers from PTSD, specifically in the form of hearing Hamish's voice in his head, talking to him, usually berating him and calling him worthless. Rutledge knows intellectually that Hamish is dead and the voice is not really him, but it's so intense and real (it feels as if Hamish is always standing right behind him) that it still bothers him. Rutledge was Hamish's commanding officer in the trenches in France, and over the course of the first book we learn that Hamish "broke" one day when commanded to go over the top and charge enemy lines, refusing to lead his men into battle again. As a result, Hamish had to be shot for desertion of duty. Sick with pity and grief, Rutledge stayed up with Hamish all through the night before his execution, listening to Hamish talk endlessly about his home and childhood and life! memorizing every word (thus he has an uncanny knowledge of Hamish's voice and life). The next day, just as the firing squad fires, their camp is hit by German bombs. The shots go awry and Rutledge runs to the dying Hamish's side in the chaos. In panicked agonized sympathy, he shoots Hamish in the head just as a bomb lands and buries him in mud for hours. He only lives through it because Hamish's dead body shelters him--and then he spends hours trapped in the mud, entangled with Hamish's corpse. Not surprisingly, he ends up with crippling "shell shock" and at the beginning of the series it has taken him a year or so to even put himself together enough to function as a detective again in the post-war world.
Hamish is definitely dead throughout the series, this is not actually a ghost story. But his voice and presence are a constant accusing reality for Rutledge, who sympathized entirely with his exhaustion and disillusionment. Of course, there are also times (which increase as the series goes on) where the voice gives useful insights which help Rutledge unravel a case. There's even a dramatic moment where Rutledge feels like "Hamish" has taken control of his body after a gunshot wound to force him to keep moving and not die. And although the imaginary Hamish in Rutledge's mind is harsh and unforgiving, there is a fair amount of textual evidence that the real Hamish cared very much about Rutledge. When Rutledge meets Hamish's fiancée, Fiona, he learned that Hamish told her that he wanted to name any son they might have "Ian" after his commanding officer. And there are some beautiful moments where Hamish feels so real to Rutledge--there's one where someone shoots at Rutledge and the bullet goes past his shoulder, and Rutledge panics because it passes through the space where Hamish always seems to be, and what if he has gotten Hamish killed again?
So I'm terribly attracted to the pairing (yet another of the many pairings I have where one member kills the other!), especially without any sort of fixit. I love the idea of something happening between them in the trenches--or nothing but a repressed yearning. And I love the image of Rutledge haunted by an inaccurately hateful ghost when the reality was different. (I also suspect that very angsty Rutledge/Fiona might be in the future of the series, and this may well be my Incredibly Tragic OT3). Sadly, it is a fandom of four--I've only run into three other people I know who are into the series! *waves at
rileyc* But if anyone ever reads it and wants to write me a moment of happiness snatched in the trenches (or the incredibly creepy ghost-voyeur masturbation porn I kind of want to write myself) I would be a happy happy fangirl...
(no subject)
Date: 2014-01-09 07:56 pm (UTC)ROTFL ;-)
Someday I am going to read that series I swear! And I might write a drabble or so but prepare for that to be years in the future. Fanart would be an interesting challenge. How good are the descriptions of people? (trenches etc can be referenced easily)
(no subject)
Date: 2014-01-11 04:38 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-01-11 10:51 am (UTC)