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[wondersmith-and-sons]

read my mind | sherlock & joan before you jump, tell me what you find. one watson, one holmes, one new york city.

ao3 | youtube made for @nicasiosilang for festivids

[las-lus]

I often think about how Elementary gave us queerplatonic Joan/Sherlock to the point where Sherlock pointed out that Joan's romantic relationships kept failing because she assumed they were a monogamous relationship when she was in a polyamorous one, because she was with him. And when she pointed out they weren't romantic he said "so??"

Truly we all chose the wrong sherlock adaptation

[yes-sirr]

"One of the things that I've gained from our collaboration is a working definition of the word friendship. Friendship, I've come to believe, is most accurately defined as two people moving towards the best aspects of one another. It is a relationship of mutual benefit, mutual gain. Another thing I've learned is that my isolationist tendencies are decidedly not my best quality. I am not a better person because of a lack of connection. So I think the healthy thing is for you not to move in my direction. In fact, quite the opposite."

Elementary (season 3, episode 19): One Watson, One Holmes

i fear my isolationist tendencies are the worst. and i fear i need someone to force me to participate in community

[gudakdalee]

📢 WAKE UP, WATSON 🫡📯

[asciuto]

I thought I saw your face today!

[asciuto]

I can go the distance!

[asciuto]

and I want you more than any stupid song could ever say!

[asciuto]

out of the woods (elementary’s version)!

[high-warlock-of-brooklyn]

I already talked about Watson before in this post, but I’m on my millionth watch of Elementary and had to say something about Sherlock. I think, personally, this is the best iteration of modern Sherlock we could ever have for one reason and one reason only, his humanity. He’s so brilliant, so broken but so utterly human too. He makes mistakes, which is a luxury other versions of him are not allowed. He throws tantrums when cases don’t go the planned way and he gets emotionally overwhelmed. He bickers over things like knitted cozies for his pet. He cooks yorkshire pudding when he’s stressed. He breaks into Joans phone to set annoying ringtones as a competition. He’s curious about the song Who Let Da Dogs Out coz he wants to solve the mystery. He is arrogant, but they didn’t make it his whole personality.

I think JLM’s acting in the scene where he found Irene and where he broke down realizing he couldn’t trust his brain because of his concussion syndrome is so fucking powerful. You can FEEL the heartbreak when he almost breaks down in Joan’s arms in that studio. And he cares for his clients, and for people in general even though he pretends he doesn’t. He gives a homeless man money to find shelter and warmth in an upcoming snowstorm. Any other show this scene would either be overhighlighted or cut altogether, but it’s simply a throwaway scene tucked in that makes him multifaceted. He found a woman locked in a basement and his first instinct was to reassure her and hold her! And afterwards you can see him rattled, the rage on her behalf so loud on his face. The helplessness at the boredom of regularity in the program, the way he can’t cope and breaks down in his own solitude when Kitty finds him in London and Watson talks about Irene and May.

Over and over again you see him in cases involving addicts and he takes care to make sure the anonymity and sanctity of AA is not broken unless absolutely necessary. He cooks for Joan. He makes sure Marcus can afford to keep his mum comfortable. He makes arrangements so the woman Gregson loves won’t be left alone grappling with a terrifyingly lonely disease alone. He watches old movies with Alfredo and tries so hard to have a relationship with Fiona. He doesn’t judge off of people’s sexual or romantic preferences. He encourages Joan to be sexually and romantically free of societal pressure and actively follows his own advice, to the point his sexual partners absolutely adore him beyond simple lust.

And his relationships with his family, my god. Mycroft is his brother and Sherlock would do a lot for him, BUT when his decisions affect Joan, the one person he loves the most in the world, he goes ballistic. Morland has received not a single sentence without acerbic wit dripping off of it but his death causes a rift so deep Sherlock is left reeling from it. He hallucinates the ghost of his mother when he falls ill, at his most vulnerable. She is the part of him that cuts through the haze to tell him he is not well, that he needs help.

I think one of the distinct possible deviations they do from canon that absolutely fucking makes me insane is his relationship with Kitty. A girl so abused and violated beyond belief, and he made sure to give her the tools to survive, the tools to live. Gave her hope. Saved her, in her own words. He would’ve gladly let her destroy a monster, his only qualms were about whether she was okay. And he CARRIED Jamie down the stairs so she won’t bleed out. He writes to her because shes the only one who truly understands. He hears she told her entire criminal empire to mark him untouchable and took it for truth just because he knows she would. He respects her to the point he contradicts anyone who suspects her for a crime too simple.

And Joan. When he said we are two people who love each other very much. It would’ve been So. Damn. Easy. To make them a couple and be done with the nuances but they DIDNT!!! They said if there’s one thing these two don’t do it’s have to sex together. They’re not married they’re not friends but a very much not so secret third thing where they are soulmates. He eases her worries with her mother. She chewed out his dad for neglecting him without him ever knowing, and he risked jail, even the idea of never setting foot in america again for her. Because she is, as he says, his best friend. This depiction of Sherlock and Watson is the best possible dynamic in the Holmes universe and noone can change my mind. I could write entire essays on the character nuances and it still won’t be enough.

[starrynightarchive]

i find sherlock's relationship with touch incredibly interesting, especially when its related to watson.

throughout the show, sherlock is seen declaring his undying love and devotion for watson in the most matter of fact way possible. bouncing on his feet, eyes darting everywhere. standing firmly on the ground, gaze fixed on her. frenzied, relaxed. he has told her how much she means to him time and time again, in all ways possible. and yet, when it comes to touch, he shies away. those screenshots are from s5? s6? yeah so by that time he has made FAR more intimate declarations, so it stands to no reason why he should fuckin. poke her to wake her up😭😭

it is no secret that sherlock is, at least to some extent, touch averse. yes he has sex, but casual touch is Not his thing. whenever people get too chummy with him (physically) his look of disgust/unease is very apparent. to him, touch is usually seen as a means to an end. he seems to give touch easily when it's related to sex, something that gives him pleasure (which is also something he seems to view quite clinically. it's less about intimacy and more about endorphins and such. #asexualsherlock). he does not, however, touch people just cause. he doesn't give casual touches easily. so it's easy to say that even if he Does love joan a lot, he doesn't exactly like physical touch in the manner of hugs, arms on shoulders, etc. and its totally valid, because not being comfortable with physical affection doesn't mean you love someone any less.

but! it doesn't end here. sherlock's feelings about touch w.r.t joan evolves throughout the show, just as their relationship does.

in season 2, joan gets kidnapped. sherlock is beside himself, and mycroft tells him that joan is "the person you love the most in the world". very early on its established just how much she means to him.

this scene was so impactful. maybe more so than it would've been if sherlock hugged her or frantically checked her for injuries. the first time I watched it, I was struck by the sheer weight of his gaze as he stood in front of her and just. stared. how he crossed the distance between them and stood so close, and yet didn't touch. silent, but breathing hard. not a single movement made and yet, i could see him almost vibrating out of his skin. the noise in his head finally just. stops. she was here. watson was here. and he didn't need to touch to make sure, no—it was her. he could never mistake her. not her, never her.

and watson must've known it too, known his desperation. after all, she is the one who knows him best. that's why right after she sees him she says "it's okay. it's alright." when he comes close, she doesn't move. doesn't step back to put any distance between them. looks back at him steadily, sees the noise in his head, the trapped chaos in him. softly, softly, she says: "im alright."

this scene from s4 is the first time joan hugs sherlock. he doesn't seem to be expecting it, so he just. freezes. you can see him realising what happened only seconds after the hug got over.

this is so lovely because watson doesn't linger. she doesn't ask him why he isn't hugging her back, because she knows. she knows he isn't really comfortable with physical affection, and that's why throughout the series we see her keep any physical touch limited when it comes to sherlock. but sometimes it just bursts out of her, all that love and relief and just the sheer magnitude of it. so she hugs him, and doesn't wait for him to hug her back. sherlock has always been better with words and actions. she knows without a doubt that he loves her, so this does not bother her at all. but she needs to show it, you know. she can't bare her heart to him through words as often as he does to her. this is how she loves, and she's aware that this is not how sherlock loves, too. and she's okay with that.

what strikes me the most is the surprise in sherlock's face. the momentary glitch in his brain that is always in overdrive. he always does that whenever watson expresses her love for him, when she shows that she loves him as much as he loves her in her own way. it's baffling. he lies and he is rude and he is a lost cause. and yet, she loves him. his dear watson.

scene from s6 that kills me. my god. the way she's hugging him. the way she holds him closer even after he says "my personality has not changed, watson." what sets this hug different from the previous one is the ease of his shoulders. he didn't expect the hug, sure, but he doesn't look like his fight or flight response has been triggered, either. AND YOU KNOW WHAT'S SO SO IMPORTANT ABOUT THIS SCENE??? THE WAY HE DOESN'T TRY TO SHRUG HER OFF. he doesn't hug her back, sure, but look at the placement of his hands. after he gets the text he is holding his other hand in a way that makes sure he isn't jostling her too much. steadying their hug. he isn't the one who says "that's enough now, we have to go." WATSON is the one who pulls back after she's done. he is keeping her steady. HE IS KEEPING HER STEADY. HE DOESN'T WANT HER TO LET GO. WHATEVER!!

s6 again. here, he invites her for a hug, more or less. he is expecting it this time. arms open, grin blinding. he knows she'll come to her. he's home. he's back by her side.

the most interesting part about it is that he still doesn't hug her back. and it's not that he doesn't want to hug watson, no, but it's that it's too much.

it is established very early on that sherlock experiences everything—be it emotions or senses—a lot more intensely than the average person. throughout the series, there are many many scenes where he has declared his love for her and almost every time, he seems stricken. shaken by the intensity of the love he feels for her. it seems to hurt him sometimes, and often overwhelms him. he doesn't have anything against hugs, you see. he hugs marcus back in the beginning of s7, smiling. but never once has he hugged back joan (till that point) when she has hugged him. and i submit that it's not because he loves her less that he doesn't hug her back—it's because he loves her in ways he can't really express. it's bigger than him, you see. this kind of love is unfamiliar to him. what he had with moriarty was different. but this? he is utterly unprepared for this.

and then, crescendo .

no longer will he try to hold himself back. he almost lost her because he wanted to hold himself back, because he told himself that he is too much, too rotten, burning, burning and he thought he will take her down with him because his watson, his dearest watson, is good. she will follow him willingly. he thought he was sparing them both the hurt, and he almost lost her because of his stupidity. so it doesn't matter if his skin feels like it's on fire when he holds her. it doesn't matter if all the love he has labelled and put in neat boxes spill out, messy, never ending. it doesn't matter if she thrashes against his hold and tells him she's fine. it doesn't matter if she fights his love. he's staying. of course he's staying.

never again will he leave her. never again.

[bugsnbites]

Picture it. Decades after the world is saved, a huge alien spacecraft touches down on earth.

Scientist, politicians, and thousands of reporters gather to witness the aliens disembark the ship. A group of boulder-like creatures, clicking and whistling to the humans around them.

One of them raises something large and metallic towards the crowd.

There's an immediate recoil of fear (is it a weapon?!) before the audience realises it's human technology. A laptop, old and beaten and looks like it was put back together by a drunk.

The alien presses a button.

"Hello Earth, this is Doctor Captain Ryland Grace. These guys are Eridians and they're here on a shopping trip. I have a list and no money, but I did save the world so that has to count for something. Number one, salt and vinegar chips. Actually anything potato. Number two, I miss apple juice. Number three,"

[cruelqueen]

All exclusive short stories: The Folk of the Air

I decided to collect all exclusive stories I know of. I have done something similar for SJM books .  If you know of any other exclusive story, please let me know! THE CRUEL PRINCE A visit to the Impossible Lands Barnes and Noble edition Deleted Scenes From The Cruel Prince (Some of these are alternate storylines) THE WICKED KING deleted scene from The Wicked King, Barnes and Noble edition THE QUEEN OF NOTHING Cardan’s letters from the Queen of Nothing Barnes and Noble edition, should be read after the book deleted scene from The Queen of Nothing , sent via Holly’s official newsletter THE STOLEN HEIR The Walmart Exclusive Stolen Heir content The Stolen Heir Barnes & Noble Bonus Content, author’s personal journal pages and notes on the manuscript, Some posts I found useful: post about True Names A Guide to Holly Black’s Extended Faerie Universe

[madockisser]

STORIES/TITLES FOR a Conspiracy of Charming Monsters REVEALED

was randomly checking Barnes and nobles and found this lol idek when this was announced but haven’t seen anyone mention it

MADOCS STORY WILL BE ABOUT HIS APARTMENT COMPLEX FIGHTS LOOLL

also the title for cardans story is so sad BYE

Him referring to her as my love siajnsksksk

[sweetwickednemesis]

Cardan writing letters begging Jude to return. Cardan fighting and killing half of Madoc’s men to try to keep Jude once she finally does. Cardan showing up in the camp himself to save Jude in the dark of night.

Cardan trying to appeal to Jude’s ambition just to have her close. Just to see her everyday, to ensure she is safe and fed and full of life. How he would rather she be near and have his heart shattered than to have her gone with his heart shattered.

The devotion, the desperation. The sacrifice.

My heart.

[mylo-space]

the scene where Rocky runs off to get a clock, and Grace kinda just stands there waiting and apologizing for talking so much while Rocky bops back into the screen, just chirping away--and we know those aren't idle sounds. it's language. it's Rocky talking, just as much as Grace is talking. Rocky has been so, so alone for so, so long and meets this creature who makes so much noise all the time, and even though they're sort of talking over each other it must be such a comfort to just have something to talk at, to have something talk at him. imagine if Rocky had known that Grace was apologizing for being the sole beacon of sound and life Rocky has come into contact with in five decades.

[verenakauer]

I know there's a popular headcanon that Grace's crew died because of feeding tubes malfunction (based on the paperwork Grace was doing right before the explosion), but — in the book he specifically says that even after the accident he kept dealing with that same paperwork on minor Hail Mary issues, so I doubt that feeding tube problem was left unaddressed. May I offer instead:

Grace was put into coma by the people who cared about him. They (especially Yáo being Yáo) probably double-triple-quadruple checked everything. They watched him sleep for those first few days — I doubt they went into coma immediately after leaving Earth's orbit. They probably talked to him, assuring him that he'll be okay.

Ilyukhina's coma procedure was probably supervised by Yáo. He made sure that everything was in order, but — he is just one man and he is not a doctor. There was much more room for mistakes.

When Yáo went to sleep, he was alone. He had to rely on the technology completely.

We know that he died first.

[hedgiihog]

i like when mary and armando act silly too