I'll See You at Sherrinford

Sherlock Meta and Fic, SKAM Italia, Also - Call Me By Your Name Sideblog: cmbyn-ghostspots 

[bitchesgetriches]

Companies That Tried to Save Money With AI Are Now Spending a Fortune Hiring People to Fix Its Mistakes

Companies that rushed to replace human labor with AI are now shelling out to have IRL workers to fix the technology's screwups.

Delicious. We love to see it.

[tobaeus]

@ralfmaximus

[ralfmaximus]

Ultimately, she spent 20 hours redoing the copy from scratch — and with her $100-per-hour rate, that meant her client was shelling out $2,000 for copy that likely would have ended up being far cheaper had a human just written it in the first place.

I love stories like this.

[tacofriend]

Get peer reviewed!

[johnlock-shrine]

An updating list of my favorite fics in the order I read them. Deduce what you will from my love of angst, meandering descriptions, and happy endings.

From A Drop Of Water ~96k M victorianpining 2021

"It was simply my conjecture of what a future world might look like and how you and I might fit inside it. From a drop of water a logician should be able to infer the possibility of an Atlantic or a Niagara."

Whirlwind ~51k M DiscordantWords 2022

But John arrives in the midst of a very active storm season, and Sherlock very clearly hasn’t let go of the past. Against his better judgement, John finds himself talked into riding along after one last storm.

Their Great Reward 10k T BeautifulFiction 2012

Boxing day, in John's opinions, is the worst day of the year. Christmas is over, the tree is wilting and stripped of gifts, and there's a week of dead-time until the clean slate of the new year. However the combination of a blizzard, a power-cut and Sherlock might just make it a day to remember.

The Progress of Sherlock Holmes 62k E ivyblossom 2011

“I had,” he said, “come to an entirely erroneous conclusion, my dear Watson, how dangerous it always is to reason from insufficient data.”

— Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Speckled Band

Thirst 122k E bittergreens 2014

When John realizes he has feelings for Sherlock and decides he must keep those feelings secret at all costs, the resulting tension might bring Baker Street to the ground.

“The fundamental condition for desire is an absence or lack, but desire is never only an absence.” –Leo Bersani

The Masquerade of the Red Death ~17k E okapi 2018

On the hunt for a serial killer, Sherlock & John attend a masked orgy.

Lucid 71k E dr_girlfriend 2013

"The first time it happened was completely by accident."

Post-Reichenbach, John finds a way to hold on to Sherlock after all.

Transformation ~53k E Jadis 2013

Upon his arrival at his childhood home, John finds Mycroft-effing-Holmes in his parents’ living room. It wouldn’t be the first time a Holmes had turned his life on its ear.

Once More, With Feeling 21k T cellardoors 2011

To put off his meddlesome, matchmaking mother, John convinces Sherlock to play the role of his significant other. Unparalleled awkwardness ensues.

and stand there at the edge of my affection ~3k G coloredink 2011

"You've written love letters," Sherlock asserted.

A Cure For Boredom ~82k E emmagrant01 2012

They'd never talked about sex in the year they'd known each other. Well, that wasn't quite correct: Sherlock had never said a word about sex; John had bemoaned his personal dearth of it on many occasions.

Let You Kiss Me (So Sweet and So Soft) ~7k G out_there 2010

The first time Sherlock kisses him, John keeps his eyes open, and so does Sherlock, and mostly, he wonders what Sherlock could possibly be up to. There'll be some logic to this. Some ridiculous experiment about body warmth or respiratory rates or testing a new way of picking pockets. Sherlock does the unimaginable for bizarre reasons, but behind it, there's always logic and curiosity. Sometimes, it just takes him a while to explain it to John.

Acceptable Behaviour 3k M bbcatemysoul 2013

Sherlock isn't really sure why John wants to shag him, but he's certain that if he's careful to behave properly about it, John can be persuaded to keep doing it.

In other news, John is a good boyfriend and Sherlock is an idiot.

A Terrific Soporific 11k T antietamfalls 2013

Sherlock, a long-time sufferer of insomnia, is forced to share a bed with John at a hotel while on a case. To his astonishment, he finds that spending the night next to John helps him sleep and becomes determined to maneuver himself back into John's bed.

In which John is a cuddly, BAMF assassin. ~11k T notbeloved07 2012

Sherlock braces himself for a cold-blooded killer, with nerves of steel and no remorse, with a reputation for ruthlessness that makes several hardened criminals check their closets before they go to bed - and meets John. Easygoing, good-natured, cuddly jumper-wearing John. Who thinks he's brilliant and hilarious, and can he take him out for a coffee?

M for Marriage ~29k M RonaSargent 2014

John Watson finds out who he is actually married to. It's not who he thought.

Beset with marital problems and with distraction in mind, a distressed John Watson helps Sherlock Holmes on a fast paced, high profile case.

Empathy ~36k T Blind_Author 2014

John is an empath. Which isn't nearly as much fun as it sounds. Most of the time, it’s not even useful.

Given In Evidence ~98k E verityburns 2012

Coming back from the dead can be a complicated business. With a new case on the horizon, rebuilding a life is one thing... rebuilding a friendship quite another. For Sherlock and John, things may never be just the same...

The Real Meaning Of Idioms ~22k T feverishsea 2012

After two weeks away, John finally texts Sherlock. He doesn't expect Sherlock to respond. He doesn't expect Sherlock to keep texting him. And he really doesn't expect things to spiral out of control so rapidly.

The Things You Hide 10k E verityburns 2012

Sherlock and John have been working and living together for nearly a year, each finding the other's friendship to be the one thing they would not risk or want to live without. Until something happens to disturb the status quo…

(drunk)

Saving Sherlock Holmes 139k M earlgreytea68 2013

Sherlock Holmes, schoolboy. Yeah, that basically sums it up.

The Whore of Babylon Was a Perfectly Nice Girl ~33k E out_there 2010

Sherlock walks into a room and takes all the space right out of it. He does the same inside John's head.

echoes through time ~22k E chellefic 2012

Mummy sends a trunk from the Holmes cottage in Sussex to 221B. Its contents alter the way John and Sherlock see themselves and one another.

The Road Less Traveled ~75k M verityburns 2010

Sherlock realises that John's dating habits involve an unacceptable level of risk... what if he meets an unusually tolerant woman and ends up getting married?

The Heart In The Whole ~102k E verityburns 2011

Events after 'The Great Game' leave Sherlock dependent on his best friend and colleague. But John has a secret of his own...

(TBI)

Over Fathoms Deep WIP E bittergreens 2014-

When the youngest son of the aristocratic Holmes family is shipped off to sea in an attempt to cure him of his poor temper and bad manners, he fully expects to spend a long tedious voyage as miserable as ever. What he does not count on is having his heart stolen by the strapping young crewman, John Watson.

Leave the Signs and the Sirens ~25k G out_there 2012

After John's released and back home at Baker St, Sherlock still feels it. Down the centre of his chest there's an ache like a healing wound. A physical awareness of a body he usually ignores as much as he can. It's psychosomatic, nothing more interesting than that.

(PTSD)

Blame it on the Viscum album 2k T codswallop 2013

Sherlock, Christmas, and poisonous plants: what could possibly go wrong?

Midnight Blue Serenity ~152k E BeautifulFiction 2013

When Sherlock infiltrates a club in order to track down a serial killer, his altered appearance is enough to make John question his assumption that Sherlock is beyond his reach. However, is he the only one who appreciates his flatmate's charms, or is Sherlock at risk of becoming the next victim?

Speaker for the Bees ~15k M antietamfalls for feywhimsy 2014

It isn't always easy assisting a deaf detective. Luckily for John, they make a pretty good team.

Dear John ~218k E BloodSeiryu, FourCornersHolmes, Tindomerelhloni 2018

An AU in which Sherlock is in Rehab and is required to write a letter to a random person in the military. John get's it, and they become penpals of a sort.

(if you read the series, mind the tags ;~;)

A Promise Made to Be Broken ~37k E PlantsAreNeat for SwissMiss 2017

A young John makes an ‘if we’re still single at 40, we’ll get together’ pledge to a woman who ends up all wrong for him. She keeps reminding him of the promise, and won't let go of it. John asks Sherlock to pose as his boyfriend at a family wedding, so as to dash her hopes permanently. Sherlock, who has at last acknowledged his feelings for John, reluctantly agrees despite knowing how painful it will be to ‘have’ John, but not keep him.

Scotland series ~346k E snorklepie 2014-2020

“A nice holiday, just a bit more...murdery. ” John said drily.

“Yes! The best kind of holiday!” Sherlock beamed. “So we won’t get bored!”

After he separates from Mary, John returns to Baker Street. Following a request for help from Sherlock's cousin Violet, the detective and his blogger take a trip to Edinburgh. John discovers more about the Holmes family and Sherlock than he bargained for, but tries not to run screaming.

(dunno why last one's marked as incomplete, the main plotlines are all resolved)

The Adventure of the Silver Scars ~142k tangledblue 2016

“All this does not mean that I’m not still basically pissed off with you. I’m very pissed off, and it will come out now and then.” –His Last Vow

It’s been thirteen months since Mary shot Sherlock and John finds he’s still pissed off about it. Sherlock had thought everything was settled: John and Mary, domestic bliss. But when John turns up at Baker Street with suitcases, the world’s only consulting detective might not be prepared for the consequences. A new case. Some old scores to settle. Certain danger. Concertos, waltzes, and whisky.

A River Without Banks ~203k E Chryse 2015

"You love this, being Sherlock Holmes."

He had once. When had it all gone so wrong?

(lyrical time travel)

Manifest ~30k E causidicus 2015

John finds Sherlock's porn. The discovery shifts the dynamic of their relationship.

(so much angst)

To Light Another's Path ~129k E BeautifulFiction 2012

Teaching John to observe seems to be a losing battle, but when Sherlock falls ill and submits himself to John's care, will he realise that there is more to life than the science of deduction? Meanwhile, there is a murder to solve, and John must try and convince Sherlock not to sacrifice his own health for the sake of the case. Eventual John/Sherlock Hurt/Comfort case fic. Post the Great Game

The Adventure of the Consulting Woman ~39k E DancingGrimm 2014

“So the plan is, you have until Saturday night to make that,” he pointed at Sherlock, “look and act convincingly like a woman, so she can go and be a damsel in distress and in so doing trap a serial murderer. Have I got that right?"

[mejcinta]

New promotional images of Fantastic Beasts Secrets of Dumbledore.

[51g970n284-deactivated20220926]

I am as certain that Credence is not a blood Dumbledore but is attached to Ariana’s Obscurus as I was that Harry was a Horcrux before book 7. I am 99.5% certain if this. All the evidence points to this.

[meta-lock]

This totally. The Credence Phoenix is even a black Phoenix, which doesn’t seem right either.

The whole “switched the babies then drown” storyline- I feel like you can pretty much drive a truck thru the plot holes. But the Colin Firth version of Grindelwald did say that the Obscurus was “useless” without a host in FB1. I don’t think we’ve seen how it switches hosts, but it must be able to - because Newt was able to capture one.

Bonus points if the obscurial, Credence, is somehow Snape’s progenitor as they clearly seem to be styling him to be, except wearing gryffindor colors (Queenie too).

[bbcsherlock]

Sherlock Season Four: It’s Not the Fall that Kills You

The fourth season of Sherlock aired in 2017 and left a lot of people, including myself, confused. And that’s putting it nicely. In more…

You guys!! I finally finished my essay on The Six Thatchers. Whether you’re a jilted ex lover of the show or someone who already has a vested interest in your own interpretation pls give this a chance <3 i fell back in love w the show while writing it

[possiblyimbiassed]

This is a thorough and excellent analysis of TST, @bbcsherlock! I fully agree with most of your conclusions. I especially like your method of comparing the imagery of scenes in different episodes and I’m really looking forward to your next instalment. :) You’re pointing at a series of evidence - compelling evidence in my opinion - supporting the idea that S4 is taking place entirely within Sherlock’s brain. Which would thereby also support the ’EMP’ (Extended Mind Palace) theory (X) proposed by @gosherlocked, @monikakrasnorada, @ebaeschnbliah, @the-7-percent-solution and others even before TST aired.

I’m also very happy that you seem to have independently come to the same conclusion as I’ve been harping on about for years now (originally @raggedyblue’s idea): that what we see in the show is Sherlock, after an OD, re-using the material he has read on John’s blog to compose new scenarios in his mind. In other words: the events on the blog seem, just as you say, more true to the show’s ’reality’ than the show itself. I’ve written rather extensively about this in some metas (X, X, X, X).

The only place where I differ slightly is the point in time when Sherlock ODs and loses contact with reality; I think it might have happened directly after John’s wedding, which is when Sherlock took over the online blog, and after this it stopped updating. The events of His Last Vow are, in my opinion, far more absurd than most of the show until then - the most apalling part being the destruction of John Watson’s character. The idea that John would even dream of staying married to and raising a family with an assassin who shot his best friend seems far more like a self-flagellating fantasy of Sherlock’s to me.

Also, I think we might be inside Sherlock’s brain already from A Study in Pink; the whole show is seen from Sherlock’s POV, hence its name. And the strongest evidence for this is, in my opinion, the huge similarity between Sherlock’s Victorian version in TAB of John waking up with nightmares about the war, and the very first scene of ASiP (X). How could Sherlock so accurately see something in his mind that (supposedly) was John’s own experience from a time when Sherlock wasn’t even present? As far as I can see, it only makes sense if this was Sherlock’s imaginary version both times.

@raggedyblue @gosherlocked @ebaeschnbliah @sagestreet @sarahthecoat

[raggedyblue]

@bbcsherlock That line on the plane is just what years ago made me have the intuition that the story we saw has always unfolded in Sherlock’s head, that starting from reading John’s blog relives their story, enriching it with mirrors and allegories, as if he were putting on a show in his Mind Theater (x) with the purpose of solving the case, let’s say"Johnlock" for practicality. A story pertinent to the truth in a decreasing way, and once you pay attention to it you realize that the oddities begin in episode 1. Each episode accumulates a series of strangeness with exponential consistency, but it is with HLV that things get really weird. For this I can only agree with @possiblyimbiassed. Not only the oddities become more evident but the story begins to fold in on itself, as you have well pointed out (I loved the parallel waterfall and pool!). The same episodes occur, after all there is no longer the blog track to follow, because it is no longer updated. It’s more and more much evident that we are watching is not exactly what happens in “real life”. For a long time I thought that John’s blog narrated what happened in real life (I’m not talking about “reality” because even what happens in Sherlock’s head or anyone in general is still real, the thoughts are real), but the more it is analyzed the more oddities popped up there too. After all, John Watson is an unreliable narrator. The story that has not yet been told must be a meeting between the two sources, not neglecting our LondonAZ which is the Canon.

@gosherlocked @ebaeschnbliah @sagestreet @sarahthecoat @lukessense

[sarahthecoat]

yeah, as soon as people started discussing EMP in depth, i remember looking back at the earlier episodes and thinking, wait a minute, that bit isnt particularly “realistic” either, even making allowances for it being a tv show with compressed case story telling and stuff.

[meta-lock]

I have no time to write a meta about it - but the lines at the end of Abominable Bride “a master theorist should be able to infer from a drop of water a Niagara - or a Reichenback” (paraphrasing) made me think the whole series is Victorian Sherlock dreaming of a world where he could have his Army Doctor….and he dreamed of us. There are moments in all the series that are too fantastical. But - I almost feel like Sherlocks fantasy starts getting away from him as we progress thru the series. And most of the earlier stories are “retelling” of the original Sherlock Holmes mysteries from Dr Watson. Interesting to contemplate - looking forward to the rest of the blogs. @bbcsherlock

[ebaeschnbliah]

Sherlock, the vicar  …..

When Sherlock - ordered by his brother (queen) Mycroft - sets out to meet Irene Adler, to retrieve compromising photographes about a ‘member of the most powerful family in Britain’ (the queen’s family), he decides to disguise himself as a priest.

“You think I’m a vicar with a bleeding face?”   (Sherlock, ASIB)

Some interesting details about the definition of words (because that’s always so much fun):

A VICAR is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting “in the person of” or agent for a superior. Linguistically, vicar is cognate with the English prefix “vice”, similarly meaning “deputy”. It derives from the Latin “vicarius” which can be translated into: representative, replacement, surrogate, dummy …

A vicar can be an ecclesiastical agent, such as a church of England incumbent, a member of the Episcopal clergy or the representative of a prelate. The Pope uses the title Vicarius Christi, meaning the vicar of Christ.   (x x)

The title ‘vicar’ doesn’t appear in ACDs original story A Scandal in Bohemia. 

He disappeared into his bedroom and returned in a few minutes in the character of an amiable and simple-minded Nonconformist clergyman. His broad black hat, his baggy trousers, his white tie, his sympathetic smile, and general look of peering and benevolent curiosity were such as Mr. John Hare alone could have equalled. It was not merely that Holmes changed his costume. His expression, his manner, his very soul seemed to vary with every fresh part that he assumed. The stage lost a fine actor, even as science lost an acute reasoner, when he became a specialist in crime.   (ACD, A Scandal in Bohemia)

In English church history, a Nonconformist is a Protestant Christian who did not “conform” to the governance and usages of the established church, the Church of England, the Anglican Church. A Clergyman is a member of the clergy, meaning people, such as priests, who are the leaders of a religion and who perform religious services.

Most likely this little change from ‘nonconformist clergyman’ to ‘vicar’ doesn’t mean anything at all. After all, ‘vicar’ is much shorter, simpler and probably more modern than the canon version. Nonetheless, the origin of the word fits surprisingly well with the strong theme of replacements, representatives, ambassadors, agents and dummies - in short, with mirror-characters - that runs throughout the whole story. In that sense, ‘vicar’ is indeed a very good choice.  :)

.

July, 2021

[possiblyimbiassed]

I love this explanation, @ebaeschnbliah! Makes me want to look even closer (if possible :) ) at all the ambassadors etc and whom they might represent. Irene’s answer to Sherlock’s question about the bleeding vicar is also a delight to watch: ”No, I think you’re damaged, delusional and believe in a higher power. In your case it’s yourself.” I imagine Irene thinking to herself: ”Heck, this guy believes he’s Jesus, doesn’t he? Here he shows up bleeding (by a blow from his own lover) wanting me to buy some sob story about how he has suffered but still thinking he’s going to take charge here. This will be fun!” Most interesting is perhaps how she defrocks the false preacher and makes him doubt his own analytical powers? :D That never happened in canon as far as I can recall, where Adler simply fooled Holmes by later wearing another disguise to investigate who he really was and mock him for having failed to fool her. But this Irene not only rips off the ’mirror’ but also gets at Sherlock by wearing nothing. Makes me think of that famous painting of the naked Truth coming up from her well to chastise mankind (X).

[ebaeschnbliah]

‘The naked truth’ … yes, @possiblyimbiassed  that’s exactly what is in my mind as well. Irene presents herself in this scene as the naked truth, instructed by Jim ‘Mr Sex’ Moriarty. At their first meeting with Sherlock, Irene confronts him with the truth about disguises. And Sherlock has a lot of those. One might say he is constantly hiding in plain sight. :)  At their second meeting, at Battersee, it is John whom she corrects explicitly about the ‘being not a couple’ thing … ‘Yes, you are!’ she tells him without hesitation or doubt. :)))

[possiblyimbiassed]

Oh yes @ebaeschnbliah, that sounds really convincing to me. Actually, it now makes sense exactly why Mofftiss turned Irene Adler into a dominatrix instead of an opera singer as in canon: she is the naked truth! I don’t want to post the image of the painting here (because it will probably get stuck in some tumblr algorithm :P), but look at the painting in my link: ‘Truth’ is literally brandishing a whip, just like Irene! :D Irene is symbolically here to chastise mankind for all our prejudices and attempts to hide the truth. She defrocks Sherlock too, but John wants her to “put something on”, so she ends up wearing Sherlock’s coat. And when she confronts John at Battersea, he’s in denial. There’s also her appearance in Sherlock’s Mind Palace TSoT: “And the Woman - she knew!” 

[ebaeschnbliah]

Same here, @possiblyimbiassed  While putting together the ‘Liar Series’ (still ongoing) the idea hit me that Irene might not represent Sherlock’s libido or the female side of his sexuality. After all, Jim ‘you should see me in a crown’ is Mr Sex already. Irene as the ‘naked truth’ about Sherlock’s sexuality (I know the painting :) seems to make much more sense. And I guess the chances are really good that the ‘sweet little posh thing’ (member of the queen’s family) whom Irene gives her attention at the beginning of the episode, the person whose ‘scandalous’ case Sherlock is ordered to investigate in ASIB, in order to give Mycroft and the ‘royal family’ the opportunity to sweep it under the carpet, that this charcter is identical with the ‘posh boy’ in TLD, who loves the dominatrix. One thing is certain, Sherlock Holmes (in canon and every adaptation) is a man who loves the truth. He keeps poking at secrets and mysteries until he reveals the hidden truth behind it. He always wants to know ….  :))))

[gosherlocked]

Oh, I love all your thoughts, @ebaeschnbliah and @possiblyimbiassed. The “naked truth” indeed.

I also like the Canon idea of making Holmes a nonconformist, someone who does not conform to traditions and conventions. Which applies to our Sherlock as well.

And the equation of Sherlock = Jesus is repeated in TEH with Mary saying “Oh, my God” and Sherlock answering “Not quite”. (And do not get me started on all the other Jesus parallels).

[ebaeschnbliah]

Holmes has always been a man out of his time, hasn’t he? @gosherlocked  :)))

And yes, @possiblyimbiassed  Truth and truth can be two entirely different things and the urge to lie is then the strongest when one fears the truth the most. 

Regarding the family topic: I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole story is about the reunion of a ‘family’, the Holmes family. ‘John’ has changed after he got shot by Eurus in TLD and at the beginning of the next episode Sherlock demands that he joines the ‘family’. By the end of TFP even Eurus connects with the ‘family’ again, although with great caution on both sides. Understandable, if one knows what man Holmes is (meant to be) and how he thinks about emotions. :) But Irene and Jim seem to be still out there. If they are who I think they are, they have to reunite with the ‘family’ as well, in order to give Sherlock Holmes the foundations for a complete personality. Yes, I’m speculating here with the idea that in Sherlock BBC the term ‘family’ might be a metaphor for all the aspeckts that are necessary to form a human being, who is able to live a happy and fulfilled life, including a loving relationship. :)

Thy magics bind again all that custom’s sword has parted Beggars become princes’ brothers, under the sway of thy gentle wings.

Ode to Joy, Schiller/Beethoven

The transformation of Redbeard

[raggedyblue]

I really like this interpretation of Irene as Naked Truth @possiblyimbiassed @ebaeschnbliah. And I also find it meaningful when they try to cover her with Sherlock’s coat because the napkin John brought wasn’t enough. I think about how the moffits have insisted that Sherlock’s coat was iconic, by now indissoluble from the figure of him. It’s like an armor, a modern deerstalker. A new facade, yet another cover. Alas I’m afraid we’ll have to get rid of it.

[possiblyimbiassed]

I think you’re right @raggedyblue: we’ll have to get rid of the coat eventually ;). It’s a rough armour, but it has a shining red buttonhole in it. :) Also: the Truth is covered up (on John’s = the author’s request), but after she has used the coat, Sherlock ends up with a new ringtone on his phone (= a sexualised heart). And in TLD Sherlock even says he sometimes ’texts her back’. Maybe that needs to be expressed as well, once Irene is to join the ’family’ as per @ebaeschnbliah’s allegory? As for Moriarty, he makes me think of ’the holy family’ in TFP broken up by Jim’s ’hungry donkey’. :)

[sarahthecoat]

love this discussion. i wonder if a “family reunion” could be a metaphor for personal integration. i’m still kinda holding a torch for a conclusion where our boys have to team up with moriarty some how.

[marauderenergy]

James: what’s it called when you’re, like, bisexual, but for your hands?

Remus: AMBIDEXTROUS?!

[thismustbetheblog]

[obotligtnyfiken]

Order of events in BBC’s Sherlock

If you want to see the whole flowchart in one image, download it here.

Creating this flowchart has required me choose what to include and what to leave out. If you think that I have missed something, I’d be happy to hear from you, but please read the comments first, in case I had excluded that information for a ­reason.

This project has been made so much easier thanks to the Sherlock timeline at bakerstreet.wikia.com and the wonderful transcripts by @callie-ariane. Go look them up at arianedevere.livejournal.com!

Thank you to my wonderful proof reader @wetislandinthenorthatlantic!

I have completely lost track of who is discussing what in the aftermath of s4, but I’ll tag a few people under the cut anyway, hoping that you are interested. Let me know if you don’t want to be tagged in the future!

Keep reading

[iheardyou]

Oh. Wow.

Thank you.

[i-still-am-distantstarlight]

WOAH! OMG THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

[johnlockismyreligion]

This is really amazing.

[sherlockwatson-holmesblog]

Wow, this is amazing. Thank you.

[7-percent]

Never fail to reblog because this is SO valuable! Thanks to @obotligtnyfiken​. You deserve a medal for services to the fandom.

[obotligtnyfiken]

My old flowchart is making the rounds again. It bowls me over how much love and appreciation there is in this fandom. Thank you to everyone for kind comments!

[sarahthecoat]

well worth rb!

[delfeur]

Because Heather said “I swear to god, the reason Mike Stamford didn’t go to John’s wedding is because he was fucking pissed that John did not marry Sherlock”  and I couldn’t not.

[imaginingfromtheblock]

[violetwylde]

Fanfic be like, "if you don't have your own gay little man, store bought is fine"

[gosherlocked]

Christmas Day. Five Years Ago.

So the Christmas Sherlock called his brother (although he prefers to text) because he needed his help …

the Christmas of danger nights and caring not being an advantage …

the Christmas of telling John not to leave Sherlock because Mycroft was afraid his brother would relapse …

… is the same Christmas Mycroft gave his brother’s worst enemy as a Christmas present to their dangerous sister who wanted Sherlock dead and killed his best friend.

Keep reading

[obotligtnyfiken]

According to my calculations, you are right. It was the same Christmas.

I did a visualisation of the order of events in the entire show a while back. This is the part with Christmas 2010:

Click the link for the entire flowchart, and for legend and explanations.

[meta-lock]

I had another thought:

Interpreted thru Mirrors:

the same Christmas Mycroft (Sherlock’s brain) gave his brother’s worst enemy (literal interpretation would be drugs) as a Christmas present to their dangerous sister (emotional part of Sherlock) who wanted Sherlock dead and killed his best friend (does death = sex still?)

On that same Christmas, could be read as:

Sherlock’s mind/logical/machine-like bit takes drugs, as a ‘gift’ to himself, to cope with his perceived dangerous emotional landscape created by having sex with or falling in love with his best friend.

The danger night was Christmas Eve, but where were Sherlock and John on Christmas Day? Was Sherlock in a drug-fueled spiral, triggered by his feelings for John? And if so, what was real after that party? @gosherlocked

[fluffbyday-smutbynight]

Killing the Hound (THoB rewatch pt.3)

(part 1, part 2)

To recap:

in the frame of the queerness of gothic literature, the Hound stands for John and Sherlock's relationship and their respective struggles with it;

while Sherlock resolves pretty quickly to find the truth, he has to do it by subjecting John to his experiment and make him see that his own denial is the real problem.

Let's wrap it up.

Killing the Hound

We're now at the show down with Frankland and the hound. John has very few lines here, but let's look at the dialogue between Sherlock and Henry:

HENRY: No, no, I know what I am! SHERLOCK: Yes, I’m sure you do, Henry. It’s all been explained to you, hasn’t it – explained very carefully.

SHERLOCK: You’d started to piece things together, remember what really happened here that night. It wasn’t an animal, was it, Henry? (Henry starts to straighten up, blinking.) SHERLOCK: Not a monster. (Henry turns to look at him.) SHERLOCK: A man.

SHERLOCK: But there never was any monster.

This is not about Henry (poor sod). This is about Sherlock and John, and Henry is just a literary device, again, one of the many mirrors.

Here's what Sherlock is really saying: John, you didn't see what's between us because you were in denial. I made you see it, and it scared you as it had been a monster. But there's nothing to be scared of. I'm just a man.

It is not a coincidence that, when the hound appears, John interjects with pure terror and confusion, looking at Sherlock as his lifeline:

JOHN: Greg, are you seeing this? [...] JOHN: Right: he is not drugged, Sherlock, so what’s that? What is it?!

and it is not a coincidence that Sherlock doesn't directly reply to John:

SHERLOCK: All right! It’s still here ...but it’s just a dog. Henry! It’s nothing more than an ordinary dog!

As pointed out in this post, John becomes our man of action: while everybody hesitates or makes a break for it, he stands steady at the center of the scene and he's the one that successfully shoots the hound. From the transcript (bold mine):

Greg aims his pistol and fires three times at it. His bullets fly past it and it flinches momentarily but then rises up and leaps towards them. John’s aim is truer and his bullets strike the hound accurately and throw it backwards. It squeals in pain and crashes to the ground, unmoving.

The hound is dead.

SHERLOCK: Look at it, Henry. HENRY: No, no, no! SHERLOCK: Come on, look at it!

The hound is not only dead, the hound has been stripped of its dreary features, and John did it. John is finally seeing that it's just a dog.

Well, what about the dog?

As explained in the essay mentioned above, the beauty of THoB lies in its resolution; the classical gothic trope - where facing the monster of queerness inevitably brings to demise and horror - gets flipped on its head and brings us to this exchange:

SHERLOCK: So they didn’t have it put down, then – the dog. JOHN: Obviously. Suppose they just couldn’t bring themselves to do it. SHERLOCK: I see. JOHN: No you don’t. SHERLOCK: No, I don’t. Sentiment? JOHN: Sentiment!

What's interesting is that we're initially diverted to see Sherlock's struggle as prominent, but it really is both his and John's journey.

Sherlock needs to be analytical to unravel the mystery, which is not the hound in itself (he knows it's a dog), but rather learning that if he can't trust his eyes it's because there's an emotional side hidden inside him that he has to integrate - and he needs John to do so.

John needs to see "the monster" to begin with, he has to feel all the fear and the shock, he needs to face it in a very physical way - and he needs Sherlock to do so.

In the end, they're not strictly standing against the hound, and killing it is just a metaphor. They just need to see it for what it is: sentiment, and they need to do it together, as a unit.

Remember?

"We’re not a couple." - "Yes you are".

So we're left with John and Sherlock, both more aware of what's going on... where will this go? Stay tuned (or not, but if you do... prepare the tissues)

____

[transcription source: Ariane DeVere]

[newhologram]

“ageism doesn’t just hurt older people. there is a reason why you, at the v young age of 20 something, are panicking about not having accomplished a giant goal. we’re taught our accomplishments, and our lives, have less value as we age. benefits us all to fight against that idea” @Claribel_Ortega

[slothful-rabbit]

I laughed so fucking hard at this

[meta-lock]

Adding to the cannon of “they’re lesbians Harold”

[upschittcreek]

dan levy in coastal elites [x]

[so-damn-confused]

Yeah, give me this kind of movie/series and I’ll give you my soul in return.

[elldotsee]

Dan Levy is exactly what we need in 2020.

[notagarroter]

Culverton’s Confessions

Just rewatched The Lying Detective, and it’s struck me this time – when it first aired, we all spent so much time thinking about Sherlock and John and Mary and Eurus, etc., that we didn’t give a lot of thought to Culverton Smith.  But he’s actually a pretty interesting baddie.

What’s interesting about Smith is, despite being a serial murderer, he’s not actually motivated by a desire to kill.  He *thinks* he is – I think he genuinely believes he enjoys killing people just for the fun of it.  And at first, Sherlock buys this premise, too.  But the episode is really careful to seed in Smith’s actual compulsion – a compulsion to confession. 

In fact, I think it’s arguable (though we don’t really know him well enough to say for sure) that the main reason Smith kills people is so he’ll have something to confess. 

Throughout the episode, Smith entertains a bizarre kind of flirtation with the idea of confession.  In the TD-12 scene, he desperately wants to get something off his chest, but he’s terrified of facing any repercussions for it.  This is why he develops this whole weird ritual of drugging his friends and business associates – so he can confess his crimes (or would-be crimes) to them without consequence.

SMITH: Confession is good for the soul … providing you can delete it.

It’s worth noting that Smith has specifically chosen police officials and judges to be part of his TD-12 audience, as well as his daughter.  He wanted the confessions to be *meaningful*, even as he wanted them instantly forgotten.

And why is the morgue is favorite room?  Not just because he likes corpses.  As Sherlock eventually figures out, before he developed TD-12, he needed the corpses to serve as an audience for his confessions.

SHERLOCK: You talk to the dead. You make your confession to them.

I think it’s fair to assume that eventually, confessing to corpses stopped giving Smith the desired thrill, and that’s why he moved on to the TD-12 sessions.  But soon enough, that palls too – which is why Smith seeks out and encourages Sherlock’s attention (albeit only in a very controlled environment).

THERAPIST: Culverton gave me Faith’s original note.

It always bugged me before – why would Smith do this?  Of course, we can easily justify the choice as being a result of Eurus’s irresistible powers of mind control…  But it’s even more deliciously satisfying to realize that Smith *wanted* to draw Sherlock to him, because what could be more thrilling than confessing to the world’s greatest detective? 

Sherlock gets this, and so he engineers a situation he knows Smith will find irresistible: an opportunity to confess his sins to a detective who is conscious and in full possession of his mental faculties.  But Smith will only do it if he feels certain that Sherlock will die immediately afterward. 

SHERLOCK (quietly): I wanted to hear your confession; needed to know I was right.

Smith is willing to believe that Sherlock is just as twisted as he is – that even though Sherlock doesn’t want to die, he’d be willing to sacrifice his own life just to hear Smith’s confession.

Of course, the little twist at the end is that Sherlock winds up giving Smith the greatest gift he never knew he wanted: the opportunity to confess in a situation that involves true consequences.  Smith had spent his whole career as a murderer avoiding this situation, but when it’s finally forced upon him, it turns out to be exactly the thrill he was seeking all along.

SMITH: It’s funny, I … I never realised confessing would be so enjoyable.

(all quotes from ariane devere’s transcripts)

[sarahthecoat]

it’s probably been pointed out before, but i just twigged on some parallels between smith wanting to confess to sherlock, even though he planned to kill him right after, and the cabbie in ASIP luring sherlock into the “game of chess” by the promise of essentially confessing how he’d killed the earlier victims. and sherlock being willing to risk his life for it.

[meta-lock]

Oh, this is very good. But if Culverton Smith mirrors John - it’s interesting to think about the confessions evolution too. John’s initial gay trysts - looking, fantasizing - knowing that there are extreme consequences for discovery. Becoming a doctor/healer (“Three Continents Watson” womanizer) to cover for being a killer/soldier (gay sex/death trope) - very much confessing to the corpses. And then - John’s discovery of TD-12: a British DADT (Don’t Ask Don’t Tell) - where John falls in love with Sholte but they must ‘forget it ever happened’. Then - wanting a confession to have consequences - upping the stakes again and again - falling in love with the greatest detective of all time. Surely, confessing to Sherlock would be the highest stakes ever - because how could a man like Sherlock fail to find John out? Well, turns out - John loved and wanted Sherlock (killing Sherlock) - but perhaps, as in the show, they maintain the facade? That could be the “desperately unspoken” bit - they come so close to a true consummated relationship: a few kisses - maybe a Hug that lasts too long for friendship. But Sherlock never dies (belongs to John, emotionally and sexually as a partner) - and John never “kills” him (sex/death) again.