Little Rant
I'm so tired of media which does the queerbaity thing of not making Holmes and Watson a romantic couple, but putting lots of jokes in about them being a couple to excite the queer fanbase (while not alienating a casual audience).
I know this is old news, but it specifically annoys me because I've realised it affects how people respond to my game which is very earnestly trying to explore the ambiguity of their relationship.
Case in point- In the prologue of Beekeeper's Picnic, there's this part where Watson is sent some flowers by a colleague. I wrote Holmes' reaction as being humourously overblown (he instantly decides he hates those stupid flowers), but I intended the feelings he's feeling to be very genuine — he's frustrated that this stranger can show the nature of her intentions so simply and openly, and he's very afraid of Watson's place in his life being impacted by Watson potentially entering a romantic relationship with her. I'm sure a lot of a-spec folks know that cocktail of feelings. It's also setting up the fact that he's not great at examining his own feelings or talking/thinking through them (and he may not be an easy person to live with) - he'd rather just get snotty about some flowers.
But I've found that previous experience has taught some players to react to that "joke" as being just queerbaiting, that Holmes expressing his frustration at Watson's potential paramour is just me, the writer, teasing the player, rather than a moment of genuine storytelling that will be pivotal followed through on.
Grrrr. Blargh. Hurumph.
