(cat spirit: the chinese yaoguai, a cat which has cultivated to immortality and gained a human form~ similar to a kitsune, or hulijing, but this one's a cat)
evidence:
his deductions seem to stem more from observations and experience, which would be greatly helped by a cat spirit's long life (= a lot of life experience, and can explain how he's familiar with many countries as well) and keen senses (sight, to be so observant, and smell, as he does deduce things from smell ~ cigarette butts, etc)
his almost inhuman strength and quickness on his feet ~ being able to easily bend a metal poker even though he's not overly buff ~ that looks like cultivation✨~
he disappears sometimes and comes back with evidence ~ it'll be so easy to search for evidence as a normal-looking, totally not suspicious cat, who can sneak around restricted areas, search for evidence without disturbing the ground, overhear things, etc~
his goal of making sure his life is always entertaining~ it would definitely be boring to see repetitive, regular and uninteresting things every day if you are immortal~
his mysterious backstory~ where did he come from, where are his parents, where did he live, study, work, etc~ it'll make sense if he was a cat spirit who cultivated, without parents or any sort of human backstory, and was wandering around~ OG!Mycroft as a cat spirit would be so cute also~ as one of those fat cats who sit by the fire and watch everything~
his interest in potions and plants~ this is more of a werewolf theory and can be easily explained away with crimes often featuring potions and poisons, but yeah~
his closeness with street urchins and vast knowledge of and encounters with the different criminals around ~ a cat would not be out of place on the street, where it can easily tail criminals and befriend urchins (who can endear themselves to him with their wits and kindness)
his taking on an everydayman roomie who likely wouldn't figure out his secret, and even if he did, won't make a big fuss out of it, and who can indirectly teach him how to seem more normal (largely from observation) as well~
finally, why a cat spirit? he's been mentioned to curl up in his armchair, stretch languidly, stay still for long periods and followed by short bursts of running around solving crimes, etc. ~ catlike behaviour 😘✨
okay that's it~ please don't come for my head, it's just a joke post~ it would be super fun if it were true but is likely, probably, definitely false, and please feel free to create content based on this lol, I'd love to see it and may even make some myself haha~ see ya~ 😘
I was sketching one of Sidney Paget's illustrations and then an idea came to my mind to redraw it in my style. Drawing them side by side feels like travelling through time 🥹
A scene redraw from Study in Scarlet where Sherlock engages in his iconic thinking stance - with his head and eyebrows sunken down.
I try to mix in a bit of the Frogwares Sherry (as I think they did an amazing job) while keeping his book-described looks because he is a handsome young man without fitting into the internet's "beauty standard" that I feel was implied into his latest in-game model. 🌺
