This is from Leslie Klinger's The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes. Bear in mind, aside from this, I greatly admire Klinger and his work. HOWEVER, I don't understand how a prominent Sherlockian scholar could even think about writing down one of the most slanderous and ill-informed sentences I've ever read. Thus, let me pull some quotes from "The Empty House" and defend Sherlock Holmes along with his and Watson's friendship.
When Holmes reveals himself to Watson in Watson's study:
"When I turned again Sherlock Holmes was standing smiling at me across my study table. I rose to my feet, stared at him for some seconds in utter amazement, and it appears I must have fainted....When it cleared I found my collar-ends undone and the tingling after-taste of brandy on my lips. Holmes was bending over my chair, his flask in hand. "My dear Watson," said the well-remembered voice, "I owe you a thousand apologies. I had no idea that you would be so affected."
"Can it indeed be that you're alive? Is it possible that you succeeded in climbing out of that awful abyss?" [Watson]
"Wait a moment!" said [Holmes]. "Are you sure that you are really fit to discuss things? I have given you a serious shock by my unnecessarily dramatic appearance."
Holmes discussing his financial logistics with Mycroft during the hiatus:
"I had only one confidant--my brother Mycroft. I owe you many apologies, my dear Watson, but it was all-important that it should be thought I was dead, and it is quite certain that you would not have written so convincing an account of my unhappy end had you not yourself thought that it was true. Several times during the last three years I have taken up my pen to write to you, but always I feared lest your affectionate regard for me should tempt you to some indiscretion which would betray my secret."
When Holmes returns to 221b Baker St for the first time (sans Watson):
"So it was, my dear Watson, that at two o'clock to-day I found myself in my old arm-chair in my own old room, and only wishing that I could have seen my old friend Watson in the other chair which he has so often adorned."
It is widely thought this next quote is said in regards to the death of Mary Morstan Watson, but it is still up for debate among Sherlockians/Holmesians:
"In some manner he had learned of my own sad bereavement, and his sympathy was shown in manner rather than in his words. 'Work is the best antidote to sorrow, my dear Watson,' said he, 'and I have a piece of work for us tonight.'"
Now to cap off the night:
"And now, Watson, if you can endure the draught from a broken window, I think half an hour in my study over a cigar may afford you some profitable amusement."
Yes, Sherlock Holmes can be a calculating, logical "machine" (other's words not mine), but the canon shows time and time again how devoted Holmes and Watson are to each other. Holmes highly values and respects Watson as a person and as a friend. It genuinely upsets me at the thought of someone dismissing that and giving such a mis-guided view of how Holmes behaves to Watson when he returns. Holmes is fully conscious of how deeply affected Watson was by his "death" and does not try to diminish that pain in any way. Holmes even tells Watson how much he missed him and just wanted to be back home at Baker St with him. Their friendship is the guiding light through these stories, which if absent, would not have gathered the following and community that has existed for the last 100+ years.
pre-hiatus and post-hiatus? nah. these are the real subtypes of Fall Out Boy fans
note: this has been designed to be at least somewhat comprehensible to non-fans and new fans
type 1: the regulars. these are the majority of FOB fans. whether they joined before, during, or after the late 2009 to early 2013 hiatus, whether they prefer the fandom nickname of Car-Crash Hearts, Overcast Kids, Youngbloods, or Fobbies, these are the fans that make up most of the fanbase. type 1s tend to like most of FOB's output, save for a few songs they're not that fond of. they probably follow the band's socials and maybe the band members' socials. overall, these are the FOB fans you're most likely to meet on the internet or irl. they can overlap with types 5 and 6, but are more on the down-low about it
type 2: the stans. these are the really obsessive fans. they insist that they like everything FOB has put out and have probably heard the various 2001 demos. they're the fans that make it their life mission to go to as many FOB shows as possible and get barricade each time. a few of them get downright creepy with their stalking. it was a type 2/6 overlap that had a hand in causing Patrick Stump to leave social media. understandably, most other fans are not fond of these. they tend to overlap with type 5, occasionally overlapping types 3 and 4 as well
type 3: the pre-hiatus gatekeepers(i know i said pre-hiatus ain’t a subtype, but this doesn’t refer to all pre-hiatus fans). usually, these fans joined the fandom between the band's formation in mid-2001 and the hiatus and are self-proclaimed “elder emos.” they put all of FOB's pre-hiatus work on a pedestal and degrade their post-hiatus work. they also tend to look down on anyone who joined the fandom after the hiatus. type 3s are the entitled elitists of the fandom. they tend to cross over with types 2 and 5 and occasionally 4. if they’re also a type 5, they're almost certainly horny for Pete Wentz. the one good thing about them is that the type 2 overlaps are the most likely to spread appreciation of Joe Trohman and Andy Hurley
type 4: the smol-beanifiers. these are the annoying asses who infantilize the everliving shit out of Patrick. they noticed his adorkableness and introversion and exaggerated those traits to hell and back, justifying themselves by pointing out his endearing nature. i mean, while he is quite the cutie, these people take it way too far. they're the ones who tend to call Patrick a "smol bean" and act as if his sweetness makes him completely innocent, most just flat-out ignoring that that man canonically fucks. those that don't ignore that that man fucks almost always overlap with type 5 and are probably Peterick-loving fujoshis. type 4s were everywhere on mid-2010s Tumblr and Wattpad, but are less common now. most of them matured into type 1s, but some only worsened into type 2s. either way, there’s an all but 0% chance that they don’t overlap with type 6
type 5: the simps. these are the fans that are down bad for at least one of the boys- some might say they're down colossal. type 5s can overlap with any other type and are the most likely to have an AO3 account. there's really not much else to say about these lil degenerates
type 6: the Patrick lovers. yes, there's enough of these to get their own type. these fuckers- who can overlap with any other type- absolutely love Patrick. they are the #1 Soul Punk and Truant Wave defenders. notably, a decent chunk of the type 6s on the Fall Out Boy sides of Twitter and Tumblr("fobtwt" and “foblr”) are transmascs who project themselves onto him, relating to his insecurity about his body, the resulting fondness for wearing layers, and him being a measly 5'4". these features have also led a lot of generally insecure fans to attach themselves to him. there's also a lot of neurodivergent type 6s, as Patrick himself has ADHD. he also has asthma, which has led many fans to be even more in awe of his belting ability. a lot of them are also unspeakably horny for this man, seeing him as a certified DILF. i am admittedly one of these people
EDIT: i didn’t mention the type 6 lesbians because i figured that was just a given
I’m just here to gently remind some of you about the ensuing days after Babygate first began. There was a lot of chaos on tumblr dot com, but some people may not know that there was a lot of chaos behind the scenes, too. A lot of… reliable informants… had managed to stay completely silent about Babygate until its press release. Even then, some who knew it would be coming weren’t able to or didn’t want to say anything in case they were able to swerve their way out of it. Which didn’t end up happening. Clearly.
In the days afterward, there was VERY real threat of one or both of them being VERY publicly outed. Which would have been an utter DISASTER for BOTH of them on multiple different levels (personal, professional, legal, etc). There were many, many conversations happening away from tumblr dot com reminding people to watch what they were saying and doing publicly and urging people to quell the complete CAVALCADE raining down as a reactive result of the decision to move forward with Babygate.
I think some people (by no fault of their own) lack that context and it can make it harder to deal with. Another important piece of context is that, post-hiatus a lot of the industry connections and informants many people in this fandom had prior completely evaporated. People moved on, got new jobs, had NDAs, weren’t available, followed false leads, and/or faced VERY real world consequences if they continued to publicly support or talk about HL. That was intentional.
Harry and Louis have, for better or worse, been very intentional and quite ruthless in locking down their personal lives in the last seven or eight years. And they have every right to do so. I think that context gets lost in these discussions, too, and I think it’s really an important/key piece to continuing in the collective fandom as it were.
Anyway, carry on. 🙂
Sherlock, after a few fruitless hours in his Mind Palace, was now asleep. Unable to shut down his mind, he was restless. The door open for nightmares... His head, still full of the conversation with his brother, quickly brings back the horror of the torture he received while away. He was trashing and shaking, unable to calm himself. It's not real, it's not real... But he was unable to stop and tries to get away from them! But it was impossible with the chains and the pain, and... "I have nothing to say..." He murmurs feverishly, crying in his sleep. “No, don't... please... please... please..."
Shaken by the view of his friend pleading, John tries to wake him softly. "Sherlock, come on... wake up, I'm here." He puts his hand on his arm carefully, but his friend recoils, shivering and crying. Not knowing what to do... John hears the ringtone of Sherlock's phone. Now is not the time... But the caller ID was showing Mycroft. Maybe... "Mycroft? I don't know what to do... I... What? You want me to what?" Following Mycroft's instruction, he puts the phone on speaker mode and the unusually caring voice of Sherlock's brother fill the room.
"Listen to me brother dear. Everyone is safe... I will get you out of this. Time to go back to Baker Street, Sherlock... Come with me... He's waiting for you... "
Sherlock's reaction is nearly instantaneous, his slumber becomes less erratic, more peaceful.
John takes the phone off speaker and whispers harshly. "What the fuck, Mycroft!"
"Oh, such a language, Doctor Watson. Good night..."
(excerpt from A Detective's Guide to the Countryside) Complete 30k
I died a little thanks to mental illness, and then, well....March hit and the whole world went to shit along with a deeply stressful move that I absolutely hated every second of and am still recovering from. But now I’m back and just recently started writing again! What has everyone been doing, tell me about your projects or a random fact???
