#thob meta

[inevitably-johnlocked]

hi hi, I was wondering if you had any meta on hotb that isn't too long and/or has a tldr (i have awful focus and bad eyesight lmao)

Hey Nonny!

Ah, I do have a collection of THOB Meta, but I can't guarantee all of them are short :P I totally understand! I'll check each link on this masterlist I'm about to make and will put a ⭐️ next to them if they seem shorter to me LOL. You can check out the other links if you'd like, they're all under 2000 words it seems.

THoB META

[THOB META BLOG TAG]

MY META / COMMENTARY

Why Comment on the Cheekbones if Not Gay ⭐️

Henry’s Assumption at “Mates”

The Aluminium Crutch ⭐️

See A Man About a Dog ⭐️

UMQRA: UMQRA and the Vignère Cipher

UMQRA: Was There A Secret Meaning to that Scene? ⭐️

UMQRA: Why Was that scene even in there ⭐️

Was Sherlock Actually Scared? ⭐️

“Look at me John, I’m Afraid”: Is it a Metaphor? ⭐️

Conductor of Light ⭐️

Sherlock’s Timing About Drugging John

John’s Face Journey re: the Coffee (My Additions) ⭐️

H.O.U.N.D. and the Unknown Drug

Melioidosis

What’s a Double Room

Double Room: Was Really Just a Setup for the Only One Bed Trope ⭐️

The Tea Scene in THoB

If the Hound Isn’t Real, why was Henry Knight Still Scared? ⭐️

They Both Looked good in THoB ⭐️

Sherlock “I Don’t Beg” Holmes begged John for Cigarettes ⭐️

The Nighthawks Meta by SageStreet ⭐️

====

If anyone has any meta they can rec regardless of length, let me know. Always open to discovering new writings years and years later :)

[late-to-the-party-221]

In the transition they have the same Framing. Sherlock’s gace is in profile but Henry is a bust and front facing. We're only seeing half of Sherlock, and only his face (the face is a philosophy thing), but we're seeing all of Henry. If Henry is Sherlock's foil, what can we deduce about Sherlock? Well for one, childhood trauma covered up by a dog. In fact, the dog in Sherlock's imagination is the same breed as the dog Henry sees in the intro to the episode.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Why was that U. M. Q. R. A. scene even in that episode THOB? It literally didn't add anything to the plot or the characters lmao.

It just felt someone from writing team shitposting.

Hey Nonny!

Yeah, in hindsight, the UMQRA scene seems really pointless, to be honest, though back in the day there were plenty of interesting discussions about it. I actually forgot I did a meta about it, so check that link there, pretty fun! There's a couple more meta attached to that link. I think nowadays, though, yeah, it just feels like it was a plot point to get John to do something, heh. BUT THOB is one of my fave episodes, so I enjoy it for what it is.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

This is just a random thing that annoys me about certain posts in the fandom, but I don't like when people use the scene in HoB where Sherlock makes John some coffee to "apologise" as a soft, caring Sherlock moment. It's not! Sherlock most definitely is those things for the people he cares about (sorry and caring), and there may be a hint of it in this scene, but I think he's mostly showing his manipulative side here, the side that will do anything for the work. He's using the conflict between him and John to investigate the source of the hallucinogen, him (over)acting out his guilt/remorse towards John and then using him as his guinea pig. I think it's almost a disservice to Sherlock's character to use this scene as an example of his care for others, when he's not being fully genuine. There are plenty of other options to choose from! Sorry for that rant, it's just been bugging me for a while now and I needed to get it out into the universe 😅

Hey Nonny!

It's all good, you're allowed to have personal feelings about certain scenes in the series! I mean, I say how much I dislike S4, but there are SOME scenes in it I do enjoy despite them being either a result of shitty things (the hug) or just are kind of sweet in a weird way ("He is family!").

That said, yeah, I've personally never seen that as a "soft Sherlock" moment, though I did laugh on my first watch-through before I was hardcore into fandom and analyzed the series, haha. I've always sided with John on being upset with Sherlock for being manipulative just to test the sugar, especially when Sherlock KNOWS John is a former soldier with possible PTSD. It's kind of shitty of him, and why I do like rewrite fics of that scene that do explore John having hallucinations and flashbacks or panic attacks.

I agree; there are other scenes in the series that Sherlock shows he cares about John, though Sherlock is one of those "actions" people... like the whole of TBB is essentially Sherlock taking a case because John complained about being broke, and made John take the cheque from Seb, while outwardly Sherlock was acting aloof. ASiP Sherlock takes John with him to make John feel useful, but not directly saying it. AND even in THoB, Sherlock actively goes looking for John, and essentially tells him sorry without saying sorry. Sherlock literally plays "the long game" in his appreciation for John.

OR even that one scene in... shoot I think it was TGG? where Sherlock makes tea for John and they're just talking. Sherlock is a very kind person to the people he cares about a lot. Right from day one, Sherlock imprinted on his hot soldier roommate LOL.

So yeah, Nonny, you're not the only one who feels that way about that scene <3

[inevitably-johnlocked]

hey steph! non-fanfic related, in thob, the scene where henry knight is asleep and is woken up by the lights flashing on after detecting movement in his yard, what's that all about, if the hound isn't real? is it a figment of his imagination? paranoia? was there a person in his yard? so many questions.

Hey Nonny!

Ah, my understanding about this scene is that Frankland was involved in all that, since he didn't want Henry's memories to recall that it was Frankland who killed his father.

BUT

I think we're supposed to suspend our disbelief to an extent... I think the more likely situation is that Henry was being drugged from being out on the moors (possibly lives very near them so the "leak" is going into his property, I suppose a traumatic past – like John's in the lab where Sherlock was simply flickering lights and making weird noises – doesn't require much to induce a PTSD response... like bad weather (the day following is rather gloomy, so perhaps it was actually a freak storm) or a dog who got out of the care of its owners scrounging around for scraps and food, which would create the noise.

But yeah, I think it's mostly just "suspend your disbelief, this is supposed to be spooky-scary-skeletons."

What do you guys think?

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hi Steph, I have a question I was hoping you could answer. As you know, in The Hounds of Baskerville, the inn keeper says something to the terms of, "Sorry we couldn't do a double room for you boys". So what exactly did John and Sherlock get..? Did they get a room with two beds or one bed..? I apologize for this stupid question, but I've honestly never been able to figure this one out and it's getting on my nerves. Thanks!

Hi Nonny! 

No apology necessary, it’s not stupid! I don’t mind trying to help you out!

So as far as I understand, a “double room” is a hotel room with one bed for a couple, so the assumption is that they instead got one room with two single beds. We can then assume that John… probably… tried to book them a room with one bed, is what I’m taking away from this, but did it without Sherlock knowing he tried to do it and is embarrassed because the innkeeper brought it up while Sherlock was within earshot.

The OTHER way to take it, is that they showed up without a booking (which is more likely, given their sudden departure), and the innkeepers were like “oh look at this handsome couple, we’re going to assume they want a single room” and then felt TERRIBLE because they couldn’t get them a room with one bed, because let’s be real: EVERYONE assumes they’re a couple without asking LOL. BECAUSE THEY’RE PERFECT!!

So yeah, LOL. I hope that helped you out <3

[inevitably-johnlocked]

I just found out that "See a man about a dog" is slang for "I'm going to the toilet" and "secret meeting" and now when I think about the The Hounds Of The Baskervilles scene all I can picture is Sherlock subtly inviting John to join him in the men's toilet.

LOL HAHAHA OMG is it really?

Hah, it is, according to Urban Dictionary!

And the clicking on the “see also”, I found this gem:

Thanks, Nonny, now I can’t get it out of my head, LOL.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hey Steph! Could you please help me find one johnlock blog? I only remember that it had a really good meta on the hounds of baskerville - especially the whole dog symbolism. I think it also tackled some post-S4 topics. And I think the background had some brownish tones... and maybe Nighthawks painting somewhere?? I'm so helpless, but I'm sure you know it haha! Thanks and you rock

Hi Nonny!

I think you might be looking for this post here by @tjlcisthenewsexy, though for everything else after the post-S4 stuff, and the Nighthawks painting, I’m not 100% certain. I have quite a few posts in my ‘thob meta’ tag you can scroll through, too! I know @just-sort-of-happened wrote a couple meta as well, though not about those exact topics. 

I’ve also written a few of my own THoB meta, though mine are mostly about the drugs and Henry Knight, LOL.

If anyone knows which meta specifically that Nonny is looking for, let us know! <3