#acd asks

[ash-clans-destiny]

Mosspaw what happened to Ashclan? Why do you now have to rebuild it?

(the style might look a little different, that’s because i thought i’d try something else)

[sexy-sapphic-sorcerer]

Holmes and Watson / Tristan and Isolde

BBC Radio 4's Sherlock Holmes, The Devil's Foot (radio drama transcript) /// Granada's The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Red Circle /// Metafictional Monday: Tristan und Isolde, @teaformrholmes /// Brayton Polka, LIEBESTOD: On Love and Death in Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde", p. 246 /// The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, Vincent Starrett /// BBC Radio 4's Sherlock Holmes, The Devil's Foot (radio drama transcript)

[haedraulics]

Do you know some fics about sherlock holmes that are not the BBC version that you would recommend?

yeah i've got a whole ton! i'm still working through bookmarking everything i've read, but you can find some of the fics i've enjoyed on my ao3 bookmarks tab. overall i've been really impressed by the quality and creativity of ACD holmes/watson writers!

in particular i've been captivated by Since First I Saw Your Face, which is one of the most heart-wrenching, technically astounding fic projects i've ever had the pleasure of reading from any fandom. the scope and depth of this series elevates it so much so that i consider it a full-on holmes adaptation, especially with the human depth it brings to both holmes and watson as characters. highly recommend!

another notable shout-out is One Week (rated E) which does a magnificent job of drawing out the tension between h/w while being witty, in-character, and shamelessly horny. speaking of shamelessly horny, an eternity in three weeks, An Unconventional Treatment, and His True Gift are all brilliant and their authors each have more lovely work on their accounts.

there are so many various scenes from ACD h/w fics that i want to sketch out or something because they're so tender and well-written, i appreciate the skill it takes to write prose and dialogue and old man sex in a victorian pastiche style! very excited to read more! :D

[moonlightandpalmtrees]

you know that comic with the birds? “Do you think we’re best friends in other universes too”? I think about that but with all the different Holmes & Watsons

[blistering-typhoons]

1. Favourite canon quote?

2. Favourite canon story/least favourite canon story? (Either question optional)

3. What got you into Sherlock Holmes - the books or an adaptation? If adaptation, which one?

4. Favourite adaptation/least favourite adaptation? (Either question optional)

5. Most niche Sherlock Holmes adaptation you've consumed?

6. Favourite Holmes portrayal?

7. Favourite Watson portrayal?

8. Holmes & Watson or Holmes/Watson? Or both?

9. Do you write/read Sherlock Holmes fanfiction?

10. If you read fanfiction, favourite Sherlock Holmes fanfiction?

11. Headcanon about Holmes? (And do you have any favourites?)

12. Headcanon about Watson? (And do you have any favourites?)

13. What is something you wish more people knew/understood about Sherlock Holmes?

14. Who do you tend to relate to more - Holmes or Watson? Both?

15. Do you draw Sherlock Holmes fanart?

16. Favourite piece of Sherlock Holmes fanart? (Either by yourself or another fanartist)

17. How long have you been into Sherlock Holmes?

18. Favourite piece of Sherlock Holmes related trivia?

19. Favourite Sherlock Holmes supporting/one off character?

20. Favourite Sherlock Holmes villain?

[bd-wlf]

I NEED SOMEONE TO DISCUSS SHERLOCK HOLMES WITH

[holmesillustrations]

Left: “We strolled about together.” Resident Patient, Sidney Paget, The Strand Aug/Sep 1893 Characters: Holmes, Watson

Right: “I fell into a brown study.” Cardboard Box, Sidney Paget, The Strand Jan/Feb 1893 Characters: Holmes, Watson

[lowliest-manifestations]

Okay! I'm finally putting together some of my more specific Bending the Willow thoughts and this passage:

"Perhaps it was as Jeremy Brett noted: 'Women want to possess him, while men want to be him.' There is certainly some truth in that statement, but the idea is incomplete. I believe male readers not only identify with Holmes, but also experience, in the same way that D. H. Lawrence identified what he referred to as a 'blood consciousness' between men, a kind of spiritual closeness akin to love."

Is making me the kind of insane that makes me want to write like 17 essays. But in absence of the time needed to actually do that here are some of my main thoughts in a more disorganized fashion:

Overall I've noticed a really wild amount of gender essentialism within Sherlockian communities/ scholarship, and I know that a lot of that can be chalked up to the fact that even modern writings are done mostly by older white men, but I also think there's something about the text itself that encourages this. Sherlock Holmes is pretty fucking victorian about gender (Irene Adler occupies a weird space but I do not believe she is in any way exempt from those attitudes.) and I think sometimes scholars find themselves reflecting the values of a text that they do not want to admit is imperfect.

I think this passage pinpoints exactly how a lot of people gender their expectations of how reader are to interact with Sherlock Holmes and texts like it, and Sherlock Holmes in turn becomes kind of weird for women to interact with. For the most part people want to see themselves somewhere in the text, but women in particular are told that we cannot find ourselves within the main character. Some people may be fine with that, lots of people don't want to relate to Holmes and their enjoyment of the text does not come from seeing themselves in that particular character. Some women also genuinely want to relate to the text by fantasizing about being in a relationship with Holmes, and more power to them, but their feeling is not a default, no matter how hard anybody pretends it is.

The fact is that plenty of women do want to be Holmes, and they face an interesting dilemma if they are trying to hold that while still operating under the framework hinted at in this passage. Instead of projecting onto him directly they must find ways to be close to him, be a reflection of him, be him but a girl (without replacing him! don't worry!). I think that's why there's sooo much fiction out there about secret sisters, female apprentices, wit-matching lovers etc. (I myself would pretend to be Sherlock Holmes' secret daughter as a kid. I bought into this shit!)

This framework is also not particularly normal about men who may not see themselves in Holmes at all and who may, in fact, also be capable of fantasizing about having a relationship with him! Queer men exist! (within this passage in fact.) And I know Stuart Davies did not mean to acknowledge this when he wrote of "a kind of spiritual closeness akin to love." but he does put it somewhat homoerotically in a way that left me reeling a little bit.

I do understand the feeling described by Stuart Davies, even if the way he writes of it makes me laugh a little in its dramatics. I simply do not think it is a feeling exclusive to men... I don't think any feelings are exclusive to any gender. And in the end I think that's the idea that really frustrates me.

Of course this passage is also from 1996, it's a product of its time, I get it. I also know that people have had More expansive/critical/interesting ideas about Sherlock Holmes in relation to gender before and since it was written, and I don't think it reflects what everyone really believes. BUT I do think it hit the nail on the head of a phenomena I have noticed since childhood and affirmed that I wasn't imagining things. While also being. Kind of funny.

[tremendously-crazy]

QUICK! What's your favorite Sherlock Holmes story? I'll go first, if i HAVE TO PICK, my favorite is the adventure of the red headed league or the adventure of the priory school

Reblog so more people can answer!! /nf

[swamp-adder]

canon quotes in support of the "Holmes is bipolar" theory

Nothing could exceed his energy when the working fit was upon him; but now and again a reaction would seize him, and for days on end he would lie upon the sofa in the sitting-room, hardly uttering a word or moving a muscle from morning to night. -- STUD

He was bright, eager, and in excellent spirits, a mood which in his case alternated with fits of the blackest depression. -- SIGN

Holmes could talk exceedingly well when he chose, and that night he did choose. He appeared to be in a state of nervous exaltation. I have never known him so brilliant. He spoke on a quick succession of subjects,--on miracle-plays, on medieval pottery, on Stradivarius violins, on the Buddhism of Ceylon, and on the war-ships of the future,--handling each as though he had made a special study of it. His bright humor marked the reaction from his black depression of the preceding days. -- SIGN

[...] as I have mentioned somewhere in these incoherent memoirs, the outbursts of passionate energy when he performed the remarkable feats with which his name is associated were followed by reactions of lethargy during which he would lie about with his violin and his books, hardly moving save from the sofa to the table. -- MUSG

Holmes had spent several days in bed, as was his habit from time to time [...] -- 3GAR

Sherlock Holmes was a man, however, who, when he had an unsolved problem upon his mind, would go for days, and even for a week, without rest, turning it over, rearranging his facts, looking at it from every point of view until he had either fathomed it or convinced himself that his data were insufficient. It was soon evident to me that he was now preparing for an all-night sitting. -- TWIS

He paced restlessly about our sitting-room in a fever of suppressed energy, biting his nails, tapping the furniture, and chafing against inaction. -- BRUC

It was not a long journey from Winchester to Thor Place, but it was long to me in my impatience, while for Holmes it was evident that it seemed endless; for, in his nervous restlessness he could not sit still, but paced the carriage or drummed with his long, sensitive fingers upon the cushions beside him. -- THOR

"My dear Watson, you know how bored I have been since we locked up Colonel Carruthers. My mind is like a racing engine, tearing itself to pieces because it is not connected up with the work for which it was built." -- WIST

[teaspoonnebula]

Hullo, I am so sorry if this ask is a weird one but. You are in the fandom for a long time, and I need to know, is it me or is the ACD SH fandom *not* insane?? Everywhere else where I've been, I see people turning on each other, fighting over characters and the morality of liking them and not liking them, telling people to go kill themselves and here. I have been in this corner of Tumblr for a few months now, and everybody seems normal? Am I just not deep enough yet to sew the drama, or is this really just a place where people hang out to enjoy something together??? Are we just too old of a fandom to do this?

(feel free not to answer if this is too weird or anything)

Sorry my reply got really long. I've broken it up with memes in the hope that it makes it more readable.

I've been in the fandom for a few years now, and I don't have much to compare against because I've generally avoided fandom spaces because they seem pretty intense (and I've not had a piece of media grab me quite like this before) but yeah it seems pretty chill?

I think there are lots of possible reasons why.

It might be that the fandom skews a little older, with lots of people who have enough life experience to know how to de-escalate tension when they encounter it, and when to walk away from the keyboard.

It might be that there's a century-old understanding that we're all playing a silly tongue-in-cheek game with characters from magazine stories that were never supposed to be analysed this way. Remember the term "canon" as used in fandom circles was invented by Sherlock Holmes fans (specifically my boy Ronald Knox) as a joke, a deliberate cute misapplication of a term used for discussing the Bible to something frivolous. Not taking yourself too seriously is very baked into Sherlockian culture.

I sometimes get glimpses from other fandoms of this puritanical attitude that to like or not like a character or a piece of work is somehow a moral act, and I find that... bewildering. A bit scary. To be a fan of Sherlock Holmes is inherently to love something dearly which also contains things which should be hated: racism, sexism, imperialism. I think that fans tend to be people well used to approaching literature with the level of nuance required to process that dichotomy. To acknowledge it rather than hide from it.

It might also be because it's public domain. A big blockbuster movie or pastiche by a celebrated writer is precisely as legitimate as every fanfic on Ao3. Or the CGI movie where they're gnomes. Or a slightly wonky point and click game someone is obsessively making in their spare time (...coughcougheveryonewishlist 'The Beekeepers' Picnic' onsteam) Sherlock Holmes belongs to everyone equally regardless of how much money and power they have, which is why I love it.

Like, I love him as a character, I love the Victoriana, I love the mysteries, but the #1 reason I've gone gaga over Sherlock Holmes these past few years is the joy of loving a thing which isn't controlled by a corporation and which does not exist to make money (anymore).

I'm not saying there's zero drama because I think when you get a bunch of people passionate about something there will always be a little drama. I'll see things like the jostling of people who are very protective of asexual readings of Holmes and people who are very protective of gay readings of Holmes, things like that. Feelings can run high when personal identity is involved. But I've never seen anything got too vicious.

Errrr yeah idk if you wanted an essay as a response but you got one!

[pitayaparty]

more acd fan-designs. one more under the cut (warning for half-nudity? nothing weird)

marriage

[haedraulics]

PLS MORE SHERLOCK HOLMES YAOI YOUR ART IS SO SPOT ON

OF COURSEEEE 🫡🫡🫡🫡 holmes yaoi art and fic (very good fic!) is genuinely the adhesive holding me together rn. please have this

[julienbakerstreet]

Trick or Treat! Happy Helloween! 👻

happy halloween!! 🦇 you get a sticker!

[sandwormb]

what do you think of the rathbone version of lestrade? He’s very different from the Granada adaptation and the books, and I’d like to hear your opinion on him!!

HELLO! Sorry I didn’t see this before… I’m so glad you asked because I do have opinions as a Number 1 Lestrade lover….

I have a hard time ranking which Lestrade I like more, because I love both Rathbone and Granada Lestrade for different reasons.

Granada Lestrade is *the* Lestrade for me. He’s the one I picture when reading the books, both in appearance and personality. However, that’s the case for most Granada depictions; they just get it right! He’s not entirely incompetent, and his follies don’t come from a lack of intelligence; rather, his own ego and self-assuredness lends itself to obtuse conclusions. It reinforces the idea that Sherlock’s own observational skills are not superpowers; rather, his power of deduction is a learned and practiced skill which is available to anyone who is willing to learn. And we do see Lestrade picking up and cultivating these skills later down the line!

I think this personification can also be applied to Rathbone Lestrade, though I feel it can come at the expense of Watson. A major issue I have with the Rathbone films is that Bruce Watson is played primarily to heighten the intelligence of other characters. Still, I do like Lestrade’s personality, and that his ego isn’t washed away.

THANK YOU FOR ASKING!!! Inspector G. Lestrade my utmost beloved 🫶

[ohwatson]

hello new mutual~ what’s your favourite sherlock adaptation? (or rank multiples if that’s easier) ^_^

hello, hello!

i've read several of the original conan doyle stories & love them because they're entertaining & set a precedent for hundreds of mystery/thriller stories that followed, but also because i get loads of glee from seeing how other adaptations either embrace the characters beautifully and faithfully or just lean into full-on character assassination, it's like a holmesian version of russian roulette.

ANYWAYS - bbc's adaptation has plagued my thoughts for years now & is not showing any signs of stopping, which is probably what makes it my favorite. i have many complex thoughts on the writing, the characterization and the media/fanbase reception (for as much as people like to shit on bbc's adaptation, it was one of the most popular shows of the 2010s for a reason & still consistently appears in television rankings, but i digress) and of course, the queerness of all of it. mostly i just adore the fact that the writers essentially made one big modern au fanfic out of stories that are over a century old. absolutely wild levels of hyperfixation, there. a fic writer's dream in terms of the plotholes and off-screen characterization during the later series, too. i will both criticize and defend it until the end of time, and it's one of my favorite tv shows in general, tbh.

as for the others, i've watched a few more adaptations (rdj, granada, elementary; never got too far into the latter, felt too "americanized", but i only watched about three episodes so perhaps i'll give it another shot). enola holmes was fun as well.

i'm working on getting around to sherlock & co., have had it recommended to me by several friends who've only said good things :)