#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)

[224bbaker]

So, hypothetically speaking, if someone had never been interested in Sherlock Holmes before but wanted to get into it because of Fawx & Stallion... Where should they start?

Oh my GOD, anon, so upset we didn't see this until now because what a great question and also, our show inspiring someone to go check out Sherlock Holmes?? Deeply upsetting for our characters but SO exciting for us!

Hopefully since you sent this you've just dived in to the stories--because, honestly, that's how both of our writers got into them as kids, and also because despite what roughly 40 contradicting scholars will try to tell you, the timeline is nonsense and Watson's continuity doesn't make sense (we have made our own peace with this and addressed it in-universe because we didn't want to go on deep-dives to decide what puns we were allowed to use for the place we're at in the timeline it's fine, we're fine).

However, just a quick sidebar before we jump into The Stories--if you would rather start with an adaptation than the original ACD stories themselves, there are two options we'd recommend as starting points that are pretty true to canon while remaining engaging in and of themselves:

The Granada TV series with Jeremy Brett and David Burke/Edward Hardwicke: It rules, and most of it's on YouTube! Highly recommend their Solitary Cyclist, Speckled Band, Scandal in Bohemia, and Blue Carbuncle (we may be biased towards the early, David-Burke-Watson entries). These actors and sets are what we picture when we read Holmes.

For an audio adaptation, the 1989 Bert Coules radio adaptation, which you can get for a single credit on Audible in full and has basically the whole canon! Incredible dramatization work that preserves the stories and really deepens the character work in a way that we're obsessed with. Big fans!

If you're liking the vibe of these, you'll probably like the stories themselves! In which case, there are also awesome online book clubs like Letters from Watson that have great communities here on Tumblr (just peruse the tag, it's super fun!), and also over on Discord.

SO. If you're still here and looking for our direction on the stories:

If you just want to start with what is/will be relevant to Fawx & Stallion, we recommend:

Our goal is that our audience doesn't NEED to have read any Sherlock Holmes to understand anything in F&S. We'll hopefully lay things out or give context clues. However, we do have little jokes for the fans, and in season 2, some subtext may be a bit clearer, or have a bit more weight, if you've read some of the stories.

A Study In Scarlet: I know, I know I know I know, Holmes fans, the Utah Mormon stuff, I get it, BUT. Holmes and Watson meet in this one, and it's incredible. The first few chapters of them meeting, starting to live together, going from roommates with a mutual fascination to, through Watson's unintentional insult of Holmes's writing and a fateful invitation to a crime scene, actual friends, are electric. It's a crime (pun intended) that we have so few dramatizations of this in the canon era (we're trying to fix that), we love it so so much. Sacrilege, but, wikipedia the stuff in the middle, enjoy the fantastic meet cute that bookends the thing.

Hound of the Baskervilles: Happening during the events of Fawx & Stallion season 1. I don't need to tell you this one is a banger, we all know this. Less Holmes content than you expect, but a GREAT setting, mood, and roster of suspects, and a thrilling, well-paced mystery with some great Watson.

The Final Problem: Occurs right before the events of season 2, and though you again don't need to have read it, some stuff might hit better if you have, particularly in the back half of the season. High recommend. On the same note, The Beryl Coronet is also mentioned a few times, which is the case right before this one.

Ok, with that out of the way, we highly recommend:

The "Jump Around To Whatever Short Story or Novel Sounds Cool" Approach

This is the move, in my opinion. As I've said before, the timelines are nonsense, you CAN try to get into the weeds of continuity as we have and there is delightful madness to that, but would I recommend it as an intro? No. They're short stories! They're serialized! Treat it like a TBS rerun series at 1 AM and just pick one that is on/sounds cool!

Now, if you want our PREFERENCE? There are different genres of Holmes mysteries, different types of mysteries for different preferences, but we're going to recommend one particular sub-genre of Holmes mysteries that we find particularly fun/unique: The "It's Not Necessarily A Crime Yet But the Vibes Are There" Mystery.

We love these. They're the best. Not depressing or gruesome off the bat, usually starting with some whimsy at Baker Street, these stories usually begin with a client coming to Holmes and the following interaction happens

CLIENT: Um, hi. Honestly it's pretty silly that i'm even here. It's probably just a Weird Thing, you probably don't-- HOLMES: No no no please tell me I love Weird Things. CLIENT: Ok. Well. My boss/guardian/brother/[insert-person-who-has-power-over-them] has been doing this Thing where he [insert extremely weird thing that again, is not a Crime, but the vibes are there]. It's kinda weird. HOLMES: Yeah, super fucking weird. CLIENT: I know! But it's not a crime, so I don't know, you're probably not interested, I'm just a [not rich not male not high class not privileged identity] so there's really no point in checking that out-- HOLMES: No girl (gn), we are DEFINITELY checking that shit out there's a crime in there somewhere and we're gonna find it!

And we're off! If this sounds interesting to you (and it SHOULD), check out: The Solitary Cyclist, The Red Headed League, The Copper Beeches, The Greek Interpreter, The Speckled Band, The Stockbroker's Clerk, The Musgrave Ritual, The Resident Patient, and honestly probably some others we're missing because it's REALLY common.

Other fun Holmes bangers:

Holmes overworks himself and Watson takes him to the country to rest, only to solve ANOTHER FUCKING MYSTERY: The Reigate Squires

The Christmas One!: The Blue Carbuncle

The Dancing Men: I don't have a fun little thing for this one it's just a banger and the Granada Adaptation rules!

The One Where Sherlock Holmes does NOT fall in love with Irene Adler but does get completely owned because 1) he thinks women don't get up early, and 2) he wanted to have a sleepover with Watson: A Scandal in Bohemia

There are a ton, and hopefully you'll find one that you like and just jump in!

[froody]

John Watson is so English he cannot be catholic or Europe will be thrown into another century long war

Shocking news. I’m not sure John Watson is English. Actually, I did not think of him as an Englishman in the same way I think of that being a part of Holmes. He’s not English. To me. Watson graduated from the University of Edinburgh. His army regiment was Northumberland, which is the northernmost county of England, bordering Scotland. This indicates Watson has spent a significant amount of time in Scotland, perhaps Scottish born and raised? If not, definitely a Northumbrian northern gal which is also amusing.

He is a self-incert for the author. That is something that cannot be disputed.

To understand Watson’s faith and nationality you must understand, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself was not English. Which is an incredible shocker because he had so much patriotism for England and he considered himself sooooo English. A Scottish born Englishman, he called himself. This man brought back Sherlock Holmes at the wishes of Queen Victoria. He played cricket. He was the Englishman.

WRONG! He was SCOTTISH by birth. And he spoke with a THICK Scottish accent his entire life. We have recordings of his voice and he NEVER STOPPED SOUNDING SCOTTISH. Born into an IRISH CATHOLIC family in Edinburgh Scotland, ACD lived in Edinburgh until he went to school at the age of 10 in 1868. He attended Catholic schools in England and then a Jesuit school in Austria. He came back to attend The University of Edinburgh in 1876. Then he was an army doctor, like Watson.

ACD’s slowly gave up on Catholicism as his life went on but he was, by all accounts, a dedicated Catholic as a young man. Mr. Englishman himself, born in Scotland, an Irish Catholic by culture. I can only assume, due to textual evidence and because Watson is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Watson is a Scottish born Irish Catholic too.

(Side note, Watson is Irish in the new Russian Sherlock Holmes series from 2013. This isn’t really expanded upon but he just is. And I respect that.)

[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?

[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

[clearwingedmaven]

It seems like y'all have a propensity to tie polls on my Tumblr.

So... for the first blog, "Gee Clear, why DO you like The Dancing Men so much?"

The answer is two fold.

On every technicality, it was my first Sherlock Holmes story. But not in the way you think.

When I was in high school, I took an Honors Forensic Science class. We learned quite a lot of everything, from Lecoq to the very first autopsy(Caesar!), to toxicology, and: The Dancing Men cipher.

This was one of the things we'd do, while we worked on learning forensics in class, and on Fridays, there was a time where we learned how to write and decode the Dancing Men cipher, while we watched Forensic Files, or worked to solve one of our final projects: solve the dead body's murder in our classroom. (Mannequin! Not actually a dead body.)

So, already, I associate the story with intensely happy teenage memories.

When I did find the story, through both the book, and Granada Sherlock Holmes, it also provided both an intense fascination into both Human tragedy, and the complex state of Victorian horror.

This is the second story where Holmes failed, in the sense that his client died before he could help. The way his despair is described is intricate and vivid, and it hits home just how much despite his insistence that he is a machine, a man without a heart:

He is not. He has one. And it bleeds openly on the page, for he failed, and his client died.

Again.

And it makes for an exquisite tragedy for all involved, especially with the added despair of Elsie, in her grief, turning the gun on herself.

For horror? There is horror here. I suppose it comes in the form of dramatic irony, that while reading through the story, knowing the cipher and knowing what it means, makes the story not of what will happen, but knowing there is an inevitability of what will happen.

That failure is quite literally written into the story. And something like that, to both a younger, teenage Clear, and an adult Clear now, is chilling.

Of course, the Granada episode is also a lovely adaptation that also drives home the Victorian horror. The scenes of Hilton Cubitt having nightmares from the Dancing Men, Elsie's turmoil, and the final, deadly confrontation, to even Holmes’s eagerness at solving the Cipher are beautifully played out.

So that is why I adore 'The Adventure of the Dancing Men,' laid out in full.

[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

[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 🫶