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theartone · 6 years ago

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A Study In Miscommunication - Chapter 19

<<Chapter 1 <Chapter 18

----Sherlock's POV----

I walked forward, swiping the pill from in front of the cabbie. I fiddled with the bottle, weighing it, examining it.

"Oh," the cabbie raised his voice in mock surprise. But there was a tremor there. "Interesting." He hesitated before grabbing the bottle I'd left for him. He took the pill out and examined it. "So, whadda think?" He looked up at me; there was tightness around his mouth. "Shall we?"

----John's POV----

I was growing horse from all the shouting. There was something darker than dread in my chest. I'd chosen the wrong building or I was already too late. Surely Sherlock would have heard me by now. But I couldn't abandon the building until it was clear just in case Sherlock was injured and couldn't call for help. I didn't know what outcome I was hoping for, all three options were terrible. And the more doors I opened and the more shouts that were unanswered the more of a chance there was that Sherlock... That he... That... I jogged up a flight of stairs. No, no, I would arrive in time. I would, this time. I had to. The lights were on down this hallway and I picked up my pace.

----Sherlock's POV----

The cabbie stood and placed himself between me and the door. "Really, whadda think? Can you beat me? Are you clever enough? To bet your life?"

I was cleverer than him. There was something in the reflection of the glass on the doors behind the cabbie. Something moved in the building behind me. Someone was watching me. Watching us.

"I bet you get bored, don't ya?"

I watched for more movement but I didn't see any. Someone was over there, the fan, probably. How could I draw them out?

"I know you do. Man like you, so cleva."

Without taking my eyes off the door's glass I unscrewed the lid of the bottle.

"But, what's the point of being cleva if you can't prove it?"

It wasn't the fan in the other building if it was they wouldn't have just arrived. They'd have been there the entire time. It had to be Lestrade then, in the other building. I lifted the pill high above my head, holding it in the light, pretending to examine it in the off chance it was a janitor. The cabbie hadn't noticed that I wasn't even looking at him; he wouldn't notice that I was showing the pill to the person in the other building. This was something the witness would remember and would be more than enough evidence to put the cabbie away. I'd won.

"Still the addict."

Yes, I was, wasn't I?

I lowered the pill. But, not enough to put it back in the bottle. I hesitated, examining the pill for real. It looked enticing. Pure white with red splatters, like blood, all contained in a clear housing. Not completely transparent, just enough to see what was inside. But you couldn't really know what was inside, not without testing it.

"But this, this is what you're really addicted to, innit?"

The easiest test would be to take it. If I was right, and I was always right, the pill was harmless. Nothing would happen to me. The man across from me wasn't suicidal. He was in no hurry to take his pill. His hand shook as he brought it to his mouth.

"You're not bored now, are ya?"

No, I wasn't.

If I was wrong death would be quick. Mrs Hudson would rent the flat out to someone nice, someone who'd take care of things properly so she wouldn't have to be playing housekeeper all the time. Someone like John. John's limp was fixed. He'd be able to find a job, go off doing things that normal people did with their time. I wouldn't have to watch him grow tired of me. Hate me, like everyone else. Or get hurt because of me. He'd become a target of this mystery fan.

Everyone died eventually. Would it really be so-

----John's POV----

I opened another door and movement caught my attention. I ran into the room and saw the cabbie, facing me in the building across. Sherlock was there, facing away from me.

"SHERLOCK!" I shouted, as loud as I could to try and get his attention.

Sherlock didn't even flinch. He hadn't heard me. The cabbie had something in his hand and he was talking. I needed to stop him from talking. That's how Sherlock said he killed them, by talking to them. Sherlock now was holding something over his head, something small and white between his fingers. A pill. He was examining the pill the cabbie gave everyone.

"Shit!" I was too late. There was no way I'd be able to run over there and prevent it. I opened the window, only touching the wood where the paint was peeling, wondering if I could throw something across the gap but the window just tilted.

I took a deep breath, there had to be a way to save Sherlock. I just needed to think.

I needed to stop the cabbie. Remove the threat. I pulled my gun from my waistband.

Dad taught me target shooting back when pistols were legal, right-handed because shooting with your left caused the shell casing to cross your line of sight. Worked well in Afghanistan where the extra time to change hands to thumb off the safety and the magazine ejection time could cost you your life. "Line up the shot.” I pulled myself from my memories of the temper he had when he had to hand in his gun and ammunition. "Focus only on the target."

I squeezed the trigger.

Target down.

----Sherlock's POV----

The cabbie jerked but it was the sound that caused me to drop my pill.

Gunshot!

I stumbled in surprise before turning to look out the window.

Was I wrong? Was it the fan? No, this was dirty work. This was someone else. I slid over the desk to peer through the window, lining up the shot to see where it came from.

I could see the doors through the window but that was it, the little light the room had shown it was empty.

The cabbie gasped. He was still alive!

I walked over to him, picking up the pill on my way. "Was I right?" I asked, bending over and showing the cabbie the pill in my hand.

I needed to know because if I was the cabbie's killer was just after him, possibly for an unrelated reason. But, if I'd chosen the wrong pill, then they'd killed the cabbie to stay my hand if they worked for the fan. So many possibilities. Too soon to speculate.

He shook his head but he was smiling. He wasn't answering my question. There was a pool of blood below the cabbie, some staining his jacket and leaving a trail down his left arm.

"I was, wasn't I?" That was a kill shot. The cabbie was dying and he wasn't going to tell me if I got the right pill. "Did I get it right?!" I demanded but he didn't even look at me.

The shooter had come after. The shooter didn't know which pill I'd taken. I threw the pill violently away and stood. I didn't realize I'd knelt. I paced, thinking.

"Ok," he wasn't going to tell me anything about the pills. They were irrelevant anyway. "Tell me this: your sponsor, who was it?"

The cabbie's head lolled on the ground.

"The one who told you about me. My fan. I want a name."

"No," the cabbie rasped. It was obvious where his loyalties lied. He was still thinking about his kids and the money he stupidly thought they were getting.

"You're dying but there's still time to hurt you," I threatened. "Give. Me. A name."

The cabbie shook his head. He didn't believe me.

I wasn't going to let my best lead slip through my fingers. I was going to get a name and I was going to hunt this person down for the people they'd helped kill and to prevent other deaths. I stepped on the cabbie's wound. "A name!"

The cabbie gasped in pain but didn't talk.

"A name! Now!" I put more pressure on my foot. I would get my answers. "A NAME!"

"Moriarty!" The cabbie shouted in anguish.

I took my foot off the cabbie. He'd gone unconscious with pain as soon as he'd finished speaking, he'd be dead soon. Better than he deserved for killing all those people for money.

Moriarty.

----John's POV----

As soon as I saw the bullet hit the cabbie I ran. It wouldn't be good for anyone to see me. I know I hit the cabbie in the shoulder and I knew better than most that those wounds weren't always fatal. I didn't know exactly where I hit the man and I hoped I didn't kill him, it would be good for the families if the man had a trial and was sentenced. If I did kill him I wasn't going to feel bad about it. The families of his victims still got justice and I'd managed to save Sherlock. I wouldn't ever feel guilty about doing that.

I slipped out the back entrance and walked around. In the time it took me to walk the circuitous route the police arrived. When I'd finally gotten through on the mobile in the cab to DI Lestrade he'd told me to wait for backup. I approached him when I saw him and told him Sherlock was in one of the buildings. There was no point in pretending I'd just arrived, there was only the murderer's cabbie in sight. I was just a civilian, doing as he was told and waiting for backup.

Playing the concerned friend I asked around about Sherlock's well being. Sergeant Donovan was the most forthcoming.

The gun had burned my back slightly when I put it back in the waistband of my denims and I wanted to worry the skin but didn't dare to with all the police around.

The other officers set up a cordon and I watched from behind it as Sherlock left the building flanked by paramedics, an orange shock blanket over his shoulders.

Shit, had I traumatized Sherlock?

Sherlock spoke to the DI and I watched closely. Sherlock didn't seem traumatized. Our eyes met and held. I forced myself to look away although it was pointless to pretend I wasn't staring. He walked to me, sauntered really, waded up and threw the blanket into an open window of a police car as if it offended him.

I wanted to laugh with relief. Sherlock was just fine. I covered my chuckles, pretending to clear my throat. "Sergeant Donovan's just been explaining everything. Two pills." I had to look away from Sherlock; he was staring at me knowingly and making me nervous. "Dreadful business, isn't it? Dreadful."

"Good shot," Sherlock said quietly, but not quite enough for my liking.

"Yes, yes. Must have been." If he knew why hadn't he told the police? He obviously knew it was me. "Through that window."

"Well, you would know," Sherlock wouldn't stop staring.

Oh god, oh shit. Was he just questioning me before he turned me in? I was in so much trouble. I stared, willing him not to say anything.

"We need to get the powder burns out of your fingers. I don't suppose you'd serve time for this but let's avoid the court case."

Suddenly I felt choked up. I didn't know why Sherlock was protecting me, maybe because I'd protected him?

"Are you alright?" Sherlock asked.

"Yes, of course I'm alright." I wasn't getting weepy. I was just fine, thank you very much.

"Well, you have just killed a man."

"Yes," we'd already established that. He needed to stop saying it aloud. He was going to get me caught. We stared into each other's eyes and I realized he was genuinely concerned about me. It was touching. Sociopath my arse. "It's true, isn't it?" Sherlock didn't say anything to that so I added, "But, he wasn't a very nice man."

Sherlock agreed with me.

"And, frankly, a bloody awful cabbie," I joked.

That made Sherlock laugh. "That's true, he was a bad cabbie. You should have seen the route he took us to get here."

That made me laugh. I was relieved; he still wanted to share a flat with me. He wasn't upset that I had killed someone. He didn't seem to care. I begged him to stop, we were at a crime scene, it wasn't appropriate.

"You're the one who shot him. It wasn't me." Sherlock had managed to say that just as the sergeant walked by.

"Keep your voice down," I warned him quietly. "Sorry, it's just nerves, I think," I told her. She didn't seem to care.

"Sorry," Sherlock said too.

Once we were away from everyone I had to ask, "You were going to take that damn pill, weren't you?"

"Of course I wasn't." But Sherlock sounded defensive. I waited and he said, "Biding my time, knew you'd show up."

Liar. "No, you didn't." He didn't contradict me. "That's how you get your kicks, isn't it? You risk your life to prove you're clever."

"Why would I do that?" Sherlock was defensive.

"Because you're an idiot." He really was too. A brilliant, gorgeous idiot.

He held in a laugh and tried unsuccessfully to hold in a smile. "Dinner?"

----Sherlock's POV----

Lestrade's team found me standing over the body. It wasn't until the DI himself showed up that the idiots listened to reason. The hole in the window was more than enough proof that I hadn't killed the man. I convinced them to go look for the shooter but I knew it had been long enough that the shooter was probably long gone.

The forensics team arrived and started working. I oversaw them so they wouldn't ruin any evidence. Lestrade pulled me aside once I'd seen the bullet and took my statement. He'd learned to take it as soon as possible so I would actually give a statement. Usually, it was too tedious for me to bother and they had more than enough evidence to get a conviction without it. Sally was with him but was quiet for once. She seemed uncomfortable and when I relayed the information about how I was about to take the pill she got upset.

"Are you really that dumb?" She asked.

"What now, Sally? As soon as you find the pills you'll see-"

"How you almost got yourself killed?"

"I had a plan, I'd pretend to swallow, holding the pill in my mouth and-"

"Are you a complete idiot?!"

"Guys, stop it," Lestrade took control of the room. "Then what happened, Sherlock?"

I relayed everything I saw and Lestrade left. I went to make sure the idiots processing evidence hadn't mixed the two pills up. They had. After that an officer took me down to get checked out by the paramedics. She said it was on Lestrade's orders. I knew I had to obey or Lestrade wouldn't allow me onto crime scenes again. It was one of the rules for me helping. I was expected to cooperate with the paramedics too.

Tedious.

The paramedics took my blood pressure, my temperature and did other unnecessary tasks and finally left me alone when I said, "I watched a man get shot, I wasn't shot! Leave me be!" Although they did keep putting a hideous orange blanket over my shoulders. It wasn't all that cold.

Lestrade finally came to fetch me and I asked, "Why have I got this blanket?" I'd seen other people with them at crime scenes before but I was completely fine. "They keep putting this blanket on me," I appealed to Lestrade. I didn't want to wear the ugly thing.

"Yeah, it's for shock," Lestrade said.

"I'm not in shock." Surely he'd let me take it off. I was behaving.

"Yeah, but some of the guys want to take photographs," Lestrade said.

I rolled my eyes. I thought I was perfectly nice considering. Obviously, Lestrade wasn't going to let me get rid of the blanket so I asked the big question even though I already knew the answer, "So the shooter, no sign?" There would have been if his people had known how to listen properly. Or knew how to use their eyes. Idiots.

"Cleared off before we got here."

I managed to hold in a snort.

"But a guy like that," he meant the cabbie, "would have had enemies I suppose. One of them could have been following him but..." Lestrade shrugged. "We've got nothing to go on."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that." There was plenty if one bothered to think.

"Ok, gimme."

"The bullet they just dug out of the wall was from a handgun. Kill shot over that distance from that kind of a weapon that's a crack shot you're looking for. But not just a marksman, a fighter, his hands couldn't have shaken at all so clearly he's acclimatized to violence. He didn't fire until I was in immediate danger though so strong moral principle." That was everything that they had, that they could draw conclusions from but since they didn't even get that much I did the work for them. "You're looking for a man probably with a history of military service," I looked out over the people and saw John, standing at attention, "and nerves of steel..." Oh, really? Oh! Ohhh... Oh, god. That was... Suddenly my trousers were too tight.

"You know what? Ignore me," I said to Lestrade. "Ignore all of that it's just the, uh," my mind was filled once more with thoughts of John, preferably bending me over the table when we got home. Those thoughts were not helping me think and I forced the train of thought not focused on sex to the forefront. "Shock talking." Yes, that would do.

I needed to go home, now.

"Where are you going?" Lestrade asked.

"Home. I just need to talk about the," don't say lube situation, "rent." Good.

"I've still got questions for you."

"Oh, what now?! I'm in shock. Look, I've got a blanket!" I waved the disturbing piece of cloth for emphasis.

"Sherlock!"

"And I've just caught you a serial killer." Well, "More or less."

Finally, Lestrade caved. "Ok, we'll pull you in tomorrow. Off you go."

I wadded the horrid blanket up and threw it away before John could get the wrong idea.

He nervously babbled and I used my most attractive tone of voice to thank him. I'd thank him properly when we got home. But John was upset. I didn't know if it was about killing the cabbie so I asked. I needed to make sure he was ok. He wasn't upset about the murder. Was he thinking I was going to turn him in? That was ridiculous. We fell into an easy banter and I got to hear him giggle again.

John made it clear he was concerned about me and that's what was bothering him. Silly, really. I was completely fine. I'd show him later. But first, he needed proof. If I took him home now he'd fuss over me and not the way I wanted.

"Because you're an idiot," John said.

But he didn't say it in the way everyone else did. With scorn or derision. He said it the way couples said it to their other half.

Dinner. Yes, I'd eat with him, show him I was fine. Ply him with some wine and we'd fall into bed easily. Even if I hadn't trimmed my nails or done any real preparation. I don't think John would mind if we didn't do penetrative intercourse right away. Plus there'd be something to look forward to.

"Let's go down to Baker Street. I know a good Chinese place that stays open 'till two." Since John liked my deductions I decided to explain, "You can always tell a good Chinese by the bottom third of the door handle-"

John interrupted me.

Oh, bother. Mycroft.

----John's POV----

"Starving," I was too. It didn't hurt that I wanted to spend more time with him either. This time I wouldn't hit on him and maybe he'd feel comfortable enough to actually eat. I was tempted to force-feed him if he wasn't.

Sherlock started rambling about Chinese restaurants when the man who'd abducted me got out of a car.

"Sherlock." We were going to walk right past him. There was no way he wouldn't notice us. "That's him, that's the man I was talking to you about."

"I know exactly who that is." He didn't sound happy but he didn't sound worried.

"So, another case cracked. How very public spirited. But, that's never really your motivation, is it?" The man asked. It was clearly a rhetorical question.

"What are you doing here?"

So far they were both ignoring me.

"As ever, I'm concerned about you," the man said.

"Yes, I've been hearing about your concern."

"Always so aggressive, did it never occur to you that you and I belong on the same side?"

"Oddly enough, no." Sherlock seemed to be trying to antagonize the man.

"We have more in common than you'd like to believe. This petty feud between us is simply childish. People will suffer."

Was that a threat?

The man continued, "And you know how it always upset Mummy."

What?

"I upset her? Me?! It wasn't me that upset her, Mycroft!" Sherlock said angrily.

What?! "No, no. Wait. Mummy? Who's Mummy?" They couldn't actually be talking about-

"Mother. Our mother," Sherlock clarified.

What?!

"This is my brother, Mycroft." Sherlock didn't bother to introduce me. "Putting on weight again?"

"Losing it, in fact." Weight was obviously a sore spot for Mycroft.

I was agog. "He's your brother?"

"Of course he's my brother."

Right, because he couldn't be an ex. Not if Sherlock was asexual. Well, he could, but... "So he's not..." It felt silly to say my other theory aloud.

"Not what?" Sherlock prompted.

They weren't going to let this go. "I don't know, a criminal mastermind?" God, how humiliating.

"Close enough," Sherlock said.

"For goodness sake," Mycroft obviously thought I was an idiot. I was grateful to Sherlock for his support. "I occupy a minor position in the British government."

"He is the British government," Sherlock corrected. "When he's not too busy being the British secret service or the CIA on a freelance basis."

What had I gotten myself into?

"Good evening, Mycroft. Try not to start a war before I get home, you know what it does to the traffic," Sherlock said before walking away.

Clearly Mycroft wasn't a man to get on the wrong side of. I followed Sherlock but had to turn back and ask, "So, when you say you're concerned about him you actually are concerned?"

"Yes, of course."

"And it actually is a childish feud?" I had to make sure that Sherlock wasn't in danger; even if it was against powerful family members.

"He's always been so resentful. You can imagine the Christmas dinners."

"Yes," I could. The petty squabbling, the fights kept barely in control because neither wanted the blame if Mum cried. Then I realized this man would probably take too much from that and I hurriedly said, "No, god, no. I'd better..." Sherlock was waiting for me but since I wasn't going to get anywhere there it wouldn't hurt to try again with the assistant. "Hello again."

She looked up and there wasn't a spark of recognition in her eyes. "Hello," she said after a bit. She looked tolerant like speaking to me was something inconvenient and she had more important things to attend to. These probably related to the mobile in her hands.

"Yes, we met earlier on this evening." My delivery was just awful and I was stilted and awkward. I hadn't been like this since I was a teenager. I licked my lips, a seduction technique that usually worked well.

"Oh," she said making her voice high pitched. She was making a show of pretending to remember me.

Well, that was enough rejection for one evening."Ok." I glanced back at Mycroft; it would be good to show him he didn't intimidate me but at the same time I needed to be polite. "Good night."

"Good night, Doctor Watson."

I was already walking with Sherlock by the time Mycroft finished speaking. By all accounts, it should have been a disastrous evening. If I were anyone else it'd be the worst night of a lifetime. But the minor rejection (or any of the many others of the evening... or the murder) didn't affect my mood. I couldn't wait to get back to Baker Street. I had a feeling I was going to love it there.

----Sherlock's POV----

Mycroft and I bickered. He never properly explained what he was doing there but his presence explained some things to John. It was amusing that John thought he was a criminal mastermind and it really wasn't far from the truth. I explained it to John. Since Mycroft wasn't there except to intrude I left. John stayed behind to hit on Anthea but she turned him down. Really, if John weren't so remarkable he'd be just as annoying as the rest of them. He was as blind as them. I don't know why he bothered. Well, I'd just have to make my advances more obvious. Or... Maybe not. Maybe he actually was straight and I was wrong about him. Perhaps I should go to dinner and wait for him to make the first move. That'd be safer. I couldn't have him leaving over a misunderstanding.

"So, dim sum," John said when he caught up with me.

"Mm, I can always predict the fortune cookies," I joked.

"No, you can't."

"Almost can," I countered. He wasn't laughing so I took the opportunity to get the answer to one of my other questions. "You did get shot though."

"Sorry?"

"In Afghanistan," I clarified. "There was an actual wound."

"Oh, yeah. Shoulder," John said thus explaining why he didn't go back to being a trauma surgeon after the war.

"Shoulder, I thought so."

"No, you didn't."

Yes, I did. "The left one." There, proof.

"Lucky guess."

"I never guess."

"Yes, you do."

John knew me so well already. Not well enough but he'd see. He was quite a bit smarter than the normal people I worked with.

"What are you so happy about?" John asked.

You. But I couldn't say that. I didn't want to come off needy and overeager. I plucked one of the other thoughts out of my head and said, "Moriarty."

"What's Moriarty?" John asked.

"I have absolutely no idea."

John looked up at me and smiled and I couldn't help grinning back. If I was lucky I wouldn't be sleeping alone tonight. Even if we did retreat to separate bedrooms I wouldn't be alone anymore and really, what could be better than that? After all this time I'd finally made a friend. A true friend, not like Seb. Stop thinking about that. Focus on John. Wonderful, strong, smart, dangerous, John. Could he possibly get more perfect?

----John's POV----

Sherlock brought up my getting shot and I joked with him. God, the things his voice was doing to me!

Sherlock couldn't stop smiling and I thought it was because of me. Maybe, if he said it was I could make another move, a cautious one.

"What are you so happy about?" I asked.

"Moriarty," he answered almost immediately.

Oh, god. Was that a boyfriend? No, asexual. Remember that. "What's Moriarty?"

"I have absolutely no idea."

I had to be careful at dinner to respect his boundaries. I didn't want him throwing me out over a misunderstanding.

I could tell we were already friends. Even if it never came to anything more it wouldn't matter. I had finally found my place in London. I saw his head swing to me and I looked up at him. He was trying to hold in a smile so I grinned back at him. Could he possibly get any more perfect?

I hope you enjoyed the story. The next segments in the series takes other people's povs if you're interested. They are unfinished and abandoned.

A Study in Meetings>

#a study in miscommunication #asim #asip rewrite #asip fic #chapter 19 #final chapter #finished fic

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lesbianaang · 2 years ago

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anyone else ever think about how (if you include sherlock) there are 5 cabbie victims in asip, but in the unaired pilot, which was originally set to be part of a six episode run, there are 6 cabbie victims. such a strange detail to change in your rewrite, unless the jefferson hope murders are somehow connected to the overall story structure 🤔

#rewatched the gay pilot with friends this weekend and this detail is keeping me up at night #for an episode that is frequently word for word the same as the aired version this miniscule change is bananas #sherlock #tjlc #asip #sherlock meta

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imthepunchlord · 3 years ago

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All your fic ideas sound so good!!!!!!!

A Siege in Paris: Okay, the name sounds familiar, but who is Armand D’Argencourt? And why/how would he bring Paris into the dark ages? 😱

Bluebird of Happiness: I would love to see more of Duusu and Marinette together! I loved “A Declaration of Love.” Ooooh would this be a double Miraculous option? Like, Marinette has the Peacock, but Fu doesn’t know that, so he gives her another Miraculous too? Chaos ensues as she has to deal with two kwamis and 2 hero identities? That would be fun!

Chasing a Butterfly: Ahhhhh I want another Butterfly!Marinette fic too! I feel like this could be a good Lukanette one - Marinette could be more withdrawn and shy and Luka hears her song despite that and knows she is just a caterpillar waiting to be a beautiful butterfly. But then, as a hero, he is wary of the new butterfly heroine. So we could see your take on the kinda love square sans Adrien lol

Claws Sunk In: I’m surprised (but intrigued) with this one! It sounds like a set up for a Chlonette fic, but I thought I remembered you saying that you didn’t want to ship them because Chloe was Marinette’s bully. Would this be a different set up for that? Or is Chlonette a no-go here too? Maybe just platonic?

Copycat: I’m always down for more Felix action! I love the way you write him, but I can’t really read Grumpy Cat because I get too sad about the ending. 😭😅 So, I would love a Felix fic from you that doesn’t involve….well. The ending of Grumpy Cat. 😂

Dodged a Beetle: It seems I’m in the minority here, but this is probably my least favorite. Probably because I dislike Lila so much. I would also hate to see Marinette wrapped around Lila’s finger. But the premise is super interesting though! I never would have thought of it! You’re right that Lila has a lot of potential. I just more see it as potential for bad lol. 😂

Never Met Fu: (Can I also just say I love these plays on words?) Ooooh this one sounds like you could improve on Fu a lot! And it would give you the option of adding heroes to the team that Fu approves of and Ladybug doesn’t know about! Ladybug wouldn’t be the one ha ding out the Miraculouses!

Unbound: I need more deets on this one ASAP. Alternate universe opens up? Magic goes haywire? Body swapping? WHAT’S GOING ON?! 😂

The Gamble of Renard Leroux: Can it be??? An OC INSERT STORY?! I never thought I’d see the day! No one else seems to like to write OC insert stories! I’d love to see your take on it. Or would it be Felix coming in with the Fox? Or maybe Alya or even Lila?

Okay, I think I covered all your ideas lol. Thank you so much for sharing them! I’m already looking forward to….we’ll, basically all of them. 😂😂😂

ASiP: Armand D'Argencourt was Darkblade and was running for mayor. No Andre taking the position, its open to be claimed. And he's got some villainy vibes to him, and a familial history that he can continue as his ancestor (also known as Darkblade) used to rule Paris.

BoH: I am going to go with no as this is meant to be a Peafowl!Marinette centered idea. I don't even know if the Butterfly would be misused as we don't have the details and history of the Agrestes and how they get them. Only for sure is that Emilie is still around so no Gabriel trying to misuse it to revive her. They could misuse it for nefarious reasons, or maybe they don't have anything if they got the Peafowl first and that clued them in on the existence of miraculous. I'm hoping the ep Gabriel Agreste will give some answers, ideally...

CaB: eeeeh we'll see. I haven't decided on a pairing just yet. More focused on trying to figure out the story direction and what to do about lead heroes.

CSI: this is definitely not a Chlonette fic. This is more along the lines of Scarlet Lady au of Chleo at the start getting one of the two most powerful and Marinette's her partner.

Copycat: well its a good thing that this isn't a Grumpy Cat rewrite.

DaB: yeah it can be dicey depending on where it goes. Only thing I can reassure you is that Marinette's not going to be wrapped around Lila's finger. Though she will be regarded as a friend and that means she'll have a lot of tolerance for things that she shouldn't.

NMF: not going to go as your picturing. outside the ending, it's going to be more of a timeskip fic.

Unbound: when LB cleanses an akuma, she severs HM's connection with the victim, and purifies them, turning what's negative positive and turns them back to normal. When Cat does it, it just servers that connection and the victim still has that power and now no item or butterfly to cleanse and HM has no means to control them. They are an absolute wildcard.

TGoRL: ...ish. kinda but not really? Only thing for sure is that Marinette shall have a wily friend coming to her aide. Lila beware and readers, brace for some Alya salt.

#ask Punchie #ml fics #Punchie writes

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thetimemoves · 4 years ago

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fanfic tag game

I was tagged by @discordantwords , thank you!!

Ao3 Name: thetimemoves(WriteOut)

Fandoms: BBC Sherlock

Number of fics: 10

1. Fic you spent the most time on: This is a bit of a cheat, but Nothing More Deceptive, which is a post-Reichenbach gift fic for @discordantwords . My intent is to write a full-length fic on this (a sherlockkinkmeme prompt that asks ‘what if the old man in TEH is actually Sherlock). Since it’s taking me a lot longer than I expected (years), I wanted to put out a 221b ficlet for my friend, who has been enamored with this prompt from the start.

2. Fic you spent the least time on: I’ll say my 221 ficlet Is It Any Wonder, which is Sherlock’s POV of his reunion with John in TEH.

3. Longest Fic: Feel My Heart Banging Like a Gun My most recent fic and my first M-rated story (I included cocks and not as an insult!).

4. Shortest Fic: Not including my 221 ficlets (I’ve written four), Carpe Vinum, my Sally Donovan-POC/Centric story that I’m quite fond of.

5. Most hits: Abditory (which happens to be my first ever Sherlock fic, a 5 + 1 fic).

6. Most kudos: Abditory

7. Most comment threads: Forth They Went Together

8. Fave Fic you wrote: This is a hard one as each one of my fics means a lot to me. I’ll go with Abditory, just because it was the first fic I ever posted and I’m still in awe that I have written and posted stories. So surreal, but such fun!

9. Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: The First Law. This is a 221b ficlet of Mike Stamford’s POV in ASiP. I envision this as the first part of The Laws of Motion series, which is every series from Stamford’s POV. I have it outlined and the next story has been started. @totallysilvergirl ‘s enthusiasm for the 221b ficlet I posted has been a big motivation.

10. Share a bit of your WIP or share a story idea that you’re planning: I've spent the last couple of years working on a BBC update of the canon story The Reigate Squires. An excerpt:

Colin Hayter was leaning against a black Land Rover parked in the narrow street in front of the station. His head was down, focused on the phone in his hands, and he didn’t see John and Sherlock as they walked off the platform.

“Oi, Hayter you berk, what kind of welcome is this?” John quickened his pace and jogged across the road to where Colin stood.

Startled, Colin looked up and grinned when he saw John. He tucked his phone away and stood straighter. “Watson, you wee bastard! What were you expecting, a hero’s parade?”

John snorted. “What else?” He stumbled in his haste and laughed some more.

“Still as graceful as always, I see. Come here, give us a cuddle!”

John dropped his bag by the side of the car and reached for Colin. “My friend, it’s good to see you.”

“Too long, John. It’s been too long.”

“I know, it has been.”

The two men hugged tightly.

I’ll tag @educatedinyellow @vulgarweed @clevermanka @greenapricot @the-sign-of-tea @shinysherlock @bakerstmel @totallysilvergirl and anyone else who would like to do this. Consider yourself tagged!

#bbc sherlock #writing meme #my fic

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ebaeschnbliah · 5 years ago

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PAIRS … TWINS … DOUBLE OHs

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Twins? … It’s never twins! … But there's always two of us! Two of us against the rest of the world!

There is something about the number 2 in Sherlock BBC, which is impossible not to see after the course of thirteen episodes. And a lot has already been written about it by various people. ‘Two’ and several names which are also meant to express a number of ‘two’ - like double, couple, pair, twins - turn up time and again throughout the whole story.

A summary and some musings on the topic below the cut ...

The two beginnings

First of all, Sherlock BBC is a story with two starting episodes, which in itself isn’t unusual. And yet, if one takes a closer look, there are some things - just minor details - that seem to be a little bit strange after all. The two points of beginning are:

THE UNAIRED PILOT - a 60 min episode called ‘A study in pink’

A STUDY IN PINK - the 90 min official first episode of S1

An extension of 30 min naturally leads to differences, as does a change in directing. The unaired PILOT was directed by Mary Rose Helen Giedroyc, Lady Bowyer-Smyth, known as Coky Giedroyc. The BBC decided not to broadcast the episode because they wished to change the length to 90 minutes. The PILOT was released on the DVD of the first series, and it proved to be slightly different from the final 90 min version, directed by Paul McGuigan.

However … there are certain changes between PILOT and ASIP which seem … odd. Most of all though, some seem quite unnecessary.

Angelo went to prison for car-jacking in PILOT ... for house-breaking in ASIP.

Sherlock can identify (by looking at the hands) a retired plumber in PILOT … an airline pilot in ASIP. (plumber/water, pilot/air … an interesting change)

Northumberland Terrace in PILOT changes into Northumberland Street in ASIP.

The barking dog can be first heard at the end of PILOT and at the beginning of ASIP.

Sherlock and John meet at 221b for the first time on January 14th in PILOT … on January 29th in ASIP (according to John’s blog). The victim prior to the lady in pink dies on January 27th (stated on screen).

The visual appearance changes from natural, vivid colours in PILOT ... to pale and cold colours in ASIP. Especially Sherlock looks like a marble statue in some scenes.

The attraction between Sherlock and John is a much stronger one in PILOT than in ASIP. The PILOT episode isn’t called ‘gay pilot’ for nothing.

Virtually all the scenes from PILOT which have been taken over to ASIP are shot mirrored. The brilliant video Mirror Mirror Mirror by @kateis-cakeis shows this in detail.

If anyone is interested, @callie-ariane did a wonderful script comparison of PILOT and ASIP, side by side, on a download PDF here. This comparison reveals that the biggest parts that have been changed for ASIP are:

the addition of a fifth victim

a short description of the victims

the visual introduction of Mycroft

the (very early) intoduction of Jim Moriarty compared to canon

the transfer of the showdown between Sherlock and Jeff Hope, from the Baker Street 221b living room to the Roland-Kerr Further Education College

All of these are understandable decisions. Even the different visual appearance can be easily explained by the work of another director …. though regarding Sherlock BBC, an amendment like this would largely depend on the creators themselves, I guess.

What’s really odd though are all those little, seemingly unnecessary changes listed above. What makes the difference between car-jacking and house-breaking … between terrace and street … between plumber and pilot … between January 14th and 29th? And the mirrored shooting of almost all the reused scenes. Doesn’t this need a rewriting of all the shooting scripts in question? This seems to be a load of unnecessary extra work for an extension of 30 min .. Anyway, be it coincidence or purpose, there are a lot more ‘2s’ interwoven in this story.

Playing with contrasts happens regularly … red&blue, fire&water, burning&drowning, high above&deep down, no-one&anyone, big&small, consulting criminal&consulting detective ...

Playing with the meaning and double meaning of names and words is also quite common in Sherlock BBC … John/Hamish, sister/nun, brother/monk, beech/beach, rooster/cock, cock/penis, game/game, Underground/underground ...

A choice between two possibilities happens several times …. good bottle or bad bottle, saint or sinner, James or John, forwards or backwards ...

Two twin-houses

Roland-Kerr Further Education College is the place where Jeff Hope takes Sherlock for his ‘good bottle-bad bottle’ game near the end of ASIP. The Cardiff Univerity main-building had been used as film-set and for this scene the building was altered and mirrored to give the appearance of two identical buildings. (Cardiff University (x) (x) (x)

Twenty-three and twenty-four Leinster Gardens ... the empty houses ... appear in HLV. They are Sherlock’s property and Mary’s face is projected on them when Sherlock compaires her to a facade. Originally, there was only one ‘empty house’ in canon, situated opposite 221b Baker Street. Strangely, the place from which John shoots Hope in PILOT would conform to the empty house from canon. (Empty houses The impossible house)

Two high security facilities … with several levels below ground, are visited by Sherlock

Baskerville, the military compound where the fear inducing HOUND aerosol is created. Skulls and crossed bones are displayed on the danger signs.

Sherrinford, the special prison where Eurus, the sister turned into a ghost story, is locked up behind elephant glass. Two ‘pirates’ enter the island.

Two landladies rent a flat to a male couple

Mrs Hudson rents a flat to Sherlock and John and asks them if they will be needing two bedrooms.

Mrs Turner, next door, rents a flat to a married couple. Mrs Turner appears in ACDs story ‘Scandal in Bohemia’ as landlady of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson.

Two skulls reside in the 221b livingroom. The inflexible bone skull on the mantlepiece next to the statue of the ancient Chinese bowman and the changeable blue skull painting on the wall behind the sofa next to the equally changeable yellow smiley.

Two palaces with partly similar looking interior …. Buckingham Palace and Sherlock’s mind palace (x)

The secret code in TBB is written in ancient cyphers which always come in pairs. The numbers are references to specific pages of a book and to specific words on those pages.

Two neat plans and two rehearsals

The flight of the dead - code 007 Bond Air from ASIB & the similar project of the plane crash in Dusseldorf prior.

The attempted murder of Major Sholto - room number 207 from TSOT & the rehearsal of it involving Private Bainbridge prior.

Two '00′ (double oh) can be heard related to the ‘neat’ plans (x)

In ASIB the number ‘double oh seven’ uttered by Mycroft, refers to the plane he intends to use for the ‘flight of the dead’.

In TSOT the number on Sholto’s door reads 207 - ‘two oh seven' - Mary calls it.

Doppelganger bodies appear conveniently and seemingly out of nowhere to cover up the fake deaths of Sherlock, Irene and Emelia.

Janus Cars … is the car hire company; assiciated with Jim Moriarty, who helpes clients to fake their death. In ancient Rome Janus was the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, and endings. He usually is depicted with two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past.

And there is also the not very subtle sexual double meaning hiding in plain sight behind the name of this car hire company ... J-anus C-ars … which basically are two different names for roughly the same area. :)

Two explosions hit 221 Baker Street. The first one, in TGG, comes from the outside. The second one, in TFP, comes from the inside.

Two countdowns from 10 to 1 happen ere someone is in danger to die.

The first one happens in TGG related to the fake Vermeer painting and the kidnapped child who wears a vest full of explosives. It’s he fourth cold case Sherlock has to solve.

The second one happens in TFP when Sherlock aims a gun at himself. It’s the fourth task Eurus has set up for him in Sherrinford in which he should choose between Mycroft and John.

Two ‘falls’ from great heigth come to pass in two episodes:

In TRF Sherlock throws himself down from Bart’s roof - to save his friends - after Jim Moriarty shot himself in the head.

In TAB Sherlock throws himself down a waterfall - without being forced - and follows Jim Moriarty into the abyss, flying and smiling.

Two reddish balloons represent ‘quite the guy’ John Watson in two episodes - TEH and TST.

Two roosters/cocks appear in two episodes which also contain two serial killers with certain similarities. In ASIP the cock is linked to John Watson. In TLD the cock is linked to Culverton Smith. (x)

Felines and canines appear in two different versions. One is harmless, like cats and dogs. One is dangerous, like lion and monster hound. (x)

Two pet animals of two children are taken away by a family member. Sherlock misses his dog Redbeard. Kirsty misses her rabbit Bluebell. (x)

Redbeard and Yellowbeard are the names little Victor and little Sherlock invented for themselves when they played pirates.

Two occurrences define Sherlock’s personality - Carl Powers and Victor Trevor:

‘It’s where I began’ … that’s how Sherlock describes the Carl Powers case about a drowned boy and his missing shoes.

‘Every choice you ever made; every path you’ve ever taken – the man you are today ... is your memory of Eurus’ … that’s how Mycroft descirbes the Eurus case about a drowned boy and a missing dog.

Two serial killers appear, who deem themselves nice. They like to talk to their victims and have quite noticeable teeth. Jefferson Hope in ASIP & Culverton Smith in TLD.

Two stillborn children play a role …. Rachel Wilson, her first name turns out to be the password of the pink ladies pink phone and Mary Morstan, whose identity was stolen by the woman who later becomes John’ s wife.

AMO & AMMO ... two almost identical words for love and explosives

Codename ‘AMO’ … is used by two different characters. Legally by Lady Smallwood & illegally by Vivian Norbury.

Two times Rosamund Mary …. the same name for mother and daughter

Two times Charles

Carl Powers, from TGG, is the boy who had a fit in the water and drowned.

Charlie Welsborough, from TST, is the boy who had a fit in a car and burned.

Two times Faith … Culverton Smith’s daughter, mirror for John, is envisiond by Sherlock as two different persons. (x)

Two variations of the name James … Jim (short for James) Moriarty & John Hamish (Scotish for James) Watson.

Musgrave and Trevor … Reginald Musgrave and Victor Trevor are original characters who appear in two canon stories (Musgrave Ritual & Gloria Scott) which are the only ones linked to Sherlock’s time at university. TFP combines those stories and connects them to a trauma Sherlock might have experienced in his childhood..

Two problematic sisters

John and Sherlock, each ot the two men has a ‘problematic’ sister. John’s sister Harry is an alcoholic and Sherlock’s sister Eurus is locked up since childhood in a high security facility because she is a dangerous genius.

Eurus is revealed on screen only by the end of the (for now) penultimate episode. Harry has still no visual appearance at all.

There is hardly any contact between the siblings during the majority of the story. They ‘don’t get on’ with each other or are completely forgotten at all.

Harry is listed as potential pressure point for John by Magnussen, while Eurus is a potential pressure point for Sherlock, used by Mycroft.

Both sisters are called by male names

Both sisters are mistaken for brothers by Sherlock as well as John, when they are first mentioned in their presence.

These are enough similarities between those mysterious sisters to call it quite strange, I think. Mycroft’s advice for Sherlock comes to mind:

SHERLOCK: For one person to be in both groups ... could be a coincidence. MYCROFT: Oh, Sherlock. What do we say about coincidence? SHERLOCK: The universe is rarely so lazy.

As much as Harry and Eurus seem to have in common, there’s one big difference. While Eurus lives her lonely life mostly behind elephant glass, Harry had been married with Clara for some time. But three months before John and Sherlock meet, the women split up and got a divorce.

A Catherine hiding in plain sight

As @shylockgnomes pointed out in her post about the 'High incidence of Katherines’ in Sherlock BBC, the name Clara basically has the same meaning as Catherine … bright, clear, clean, pure. Clara seems to be a Catherine hiding in plain sight, one might say.

Catherine is of Greek origin and became later, in the early Christian era, associated with the Greek ‘katharos’ … meaning ‘pure’. Earlier derivations list as possible roots for Catherine the name of the goddess Hekate and the Greek name Hekaterine ... meaning ‘each of the two’.

And this is the point where especially one possible meaning behind the name Catherine ... ‘each of the two’ … becomes highly interesting for a story packed full of pairs, couples, double ohs and twins.

Each of the two - what might this mean?

Does it refer to two autonomous characters like Sherlock and John or does it refer to two different versions of one and the same character. What if we are dealing with two John’s in this story (alongside with two Sherlock’s)? Two of a kind for each of the two ... but not twins.

John Watson seems to be the character everything else circles around inside Sherlock’s mind palace. But there is a great difference between the John Watson of the PILOT and the one in ASIP. While PILOT-John seems to have not much problems to show his romantic interrest in Sherlock, the same character is much more restrained in ASIP. This attitude grows constantly over the course of the story, until it reaches an absolute low point in TLD. John claims again and again, in almost each episode, that he’s not gay. He downgrades Sherlock’s introduction of him from ‘friend’ to ‘colleague’. He tries to teach Sherlock the appropriate interaction with other people and the correct social behaviour … even when it is quite clear that Sherlock doesn’t like it. He jokes about some of Sherlock’s special characteristics with mutual friends and even tells him to ‘be not himself’ and demands that Sherlock should ‘hold himself to a higher standard’ because of the people who read the stories. And alongside those repeated verbal rebukes there’s also a constant increase of physical violence.

For more than a century the friendship and love between Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson is known to be among the most famous in literature. It hardly ever happens that the one appears without the other. Not one of the many adaptations I ever watched, depicts the ‘good doctor’ as someone who behaves like John Watson in Sherlock BBC. This John Watson becomes more and more out of character as the story runs along. Sometimes it’s almost as if this man isn’t THE John Watson at all.

‘When you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains must be the truth’ … that’s a main principle of Sherlock Holmes. If this John Watson is so very much OOC, perhaps this is so, because he isn’t THE John Watson?

Viewing all the characters on Sherlock’s mind stage as aspects, as certain opinions he has on various matters, and not as autonomous real-life people, it could be entirely possible that Sherlock tries to analyze his attitude towards a romantic/sexual relationship by creating different ‘editions’ of John Watson. The special attempt of a genius brain to fathom out his own feelings, desires and fears. If so, are there any indications in this story that more than one John Watson is present?

Two times John?

As mentioned in this post, there exists a scene in PILOT in which John appears twice in one single shot. It happens during the taxi ride to the crime scene of the pink lady, when Sherlock explains his first deductions about John to John. In one of the flashbacks John can be seen entering the lab while he is already inside, offering Sherlock his phone.

Recently I discovered that a similar shot exists in ASIP as well. It’s also in one of the flashbacks during the taxi ride to the crime scene of the pink lady, when Sherlock explains his first deductions about John to John. ‘Wounded in action, suntan – Afghanistan or Iraq’ … that’s the exact point when it happens. This time though the appearance of the ‘second John’ is rather colourful. One might even say … rainbowy. :)

Hope and Faith

The Lying Detecive is the (for now) penultimate episode of the story and very closely connected to A Study in Pink. Each of the two episodes is about a serial killer who deems himself 'verging on nice’, loves to talk to his victims and displays quite noticeable teeth.

Jeff Hope from ASIP has two bottles to offer, good pills and bad pills full of ‘chemistry’, from which Sherlock is expected to choose one.

Culverton Smith from TLD has a daughter called Faith. With her bad leg and the cane, she’s very obviously a mirror for John. The included flashback to John limping away from the pink lady’s crime scene and also the scene in which Faith’s gun gets thrown into the Thames (like John’s in PILOT), underpins the mirroring even more. Faith is displayed as two similar looking but entirely different persons.

As it turns out later, one of the two Faith’s is actually Eurus, Sherlock’s 'other one’, his sister who gets mistaken for a brother (like John’s sister Harry). Eurus represents Sherlock’s emotional side … especially with regards to his feelings for John … hence Faith’s display as John’s mirror with cane and limp.

TBB and the theory of two John’s

The Blind Banker has proven again and again that this episode is the user manual for Sherlock BBC. If there are indeed two different John’s - respectively Sherlock’s - put into this story, TBB should confirm this theory. Are there two John’s/Sherlock’s included in TBB? Yes, surprisinly, there are.

In this episode John as well as Sherlock are presented as double mirrors. Due to several random and minor incidents, General Shan mistakes John for Sherlock.

Debit card, name of S. Holmes.

A cheque for five thousand pounds made out in the name of Mr. Sherlock Holmes.

Tickets from the theatre, collected by you, name of Holmes.

We heard it from your own mouth. “I am Sherlock Holmes and I always work alone …”

And so, in General Shan’s view, John becomes Sherlock and Sarah - the ‘pretty doctor companion’ - turns into John. Basically, in every scene in which those three characters interact with each other, there are indeed two John’s and two Sherlock’s present ‘on stage’. It seems the theory that both main characters are represented in two slightly different versions is not that farfetched after all.

That’s not the John Watson I know

There’s this short dialogue from ASIP, the first official episode of Sherlock BBC, (it doesn’t show up in PILOT) ... could it be another piece of evidence that there’s more than one John Watson in this story. Is this a classical case of ‘we told you, but did you listen’?

Two Johns? Two differnt aspects represented by the same character? One positive, one negative? Like Jeff Hope’s good and bad bottles? And also two Sherlock’s?

The concept of an inflexible, unchangeable relationship between ‘eternal’ just-friends, the same as it has been for over a century. A version that will slowly kill Sherlock internally until he ends in the solitude of the Sussex Downs all alone with his bees? Again ...

And the other concept … a finally changed 'new’ friend, a different John, who falls in love with Sherlock Holmes at first sight and never leaves him again? And a Sherlock Holmes who gives in to the softer emotions and his neglected ‘transport’. A man who finally drops his facade to accept love, romance and sex in his life?

The detective and his doctor who, at long last, leave their crime scene and have dinner with each other (fulfill their desire) at a lovely Chinese (emotional) restaurant. :)))

More about pairs: Things coming in pairs Couples & Pairs Double oh 7 - Bond Air is go

I leave you to your own deductions. Thanks @callie-ariane for the scripts.

December, 2019

#pairs Twins double ohs #pairs #twins #double ohs #sign of two #couples #metaphorical reading #sherlock bbc #two concepts #two versions

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agrlsname · 4 years ago

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Fanfic Tag Game

Ao3 Name: agirlsname

Fandoms: BBC Sherlock. I recently came out of a massive writer’s block by writing the first 300 words of a Good Omens fic, but we’ll see if I ever finish and post it. Johnlock is all I read, anyway!

Number of fics: 26 (with number 27 currently awaiting beta!)

1. Fic you spent the most time on: This Is Your Song took me six months to draft and four months to edit and post. And that’s not counting the planning I did before I could start writing..

2. Fic you spent the least time on: All Hearts’ Day took me about fifteen minutes! Then perhaps another fifteen of editing.

3. Longest Fic: This Is Your Song (79k words)

4. Shortest Fic: All Hearts’ Day (400 words)

5. Most hits: What Friends Do is only 900 hits away from reaching 30k!!!

6. Most kudos: What Friends Do is way ahead of my other fics with over 2400 kudos.

7. Most comments: Undersea-Rainbows - that one was a ride, with one chapter each day for 26 days... so nice to have those regular commenters to talk to every day!

8. Fave Fic you wrote: Oh no, picking favourites among my children?! I guess I have to say Who I Really Am - there are several fics I’m incredibly proud of, but that one is in a league of its own, being the one fic I’ve actually wanted to create an original story from.

9. Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: Almost all ideas I currently have are sequels: Today I started on a sequel to The General Idea, and I want to write a sequel to The Sky is Full of Fiddles (on popular request) - I can imagine coming back to that universe again and again, actually. The fic currently awaiting beta could easily become a unilock series. And of course there’s the New Year’s Kiss series - I’ve planned the next instalment months ago and am just waiting for an opportunity to write it down.

10. Share a bit of your WIP or share a story idea that you’re planning: Here’s a bit of What I Really Want, which will be posted on July 25th as a celebration of the 10 year anniversary of ASiP:

They've been watching some movie – well, John was watching. Sherlock was scoffing and mocking John. He does that every time – has done for the ten years John has known him. But here's the thing: He always agrees to watch films with John anyway. John deduced years ago that Sherlock secretly loves their movie nights. The shouting is just a part of it.

Sometimes John gets this tight feeling in his lungs when Sherlock does that. When Sherlock is being so ridiculously, achingly, adorably Sherlock, John sometimes can't breathe through the affection he feels for that boy. Sometimes he doesn't dare glance at his best friend, too overwhelmed by Sherlock's imperious energy, sharp gaze and dark hair, all pulling John towards him like a gravity field.

Tagging EVERYONE who hasn’t done it, excluding no one!

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hudders-and-hiddles · 7 years ago

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De profundis

who knew that combining bbc sherlock and the sixth sense would be so brilliant? darcy, apparently. it’s strange how a retelling of asip can feel so incredibly new, but this rewrite is imbued with so much fun and dark humor and ingenuity that you’re still constantly on the edge of your seat wondering what’s going to happen. AND this one does such an incredible back-and-forth tiptoe along the question of is john dead or isn’t he, that every time you think you have it figured out, something else comes along to make you change your mind; it’ll keep you guessing all the way to the end. absolutely brilliant and just The Most Fun.

#darcy's birthday recs #fic rec

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fellshish · 7 years ago

Note

14, 19, 38 😍

14. Which scene would you rewrite, and how?

Ehm wow, so much to rewrite. They never should have scratched those cherry tomatoes from the pilot when they shot ASIP for example, lol. But to rewrite a scene at a crucial point… I’d have to say, in HLV, Christmas at the Holmeses. John tells Mary he’s about to forgive her, but they should watch whatever’s on the AGRA memory stick together. Mary gets all sweaty. They put it in a computer. It’s an illegal copy of Thor: Ragnarok. In walk Mycroft’s agents. They arrest Mary. Bam, Johnlock is go.

19. Favorite side ship?

This is a tossup between Mystrade an Lestrolly. Yes, sounds contradictory. Either way, Lestrade gets laid! Poor Gavin, he needs a break.

38. Favorite fandom meme/joke

That would have to be toothbrushlock, still, haha. A brilliant invention of yours, actually!

Thanks for the awesome questions!

#asks #my asks #johnlock ask game

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love-in-mind-palace · 7 years ago

Note

Hope it’s ok if I give you two numbers from the johnlock post. 1 and 14

1. Ideal first kiss for the boys?

Just answered this one haha. There can be only one ideal first kiss xD

14. Which scene would you rewrite, and how?

Oh man...I am not gonna open a can of worms.So totally avoiding the season that should not be named. But I sometimes wish that ASiP still had some of the excessive gay moments from the gay pilot. Like...”I’m his doctor”, John almost unhinging his jaw to eat a cherry tomato, Sherlock sitting opposite John and looking like he is ready to crawl the table and do things, John clearly asking Sherlock if he masturbates and the line “Whatever shakes your boat.” So a rewrite of the Angelo’s scene although it was pretty gay itself. And everything after..

I won’t touch the rest of s1 and s2. But no mater how much I love tarmac hell, I would not want it. I would change Sherlock killing someone to let Mary, who killed him, to be free from the hook. Mary would get what she deserves in my version. And there will be a happy ending for the boys. I know that means changing multiple scenes. But yeah.

Thanks for asking!

It’s on: Johnlock ask box game

#Anonymous #ask #ankita talks

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inevitably-johnlocked · 3 years ago

Note

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

#steph replies #chatting with nonnies #soft sherlock #thob meta #my thoughts #who is sherlock holmes

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swissmissficrecs · 7 years ago

Link

Word count: 32,036 Chapters: 7/7 Fandom: Sherlock (TV), The Sixth Sense (1999) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson Characters: Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Greg Lestrade, Mycroft Holmes, Mrs Hudson Additional Tags: Episode: s01e01 A Study in Pink, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Canon-Typical Violence, Mentions of Suicide, Irreverent Discussion of Death, Irreverent Discussion of Religion, Ghosts, Spooky stories, Character Death, Anyone and Everyone Could Be Dead, Dark Humor Summary:

Sherlock Holmes sees dead people. Which, although not necessarily ideal, has mostly turned out to be fine.

Or, it was, until one day he looks up, and sees John Watson.

======

Rec: Such an excellent story! This is an AU of ASIP in which Sherlock has the ability to see dead people. I don’t usually go for straight rewrites of episodes but this one drew me in and kept me eagerly clicking onward from start to finish. The Sixth Sense fandom tag is just for the basic premise, so if you’ve seen the movie, don’t expect that you know the ending because the author keeps the suspense drawn out expertly. Creepy yet charming, with some mild gore and discussion of suicide.

#darcylindbergh #20k+#casefic #pining #romance #angst #20k

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sherlockshite · 8 years ago

Text

“Touch the Glass” = Touch the Past

So I’ve been thinking about Sherrinford and the Glass (in Eurus’ cell), and TFP is not a tragedy, indeed despite of the many inconsistencies and plot holes. It ends in a happy note (pun intended), where we see Eurus and Sherlock making music together, harmoniously. They’re in sync, and produce beautiful music together.

[** This idea was worked out and is continuously being developed with @a-reocurring-dream, where we believe that Eurus signifies a LOT of things, and that the scenes at the end show us that this is a happy ending for Sherlock being able to reunite with Eurus. Dude, you give me so much inspiration. You’re my conductor of light, especially in these times, Chris! Thank you again. <3 <3 <3]

Why? One out of the many things which Eurus represents is the “past”. Sherlock’s past. This is why in the end, we see Sherlock reconciling with his past, and achieving unity with himself and his past/thoughts. The glass is the thing that separates Sherlock from his past. This is why we hear the guard say to Sherlock, “Keep your distance, stay at least three feet away”, and why Sherlock sees “Keep distance” signs all over the place, alerting him to stay away from his past.

This post is going to be quite long because of the dialogue and the photos, but please read through, I’m going to explain why we know that Sherlock has been hiding/running away/burying his past since we met him in ASiP.

In The Final Problem:

GUARD: Keep your distance; stay at least three feet away from the glass an’ all that.

...

SHERLOCK: Why? EURUS: You play, don’t you? SHERLOCK: How did you know? EURUS: How did I know? I taught you, don’t you remember? How can you not remember that? SHERLOCK: Eurus, I don’t remember you at all.

Sherlock knows only how to play the violin, but he doesn’t remember that Eurus (AKA his past) taught him how to play. Sherlock admits that he doesn’t remember Eurus AT ALL. This is because he intentionally had rewritten his memories, Sherlock was not even aware of that fact. He is completely alien to Eurus, as we see here.

EURUS: Interesting. Mycroft told me you’d rewritten your memories; he didn’t tell me you’d written me out completely. SHERLOCK: What do you mean, “rewritten”?

EURUS: Play for me.

SHERLOCK: I need to know how you got out of here.

EURUS: You know already. Look at me. Look and play.

EURUS: No, not Bach; you clearly don’t understand it. Play you.

SHERLOCK: Me?

EURUS: You.

Eurus wants Sherlock to revisit his past by doing the first thing, which is: “Play you”. Sherlock needs to know himself first, by playing from his heart first, and not pretending to be anyone or someone else whose composition he learned. He needs to bring out (play) his true SELF, not one whom he projects to be. You know, the one which he has kept hidden underneath his skin all this time.

EURUS: Did they tell you to keep three feet from the glass? SHERLOCK: Yes. EURUS: Be naughty. Step closer. SHERLOCK: Why? EURUS: Do it. Step closer. SHERLOCK: Tell me what you remember.

It was in Sherlock’s own mind (Sherrinford), where he put signals (keep away from glass) to remind him to never touch the glass. He made his own law, his own decree in his mind, and prohibited himself from touching the glass. Where we see, that Eurus wants Sherlock to “be naughty” and break the rules. For it is through touching the glass that Sherlock will be able to know what is hidden covered beneath those layers of knowledge (work, consulting detective), and self-projection (being a machine, having no heart, high-functioning sociopath) in his mind. Eurus commands Sherlock to “Do it”. Sherlock then responds with, “Tell me what you remember” which means that he acknowledges that Eurus KNOWS something he doesn’t, and it is vital knowledge, one he must know. We can also see that he acknowledges this fact in these scenes:

to continue:

EURUS: You, me, and Mycroft. Mycroft was quite clever. He could understand things if you went a bit slow but you ... you were my favourite. (Sherlock takes one small step forward then brings his feet together again.) SHERLOCK: Why was I your favourite? (Eurus also takes one step forward.) EURUS: ’Cause I could make you laugh. I loved it when you laughed. Once I made you laugh all night. I thought you were going to burst. (Sherlock smiles very slightly.) EURUS: I was so happy. (Sherlock takes another step forward.) EURUS: Then Mummy and Daddy had to stop me, of course. SHERLOCK: Why? EURUS (also taking another step forward): Well, turns out I got it wrong. Apparently, you were screaming

SHERLOCK: Why was I screaming? SHERLOCK (in a whisper): Redbeard. SHERLOCK: I remember Redbeard. EURUS (softly, stepping forward): Do you, now? SHERLOCK (also stepping forward): Tell me what I don’t know. EURUS: Touch the glass.

Notice how each time Sherlock takes a step forward, Eurus matches it with a step forward too. With each step, they become closer, thus, closing the gap between them. The glass is the border, the boundary, that keeps Sherlock away/separated from his past. Sherlock’s past was that horrible and ugly, for him to choose to contain it in a highly-secure, locked in a cell in his mind. All it takes is for Sherlock to probe and get closer with his past.

I’m now drawing your attention away from Eurus / Sherlock scene for a minute: Why, what’s wrong with Sherlock’s past? Well, we know it was bad enough for him to rewrite his memories and keep it locked in a shockproof, highly secured cell/location. Especially that we hear Culverton Smith state these lines in The Lying Detective:

FAITH: Well? What is the worst thing you could do?

SMITH: Tell them your darkest secret. Because if you tell them and they decide they’d rather not know, you can’t take it back. You can’t unsay it. Once you’ve opened your heart, you can’t close it again))

This, inside the cell, contains Sherlock’s darkest secret. This is why he keeps it locked away and hidden, even from himself.

We also see here that with each step Sherlock takes, new information is given by Eurus. Sherlock asks questions, and Eurus gives answers. Eurus knows about Sherlock’s past, she only demands that Sherlock coordinate with her.

The first (Sherlock’s step) was the question, “Why was I your favorite?”

Second (Eurus’ step), “Because I could make you laugh”

Third, (Sherlock’s step): His reaction: smiling slightly, but wanting to know more.

Fourth, (Eurus’ step): Eurus reveals that Sherlock was not laughing, but screaming

By this time, Sherlock asked, “Why was I screaming?” (clearly, still lost, and asking questions), he immediately remembers Redbeard. It should be considered that in this moment, Sherlock knows about Redbeard being the reason for his screaming. Therefore, something unfavorable and painful had happened to him in his past. Other than this, we later learn that it is something that Sherlock fears as well.

Eurus continues to step forward. (fifth step)

Sherlock steps forward (sixth step) “Tell me what I don’t know”.

In this dialogue, Sherlock takes one step closer each time he gives an exchange in his conversation with Eurus. It is repeated so many times by Eurus that Sherlock touch the glass and even senses fear in Sherlock (“Is that vibrato or is your hand shaking?”) Because it is through touching the glass that Sherlock WILL KNOW. That was Eurus’ answer to tell Sherlock about WHAT HE DOESN’T KNOW. She can’t go on answering everything without Sherlock touching the glass (confronting the past). Sherlock needs to reconnect/revisit his past to know the answers, to know “what he doesn’t know”..

Remember in A Study in Pink,

how Sherlock responded to John that he’s married to his work?

SHERLOCK: John, um ... I think you should know that I consider myself married to my work, and while I’m flattered by your interest, I’m really not looking for any ... JOHN: No.No, I’m not asking. No. JOHN: I’m just saying, it’s all fine. SHERLOCK: Good. Thank you.

“While I’m flattered by your interest” = Sherlock keeps his heart locked, and chooses rather to be married to his work. He shows that he cannot expose his heart, and his secrets.

and in The Six Thatchers,

Sherlock says that keeping himself preoccupied with work is the best antidote to sorrow. (Scene where Sherlock and Mrs. H are back in the flat after Mary “died”).

MRS HUDSON: We’ll have to rally round, I expect. Do our bit. Look after little Rosie. SHERLOCK: Just going to, um ... look through these things. There might be a case. MRS HUDSON: A case? MRS HUDSON: Oh. You’re not up to it, are you? SHERLOCK: Work is the best antidote to sorrow, Mrs Hudson.

Hence, we know that Sherlock IS MARRIED to his work, and keeps himself working around cases because it is the BEST ANTIDOTE TO SORROW. That is his belief, that’s how he lives by. In ASiP, where we are first introduced to John and Sherlock, it would be a point of question as an audience to know why Sherlock keeps himself busy around work all day. Especially that the first scene we see of Sherlock IS HIM literally working on a case.

and remember how many times it was stressed in the show that Sherlock tries to keep himself working alone, isolating himself? (At this point, I’m considering on writing a meta on this, but it will take time).

Going back to my point earlier. Why was TFP a happy ending?

Well, we get to see this in the end:

We see Sherlock and Eurus playing music together, communicating, and coordinating through music, where they achieved balance. In the end of TFP, something was resolved, and this allows Sherlock to mediate with his past. We learn here that work or burying secrets through work is not the best way to cope with sorrow;

Rather: it is through making peace with the past, no matter how painful, fearful, or traumatizing it is. IT is acceptance of the secrets buried in the past. The past contains Who We Really Are, and this ending shows that we should make peace with ourselves before bringing peace into the external world (familial relations (Holmes family), and romantic relations (John Watson)). It is through touching the glass, making harmony, and tuning in with the past. Note that touching the past does not require that one needs to step in that cell. Confronting with the past is not harmful if it is settled and dealt with well.

For it is through touching the glass and reaching out to Eurus that Sherlock will be able to reconcile with himself.

There is a reason why I selected those two photos above:

We are presented with an angle from Eurus’ side, and her reflection can be seen, yet Sherlock is the one being focused or is clear in these shots. This is very open to so many interpretations. I’d just want to point out that they literally showed us that Eurus is a reflection, a ghost, a pigment of something of relevance in Sherlock’s mind that he needs to be in accord with.

Now that this is settled, another problem is up to different interpretations again: There is no glass at all, just a border, between Sherlock and Eurus in that first meeting. One thing that I want to highly emphasize is that there is no glass because Eurus is Sherlock himself. He is directly staring at his own (which he feared and which caused him pain) secrets/past.

Additional note: This could also be the reason why the music Sherlock and Eurus plays at the end is entitled "Who You Really Are”. Because this is Sherlock, playing his true self, guided by his past, and not fearing it, because he knows what story it has to tell.

There are some meta written on broken window/glass and the past (I can’t find the ones I have read and are truly beautiful before, so if you find them, you may add them if you please), refer here:

x x x

Scripts courtesy of Ariane DeVere

Bonus for ARGers: Regarding (17/03/28) Sherlock’s tweet today and the past tweets by eugenim.

Tagging those who might be interested under the cut:

@tjlcisthenewsexy @worriesconstantly @inevitably-johnlocked @bakerstreetcrow @smoljohnlock @swimmingfeelsinajohnlockianpool @muser92 @221bloodnun @the-7-percent-solution @ladyruthless71 @sister-edgelord @jenna221b @waitedforgarridebs @teapotsubtext @kinklock @antisocial-otaku @teaandqueerbaiting @marcespot @love-in-mind-palace @johnhamish @holmesianscholar @teaandqueerbaiting

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wildwoodgoddess · 8 years ago

Text

The Problem Finale: Thoughts on Sherlock “The Final Problem”

This is probably going to get long, but I don’t really want to split it into two posts, so just brace yourselves.

I’m planning to cover the following:

1) What TFP Got Right (in my opinion) 2) What TFP Got Wrong (also imo) 3) About Johnlock 4) Some personal thoughts on #3 and the series as a whole

You won’t find wank or hate in this post. Quite the opposite. And I’m hoping it will be accessible and interesting regardless of your opinions on Item 3.

I’ll do my best to respond to any asks, but I am headed into a writing deadline of my own and need to switch my attention to that for the next several weeks, so I might be a little slow on replying. Please feel free to get in touch, though. Would love to hear from you.

So here we go…under the cut:

What TFP Got Right:

The entire show, as stated in ASiP, was aimed at showing Sherlock’s progression from a “great” man to a “good” one. In the context of the show, this meant becoming more socially aware and embracing emotions as good and healthy, allowing himself to love, to have a family.

And it did that. I thought it was key in TFP that Sherlock flat out insists that John remain during Mycroft’s explanation of Eurus because John IS FAMILY. Compare that to ASiP where Sherlock is barely willing to acknowledge Mycroft as his brother.

TFP makes it very clear that emotions, especially love (of all kinds) are the key to solving the final problem. Without understanding emotions, Sherlock wouldn’t have been able to avoid shooting Mycroft or John. It was his insight into Eurus’ own emotions that made him realize that threatening to shoot himself was the only way to get her to stop. And it was his own ability to show her compassion that allowed him to be able to save John.

That message is pretty hamfisted, in my opinion, especially in how Mycroft speaks, compared to how Sherlock reacts. But it’s there, and Sherlock’s ability to show Eurus compassion and grace is the culmination of that transformation.

I did like that they had Sherlock “rewrite” his memories of his childhood friend because he couldn’t deal with the murder.

And I really liked that the writers have said that these 4 series turned into a sort of origin story for how “our” Sherlock went from a cold-blooded faux-sociopath to a truly loving, caring human being that would be—if the show goes forward—more like the mature, good-hearted person in the ACD stories. I can get on board with that, and I think the 4 series did well with that progression.

Other small things I liked: Eurus giving Sherlock violin lessons, Mycroft being disguised as the old man (paralleled TEH where John thinks his elderly patient with the porn videos is Sherlock), Sherlock playing with Rosie at the end, the fact that Mycroft had such a weak stomach when it came to shooting someone himself, Mycroft trying to goad Sherlock into shooting him by insulting John, Sherlock spotting that immediately, and making Mycroft sit in the client chair.

What TFP Got Wrong:

Where do I begin? *sigh*

A lot of people are talking about plot holes and implausibility. And in spite of the larger-than-life nature of the show itself, I think a lot of stuff in this episode does strain credulity, basically, because Eurus is—as another article said—almost comic-book super villain. The rocky island prison was practically Azkaban, and her abilities were nearly magic. I believe that the writers definitely intended it to be taken as in-world fact, but it did seem to be a bit much.

I would have been able to accept it as plausible in this story world if Eurus had been a looming presence in some form over the course of all 4 series. The attempt to tie in Moriarty to her seemed a bit forced. Moriarty was set up from episode 1 as the arch-nemesis, and I felt all along that killing him at the end of series 2 didn’t make a lot of narrative sense. Eurus felt to me like an attempt to fill in that gap, but it would have been much more effective if there had clearly been a shadow presence even beyond Moriarty from the very start. The audience didn’t have any emotional connection to Eurus because she really only showed up for like 30 seconds at the end of TLD and then for TFP.

And the analysis I read (and reblogged) about Eurus being treated like a Victorian woman put into an asylum because she was too clever was very insightful. I really like SO much of Moffat’s style of storytelling, but it’s pretty hard to defend him against all the charges of misogyny when he keeps stepping in it over and over.

Because of the lack of build up to the Eurus reveal, the emotional arc of the episode felt rushed. Too much plot, not enough space for reactions. The fact that John was saved by being thrown a rope, and somehow the chain disappeared, and the immediate aftermath of that rescue wasn’t shown—not only were these plot holes, it was supposed to be the climax of the episode and it lacked strength and emotional resonance because it was rushed.

I am constantly telling my editing clients that they have to show the emotional response of their characters. It’s one of the most common writing mistakes that I encounter. And this episode made the exact same mistake—which is painfully ironic considering that the importance of emotions was the theme of the entire story.

But because the story needed so much flashback and exposition and plot, the emotional journey of the characters was glossed over, rushed. That’s another reason why it felt implausible. I strongly suspect that if the characters had been allowed enough space in the story to react, to respond to the plot, the plot itself would have felt more plausible, even if the plot holes remained. That’s how story works—if the story can show the characters’ emotions well enough, you will connect with them on that emotional level, and you won’t mind the plot holes so much. I think the story failed on that point because it chose to center plot over character.

That may have been the fault of the writers, or it may have been the fault of the director/editor. Just keep that in mind—an editor can change the entire tone of a story just by removing space between lines or choosing one shot instead of another.

I could probably nit-pick more, but I’ll stop there. I really wanted to like this episode, and I did to an extent, but I could have been completely transported by it, and I’m sad that I wasn’t.

About Johnlock:

I find myself in the truly wonderful position of having a lot of new followers in the past few weeks. And some of them don’t ship at all, others ship John and Sherlock, and others prefer other pairs. I love that I have such a variety—thank you to all of you for giving me a try.

With that in mind, I want to address the Johnlock people and then the not-Johnlock people.

First, Johnlock people and TJLC’ers:

You weren’t wrong. You weren’t seeing things that weren’t there. I thought some of the subtext analysis was a stretch, but not all. Not by a long shot.

I ended up joining Tumbler after TEH aired. It was the first episode I saw, and then I went back and watched all of S1 and S2. But what I saw in the flashback of the Fall made me think “are they putting John and Sherlock together romantically?” And that started me Googling, and that led me to Tumblr Sherlock meta, and here I am three years later.

I have repeatedly said that John and Sherlock’s relationship follows a classic romantic story arc. But I’ve also said that this formula can also be used for platonic friendships (The King’s Speech is my favorite example of that). It’s just not as common.

In this case, I think it was perfectly reasonable to suspect and predict that they’d get together. And I was disappointed from a story-telling standpoint because I think it would have made much more sense for them to go ahead with a romance.

First, they have explicitly demonstrated that neither John or Sherlock can have a romantic relationship with someone else because the two of them together just isn’t compatible with a trio. There won’t be anyone else for either of them.

Second, they’ve never given any good, compelling reason why they wouldn’t get together, other than John’s protestations that he isn’t gay (which, hello bisexuality) and Sherlock’s belief that he can’t have relationships because of The Work, which has been effectively destroyed.

Instead, we are being presented with the suggestion that Sherlock and John live forevermore together in domestic 221B, totally platonic bliss, raising their daughter together.

That would work, I suppose, if Sherlock was portrayed as completely asexual as just his natural orientation. But he’s not. He’s shown as someone who suppressed emotions for the sake of reason (and now, because of the trauma he experienced at the hand of Eurus). But he’s changed now, and the show has gone out of its way several times to point out that romance is a lack in Sherlock’s life. Whether or not John is right that romance would complete him is debatable. And maybe even after Sherlock’s inner transformation, he simply doesn’t have sexual or romantic desires. But that idea rests completely on speculation. It isn’t addressed one way or another in the show itself.

So keeping them from being a couple does seem to be an unnecessary contortion.

The only defense I can make of it is that I believe the show’s in-world truth is that John loved Mary in a flawed but real way. And TFP takes place not so very long after Mary was killed. John may not have been emotionally ready to begin a new romance, no matter how much he truly loves Sherlock.

But it’s a pretty weak defense, and it just seems to me that since they clearly aren’t going to do another trio by giving either of them another partner, there really isn’t any good story-telling reason to NOT do a romance. I’ll let others speculate about why they chose not to, but I think it was a poor creative choice.

However, they DO end up together and happy—even if it’s in a way that feels a bit like a story-telling cheat.

So for people who are sad, disappointed, angry, and feeling betrayed by this creative choice, please know that you weren’t totally imagining things.

I also want to encourage you, as others have already done, to channel those emotions into positive and productive energy. Create the stories you are asking for—whether books, film, or other media.

If you can’t create, then find ways to support people who can. And not just Sherlock fan creations. There are web series worth supporting on crowd-fund sites, there are authors who would appreciate if you spent a couple bucks on their books. If you don’t even have a couple dollars, at least offer encouragement. Offer to beta read. Volunteer as a personal assistant to an author or artist who needs some administrative help. Be the loudest megaphone to help promote these works so that others who can afford to fund will do so.

To Non-Johnlock people:

Be considerate. Please. I haven’t seen anyone on my dash being rude or mean or even gloating. That’s lovely. Keep it up. Understand and remember that a lot of people looked to the show to offer a positive reflection of themselves. A lot of people need to hear that not only are they ok, they are heroes. And if that is what you are longing to hear and have been getting hints of, to have that taken away is really hard. Have compassion.

Personal Thoughts:

Stories are important, stories are life changing. Even without John and Sherlock becoming a romantic couple, this show has changed my way of viewing stories. It’s made me more empathetic. Not so much because of the show itself, but because of the analysis and historical context I’ve gained from Johnlock people.

No matter who we would like to see together, we ALL need more empathy and to understand different perspectives.

And yet, at the same time, it is ONLY a story. It shouldn’t be your identity. It shouldn’t be what you live for. And it shouldn’t be something that ruins your relationships with other people—even ones on a blog site.

Live for something that you can create for yourself—your own life, your relationships, your career, your passion. Enjoy the creations of others, but don’t let that be your foundation. Create—and live—your own story.

Don’t put creators on pedestals. But don’t be mean to them either. They are fallible human beings, just like the rest of us. Believe me, I know. We have things we don’t understand. We have biases. We sometimes fail to communicate clearly. We can be assholes. I really don’t think that anyone involved with the show intended to hurt or disappoint anyone. Why would they? There’s no incentive in that. They may have screwed up or disappointed you, but they aren’t evil.

I just want to say a big thank you to the Sherlock fandom—you’ve inspired me, challenged me, and taught me so much. You’ve helped me see areas in my own writing that I need to grow in—as far as representation, getting out of my own comfort zone, being more aware of the impact that the way I tell my story can have on my readers.

And going forward, no matter what the Sherlock creators plan to do next, I can tell you what I’m going to do:

I’m going to do a better job at representation in my books. I’ve been wanting to, especially with LGBTQ+ characters, for some time, but I knew there was a lot I needed to learn and understand first because I really want to get it right and my upbringing and younger experiences didn’t prepare me at all for that. I’m getting there, and you all are helping so much with that, and I’m very grateful.

I’m going to keep learning, and I’m going to continue trying to find and then promote stories that offer the representation we all need to have. Marginalized people need to be represented. But I also need them to be represented, whether the diversity represents me or not. I need to have those stories normalized. I need it because I need to get rid of my own biases and misunderstandings. I need it because I need more empathy. I need a broader perspective.

This is what story is supposed to do—provide validation, challenge ideas, help people grow, inspire them, give them hope. Bring about greater justice and compassion and empathy.

Time will tell whether or not Sherlock accomplished any of this, or even meant to.

But I think we all can take away a few lessons from it that ought to be applied to real life as well as the fandom:

Compassion, not cleverness, matters in the end.

Love—in all its forms—is more important than being right.

Emotions, connection, relationships are life-saving, not a liability.

Forgiveness is healing.

Hugs and love to you all! I’ll be a bit quiet after this because of my writing project, but I’m not going away entirely, and I’m looking forward to where the conversation heads from here.

#bbc sherlock #meta #spoilers #tfprob #s4 #story structure #storytelling

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ebaeschnbliah · 6 years ago

Photo

KILLING THE BEST FRIEND

________________________________________________________________

After the events shown in Sherlock BBCs ‘The Final Problem’ it really looks like the connections between ‘the skull’, the ‘best friend’ and ‘sacrifying/killing the best friend’ are one of the most important components of the whole story. If not the most important at all. And on a metaphorical level it makes all the sense in the world too.

If you like, enjoy this idea under the cut …

Four cases, four characters, four different stories and each one circles round ‘the death of a best friend’.

a scientist (Frankland)

a detective (Sherlock)

a friend (anonym)

a sister (Eurus)

The Hounds of Baskerville

Little Henry witnesses how his father is murdered by Bob Frankland, his best friend. The scientist and Henry’s father are compared to Sherlock and John.

HENRY: Well, mates are mates, aren’t they? I mean, look at you and John.

For a subtext-reading I recommend @sagestreet ‘s ‘Follow the dog’ meta.

The Reichenbach Fall

JIM: Your friends will die if you don’t. SHERLOCK: John.

The showdown on Bart’s roof leaves two ‘dead’ men behind. Each of them forced the other one to commit suicide. And by doing this, Sherlock kills John’s best friend …. himself.

The Abominable Bride

EMELIA: Swiftly now. No Tears.

A ‘faithful sister’ asks an anonymous friend to kill her. This starts a war which divides ‘the world’ and lets loose invisible armies, raging furies, a monstrous regiment, a mysterieous cult ... subdued for a long time and not allowed to raise their voices.

The Final Problem

There are no dog bones in the well as expected. What emerges out of the water of the well is the skull of little Victor, who once had been Sherlock’s best friend.

In TFP the human skull in the hands of Sherlock’s best friend John, closes the circle backwards

to the skull on the mantlepiece in the living room of 221b Baker Street

to Sherlock, who introduces that skull as ‘friend of mine.’ and

to John’s question ‘So I’m basically filling in for your skull?’

The ‘skull’ and the ‘friend’ are merging into one another …. thereby connecting Victor, John and RedBeard. (More on that topic X)

And then, there is Eurus, the ‘other one’, the sister who supposedly put the skull/the friend in the well. Eurus, who wears a knitted cardigan very similar to John’s jumper. Another connection.

The ghost and the skull

a sister can be called a nun

a headless nun is a sister without a head, without a face, without a skull

Sherlock once had a case … code word ‘headless nun’

a headless nun can be a very effective ingredient of a ghost story

Sherlock accuses Mycroft … ‘You turned my sister into a ghost story:’

Sherrinford is the abode of ‘ghost sister’ Eurus

and in the well at Musgrave Hall lies a skull …

A headless ghost sister and a skull without a body. This still untold story seems to be all about some dramatic division in the past and because of that it almost screams for an end with a ‘reunion’ of skull and body. Of head and transport? Of intellect and emotions? Because ‘just a head’ - even the most cleverest one - isn’t able to exist on its own forever? And eventually the neglected ghost of a body, treated like transport, necessary but annoying, for far too long ….. awakens, begins to stir and demands to be heard.

In other words: .... a snowcaped mountain starts rumbling, becaus it actually is a volcano ….

“Sherlock Holmes, again, must have sexual impulses because human beings tend to -- most human beings, not absolutely all, but that's the majority. The fact is, he decides to put all that in an iron box to make his brain work better. Of course, the fact that that iron box bounces around and shakes and bangs from the inside is what makes the story interesting. He wants to rise above us like a snowcapped mountain, but he's actually a volcano, and that's where the story is. That's where the story is. You know, you shove Irene Adler in front of him, and he just falls apart like most men would.”

Steven Moffat on Sherlock (IGN interview, February 2014)

On a metaphorical level, what does Irene represent in this story? Sexuality. Irene is Mrs. Sex. I wrote about it in ‘Explosive ... it’s more me’. Jim Moriarty - Mr. Sex - represents Sherlock’s very own sex drive. Irene and Jim, both are gay and it looks very much like both are returning by the end of TFP.

Experimenting with metaphors

The metaphor creates the world - the time and place; the who, what, when, where and why. Metaphor literally means to "carry over," to substitute one thing for another. To describe one thing by means of another. To describe something that is unknown by the use of things that are known. (Metaphors in story writing and moviemaking)

Exploring the story told in Sherlock BBC has always fascinated me. And this fascination multiplied since the day I started to suspect that there’s maybe more to discover in it than the already highly interesting, coded subtext …. that even the surface level of that story might consist of carefully crafted metaphors used by the creators to paint a picture. The picture of Sherlock painting a picture inside of his own mind. A picture of himself.

SHERLOCK: Oh, hello again, Archie. What’s your theory? Get this right and there’s a headless nun in it for you. ARCHIE: The invisible man could do it. SHERLOCK: The who, the what, the why, the when, the where? (TSOT)

That this story isn’t only told from Sherlock’s POV but - for the first time in history - Sherlock Holmes himself has become the storyteller. And all the stories he creates and tells himself inside his head - on a mind stage - are presented through Sherlock’s own metaphors, acted out by different characters, clothed in varying costumes, hidden behind masks, some distorted, some made visble by mirrors.

The truth of the matter is that the underlying universal structures of great stories hide some amazing bits of wisdom concerning who we really are and who we were really meant to be, and what we can do to become fully realized human beings - but to keep these amazing hidden bits of truth potent and relevant, the metaphors that express them have to be constantly renewed and kept fresh - i.e. the underlying story and message stays the same but the costumes and other outer trappings have to keep changing with the times. (Metaphors in story writing and moviemaking)

Metaphors in storytelling have been used since humans are telling their stories. And inventing, creating or rewriting stories can also have a great healing effect that should not be underestimated.

In oral and written language, using the medium of picture imagery, metaphor speaks directly to our imaginative faculties, bypassing our rational brain. Such metaphoric byways and pathways enable us to explore the ideas, forces, and powers that lie behind or beyond our rational thought. Metaphors reach deep into our soul imagination and, simply stated, “touch our heart.” ... In Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s book The Little Prince we learn a simple secret from the fox: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; What is essential is invisible to the eye.” (Therapeutic Storytelling)

Basically, this is the advice that Ella Thopson, the changeable therapist, gives at the beginning of the story, in PILOT/ASIP: “.... and it will help so much to write about everything that’s happening to you.”

Metaphors of ‘change’

There exist some key metaphors to express change and inner transformations, that are present in the literature of all world cultures (X).

Transitioning from caterpillar to butterfly

Awakening from the dream of reality

Uncovering the veils of illusion

Moving from captivity to liberation

Purification by inner fire

Going from darkness to light

Moving from fragmentation into wholeness

Moving through life events as a journey or path

Returning to the source

Dying and being reborn

Unfolding the tree of our life

It seems that more than one of those examples can be discovered in Sherlock BBC.

The metaphorical killing of the ‘best friend’

As the saying goes: ‘Old skin has to be shed before the new one can come’. Before any significant change can happen, traditional opinions and views must be challenged, altered and overcome. In The Big Question I tried to work out the core problem Sherlock seems to be dealing with:

There is friendship and there is love, between Holmes and Watson. Ever has been … unchanged … for more than hundred years. I guess no one would deny that. But a loving friendship is not the same as a romantic and sexual relationship.

If the traditional relationship between Dr. John Watson, the ‘fixed point in a changing age’, the eternal ‘best friend’ of Sherlock Holmes should change into a romantic and sexuell relationship, it makes sense that on a metaphorical level:

first the facade needs to go

then the ‘best friend’ can be killed

to finally make way for the ‘lover’

And if this change comes to pass through Sherlock’s own investigations, deductions and conclusions, it makes also sense that it is Sherlock who sacrifices himself in his role as Mary/facade and then shoots John/best friend in his incarntion as Elsa/Eurus …. just as it happens at the end of TST and TLD.

Sherlock’s ‘I love you’ confession in front of a mirror, directed at a mirror, followed a little later by the statement of his former facade ‘I know you two; and if I’m gone, I know what you could become’ ... happens in the very next episode.

A fitting and promising developement of a story that deals with the reunion of intellect and emotion and the metamorphosis from ‘best friend’ to ‘lover’.

Nonetheless, S5 would be highly appreciated at this point. :)))

I leave you to your own deductions. Thanks @callie-ariane for the scripts.

January, 2019

@gosherlocked @raggedyblue @sarahthecoat @possiblyimbiassed @spenglernot @loveismyrevolution @sherlockshadow @sagestreet

#the skull #the friend #killing a friend #metaphorical reading #filling in for the skull #killing the best friend

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