#baritsu

[abybweisse]

Is ciel wearing Burberry during the murder arc?

Does our earl wear brands like Burberry?

Burberry was established in Basingstoke in 1856 (but has its HQ in London), so it was definitely around... even when Grandma P was watchdog. I find it interesting Burberry was established there because I once looked at Basingstoke as a potential area for Phantomhive Manor and its surrounding estate. Even tried to figure out whether St. Michael's Church in Basingstoke could be the reference for the parish church where Vincent and Rachel marry... and where Vicar Rathbone worked as reeve for Vincent -- because Rathbone even mentions St. Michael's Day -- but it doesn't seem to be. I still haven't definitively found the Phantomhive estate on a map of England, but the North Downs area is still promising....

I've also looked at Burberry for being the reference for Grelle's red trench coat, which I think might actually be true. (I think Abberline might be wearing an Aquascutum 🧥.)

You bring up a valid question, here. Is this:

This?

And I do believe the answer is YES. Yana-san has dressed the bunch in it, including Arthur:

And a lot of websites try to pass off similar designs, like these with extra red lines:

But true Burberry has those single red lines, like our earl and the others have donned.

Yana-san is lucky to not get sued for it, since... as I mentioned in the linked post above, Burberry also has licensing in Asia, so the brand might be looking for knockoffs or other trademark infringements there. In the west, Target (among other stores) has been sued over the years by copying the signature check pattern, sometimes even with the single red line. Target is lucky that the lawsuit was dropped after talks. Idk why it was dropped, honestly. 🤔

Anyway. Yeah.

Of course, in the Kuroverse, it might be that Nina Hopkins has made all sleuthing outfits worn by our earl and anyone else in his household. No telling where she claims to buy the fabrics she uses. 😆

But many fans recognize that iconic check.

Bonus: I searched my blog for "Basingstoke", hoping to find something about my old search for the Phantomhive estate, and lo and behold, the only post that came up was from the murders arc. But it's about Bartitsu... and Arthur accidentally calling it Baritsu. Someone says it's time to go to Basingstoke Bartitsu Irregulars. It's real. 😳😂

Now I'm back to wanting to figure out where the estate must be located.... 😭

[a-victorian-girl]

Oh wow!! Thank you for this reblog, @devoursjohnlock !!

So, in A Scandal in Belgravia, we see this poster on Sherlock's bedroom wall, with Chinese (?) writing? Is there anyone in the fandom who can read it or already has and can tell us what the poster is about? (This is the scene after Irene drugs Sherlock). Please, anyone? Does anyone maybe know a Chinese speaking fan who could take a look?

@helloliriels @fluffbyday-smutbynight @devoursjohnlock @garkgatiss @a-victorian-girl

[seekers-who-are-lovers]

“That’s elementary, my dear Aleister.” SH EP 8, The Banquet

That iconic quote. The famous London detective Sherlock Holmes attacks the master occultist Aleister Crowley by showing off his talent for baritsu. The series peruse Sir ACD’s Sherlock Holmes/John Watson lore and so if you are a fan of this duo, you can’t help feeling enamoured by it all.

(Dedicated to Andy and D @clouds-of-peach @thatmysterywriter )

[shadow-schemer]

me, at game devs: a sherlock holmes soulsborne game sounds funny i promise. you can force everyone to read to progress the plot!

[nommedtail]

this person on youtube seems to be consistently subbing the Fujimara Ritsuka Doesn’t Get It shorts. It’s soft subs so enable the CC!

[katsutacle]

Why Iori doesn't want to fight Moriarty (x2)?

Peepaw will break his back probably....

Also math probably doesn't count as a fighting method in his eyes? 🤔

[theoutcastrogue]

"The knife is a weapon of the Other"

"The emerging martial art of Bartitsu, appearing in middle-class magazines during the Boer War, was the encapsulation of British civilian gallantry. Yet Bartitsu would have slid into obscurity had it not been for its curious appearance in the Sherlock Holmes canon. The final showdown of the ‘duel’ between Holmes and Moriarty is a wrestling match between two Victorian masterminds. When Holmes returns to London he tells Watson that he and Moriarty went to battle at the Reichenbach Falls unarmed. Holmes managed to ‘slip through’ Moriarty’s grip as he possessed ‘some knowledge’ of ‘baritsu, or the Japanese system of wrestling’, adding that the art had on occasion been useful to him.

Founded in the 1890s by an Anglo-Scottish engineer, Edward William Barton-Wright (1860–1951), Bartitsu was a synthesis of British boxing, French la savate (kickboxing) and Japanese jujitsu. Barton-Wright tapped into the need for a bourgeois form of self-defence, something which he could promote as being British and yet was also exotic and refined.

The principal aim of Bartitsu’s promoters was ‘to provide a means whereby the higher classes of society may protect themselves from the attacks of hooligans and their like all over the world’. These urban gangs were a new form of folk devil, descendants of the mid-Victorian-era garotter. While they were armed with clubs, knuckles, iron bars and leather belts, it is doubtful that they carried firearms. Nevertheless, the press did represent the hooligan as a threatening presence.

Perhaps the scares promoted the growth of a burgeoning culture of ‘British’ self-defence which avoided the aggressive and increasingly unmanly action of using a firearm against a ruffianly lower-class opponent equipped only with basic weapons.

Barton-Wright follows a literary tradition when he presents his martial art as a British form of self-defence. Pierce Egan’s well-known self-defence manual was supplemented with a word on the ‘Englishness’ of physical heroism, arguing that ‘Englishmen need no other weapons in personal contests than those which nature has so amply supplied them with’. In 1910 the former lightweight boxing champion Andrew J. Newton said in his manual Boxing that ‘the native of Southern Europe flies to his knife’, whereas the ‘Britisher […] is handy with his fists in an emergency’. Elsewhere it was maintained that the ‘Italian, Greek, Portuguese, or South American’ ‘give preference to the knife’ while the Englishman extols boxing. For Barton-Wright, British boxers ‘scorn taking advantages of another man when he is down’, while a foreigner might ‘use a chair, or a beer bottle, or a knife’ or, ‘when a weapon is available’, he might employ ‘underhanded means’. The views of these articles reappear in a later self-defence manual of 1914, where it is argued that Britons ‘live in a country where knife and revolver are not much in evidence’. This statement about the low number of firearms and edged weapons can be read as an attempt to extol British virtues and is not necessarily representative of reality. The knife is a weapon of the Other. Barton-Wright’s view that English practitioners of Bartitsu are principled men is reflected in the Sherlock Holmes canon, where Holmes never uses a knife, although his enemies, whether foreign or British, do so at times."

— Emelyne Godfrey, Masculinity, Crime and Self-Defence in Victorian Literature (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) (very abridged)

[fizzingwizard]

I was genuinely looking forward to Lupin vs Holmes in part 6, but what a disappointment it was. Actually, disappointment is too weak a word. In my opinion, it was pretty much a disaster.

There were so many reasons to be hyped for that crossover. You've got Holmes, the greatest detective of his time, and Lupin, the greatest thief of his. They're both canny, eccentric, and always a step ahead of everyone else. They're also both independent and live by their own set of morals. Holmes picks which cases he'll take without concern for money, and lets people go even if they're guilty if his own convictions say they don't deserve punishment. Lupin always does what he wants, doesn't let himself get pushed around, and enjoys wreaking havoc among inhumane criminals just as much as he enjoys flouting the law.

They're even perfectly matched in the ways they're different. I was open to them either liking or disliking each other (though I feel convinced they'd definitely have respect for each other), because I can see either take making sense. Holmes is calculations with a pinch of chaos, Lupin is chaos with a measured dash of calculation. Holmes eschews relationships aside from a very few - Lupin enjoys social interaction (but prioritizes just a few). Holmes is functionally asexual. Lupin is never not horny.

Even the supporting cast was so promising! To tell the truth, from watching previous seasons I didn't really think the rest of the Lupin gang or Watson would have much to do. But I hoped they would because there was so much potential.

I mean Jigen and Watson are both war veterans in their own way. It's not the best comparison (Watson was a doctor, and got shot almost immediately... but he is also a "man of action" and does have a lot of fight and pluck, even if he's not going to be a match for Jigen in terms of marksmanship). And they're the right hand men of two pretty difficult geniuses... couldn't they spend a moment commiserating lmao.

It could have been awesome to see Fujiko interact with Holmes because her usual tricks wouldn't work on him. I admit it isn't unlikely the show would have been like "Ahh, but this time they do work on him, just like Irene Adler!" and totally ignored that book!Irene impressed Holmes with her wiliness and not her sexiness... But I'm talking about my fantasy here. And in my fantasy, Holmes would have had a similar reaction to Fujiko's manipulation and acting skills similar to how he did with Irene. It would have been pretty cool to see Fujiko interact with a man who was NOT into her, but was just as smart and brave and perhaps wiser than Lupin.

Even Goemon would have had something to do. He could have had a super cool kenjutsu vs baritsu ("what even is that?") battle with Holmes. Extra points if Goemon walks away saying "I respect the skill of that fellow warrior, even if he can't spell his own martial art correctly."

And of course Lestrade and Zenigata's shenanigans at Scotland Yard are a nobrainer. But serious bonus points if they both pine away with equal envy and admiration for their respective smart ass thorns in the side hahahahahahaha.

I mean. There was SO MUCH there. How, HOW do you mess that up???

(Answer: By knowing absolutely nothing about Sherlock Holmes to begin with and basing everything on your memories of inaccurate movies from fifty years ago x'D)

So instead we got: perpetually sad, somber Sherlock Holmes, who isn't working the job that he literally loves anymore in favor of looking miserable a lot and raising a child. And the child is Watson's kid, who Watson can't raise because he's fucking DEAD, and mom can't raise because SHE'S dead (just say Holmes is her mom. Come on. We're in the future. Just say it). Also Watson is dead because Lestrade killed him like WHAT. Of all the twists they could have gone one, they definitely surprised me with that one. Was it a fun surprise though? ... No, no it wasn't.

Add to that the extremely dull characterizations of everyone, the heavy reliance on the danger to a little girl who isn't even a canonical character but is very cute, and the slow, slow pace of the episodes... What a mess. It was memorable, sure, but for the wrong reasons.

Like the only thing I can think of that I didn't hate about the whole arc was Lily taking her first steps as Holmes's assistant at the very end. Fine, that's adorable, and makes me feel ever so slightly better about Watson being dead. And I'm desperate for something to like here so let's go with it.

("It's not really Sherlock Holmes anyway because of the generational difference, it's his great grandson who has his exact same name and job! Same with Watson and Lestrade and sexy Mrs Hudson and and and-" I'm gonna stop you right there we all know it's Holmes. Whatever excuses they make, no matter how they have to bend time and physics to make it happen, it is Holmes Prime in every way that matters lol.)

A melancholy sigh for the Coolest Crossover Ever That Wasn't. As a Lupin fan and a Sherlock Holmes fan, I'll regret it till the day I die.

[divinecomedyproductions]

Unpopular RWBY Opinion: Watts should have had a mega corporation and been the corruption behind Atlas instead of Jacques and the SDC who should have been underdogs.

Now I’m incorporating this into my reimagined AU and this is more about what I believe another story could have been told with the world of rwby, it’s concepts and what they could have been instead, so take this with any kind of seasoning you like.

And anyone looking for AUs that work on making Jacques a bastard, RWBY: Remnants and RWBY: Evermorrow, probably FRWBY, and plenty of other people getting that down, so the concept will survive my non-contribution.

Looking in retrospect with The Schnee family and Atlas and what we know about Watts. I think Watts should have had the corrupt corporation with unethical Faunus labor that has influence in Atlas and The Schnees and the SDC should have been among the smaller underdog companies being crushed by them.

Just looking back at the criticisms of the Schnee's and how Nicholas kinda dug the SDC's grave way before Jacques did when he wrote a deal that basically bled Vaccou dry, and once again Watts' contribution to Atlas, it had me thinking about this.

Imagine if Watts had his own megacorporation lets say for this case, GigaWatts Industries, which used slave labor in its factories, he got his way and was elevated to the mastermind of Atlas with countless of companies and even Atlas Military hiring him for tech(like OCP from Robocop) crushing smaller companies such as SDC by providing alternative Dust Mining, notably to spite Jacques who he has a bitter history with. And the SDC and The Schnee's are one of the few companies who give Faunus honest work.

Basically my idea is Jacque's late wife Willow was a scientist who worked with Arthur and Pietro and let's just say Arthur was miffed a "fellow genius" chose a "clown of a businessman and former huntsman" over him to produce "successful prodigy" with, one thing leads to another and Willow is killed by Anti-Faunus milita who GWI provides tech to. Jacques becomes cold and bitter and is certain Watts had something to do with it, but still good intentioned for his children and company. And now both Arthur and Jacques are at each other's throats, giving the SDC and White Fang a common foe, and keep in mind, this also involves Adam Taurus being a former slave to one of the GWI factories and is an initial-antagonist-turned-good.

In a Weiss-Centered arc. Involving a cool gun/sword/baritsu fight between Jacques and Watts and later Weiss and Watts.

It's not much, but just a though that's been cooking in my brain for a while. I could go on, but I'd just be rambling away.

[lephamquynhnhu]

Millennial Aegis

Chapter 4

Jing Yuan x Fem! reader

WARNINGS/ TAGS: Arranged marriage, the reader has a default name, OOC, MINORS DO NOT INTERACT. (This is a work of fanfiction, events are not aligned or relevant to the original work)

Word count: ~2300

Summary: He is so stubborn to give up on you, and you are too hard-headed to reciprocate his affection. When do you both stop torturing each other?

Not long after, you were recruited as his Strategic advisor and responsible for internal affairs. At first, you thought there would be disputes and inefficiency when working with Lord Jing Yuan, but the fact reverses. You and the general surprisingly harmonized in working together. Hence, the next fifty years of marriage continue to flow smoothly. 

When you start thinking this is what happens for the rest of your life, the wheel of fate fails astray its railway, once again.

One day while you and Lord Jing Yuan were supervising the Artisanship Commission, mara-struck Cloud knights ambushed you. After just a millisecond of exchanging thoughts in silence, you two have agreed on the proper course of action in this urgent situation. He actively blocks and takes the enemies down at the front line as you evacuate innocent citizens and protect them with Baritsu or even Jujustu if a quotient enemy manages to get past the general's defense. It is supposed to be a perfect plan as Jing Yuan could easily fend off the attack to stall time for the evacuation and reinforcement. Nevertheless, the table suddenly turns when foes actively change to target your swing, which makes the circumstance dire.

"A Zhi, watch out!" - You only hear the general shouts a warning. As soon as turning around, you see red.

Your pupils squeeze at the dreadful sight of Lord Jing Yuan shedding blood because he used his body to shield you from the mortal wound. Before staggering, he quickly decapitates the said enemy with sublime swordsmanship. Time seems to freeze, and everything is immovable as you witness the fearful scene since you never see him in this state. A wrathful aura with bloodthirst he gives off sends a chilly shiver down your spine. However, Jing Yuan draws his sword into the ground to refuse to kneel.

You will never forget the moment rushing toward to support him. The slash runs from his left back shoulder to his right hip, and the smell of rusty iron intrudes your nostrils as the bright red stains your hands. Those things make your blood run cold and leave you incapacity. 

"I'm glad you are okay." - the general now completely lean on your figure and only murmurs the last sentence in your ear before blackout due to blood loss. Fortunately, the reinforcement finally comes in time to suppress the chaotic situation.

"That fatal blow intended to reap your soul. If Lord Jing Yuan did not shield you, it would massacre you into two pieces." 

The statement of Lady Bailu keeps roaming over and over your head, as you sit beside the bed and hold his hand dearly. After the assault, the general was hospitalized at Alchemy Commission and stayed limp in a coma for five days. Jing Yuan's body temperature is hot, and his palms are always cozy against your skin, but now, it feels like you are touching a marble figure. Cold and lifeless. Your heart aches whenever skimming over his pale complexion to see a feeble breath that looks like his longevity emits through exhalation. It must be your illusion since you barely sleep these days and vitality drains from your brain. Negative thoughts start overwhelming your mind as thinking the worst scenario. "What if...he never wakes up?" - That question replays countless times as you bring his hand to cup your cheek to seek solace. The burning sensation in your tired eyes accumulates to form woe tears. 

Meanwhile, the general had a bad dream in his comatose status, in other words, a nightmarish one. His mentality treks across a vast sea of twinkling stars and finally arrives at a flowery blooming hill, roseate pastel petals looming freely at the landscape. Jing Yuan sees a man from afar, and he is mourning. His feet automatically take control as he dashes toward the man and backpedals to recognize his other essence. 

"Lord Jing Yuan, are you crying?" - You abruptly appear in a spirit body with a glowy halo luminance, and a sad smile decorates your feature. 

"I am sorry." - You gently mumble while wrapping your arms around his other essence, but he seems unbothered. Or rather, he cannot sense it. Too close yet so distant. Jing Yuan's mind goes wild at the scene, but unable to move. The last thing he sees is a blazing crimson ray shining bright under sunlight from your red Camillia hairpin. 

His Highness is pulled back to the present and finds tears threatening to fall from your lower eyelids. 

"I don't like seeing my lady cries." 

Your lashes fly open at a familiar low-tone voice. The gentle Autumn glint in his amber orbs never changes when watching you. Jing Yuan uses his thumb to attempt to wipe your tears but only makes them roll faster. They finally burst out and cascade like two small springs on your face as you are paralyzed. 

The general thinks every cloud has a silver lining because the proximity between you two shortens, and the invisible wall begins crumbling. His dream is no longer a fleeting fantasy as you comply with his childish requests, even receiving his affection. If trolling around the hellscape is the external push factor bringing you to his arms, a worthy price to pay. 

"Why did you shield me, your Highness? We are immortals, so the ordinary wounds will not kill us?" - You finally give out curiousness while feeding him with an oat porridge bowl. Lord Jing Yuan answers as a matter of fact that he wants to keep you away from any harm at all costs. 

"What kind of legendary general cannot protect his wife?" He adds and chuckles at your inquiry.

Warmth blooms over your heart. Perhaps, you eventually felt for Jing Yuan after two hundred years.

Three months later.

"You should stay at Alchemy Commission for at least one following month." - Thanks to his prime, the injury healed quickly, and his recovery process was shortened than anticipated. He is supposed to stay longer at the Alchemy Commission for advanced monitoring, yet he decided to discharge sooner. 

"I knew that, but I want to sleep with my lady." - the general tightens his embrace around your waist, nuzzling your hair. 

You two keep silent for a while and lie still as a bizarre mellow tranquillity nestles in your mind. If it were you back two centuries ago, you must be pondering what kind of this feeling. However, you of the present tense acquire the answer that you miss him and wish to sleep by your husband's side too. 

"About the ambush..." - Jing Yuan's voice arouses the serenity of the night veil - "It was an organized crime" - you looking at the void when completing his sentence. 

"Pretty sharp as always, are we?" - A low chuckle escapes his lips and resonates behind your back. 

When connecting the dots, that is a proper conclusion you can draw. The mara-struck occurred accurately when you two were at the center as traffic and the crowd were at a peak. Moreover, the comms signal was more sluggish than usual, which indicates an anonymous party dipped its hand to hinder information connection. That explains why the reinforcement arrived late and pushed you into a passive state by prolonging your defense time. On top of that, the most convincing factor was the enemies' movement. Ordinarily, Cloudknights with Mara-struck would attack any living identities in their eyesight, but they changed target to you as if somebody commanded or manipulated them to shift behavior. In addition, there was a high possibility that they were domestic criminals because they knew you were always the general's weakness and familiar with your schedule. Only people who stay long enough in Xianzhou Luofu recognize this point. Or even worse when treacherous power hides among your authority. 

You give out an exasperated sigh thinking about the subject. You silently hope the criminals did not conclude with foreign factors because things gradually grew more complex. The event feels like a bell that prophesies a vicious storm to Xianzhou. 

After fully recovering, you two begin to investigate the ambush and explore the existence of an organization called Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. They followed the path of Aeon Abundance and plotted a grand scheme to overthrow the current government. There was also convincing evidence pointing to their failed attempt to assassinate the Abitrary-General. Not long after, Lord Jing Yuan and the Internal Bureau opened an expanded operation to eliminate that organization. All the data and files from this performance were saved as the utmost military secrets and unpublic. However, as soon as the underground battle successfully ended, his Highness got the intel that the Abundance's evils were devasting the other ships. Hence, the Xianzhou Alliance summons him to partake in their purging expeditionary.

The two of you do not measure the duration of his absence, but the general will not return before several upcoming decades. You suspect the ensnarement was just a catalyst of the event sequence, or maybe you are too skeptical to theorize a nonsense hypothesis. 

You sigh softly as your hand is placed flat on his chest armor before seeing him off but say nothing. Lord Jing Yuan takes it and squeezes a little, still keeping silent.

"General...please take good care of yourself from now on and return to Luofu safely." 

He scans over your face and cannot read your mind yet. Perhaps, both of you have tangled thoughts and do not know how to display what kind of expression. He suddenly snuggles you into his embrace, and you hug him back firmly after a second of surprise. The usual scent of cedar wafting as you breathe in the base of his neck for one last time. 

"You will always be here for me, right?" Jing Yuan's voice cracks slightly while your eyes start to tear up.

"I will wait for your glorious triumph and be here for you."

Your cheek presses against his chest armor as you whisper the response. 

He feels light-hearted and looks down with a soft smile. His eyes seem to sparkle with affection and admiration towards you. 

"Thank you...for everything. And please take care of yourself too. I will see you again someday."

With that short farewell, the general and you depart different paths. 

All the Luofu's affairs are now your responsibilities and execute with Lady Fu Xuan. Since the absence of Lord Jing Yuan, time seems to stop flowing, and the four seasons no longer hold any meaning. To you, they are now the linear of weather morphing. Spring with hundreds of flowers blooming synergized with the honeyed love songs of birds does not reach your interest anymore. Summer comes along the blue sapphire sky, and the symphony of cicadas is a mere trait of fiery weather. Even the mellow Autumn hue used to remind you of his amber irises now seeming arid and tasteless.

"Your Ladyship...Your Ladyship!"

There is a concerned voice calling you desperately. It seems familiar, but you cannot figure it out as your clouded mind is incompetent now.

"Master Jin!"

The title finally does the trick when a sugar cube flops down your tea as you are back to reality. 

"You space out again, your Ladyship." - Yanqing points out with a pout on his face. 

You and your musical disciple have been playing chess, and it would be shameful if he finds out you are not concentrating on his movement. However, the young boy is far intelligent to hit your nerve with another fact. He beams before you recover.

"My master Jin must miss General too much."

Your dark frown at Yanqing sends him quivering a little.

"Since when did you become this audacity?"  

He would be doomed if provoking you any further, so he says his apologies and excuses himself quickly to evade your forthcoming reprimands. Looking at the boy jump with joy, you assume Lord Jing Yuan was too lenient with him. Maybe, so were you. 

Either way, your shared disciple hit your bullseye as you thought about Jing Yuan more frequently lately. Due to the attribute of every war, you must avoid all electronic devices with short wavelengths to prevent line-tracking. Moreover, to secure leaking any secrets, you incinerate every letter Lord Jing Yuan sent once done reading. It has been nearly one hundred-odd year pass, and you lost count of the letters exchanged. You cannot help but ponder what he felt when waiting for you to reciprocate his love because it is unbearably painful now. You divert concentration on the snow-besieged yard where frost blasted every bud except for one thing. Red camellia still prominently blossoms at the ethereal white despite the harsh weather. Whenever looking snowflakes fall ceaselessly like this, you imagine them as dandelion clocks dancing around the ambiance. Your mind starts drifting back to the old memory when the two of you drank wine and contemplated the full moon.  

"Have you ever seen any shooting stars, Lord Jing Yuan?" - You asked him while watching a burgundy maelstrom swirling in your crystal glass. 

"Not yet. Something in your mind?" 

A halation crowned above Jing Yuan's head when drawing attention to you. He looked like a divine creation when bathing under that hazy moonlight then. You might be drunk as seeing the blurry silvery locks adorning his face. 

"People said that wishes will come true if you finish your sentence before they disappear." - You zoomed out your eyesight to the endless celestial bodies skyward, shining like hidden gems - "I...want to be your hero for once." 

You finally closed your dreamy eyes and dozed off on the general's shoulder.

Finally, the expeditionary finished with a victory when the cherry blossom flourished. All of Xianzhou Loufu's corners sing the triumphal hymn to welcome back their legendary general as swallows levitate in the high sky. As soon as Jing Yuan returns to his estate, you jump on to hug him. Being crashed surprisedly, he loses his balance leading you both to land on the floor. After some moments, he manages to get himself up, and he feels like his heart nearly explodes with joy as clinging to you once more.

"A Zhi, I am home."

[teaspoonnebula]

I always thought baritsu was entirely fictional, but it turns out there was a martial art/system of self defence called barTitsu which Arthur Conan Doyle was presumably referencing.

I really love that it's been revived, by the steampunk community in particular.

[eirinstiva]

The Adventure of the Final Problem: Sidney Paget Illustrations

In the last two letters from our friend Watson we are informed of the dead of the world's first consulting detective after a duel against (former) professor Moriarty. When this story was published in 1893 in  The Strand Magazine in the United Kingdom, and McClure's in the United States. Sidney Paget was the artist behind these images in Strand and Harry C. Edwards in McClure's.

Sidney Edward Paget (4 october 1860 - 28 january 1908) was a British illustrator famous for his illustrations of the Sherlock Holmes stories in The Strand.

He had two brothers who were also illustrators (and who also illustrated some Conan Doyle's works) : Walter Paget and Henry M. Paget. As a consequence, in 1891, when the Strand editor, George Newnes, asked art director W. H. Boot to find an illustrator for the Sherlock Holmes stories, the latter sent an offer to Walter Paget but the letter arrived to Sidney Paget.

Between 1891 and 1904, he did 594 illustrations for Arthur Conan Doyle's works.

The most famous portrait of Professor Moriarty

I really love all the details here

The Italian priest that barely speaks English

The falls looks beautiful <3

The final moment. I think that Moriarty was so desesperate to choose a physical fight against someone who does baritsu. If Watson was there this would have ended with a bullet, I guess.

The silver cigarette case, the letter, THE PAIN

[mariana-oconnor]

The Empty House pt 2

Last time on Letters from Watson: a gambler was shot in a locked room, a detective rose from the dead and brandy once more proved itself the true panacea.

This time, we are eagerly awaiting the explanation for Holmes' miraculous reappearance.

"He drew no weapon, but he rushed at me and threw his long arms around me."

So romantic.

"We tottered together upon the brink of the fall."

Look... tottered is not an ominous word. It just isn't. It brings to mind small children, the elderly, and drunk people. 'Tottered' is an amusing word. It amuses me. Usually these descriptions are very visceral and dramatic and moving, but the word 'tottered' just throws me right out.

"I have some knowledge, however, of baritsu, or the Japanese system of wrestling, which has more than once been very useful to me."

Or maybe you're referring to bartitsu? Which is an 'actual' martial art. Or... at the very least the British approximation at one.

I always thought this was made up, honestly, until not very long ago when I learnt there was an actual thing made up for English gentlemen. the pictures are very silly.

"With my face over the brink I saw him fall for a long way. Then he struck a rock, bounded off, and splashed into the water.”

"So rapidly does the brain act that I believe I had thought this all out before Professor Moriarty had reached the bottom of the Reichenbach Fall."

I see being dead did nothing for your ego, Holmes. It has survived completely intact.

"I might, it is true, have reversed my boots, as I have done on similar occasions"

I want to know how this works. Feet are very much... feet shaped. Ankles are definitively at one end of the foot. Boots are designed with this in mind. How does one put on a pair of boots backwards. Walking backwards, I can see, but putting your shoes on so the toe is at the heel? Maybe if you're wearing ballet pumps or something like that with a very wide opening. But walking boots?

How?

"There I was stretched when you, my dear Watson, and all your following were investigating in the most sympathetic and inefficient manner the circumstances of my death. “At last, when you had all formed your inevitable and totally erroneous conclusions, you departed for the hotel and I was left alone."

Not even death can prevent Holmes from throwing shade at other investigators. 'inefficient'? "Erroneous" They're coming to the conclusions you arranged for them to come to.

"I took to my heels, did ten miles over the mountains in the darkness...,"

Don't try this at home, kids.

No really... do not attempt to make a ten mile trek over the alps in the dark. Just don't. Mountain rescue will not thank you.

"As to Mycroft, I had to confide in him in order to obtain the money which I needed."

You mean with your prodigious skills and intellect you couldn't work out any other way to make money. Like... get a job? Also, literally the first thing everyone knows about faking your own death is that you don't contact anyone from your old life. It's rule number one. Don't do it. This is basic stuff, Holmes. I expected better of you.

Always nice to get a Mycroft reference, though.

Florence, Tibet, Persia, Khartoum, Montpelier, Holmes really was out there doing the world tour on his family money while Watson thought he was dead. Classic. It's like canoe man all over again.

"I came over at once to London, called in my own person at Baker Street, threw Mrs. Hudson into violent hysterics, and found that Mycroft had preserved my rooms and my papers exactly as they had always been."

Let me get this straight.

You're in contact with your brother the whole time, who is sending you money

You do high profile things that are relevant to your previous interests (visiting the Dalai Lama/exploration under the name of Sigerson/short but interesting visit to the Khalifa of Khartoum that the foreign office needs to know about/scientific research in Montpelier)

The first thing you do when you're back in the country is go to your former residence with no disguise and reveal your not-dead status to your landlady (poor Mrs Hudson does not deserve this).

There is no way anyone other than Watson thinks you're dead at this point. You have literally checked every box of the 'How Not to Survive Witness Protection' checklist. Congratulations, Holmes. You are bad at being dead. Just casually putting up posters everywhere you go that say 'Sherlock Holmes woz ere'.

I don't know how he survived three years, smh.

Also, the fact that he had already thrown Mrs Hudson into 'violent hysterics' and then went and made Watson faint makes that whole thing worse. I get that it's at least in part misogyny, but did you really need to repeat that experiment, Holmes?

In some manner he had learned of my own sad bereavement, and his sympathy was shown in his manner rather than in his words.

RIP Mary Watson (nee Morstan), we hardly knew you. And honestly, neither did your husband.

I observed that as he stepped out he gave a most searching glance to right and left, and at every subsequent street corner he took the utmost pains to assure that he was not followed.

You literally went to Baker Street, Holmes. This is too little, too late. The horse has already bolted, stop locking the doors. I do know that this is all part of your master plan, but given that you were stupid about secrecy the entire time you were away, it's difficult to tell where you started laying a trap and when you were just being dumb.

As my eyes fell upon it I gave a gasp and a cry of amazement. The blind was down and a strong light was burning in the room. The shadow of a man who was seated in a chair within was thrown in hard, black outline upon the luminous screen of the window.

“The credit of the execution is due to Monsieur Oscar Meunier, of Grenoble, who spent some days in doing the moulding. It is a bust in wax.”

Sherlock Holmes here to remind you to always credit the original artist.

"You must remember that they knew, and only they knew, that I was still alive."

And yet they somehow did not keep track of Mycroft sending money overseas? I get that the Holmes boys are geniuses, but still. As previously mentioned, Holmes has not been subtle here. The bad guys are bad at their jobs. Shame on them. Shame on their cows.

"But I cared a great deal for the much more formidable person who was behind him, the bosom friend of Moriarty, the man who dropped the rocks over the cliff, the most cunning and dangerous criminal in London."

Who knew you were alive, but still somehow couldn't put together the myriad clues you were joyously dropping all over the planet for him. Full offence, but he's not that cunning.

"That is the man who is after me to-night, Watson, and that is the man who is quite unaware that we are after him.”

Anybody have a kernel of suspicion about who that might be?

[stephensmithuk]

The Empty House

Published in 1903, this was the first Holmes short story for a decade. Doyle had previously released - in a serial format - The Hound of the Baskervilles, which was set before "The Final Problem".

ACD had become Sir Arthur Conan Doyle by this point, honoured in the 1902 Coronation Honours, arguably for a pro-Boer War short work he wrote. That's what he believed in any event.

This is the first story in The Return of Sherlock Holmes and the second that we've covered - we did "The Second Stain" previously because Baring-Gould's chronology puts it quite early.

Park Lane, as I might have mentioned previously, is a highly desirable street and is the equivalent of Park Place on the London Monopoly board.

"Honourable" is the courtesy title used for the younger sons of earls; it's also used by most members of the House of Commons. Insert joke about politicians here.

Carstairs is a village in South Lanarkshire Scotland. It is best known in British railway circles as a major junction and the place where the London to Edinburgh & Glasgow sleeper is split up, a section for each destination.

Expanding bullets were also known as dum-dum bullets after the Indian city of Dum Dum where some of them were made. The hollow point is a more modern version. The nastier injuries that they cause led to their banning from use in warfare in the 1899 Hague Convention, but they remain legal for law enforcement use, it being argued there is less risk of harm to bystanders as the bullet will not pass through.

Baritsu is possibly a typo for Bartitsu, a martial art invented by Edward William Barton-Wright, an engineer who had spent three years living in Japan. Combining elements of boxing, cane fighting, jujitsu and Frence kickboxing, it faded into obscurity during the 20th century before making something of a small comeback in the 21st.

Mecca, then under Ottoman rule, is closed to non-Muslims and the Ahmadiyya movement (seen as heretics). Holmes likely followed some other Westerners by getting in disguised as a Muslim.

The "Khalifa" was Abdallahi ibn Muhammad, a figure who tried to set up an Islamic caliphate in Sudan and the surrounding area at this time (1893). He faced an Anglo-Egyptian invasion in 1896-1899, lost and then engaged in a final stand at the Battle of Umm Diwaykarat in October 1899. To make use of a famous phrase, the other side had Maxim guns and he did not; the battle was massively one-sided, resulting in his death.

The "Jew's harp" is a mouth harp. It's probably from Siberia.

"Journeys end in lovers' meetings" is from Twelfth Night.

A shikari is a big game hunter.

Charasiab was an 1879 battle between the British and Indian Army on one side, with Afghans on the other. The British used Gatling guns for the first time in anger and won, capturing Kabul shortly after.

Despatches refers to the fact that Moran's conduct in the battle was sufficiently brave or high quality to warrant a mention in the official report sent to London and usually published in The London Gazette, the official government journal of record. This still exists and is used to formally announce honours etc. like Arthur Conan Doyle's knighthood. Simply put, it is an official commendation - not a gallantry medal, but one may well follow.

The Scotland Yard Museum, historically known as the Black Museum and now the Crime Museum, is a collection of criminal artefacts used for teaching purposes. Located in the basement of the current New Scotland Yard (the third to use that name) it is not open to the public - only police officers are generally allowed in and need an appointment. The Metropolitan Police has a public museum in Sidcup, but this is also appointment only.

[animehouse-moe]

Undead Girl Murder Farce Episode 8: The Banquet

God. Let me say that one more time. God. This episode isn't focused on mystery, or even so much action, but rather story. Exposing the inner workings, piecing together this very unique world and its circumstances, and it does that with the absolute maximum amount of visual creativity possible. I could talk about it all day, so let's just get to it.

Just to clear the air a little bit, our two little insurance agents end up in the chapel alongside Tsugaru, Lupin, and even Erik. We quickly desert them though for Shizuku vs Carmilla, which is amazing.

Not so much in the combat (though it is great), but how they approach the fight. They leave the writing on the wall, wherever possible they point out the fact that Shizuku has Carmilla's blood on her hand.

A subtle yet incredibly great detail to set the stage for Carmilla's venom to set in. And the visual for that? It's incredible. Carmilla's history and recognition as a sapphic vampire is perfectly conveyed as the art style shifts through this sequence and those strands/tendrils that originate from her lips wrap around a helpless Shizuku.

The moment certainly hits the nail on the head with its air of eroticism, but also tries quite hard to assert the control that Carmilla exhibits through it all.

And then there's Aleister vs Holmes and Watson. Clearly, it's far more fun and playful until it nears the end of the fight, as we get scenes like Watson knocking Aleister's tophat off and it landing atop a statue in the background.

In terms of more interesting things though, we get to see Holmes Baritsu (if only for a little bit). However, it's quickly cut short by the appearance of Moriarty, which gave rise to this incredible sequence. I love every bit of it: the camera angle, the loop/repeat, how they replaced specifically the white tiles because of the color matching, and how it perfectly represents Holmes' shock in realizing that Moriarty is still alive.

And then there's this sequence, the long awaited arrival of Jack The Ripper. They absolutely nailed it. The tension, the weight, the feeling of drowning in the weight of his presence, it's incredibly well depicted. And the soundtrack just adds to that in spades. What a reveal.

I just wish they could get away with more. Jack completely decimates Fatima, and while the carnage can't be displayed, the approach is equally terrifying. How he simply caresses Fatima with his hand yet tears her completely to shreds.

Also, really really love the effort placed into continually giving viewers the upper hand/ability in solving the mystery. We get this scene here of Jack holding the diamond up to the light, which becomes important later on in the episode.

More than that though is this incredible piece. Forget a two in one, it seems like it's actually a three in one. It's not just Jack looking at the diamond, it's the viewers looking through the diamond to see Tsguaru grabbing Fatima's heart, and it's showing viewers that Jack is still keeping his gaze trained on Tsugaru behind him. Truly incredible stuff, the storyboards for this series has been out of this world.

Following this we get a very tense fight scene between Tsgugaru and Jack, and I'll just say it's worth every moment. The choreography and planning in regards to the combat is just stellar. The use of environment and space remains such a core tenet to how they approach fights in this series, and I really can't get enough of it.

Anyways, here's a cool visual used as Moriarty explains his motives and purpose.

Also also, super cool parallel between Aya and Tsugaru. Both have been caged by the hands of Moriarty.

Continuing the comparisons and fusion of Aya and Tsugaru's experiences, when Jack questions why Tsugaru's all the way out here, it's in the puddle of his blood that he discovers his reason: Aya. Whether romantic or not, the relationship is undeniably there between the two of them, and is a large step forward for Tsugaru's character. I also feel like with the boarding and direction, it elicits the idea of his motivation existing in the present, whereas the reasons that Jack list are all done via flashbacks which is more associated with the past.

Now, Moriarty's Banquet has left the building with the diamond "in hand", the safe is missing, and all seems lost for the defenders of this night. But before we go any further, this funny moment with Tsugaru and Shizuku.

They're so sibling like it's hilarious. Shizuku is in tatters and has a bit of skin showing, and without a word Tsugaru antagonizes her into being self-conscious about it. A really fun little piece to bring the humor back into focus.

And now, to the most fun part: Tsugaru's reveal. I wouldn't say I was fully confident in it, but I'd also not say I didn't believe. Tsugaru is all about show, sleight of hand, misdirection. Everything he does is an act, a farce. This was reinforced by his earlier fight against Lupin, and you can totally see how it plays into this one. One the backpedal once more, Tsguaru finds a way to exploit his opponent and take advantage of it in a way that has them believe they won. As for how I guessed it? Jack doesn't take out the diamond after that first instance, and it made me feel like something was off.

Finally, at the end of today's episode, we have our new direction: the forest of fangs. The group uncovers the whereabouts of the elusive werewolves, and is now stuck in a race to get there before the Banquet does.

Definitely not what I was expecting, but it 100% did more than just meet my expectations. Each of these episodes goes above and beyond in every facet, and you can truly feel it with each cut and scene. Now, rather than chasing the ghost of a mystery, our detective duo + one is engaged in a race against Moriarty, the death defying man himself, and will most likely be forced to struggle with that monster hating insurance agency. This show always keeps me on my toes, and at this point I expect nothing less than greatness out of these last few episodes. It's really gunning for the top mystery spot in my list of favorites. Though only time will tell if it makes it there.

[tiger-moran]

OK I’m not actually liveblogging all of this but I need people to know that when Holmes says “We tottered together upon the brink of the fall. I have some knowledge, however, of baritsu, or the Japanese system of wrestling, which has more than once been very useful to me. I slipped through his grip, and he with a horrible scream kicked madly for a few seconds and clawed the air with both his hands. But for all his efforts he could not get his balance, and over he went. With my face over the brink I saw him fall for a long way”

which seems to be saying that Moriarty is somehow hanging in the air with neither his hands or feet touching anything for several seconds before he falls, all I can now picture is this: