#even if for a limited moment

[starlostlix]

MTP - Sherlock and William as foils (similarities and differences)

Aka Something interesting I found on a reread of volume 5 (at least that's what it was originally it's developed a little)

So I was drawn to these pages in Volume 5 in particular because they're surprisingly key to Sherlock's character, and a key reason why that he doesn't necessarily completely disagree with William's points (mostly disagreeing with his methods).

So the reason Sherlock's methods are based on scientific observation is because science is fair to everyone and doesn't need any social context of class or gender or anything like that. And this is because of his own experiences - going to a university 'beyond his status' and seeing many criminal cases where the lower class individual is immediately blamed with inadequate proof. Much as William has also seen such injustice in his life at the orphanage/on the streets, and continues to see from the surrounding noblemen.

He values tradition but still sees it as partially hampering growth and change in the investigative profession. The fact that his brother, Mycroft, is a representative of the monarchy (and so is a representative of tradition) probably only adds to this concept (but what he doesn't know until later is that his brother isn't as against change as he might seem, due to his general 'blind eye' towards and sometimes clear support of the Moriarty plan). Brotherly disagreement on a cultural level and an interesting part of their dynamic, but that's for another post (if i ever finish it).

Sherlock has a motivation (as much as it isn't the main focus of his desire to solve mysteries) to change detective work to be fairer using science. As much as it's on a much smaller scale, he's generally trying to bring change to a system that is unfair and classist. Sound familiar? This sounds similar to William's idea of changing society to make it fairer and less classist.

The fact that Sherlock and Liam, both of whom come from a lower class status/background, strive to make a change and remove class-based prejudices is no accident - it's just more proof that they were never actually enemies. In fact, their motivations only differ by scale, forcefulness and the lengths they are willing to go to achieve them.

The main way that they disagree is the methods of trying to change their target population is the lengths they go. Sherlock, for the most part, doesn't enforce much change - he just proves that his way of solving mysteries is more effecient and more accurate than Scotland Yard and other detectives. Funnily enough, in that field, the only one who can match (or sometimes outdo him) is William, but only because William is willing to go further. In the Two Detectives arc, William strategically places samples of blood on all of the train staff in order to act as more objective proof of the murder accusations. In doing this, he's not fully truthful, but it ensures a fast solution to the case that saves Watson and captures the culprit in time. In essence, William is more calculated and willing to manipulate variables to make the outcome more accurate, whilst Sherlock trusts all the available evidence and utilises that to achieve an accurate outcome.

They both are also not immune to k!lling on behalf of the safety of others. Sherlock murdering Milverton to save Watson's marriage and to get rid of a guy of 'evil incarnate' like Milverton (who has investigated numerous cases relating to) is proof that Sherlock can be pushed into crime to protect others. William takes up crime as a 'means to an end' - partly revenge for the mistreated working class, partly to dismantle the unfair class system. William makes the choice to act as an executioner, but also is willing to suffer to achieve his goal. Sherlock is also willing to suffer misjudgement in using scientific deduction, but he's mainly willing to suffer for the people he cares about most - specifically Watson and William (the man was willing to literally jump off a bridge for William).

Anyways, the point being is that William and Sherlock were never supposed to be opposites or enemies, rather they are more like foils - differing in some key traits to better highlight those parts of their respective characters. And the conversation I pulled from volume 6 helps in directly presenting the similarities between their characters, which also draws further attention to their differing traits and is key for establishing them as foils of each other. I honestly think this is partly what makes their dynamic so interesting - they are similar in enough ways to relate to each other and become friends, but their differences add ways for their characters to clash in the story to make the plot more interesting.

[Anyways I just love how the characters are written in MTP especially Sherlock and William. I've currently got only 2 alevel exams left to do before I've finished college though, and my last exams are on tuesday! I haven't had much time to be online or write about stuff that I want to post so hopefully in about a week or so I can write more/post more. This post was mostly drafted last week when I had a bit of time off, so I might have missed some stuff in rereading before I post lol.]

[idolomantises]

Man is it just me or are a lot of TV shows nowadays are written to have big emotional episodes in scenes with very little build up.

[grapejuicegay]

I haven't got a job. Why not? I think they only want clean people. They haven't taken that thing off yet? It's gone. But I guess some people still see it.

[give-grian-rights]

i just got the vision in my mind of Cleo and Etho having like. like those sliding pronoun pins but instead it has two options and one of them is Divorce and the other is Newly Wed. and they just fucking walk over to eachother and slide it to the other one. sometimes they go on like nothing happened and sometimes they just like. bite each other

[fukiana]

BALDUR'S GATE 3 (2023) dev. Larian Studios "Well—whatever you're into."

[tea-time-terrier]

Stealing this from a competitive obedience group because the answers have been fascinating. I would love to hear elaborations on methods/reasonings if you're up for it!

[bacchuschucklefuck]

okay unironically I love so much that porter is like this world SUCKS its BAD here and it HURTS you why do you care abt it!!! and literally every single bad kid is like ngl we just hate ur ass it does not matter what ur philosophy is

[skitskatdacat63]

Vettonso complaining about each other not respecting schrondinger's track limits on the radio compilation + Seb's commentary that made me a bit feral

Must include these sexy ass pics okay, it makes me feral how hard they race each other.

Also SO upset that we got this vid and there's also pictures(and presumably a vid out there somewhere) of Fernando, back then, ALSO debriefing this race. And yet we never got them together?????? Evil. Fucked up.

Imagine seeing them complaining about each other but also having to (begrudgingly if you're Fernando) compliment each other IN FRONT of each other. Maybe its a good thing it doesn't exist, bcs then I'd have a heart attack.

[jesuis-assez]

↠ Tim & Lucy ↳ 2x10 - The Dark Side

[wistfullywaiting2]

Odasaku, Sasaki, and the orphanage headmaster are all buried in the same cemetery.

So Kunikida, Atsushi, and Dazai all run into each other grave visiting regularly and politely pretend they don’t. They never acknowledge the meaning behind the bouquets brought, even if all of them know the others know flower language. They never acknowledge the tear streaks down Atsushi’s face, or the solemn look on Kunikida’s. Atsushi never points out how the scent of whiskey is always a bit stronger on Dazai’s coat. They never acknowledge the location of their accidental meetings.

Sometimes Kunikida might offer to take them to get food, or Atsushi will offer a random hard candy from his pocket, on colder days Dazai might lend his coat. None of them are really themselves when faced with grief, and none of them will to hold it against each other.

[stompandhollar]

something something, the symbolism of how Stan and Ford were only able to see eye to eye when they were wearing one another’s clothes.

something about Ford in Stanley’s clothes, staring at his mirror image in his, and finally seeing Stan for who he has always been— a hero. who saved his family with his bare hands simply because of how much he loved them. a hero who has been protecting that family since he was a child and hasn’t ever stopped. Something about it finally clicking to Ford in that moment.

[tex-now]

Rui when tsukasa does literally anything: waow.... tsukasa-kun has given me many smiles... I'm happy to be by his side......

[mishy-mashy]

Hhhouhggghhhh

[s0fter-sin]

rewatching s1 and in ep2 w*ndigo, dean makes a joke about not bringing provisions into the woods just to pull out a bag of peanut butter m&m’s and stick with me here, it’s why the later seasons’ “goofy dean” loses me

this moment is clearly a joke but if you think about it too much, it also makes some sense; a family size bag of peanut m&m’s is calorie dense and even the high sugar is good to keep you moving which they need on an overnight hunt. it also shows how due to their upbringing, they’ve had to eat lower quality food, things they always had access to that was cheap and also in bulk

what does dean eating ghost pepper jerky then tipping water on himself exist for other than to be a cringy joke? what does smelling old chinese food, testing to see if it's still good then shaking his head with cabbage hanging out his mouth when it isn't serve? it's just to make him look stupid and contrast sam's healthy/clean diet (and superiority but that’s another conversation) which has always existed but it used to be nuanced and natural

we see dean as a child give up the food he wanted to eat so sam could eat it. (“i’m sick of spaghetti-os,” “you’re the one who wanted them,” … “i want lucky charms!” “… there’s only enough for one bowl and i haven’t had any yet!” proceeds to give them to sam, 1x18) we know he hustled and stole food to ensure sam ate. (“so, what’d he take?” “get this- peanut butter and bread.” 9x07)

we also see throughout the early seasons dean teasing sam about his salad or healthy choice while he eats some form of burger or other fast food (or notably, cheerfully eating prison food that sam won’t touch, 2x19). it's typical sibling teasing but it also shows that it isn't new for sam to eat like that and for dean to know he eats like that

sam being picky isn't just a character trait they chose for him, it's a result of how dean raised him; he raised him to like and want healthy food and be food secure enough to reject food he didn't want

but dean eats anything he is given and seeks out unhealthy - cheap, plentiful, filling - food

he is the opposite of picky to the point of it being a consistent bit; they show him multiple times eating when it's socially frowned upon to do so eg. questioning a grieving victim when they're trying to be discreet (1x14, 2x15, 2x18)

a similar moment to the chinese food is in 4x19; dean wakes up in the car while sam brushes his teeth outside and is hungry. sam says there's a sandwich in the backseat, dean smells it and recoils bc it's an old tuna sandwich. the moment is funny on its own but it also exists as a comparison of their lives to adam's; he has a loving mother, goes to school and importantly, a steady stable childhood

it’s a joke with a purpose

it also supports dean's food insecurity; he wakes up and is immediately hungry, enough to complain about it and seek out food before anything else

dean is always hungry bc he never has access to nutritionally rich foods bc he got used to using the money he earned to buy sam's more expensive food. he got used to his cheaper, denser foods and grew up with (and continues to live with) intermittent access to said foods. think of how long it takes to drive from one state to another; how many hours it can take to see another town that offers food, if you arrive at a reasonable enough time for anything to be open. also think how they can’t keep any food beyond what fits in an esky; nothing that needs defrosting, nothing can be heated up. it’s bags and jars and take out for as long as they can trust it

then they get the bunker which has its own kitchen

dean even describes himself as "nesting" when he decorates his room, something he hasn't had since he was four years old, and he uses said kitchen to cook a burger from scratch that he is proud of. he is food secure for the first time in his life and it shows in how often he cooks for both himself and sam

so these moments where they have him acting goofy regarding food are no longer character driven and only exist as a joke which is why they come across as cringy and out of character compared to similar earlier moments

a lot of my issues with dean's characterisation started when they introduced the bunker. the argument can and is made that the reason these jokes happen is bc he feels safe in the bunker, that bc he now has a home he can relax and unmask but that still doesn't feel sufficient. they crank up these sillier moments for both of them, giving them a sort of playing house comedy vibe of two roommates with completely different personalities but it doesn't feel like an authentic progression. it feels forced; an attempt at humour for humour's sake

food stopped being an informed part of their characters and their trauma and instead became flanderised; sam is the judgy vegetarian health nut and dean is his borderline slovenly carnivore counterpart

[twifairy]

Forgot to post this one to Tumblr whoops

[dykedvonte]

I hate the stretch lines in the front of Curly's uniform because that means the devs rushed to make a model in like a month or so and thought "They gotta at least know he has huge knockers, gotta know he's got back pain." Cause like what is the thematic importance of his tits having overhang?

What responsibility is that representing? Breast reduction? It shows an inherent greed in his character due to the excess and heshouldletmeholdone and that he clearly is blinded cause if he tries to look down his damn ladder all he's seeing is his own cleavage.