#sherlock masterpiece mystery

[bodybybane]

The Cast of Sherlock: Where Are They Now? https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/specialfeatures/the-cast-of-sherlock-where-are-they-now/

[servuscallidus]

Oh and there are a lot of couples that love and trust each other completely and are very sweet, and often the woman had a troubled past or is unconventional and the man respects that completely

[bananaeatstape]

HOLY FREAK

that is actually so sick dude i

GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS LOOK

ITS THEM ITS THEM IN ONE PIC AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

[joyswonderland1108]

Jikook aren't just dating, they're in their honeymoon phase for the 10th year in a row and i've HAD ENOUGH

No because you do not understand. I made the mistake, no, the lifestyle choice, of rewatching everything Jikook from the very beginning and now i'm spiraling at the speed of light and my heart is doing parkour. Ain't no way in the multiverse someone watches Jikook and goes "Yep, just bros being bros". What do you MEAN "Just friends"??? Like ??? Be so serious right now. Be biblical-level serious. Look me dead in the eyes and tell me Jikook is just platonic when :

They have almost kissed multiple times, in 4K, in front of live audiences, and cameras. You don't accidentally almost kiss someone that many times unless you're in a K-drama. Or in Love. Like are we supposed to believe they were just practicing for a drama they weren't even in?

JK out here showing up with a whole hickey and them casually telling us "Yeah, we were drinking (alone) and he picked me up spun me like we just said 'I do' he wouldn't put me down so i bit his neck" Like.. Sir?? That's no friendship, that's foreplay. Also, let's not pretend that was a one-time thing. We've seen random hickeys, the mystery marks, Sherlock who? We been solved that mystery.

The inside jokes, whole conversations happening telepathically while the rest of the group looks at them like "Here they go again" Like, sorry, but when you start a sentence and your man finishes it, that's not friendship. That's spousal telepathy. "I am you you are me" you know..

The ear bite. THE EAR BITE. And the glistening saliva trail. Broadcasted to the world like we weren't sitting there eating cereal. Do you know how intimate that is? They weren't even trying to be subtle. At this point, i feel like they want to get caught. I had to pause, breathe, reevaluate life, and then hit replay 10 more times like a masochist.

The GCF in Tokyo. A soft, romantic video edited by Jungkook, starring only Jimin, set to a love song. Boy didn't make a vlog, ihe made a wedding montage. If my boyfriend made that for me, i would cry and then marry him immediately. Oh wait.

Their solo eras? JK's lives were practically sponsored by "Jiminie-hyung" , the "Can you handle it?" Sir, this is a Wendy's. Who gave you the right? Reading each other's comments during their lives like a giddy crush. The flirtation, the teasing, the INTENSE GAZES. That wasn't fanservice, that was a whole relationship slipping through the cracks of BigHit's NDA.

Matching clothes, matching earrings, matching bracelets, matching rings, matching tattoos, matching souls. I'm not saying they're soulmates but i am saying if they lived in ancient Greece there would already be statues of them carved out of marble with captions like "Eros incarnate". No one matches this much unless they're married or playing twins on Disney Channel.

And remember, they made a whole show about the two of them going on a trip. Swimming together, cooking for each other, bickering like an old married couple, sharing hotel rooms (read: one bed), and giggling like they're the only people alive on Earth. JK said "let me film my husband being adorable for several days straight". WHAT IS THIS? "Married Life: The Prequel". Honestly? Cinematic masterpiece.

The stares that last 10 seconds too long. The little touches. The way they gravitate toward each other in every group setting like magnets with one thought that says "stand next to Jimin" (Standing next to Jimin *Ba Dum Tss*)

That one time when JK sniffed Jimin like he was inhaling the very concept of Jimin, like a man trying to bottle the essence of love..

Them showing up on each other's lives (Physically or via comments). Jimin lurking in the comments like a clingy husband. JK not even trying to hide his grin when Jimin's name shows up. "Oh, is Jimin watching?" Giggle. Okay.

And let's talk about the Jungkook Reaction Lives, this man really sat down multiple times, on his own accord, just to watch Jimin. Reacting to "Vibe". Reacting to "Set me Free pt2" like a proud husband watching his husband dominate the stage. Watching "Like Crazy" and smiling like he choreographed it himself. Then he really said "Let me react to Jimin content", pulled up Jimin's episode on Suchwita, and pulled up a whole compilation of their moments together during "Best of Me" and just sat there giggling, vibing, and whispering "cute" like we weren't watching him fall deeper in love in 1080p. He's not subtle. He's never been subtle. He's a Jimin fan account with privileges.

Let's not even get started on JK's long-term, unsupervised obsession with Jimin's ass. The playful slaps turned into casual grabs, and we all remember when he straight up squeezed Jimin's butt cheek on stage during PTD in Vegas like it was his birthright. Jikook pt3 : The ass chronicles.

And THEN they enlisted together. Not like "Oh what a coincidence" or "Same week, same day, how sweet", no. These two signed up for the BUDDY PROGRAM. Like, the official military bestie package where you apply as a pair and get placed together. That's not "we happened to align schedules". That's "we legally want to be stuck with each other for the next 18 months or we're not going". Besties don't do that. Husbands do that. They're out here planning government service like it's a honeymoon lol

And let's not ignore the energy lately. The way "certain things" keep popping up that scream "married and living together".

So no, i don't care what anyone says. Jikook aren't "Just friends". They're not even just dating. They've been cosmically handfasted since 2015 and i'm just a civilian living in their universe. The only thing missing is the wedding livestream.

[wearethekat]

Best Books of 2024

All of my favorite reads from last year!

The Tainted Cup, Robert Jackson Bennett. A Sherlock Holmes-style political mystery about a woman investigating a murder in a truly original secondary fantasy world.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts, Katherine Addison. Haunting story about a woman looking for her missing brother who's trapped in a pocket realm on the battlefields of World War I.

The Square of Sevens, Laura Shepherd Robinson. An ingeniously twisted historical fiction thriller about a woman who was brought up as a fortuneteller in the 1730s recounting her past.

Someone You Can Build a Nest In, John Wiswell. Sapphic body horror gore monster romance that commits to the bit while also somehow being cozy.

Necrobane, Daniel M. Ford. Bisexual necromancer and all-around menace Aelis engages in pulp DnD like adventures as the protector of a rural village. Book 2 of a series.

The Reformatory, Tananarive Due. A Southern Gothic where the real horror is racism about a young boy sent to a prison reform school in the fifties.

Triple Sec, TJ Alexander. Poly romance about a bartender falling in love with a woman—and then realizing that she's into the woman's partner too.

Lady Eve's Last Con, Rebecca Fraimow. Space opera romcom heist about a woman getting revenge on the man who jilted her sister.

Running Close to the Wind, Alexandra Rowland. An absolute souffle of poly pirate shenanigans. Strong character voice a la Gideon the Ninth that you'll either love or hate.

Rakesfall, Vajra Chandrasekera. Let me be honest, I'm not sure I have any idea what happened in this fever dream of a novel, but it was really good.

The West Passage, Jared Pechacek. A deeply strange and original monk book along the lines of Susanna Clarke's Piranesi.

The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System, Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. The most devoted hater of a popular webserial dies mad about it and ends up in the world of the book. A masterpiece of dramatic irony, made me feel insane for at least four months.

Asunder, Kerstin Hall. Another excellent installment in the guy stuck in your head genre in a wild and original fantasy setting.

Dark Breakers, CSE Cooney. A gorgeous collection of interlinked fairy tale novellas set around the same Gilded Age mansion.

Swordcrossed, Freya Marske. An absolute delight of a gay romcom with a large amount of detail about the fantasy wool industry.

[apazwtsn]

thing i may or may not be working on

from a silly AU i thought of in wich Sherlock has a hobby for painting and John has a hobby for writing poetry and they see each other in their dreams before meeting and. they're like each other's muse or something. and then they met. idk

it has mentions of passive suicide and suicide attempts(? sort of. and depression. because John is clearly depressed.

Is that man a dream or a nightmare?

The same man again.

He's pale, tall, with jet-black hair and multicolored eyes. Since returning from Afghanistan, John hasn't stopped dreaming about him.

It's strange. It's not exactly attraction he feels for the man (although he can't deny he's quite handsome), it's more of a spiritual connection. As if he has known him his whole life, as if he can read every experience he's had on his face, even though he has never met him.

The dreams aren't about him, but he's always there. Disguised as someone or as himself (how does John know he's being himself?), in the background or in a corner, hidden among his war nightmares.

And he doesn't speak. He's never heard him speak.

And the fact that he doesn't speak is more curious than the fact that John hasn't seen this man even once in his life. Because his dreams (or rather, nightmares) are filled with noise everywhere. And the man makes no noise and remains at peace amidst all the chaos.

And John spends all his time sleeping. Not because he's lazy or idle, but rather because it's the only thing he can do. Occasionally, he goes for a walk (as best he can, and as long as his limp allows him, hoping that if he's lucky a car will run over him), but that doesn't work either. Everyday still feels the same and purposeless. And because he spends his time sleeping, he dreams a lot. And because he dreams a lot, he has lost count of how many times he has dreamed about the mysterious man.

I lied. Actually, John doesn't just sleep. He also writes.

He had always liked to write little poems or stories. Nothing fancy, no masterpieces (accordingly, if you ask him), just little pieces that entertained him in his moments of boredom.

But ever since he joined the army, he stopped writing. Because, well, he always thought they'd treat him like a faggot there, like they treat you like a faggot for everything. And when he came back, wounded inside and out, he lost his sense of life. And he lost the desire to write (because in the army he still had the desire, and he wrote on his days off). So he devoted himself to sleeping.

And he slept, and in his dreams he found his muse again. Or he found a new one. A pale, tall muse with jet-black hair and the most beautiful multicolored eyes he had ever seen (But he's not gay!).

The first time, he ignored it. The second time, he thought it was strange, but he brushed it off again. The third time...

The third time he dreamed of him, he sat up in bed and, with the motto "the third time's the charm," sat down at the desk and wrote.

He wrote about pallor and death, height and sky, the jet black color and how it seemed like a comfortable darkness, and about multicolored eyes dancing in a rainbow.

And he wrote so much that he fell asleep and dreamed of peace again. He wrote so much that it was the first time since he returned that he didn't open the drawer where his pistol tentatively resides.

And just between us, he didn't realize it, but he didn't move his cane at any point that day.

The next few times, John didn't resist. He let his body and his thoughts flow, rooting in what little he remembered from his dreams (which, mostly, was just the mysterious man), and he wrote about his muse over and over again.

And he wrote so much that he ran out of paper and had to start typing on his computer.

But as wonderful as it felt in the moment, when John writes the final period, he feels empty again. Happiness lasts as long as inspiration lasts, and John sometimes wished that the man were real, so he could see his ethereal aura every day, and the inspiration wouldn't go away, and he'd find a reason to live again. (Oh, but John isn't gay, okay?)

This time, John does the same. He gets up and sits down to write. Except this time, he's already decided: The day he stops dreaming about the tall boy with multicolored eyes, no one will ever see John Hamish Watson again. And whoever looks for him will find him with a red hole in his head and surrounded by poems about a man he has never met.

[electricmeatorchestra]

I won’t pretend Sherlock, the show that ran for three series and then was mysteriously cancelled without a word, is a masterpiece, but you can’t deny that Holmes describing eyeball tea as “surprisingly okay” is very funny

[lemonmoxy]

Ok, I know I'm a year late but MY BOY. They murdered my boy! Poirot is my favorite gay uncle, he is NOT my straight sad uncle.

So, I watched A Haunting in Venice which is an adaptation of Agatha Christie's Halloween Party by Kenneth Branagh, and I did not care for it. I did not care for it a lot. And that is why I have held you hostage here.

So disclaimer: I do not care about adaptational changes. I have the books. I have the David Scuhet's movies. Kenneth can make changes. Halloween Party is even a fine Christie story to change. It's fine but its not a masterpiece. It's just, if you're going to change things they should be lateral changes or better changes, not worse changes.

Now, for disclosure of bias. I have not liked any of these. I've found them all overwrought wastes of my time. But my partner loves Poirot, me, and doesn't mind wasting both of our times. And when he offers me fancy cheeses and movies, I say yes.

This movie was an absolute waste of my time. I did not like it. I got nothing of value out of it. It wasn't even bad coz that would have been interesting.

I do not like this Sherlock- I mean Poirot. They made him straight, they took away his OCD. They took away his heart of gold. He's just a sad mean old man, and he's not fun to watch. What does Kenneth think he's here to do? And its not just Poirot its the whole world. There's no sense of fun in these movies. In Orient Express it makes sense (although it made no sense to adapt that one first Kenneth). But Halloween Party? Guys live a fucking little.

Someone needs to explain to male directors that just because they're telling a story of cultural importance, doesn't make it epic. Agatha Christie's stories are fantastic! They're major cultural pieces of art. They are not epic though. They are fun mysteries. Kenneth, buddy, do you know what fun is? Because your movies haven't captured an iota of it.

That's maybe a slight exaggeration. There was one moment that made me smile. When Poirot said he would kill himself if the police solved the mystery before him, that was a real moment.

Poirot doesn't need war trauma guys. I don't even know how to tell you this. I fucking blame all the Sherlock adaptations for this. The detective shouldn't have that much going on, because we're here for the mystery not Poirot's damage. And if he must have damage it should be from things that we've seen and care about, not like, his dead wife. Or God forbid his dead congregation, looking at you BBC One. come on.

Making the killer the mother who couldn't stand to let her daughter grow up is predictable. It was my partner's first guess and he never gets these things right. I had guessed it was a Romeo and Juliet went wrong, which I think would have been interesting. But no, once again the faults of the child belong at the hands of the mother.

Also the whole time my partner was joking that the movie was going to decide that ghosts were real. And it did (kinda). Bizarre. I mean if you're going to that fucking go all out guys. Show me the dead girl waving to the survivors through the window. Have any fun with the idea. Please

Why was the parrot there? What was the point of it? Why is this child acting like the most world weary 11 year old? Has Kenneth met a child? Normally I'd be like "oh Lemon, it's just for fun" but Kenneth is determined we not have any, so what the hell?

Ah yes, let's put the man in the sound proof room and give the key very pointedly to one person. My partner and I were like "well whatever he knows is going to his grave" and yeah dead next scene coz duh. It was all very... I mean I know it's rude to compare a writer to Agatha Christie, but they're the ones who decided to square up. Every important clue dialogue is so obvious. Every death flag. They might as well do a pop-up on the screen. I've played Nancy Drew video games with more subtly.

They assassinated Ariadne, Christie's stand in for herself. And I feel very very negatively about this. Ah yes, kill her movies with shitty adaptations and then do a character assassination of her self insert. I mean, you can't say they're half-assing this. Tina Fey was actually good, it's not her fault almost all her lines were terribly written.

You can get the Dutch angle privilege back when you show me know how to use it properly Kenneth. Until then it's on the shelf.

If you wanted to do a horror movie hiding in a mystery story or a mystery story hiding in a horror movie, you need to commit to either idea Kenneth. Do something.

I am so so so tired of directors who keep acting like they have something important to say when they have nothing and refuse to have fun with the things that they do have.

They cannot keep getting away with this, guys. It's imperative we do something about this. Don't go see Nolan's Odyssey, I'm begging you. I'll never escape any other way.

[morsesnotes]

Does anyone else sometimes wonder why Endeavour wasn't a bigger deal? I'm not really complaining because if it was at Sherlock levels that would be too much, but I just think about the first time I saw it. My parents were watching Pylon on Masterpiece Mystery, and it blew my mind. The beautiful cinematography, the music, the characters, the story, and yes even with the stache I could tell Shaun was attractive under there, lol. I kept thinking "How...have I never heard of this before?? This is incredible???"

And that was S6! The consistency it had was seriously impressive for how long it went on, the length of each film, and only having one writer.

Something about it is different from any detective show I've seen before. You can feel the amount of love which went into every part of it, and it often does the opposite of what you'd typically expect.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this but I feel like it deserves more appreciation than it gets, and I hope people will keep discovering it now there won't be any new seasons coming out. I think there's a lot of people who'd love it but have no idea it exists.

[philtstone]

you’re actually making me want to watch psych…any tips/anything I should know going in?

another fallen soldier...

ok i will take this ask actually seriously

things 2 know:

it's early 2000s sherlock holmes, so it has cop stuff. shawn and gus are not cops but everyone else is. if u cant watch that without getting upset or frustrated then its not for you.

of its time (2006) so some of the jokes are outdated. its main characters are men & the other characters function as extensions and foils for their adventures, so while juliet is an amazing character and i absolutely love her, she is not a main character. most of her plots are experienced thru shawn's pov, because he is the main character. if you go in expecting differently, you will be disappointed

imo psychs most genuine L is its mental health language. again, if u take that to heart/will be upset by certain outdated terms, not for u

psych is a story about an honest liar. its easy to forget this, bc its a silly goofy show and shawn has very good intentions, but psych is all about duality and grey areas. going into it assuming that your main characters are morally pure, emotionally mature people will end in disappointment and frustration

while it is technically a dramedy, it is UNSERIOUS. really and truly. shawn basically has superpowers. he is not a real boy. many forget this.

its obviously made with so so much love. for this reason i tend to forgive it almost everything

tips for watching!

psych is long. i dont think i have ever watched it start to finish in full chronological order. because it has so many filler eps (murder mystery of the week basically!), you can skip around if you dont have patience for 8 full seasons of network tv. if you are worried about time sink or getting bored, i would start with the pilot, watch spellingg bee, then start skipping fillers and only watch the best episodes in your first watch. heres me and my brother's tier list for best episodes (to be clear, tier C is like. average good psych episode. everything above tier C ranges from very fun to iconic masterpiece):

hopefully thats legible and not totally useless lol. its also a subjective list, so others may not agree! id also definitely bring "forget me not", "poker? i barely know her!", "the greatest adventure in the history of basic cable", "daredevils", and "gus's dad may have killed an old guy" up into tier B ... i hadnt rewatched them properly when we made this list lol. all excellent eps.

anyway .... did i take this ask way too seriously? yes. dont ask me how i got here. i dont care to unpack it all

enjoy!

[babyleostuff]

For a prolific writer like you ( and I know you've got mad skills because I like a stalker went through your blog and with each ask you write good stuff, hitting the feelings right and all) do you have a book recommendation? Your discography of writing is so vast and profound and for each character ( and we all know there's 13 reactions you have to nail every time ,)you must have read an ocean fill to be deeply inspired to write this well.

Sincerely how the hell do you nail quality WITH quantity this well ?

In other words... you're Uhmazeing

first of all THANK YOU SO MUCH this literally made me go 🥰🥲🥳😍💜🥹. complements like these always make me shed a tear (in a good way ofc).

AND DO I HAVE A BOOK RECOMMENDATION??? OH HONEY I DO!!!! (literature and writing are basically my whole life).

you didn't specify which genre you're interested in so let me give you some options <3

CLASSICS

picture of dorian grey, dracula, psycho, animal farm, pride and prejudice, little women, the handmaid’s tale

CRIME/ MYSTERY

the only crime and mystery i enjoy reading is sir arthur conan doyle and agata christie, so sherlock holmes and hercules poirot is just chefs kiss (and their books are such wholesome, short, to the point novels that i can’t imagine someone not liking them)

if i had to pick my fav tho „then there were none” has to be one of my all time favourites, it’s so so good

FANTASY (ISH)

the song of achilles, the invisible life of addie larue, a court of thorns and roses, electric idol + radiant sin, the ex hex, kingdom of the wicked, these violent delights, serpent & dove

SPORTS SERIES

(F1) dirty air [don’t get discouraged by the first book], (hockey) off-campus, (american football) the wall of winnipeg and me [not that huge fan of this in particular, but idk maybe you like american football]

OTHERS

the housekeeper and the professor, a little life, the secret history, if we were villains, a dowry of blood, little fires everywhere, radio silence + loveless

TIK TOK (it hurts me that a genre like that even exists)

twisted series, check & mate + the love hypothesis, the spanish love deception, love redesigned (an actually good tik tok(ish) book), kings of sin series, dreamland billionaires series, archer’s voice

i think that’s the best i can do for now (and i realise that not all of those recommendations are masterpieces and classics of literature, but sometimes you just need a book with bad writing and poor plot).

i hope you’ll find something for yourself! 🫶🏼

[weast-of-eden]

hi hello are you busy tonight? yeah didn’t think so. do you like victorian era johnlock? yes i thought so. want to read a wip masterpiece? exactly. read this fic

The Adventure of the Purloined Heart by ladyblahblah

murder mystery pining AND competent watson discussions of male prostitution in 1880s literally what else could you ask for.

[trekbait]

Upcoming holonovel releases this month!

Catch the latest entertainment, available soon at your local holosuite!

Captain Proton Versus the Zombies of the Stratosphere!

Tom Paris’ latest instalment in his Captain Proton series has Proton face off against undead alien invaders who seek to swap their dying planet’s location for Earth’s warm orbit. It is down to you to stop them from throwing Earth away into the cold void of space with the power of atom bombs!

Vulcan Love Slave, Volume VII: T’Hot in Prison

Fresh off Ferenginar’s anonymous erotic presses, this latest tale from the Vulcan Love Slave series sees T’Hots thrown into a barbaric Breen prison where she must “bond” with her fellow female inmates to plan an escape. Can she distract the attention of the cold and mysterious Breen guards to allow her comrades in chains to melt away the ice walls of their cells with their physical activity? (Please note this programme may be restricted in some Starfleet holodecks; check before you download)

Human

The first Exocomp-written holonovel follows the crew of the all-Exocomp science ship Omortson who come across a derelict spaceship in an uncharted asteroid belt. The brave Exocomps mistakenly release a creature from stasis, a deadly and aggressive Human who starts to stalk and murder the crew within their own vessel. Can you survive and ensure the Human doesn’t escape the ship onto other worlds?

Sharknado Attack!

When a freak hurricane swamps San Francisco, thousands of sharks terrorize the waterlogged Starfleet Command. Pyblic Domayne HoloProductions previously became famous for adapting classic Human works like Dixon Hill, Sherlock Holmes, Beowulf and Shakespeare. With the recent craze for Human stories from the early 21st century they’ve been adapting that era’s golden classics such as Bubba Ho-Tep, 50 Shades of Grey, The Emoji Movie and Daddy Day Camp. Sharknado is celebrated as one of the great works of the era and this is the best adaptation of the work to date!

An Eye for a Golden Lady

Felix’s Secret Agent series continues as you are sent on a mission to retrieve the kidnapped daughter of the Japanese emperor. As you travel across ancient Earth in style, uncovering a vast criminal arms conspiracy, all our nuclear war is on the line! But you'll still find time to seduce the princess and sample the local martinis.

Photons Be Free: The Opera

The Doctor, from Voyager, has adapted his tale of photonic servitude for those more musically inclined. The 5-hour-long operatic masterpiece will have you singing along (autotuned if necessary) with the characters as you play an abused holographic slave to an evil crew. The locations are redesigned to be more abstract like stage dressing and, based on the quality of your performance, expect a round of applause for your performance!

[user-needs-new-hyperfixation]

Can I ask from this ask game : https://www.tumblr.com/toomanyfandomsthings/749729499738996736/send-me-a-ship-and-a-number-and-ill-tell-you?source=share

No. 2, 10, 11, 12, 15 for Sherliam, Albert/Mycroft and HuaLian.... Thanks 🌻

2. What their love letters look like

Sherliam: I think while they were separated before they came back to London they probably wrote a fair amount (though that might have been complicated by Sherlock being on the move so much.) Some of their letters were long and sentimental and filled with the kind of stuff that prompts a historian 150 years later to call them "besties." Other times it was just telegraphs like: arrived safely STOP terrible weather the whole trip STOP miss your butt.

Mycal: Albert writes long poetic love letters in beautiful penmanship and Mycroft is very dry and droll and they're both incredibly pretentious in their own ways.

Hualian: They never write love letters because they're always together, they have a telepathic private chat even when they're not, and Xie Lian can't read Hua Cheng's handwriting. 😂😂😂

10. What TV shows they watch together, and which ones they hide from the other

Sherliam: They like to watch NatGeo documentaries and mystery shows together. Sherlock is pretending he doesn't like Dateline and William is pretending he doesn't like Hallmark Channel movies.

Mycal: they watch The Great British Bake Off together. Albert hides that he cries over soap operas and Mycroft is inexplicably secretive about his love of PBS Masterpiece Theatre.

Hualian: (with the caveat that I'm referencing all western shows, I don't know Chinese TV, I'm sorry!) They watch grumpy detective shows together. Hua Cheng secretly watches HGTV and rants about the decorating choices. Xie Lian secretly watches kids' cartoons.

In every set of couples, they are all actually entirely aware of and endeared by their partner's "secret" faves.

11. What their first impression was of each other

I think we have this pretty well established in canon for both Sherliam and Hualian, but I do wonder about Mycal, because I have the (perhaps entirely wrong lol) impression that the first time we see them interact is not the first time they do interact. I imagine their first meeting as polite but with a bit of a strange edge to it: some recognition in both of them that this is someone to Keep An Eye On. Cautious but intrigued.

12. What they do for their anniversary

They are all basic bitches who plan to just go out for a nice dinner and exchange gifts and then have a bunch of sex. However, Mycal are the only ones who actually manage this without Shenanigans and Escapades along the way. Sherliam and Hualian both have anniversary stories involving things like getting lost and getting robbed and accidentally solving a murder and breaking a bone and having a near death experience.

15. What they would change about each other

Sherliam: Sherlock would (and did!) change William's self-loathing. William would (and also probably did at least to a degree) change Sherlock's smoking and drug habits.

Mycal: Mycroft would also change Albert's self-loathing. (It's a work in progress.) Albert would want Mycroft to be a little more open about his emotions.

Hualian: they would both want the other to stop sacrificing themselves. They're getting there.

[chuckling-chemist]

PBS needs to stay funded and quite explicitly Masterpiece Mystery needs to rerelease all the episodes of Sherlock with the original release gaps between seasons. The people need to be educated in what true hiatus hell looks like

[screenshotheavenz]

Black Butler: Public School Arc Aesthetics

Anime: Black Butler: Public School Arc

SPOILERS BELOW!:

I'm halfway through the series, but honestly, I'm a little underwhelmed by the anime. Despite the weird parts of the anime and its weirder shipping community, I truly enjoyed this anime for a few reasons: 1. It has a more historical approach: the anime is set in the 18th-19th century, the Victorian era, England, showing off its unique fashion choices, mannerisms of people of that time, as well as the beautiful architecture of its time. It also shows the mannerisms and behavioral patterns of the royal, the rich, and the poor, shows us the POV of a young boy who executes the queen's will without question despite being so young, using his "one hell of a butler" to get rid anyone who threatens the queen or himself. He acts as a person who's merely using his mind to move the chess pieces around the board he has created, deeming him a young mastermind who thinks of almost everyone as chess pawns or pieces and his butler, Sebastian being the "Queen", the second most important chess piece, executing the king's will.

2. The music is exquisite. The composers and executors have done a wonderful job composing music for this anime, such as "Si Deus Me Relinquit" and "The Slightly Chipped Full Moon," both timeless, beautiful sets of songs. They also included masterpieces like Vivaldi's "Summer", though rewritten with the name "Dance Macabre" as well as a banger, Openings and Endings. Not to mention Sebastian's very theme, "Nigram Clavem," which, to this day, gives me goosebumps.

3. The spinoff lacks the darker theatrics of the previous seasons:

The anime, Black Butler, or Kuroshitsuji, is known for its dark, mystery, and crime-solving tendencies with a touch of fantasy, taking place in a Victorian era scenario, most likely inspired by Sherlock Holmes books. I had hope that the spinoff would've been leaning into that direction, which satisfied me to an extent;

The serie is based around Ciel going undercover as an exchange student into a prestigious school for distinguished gentlemen, to find out about the mysterious disappearances of 5 students within the school. We see him being forced to use different tactics to get information, but as he digs deeper, the darker the secrets become. Though, I will not expand on the whole lore at the moment, I did find the whole anime leaning more onto the comedy side, which is what I presume the devs wanted from this spinoff, but as an ex-black butler fan, I can't help but feel really underwhelmed by lack of darker dramatics. You have to watch around 10 episodes to get to the darker parts, which is a bit frustrating when you're expecting a darker theme from an originally dark anime.

BUT!

The anime does have its ups, which are: 1. Much more polished-looking animation quality.

2. The spinoff isn't too bad, in fact, it is leaning on the more realistic side of the how investigations would go, both stumbling across comic and tragic moments, as well as maintaining a certain disguise, using strategy instead of making rash choices, using stealth as well as manipulation to get said information.

3. Ciel's wits and smarts really popped off in this one. Instead of going all bratty and tsundere, like he did back in older series, he used the skills of his butler and his acting as an advantage. You can clearly see that he has slightly matured in a few ways, one of them being less bratty, opting to use his brain power and acting to get what he wanted and climb the ladder to get to the bottom of the series' plot.

4. We finally got to learn about his father's past- at least a part of it. We learn more about how deeply connected the Midfords and Phantomhives actually were, that Ciel's father wasn't just a blank face, but a mastermind just like his son, manipulating the field to his whims, though his personality was much more playful and carefree than his son's.

We also got to meet some old favorite faces of ours, like Ciel's fiance, Lizzy, Soma, Agni, Baldroy, Lau, etc... which were really nice to see, Soma also got a lot more screentime, which I love <3

5. The scenery and aesthetics are just on another level. Being a vintage-loving freak, I absolutely ADORED the showcasing of both architectural structures and interior designs. You can tell they took their time making the anime aesthetically pleasing, as it should be.

Overall, this is not the best spinoff, but also not the worst, unlike some we have seen in the past. I would highly recommend watching if you're into comedy, mild drama, mystery, and slow-burn mystery-solving cases, As well as aesthetically pleasing scenery.

The spinoff doesn't have as much of a dark-themed tendency it had back then, but it did a great job at revealing a more relaxed, as well as playful nature of both Ciel and Sebastian.