oh. god. yes.

Fuckbois throughout the ages : HE LOVES IRENE ADLER. HE TOTALLY WANTED TO SLEEP WITH HER. THAT’S WHY HE ADMIRES HER. #TRUELOVE #SOULMATE #STAR-CROSSED LOVERS

Sherlock Holmes in ACD canon : I wanna fly out of the window and over London holding Watson’s hand. My Boswell. My conductor of light. IF YOU TOUCH WATSON I WILL KILL YOU AND YOUR ANCESTORS.

Putting his hands into his pockets, he stretched out his legs in front of the fire and laughed heartily for some minutes.

“Well, really!” he cried, and then he choked and laughed again until he was obliged to lie back, limp and helpless, in the chair.

“What is it?”

“It’s quite too funny.”

Holmes’ canon reaction to Watson getting married:

“I get a wife out of it, Jones gets the credit, pray what remains for you?”

“For me,” said Sherlock Holmes, “there still remains the cocaine-bottle.” And he stretched his long white hand up for it. 

Irene getting married made Holmes laugh for literal minutes until he choked, and then laugh again until he could laugh no more. 

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, repeatedly - Irene Adler did not give a fuck about Sherlock Holmes! That’s been the most frustrating thing about her portrayal everywhere! She didn’t give a crap! She just wanted security so she could go get married to Godfrey!

I wish we had that Irene. Instead of being another character whose star is hanging in Sherlock’s solar system, she’s the person who reminds him he’s not the center of the universe - he can make mistakes, he can get cocky, he doesn’t know everything and his methods aren’t full-proof. And best of all, she teaches him these lessons…as a sort of aside. Like, it was a side-effect of her doing her own thing.

He’s the one who learned something. He was bested. They weren’t chasing after each other and she wasn’t some mysterious minx or clever coquette whose sole purpose in the plot was to be sexy and confident and then have that sexiness used against her and the confidence pulled out from under her feet so that Sherlock could be clever and prove how awesome he was (I’m looking at you, BBC and Ritchie versions).

I mean, I’m an absolute sucker for anything, anything Sherlock Holmes. I loved the stories, I love every piece of media I can get my hands on.

But Irene is my favourite character. And she. Gets. Shafted.

Anyway, just to continue quoting from canon, here we have Holmes saying that he hopes she loves her husband:

“Irene Adler is married,” remarked Holmes. 

“Married! When?” 

“Yesterday.” 

“But to whom?” 

“To an English lawyer named Norton.” 

“But she could not love him.” 

“I am in hopes that she does.” 

He hardly seems heartbroken over it, and is more interested in dissing the King than anything at this point in the story. 

And here we have Irene saying it herself:

As to the photograph, your client may rest in peace. I love and am loved by a better man than he.

Irene Norton loves her husband. She doesn’t love the King of Bohemia. She doesn’t love Holmes. Both Holmes and the King got in her way of trying to marry the man she loves, but she outsmarted them both and got what she wanted. The whole case is about this and yet I get the impression that many adaptations fail to realize that her whole story is about her trying to be with the man she loves without all these other people interfering and trying to control her. And she is the one who saves herself in this story. Holmes is not the hero, he’s just an annoyance.

Super-realistic!

So Katy and Carororo let me in on their animated Sherlock handcuff shenanigans!

But if you apply some worldbuilding you put two things together:

1. Replicators

2. “No money.”

Futurists call this the “replicator economy” and we’re already seeing the start of it.

If I was a little bit richer, I would have bought a 3D printer last year.

When you have a 3D printer, you can download things from the internet and make them yourself for the cost of the raw materials. I have a 3D-printed cosplay prop that I printed on a library printer. They charged me the cost of the raw filament for it…it cost me less than $2 for the actual object. Probably $3-4 by the time I add in the paint. It’s made of a biologically created plastic.

In the works: Creating 3D printer filament out of old plastic shopping bags. (Which cannot be multi-stream recycled, it costs a fortune). This means that it won’t be long before a normal household can make toys and the like out of plastic shopping bags.

A true replicator uses cheap raw materials and waste to make useful things.

Let’s imagine, as an interim step, that somebody creates a clothing replicator. You feed it rags and it creates new clothes, from patterns you download from the internet.

So, you have an old T-shirt. It’s fine, but for a small hole and the pattern having rubbed off. You feed it into your clothing replicator and out comes a new T-shirt with a new design. No, we don’t have this yet, but we can and probably will.

What, at that point, happens to clothing shops? Oh, yes, you might still buy some clothes - and handmade clothing, put together by an actual human, is still going to have a cachet.

But the clothes from your replicator fit you perfectly. You don’t have a size any more. Every X months you stand in a 3D scanner, it takes every measurement, and then sends it to your replicator. If you’re pregnant (assuming we don’t have ectogenesis) you can actually have it adjust your favorite dress to make baby bump room. Just like that. The most comfortable item of clothing I own is my pleather bodysuit. Not coincidentally, it’s the only item of clothing I own that was made to my measurements.

None of what we wear fits.

So…right. What happens to clothing shops? What happens to spending large amounts of money on new clothes while we throw old clothes away or give them to Goodwill?

The economy slowly develops to the point where the means of production really is in the hands of people: As individuals.

Star Trek technology means that if Picard wants a new suit, he just programs a clothing replicator to take his measurements and make him a new suit. Some people like tailors, so Garak gets to stay in business.

And eventually, if all you actually need is raw material and information, you don’t need to buy very much…

…and you end up with a society without money. It’s not “communist” in any way that has ever been tried before because, well, it requires the underpinnings of that technology. (Just don’t think too hard about where the Enterprise’s food replicators get some of their raw material).

You end up with the only valuable thing being information and the only valuable skill being art - but it doesn’t matter, because you don’t need to work for a living any more. TNG reflects the only valuable skill being art in many ways, in fact. Data’s painting. The chamber orchestra. Geordi’s hobby of designing holodeck programs. Everyone makes art, not because it’s the one thing machines can’t do, but because it’s the one thing humans (and others) won’t let the machines take over.

Hey guys!!!! 

In honor of 221B Con just happening last week and because I hit over 200 followers, I have a copy of Toplock and Twisted by @archiaart to give away! 

Now for the rules!

1) Must be following me

2) Reblogs only; Only reblog once so as you don’t spam your followers. Likes don’t count (No giveaway or side blogs)

3) Must be 18+ to enter.

4) You must be willing to give me your shipping address. I will ship worldwide (Make sure to check your country’s customs laws regarding the shipment of explicit/pornographic material).

5) Giveaway ends on May 6th. I will notify the winner the next day. If I don’t hear back within 24 hours, I will choose another winner.

Hi, this is ’Mary’ again. You already know who I am, don’t you? https://possiblyimbiassed.tumblr.com/post/158941695058/lessons-from-mrs-heteronormativity. So no need to expand on that. But since I’m now your obligatory storyteller, I’d also like to introduce my colleague to you: Mr Homophobia.

Mr Homophobia is the driver of this ride, and I’m the enabler. Together we have hijacked the story and derailed it rather beautifully. So do hop on board - it’s gonna be a bumpy ride!

Choo - choo!

When Mr Homophobia – let’s call him ‘Jim’ – made his first appearance in the show, he already managed to give HBTQ people a negative representation:

Jim lured Sherlock into deducing him and ‘outing’ him as a dishonest gay man in front of John (who we all know is a bit closeted) and Molly (who had presented Jim as her new boyfriend).

As a Consulting Criminal, Jim also ‘helped’ minor gay characters in the show to appear to the audience as murderous people seeking revenge:

Jim’s Consulting services even included persuading a lesbian woman to dissimulate “falling in love” with a man (albeit in a rather treacherous way):

Jim’s true mission was made clear already in Season 1, though:

The inclusion of hallucinatory drugs made Mr Homophobia into an increasing problem for Sherlock…

…until the time was ripe for The Fall:

The Fall consisted in Sherlock abandoning the love of his life…

…and leaving said love interest in my warm, heteronormative hands:

And then, after Sherlock’s complete heartbreak…

… some traditional, homophobic tropes could play out nicely in Sherlock’s mind, even without Jim’s physical presence:

The Depraved Homosexual trope  http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DepravedHomosexual

The Bury Your Gays trope http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BuryYourGays

And Jim has even made sure Sherlock thinks he deserves being beaten:

And even if Sherlock might have had his doubts…

He still succumbs to the general concept:

Isn’t it amazing just how much Jim managed to do to an otherwise rational mind - the famous Sherlock Holmes - in just five minutes?

So, as I was saying, this story is really a beautiful train wreck; a masterpiece of post-modern, cynical art. Mr Homophobia and I - Mrs Heteronormativity - make a wonderful, serial-killing couple together. In short: Jim instils the fear and I give it some social context; we are the perfect villains!

Hi Lovely!

I actually haven’t read any that come to mind immediately, other than these ones:

MOVIE /TV UNIVERSES

The Swan Triad Series by Pennin_Ink (T, 121,660 w. across 3 works || Swan Princess AU) – Sherlock and John grow up spending every summer together. Their mothers’ attempts to play matchmaker only fuel their mutual resentment and scorn. But then, one summer…

The Frost Child by twistedthicket1 (M, 9,944 w. || Frozen-ish AU || Angst, Fluff) – In a world where people are born with a Gift of varying levels, simple John Watson is the last person one might look at when thinking of any strong Magick capabilities. Hiding comfortably in the shadow of Sherlock’s brilliant deducing abilities, John is content to keep it that way…

Perdition’s Flames by i_ship_an_armada (E, 63,435 w., | Treklock AU) – Sherlock would do anything to save him. Risk anything. Give anything. His money, his life. His soul. What he does, though, is change both of their destinies forever. Genetic re-engineering is the only option left. It turns out researchers underestimated the life expectancy and potential abilities of genetically re-engineered subjects. The British government and what would eventually become the United Federation of Planets, however, had not. Part 1 of PF Universe

Coventry by standbygo (E, 52,020 w. || Dollhouse AU) – “Let me get this straight,” John said, wondering when his life had become a science fiction film. “Some guy orders up a personality, a person, to his specifications, and they program this into a real live person, who has consented to do this, and she goes to this person and acts as his wife, or lawyer, or Royal Marine, or Navy Seal or what have you, and she has all the skills, all the knowledge, everything? Then you say the magic words, and she follows you back to The House, and they erase it all until her next appointment?”

The Boy Who Drank Stars by kinklock (E, 36,187 w. || Howl’s Moving Castle | Slow Burn, Romance, Pining) – “I’m looking for a castle,” John informed the scarecrow. “A moving one.” Except that, as it turned out, it was not a moving one at all.

Impossible Improbable Truth by KaraRenee (M, 24,308 w. || Labyrinth AU) – John and Sherlock take a case investigating the disappearance of a teenage girl and her toddler half brother. What they find is an impossible adventure that leads them on a journey of discovery of their sexuality. {{I haven’t read this, but it’s on my Marked for Later and I remembered putting it on there LOL}}

Through Dangers Untold by hogwartswitch (E, 32,003 w. || Labyrinth AU) – The Goblin King has fallen in love with John Watson and visits him in dreams. But the evil wizard who cursed the Goblin King cannot allow that to continue. Will John survive the labyrinth? Or will he become a lost goblin like all the rest? {{I think I started this when it was a WiP, so I never finished it, hah. I don’t remember it all.}}

Malediction by MapleleafCameo (M, 36,680 w. || Ladyhawke AU) – Cursed to a half-life, John and Sherlock must fight the forces of evil to be reunited once again. {{I read this once a LONG time ago. I remember loving it.}}

Bel Canto by bendingsignpost (T, 96,751 w. || Phantom of the Opera AU || Major Character Death) – After years of waiting for wealthy patrons to faint, Dr John Watson discovers a far more interesting patient in the opera house basement. {{ Another I never finished, but this is the  “go to” PotO fic}}

The Dragon’s Soldier by twistedthicket1 (M, 154,667 w. || Smauglock || Past Rape/Non-con, H/C, Dragonlock) – When the dragons “came out” to the rest of the world, nobody expected the resulting War that broke out between Humans and Beasts. Both sides afraid and suspicious of each other, Humans drove Dragons into slavery, imprisoning them and turning their children into weapons for the military. Forced into hiding, many Dragons disguised themselves as Human and kept their secrets locked away, awaiting for the day when the royal blood line long since vanished would once again reappear and lay waste to the Humans that oppressed them. Can Dragon and Man really get along? Or even more, become friends? {{Another on my MFL list, haven’t read this yet so read at your own risk}}

The Soul Remembers by i_ship_an_armada (E, 43,636 w. || Oblivion AU || Dreams, Sci-Fi, Action/Adventure, Bittersweet Ending) – John Watson is the lone security repairman stationed on a desolate, nearly-ruined future Earth. His dreams are plagued by a tall, dark-haired man, and when his dreams meet reality, he will be forced to question everything he believes is the truth about his life.

Deducing Daisies by LlamaWithAPen (G, 144,583 w. WIP || Pushing Daisies AU || Friendship, Death, Humour) – What if you could touch someone and bring them back to life? Sherlock Holmes, the Detective, is a seemingly ordinary man with an extraordinary gift: he can bring the dead back to life with a single touch. {{Haven’t read this yet, it’s on my MFL list, read at own discretion}}

Once Upon a Beast Becoming by antietamfalls (T, 24,042 w. || Beauty and the Beast AU || Magical Realism, Romance) – An act of pride, a druid’s curse, an enchanted leaf; Sherlock’s torment has lasted an age. Hope arrives in the form of one John Watson, a man uniquely suited to break the spell. But with a single night to win his affections, Sherlock finds his carefully laid plans disrupted by a monstrous killer whose sights are set on the only thing he has left to lose: John. {{Haven’t read this yet, on MFL list. Read at your own discretion}}

SPECIAL ABILITIES

We Bleed into the Grey by QuinnAnderson (T, 4,989 w. | Fluff and Angst, Supernatural Elements) – It was stupid, really. What was the point of having an ability if it wasn’t even a useful one? Sherlock would just as soon be rid of his. Until he meets John Watson, that is. {{Sherlock can see Auras}}

An Experiment in Empathy Series by belovedmuerto (G to T, 62 397w across 13 stories) –  In which John is an empath, Sherlock is Sherlock, and an epic bromance happens. In the aftermath of The Great Game, John creates an unexpected bond between himself and Sherlock. Now they have to learn how to deal with it. John is better at this than Sherlock is. {{I LOVE this SERIES SO MUCH.}}

An Experiment in Apathy Series by belovedmuerto (G to E, 28,701 w. over 13 stories, WIP) – John and Sherlock navigate their complicated relationship. I adore this series, and it feels complete where it leaves off :)

Invisible by chappysmom (K+, 25+K w. || No Slash, semi-canon compliant) – John had had the knack for as long as he could remember. It wasn’t that he could become invisible, exactly. The laws of physics worked quite well in his vicinity, thank you very much. It was just that people tended … not to see him. {{This was one of the first AU’s I read, and I still love it to this day}}. SEQUELS: Still Invisible (ASiB) || Too Visible (THoB) || Invisible Once More (TRF) All are very good and should all be read.

Conductivity by Coquillage Atlas (K,11K+ w.|| Fantasy and Friendship) – John Watson, alone in London with a healing power he can hardly bear. A description of his life with magic, before and after Sherlock. {{Another really good AU!}} SEQUELS: Resistance || Reciprocity 

Left by lifeonmars (M, 45,153 w. || Magical Realism) – John Watson is left-handed. He’s tried not to let it affect his life, but as any Lefty knows, that’s almost impossible. (FAVE!!)

ANGELS AND DEMONS / WING!LOCK

I Used to Live Alone Before I Knew You by etothepii (T, 11,052 w. | Winglock) – Where Mycroft is an angel, Sherlock is a demon, and John is still John. {{I like this one because John is so perfect in it, and Sherlock cares so much about John}}

Fallen Series by Belladonna_Q & mamishka (T, 222,094 w. across 3 works, WiP || Angel!John, Fae & Fairies) – In a world where myth, mystery, and the supernatural flourish beneath the veneer of modern civilization, Sherlock is a master of magic as well as science and deduction. But there are some things that he cannot see, riddles he cannot unravel, even when they walk right beside him in the form of one John Watson…

A Certain Kind of Hunger by MapleleafCameo (E, 5,881w. || Somnophilia, Incubus!John, Tail Things) – A concerned Sherlock watches as John seems to be rapidly losing weight. What he discovers is that John really isn’t normal. And he is very, very hungry. The tail was the real surprise.

Angel by MrsNoggin (T, 1K+w. || Friendship, Winglock-ish) – John is an angel. That can be the only explanation. This is an interesting take on the Winglock universe.

Not The Hands That Kill by You_Light_The_Sky (M, 6,201 w. || Winglock, Implied Sex) – Having wings does not make Sherlock Holmes a guardian angel, not in the way that John Watson is his.

Guidelines by WithLoweredVoices (M, 43,018 w. || Winglock, Fantasy, BAMF!John) – The Good Soldier, one of the oldest and strongest of the fallen, is offered a bargain: to live as John Watson and to Guide a fledgling archangel so that he will stay on the path of good. Of course, Sherlock Holmes has different ideas about his destiny. Warnings for violence, occasional gore, and a whole load of hurt and angst.

It’s After That Hurts by jonnyluvssherlock (T, 2,791 w. || Winglock, Pining Sherlock, Minor Gore, Fallen Angel, Friends to Lovers) – Sherlock’s an angel stuck as a guardian to danger addict John Watson. Everything is fine until he gets too involved. Now he has to make the choice, eternity alone or one life time with a man who may or may not love him. {{This is only one chapter and it feels like it should be more… I love it but feels incomplete. Kind of an AU of City of Angels}}

VAMPIRES AND WEREWOLVES

John Watson’s Moon by patternofdefiance (E, 11,314 w. || Werewolf!John, First Time) – Sherlock finds out John is a werewold and wants to see the transformation. It, uh, gets really kinky.

An Acquired Taste by kinklock (E, 31,059 w. || Bat!Sherlock, Humour, Misunderstandings) – At Montague Street when Sherlock was forced to sate his body’s needs, he was at least able to wander about the flat as much as he pleased. At Baker Street, it was mini-bags in a mini-fridge and bedroom confinement.

Bleed Me Out by antietamfalls (E, 87,987 w. || Soul Bonding, John Whump, Fluff and Angst, H/C) – John isn’t exactly surprised to discover that Sherlock isn’t human. His vampirism doesn’t pose a problem, even when their relationship gradually grows into something more. That is, until a deadly revelation about John’s blood sends their lives spinning dangerously out of control.

MAGIC AND FANTASY

Shatter the Darkness (Let the Light In) by MojoFlower (E, 109,683 w. | GenieLock, Torture, H/C, Magical Realism) – Fairy tales are for those who remember how to dream; not John Watson, broken and hiding from his bleak future in a beige bedsit. But then he discovers a lamp and finds himself in the dangerous riptide of an enigmatic man whose very existence is unbelievable, murder charges against his sister, and the growing pains of feeling alive once more. {{This is a REALLY great story, which tears at your heart consistently}}.

De Veritate Unicornis Moderni by tepid sponge bath (T, 5K+ w. | Fantasy & Drama) – John Watson, a unicorn of this day and age, is trapped in a mortal body. Life as it is seems pretty pointless, almost unendurable, until he meets one Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective and very much a virgin. {{This is such an interesting take on unicorn mythology}}.

To Mend A Heart by dee-light (G, 1,472 w. || Magical Realism, H/C) – Hearts can be broken, and mended, and broken again. Good thing, then, that hearts are only the seat of all emotion, and not something Sherlock needs in order to live.

Winter of Life by You_Light_The_Sky (T, 5,178 w. || Magic Realism, Fluff, Christmas, Angst) – It was an experiment, really. On Christmas, Sherlock wrote to Santa asking for a friend. He got a broken toy soldier instead. This is the story of how he finds him again and again.

Software Malfunction by tiger_in_the_flightdeck (E, Tumblr fic || Android!lock, Jealous, Angst, Unhappy Ending) – Assigned as the head of Medical Research on the Baker, John Watson meets- and quickly falls in love with- Sherlock, a specially commissioned Companion android with a malfunction.

No Strings Attached by Elster (G, 2,714w. || Fae / Faeries, Love Confessions, Fairy Tales) – To save John from being spirited away Under the Hill, Sherlock challenges the fairy queen to a fiddle contest.

SUPERNATURAL AND UNEXPLAINED

The Semantics of Crop Circle Formation: a case study by Sherlock Holmes [unpublished] bycanolacrush (M, 41,710 w. || Sherlock POV, Aliens, Wordplay, Casefic) – “Look at these photographs,” I said, gesturing to the wall of crop circles. “What do you observe?”“Crop circles,” John replied.“Obvious. What else?”“Are…are those intestines surrounding them?”“Yes. The majority are bovine and ovine in origin. The farmers who have acquired these crop circles in their fields have also had a tenth of their livestock murdered and arranged thus.”“Why?” John said, presumably in a rhetorical fashion. I detest rhetorical questions. “That is what I must find out, John.”

The Red Dianthus by kinklock (T, 11,382 w. || BAMF!John, Misunderstandings, Halloween, Fluff) – The boys investigate a mysterious disappearance in a supposedly haunted house, and get much more than they bargained for.

Upon Waking by joolabee (E, 3,901 w. || Somnophilia, Mildly Dubious Consent, Angst) – It sets on slow: John can only be awake while Sherlock sleeps, and vice versa. Their lives are codependent, but never meeting. Like a set of scales.

London’s Ghost by JustlikeWater (K+, 5K+ w.|| Tragedy/Angst, MCD, TRF AU, Sherlock POV) – "Today, it’s been weeks since Sherlock died. Other times, years. He doesn’t know for sure, though. Time passes differently for the dead" 

Electric Potential by pygmymeese (T, 5K+ w. || Supernatural) – It’s not clear why everyone in the world suddenly gets a ghost only they can interact with. All John Watson knows is that he’s stuck with a brilliant, if smug, ex-consulting detective, and that life is definitely looking up.

Second Waltz by Atiki (T, 6,685 w. || MCD, Angst, Fluff, Cancer) – "The night I died, you wished I could wait for you.“

Where The Ghosts Have Voices by HappyJuicyfruit (M, 37,665 w. || John Whump, Magical Realism, Ghosts, Coma, Happy Ending) – John has lived his whole life as an outcast. It is only when he meets Sherlock, that be realizes being a freak might not be such a bad thing, and that the curse he has lived with his whole life may be a gift after all. {{Haven’t read this yet, it’s on my MFL list, read at your own discretion}}

SOULMATES / TATTOOS

The Heart On Your Sleeve by flawedamythyst (T, 5,441 w. || Heartmark, Stubborn Sherlock) –  Sherlock stared at the imperfect circle on his left wrist in horror, then sat down on his bed with a bit of a thump. After over thirty years, his heartmark was finally showing activity. This was not good.

The Best Picture of the Human Soul by SwissMiss (T, 5,776 w. || Tattoos, Finding Your True Love) – The stories of our lives are written on our skin. Every time you fall in love, you gain a mark. Part 1 of Imagines Moti

With All My Heart by QuinnAnderson (E, 19,257 w. || Tally Marks, Magical Realism, Fluff and Angst) – AU in which every time a person falls in love, a red line like a tally mark appears on their wrist. Sherlock is determined to keep himself from ever gaining one of these marks for fear that love will corrode his mental faculties. Then he meets John Watson.

Finding John by orphan_account (T, 5,456 w. || Symbolic Rings) – Sherlock Holmes has met exactly twenty-four Johns in his life. They have all been the wrong John. He’s getting tired of waiting, staring at the inscription on his finger and wondering when his John will turn up, if ever. Part 1 of Inscriptions

what’s in a name by flight815kitsune (NR, 1,285 w. || Soulmate Names) – There were some things you just knew. The name, if you were lucky enough to get one, was one of those things

the fearful passage of death-mark’d love by urcool91 (T, 1980 w. || Tattoos, H/C, Angst) – The first time that John meets Sherlock Holmes, the younger man has his sleeves pushed up to his elbows, wrists bare of any hint of ink. Within 48 hours, John has added “Jefferson Hope” to his clavicle. (Or: The One Where, When You Kill Someone, Their Name Shows Up On Your Arm)

OTHER

{{SEE ALSO: Johnlock Body Swap Fic Rec List}}

Bringing Colour to the World by SD_Ryan (G, 1,168w. || Est. Relationship, Sickfic, Fluff, Schmoop) – In which we encounter a sick detective, a snuggle on the couch, and a silly fairytale.

The Steadfast Tin Watson by what_alchemy  (T, 3,973 w. || Fairytales) – When the fairies left, they took their stories with them. But they left the characters behind.

Otherwise, I actually have a lot on my Marked for Later list, all of which have come from Alexx’s lists:

Sherlock & Beauty and the Beast Fusions

Disney & Sherlock

Magic, Monsters & Other Fairy Tales

Merlock, merfolk, mermaids

Doors close, train speeds through the tunnel, John’s on board and looking haunted. Check.

Take note of the episode title, the way it’s slapped on the door as if labeling the train. Because that’s exactly what it’s doing. Yes, “The Empty Hearse” is the name of Anderson’s fan club. But just like the Skeleton Mystery they planted, it’s a bit of a fake-out to divert our attention from the real empty hearse – the vanishing train car. 

Onward…

Yes, we get it. Trains move through tunnels.

um…

what the hell’s up with this porn soundtrack

so many trains in tunnels oh my god. There’s even a fast-slow pacing going on here (I didn’t adjust the speed on the gifs).

and here comes the first in a line of this season’s most epic transitions:

It’s even more epic with the music. It’s porn music, guys. Music for pornography. Seriously, go back and listen. Oh, and the whistle blows. 

Anyway – extended trains-speeding-through-tunnels sequence with porny music and varying fast-slow speeds, a train comes at/by you, WHISTLE SCREAMING EVERYTHING’S FAST AND BLURRY fadingfadingfading and then John’s swaggering away from the tunnel exit (YUP), putting his key in to unlock 221B, walking inside, and the bow-chicka-bow-wow music comes to a close.

Hitchcock would be proud. And we’re not even ten minutes into the episode.

Oh, then John hears himself and Sherlock after their first date crime solving adventure, panting and laughing about “the most ridiculous thing he’s ever done” as they lean against the wall side-by-side in what totally does not look like the stock over-the-bed shot of a post-coital couple. (And let’s not overlook that lip pucker.)

MOVING ON.

Yup. I don’t know whether this has been discussed already (I know the link between TD12 and the glowing skull has already been found, but I’ve got no idea whether the following has been used as evidence), but just like the painting of the skull in Sherlock’s living room, TD12 is (unnecessarily!) lit by lamps and thus gives the impression that it’s glowing. 

Why? To give us a clue that Sherlock’s been given TD12 as well? It would explain why we see Culverton Smith in Sherlock’s living room for a mere second in TLD: 

Today I rewatched TST and TLD and I’ve found some other things that I really want to write down (even if it doesn’t make any sense. I just need to delete some information from my mind palace ;-)). But for now: goodnight, I really need to go to bed now ^^

OK, I have been searching for links within S4 to a Lost Special. Some we have already identified [’stop looking after 3′ in TLD, the Rouge billboard in TLD, ‘mind the gap’ and ‘Choo Choo’ in TFP] But I know these Holmesian nerds and they bury shit deep, and so I have been on a quest for more on The Lost Special. Here is another link I found and it’s very canon/Holmesian so right up Mark and Steven’s street.

The Lost Special is a short story by Doyle, published during the hiatus, so Holmes has been dead as far as the public are concerned for five years. But…in this story we get an anonymous detective writing in to help solve the mystery. It’s clearly Holmes: an "amateur reasoner" writes “It is one of the elementary principles of practical reasoning that when the impossible has been eliminated the residuum, HOWEVER IMPROBABLE, must contain the truth” So a voice from the undead? Yep it started with Doyle himself. Tradition in this Holmesian world for the dead to come back and speak. Anyway, Moffat mentioned this story at the BFI panel after TFP. Unsolicited. He was being asked about a fourth episode then couldn’t contain showing off and dropping that link. 

The train in The Lost Special goes missing between Kenyon Junction:

And Barton Moss:

Which were on the Liverpool/Manchester to Euston Station London line. 

The train goes missing in THE WEST OF ENGLAND. 

In The Valley of Fear Holmes tells us about Moriarty: "He is unmarried. His younger brother is a station master in the west of England.”

Then, lo and behold, out of the blue, fucking Eurus in TFP tells us this  information: “Did you know his brother was a station master? I think he was always jealous.” Why? It serves no purpose in TFP. It is just thrown in at random, and we take it because it’s hidden in other random shit the mad sister is saying.

So we have a train reference to add to our others and this one ties into The Lost Special by location of Moriarty’s brother. 

We also have this:

When was The Lost Special published? 1898. 5 years after the publication of The Final Problem in 1893.

Few other thoughts: In the Lost Special there is one main line [Liverpool to London] but FOUR side lines, one of which has had tracks removed to hide it’s existence. That feels very pertinent to me. The different lines that a story can take? A hidden story? Three lines/episodes and a fourth with tracks removed to keep it hidden?

The deeper you descend into the well of the Holmesian world the more clues there are to something fucky occurring right infront of our eyes but wrapped up in the riddle and enigma that is the world of Sherlock Holmes. As Jim says:

“Did you know his brother was a station master? I think he was always jealous.” Why? It serves no purpose in TFP.

Not only that, BUT IT LITERALLY PUTS THE EXISTENCE OF JIM’S BROTHER ON THE TABLE. Something a lot of us have been speculating about. And this is after we heard John ‘he’s always right’ Watson ominously talk about TWINS twice (in TAB and then again in TST) but it was never confirmed. And in TFP John was constantly questioning how can Moriarty be alive. Which is logical if you read TFP as John’s dream, because he’s still contemplating the possibility that Jim may have a brother, and choosing to give him the profession of ‘station master’ becomes perfectly understandable as him just putting colour to it– just as with everything else. Also, trains. John loves the metaphors.

My point is, mentioning important details like this in passing just so they can go unnoticed to a casual is exactly the point, just so they can later say “you were told that Jim has a brother!”. It’s Mofftiss MO.

Also remember Sherlock insisting “I knew Moriarty made plans!” in TST before he sees the DVD was Mary’s instead. I mean, the whole Moriarty story was left hanging there, unresolved just like a lot of other things. I wrote about Moriarty’s brother coming back to finish the unfinished business HERE.

What will follow is a very long explanation of why I think BBC Sherlock has become fan fiction in every sense of the word, applying a technique called estrangement effect to achieve as well as envision this. It has been happening since S3 - but came into full force in S4 and especially TFP.

Let me state at first: Sherlock Holmes is dead. He died after jumping off Bart’s. That’s the one thing Mofftisson did that no other adaption has dared to do. Not even ACD did describe Holmes dying. But Mofftisson showed us: Sherlock jumped and hit the pavement. We saw it, and it was never explained how he survived. Because he didn’t. What we watch in TEH is altered footage, like in the beginning of TST. Alienated ficitional reality.

But still Sherlock came back. How is this possible? Because Sherlock Holmes never lived, and so could never die; because Sherlock Holmes as a fictional character has long ago crossed the line between ficiton and reality. He exists in both worlds, the ficitonal and ours. Schödinger’s Sherlock, so to speak.

Mofftiss (and Steve Thompson) have adapted Holmes for the 21st century - with all its consequences. They are the first who allow Holmes to die - as it should have been, in Watson’s arms. This is truly new - like it or not.

But why could he survive? Because of the fans. Fans brought Holmes back in 1903 - and they brought him back in S3 (or even MHR). Whereas S1 and S2 might still be somehow canon compliant if modernised, with S3/MHR the show left the realm of ACD and became something else. It became our story. We are the narrators. Therefore, we appear, for example, as Anderson or the Empty Hearse Club, before we, in TAB, leave this concrete narrator position behind to ascend onto yet another narrative level.

Many commented (and lamented) the change from S2 to S3. The show became a romcom! The cases didn’t matter anymore! All those new characters! All true - because the BBC adaption had detached itself from ACD and started to become its own work of art, it’s very own pastiche. That might be self-referential; and perhaps wasn’t even always well made (TFP!) - but I think we should stop applying real life structures and standards to this work of art - because it simply doesn’t work. (And, as every writer, Mofftiss have the right to fuck their own story up).

The audience and fandom struggle with a lot of twists after S2 because making the distinction between canon compliant fictional verisimilitude and the realm of associative fan fic is especially hard to mark with a figure like Holmes - who seems real and yet never was. On the other hand, he is the perfect character to undergo such a narrative transformation.

If this interests you, please continue under the cut.

You’re absolutely correct in saying that a Sherlock Holmes fell to his death in TRF. I believe that’s the icon – the one most familiar, the same Sherlock Holmes that fans continue to fall in love with decade after decade. With series 3 and 4, the assembling of a myth, but this one with a consistent undercurrent of dissonance. The thing is, sometimes the medium is part of the message; and the beauty, as well as the downfall of modern visual media, is its ability to deceit in ways the written text or the theatre simply can not. But audiences are complacent because “it’s always been this way.” For better or worse, I think the creators of Sherlock (and this is everyone, not just Mofftiss) might be taking the estrangement effect beyond the narrative – because in shattering the myth of Sherlock Holmes (by making the romance between Holmes and Watson explicit) there’s no escape of it being political, and the only way to create this necessary distance, the audience has to be aware of the medium, the visual media – not only as a tool used to present the narrative but also part of it. For most of series 4, we were explicitly made aware of the medium, and TFP, the shattering climax that everyone noticed, not by the narrative presented in the traditional sense, but through visual narrative assault (for lack of a better phrase). Where we landed was certainly unexpected, but it served very little purpose – the Mary-the-narrator myth did not travel far from the 130 years worth of baggage, the distance created was for… nothing?

While writing this meta, I looked back on the whole series - and came to the conclusion that, personally, I get way more Johnlock vibes from S1 and S2 than I get from anything after. True, there’s stag night touching and some looks, the waterfall scene and the hug - but to me it seems scattered over the series in homoeopathic doses, whereas it blatantly runs through S1 and S2. This might be connected to the presence of Mary Morstan, among other factors.

Therefore, for me, Johnlock/gay Holmes was there in S1 and S2 - the Sherlock we saw there wasn’t the Holmes people were used to. There was something new - his sexually charged relationship with John Watson - that was way more blatant than in any other adaption (because it wasn’t a joke back then, like, for example, in RDJ). So, was TRF kill your gays? Maybe… but first Mofftisson created this gay Holmes (and this bi Watson) - and with that something new came to this Holmes adaption. It was certainly based on traditional Holmes and what viewers expected to see, but I think the hype was founded particularly in the new undercurrent of heavily implied sexual possibilities.

From S3 onwards, they kind of played with the myth - but also deconstructed it in parts. By making Sherlock more ‘human’ - by mocking him, by letting him (and all the other characters) suffer, by mirroring and mixing and recycling the same themes again and again. To show us that we are watching a piece of art (or perhaps are part of a game). All these elements break with the ficitonal reality of Sherlock Holmes as we knew it.

As you said - in the end, it all seems a bit pointless. What was all the suffering for? Now, epic theatre, in contrast to dramatic theatre, wants to detach the viewers from their emotions and feelings. They shall not identify with the protagonists, they should be aware that they are watching a show. Because it states that to emotional identify with the characters corrupts, that it blocks the viewers insight in what is really going on, what the problems and issues are the protagonists are fighting. Therefore, by using elements of epic theatre (appearance of the narrator, involvement of the audience, framing the narrative with prologue and epilogue, historicisation, sparse sets etc.) Sherlock does exactly that - distances the viewers from their emotions, allowing us to look deeper. Why is there no Johnlock, for example? How were the female characters depicted? Do we agree with that? What do we make of the role of government as shown in Sherlock? How are relationships portrayed? How do we judge the role of violence in society and interpersonal relationships? What do we make of the drug use?

Perhaps all our discussion on here were intended?

I honestly don’t want to give Mofftiss more credit than it’s due, but I think a distanced reading of the show can give us something as well. Because alienation is usually not self-referential, but shall lead to address social issues and conflicts. And that certainly happened after S4.

As for, is this all, is it over? I don’t know. I’m not sure I like where they are going with the show. What will come in S5 or a special? Johnlock? Or something else entirely? Can they still surprise us? Will we go back to S1-S2? Will it again be sexually charged? Even if, it will be a repetition. Can that be as good as the original? And if not - just another crime show with a clever detective, his emotional more adept friend - and now a toddler? Sometimes I long for a continuation - and sometimes I simply dread it. But I’m pretty sure that they don’t have S4E4 in the pipeline right now. Whatever will come - it will take some time.

wow its been a while hasn’t it? here are over 40 fics i’ve read since my last fic rec. as always, the ones with * before the name are very recommended! all kinds of fic below (there might be… a lot more smut fics than i wanted there to be)