Dying is easy, Living is harder

how to open doors - a tutorial by Kainé

yell at the door

My husband used to yell when he got frustrated, but after I explained to him that I found it upsetting, he stopped yelling and started consciously working on asking for help before he got to that level of frustration.

When I’m upset over something, or just in a bad mood, I tend to withdraw. My husband explained to me that it makes him feel like I’m mad at him, so now when I need some space, I’ll tell him what I’m upset about, or that I’m in a bad mood for no particular reason, and I need to be alone for a little while.

The literary Sherlock Holmes was an autistic coded character before people knew what autism was.

The literary Sherlock Holmes was an explicitly aromantic character before people had a word for that.

Literary Holmes solved mysteries not merely for the intellectual stimulation but also out of a genuine desire to do good. He cared deeply about every client. HE WAS NOT A HIGH-FUNCTIONING SOCIOPATH! He could definitely be insensitive and blunt but he was not callous or unfeeling.

Literary Sherlock threatened to beat a guy who was being creepy with his own stepdaughter.

Literary Sherlock learned to grow past his misogyny after a woman outsmarted him.

In particular, he was always respectful to Mrs Hudson, never belittling or talking down to her (the otherwise enjoyable Guy Ritchie films screw this up too). In fact, they got along so well that they were actually a very popular ship back in the day.

Literary Holmes would NEVER call Watson an idiot. He was his only friend who he loved and respected, even if he did get frustrated with him sometimes. He didn’t need to belittle others to feel powerful.

Literary Holmes and Watson broke into a corrupt man’s house and witnessed him being murdered by a woman he was blackmailing. They knew exactly who she was but they let her get away because they were chaotic good like that.

Literary Holmes had HUMILITY: something a smug prig like Steven Moffat will never understand. He could be arrogant but he had a sense of humour and was willing to admit when he was wrong. And he was wrong sometimes because he was a flawed human being, not some gross male power fantasy.

Literary Holmes respected the working class and was often disdainful of the rich. In Victorian England!

Literary Holmes indirectly caused the death of a guy who abused (and implicitly molested) his daughters and he didn’t give a single fuck about it.

The final chapter of Dead Reckoning is up! And it now comes with cover art, courtesy of the talented @defenestratin.

For those unfamiliar: Dead Reckoning is a direct continuation from canon, following the end of Harrow the Ninth. I aimed for a tone that’s similar to canon — that same mix of dark and funny and romantic. There’s lots of plot and action, combined with angsty griddlehark romance, Gideon Being Gideon™, some delightfully strange bodyswap shenanigans, and a dash of smut for seasoning. To give the actual summary I gave it on ao3:

"Gideon has a plan to bring Harrow back, but as with most of her plans, it isn't long before everything goes sideways. With the two of them stuck sharing Gideon's body, and Alecto holding Harrow's body hostage, they find themselves in a desperate race against time to get it back before Harrow's magic absorbs Gideon's soul."