Fic Author Poppy Alexander

Sherlock felt so… content, never having this nice of a comedown from his heat before; he supposed by the evening it would be over. He almost wished it wouldn’t be. “Hello, John,” he murmured quietly, nuzzling against John’s shoulder. John smiled, setting his tea aside and wrapping his arms around Sherlock, snuggling him closer and holding him tight. “Hey, love,” he replied, closing his eyes as he stroked his fingers up through Sherlock’s thick curls, resting his cheek atop his head. ♡

The Three Gables

The subdued omnipresent strain of period-typical racism that runs throughout the entire canon is at its worst in this shoddily plotted story. Though it gives us a hasty peek at the formidably under-used Langdale Pike, Holmes’ gossiping columnist friend, there is nothing that can redeem this adventure. Holmes is indeed a product of his time and privileged place in society, and as such displays a complex array of prejudicial attitudes, but it is hard to reconcile his relaxed mood at the conclusion of “The Yellow Face” with his aggressive racism toward the figure of Steve Dixie. The case itself is a rehash of an already twice-used plot, growing weaker each time: it is basically identical in premise to both the events of the Red-Headed League and the missing Garrideb, with clues that apparently no one but the reader picks up on, a Holmes with a remarkable absence of foresight, and the villain(ess) undeservedly getting away with her crime. One is left to wonder why it was considered for publication at all. 

You know... this scene!

So I honestly can’t believe I’ve never seen anyone talking about the art direction of this scene. If I’m repeating something, Ah,well. But I’ve honestly never seen it pointed out that this is the very first time we see Mary, and there are three important things here:

Mary reaches for John’s hand. John takes it, of course—he is used to being offered comfort for his loss, by now—but he is not reaching out to her for comfort in his sadness. She is inserting herself into his grief. Reflexively, he lets her.

We only see the back of her. It’s unusual to introduce a major protagonist any other way than by showing their face pretty much immediately. A major antagonist, however…a baddie…well, they often are introduced in a cloud of cigarette smoke, from a distance, in the shadows, as a mysterious voice on a phone, or in some other way that doesn’t tell us right away who they are. Our first glimpse of Mary gives us only the most vague information about her. Obviously a woman, obviously someone John is close to, as he holds her hand. Other than that…who is she? We don’t know.

is how

the show

introduces

literally

every

single

villain

and antagonist

I first came up with the Sherlympics in the long run-up to the London Olympics, but now it’s two years later and I feel the world needs all the international sporting events it can homoerotically get its hands on. Therefore, this newly polished Sherlympics design is now available as a print, poster or card from my Redbubble store!

JW: What am I doing here?

SH: Helping me make a point.

JW: I'm supposed to help you pay the rent.