#rtla

Five times Sherlock thought of Irene.

AMUSE 126

OPTIMIST.

BBC Adlock Referencing the Books

This has been my Roman Empire since I read the books when I was a kid: that Irene Adler must have been one hella beautiful woman.

Because in the second book, The Sign of Four, when Watson saw Mary Morstan for the first time when she consulted with Holmes:

((Also not Holmes being called a robot just because he was like: I don’t think anyone is interesting based on how pretty they are so I don’t really observe if someone is physically attractive… Also not this line being reflected in TRF when John says “She’s dying, you MACHINE!”))

So bro never makes exceptions and that the brain must not be clouded by personal emotional preferences frfr

But then the next book (altho it might also be cos Sir Arthur Conan Doyle doesn’t give a shit about continuity), which is “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”, in the first story which is “A Scandal in Bohemia”, he be like:

And I’ve always thought as a kid: damn, Irene Adler must be one hell of a woman that Holmes literally made her the exception of his “no one will be observed as beautiful for my personal emotional likes and dislikes”

Like she’s so beautiful that Holmes didn’t even just stop at “she’s a lovely attractive woman.”

No, Adler was just so damn beautiful, the man who would never observe a person based on his personal emotional biases, really said, “she has a face that a man might die for.”

Like she must be like… a reincarnation of Helen of Troy for him to say something like that

And my new Roman Empire now is that the BBC Series did not reflect that line verbally…

Like sure, we see it happen in real time:

But I really waited for Sherlock to say verbally on something about how she has a face that a man might die for…

I was hoping to either Mrs Hudson or to Molly… like that one time in Bart’s when he was x-raying her possessions, when I first watched it, I was hoping it’ll go something like:

Molly: Is that a phone?

Sherlock: It’s a camera phone.

Molly: And you’re x-raying it?

Sherlock: Yes, I am.

Molly: Who’s phone is it?

Sherlock: A woman’s.

Molly: A criminal?

Sherlock (distractedly): ...She is a lovely woman——with a face that a man might die for...

Molly: Your girlfriend?!

Sherlock (confused): You think she’s my girlfriend despite that I’m x-raying her possessions.

Molly: Well, we all do silly things.

I have been thinking of this whole thing for 12 years. I’m surprised I only talked about it now.

Like Holmes kept three things from Adler: her photograph he got as reward from the King and the gold sovereign coin and (possibly) the letter she gave him herself.

And Sherlock kept her phone which he took from the government as his reward and it is the very same phone Irene gave him at Christmas 😭 and the texts (+ringtone) she gave him huhu

And like

Because Irene’s camera phone has gold details in it too huhu

If Holmes has Adler’s coin in his watch chain…

And Victorian-John mentions Sherlock keeps her photograph in the watch he’s keeping…

(would like to note that no coin was mentioned concerning the watch so Dream-Irene isn’t married because Adler gives that to Holmes as a gift for helping her marriage)

And that both coin and photo in my theory is the original counterpart to her Vertu phone…

That means Sherlock brings her phone everywhere with him huhuhu

In possibly his jacket’s side pockets too since gentlemen don’t usually put anything in the side pockets since it’s too awkward for your arms when you grab something in it… so people usually put stuff they bring that they don’t use much

Which could be Irene’s camera phone 😭

The scene where Irene arrives at 221B and the Fireplace scene were HOURS apart…

Irene was dreading their “end of the world.” We all saw her regret when she hears Mrs. Hudson call for Sherlock.

She knew he will never forgive her after betraying him so mercilessly…

Yet, she waited for him while he was in his Mind Palace… She didn't interrupt him once. She just... watched him.

Even when they were on borrowed time, she just waited and spent hours just watching him play the violin mindlessly.

We all know if she tried to... I dunno... sit on his lap or something, he would be out of his Mind Palace in a millisecond.

HELLO BITCHES IM BACK HAHAHAHHA

“I don’t think so, do you?“

I have read a lot of metas on this fucking line. None has clicked so far until @sentimentalgenius and I rewatched ASiB a few hours ago on my birthday lel

META#1 = To stop John from following

Irene Adler is a dominatrix. She is a commander. When she tells you to do or not do something, she will say it.

She already says, point blank, at John not to follow Sherlock. 

How?

She raises her hand.

She, point blank, tells John through this gesture to not follow Sherlock. It’s not a suggestion. It’s a command.

So if the quote is “I don’t think so, do you?” that is a question. That is a soft statement.

We don’t believe Irene will command it this way. Irene makes him stop, why would she ask him if it’s a good idea or not?

She’s not asking his opinion. She already made her choice. And that’s for him to not follow. Because that’s what she tells him first.

META#2 = About “I’m not actually gay.” “Well, I am.”

Again, we don’t believe it’s about this one. Because this part was already closed by Irene Adler saying, “Look at us both.”

Again, Irene Adler already voiced her opinion.

“Look at us both.“  Despite our preferences, we still care about Sherlock.

And again, she’s not asking his opinion. 

“We’re not a couple.“ “Yes, you are.”

She’s not giving him a chance to even voice his defenses. She’s saying, POINT BLANK, that he cares. And nothing can change her mind.

Again, the statement is “I don’t think so, do you?” It’s too soft for her statement.

SO WHAT IS OUR META?

“I don’t think so, do you?“ Did he just arrive?

The phone alerted the two that Sherlock has been listening this whole time. And what was their most recent conversation? 

It’s about both of them being vulnerable.

And caring about Sherlock.

Something you would be embarrassed about to be known to the person who you’re trying to hide it from.

Let’s talk about this in parts.

GENDER/ATTRACTION:

They were attracted to each other because their minds are compatible. Gender had nothing to do with it.

The moment Mycroft handed Irene to Sherlock, Sherlock was already intrigued by her.

“Oh a powerplay. A powerplay against the most powerful family in Britain. Ooh, she is a dominatrix.”

(A Scandal in Belgravia, Sherlock BBC)

And when Moriarty handed Sherlock to Irene, Irene was already intrigued by him.

Gender doesn’t mean anything to either of them. They got attracted with each other for their boldness, and how dangerous they both are.

Lara Pulver says Irene doesn’t care about titles and roles.

Irene says she’s gay to prove a point to John that she is attracted to women but is still in love with Sherlock. That’s the point of the Battersea scene. It’s Irene’s confession that she genuinely cares about Sherlock by trying to get her phone back for his safety.

LOVE:

Irene lost her game because she is canonically in love with Sherlock. There’s a whole scene on why she lost because of her love for Sherlock.

She had the physical symptoms of love: Pupils dilated, pulse elevated. Her phone is her heart and sherlock is the key to it.

Sherlock was asked by her sister to play who he really is. Who his core is. He was asked to play the real him.

He plays the music he made for Irene.

Mycroft said that Sherlock was a traitor to the country for the promise of love.

“The promise of love. The pain of loss. The joy of redemption. Then give him a puzzle, and watch him dance.”

(A Scandal in Belgravia, Sherlock BBC)

Mycroft, the man who knows Sherlock best, the one who monitored Sherlock as a kid because he knows Sherlock is emotional. Mycroft, who warns Sherlock to not get involved because it’ll only hurt Sherlock.

Mycroft who warns Sherlock to calm the f down cos Irene is dead.

“All lives end. All hearts are broken. Caring is not an advantage, Sherlock.”

(A Scandal in Belgravia, Sherlock BBC)

AKA. People die and people get hurt. If you care, it’ll hurt you too so pls dont get hurt with irene dying but here let me test you by giving you a cigarette when you’ve stopped smoking, to see how much you might go back to drugs from being in pain.

Oh you think I’m exaggerating? He literally makes John and Mrs Hudson search Sherlock’s flat for drugs or cigarettes in case Sherlock relapses over Irene’s death

Mycroft when upon going to tell Sherlock that Irene is dead in Karachi says:

“Is that loathing? Or a salute. One of a kind. The one woman that matters.”

When John told him Sherlock only calls her the woman.

Take note that this is from John’s official website made by the writers of Sherlock

Sherlock not even commenting about the fact John is exposing that he’s not fine with “losing” Irene

Sherlock not denying that him not being fine with Irene being gone is the real him

Sherlock wondering why people knowing he will miss irene is important

With that in mind, remember when Eurus asks Sherlock to play the real him???