#Watson (left)

[lemon-wedges]

Behold thou art fair, my beloved, behold thou art fair..let me see thy face, let me hear thy voice. For thy voice is harmonious and thy face enchanting, thou has ravished my heart...thy lips drop as the honeycomb....thy palate a heady wine that goes straight to my love and flows over my lips and teeth....

Umberto Eco - The Name of the Rose

--

Monk x Shinto Priest Au

[i-dont-talk-for-days-on-end]

Okay I have an idea for a remix of the Gloria Scott (and a bit of Study in Scarlet) (and I spend too much time thinking about E. M. Forster's Maurice, what can i say)!

We all know Holmes hates blackmail, yes? Here's his personal reason why:

Holmes and Victor Trevor are lovers. Victor takes Holmes up to his father' house in Norfolk. They spend the holidays a bit too happily in love, lulled into a false sense of security because Mr Trevor seems to like Holmes. A house guest arrives, a certain Hudson, who seems deeply suspicious of the two young men, so Holmes takes his leave with a heavy heart and burries himself in work (a pattern we know).

Weeks later, he is reached by a desperate telegram from Victor. Hudson has discovered an indiscreet bit of correspondence and disclosed it to Victor's father who has taken ill with the shock. Holmes rushes up to Norfolk to do his best to save Victor and himself.

Hudson has taken his leave in the meantime, and Trevor Senior dies before Holmes arrives. Victor is overcome with grief while Holmes is feverishly trying to find the letter. After a few hours of panic, Holmes finally deduces the hiding place and is able to destroy the letter. It was written in code, however, the cipher was not very elaborate. They still don't know where Hudson went. Still, they are safe for now.

Victor, stunned with grief and shock and knowing that his father died from the shock of his disgrace, decides to leave for the colonies. Holmes, still in love, offers to join him, but Victor, furious and heartbroken, tells him it's all over and that he's leaving this kind of life behind forever.

Miserably, Holmes returns to university. Hudson has disappeared, but Holmes feels deeply guilty because Victor has suffered from a mistake he views as his own. He neglects his degree in favour of the study of the art of detection, which does not endear him further to his own family. Holmes has never been close to his own parents, but now, in the light of what happened to Victor, he feels like any cordiality that might still remain between them is a farce that would be abandoned the minute they knew of their son's true nature. Lonely, estranged, and still vaguely heartbroken, he dedicates himself entirely to his work.

A few years later, he learns Hudson has been killed, likely by another victim, but Holmes has no wish to find the culprit (neglecting to solve the very first murder case that comes his way). Holmes has since come somewhat down in the world, struggling with depression, experimenting with a 7% solution of cocaine, morphine, and different indicators for haemoglobin.

In an attempt to get a hold of the late blackmailer's belongings and destroy them before further damage can be done to other people like him, he tracks down Hudson's inheritress. When he arrives at her Baker Street flat, she assures him she had not seen the man who is nominally her husband in the last 20 years, and is not surprised if he had been up to no good. Holmes stammers an excuse to ask to see Hudson's papers, and she let's him in and softly tells him he is not the only man who has lately turned up at her doorstep like this, and glad for him to take whatever he wants. She lights him a fire in the empty flat upstairs and Holmes spends an afternoon shakily burning other men's love letters, with a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits at his elbow. Perhaps it is the first time in many years someone has been so kind to him.

And it is a nice flat. Perhaps he can find a way to make the rent.

[lisbeth-kk]

Sherlock fandom

Things I Never Told You

I stand in front of your gravestone. It suits you. Polished. Elegant. Only your name, no dates. Ageless. Timeless. That’s how I’ll always remember you. 

You will never get grey hair. I can’t help wondering if you would’ve dyed it if you’d lived to experience it. 

Your fingers will never know arthritis. I can’t bear the thought of you being forced to discard your Stradivarius. 

The tightly fitted shirts and trousers will always fit you. Your belly will never soften, coerce you to size up.

Your flawless skin will remain so. No wrinkles will blemish parts of your body.

Never will your mesmerising eyes be framed by glasses. The sharp eyesight will forever pierce through souls and puzzles.

221B remains your home. Mrs H doesn’t allow anyone but me and Mycroft up there.

I think Billy misses you. He stopped talking to me after a week of ranting. Apparently, he didn’t like that I yelled at you. Do you know what he said before he got mute? 

“He had no other choice, for heaven’s sake!”

His voice is so similar to yours. 

I’ve written you a letter. There are things I never told you. Things I can’t bear to say out loud. Not even to your gravestone. I’ll leave it here.

Bye, Sherlock. I miss you. So much. 

***

Dear, Sherlock

Retrospect is a bitch, isn’t it. But so is fear. You always called me brave, remember. Well, you were wrong about that, Sherlock. I am a coward. If I had been brave, I would’ve said what I’m about to write, to your face instead of placing this letter on your grave where you won’t be able to read it.

I love you, Sherlock Holmes. Not in the platonic-best friends-flatmates kind of way. The other way. The opposite way. The way everyone assumed from the very first day we met. The I-am-in-love-with-you kind of way. 

You were so beautiful that night at Angelo’s. Took my breath away, is what you did, and I couldn’t help myself. I had to know if there was someone special in your life. God, I still cringe thinking about it! You were so gracious about it all. Let me down so gently, totally unprecedented by your normal standards. That’s when I knew you had the biggest heart. You had every right to be rude, to brush me off. We’d only known each other for hours for Christ’s sake!

Well, that’s what I’ve wanted to say for the longest time. I don’t know if you changed your mind after that night. But your brother, Greg, and our landlady seem to agree that I’ve made an impact on you. Mycroft was particularly bemused when he learned that you actually listened to me and tried not to be too harsh with witnesses and clients.

I don’t know, Sherlock. I’m still grieving. Coherency was more your thing than mine anyway. It doesn’t matter. You’re dead and won’t read this. It has more to do with my sanity at this point. The words needed saying, and I don’t want anyone else to read them. I’m the only one who comes here, so it will be safe until tomorrow. 

Forever yours. John

Tears are trickling down my cheeks when I’ve read the letter.

“Oh, John,” I whisper. “I am so sorry.”

***

When I return the next day, the letter is gone.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

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[applepixls]

15 years later, bbc’s 2010’s sherlock is widely regarded as massive queerbaiting that left a lot of people disappointed but i think theres more value in a different reading even though the outcome was disappointing

admittedly i am one of the people disappointed by the lack of romance despite clear signals and such between john and sherlock and ive always thought of the ‘sherlock is ace’ claim as the writers hiding behind a less known identity as a way of saying ‘you cant get on us for not being woke enough’ but i need to propose a read that genuinely helps me cope with existing

sherlock being aro/ace means that despite having nothing other than platonic attraction towards john will go out of his way to keep him safe, pull him out of the line of fire, plan his wedding, save him from himself. and john in this interpretation is exactly the same. sherlock is his friend and ex-flatmate and he will do anything for him. he will trust him blindly, he is willing to die, kill and live for him.

this also means that mary, johns romantic partner, encourages their friendship, even leading them to get closer and telling them to stick together because she knows they need each other and will find as much fulfillment in that relationship as any other type of relationship and doesnt feel threatened by their friendship.

sherlock pledges himself to john, mary and rosie with the intention of repaying them for all theyve done for him

all of this means to me, an aro/ace person, that this exists. it can happen, it can work. there will be people out there who are willing to jump to battle stations with me just because we are friends. there will be people whose partners wont be jealous or insist we be less close and understand how much i need friendship to survive. this reading of sherlock gives me hope that there are people out there for me. that i can be ok.

[22ndnervousbreakdown]

I'm sorry, The Naval Treaty and The Second Stain are meant to take place DURING THE SAME MONTH???? They had 2 separate cases where they needed to find an ultra important international document IN THE SPAN OF ONE MONTH????

Oh my god I just know they laughed soooo hard and judged those government guys soooooo bad

[chestnuts-oj4]

[gracevan-pelt]

thinking about john watson's time in the army. imagine if you will, a fresh recruit, right out of medical school. school in london is full of life, seeing people of every part of life here and around you. beautiful buildings, pubs, warmth, comfort. and then being thrown into a war. a war where you sign up to do good rather than harm. why did he join the war? he realises he cannot help everyone. perhaps he would have been better off living in a quaint village back home, a practice and a life rather than him hurriedly stitching up a man with barely any equipment and no painkillers. he gets back to camp and he can wash the blood away from his hands but not the guilt. the guilt that he failed himself, and his patient.

[heebiegeebee]

Y'know, I'm not done yet...

I'm gonna take this moment to continue talking about breadtube-adjacent youtubers who are too busy preening themselves in the mirror for the camera to ever have a moment of real self-reflection

Case in Point: Rebecca Watson, aka Skepchick

Who made this video, saying we should believe women (yes!), ESPECIALLY when there is a deliberate media spin occurring to discredit their testimonies of abuse, AFTER MAKING THIS VIDEO (this is her own website, not youtube, so there's a transcript that quite literally spells it out), and seemingly with zero cognitive dissonance: "believe women always, unless they're filthy lying jews"

Coupled with the fact that she also put out this video discussing why it's neigh impossible to fact check anything anymore (which I had called ages before she bothered to think about this topic as a video, anyway)

Just like, damn, how intellectually lazy and racist.

[t1koy-roll]

Renaissance Tragedy but make it Spiderverse

[halfwayup]

it’s almost as if… everything is connected

[currentlyonstandbi]

harry peter mj polycule confirmation when marvel ?

[ineffablejaymee]

im never getting over the gloria scott btw

the writing was immaculate sherlock's character especially

and they managed to make a villain, irredeemable antagonist who turned out to be a victim and still be irredeemable and hated by everyone

[queerclarkkent]

Don't romanticise the Victorian era this and don't romanticise the victorian era that

I know it had Cholera

But what am I supposed to do?

It's where my favourite unhealthy twink and his doctor-soldier-author male wife live what do you want me to do about it?

[downthesea]

I am once again thinking about Watson’s slow descent into madness

I have an animatic I’m working on for it and GOD. the ideas I have planned. muahaha

[trashdumper]

You two..

[sygneth]

No time to sleep, science awaits!

I am not sure (and haven't done my research yet) how exactly universities in UK worked in ~1875 but seeing how prone to change systems of education are, I doubt thigs have changed much since.

So since I hc Victor as a botany student, and Holmes did chemistry, it seems likely they had a couple of mutual faculties and studied together, riiiiight?