nevergeneralize

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Yes yes the pornbots have arrived but I’m okay with it because my followers to drafts ratio looks very nearly reasonable now

Welcome ladies. I hope you like anime and not hearing from me very often

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I drew nearly the entire outfit this time (collapses)

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A Christmas song with Sherliam Chapter 75 vibes because when I wish everyone “happy holidays” this season I mean “happy ongoing celebration of Liam and Sherly’s engagement”

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“Gold is the wealth of Liyue, but Liyue’s true wealth is the hearts of its people that shine like gold”

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“Someone who can even betray himself”

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Apple Music has offbrand Wrapped this year so I can participate in the culture!

Deeply honored to be certified by Apple Music as a top 100 ice skating otaku I’d like to thank my local rink for never enforcing the official no-headphones policy so that I can listen to Eros on loop when I feel frustrated or stuck

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What you request of me is like plucking out the eyes I have placed in the dimension of time

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In my heart they won the Grand Prix

(Final pose from Lauriault/Le Gac “Pink Panther” Free Dance at Skate Canada) (US video alt link)

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“There comes an end to all things; the most capacious measure is filled at last; and this brief condescension to evil finally destroyed the balance of my soul.” (The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)

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THE ALCROFT PARALLELS!!!! Epistolary romance constrained by terrible circumstance! Big fan of this

Consider (and then forget again because I'm probably gonna fic this lol) that while Liam was still unconscious, every morning before work or anything else Sherlock would go to Liam's hospital bed and talk to him a bit, then leave a note right by his bed:

Hey Liam, it's (day of the week, date) and you're in New York City. I'm here and I'm alright. I'll be back soon, just working. I'll explain everything when I get there. Yours, S.

Sure, there are nurses around who could tell him the basics if he did wake up, but Sherlock wanted to be sure the first thing Liam saw would be reassuring and give clarity. And he never stopped doing that. And the note that was there the day he did wake up is something Liam keeps always, tucked away amidst a growing pile of notes and gifts that Sherlock gives him, all treasured.

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I love love love this. It’s always impressive how much this series trades on extremely Not Subtle imagery and themes (Fire and Water, tale as old as time), and explores them earnestly and deeply and with nuance. This is a really good exploration of the impressive complexity of the symbolism.

I particularly like the idea of William as “a light that moths flock to,” I think this aligns with the way that he sees himself as a symbolic beacon but to danger. Everyone else in the Moriarty gang sees him “haloed in light” as their religious figure, their salvation, but he bears guilt for being a candle leading them to their own destruction even as he also buys into the outward savior-mythologizing. And THEN!!! Sherlock subverts the same concept by asking him explicitly to be a different kind of guiding light: not a candle to a moth leading towards doom, but a lighthouse to a sailor pointing towards home and safety. Sherlock once again reframes William’s self-narrative away from a villain’s story (a la “catch me if you can” becoming “I finally caught you”) and shows him a kinder, more positive version of who Liam is or can be to others.

And the explicit embrace of fire as a thing with “a thousand forms and meanings” in the last chapter as a sort of culmination of all the ways it’s always already been true in the series so far! Extremely cool use of the symbolism!

William James Moriarty: The Man Who Set Himself on Fire to Keep Others Warm

William James Moriarty has been followed by fire since chapter one. It is one of his most recurring motifs, it’s used in a ridiculous number of ways, and, Theatre Kid to Rule All Theatre Kids that he is, even he knows it.

This makes him a very good study to see what a motif can do in a story.

When I was making notes for this meta, I made a list of common things fire symbolizes in fiction. It started at 18 items, ended at 22, and I see William in all of them, so this will be a long, hopefully fun adventure!

Hit “J” if you don’t want to read about how William is the fictional human personification of the very concept of fire. We’re getting very obnoxiously figurative with language today.

The first image we get of William—the first image we get of anything in the series—is actually him hanging off a waterfall. But Sherlock is there, and we know water is connected to Sherlock much like William is to fire—and besides, that entire panel is functionally a trick and has him surrounded by water, desperate and losing a fight. When we see that scene again later, the mist rising around them is actually flame and ash, though there is nonetheless water below waiting for them.

But the first time we see fire in the series is the candles William and Louis use to set the entire manor alight. The first time William is wreathed in fire is as he’s reborn like a phoenix from the ashes of his former self and his former identity, by his hatred of abuse finally bursting into flame. The first time he comes alongside fire is when he is reborn as William James Moriarty, Lord of Crime.

Fire, then, is not who William always was. It’s who he becomes.

We don’t see fire in the series for a while after that. It doesn’t feature heavily in any of the Pre-Sherlock stories, and it doesn’t really feature heavily in The Noahtic, either. And I wonder if that’s just convenience for the narrative, or, because as we see several times later, that when William met Sherlock, Sherlock ignited a cold fireplace in his heart and brought him back to life.

William was reborn in fire, but he stayed cold ash, removed from himself and anything but his plan for many years after that. But Sherlock brought excitement back, life, passion, inspiration. All things strongly associated with…well, fire.

Okay, perhaps William wasn’t ash. But a banked hearth with hot coals waiting to be sparked back into life. Coals are dangerous as fuck. You can’t leave them unattended because they might grow uncontrollable at any time. But they also provide really very little of the same comfort and utility of a properly lit hearth. Coals are dangerous, they’re hot, but they seem quite unassuming and don’t warm a room the same way. You can’t navigate by their light. Really, I think a lot about that layers over William before Sherlock and after The Fire quite well.

I think it’s also interesting to note that William’s first play when beginning his “Plan” and drawing back the curtains was when Sherlock arrived and reignited his fire. Of course, he’d made that decision before he’d met Sherlock, but those two things lay over each almost so fully it becomes difficult to distinguish how he proceeds with his plan from how he reacts to Sherlock.

So. Along with Sherlock and the beginning of his plan, William’s fire was restoked, and with it his passion, his hope, his life, his determination were all reborn. But William doesn’t see these things as positives. He sees the flame Sherlock lit in him like the hellfire he feels he was destined for. That he felt like he might as well already be one with. Even hope makes him hurt even more.

Most of the revelation of fire doesn’t actually happen on the Noahtic. It does to William, but it’s not seen with the reader. The reader sees fire again when the Moriartys (will I ever consistently pluralize their name? Look, no one’s paying me for this) are alone without Sherlock on the case, in Baskervilles.

Interestingly, in this case, William didn’t cover the evidence with fire like he so often does. He left the evidence out in the open for the nobles to find. Because he knew the horrors left behind were so extreme that it did not matter if those who committed it were obviously murdered: those involved would cover up their own sins and know that someone knew what they were doing. Someone that didn’t like it. There was no purification to be had there. No putting to rest the innocent.

In fact, William didn’t use fire at all: Louis did.

Now, Louis’s motif is not fire. Louis is more like steel: refined and molded with the heat of fire, strengthened by its heat, but really much stronger, colder, more unyielding in some ways. Predictable, tamable, controlled in a way that fire is not and cannot be. Calmer. Still with that same underlying hint of danger, somewhere, still flexible when absolutely needed—but, well, we’re not here to talk Louis because this post is long enough when it’s just about William.

Louis isn’t fire, and when it relates to him, it’s mostly splash from his brother, but I think that makes his relationship to fire so reflective of his relationship to his brother. Louis uses fire to kill a monstrous noble, to destroy, to burn rot from the world…and as he does so, he gushes over how much he loves his brother and would do anything for him. When he was just a kid, he burned himself not for himself, but for his brother’s plan and their safety. He has a permanent reminder of what his brother means to him branded into his face, and he did it with fire.

And you know what I mentioned up there about steel becoming stronger, more flexible, purer, shaped by fire? Fire has a long history of being associated with change and rebirth. Not just because of its use in forging, but because it is so inherently a catalyst for change. A forest fire will be raze through trees, and in its wake new ones will find room to grow. Food is cooked and becomes more palatable, easier to eat. New materials will be made, things will be reshaped, strengthened, born from fire.

I think on some level, William knows this: he is turning himself into a catalyst for change for the entire British Empire, after all, burning through the monstrous nobles to make room for new lives to flourish better than they could have with toxic, towering trees poisoning the ground on which they were planted.

But I think he sometimes forgets that it’s not only potential that his flames leave behind. Things around him are changed for the better. People around him. Because of who he is, not just what he does.

Baskervilles is at its core about the Moriartys and their relationship. Yes, it’s one of the goriest acts of the series, but it’s about brotherly love. It’s Louis using fire against people torturing street kids they way he did all those years back when those street kids were himself and William. It’s about Fred coming to terms with William and being newly inspired and devoted to him. There’s a hilarious line in there from Moran about how the Hound of Baskervilles must have run off in to the woods now that his master is gone that is entirely possibly foreshadowing for The Adventure of the Empty Hearts.

All of that is because of the warm heart that William’s fiery soul brings. It brings into light that his goal is not just destruction but salvation and healing.

William’s fiery motif returns in The Man with the Golden Army. William’s not incredibly present in that arc, but when Moran is actually fulfilling William’s part of the plan, he returns to fire. His own revenge is taken with a gun, just as he thinks of himself but the plan? No, that goes to fire and covering evidence, just the way he always faithfully follows William and rededicates himself to William with that act.

And then there is that incredible panel right at the end with William, receiving the information about how Moran’s mission went and burning it while claiming ownership of Moran just as Moran wanted. This is typical for William burning evidence, but it’s also a sign of the renewal of their bond, and the dangerous, devoted hellfire they’re both spiraling toward.

We’re going to skip a bit here, because frankly most of A Scandal in the British Empire isn’t super relevant to this post. But I would like to note that when Adler first lays eyes on William, he’s illuminated in a dark tunnel waiting for her, and she can recognize him for who he is…immediately. William is often haloed in light, which is both religious imagery and fire imagery, and turns him into a light that moths flock to. He is the light in the darkness to her. She is his inspiration for a new life, and her rebirth as Bond and the catalyst for it to happen. He is safety and home.

No matter what he thinks.

In Phantom of Whitechapel, William is back to using fire to kill and destroy with his explosion he carefully set up—the same way he carefully set up the fire that would engulf the Moriarty manor all those years before. But he’s not actually using it to hide evidence of his crimes. If anything, he uses it as a calling card he knows Sherlock will recognize. And there’s probably even something to say about the way the murderers fled for water, for the river, for safety from the raging fire, but the water (and Sherlock) held no safe harbor for them.

He tends not to favor fire much for the next few arcs—perhaps he feels as though his flame is dimming, at least in all the good ways. Perhaps it’s just that the motif has really been well established. And perhaps it’s also because several of the next arcs focus more on other characters than him.

But Sherlock, ever Sherlock, brings him back to an inferno with The Two Criminals, just in time to twist and change everything William ever predicted and expected. A fire that sets William back in motion, with more determination than ever and new inspiration with a change of plans. The doubtful, uncertain William is gone and back is the raging fire.

As ever, Sherlock stoked his fire.

In The Final Problem, the loss of William comes the loss of the Moriarty manor: their home, their safe place. The family bonds that held them together. They all go to ash when William “dies” and leaves their side, and they plan to be rid of it all with him. Because in so many ways, he is those things.

And then William sets everything on fire with him, to change and blaze a new course, knowing that Sherlock will put it all out and save what needs to be saved.

In The Valley of Fellows, William finally acknowledges this symbol that’s followed him the entire time. He’s been aware of it and thought of himself that way even if the reader wasn’t aware, although I don’t think in all the ways it truly manifested. He didn’t see fire as something adaptable, changeable. As something with a thousand forms and meanings.

But Sherlock knew. And while they’re separated in that arc, the transition between their two stories comes wreathed in fire—homey, warm fires that they both look at fondly. A campfire to keep Sherlock warm and safe. A fireplace in a cozy apartment where William finds his footing once again.

And I think that fire is not just a symbol of William at that point, but their relationship. Their relationship is safe comfort and warm affection. It’s love and excitement without the edge of danger it used to have. It’s light and guidance for both of them. It is the destruction of both their roles and their renewal and rebirth as better, healthier, stronger people. It is unpredictable, uncontrollable, unmanageable, but so incredibly inspiring for them both to reach their fullest potential. So full of determination, frustration.

And when William finally runs to save Sherlock, what else is there to be seen but himself dousing his flame in Sherlock’s water to calm and temper himself?

So it’s fitting, then, that Sherlock will keep the fire, life, passion, inspiration, and every other thing fire could ever represent stoked in William. He will keep William as his best self. And in exchange, he benefits from that fire in all the ways fire can heal and help.

And so does everyone else.

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Definitely agree that this was All Part of the Plan and I can’t wait to see how it all comes together in act two! It’s always really nice how yuumori can take canon narrative points into interesting directions, and that is an excellent point about The Great Game, I imagine that will be very relevant.

And yes MI6 is the enemy of SPECTRE. As far as I remember if anything bad ever happens in the Bond universe it was always secretly SPECTRE all along, they’re the ultimate behind the scenes big bad coordinating seemingly all world crime. (And, naturally, British intelligence is the only national or international organization equipped to do anything about this.) In the reboot continuity Bond and Number One (aka Ernst Blofeld or Franz Oberhauser) have personal history as well but I don’t think this is book canon.

Also I just looked up the acronym for SPECTRE and it’s the Special Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion. Could they be any more willfully hilariously sinister. Two of those key organizational goals are felonies, one of them is… the concept of revenge (against anybody in particular or do they just generally support being aggrieved and choosing violence about it…?), and one is a normal activity of an intelligence organization

Do you think part 2 will be based off James bond stories more or be something entirely different/original?

I don't think they're going to be wholly original--not that the series isn't plenty different and doesn’t work with plenty of original plot and ideas (and some arcs aren't based on anything anyway), but I do think they're going to keep to the "terribly loose and silly adaptation format."

I'd like to say it's probably going to be more Bond-esque, but to be honest, I know so little about that material. It's campy, silly, over-the-top spy shit, right? YuuMori is already campy, silly, and over the top, so I think it'll be fine, but I don't know what the plot of any of it is, so who knows.

But we're also not out of ACD canon material to adapt yet. So who knows!

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NEW CRACK THEORY ABOUT LIAM'S EYE PATCH

Also I'm really proud of this meme I made everybody look at it

Consider the following:

The three Moriarty brothers are, together, James Moriarty.

James Moriarty is “like a spider,” his “web has a thousand radiations, and he knows well every quiver of each of them.”

James Moriarty, the spider, weaves his threads both metaphorically and literally.

James Moriarty, the spider, by the logic of idiom which calls glasses a second pair of eyes, has eight eyes: two eyes for Albert, two eyes for William, and four eyes for Louis.

After the Final Problem, after the dissolution of the Lord of Crime, the spidery object-metaphor breaks down: Louis no longer wears the glasses, and Liam wears an eye patch. Moriarty the spider is no more!

I desperately wish either Albert or Louis carried a cane so I could extend this terrible pun-theory to eight legs by Sphinx's-riddle rules but alas I think they both sometimes use a cane in the anime and neither in the manga so we're at either 7 or 9. As Sherlock would say "It is a capital [BUT SUPER FUN] mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts." I'm not twisting any facts Mr. Holmes I'm just ignoring them

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My biggest ... worry I guess? for Liam's next arc is that he fits somewhat well into some key canon facts about Number One, leader of very evil org SPECTRE (and one of the few things I remember at all about Bond canon). Some things about Number One:

already very similar to (maybe inspired by? I don't remember) ACD canon Moriarty in that he is almost always an offscreen mastermind type (he's a ... let's say offscreen plot device in two or three movies before we ever even see his face. No. 1 is the prototype for the trope "faceless supervillain mastermind always stroking a cat in close up with back turned to the camera" you know the one)

"back from the dead" in his most recent movie canon appearances which the yuumori writers are definitely paying homage to specifically with their own Blond Bond

has a distinctive eye injury (famous enough that it was recreated for the reboot continuity too). This one is interesting because an eye injury is arguably kind of odd for Liam to have -- it doesn't seem like the layreader's first guess at what permanent injury the fall would cause, which makes me assume it is a choice motivated by some other narrative consideration. But maybe a) I'm not a doctor and I'm wrong about what types of injuries long falls into water cause or b) Takeuchi and Miyoshi simply think that eyepatches look cool or c) it is a reference to different character with a famous eye patch/injury or d) something something THEMES or e) (secret fifth thing I haven't thought of)

I said above that this was a big "worry" but only in the sense that if he has some narrative overlap with / reference to Spectre it might be at least a temporary heel turn, which would make me Real Sad for the newlyweds. Possibly/excitingly, we could get a Spectre/Number One story that is still somehow soft Sherliam vibes, and Liam could end up narratively reflecting a Bond-canon archnemesis while also not completely reversing his character development!! That'd be pretty cool actually?

Do you think part 2 will be based off James bond stories more or be something entirely different/original?

I don't think they're going to be wholly original--not that the series isn't plenty different and doesn’t work with plenty of original plot and ideas (and some arcs aren't based on anything anyway), but I do think they're going to keep to the "terribly loose and silly adaptation format."

I'd like to say it's probably going to be more Bond-esque, but to be honest, I know so little about that material. It's campy, silly, over-the-top spy shit, right? YuuMori is already campy, silly, and over the top, so I think it'll be fine, but I don't know what the plot of any of it is, so who knows.

But we're also not out of ACD canon material to adapt yet. So who knows!

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riding the trend of babygirlifying weird grown men on 20th century tv shows max headroom absolutely HAS to be next this is a real missed opportunity

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I drafted a list of favorite Men’s division skating programs at the end of last season and since I’m currently catching up on the Grand Prix I dug up the YouTube links to rewatch them all.

These aren’t necessarily my favorite versions of each program but content restrictions ruin my life (I can hardly find ANYTHING from Worlds let me LIVE nbc!!!)

Deniss Vasilyevs EX: “It’s a Sin”

every competition that didn’t have Vasilyevs’s Yuri on Ice costume Elton John Years and Years song exhibition routine might as well not have happened at all this is gay culture

Nikita Starostin SP: “Latch” 

an absolute joy to watch. the step sequence of all time

Roman Sadovsky FS: “Chasing Cars”

honestly just beautiful vibes I can’t remember which competition made me fall in love with this program but it’s lovely

Kevin Aymoz FS: “Outro”

the king of ice cartwheels and his beautiful free skate to M83 

Adam Siao Him Fa FS: Daft Punk

no one has more fun on the ice

1:38:50

Vincent Zhou SP: “Vincent”

SPECIFICALLY AT WORLDS UGH I WAS SO EMOTIONAL FOR THIS ONE VINCENT CAME BACK AND CRUSHED IT AND I WEPT

Ilia Malinin FS: Autograf/Woodkid

you absolute mad lad you’re gonna live up to your Instagram handle and win everything forever

Yuzuru Hanyu EX: “春よ来い”

Hanyu-sama, Yuzu, what can I even say, all-time great

1:44:30

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first art post!! ohh mr lord of crime 😻‼️