#A Study in Emerald

[neil-gaiman]

Ok I'm sorry when you said hp Lovecraft/Arthur Conan Doyle crossover.....

Is this implying you wrote a story about Sherlock Holmes witnessing cosmic horrors???? Bc if so I'm gonna need that story asap, whether it's a link or a title to look up or what

And if not somebody needs to get on writing that because WOW that sounds cool

You can download it here:

[criterioncollected]

start a war, just for the feeling.

a possible vampire story about black girlhood, think pledge, selah and the spades, claudia de pointe du lac, etc.

daughters of the dust - dir. julie dash / interview with the vampire (amc 2022) / wuthering heights, emily brontë / selah and the spades - dir. tayarisha poe / a study in emerald, neil gaiman / blade - dir. stephen norrington / lous and the yakuza / the black cat, edgar allen poe / the killing of a chinese bookie - dir. john cassavetes / vampire in brooklyn - dir. wes craven

[thelastofthebookworms]

So... Here's one more of your suggestions and a few more personal favorites. Is your fav still not there ?

[edosianorchids901]

Fear Itself

Changing things up with A Study in Emerald for this week's @flashfictionfridayofficial prompt

I was no stranger to fear. None who grew up in our world, a world ruled by incomprehensible creatures from below the Pit. Each child grew up on tales of the Queen of Albion, the Czar Unanswerable, the White Lady of the Antarctic Fastness, and all the others. Their hulking shapes had haunted my dreams all of my life.

And then I had gone to Afghanistan, to war, and had seen new horrors there. Injury and infection and illness had nearly put an end to me there. Fear followed me home to London, and by the time I allied with the Restorationists I thought I could endure any terror. 

So it was something of a shock to me when, as my new companion and I stalked the path of one of the Royals, my courage failed. I froze in place in the shadows of the alley, stricken by the sight of the creature skulking towards the madhouse. It was not merely the inhuman appearance, the seemingly countless limbs and eyes and bulk that overwhelmed me. It was…

Everything.

My companion paused, looking back at me. “Doctor?”

Even his quiet voice sent a new terror through me. What if that creature overheard us? Such creatures could be killed—I had not done it yet, but had studied their anatomy and understood how—but I could not bear the thought of doing so now. I shook my head.

I had half expected my companion to abandon me for the hunt. Despite our short acquaintance, I knew he was not a man prone to giving up on anything, especially when he had the scent of his quarry.

But he softened and took my arm, turning me away. “Come, Doctor. We shall retreat for now.”

Still dazed, I let him lead me back to our rooms. My breaths came short and shallow, and not just from the fatigue that had plagued me since my injuries. Panic was upon me, and I could not calm myself. My cheeks burned with the humiliation of falling apart so severely in front of my new friend.

But I quickly discovered that Sherlock Holmes, in addition to being the boldest of hunters, was also a very kind man. He led me to the more comfortable of our lumpy armchairs, helped me sit, and loosened my collar. Before long, a glass of brandy was pressed into my hand, and he sat beside me with his hand resting lightly on my shoulder.

“Drink up, my boy,” he said cheerfully. “And do not fear. No one saw us, nor pursued us.”

I did fear, but as I drank my brandy and sat beside my companion, I did settle. Still embarrassed, I sighed. “I am very sorry, Holmes. I let you down.”

“There is no cause for apologies, and you have let no one down. It is far better to withdraw if the fear strikes.”

I eyed him doubtfully. Holmes always spoke with utter mastery of whatever topic we had discussed thus far, but could he truly be so certain? “It is not better to push through?”

“Of course not,” he said, a little sharply. “You are a doctor. If a patient exhibits symptoms of a condition, would you not treat those symptoms rather than encourage denial?”

I gave him a look at this. Even in our brief acquaintance, I had already seen him push through injury and illness alike. “I would, but—”

“Fear is a sickness. That is indisputable,” Holmes said with his usual command. “But our world is sick, invaded by these parasites that would feast on our hope until there is nothing left. And in such a world, fear is a rational response.”

Confused, I frowned. “Is it sickness, or rational?”

“Both. Such is the world we live in, and I suspect it should be so even in other worlds. It can make one ill, but also serve as a symptom of true danger.”

“You believe we were in danger, then? Is that why I was afraid?”

He gave me a little sardonic smile and rubbed my shoulder. “You were afraid because our foes are inhuman monstrosities would would gladly devour us, mind and body. To confront them is to risk being undone completely.”

“And you think I would crumble?”

“I think you fear you may crumble,” Holmes said thoughtfully. “And that is a greater danger than their unnatural gaze. But I believe you are braver and stronger than you give yourself credit for. You will prevail, once you find your footing.”

I finished my drink and set it aside, then gave my bad leg a rueful look. “My footing is unsteady on the best of days, unfortunately.”

I had meant it as something of a joke, and he gave an almost completely silent laugh. The bright amusement upon his face moved me deeply, as if the clouds of gloom had drawn back to reveal the sun. “You are recovering yourself, my dear Doctor. I am glad.”

“I am as well.” The tightness on my chest had eased at last, and I could breathe again. “Damn it, I wish we could have gotten that beast! Next time, Holmes, I will not quail.”

“That is a much better mindset.” He took my trembling hand within his grasp, holding it tenderly. “But as I said, fear can be a symptom of true danger. You must not ignore it completely. To do so is just as perilous as standing frozen in the face of a threat.”

I nodded, soothed by the steadiness of his touch. It would perhaps take time for me to grow accustomed to this sort of war, so different than fighting against humans on the battlefield. But with Holmes beside me, I felt that anything might be possible.

[idkaguyorsomething]

Why you should read A Study In Emerald

While technically not a fanfiction on account of both the properties it’s based off of being in the public domain, A Study In Emerald is basically a crossover fic between Sherlock Holmes and the Lovecraft mythos, written by none other than Neil Gaiman himself! The above link will lead to a version of the story printed in a pulpy classic newspaper format, but it can also be read in more traditional formatting and has a graphic novel adaptation that is worth checking out.

The Premise: a disabled war veteran moves in with a consulting detective who is soon charged with investigating a high-profile murder, but not all is as it seems. Taking place in a very different world where the Old Ones reign supreme over humanity, A Study In Emerald presents a surprisingly compact but satisfying mystery that is tantalizingly presented to the audience bit by bit until the curtain is pulled back in a really cool reveal at the end.

Why You Should Read It: the story strikes an excellent balance between presenting the reader with enough information that they can put the clues together and maintaining suspense without making it incredibly obvious where things are going. It doesn’t feel like it’s trying to outsmart the audience, rather it plays with the expectations of what one would expect in a Sherlock Holmes story, and piecing together the clues feels incredibly satisfying whether it’s your first time reading or fifteenth. The twist is one of those that makes more sense the more you think about it rather than one that was obviously slapped on for shock value, and unraveling it makes for a compelling sort of meta-mystery in its own right. This version of Holmes and Watson stand out as very distinctive versions of themselves because of the unique circumstances they find themselves placed in, but are still quite recognizably themselves. The works they inhabit is filled with enough detail and personality that it feels like a crime that people haven’t written more fanfic of this fic, because it is just brimming with potential and unique adventures that the og detective duo could be going on. There’s also some little cameos from other classic literature figures like Dracula and Dr. Jekyll, so if you’ve read those it can be really fun to pick those out. And of course it comes with that classic Lovecraftian horror of unknown, unfathomably powerful beings who in this case happen to be the heads of world governments. No applicability there, nope.

Potential Reasons to Stay Away: if you don’t have some prior knowledge of the supporting cast/recurring antagonists of Sherlock Holmes stories, then the ending will probably be very confusing and not make nearly as much intended sense. Previous experience with the Sherlock Holmes stories really gives the whole story a lot more punch. Not so much with the Lovecraft mythos, but some details will end up flying over your head. And, as one might expect from such a crossover, there is murder, body horror, and constant mentions of being driven into madness by horrors yet unfathomable to the human mind. Also, I guess that if you just really don’t want to see the Queen of England depicted as an evil colonizing monster who’s also an eldritch abomination this time around, this probably isn’t the story for you? (It’s certainly a perk for some people)

TL; DR A Study In Emerald is a cool Sherlock Holmes crossover with Lovecraft that respects its reader’s intelligence and comes with a cool-ass twist at the end. Give it a try if you’re a fan of either one, it’s relatively short and very fun to read.

[shortstorytournament]

Short Story Tournament

EXHALATION by Ted Chiang (2008) (link) - tw: apocalypse, death

Every day we consume two lungs heavy with air; every day we remove the empty ones from our chest and replace them with full ones.

A STUDY IN EMERALD by Neil Gaiman (2003) (link) - tw: death

A murder had been committed in that little bedsit. The body, what was left of it, was still there, on the floor. I saw it, but, at first, somehow, I did not see it.

[nooowestayandgetcaught]

The Worst Man In London (And His Sinister Resignation)

read on AO3

~1k, Sherry Vernet | Rache/The Limping Doctor (Neil Gaiman's "A Study in Emerald") & Sherlock Holmes/John Watson (Arthur Conan Dyle's "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton", No Rating, Post-Canon/Fandom Crossover - H.P. Lovecraft's "What the Moon Brings" Summary: Out of the deep pit of moon-lit waters, Charles Augustus Milverton rises. I feel it. I feel my heart quiver and quake.

[dunwichdumbass]

[haveyoureadthiscomic-poll]

[cactusspatz]

February recs

Fandoms are all over the place this month since I finished my Yuletide trawl, so lots of small fandoms + Star Trek + Star Wars, sorted into thematic clusters for your reading pleasure.

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE ADVENTURES

Another Life by @LullabyKnell (Star Trek AOS, gen)

In one moment, James T. Kirk is the acting captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise, on his way home to Earth after stopping the Narada. In the next moment, without explanation, James T. Kirk is an Academy cadet on academic probation again, barely a day before Nero will destroy Vulcan.

He dares himself to do better. And with a planet on the line and no proof but his own memories, he knows that "better" means he'll need some help.

Classic time-travel fix-it elevated by a mid-story TOS-flavored twist! A wonderful adventure.

Commander Fox's Ultimate Bucket List by blackkat/ @blackkatmagic​ (Star Wars, Fox/Mace)

Fox has a second chance, a to-do list, a stolen lightsaber, and a complete willingness to give everyone around him grey hairs. Plus a Jedi Master to seduce. It's going to be a ride.

*cackles* Fox deserved this SO MUCH! Hilarious and satisfying.

Magic Casements by @edwardianspinsteraunt​ (A Little Princess, gen)

Becky is the one who rescues Mr Carrisford's monkey, and so the one whom the Magic happens to instead.

Captures the sweet magic and friendship of the original while making some sharp points about its class issues.

INVESTIGATIONS

The Striped Leg by wildwestwind (A Study in Emerald, gen)

The Adventure of The Speckled Band, set in the world of A Study In Emerald.

This author really knows their Lovecraft, which brings a rich and creepy new dimension to this very classic case. Mmm, pastiche perfection.

A Country Mile by @bropunzeling​ (Think of England, Fen/Pat)

“You want us to go to a house party? Really?”

“I hate to ask it of you,” Daniel said, voice muffled in that queer way one got with the telephone. "But I need someone I can trust to look after things there until then. Would you?”

Fen and Pat attend a house party and encounter: poison (pen letters); poison (literal); perilous dinner conversation; potential friendship; and physics.

Danger, espionage, female friendship, a lady scientist, general competence in the face of misogyny, Fen's self-esteem issues vs Pat's unswerving support, and a damn good read: what more could you want?

What It All Comes Down To by phnelt/ @phneltwrites​ (Think of England, canon pairings)

“Those blighters—” strong language from Fen there. Pat has been working on her in regards to fruity language but Fen hasn’t much taken to it. “ —won’t let women shoot at these newfangled Olympics games, despite England boasting some of the best women shooters in the world. Present company very much included.” Fen gets so heated when she advocates. It brings up a healthy colour to her cheeks. Pat smiles at her, helplessly. “So we simply must show them how good women can be by having Pat train you up from nothing so you can trounce them in the name of her club and in front of the eyes of God and the Olympic Committee.” If this wasn’t obviously one of Fen’s schemes it would be clear after her speech.

Charming friendship-centric story, with some light intrigue on the civilian side of things for once.

UNEXPECTED MEETINGS

Poiesis (Making) by ama (Queen's Thief, gen + Costis/Kamet)

Kamet is bewildered by a summons he receives to meet with the King of Sounis. After all, what could they possibly have to discuss?

Post-canon interlude where Kamet and Sophos bond over poetry, with great character writing.

Scene on a Balcony by Mary_West (Lord Peter, gen + Sylvia/Eiluned)

8th October 1935 and it's the wedding of the year - Lord Peter Wimsey and Miss Harriet Vane have finally tied the knot. But the wedding breakfast (served at the Dowager Duchess' London house) is getting a little heated. So the balcony is an excellent place to which to escape.

If anyone ever needed a sensible lesbian auntie, it's Jerry - but also this is sweet and funny and well-observed, from the wedding details to the practicalities of being queer at the time.

The Nuclear Option by Tangerine/ @atangeriner​ (From Eroica with Love, Klaus/Dorian)

When Klaus needs help with a family affair, Dorian is more than happy to offer his services.

Superb, satisfying, full of banter and yearning, and I love the slow reveal of wtf is going on with Klaus.

Time Enough by fresne/ @fresne999​ (Ethan of Athos, Ethan/Terrence)

Terrence Cee had spent most of his life feeling like a jumpship caught in the gravity well of a blackhole. Engines on full bore. Only able to keep out of the crushing center, but never able to escape. Now in his new life on Athos, he found himself unsure of how to find a new pace.

Ethan wondered if there was a way to get his love life gestating again. Not frozen like zygotes stored in a bio-freezer against some eventual future.

Sweet get-together for the boys that addresses Terrence's trauma and socially deficient upbringing, plus meet-the-family shenanigans and rich worldbuilding for Athos in all its problematic glory. I am retroactively very pleased with myself for nominating this fandom for Yuletide (even if it took me a few months to get around to this one)!

and remains quiet by marycrawford/ @mcvices​ (Nirvana in Fire, gen)

She picks up her cup and sips delicately of the chrysanthemum tea she brought. It is cooling and calming. She doesn’t need calming, but Mei Changsu might. She is about to administer a medicine that the patient will find disagreeable.

The patient looks fevered, at the moment. “What is wrong with Jingyan?”

The AU divergence point is a little oblique - if I'm reading correctly, the Emperor dies early during the war and Consort Jing takes advantage of her Dowager status to go north to see MCS - but honestly who cares about the premise, because holy SHIT this author writes Consort Jing to perfection, in all her ruthlessly compassionate (or compassionately ruthless?) complexity.

PORN WITH FEELINGS

No Pity, But a Little Love by beautifulduckweed (Will Darling Adventures, Will/Kim)

The author's summary is a mess so I'm leaving it out, but this is a great post-series look at their relationship that captures their banter and mutual delight, plus Will getting exposed to more queer spaces, all structured around Will attempting anal sex again under less fraught circumstances.

Privacy by Resonant (Due South, Fraser/RayK)

“Guess it’s a while since you had a door with a lock on it?”

“I’ve never had a door with a lock on it."

I don't know how long it's been since Resonant wrote new DS fic, but she always nails (heh) their weird and weird-about-each-other charm and this is no exception!

through the desert, repenting by beautifulduckweed (Think of England, Archie/Daniel)

Daniel da Silva comes face-to-face with the deadly consequences of making a mistake and turns to a bad childhood habit to cope—but it's not enough, and Archie Curtis doesn't know how to help.

AKA the one where Archie counters Daniel's self-harm with sex, or as the author's tags put it "In the absence of therapy banging it out will have to do".

[aceredshirt13]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love ❤️

It’s so wild to think about that less than a year ago I only had six posted fics to choose from and now I have thirty-seven. So this was a hard choice… but in no particular order, here are my tentative top five!

Midnight Marauders - My longest fic, clocking in at more than 17k! It’s for The Great Ace Attorney, and chronicles how a young Herlock Sholmes met, befriended, and eventually moved in with a certain traumatized doctor, with a mixture of humor, drama, and warm-hearted pathos. I hadn’t read A Study in Scarlet when I started writing this, so the meeting is wholly original! (Perhaps Iris took some creative liberties.)

The Musgrave Ritual Sacrifice - My second-longest fic at more than 14k! It considers how the events of canon Sherlock Holmes story “The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual” might have played out in the eldritch horror universe of Neil Gaiman’s “A Study in Emerald”. Follow the brilliant detective, his partner, and their quiet, fond romance through a world of terror, mystery, and doubt.

i’ve studied how to properly love - Did you ever watch Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century and think to yourself, “Jesus Christ, the deeper implications of this children’s cartoon are absolutely horrific”? Then this fic is for you! It manifests as a journal written not by Watson, but by his robot imitation, as he worries over the newly-resurrected Holmes (who has convinced himself the robot Watson is the real man he loved), the self-destructive, guilt-ridden Beth Lestrade, and his own feelings, sentience, and sense of self. One of my favorite things I’ve ever written, actually.

A Proper Celebration - A sequel to an adorable Jeeves-Holmes crossover ficlet by Loremaiden, this is a short little oneshot about Bertie getting published for the first time, and fellow author and lifelong supporter Watson coming from Sussex along with Holmes to congratulate him. By far the fluffiest entry on this list. (And I’m a bit proud of managing a decent Bertie Wooster POV voice that people seemed to like!)

To Taste Death Valiantly - I love the Raffles stories by E. W. Hornung. I also love the 1971 cult film They Might Be Giants, an odd romantic comedy about a man who thinks he’s Sherlock Holmes and the doctor named Mildred Watson who is assigned to look after him. So I thought to myself: what if there was a Raffles version of the same story - but this time they were both girls?? Thus, this is the tale of Sarah “Bunny” Mathers, failed writer and suicidal housewife, and how a chance meeting with a beautiful, delusional burglar gives her a new reason to live. Probably the nichest entry on this list, but I had a lot of fun writing it.

[noovorous]

How come we don’t see more depictions of vampires as doctors in fantasy? Bloodletting and applying leeches were staples of western European medicine up till late XIXth century. What easier way to ethically acquire human blood in a premodern setting? If supply of patients is large enough then doctor could prescribe bloodletting only when it would be (according to medicinal knowledge of that period) necessary, in other cases they could apply any other treatment deemed appropriate. The only example in fiction of vampires in such a role that I can recall seeing was in Neil Gaiman’s Study in Emerald as a brief bit of background worldbuilding.

[thelastofthebookworms]

For uniformity's sake :

Each work count as 1,

e.g. Sandman counts as one because different editions mean a different number of volumes and Danny who's read the 3 Omnibus Volumes has read just as much as Nawel who's read 14 volumes.

Yes it means that someone who's read one issue will vote for the same thing that someone who's read the whole thing. No system is perfect.

If you've read one work (let's say The Graveyard Book) and its adaptation (let's say P. Craig Russell's), it counts as two, though (and not 3 even if the graphic novel is divided in two parts)

Of course audiobooks count.

[jamesphillimoresumbrella]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: A Study in Emerald - Neil Gaiman Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson Characters: Sherlock Holmes, John Watson Additional Tags: Epistolary, Established Relationship, Story: The Adventure of Black Peter, Injury, Melancholy, Holmes has dark thoughts Series: Part 2 of Rache Summary:

Innsmouth was a mistake, my love. You were right to remind me of Norbury..

A letter written following the death of Black Peter in Innsmouth at the hands of rache.

Note: I've been writing this ever since I finished The Hunting Dogs and have finally wrestled pinned it down. (It only took three years, many liters of coffee, several changes of ink, pages across two notebooks, six flights, and my questionable sanity.) I will warn you now that it is rather darker and much less fluffy.

[forestal-ramblings]

I'm reading a ton of A study in emerald fanfiction while I read shadow's over baker street, and at this point I can't distinguish between canon and AO3 fic which is very lovecraftian of me.

[shortstorytournament]

Short Story Tournament

HOLDERHAVEN by Richard Butner (2010) (link) - tw: child sexual abuse

In 1911, Nerissa and Jorn Holder move into Holderhaven. In 1966, Nerissa Holder dies, having outlived her husband, both sons, and a son-in-law. In 1983, Holderhaven opens as a country house museum. In 2003, Rudy needs a summer job.

A STUDY IN EMERALD by Neil Gaiman (2003) (link) - tw: death

A murder had been committed in that little bedsit. The body, what was left of it, was still there, on the floor. I saw it, but, at first, somehow, I did not see it.