#also they need a Watson statue :( he’s lonely :(

[gaytobymeres]

The Sherlock Holmes statue is back! Finally!!

(Edinburgh is still trying so hard to be Glasgow hence the traffic cone on his head)

[milquetoast27]

The Secret of Sherlock Holmes

GRANADA FANS. If you have not heard of this play, NOW IS THE TIME TO HEAR ABOUT IT. I'd been saving it for a rainy night and it was SOO good 😭😭Please allow me to elaborate.

[heads-up, there are no video recordings of it. I listened to the audio and followed along with the script. Not ideal, but still gave me a vivid image of what was happening on-stage.]

The nuance between screen and stage allows the actors to achieve different effects that are not possible with an on-screen adaptation. Characters do not turn to the camera and just tell you their innermost thoughts, but they can in a stageplay- and it's here that we really get to hear Brett and Hardwicke's ideas about Holmes and Watson- not much of it was unfamiliar as I'd read most of Brett's views in interviews, but it was really cool to get that confirmed in an official production that he worked on. Honestly, Brett had that feeling of "I can fix him" that I think exists in all of us Holmes fans, and totally went for it. The canon (and the Granada series) is rife with subtleties and 'show, don't tell', but it is honestly refreshing for once, to have such powerful emotion depicted dramatically and audaciously on a stage. It is all too often throughout the stories that Holmes and Watson are awfully reticent about their feelings. This play is an explosion of their private thoughts that leads to finally, thankfully, a wonderful reconciliation. I love it so much as it clearly advocates for open communication being a vital factor for a good friendship. There's a good reason for why that never happened in the canon; I think it has a lot to do with the shyness and reticence of the English, and I would not be surprised most particularly with Victorian men. But Holmes and Watson do still have their moments in the canon (e.g. 3GAR & FINA), and it's what makes them stand out so shockingly much in their time.

I appreciate that this play gives us viginettes of Holmes and Watson's life together all the way up to The Final Problem. It not only sets us up for the climax later, but also shows us specifically Brett's Holmes and Hardwicke's Watson. There were changes made from the original stories, and yet felt so wonderfully in-character and flowed really well through the actors. The play exclusively stars Brett and Hardwicke, and the purpose of redoing scenes from the canon, such as STUD, NAVA, or CHAS was to highlight the status in their relationship, for example Holmes's displeasure at Watson's marriage and subsequent loneliness- important scenes that communicate Holmes's dependence on Watson. These small glimpses also give us the much-needed humour for any balanced Holmes production! It not only communicates the warm and light moments that they shared, but also helps us get more invested in this particular pair on the stage, which is still vital, even if we're already attached to the characters.

The implications that arise from Brett's portrayal of Holmes is fascinating. He admits that he'd have been dead within two years without Watson, without the indispensible role he played in controlling his addiction and mental state. He admits of the lonely and awful childhood he shared with his brother. The fact that Holmes comes forward and tells us this himself suggests he is very psychologically aware of himself and how his mind works. He understands why he has addictions, the reasons for his barriers and difficulty with emotional vulnerability. Assuming Holmes is very interested in the criminal psyche, but also his own due to his eccentricities, it makes so much sense that he would psychoanalyse himself to this degree, but also be frustrated with how little he is able to move from his rigid mindset. This interpretation works so wonderfully for Brett's Holmes, and I am so glad for this portrayal he has given us. When it comes to canon Holmes, however, I feel that this is more likely to be unconscious. I can never shake how much of Brett is actually within his Holmes. While his comes close to the original, I still see them as separate people. Granada's adaptation tends to play up Holmes's melancholy/depression a little too far for me, like a far-away, mythical creature that can never be understood, because we never get much of an opportunity to see what he really feels (perhaps Eligible Bachelor or Master Blackmailer might come close). But I feel that almost defeats the character. To me, Holmes is flawed and troubled, but he is simply human. The Secret of Sherlock Holmes portrays this fact wonderfully, because all of those feelings are rising to the surface.

We move further into speculation, but I think Brett's Holmes has also a fairly healthy understanding of the difference between social constructs and necessities, which take more importance in a queer/neurodivergent reading of him. He understands that his upbringing was due to an "accepted convention", and we see time and again how Holmes disregards social conventions or constructs and does his own thing. It's why he gets frustrated at others for not understanding him, but also accepts that it will never come easily to people. That's why he's very lucky for Watson (and Mrs. Hudson and Lestrade!) :)

Holmes's darker emotions, and Watson's fierce devotion are displayed most prominently throughout. When Watson comments on Holmes's childhood, Holmes lies about it, woeing internally over how much he conceals, to even someone as close to him as Watson. He privately shares his desire to be "found out", because sharing his feelings to Watson is too difficult. His friend takes his word for it, appreciative of the times Holmes is able to speak frankly about himself. Holmes wants to be open, and Watson wants to listen, but it's Holmes's barriers preventing it. This feeling and experience is so raw and human, and something I would imagine would resonate with many people.

The latter half of the play focuses primarily on Holmes's cocaine addiction. Pastiche writers really like that sore spot, huh. Watson's perceptiveness and powers of observation are on full force in this play. Watson can tell when Holmes is high (as a medical man, most likely), and even deduced that Holmes may still be living by Mycroft's body language. But when it came to Holmes's return from the Great Hiatus...

Something that canon Watson seems to completely forget is his anger towards Holmes. In the story, he is so star-struck and relieved that he barely considers any other feeling. Hardwicke does briefly touch on this in the Granada episode with "I thought I would be as trustworthy as your brother," but it really doesn't go further than that. In The Secret of Sherlock Holmes, Hardwicke goes FULL FORCE. This is what we needed!!! It was a powerful, hair-raising performance. When Holmes has clearly not understood the harm he has done, Watson leaves. Actually slams the door. And when he returns, he makes it very clear to Holmes why he is hurt. And yet, his devotion remains, for when Holmes starts explaining his creation of Moriarty, it takes a while before Watson is fully convinced. Watson is extremely compassionate and empathetic, yes, but he's also very grounded and level-headed, and he must draw the line somewhere. It doesn't take him long to forgive Holmes, but he knows his anger has a place in that room, and allows it to be. I appreciate that it's taken just as seriously as Holmes's troubles.

The only reason either Holmes or Watson are able to communicate so finely with each other- even through shouting and crying- is because of their emotional awareness. It's what makes their relationship work, because they are both aware of how much they mean to each other. When they move past the difficulty of sharing such feelings, their bond grows stronger.

[swamp-adder]

I keep wondering about the financial situation between Holmes and Watson after the Hiatus. At Holmes' request, Watson quits his job and moves back in with Holmes to continue helping him with cases. Did Watson receive any kind of payment for his help -- a cut of the money Holmes received from his clients perhaps? A lot of fanfiction seems to assume they were equal partners and Watson got half; but honestly any scenario I can imagine seems awkward to me in one way or another:

- Watson being treated as an equal partner and getting half the money seems awkward when according to what's depicted in the stories Holmes was doing the vast majority of the actual work and Watson was mostly there because Holmes liked having someone to talk to.

- Watson receiving some money, but not a full half, makes Watson explicitly subordinate to Holmes in an employer/employee relationship, which just seems like an awkward dynamic to introduce into any friendship.

- Watson not getting paid at all would be awkward because Watson just quit his job for the sake of helping Holmes out, and has also been forbidden by Holmes from publishing any more stories for the time being. Meanwhile Holmes at this point in his career we're told is absolutely rolling in dough, creating a serious income disparity between them which could hardly help but be awkward.

Watson's financial resources that we know of at this point would consist of his wound pension and whatever royalties he's still getting from his earlier stories, plus the money he got from "Verner" for his medical practice. We're told in DYIN that Holmes' "payments [for the flat] were princely. I have no doubt that the house might have been purchased at the price which Holmes paid for his rooms during the years that I was with him." That makes it sound like Holmes was more than paying the full rent for the apartment by himself, so at the least Watson was probably living there for free. (This quote is from DYIN, which seems to be set pre-Hiatus, so this arrangement might have begun even by then.) Which also seems potentially awkward -- like something that could make Watson feel like a freeloader or whatever.

Honestly it's very understandable why Watson never explicitly talks about money, because the whole thing is just awkward any way you slice it!!

In the earlier days the whole thing seems less awkward to me because a) Holmes had less money himself and b) Watson is just choosing not to get a job and to run around with his friend instead, rather than having given up his career specifically at Holmes' request.

One thing that makes the "Watson lives for free at Holmes' place, eats out at Holmes' expense etc but doesn't get paid in cash" scenario seem more likely to me is the fact that Holmes felt the need to give Watson a bunch of money sneakily through buying his practice -- it makes me think he felt like he couldn't pay him in a more straightforward, above-board way -- that Watson would be offended by it or whatever.

On the other hand I was also reading some stuff on the wiki about the concept of the "lady's companion", where a usually single upper-class woman would invite a single female friend to live with her and pay her an "allowance" in exchange for social companionship. The companion was technically an employee but was treated more like a member of the family. Now, there are reasons why this arrangement was specific to women: a) there were very few ways for an upper-class woman to actually earn a living that wouldn't compromise her upper-class status; and b) upper-class women were expected to stay at home most of the time, so a woman living alone (especially in the country) could easily become lonely. But it does show that there was at least some kind of concept in this historical era of "living with a wealthy friend and being financially supported by them as if you were family" without it being Weird. So yeah IDK.

[testingcheats0n]

Detroit Become Human AU where:

-> Tommy is an up-and-coming livestreamer of the retro game Minecraft- forming part of a fledgling community of all-human players of the game. His growth is slow but steady and he has a future in a genre that had fallen out of fashion with the rise of the newest and more immersive VR games on the market. People love to see an actual human that could make mistakes and win against another fellow human fairly. The nostalgia it brought to some people is also undeniably at play.

It's worth noting that Tommy is a very lonely kid, with a non-existent social life since he and his family had to move to America after his father struck a lucrative business deal with his brilliant protege.

-> Wilbur, Tommy's older brother and only guardian after their father, Phil, dedicated his life to the creation of androids with his young but brilliant pupil Elijah Kamski, is a simple busker. It's hard to find a job at 24 with no previous experience or further education, he had to take care of Tommy, after all. True, their economic troubles never ended, and he could barely provide for Tommy, but at least they had each other, even if Wilbur was off to the streets of Detroit more often than not. He has no idea of his younger brother's blooming career in the gaming industry and is very worried about his future. The solution? A very suspicious android his best friend Schlatt offers for very cheap.

-> Phil Watson is a household name together with Elijah Kamski's, they created one of humanity's greatest tools, after all. Nothing suspicious here, they're definitely not hiding any potential deviancies from the code! In any case, his family never saw a dime of the frankly insane amount of money piling up in his bank account. He has an old phone he carries in his pocket every day with Wilbur's phone number, but he never dares to call it despite RN800, his assistant's, insistence that he was only making his own life harder. He is going to dial that phone number someday. Surely.

-> TU880 is an android from an old companion/educational line, discontinued after a few notable bugs and glitches in their core programming. Nothing serious, or life-threatening, but many customers have complained about disturbing behavior that falls straight into the uncanny valley- he's too human. Schlatt, his previous owner, refuses to disclose where he got TU880 from, nor does he have any legal documentation to prove he is his owner. Wilbur, desperate to find a solution for Tommy's perceived loneliness pays the fifty bucks his old pal asks for the android without asking any questions. It's weird for an adult to go around with a teen model created to counsel adolescents and help them with their homework. TU880 had problems with reading his grocery list, anyway.

-> Tommy is a bit weirded out, he thrives in an internet community which openly despises anything android, but his good friend Technoblade has plenty of useful advice, from maitenance to behavior. TU880 is odd, which he discards as kinks and bugs of the older models, but they get along nicely once TU880's programming kicks in. He likes to help Tommy edit his videos and speak about the problems of adolescence, he is oddly fond of bees or anything small and defenceless and likes to tell his 'dreams' of scientists in labcoats and other kids like him stuck in experiments. Tommy listens with half an ear, TU880 is his friend, after all. He thinks nothing of it.

-> It all becomes a bit too much when TU880 accidentally appears on camera during one of Tommy's streams. People assume he's Tommy's brother, and insist on getting an introduction. TU880 is ecstatic, but from what Tommy's told him, revealing his artificial status might harm his friend's career so he greets the chat as Toby, Tommy's older brother. The community goes wild and Tommy has to pretend that TU880 is his brother (which isn't that terrible per-se) and not the house assistant who has a complete psychological profile of him.

-> TU880 begins to feel strange, both regarding Tommy and his own place in the household. Calling Tommy hus brother is easy as calculus and makes his thirium pump skip a few beats, but he's not sure if he should be getting this attached. He's sure he is malfunctioning in some way, but Schlatt always assured him that he is fine. He thinks nothing of it and instead continues to watch over Tommy.

-> Minecraft is fun, and he eventually gets his own account on Wilbur's old (read: ancient) laptop despite possessing an internal processor powerful enough to play the game at its maximum capacity in his mind, and probably in a 3D holoprojector. At this point, he's in too deep and the friends he's making would certainly ask questions if he were to disappear. He has the opportunity to talk about anything at all to his growing audience, and the community is very welcoming in general once one integrates into their culture. He still doesn't feel it's fair to participate in the tournaments and all the other official competitions. People find it odd, but they assume he's not very good at PVP so no one tends to comment on it for now. It's okay though, he and his new friend Ranboo act as commentators during the events and everyone thinks they're pretty funny.

-> Ranboo is fun to be around. He just gets TU880- or as the internet knows him as, Tubbo. They click easily, sometimes the other boy seems just as confused about other people's reactions and behavior as Tubbo is (despite his in-depth knowledge of psychology. He's not quite connected to Cyberlife's database anymore and his learning algorithm is outdated at best.) and they like to spend their afternoons with Tommy, watching movies. The game overtakes their lives and they spend a lot of time playing privately with the best strategies Tubbo's advanced algorithms and Ranboo's sheer brilliancy can create. That's how they meet their friend Fundy, who is more than happy to keep their Technical Minecraft server a secret, as long as he gets to do his own thing with coding and they test it.

-> Tommy is just happy that he can use the cool farms for his own grinding.

-> Technoblade is Tommy's mysterious internet friend and fellow growing streamer. Everyone is sure that he's an android infiltrating the budding community, but after several years of isolated incidents, investigations, and online scandals no one was able to prove anything. Technoblade just never dies. (Tommy is 50% sure his friend is really an android, the older man simply refuses to comment). It is possible to spend months farming digital potatoes, people are just mean and want drama. Technoblade is just vibing. Incidentally, he's also the first one to figure out that Ranboo and Tubbo are androids. He is also the first one to figure out they're deviants. He doesn't mention it until much later though.

-> Jack and Niki Manifold have successfully founded their own mechanic business for android repairs. Cyberlife mumbled and grumbled at the siblings' repair shop, but in the end it was good for PR so they let them be. Tommy and Wilbur become their friends as TU880's frequent malfunctions inevitably bring the pair to the cheapest android repair service in the city. TU880 can't complain, Niki is sweet to him and understands what is wrong with him just by his description, since his diagnostics aren't working entirely and each an every single one of Jack's repairs last loner than every other mechanic he's been to.

-> Gradually, Tommy's fame becomes apparent, and Wilbur has the time to actually rest and spend time with his brother. He's just happy that they can be together. A weight is lifted off his shoulders and for the first time ever he feels like his little family has a future. Not even once does it pass through his mind that TU880 isn't acting like a typical android- he avoided the things on principle. Once, TU880 calls him his brother and he cries.

-> Sam is Cyberlife's very own private investigator. He is in charge of researching and turning in possible deviants that might help the company with developing a solution for the rising problem. In particular, he's been after the trail of a specific line of androids, the first one released by Kamski and Watson dubbed as TU. According to his investigations the line might have contained the code responsible for deviancy. Further research indicated that Kamski's code was based on a group project from the Dutch university for cibernetics.

-> Fundy is just a 21 y/o with a Twitch account and a passing interest in coding. Nothing serious, nothing suspicious. He absolutely wasn't part of the early AI coding trials that Kamski would later on use as the basis for his own code. If someone asks, he has no idea what ra9 means. He is almost sure that his friends are androids, the thought makes him very happy.

-> Puffy is Phil's new psychologist. Need I say more? Eventual Hurt/comfort baby!!!

[moonyblackwerewolf]

Betrothed Ch. 4 - Sirius Black

Betrothed Ch. 4

Sirius Black x fem!Reader

Word count: 4.7k

Summary: Sirius and Y/N meet at a family dinner and have some fun, later she finds out she is betrothed to some pureblood boy so Sirius comes up with a mental idea to save them both.

Warnings: Kissing, hints of sex, aggressive parents, underage drinking, idk my writing and English? lol

a/n: Oh my god this is so long! I hope you guys like it, i think there is only 2 chapters left, idk yet. Anyway Feedback is always welcome, thank you guys :)

Xxxx

Ch.1 Ch.2 Ch. 2.5 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch. 5 

When Y/n got home, she had time before going to the Malfoys, so she was planning on how to gently tell her parents she didn’t want to go and that she wasn’t going to accept their marriage proposal too. She spend days thinking and decided it was time, because her mom was already telling her to get prepared to go, so she sent a letter to Sirius as promised telling him she would talk to her parents on that day. 

Later the family sat down in a living room and waited for Y/n to say what she wanted to.

“So? What do you want to tell us, your father and I are busy” her mother said impatiently, not knowing the bomb her daughter would throw at her.

Y/n took a deep breath and said “I don’t want to marry Malfoy, I’m not accepting his proposal.” As simple as that single phrase sounded like, it cost her so much more. Her parents were outraged to say the very least, how could she misbehave after all those year of being so obedient.

“What do you mean you won’t? Yes you will, the Malfoys are getting their answers next week” Her mother screamed.

To say her parent were furious was an understatement. She was disrespecting not only their choice of husband, but also their ancient family traditions. But in reality that’s exactly what she felt like, those traditions were ancient and full of nonsense, it is completely wrong to promise a girl to some narcissist, conservative, arrogant, aggressive prick and make her spend the rest of her life with him, loosing all of her liberty.

“Are you calling Lucius a prick? He is a member of one respectable family Y/n!” Her father grunted, grabbing his wand.

“Why? Because they’re pureblood?” Y/n yelled, since she was already fighting their principles she might as well do it right. “That’s nonsense why would a blood status change a person? It doesn't change anything, I know many muggle borns who are ten times better people than you are, you think you can judge everyone, just because you’re pure? Or rich? Or call yourself royal? Which is absurd by the way, you and I know there isn’t royalty in our world, you only say that because you want to be better than everyone else, so you lie and you’re powerful enough for people to believe you” she roared, it felt incredible to take some of her frustrations out of her chest for once in her life, she didn’t have to pretend to be a well behaved purist, like she was before.

Mr. Watson wouldn’t believe his daughter, he didn’t want to, so he kept blinding himself from the ugly truth that he was indeed wrong. “I won’t tolerate you disrespecting our tradition Y/n” with a wave from his hands Charles hit Y/n with the Cruciatus curse, taking her to the ground almost immediately. 

“Dad! Stop- you’re hurting me, please! You’re hurting me” She cried and begged and squirmed, it felt agonising the pain touched each and every part of her body, the tears ran freely down her face, after being hit a certain amount of times she just felt numb to the pain, she stayed still wrapping her knees with all the strength she had left.

“You are going to marry Lucius Malfoy and you are going to accept his proposal in person when you go to his house, because you’re still going and I don’t want to hear a single complain or any of these ideas you cultivated in your mind, you are going to bring us respect” With no remorse her father left her there small, hugging her legs and crying alone, earning only a polite nod from her mother followed by a ‘I warned you’ look.

The rest of her time at home went by so slow she thought a whole month had passed, she was now feeling so bad being in her own house that she almost wanted to go to the Malfoys. Her parents weren’t even letting her see the mail, which meant she wasn’t receiving Sirius’ letters. Her sister wouldn’t talk with her anymore, scared of having the same fate as Y/n and her brother didn’t even know what was happening with his little sister.

The day she was going to the Malfoy manor had arrived. Her parents dropped her there in that shark tank like it meant nothing, they didn’t even bother saying good bye, she had come a long way from being the perfect daughter, who was always respectful with her parents and their ideals. Being at the Malfoys felt like being in Azkaban, but it was still better than being at home at least, there she was treated with extreme respect by Abraxas Malfoy and his wife, they were doing it out of interest of course but it was better than nothing, her only problem was Lucius, she hated him and hated even more that she’d need to sleep in his bed with him and even more that she’d have to accept his proposal by the end of the week. She felt stuck.

After having dinner Mrs. Malfoy showed you to Lucius’ room, while the house elf carried Y/n’s trunk next to the bed. The room was nice and big but it was cold and dark, she felt bad in there, fear creeping into her chest as her whole body felt numb, she just wished she could be in Sirius’ bed in the dormitories, she didn’t know why but there, by Sirius’ side was the most perfect place to be, she felt warm and safe.

“That’s it sweetheart, goodnight” after showing the room, with a final goodbye Mrs. Malfoy let her there alone, with Lucius. He was handsome, sharp jaw, strong upper body, beautiful face, she couldn’t deny it but it felt so wrong, it was sickening, she didn’t love him, she couldn’t, he was a terrible person.

“Look Y/n/n, I have to say, back in Hogwarts I was a bit jealous from you and Sirius, but now, being here with you, feels so right” he said as he was inching closer to her “Come on, let’s go to bed” his fingers were brushing her waist, the single phrase and action made her feel sick, his touch was ice cold, but what choice did she have. Y/n knew the punishment she’d have to face if she didn’t behave

“Ok” she replied, mouth dry “I’ll go change, in the bathroom”. She opened her trunk and looked for comfortable pyjamas, but to her surprise there were only vulgar sleeping clothes and lingeries, she felt a cold in her spine that made her sicker, her mother had it all planned out, crazy she thought, her mother is crazy. The last straw was when she saw a note from her mom.

Bought you some new clothes for you to share with Lucius.

Love,

Mom

She wondered what would It feel like to have a real caring mother, not one that just clearly wants her to have sex so she can have grandchildren. But she was born on a deranged family. She had no choice, so she just chose the pieces that were most discreet and even those weren't even a bit discreet, it was a black lace bra that at least covered her breasts perfectly and went a bit down and matching panties, if there was something she was sure of, it was that she didn’t want to see Lucius’ face when he saw her.

But again, she had no choice, when she entered the room again Lucius gaze fell directly on her chest. “My eyes are up here you know right?” She asked with a bored voice, while lying down in bed, much to her dismay.

“Feisty” he chuckled lying in bed besides her “I’ve always liked you Watson” Lucius was being a tease but she could see it in his eyes that he was drooling over her. She hated it. So she turned over and closed her eyes, wanting desperately to sleep for the whole time she’d be stuck there “Good night for you too, love” the nickname Sirius used to call her seemed so cold now, sounded fake coming form Lucius’ mouth. That night her thoughts kept going back to Sirius, she wondered if he was trying to talk to her, trying to reach her somehow but being unsuccessful thanks to her cruel parents. She missed him, his touch, his affections and she missed Lily, if she was here they’d talk the whole night and then maybe it wouldn’t fell so lonely, she missed reading with Remus, joking and pranking people with James and how protective he was and Peter’s cute but sarcastic comments, she missed her true family.

The next few days sucked, Y/n was running out of the less vulgar clothes, Lucius was always trying to kiss her and get close to her and the Malfoys’ forced kindness was beginning to annoy her, on top of that she didn’t feel like home in this house, she didn’t feel comfortable to do anything, basically she was counting the days until she could go back to Hogwarts.

——————————

Sirius knew something was wrong when Y/n didn’t answer any of his letters, assuming that she’d now probably be at the Malfoys, he needed to talked to her. The thought of Malfoy touching her and the things he could do made his blood boil, she was his friend after all. But things at his home weren’t good, his parents were breathing down his neck so he need to find a way to escape, so, of course he asked James for help.

James and Sirius had come up with a plan, but it was certainly dangerous and potentially problematic, just like everything they did. The plan was: Sirius would sneak away from his house, once he managed to do so he would meet with James in his house and the both boys would go pay the Malfoys a visit, once inside Sirius would need to distract the Malfoys since their families are friends while James helped Y/n run away to his house. It wasn’t quite a brilliant plan, they didn’t have much time to think, but Sirius needed to be sure she was safe.

Now Sirius thought he would have great difficulty running away, he waited for everyone to fall asleep to leave his bedroom, managed to avoid the elves, went to the broom closet, grabbed a broomstick, everything was doing great, except for one thing. Sirius’ brother Regulus thought he had herd something and went downstairs, only to find he’s rebellious younger brother trying to run away.

“What do you think you’re doing this time of night Sirius?” Regulus asked not even a bit surprised by his brother’s actions.

Shit, Sirius thought, he had two options lie or tell the truth. He chose the boldest one “Reg, don’t tell our parents” he looked helpless for the first time in his life, Regulus was quite startled “I need to save my friend, she’s in danger. I know we’re not in the best terms but, do this one favour for me-” he paused “I really care about this girl, she’s the Watson’s daughter, you know her”

“What? The Watson’s… you mean Y/n? What happed Sirius? She’s my friend too, is she okay?” He was going to tell his parents before but now he was curious and worried, he liked Y/n, she was nice to him on eventual encounters in their common room or classes.

“She’s- she’s being held captive at the Malfoys” it wasn’t a lie.

“Held captive? And what about her parents? her dad is the Minister of Magic Law Enforcement, what is it you can do that he can’t and on top of that why are the Malfoys supposedly holding her captive?” Regulus was being particularly annoying, he was suspicious of Sirius’ intentions.

“Her parents gave her away, they want her to marry Lucius, but she doesn’t. And i’m willing to ask for her hand if she accepts me, but she wanted to confront her parents, which clearly went terribly wrong” Sirius tried to defend his theses but he didn’t know if Regulus would be willing to let him go or he’d say that she has to marry who her parents want.

“You’re being absurd Sirius, it can’t possibly be that bad, it’s a marriage, considering our families, it’d happen sooner or later. You can’t stop it, if the Malfoys tell our parents they’ll kill you” Regulus was irritated at first, she was only doing what she was supposed to.

“I’m going either way” Sirius wasn’t letting his brother get in the way.

“Ok.” Sirius would be lying if he said he’s jaw hadn’t dropped to the floor. Actually Regulus was quite shocked too, hearing he’s brother say he was willing to marry a girl and a girl that their parents would approve was indeed shocking and he liked Y/n, the thought of her suffering made him less strict with his brother for once.

“W-well- hum ok then” Sirius left as quickly as he could, afraid this was only an hallucination.

James was waiting for Sirius with his bedroom’s window open. When he entered they both went to bed and talked until they fell asleep, the next day would be eventful. Assuming they woke up right before lunch, the boys hurriedly set everything necessary for the plan, muttered apologies to James’ parents and went to pay a visit to Lucius Malfoy. The weather outside was cold, but the sun was shining, making the travel rather beautiful, but the boys didn’t even notice, they were too worried, James couldn’t stop thinking about how Malfoy was treating his best friend, he hated him so much, Sirius had another motives, he hadn’t realised yet and it may take a little push, but he was jealous.

Arriving at that creepy mansion James and Sirius separated, James sneaked in quietly looking for Y/n’s belongings, while Sirius knocked on the door. The house elf asked him to come in and called his master. Mrs. Malfoy was quite surprised but tolerant.

“Good Morning, may i ask your name?” She asked politely 

“Oh i’m Sirius Black, Walburga’s son” 

“Oh! Sirius what a pleasant surprise, is Walburga going to visit us today?” 

“No madam” he paused, grabbing a gift he stole from his parents earlier “my mom asked me to give you this present, I don’t really know why, she didn’t want to tell me what it was” He never lied so badly in his entire life, but knowing Y/n was probably miserable was distracting him.

She found it suspect but didn’t do anything, it was better ti ignore it “How lovely, come in and have lunch with us, Y/n and Lucius will be thrilled to see you” Mrs. Malfoy suggested, probably trying to maintain friendly due to her relationship with the Black family.

Y/n really will, he thought. 

When Y/n saw Sirius she felt hope rise in her chest for the first time since beginning of the break, she ran and hugged him tightly, the hug felt warn and safe, she didn’t want to ever let go. But she had to, the action was inappropriate. “Sirius!!! What are you doing here, what a lovely visit” she said winking at him, trying to hold composure but failing.

“Sirius” Lucius greeted him too cordially “Came to visit my fiancé?” He asked with a smug look on his face.

“Not yet, darling” Y/n retorted with a fake smile

Sirius sat next to her at the big table, the room was dark and big, the table was made of hardwood the only light sources were the sun and a weak candelabra, the room had a giant fireplace that was probably the only warm place in the house and heavy curtains. When Lucius and Mrs. Malfoy were distracted, Sirius whispered to Y/n “Say you have to go to the bathroom, James’ waiting for you outside, he probably already has your Trunk”.

His word startled Y/n, that was a dream come true, but she couldn’t “Sirius, I can’t leave, my parents would kill me” she paused to check if no one was listening “If I run it would create a conflict between my parents and the Malfoys and I don’t want to be caught in the middle of it.” She said pretending to pay attention on Lucius’ commentaries “I’m going to stay here” she continued, shocking Sirius completely.

“But your parents want you to get married Y/n, are you just going to- marry Malfoy and the rest of your life with him?” she looked tense, knowing she’d have no choice, he hated seeing her like that. 

Suddenly she heard Sirius clear his throat loudly, scaring her “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I need to talk with Y/n” he paused, the Malfoys were now looking at him “In private, if you allow us- it’s urgent” Mrs Malfoy looked a little confused but nodded. Sirius took Elena out of the room almost immediately.

“Y/n why in the name of Merlin are you staying here?” 

“I can’t go Sirius, I told you, the Malfoys wouldn’t be happy, it could cause a conflict my parents want to avoid” Sirius didn’t look convinced, he knew she was just making excuses but he didn’t know why.

“Really? Isn’t you’re family the most powerful in the sacred-twenty-eight?” He commented mockingly “Why would they be scared of the Malfoys?” Sirius could see the fear in her eyes, she wanted to go but was scared, so he sat her down on a coach near and asked her with those protective grey eyes that made her feel so protected “Y/n, it’s alright you can tell me anything” he said covering her hands in his protectively.

“No, i-i i can’t tell you” He squeezed her hands reassuringly saying that no one would know if she told him. She took a deep breath, e/c eyes staring at his grey ones “If i run, my parents, will kill me” she said eyes now full of fear, it made them look darker.

“Theoretically, right?” He asked concerned, knowing deep down what kind of family the Watsons were, he was surprised with his shock, cursing himself for the stupid question.

“No Sirius!” She whispered shouted “They’ll actually kill me, you want to know how I ended up here at the Malfoys after I told them I didn’t want to come? Do you?” She looked at him waiting for an answer, he nodded “They used two of the three unforgivable curses on me, every day until I agreed to come and marry Lucius” her voice was cracking “They used Imperio, made me not move and then used Cruciatus, I was feeling so much pain that I thought I was going to die and worse, I couldn't move a toe, I couldn’t even try to ease my pain by screaming and moving because i was under their control.” His eyes were now burning with anger “To get me to come here they used Imperio again and I don’t them to use it ever again, I lost all my free will, so what choice do I have?” Her voice was cracking, fighting the urge to cry, only the mere thought of what had happed scared her. “They’d rather see me dead than seeing me go rogue and ruin the family name” she paused, taking a breath and continued, desperation written all over her face “Why do you think i’ve always been pureblood propaganda for my parents? The gracious perfect daughter, perfect sister, the perfect student? because if I did what you do” she gestured at him “They’d kill me” She finished, looking at him, eyes begging for help, face trying miserably to hide her emotions. Sirius was scared, not even his parents had ever done something of the sort and they creative punishers. So he wrapped her in his arms not wanting to ever let her go, wanting to protect every strand of hair in her head. She melted into his embrace, all of the fear and agony being soothed.

“Oh Merlin Y/n, i’m so sorry” Sirius almost cried when she hugged him back tightly, looking for safety in his arms, the arms she knew so well. After a few moments Sirius said abruptly “Marry me Y/n” he felt her body stiffen “Please, I know you can handle this on your own, but I don’t want you to” he paused, caressing her hair “Please marry me, the Black name should be enough for your parents to accept the union, just let me take care of you, please” 

For the first time, Y/n didn’t protest, she just nodded and buried her head on his chest, she knew this plan was reckless and would make her parents angry, but she couldn’t control herself, it was like her body couldn’t take the pain anymore. “Y/n, go find James, he’s outside. I’ll talk with Malfoy, please just go, ok?” He kissed her forehead, as she stood up and went to find James.

Sirius went back to the dining room and explained that Y/n had to go home, because she would refuse Lucius’ proposal. The Malfoys were startled and outraged, she didn’t even have the guts to tell them herself? She had to bring another boy? It was all a waste of time and i’d be a disgrace for the Malfoy name if someone found out their son were rejected by a Watson, but surprisingly Sirius managed to convince them, no one created excuses as good as him. Surprisingly the Malfoys didn’t try to stop him, it was a miracle, even though they couldn’t do anything since Y/n wasn’t their daughter and it’d make a scene that could ruin their reputation, that wouldn’t last long though, they needed to run, because they would certainly contact Y/n’s parents to give a piece of their minds, it was a deal after all, they didn’t understand what happened.

“Well then Mr. Black, we hope everything’s turns out to be fine” Mrs. Malfoy politely sneered with a wave of goodbye.

“Eh-hm Thank you Mrs. Malfoy, we’re sorry for the inconvenience” Sirius said a bit nervous, leaving the room as quickly as he could.

While Sirius was talking with the Malfoys, Y/n was running to the front gate where James was waiting for her. “Y/n/n!” He shouted as he saw her running his way, when she arrived he wrapped her in a bear hug lifting her off the ground. “I’m so glad you’re okay” he said warmly, form this day on, feeling her fear as she hugged him back James considered her his sister and she considered him her brother, since he protected her, risked a rescue when she needed the most, that meant the world. 

“I’m glad to see you too Prongs” she chuckled lightly at his protective brother hug.

“Here” he said pointing to his broomstick “We’re going together, to my house, when Sirius arrive” she nodded climbing up the broom behind him.

James and Y/n were already waiting, ready to leave, when Sirius showed up getting on his broom saying “Let’s go, let’s go before they warn your parents” and taking off, James following right after. Riding their brooms fast against the cold winter air, happy that their mental plan had worked. When the trio arrived at the Potters, James’ mom was in the garden, certainly not expecting her son and his friend to arrive with a h/c girl with e/c eyes stained with tears.

“James, care to explain?” His mother asked unable to hide her surprise, but going to help the girl and try to calm her down “Let’s go inside, i’ll make you some tea sweetie and you two will explain me what happened” she said looking at the boys.

So, once inside, the boys explained what Y/n was going through and how she was being tortured and forced to marry Malfoy. Euphemia, was disgusted with Y/n’s parents, she had heard of their reputations before but this was cruel. During the whole explanation Y/n was quiet, riding out of her shock, they guessed, until she spoke and everyone went silent “I need to to my house” she said so low it was almost inaudible, they were sure they had heard it wrong but then she said it louder this time “I need to go home before things get worse” the room went silent.

“You’re not going back there Y/n” Sirius was the first to talk, desperation in his voice.

“They’ll kill me if I don’t go back” 

“There, One more reason, it’s not safe” James added, but she insisted.

Sirius stopped, looking at her “Ok then, I’m going with you, after I pay mommy dear a visit. Can you wait only until that? i’ll be as quick as possible” 

“Yeah Y/n wait a little and calm down, you can stay here until he comes back” James said patting her shoulder gently.

“No, I don’t want to bother your parents, I’m fine” she said shyly, earning a shrug from Mrs. Potter “-and I-i don’t know how long it’ll take until my parents find out i left the Malfoys, it’s too risky” 

“Dear, calm down, there’s no problem in you staying here, I promise, wait for Sirius, he’ll be there for you, your parents are not going to hurt you. If your plan doesn’t work then you can stay here with us, just rest for a bit” Euphemia said with a motherly smile on her face.

“But Sirius don’t you think your parents will be warned too?” Y/n tried to protest but James’ mom was already showing her to her room.

Y/n was so tired from the restless nights at the Malfoys, from the fear she constantly felt that Lucius would do something to her and from her parents, that when Euphemia offered the guest room and put her there, she drifted to sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Sirius caressed her hair and laid beside for a minute to make sure she was alright after the turbulent events from the break.

While she slept he told James about his plan to marry her, He was a Black, her parents would certainly be pleased with the union if the anger from the Malfoy incident passed and his parents would never refuse to wed him with a Watson, it’d be like refusing royalty, maybe it’d be difficult to explain the latest incident but anyway it was the offer of a lifetime. “Wow, Sirius are you sure? I mean, I want to save Y/n too, but- this, are you sure? This whole marriage thing is mental” James gasped.

“Her parents won’t let her stay here, they’ll try to get her back and make her marry someone else, since we humiliated Lucius, they won’t stop, I know how these people get” Sirius stated “But if I go to my parents and convince them to ask her hand to the Watsons, since she’s not officially betrothed to anyone yet, not only they’ll be thrilled but they’ll also do anything to convince her parents. And my parents would Betroth me one day too so this is just the best option for both of us” James couldn’t argue, it was a good plan in the rough.

“So you’re getting married, that’s serious” James teased “Our dear friend Y/n/n will be future Mrs. Black” he laughed hard at Sirius’ blushed face. “Oh Merlin!” He pointed a finger to Sirius “You like her! You- fancy Y/n, Merlin” James was so excited “It all makes sense, this friends with benefits thing would never work and that’s why you’re so relaxed about marrying her, because you fancy Y/N/N, Merlin!” 

“No I don’t, shove off Prongs, you’re hallucinating, we’re friends” The blush on his face wasn’t ignored by James, who laughed harder “Now, i need to go home and convince mommy Black to talk to the Watsons” Sirius cut James off, leaving the room heading to the hell he called home.

“Whatever you say Pads” James yelled from the kitchen.

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

taglist: @msmb​ ❤️

[teawaffles]

It Happened One Night: Chapter 1

T/N: Takes place after the Scandal in the British Empire arc (Chapters 17-23 of the manga).

Baker Street was full of people as usual. But in contrast to the hubbub, the entire street was enveloped in a vaguely unnatural, lonely atmosphere.

It looked like it was going to rain. That was what John H Watson thought as he walked down the street, gazing up at the heavily clouded sky.

“We should get back quickly, Sherlock.”

Saying that, he looked at the man beside him — Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock squinted and sniffed the air, as if trying to detect the smell of rain, and agreed with him.

“Right. And I also have some things here I don’t want to get drenched.”

Then Sherlock looked down at the items he was carrying. They each bore a large paper bag, stuffed to the brim with food and other sundry goods.

John furrowed his brows.

“Sherlock, haven’t you bought too many personal items? We’re even more broke than usual, you know,” he reminded.

But Sherlock wasn’t perturbed.

“They might be useless to you, John, but to me these are necessities of life. Please overlook this just once.”

“It’s no use, huh……”

It was better to avoid cigarettes at times like this, but John knew it was pointless to say that — hence instead of going on at length, he just gave a small sigh. Somehow, it felt like the bag in his arms had grown heavier.

As the two men walked on like this, they eventually drew near the flat where they lived. 221B Baker Street. This was the very place from which the great detective Sherlock Holmes, and his assistant, John H Watson, unravelled Britain’s mysteries.

However, they walked past their lodgings, not once slowing down. As they passed by, John glanced toward their flat.

There, remained the scars of appalling destruction. The building itself had retained its original structure, but the flat in which they’d lived had its windows all blown out; from what he could see through them, the walls and ceilings had been scorched to a miserable crisp.

They’d been unexpectedly drawn into the “Scandal of the British Empire” case, in which Sherlock had devised a bold strategy — blowing up their own apartment — in order to save Irene Adler.

They had achieved their goal, but at the cost of losing their home for the time being. As such, Sherlock and John, together with their landlady Miss Hudson, were staying in cheap accommodation a little ways from here until the apartment repairs were complete.

As they headed to their temporary lodgings, John’s shoulders drooped.

“Although all of us had agreed on it, in the end, it’s still tough to see the place you’ve gotten used to living in become like that.”

“Sorry about that. I had no other option back then.”

Sherlock kept his eyes forward as he apologised with sincerity. To that, John smiled gently.

“I don’t really mind — In any case, I’ve been put through many reckless situations like this before……. Oh—”

Right then, a drop of water splashed on his palm. Just as he registered that icy sensation, more raindrops came pouring down.

Sherlock looked at him.

“It arrived earlier than I thought.”

“Yeah, let’s run for it.”

Then, carrying their bags with both arms, the two men half-ran to their hotel.

When they arrived, they shook their heads slightly to rid the water from their hair, then walked past the front desk to their room.

After putting down their bags and opening the door, they found Miss Hudson standing in the doorway.

John tilted his head in confusion.

“Miss Hudson, what brings you here?”

As it would be improper for them to share a room with a lady, the two men chose to rent out a separate room despite the steep cost. Hence, John thought she would be in her own room now — why was she in theirs?

She smiled back awkwardly.

“Mr Mycroft’s here.”

“What?”

Instantly, Sherlock’s face morphed into one of displeasure. Without asking the details, he took up his shopping and walked into the room. Seated on a chair near the wall was his older brother Mycroft, looking out the window.

“……Damn you, Mycroft. Coming all the way to this hotel — what you do want?”

Distinctly uncomfortable dealing with his own elder brother, Sherlock spoke up first, his tone sour. But Mycroft simply turned to look at him, and responded without haste.

“That attitude again as always, Sherly. How about subverting my expectations sometimes and acting like a gentleman for once? Or rather, is it that you’re so frustrated by a case you forgot your manners?”

“Ugh……”

Mycroft looked around the cramped interior as he spoke, and the corners of Sherlock’s mouth twitched as he let out a groan. He didn’t regret blowing up their apartment itself, but hearing Mycroft’s calm, pointed comments forced him to remember his own helplessness back then.

“……Did you come all the way here just to make a fool of me?” he retorted, trying to defend himself. But Mycroft simply shrugged his shoulders in resignation, and got straight to the point.

“If you’re having trouble with accommodation, there’s a country house in the Cotswolds I can introduce you to.”

“……What’s this, all of a sudden?”

Country houses were often built by nobles and wealthy landowners as status symbols on their own land: it was ridiculous to suggest that someone would simply lend theirs out. Sherlock raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

“Isn’t it natural for an older brother to want to help his younger sibling in his time of need? Furthermore, although I’m sure they’d agreed to your plan, it pains me to think how Dr Watson and Miss Hudson have been caught up in it.”

“We don’t need your concern. We’ll do what we want, so just get the hell out of here.” Sherlock made a shooing motion with his hand, in a bid to chase Mycroft out, but was soon admonished by John, who’d entered the room afterward. John then calmly turned to Mycroft, seeming eager to listen.

“Do you mean that, you would be willing to lend us an apartment? Thank you very much for your offer — could you tell us more?”

Mycroft was smiling as he nodded.

“Actually, an acquaintance of mine — a noble — intends to stay in London for a week. They’re looking for someone to look after their mansion in the meantime, hence I thought it would align perfectly with your situation, Doctor.”

John nodded in understanding.

“I see. However, if that’s the case, why not ask their employees to stay behind?”

“From what I’d heard, they felt it would be a good opportunity to give their hardworking employees a vacation as well. Although if you aren’t able to accept, Doctor, they did say they would ask some of them to remain in the house……”

“In other words, if we were to take up the offer, then their employees would be able to take a break. Moreover, the three of us would be in charge of the mansion’s upkeep during our stay.”

“Not exactly,” Mycroft clarified, “They said you won’t have to concern yourselves with the maintenance and such. As long as it stays reasonably tidy, you are free to enjoy yourselves while keeping an eye on the house.”

It was a very generous offer, so generous it invited suspicion of an ulterior motive; however, since it came from Mycroft, perhaps it could be trusted. John wanted very much to accept — he couldn’t say he was entirely pleased with their current arrangement — but he knew his partner didn’t view it that simply.

As expected, Sherlock tutted in disapproval.

“This place suits us just fine: I don’t want to live in some boring mansion in the middle of nowhere. Anyway, I wouldn’t be able to take on clients when I’m away.”

Sherlock himself did harbour some guilt at making the two of them endure their present lifestyle, but following his brother’s opinion was simply anathema to him. As such, he couldn’t help but bite back in reply.

John understood that, but admonished him regardless.

“Sherlock, you shouldn’t talk to your own brother like that. Mr Mycroft was just looking out for us when he made that suggestion.”

“Pay no mind, Doctor. He’s been like this for a long time.”

Mycroft gave them a wide smile. Then, he directed a question to Miss Hudson, who had been keeping an eye on them from behind.

“We’ve heard what my little brother thinks, but how about you, Miss Hudson?”

“Eh? A-Ah~……”

Having suddenly been addressed, she responded in a faltering tone.

“Well, um…… To me, I think, it would certainly be helpful.”

In an effort to consider Sherlock’s feelings on the matter, she ended up replying in a roundabout way — but it was clear that she was in favour as well.

Mycroft turned to John.

“How about you, Doctor?”

For a moment, John was at a loss for words, but when he heard the floorboards creaking underneath his feet, he made up his mind. He looked at Sherlock as he nodded slowly.

“I think, that the country house might be more pleasant, compared to our current circumstances. Moreover, we could always receive clients via post.”

“…………”

Both of them had answered in the affirmative. Now, only Sherlock remained.

Despite the apparent obstacles being cleared, he still had his reservations. But eventually, Sherlock looked at the ceiling in resignation.

“Ah, bollocks. It would just be selfish of me to refuse at this point, now wouldn’t it? Alright. Please let us stay at that country house until the apartment is fixed.”

At that reply, Mycroft smiled in satisfaction, and Sherlock turned away to hide his frustration from those eyes.

The three of them drew up some agreements on their new living arrangements, and with that, until the flat at Baker Street was fixed, they would proceed to stay at a noble’s mansion out in the country.

Footnotes:

[1] The Cotswolds is a large hilly area to the northwest of London, further than Oxford and dotted with villages. (Wikipedia)

T/N: After the angst from the last story, I just remembered how much I love the Baker Street gang 😉

[the-villian-i-seem-to-be]

[Flower .4]

[3]

Rich and mighty guests alike crowed into the large estate of Count Addington. For you see, the man had invited noble woman and men to his private gathering. A few of his guests however, weren't nobles. But rather a few lucky officers and a familiar detective and doctor duo. Along with the elusive Moriarty borthers.

What a interesting cast of characters.

William stares down at his wrist watch. Staying besides his brother as the two walk around. Stopping when men or woman would greet them and want to converse with them. Their older brother was off with the host of the party. Most likely conversing with him.

"Sir." A voice calls out to the youngest Moriarty. Louis turns his attention to the one who called him. Which also caught his twin brothers attention. "Would you like some wine, champagne?"

"Oh, no thank you." The servant nods, "and you sir?" "I'm quite well." The young (h/c)-nette haired waiter/servant goes along their way. Holding a sliver tray in their right hand with a bottle of wine and champagne on top of the it. The servant goes around towards more guests to give them more glasses of wine and champagne.

Elsewhere, a conversation with Count Addington and Lord Moriarty had began.

"Haha! I cannot wait for tonights main event!" The older man cackles in delight, taking a occasional sip of his wine glass. Lord Moriarty stood next to the man, waiting for the man to explain what was "tonights main event".

Count Addington starts to speak lowly to Lord Moriarty. "You see my good man, I have bought a rose red ruby founded in American. My son will be married soon, so I wished to throw this party for the start of his marriage and give him the ruby as a gift."

Albert's eyes widen. "Is he here?" The old count sighs, "no. He's off with his fiance tonight."

"Then why through this party?"

"You only live this life once Lord Moriarty. Might as well make the most of mine!" The man laughs in delight once more. "You! More wine!" Lord Addington points to one of the servants.

"Yes sir." The servant walks over to them and pours the wine bottle in his glass and stops before it could overflow. "And you sir?" "No thank you." The servant takes their leave right after.

A smile falls on the old man's face.

Lord Addington gestured Lord Moriarty to follow him. The eldest Moriarty follows the old man, suspicion filling his thoughts. Passing by multiple hallways the two males head down deeper into the mansion. Lord Addington stops walking, making Albert stop and stare at the old man with puzzlement.

Lord Addington pulls out a single golden key from his breast pocket. He unlocks the door and opens it for the two of them. "Lord Moriarty, have you ever seen a ruby such as this? I would of thought a man of your status could enjoy the sights of it." Albert nods slowly, though didn't truly agree with him.

The two walk into the room towards a lone case centered into the middle of the room. Covered in a red blanket from watching eyes. This ruby is probably worth less than my entire fortune. But is still enough to keep my son and his wife in good health." The older man explained.

Lord Addington picks up the red blanket dramatically. Showing the- a empty glass case..

"..."

"...!?"

All the while Sherlock Holmes was talking with his buddy John Watson. "This place sure is lively.."  The doctor stated as he looks around the room. Where people gathered everywhere like flocks of birds. Squawking or drinking with colleagues or acquaintances.

The upbeat classical music plays in the background. Some men and ladies dance in duet on the dance floor. Others watch with awe or wait for their turn. Sherlock takes a sip from one of the wine glasses by the refreshment table. John lightly elbows Sherlock, hoping he'd take that as a sign to not drink much.

Mr. Holmes rolled his eyes moves the glass away from his lips. Suddenly, the lights are gone. Screams and gasp of terrified nobles are heard in the darkness. The lights flicker back on while mocking laughter echos around the room. "What the hell?"

"A thief!! Someone find them!!!"

"Thief?"

Sherlock was about to run to where the shouting was. But then sees a servant who caught his sapphire eyes. And it seemed as if waiter had saw his as well. The presumed "servant" takes this as the time to RUN!!

The thief glides past the shocked nobility and runs down the hallways. Sherlock chases after them, excitement pumping in his blood. With Watson a surprised following close behind him. The two men not noticing a pair of awestruck red eyes watch them from afar.

The skates on thief's feets make it harder for the crime solving pair to catch up to them. When thief finally get's to a dead end, they don't even wait for the men to speak and jump out of a glass window. The moonlight shines through the shards of glass and the thief's figure. The mask the thief wore covering their face glimmers, slightly.

The thief falls a few stories down. Crashing into a bush down below them. Then just like that, the thief gets out of bush. They blow a kiss to Sherlock and Watson before they go and run out of the estate.

~°~

" "Phantom Thief (T/N) strikes once again. The thief had stolen a precious rose ruby from Lord Addington the night before. The thief has yet to be caught by the hands of justice.." " (Y/N) reads through the morning paper. A small smile graced her lips.

Which turns sour right after. "I wish I could've caught some sleep instead of that ruby." (Y/N) crumpled up the paper and shoves it underneath her counter. Placing her hand above her cheek and elbow on the counter. It seemed like she was day dreaming to passing eyes.

The same couldn't be said for her.

'Man I wish I could've done that again. That detectives shocked face was hilliarious, maybe even cute..' The woman started to giggle at the image that formed in her head. 'This makes things a lot more entertaining for me, maybe even for him as well.' Her giggling falls into a silence.

'I need to plan for the next one.'

"Oh, hello Mr. Moriarty!"

{°The End°}

(Hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter! I hope this brings a good closing note to end this story. Thanks for reading!)

[shyrose57]

2nd part than.

8: (This ones longgggg) Their rooms all have the same beige (like brown mushroom color) walls and floors. As their not allowed to change that. But Watson has some bookshelves in his room along with a old adventurer cape that goes in front of his body and hangs to his ankles (Item-Ya Adventurer Cape is a perfect example. Idk the actual name for the kind of cape it is), some display cases featuring his strongest bows and arrows, along with a sword and axe, along with pictures of the group toghere and pictures from his travels on the walls, he has a single lone desk that is only used when designing new bows or arrows. Ran also has bookshelves, but his is bigger and takes up a whole wall, he also as a winter cape with fur on its shoulders hung up (he lived in a snow biome for a little while and made the cape himself), along with a single weapon case that features a lone damaged neitherite sword, he also has chests stacked along a wall filled with random stuff that he sometimes gives as gifts or uses to throw at people. Jackie has a few paintings and posters in his room, along with the only carpet in any bedroom (that he totally didnt steal from Grievous), a panting easel, he has a single display case in his room that displays the sword Porkius gave him for winning, theres also pictures of the group toghere and a small chest next to his bed filled with things that belongs to someone in the group. Grievous has a small bookshelf (one book is a naming book Watson jokingly gave him), a chest filled to the brim with blankets and pillows (cause for him comfort is a necessity), he also has a desk that he tends to fall asleep at when doing literally anything on it. Everyone also has a good sized wardrobe somewhere in their room that is filled with different outfits and w statue stands with either iron armour or empty. There is also a four-way-bunkbed in the living room/area, they typically use it when someone is having or had a very bad day and needs comfort, or when Jackie's separation anxiety is bad and needs to sleep with everyone nearby. 

Ran loves reading and sometimes gets mad when someone intrupts his reading. Watson loves designing new bows and arrows and just designing weapons in general (Grievous does too and helps him sometimes). Jackie likes to paint and has a interest in adventuring one day. They are well known but only in Subbin and surrounding cities. Though word does travel about them at times which can bring people to Subbin. They have 2 titles actually! First is used in typical matches, while the second is used in more formal or serious matches (like those for general). Ran: The Enderman, Partikel Tari (Dancing Particles, referencing how when he fights when serious its like he's dancing as he teleports around the field). Watson: The Archer, Multi (Referencing how he has more experience than anyone in the use of all kinds of weapons and can quickly adjust to situations). Grievous: Multi-Named, Unpredictable (referring to how he is by far the most unpredictable person in serious battles). Jackie: The Child, Diremehake (Underestimated, referring to how he gets underestimated a lot during any battle). They get recognized quite often and get called their stage names, when they dont want to deal with people recognizing them they often either yell at them to go away or just run away. 

9: They do all of the above! It depends on the match up (Jackie and Watson stay out of eachothers way mostly, Ran and Grievous make it one on one, and Ran and Jackie take them out quick). Oh the first time Ran threw Jackie was hailours. You could hear Watson screaming from the stands in fear and Jackie just head-butted the guy in the stomach. Then when Jackie recovered he just yelled for Ran to throw him again, and once again you could hear Watson screaming no and threats at them from the stands. Ran agreed and threw Jackie at the last person, who he just bear hugged as he hit and held them down. Then after the battle Watson smacked the two and chastised them.

10: At first he drops stuff and trips over his feet on a regular basis. But after about 3 weeks he fully regains his balance, and is able to finally walk without tripping at the start. While the attempts at bonding do work to get Ranbob and Cletus closer the two never get as close as the rest. Neither can really name what's stopping them from getting closer though. For the first week people need to constantly remind Ranbob to do all of those things. As he thinks the constant hunger, thirst, and tiredness is all normal when its not and their trying to get him to understand that. And while he eventually starts to do it himself, theres still some nights where he doesnt eat or drink or sleep. They just leave the two in the house, but later they do start to expand the house a bit to fit the new addition. He does not get his own place up, he just gives up after some time. He doesn't fall asleep out there to often thankfully, but since the house keeps falling on him he does get cuts and bruises quite often. He gets stuck in a rain storm only 2 times which isn't bad, but he does get semi-bad burns from them sadly that Benjamin has to sit him down for and have Charles distract him for long enough to wrap his wounds properly. And it only took Benjamin like 4 weeks before he finally got fed up and forced him inside and had him stay with them. He has dealt with a storm before when he was young! But it was when he was about 12 so its been a long while. 

11: He spends all of his free time glaring at them. And for the first few days whenever he sees someone from his group hanging around his brothers, he'll go over and pick em up and just carry them away. The fishermen worry for a bit that Ran may hurt them, but Watson assured them that Ran knows the two groups like eachother and wouldn't hurt them incase that could hurt his families feelings. 

12: Ranbob is extremely happy about potentially getting new members of his family! And eagerly tries to talk with them. But Ran is far less happy and actively avoids them (and drags his family away at times).

13: At the start they have no idea where their going. But when Grievous brings up about Rans damaged sword they decide to find a nether portal so they can find whats needed to repair his sword! And Watson decides on the way he can show them all the different biomes in the world, which Jackie is extremely excited for. 

14: If the fishermen get separated from Ranbob for too long he actively goes and searches for them. And refuses to stop until he finds them. When upset Ran loves to pick up members of his Haunting, though he doesnt do them often as he knows his Haunting doesn't like it when he does it to often. He and Ranbob also pick up blocks though as it's a comfort action and soothes them. Cuddles piles do happen! They happen more for Ranbob to comfort him after a nightmare or just a bad day, or when he basically relapses and wants to go back to Dream. But cuddle piles are more rare in Rans group, as cuddle piles only happen when anyone is doing really badly mentally or physically and just need comfort, or when they all just need some comfort. But their much more sentimental and have more meaning than Ranbobs groups. 

15: Oh definitely. I forget if I included it when I first introduced my Au. But soon after Ran escaped Mizu, he was hunted for his pearl and respawn ability. Though he killed the people hunting him. Every year he was out of Mizu and every year before he entered Subbin he was hunted by multiple groups. He's become legend just for avoiding so many groups and killing a vast majority of them. He's known as the "Green Eyed Enderman." and is a top goal amongst hunters. There are some times Ran got jumped in Subbin for being a hybrid but he quickly defeated them. 

Karl has played his role in this! Though maybe I could make it so he comes in later on during a really difficult part between the  brothers, and helps out. Using his own experiences in the SMP and seeing what ruined relationships like brothers does to someone and others, to make sure their relationship doesn't stay so broken and hurt so many people. Maybe at the end I'll have them go back and face Dream so Ranbob (and even Ran slightly, with how Dreams presence affected him) can finally be completely free. As of rn no one has a pet. But that question made me really want to give someone a raven and idk who. I want to have bits of the other Tales in it! Im not quite sure how yet but I want this to be a mostly Tales ONLY au (no main SMP stuff unless needed or necessary) as the Tales don't have enough love. He does write down the experience he had with the Dream Experience and writes down very important things, but other than that he leaves it behind. 

Im really happy to hear that you like my au. I love world and story building a lot and can't control how much I write sometimes, again im sorry this is so long and I'll do my best to not make anything this long ever again. Sorry if this bothered you

8: Sounds pretty interesting, overall. Was Watson-as his cape suggest-perhaps an adventurer? And he designs his own bows and arrows? Very cool. What kind of things does he come up with?  Ran also sounds like he’s traveled a bit. He knows how to sew? Has he ever made anything for anyone else? Where did he get his sword? Jackie’s got a carpet? Very nice, he deserves it. And a painting easel? How good is he at painting? Or is it more of something he’s just trying? Grievous sounds like he could build a very good pillow fort, and honestly, good for him. How often do they camp out in the bunk bed room? 

Ran not liking being interrupted is understandable. Does he ever read to anyone, or is it more some alone time for him? Grievous and Watson must design some terrifying weapons. Where is Jackie looking at adventuring to? Anywhere specific, or just around? And what language(s) is Ran and Jackie’s secondary titles in? Latin? 

9: Very smart of them, means it’ll be harder to pick up a pattern. And hearing about Ran tossing Jackie-I’m laughing. I’m not going to lie, kind of assumed it was planned pre-match, but hearing that they just decided to throw him? Watson’s reaction? Just...hilarious. Was Jackie even prepared for it, or did Ran just toss them without warning? Honestly, it kind of sounds like people might come to the Pit for the comedy just as much for the fighting. If this was the kind of thing that went down, I’d probably come to watch.

10: Oh no, Ranbob! At least he’s getting better. So Cletus and Ranbob never quite click, huh? Well, that’s alright. Sometimes people just don’t. Doesn’t mean they don’t care about each other! Ranbob thinking it’s normal, oh god. Does he ever say something along those lines, or get confused why the others are so worried about it? If so, how do the fishermen react to that question, and how does Ranbob react to the answer. As for the house, well. He can say he tried if nothing else-and hey, funny story to share with the gladiators later on. It’s good that he wasn’t caught in too many storms, less that he was caught in some at all. I’m sure that was a big help in convincing Benjamin to finally just put his foot down, which, honestly good for him. You go, Benjamin!

11: Ran, bud, chill. I like how you said his free time though-my first thought was that he immediately finished a book and went over to glare at them. Probably not true, but a hilarious mental image. Very glad Watson has reassured the fishermen-how did Ranbob react to that worry of theirs?

12: Ran’s actions are pretty understandable, but still a bit sad. How does Ranbob feel about them? Is he resigned? Determined? Upset?

13: Adventure! Into possibly dangerous places! How fun! Can’t wait to see where it goes. What do they see? What’s the first stop? How long are they heading off?

14: He won’t stop? Like, potentially will work himself into the ground won’t stop? Ran just picks up his members like blocks. And, oh boy. Ranbob wanting to go back to Dream? That’s just. Oof. Very much oof. How do the fishermen deal with that, and how do they feel about it?

15: Ran sounds like he’s had a less than enjoyable time out there. Do these hunters ever go after them once they leave Subbin? Do they target Ranbob? I mean, he’s another Endermen hybrid, and one who definitely isn’t as skilled as Ran, or as used to them. He’d be a much easier target.

So Karl’s gonna come in towards the end. Nice. Ran was also affected by Dream? How so? Obviously less than his brother, but did he ever notice? Did Ranbob? Sounds like it’d be a good final showdown, over all.

As for that pet raven, may I offer some suggestions? You could give one to Jackie and Grievous, so it can help them cause havoc, or maybe one to Benjamin, so it can help him keep an eye on his dorks. Maybe even Cletus, to help snag things, and mess with people, or Isaac, maybe to help find things. Even Watson, or one of the brothers, to help keep watch over their groups. Really, you could give any of these guys a raven. Depending on said bird’s personality, it could fit anywhere. Just depends on what you want to do with it.

I completely agree with you, we need more Tales AUs. Ranbob and Ran did come from what was basically a city of historians, perhaps you could use that to tie in the other Tales? Or even have them across the old ruins of areas on their adventure. Even chunk in more time travel, via Karl or otherwise, if you want to toss in more characters.

Ranbob pretty much starts over then. Good for him. How does Ran feel about that? Actually, who was Ran’s idol, and his general life on Mizu, before the Dream incident?

Other questions:

One thing I’d like to know is how the groups react to each other’s experiences and general life styles. Like for one, Ranbob and the fishermen generally seem more physically affectionate with each other, while Ran and the gladiators seem fairly less so, but no less close. 

For another, the fishermen probably still remind Ranbob to eat or sleep, which would probably seem a bit confusing for the gladiators. How much do they know about both sides? Obviously enough for them to want to help get the brothers back together, but like.

How much do the gladiators believe Ranbob’s side. Are they wary, or skeptical, or do they believe it completely, and if so, why? 

How long was Ran left running, evading hunters, and how has that affected him? How many times do both brothers say something concerning, and how do they react to what the other says?

You’ve said Ranbob occasionally relapses and wants to return to Dream. Does this happen on the trip? And if so, how do the gladiators react to such a thing-depending on how much they know about the whole thing, I can imagine mixed reactions. How does Ran react?

How do both groups react to the new endermen hybrids? They seem to have dealt with different instincts before now, so seeing Ranbob trail the fishermen and Ran just pick up the gladiators must be a bit strange. 

What can Ranbob keep down? Not only was Dream in control, and not particularly careful with his body, but supplies were probably also somewhat limited when he did eat. So how has that affected him? 

Are there any nicknames within in the groups? How do the gladiators react to the schedule change, considering they had set times for so much before? How do the fishermen react to the new areas? What habits are/become shared, and what habits are restricted to one group.

In general, just...how the fishermen and the gladiators differ in lifestyles, basically. 

For another, in one of the earlier post, you mentioned both Isaac and Cletus wanted to return to Mizu. Isaac kind of gives me a historian vibe himself, or some sort of archaeologists. Just a kind of person who wants to learn about history-perhaps something to do with the fact that he was played by Karl, and the whole time traveler thing. 

But anyway, what exactly did those two want to do down there? Explore, learn, steal?

And how would you say everyone’s personalities are like? Will you be introducing anymore characters, Tales or otherwise. It’d be interesting to see a Pit version of Tommy, or Puffy, or such.

How does Ran react when he finally accepts the truth, and what exactly pushes him to that? 

Hope this isn’t too many questions. I’m pretty invested, not gonna lie.

And seriously, I don’t mind the length. Long or short, I’m really just happy to hear more about your AU, and I look forward to more.

[matt0044]

“I can believe in spandex-clad superheroes, aliens and mayhaps some demons but I draw the line hard at phantoms.”

Clearly these are the Flat-Earthers of the Power Rangers universe.

Dino Fury has arrived and a new showrunner in the form of Simon Bennet with Chip Lynn stepping down. So far, it’s made a good first impression with the theme song. I’m not opposed to “Go Go Power Rangers” being a consistent leitmotif of the series. I only wish the song was just longer to appreciate it more.

Buzzfe- I MEAN, Buzzblast reporter Amelia Jones reports in with her editor-in-chief to insist on a change of pace from the usual celebrity gossip and investigate Dinohenge out in the woods. Rather than a Gym or a Juice Bar, we get ourselves a Social Media outlet that’s pretty crowded with plenty of hussle. I’m actually reminded of VR Troopers with the whole newspaper angle they got.

As Woody use to say, “What an ideeeeee-ah!”

Jane allows Amelia to go off on her little ghost hunt, not being one for the paranormal. Somebody’s clearly never been to Briarwood before. Yeah, I’m pretty sure that those in the Power Rangers universe would be more open to the supernatural going down. Unless it’s a matter of what’s been scientifically proven such as new aliens regularly coming down to screw us Earthlings over.

Amelia meets Ollie by way of snagging him with her net launcher. I... guess you can just purchase them no questions asked, second amendment and whatnot. The comedic banter is pretty well grounded and less over the top compared to seasons prior. It helped that they’re among the Rangers as we get to know them and they learn of each other. Though I wouldn’t rule out comic relief yet...

Got my eye on you, Garcias. :P

Amelia leads Ollie to Dinohenge where his mother, Dr. Akana, is analyzing the circle of dinosaur statues just laying around. Her drone even picks up signs of an underground chamber only to be interrupted by Warden Buzzki- I MEAN, Warden Garcia. The copper tells them to pack it in while leading the doctor off.

Amelia and Ollie stay to clean up while having another ghost debate because again, nobody saw Mystic Force. Speaking of, a violet colored knight beams in with a scanner honing in on an energy source he seeks. The two hide while watching him blast open a way into the chamber below. As you’d expect, they decide to just walk away quick and call the ward-or they just rush ahead blindly.

Yep, they’re Power Rangers.

They follow Void Knight into the chamber where sentries are lined up one by one in a circle with a lot of advanced tech. The villain busts open a door to reveal a humanoid Solonasaurus and a Red Ranger in stasis. Our resident Alpha tries to reanimate his leader only for Void Knight to damage the controls.

Ollie rushes in with one of the Chromafury Saber along the wall before Amelia launches another net at Void Knight with maximum volts. Solon tries to toss a Power Key at them in order to command the Hengemen with their Sabers. However, Void Knight is quick to recover and seizes of the foot soldiers for him.

Amelia and Ollie are preoccupied by the enemy grunts while Void Knight localizes his exact target within a compartment nearby. Solon finally revives Zayto and brings the Red Ranger back to action. Amelia and Ollie soon even the odds by morphing with their Power Keys, psyched that they’re real superheroes. I love how Ollie claims that they’re get Zords based on the news.

I’m guessing Cassidy and Devin are the ones on the scene.

Void Knight retrieves a containing full of ooey-gooey slimeballs known as Sporixs, a no doubt topical type of villain, before Zayto engages him. The soundtrack has certainly gotten an upgrade this season with the brand new composer. The action leads to the Sporixs being unleashed from their containment unit. Void Knight cuts off the exit in order to pursue them outside.

Void Knight finds one that manages to grow into what will be first Monster of the Week and teleports off with the cretin while the other scatter. Back in the base, Amelia and Ollie demorph with their morphers camouflaging themselves as watches Beast Morphers-style. Zayto also demorphs in order to reveal himself as an alien human with antennae that can read minds. I smell a moral episode.

Zayto reads their character bio-I MEAN, their minds to assess if they’re truly trustworthy and confides his backstory in them. He lead an order of knights to defend his world from the Sporix, creatures born of pure destruction, in a neat mix of Ryusoulger footage and original footage. They drove them off Rafkon but soon learned that their next target was Earth when the dinosaurs still lived.

Zayto’s posse had the most metal idea of riding the Dinosaurs as their steeds against their foes. Now that’s one remake of Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog we need. However, they are visited by none other than the Morphin’ Masters who connect Zayto’s order to the Morphin’ Grid. Yes. They actually took a one-off lore tidbit in the Season One episode “Big Sisters” and really expanded upon it.

Zayto’s order was sadly lost in their efforts to contain the Sporix before he went into stasis for whenever a new threat arose to seize them. Now they’re loose and hibernating after being spread all across the surrounding area. This not only gives us a good reason that they’re sticking around their setting but also adds a bit more of a chaotic factor to the Monsters of the Day formula to come.

Void Knight is tough but not leading a motley crew of world conquerors. Rather he’s a lone wolf hunting for the Sporix for his own ends, making the Macguffin of this season one and the same as the Monsters of the Day. By proxy, the Sporix are individuals until themselves with an evil nature to them. Who knows when and where they’ll spring up or how they operate under their own devices?

Zayto gladly recruits Amelia and Ollie in his new order of Dino Fury Rangers, starting us off with a trio just like with Beast Morphers. I guess the tradition still carries on after the Disney Era. I love that Zayto’s the Red Ranger but also a mentor with Solon as his Alpha 5. It turns the Red Ranger rookie trope on its head and even makes everyone else on the team the Watsons to his Sherlock.

Alright, Simon. You hooked us. Now reel us all the way.

[acdhw]

The Criterion Bar and queer-coding

Uprooted and lonely, Watson meets Stamford at the Criterion in early 1881. It was pointed out by many sources that the Criterion Bar was a popular meeting place among queer men. Also, the Criterion, being a luxurious establishment, was visited by such celebrities as H. G. Wells and Winston Churchill. In addition, it was a venue for suffragettes to discuss their plans as the Bar was famous for its excellent afternoon tea.

So what role does the Criterion play in A Study in Scarlet? Is it just a fashionable place or a queer-coded message?

According to Queer London by Matt Houlbrook,

In the evening, what Muirhead’s Blue Guide described as “London’s most fashionable resort for afternoon tea” became somewhere to celebrate masculine beauty. The Criterion had been what George Ives called “a great centre for inverts” since around 1905.

Watson and Stamford met there about a quarter of a century earlier. Their meeting happened at a quite an early hour too as Watson writes:

In the exuberance of my joy, I asked him to lunch with me at the Holborn, and we started off together in a hansom.

From the above it can be concluded that Watson visited the Criterion for fancy food and fancy furnishings rather than in search of a one night stand. The Holborn is another fancy restaurant which clearly shows that Watson has expensive tastes. By his own admission, Watson lived beyond his means, and eventually because of that he found himself in the need of a flatmate.

(The Criterion and the Holborn)

Now to other places he and Holmes frequented later. Here are some excerpts from London and the Culture of Homosexuality 1885-1914 by Matt Cook:

The West End was an obvious area for sensual experimentation and adventure.

- Because of their luxury and cosmopolitanism the new hotels [like the Savoy and the Ritz] were considered anti-domestic and even inappropriate for families;

- Trains and grand new stations allowed for chance meetings and anonymous sex, and the buses and trams presented similar opportunities;

- The opportunities provided by the crowded streets, toilets, parks, stations and trams could be taken up casually by men not initiated into a subculture. Despite Casement’s prolific sexual adventuring in the area, for example, he seems to have been entirely unaware of the associations of particular pubs, hotels, and theatres... Wilde was famously associated with Café Royale, at the south end of Regent Street... The Albermarle and Savoy Hotels were both named in the Wilde trials;

- This association developed further with the expansion of theatre-land;

- Sport clubs and swimming pools were other possible forums;

- The British Museum, and especially the statue galleries, [became] an important site in the city for many men. It was a place where it was legitimate to look at sculptures of naked men;

- The clubs and bachelor chambers in Pall Mall and St James’ formed a continuation of homosocial worlds of public school and university;

- Bachelors living in city centre flats featured frequently in court cases involving homosexual activity;

- The single bohemian and dandy similarly attracted suspicion, especially after the Wilde trials. The adjective “bohemian” cropped up repeatedly during his trials.

According to the book, numerous urban public places provided opportunities for queer men to seek each other out because such places attracted a great number of people. Genius, isn’t it? On the one hand, everything in Holmes and Watson’s lifestyle cries out “queer”, but on the other, they could visit all those places for purely innocuous reasons.

It should be also noted that all descriptions of Holmes as a “bohemian” predate 1895. Neither he nor Watson is described so after The Final Problem (1893).

Still, it doesn’t really matter whether queer-coding in the canon was intentional or not. I tend to agree with an opinion that ACD drew Holmes’ traits from the men he admired, some of whom were queer. So queer-coding is there, and that’s a fact.

[devinetheory-2]

Why Do Narcissists and Borderlines Lie So Much?

Many things can destroy trust and intimacy between partners when one is a high conflict person, often someone with borderline or narcissistic personality disorder. But one of the top ones is lying--especially when it is about extramarital contact. A disclaimer: not all people with BPD or knowingly NPD lie. It's just that those who do lie so thoroughly and often that they spoil it for those who do not.

Just What Is a Lie?

First, let's define what a lie is, because what constitutes a lie and the truth is a gray area. The book Lying, Cheating, and Carrying On (edited by Salman Akhtar and Henri Parens) contains several essays about lying. In the essay "Lies, Liars, and Lying: An Introductory Overview," Salman Akhtar, M.D. lists several types of lies that are conscious lies, i.e., those that Pinocchio knows are false.

Here are examples that a 17-year-old girl might tell to parents who went on an overnight trip and left her at home "alone."

1. Lies of omission: telling the truth but not the whole truth in a way designed to mislead ("While you were gone I watched a DVD"--not mentioning the five people who were also over and who drank beer).

2. Not speaking up when asked a direct question: (Silence when asked, "What did you do when we were gone?")

3. Making up facts that are not true: ("I did my homework while you were gone").

4. Embellishing the truth is a way that misleads: ("I took care of the cat"--meaning she petted it a few times but forgot to feed him on time or change the litter box).

5. Insisting that a truth known to someone is a falsehood: ("I did not have friends over!").

6. Gaslighting: an attempt to erode another's reality by denying their experience ("No, the house looks exactly like it did when you left. Is there something wrong with your vision?"). One woman in therapy once said that nearly all the quarrels in her family was about whose reality would be dubbed the "right" one.

7. Acknowledging the truth but assigning motives that were never there to make yourself look better: ("Yes, I had people here but only because I was so lonely without you that I was getting very depressed and started crying").

8. Keeping secrets for the wrong reasons: (One of the friends stole the mother's expensive earrings).

Unconscious Lies

Now let's look at unconscious lies, or untruths that the teller believes on a conscious level. Being truthful takes the ability to be honest with one's own self, because if you're not honest with yourself, you won't be honest with others. For example:

1) When a narcissist says that everyone loves and respects her when it's obvious to others it's not true, that's an unconscious lie. Les Carter explains this well in his book, Why Is It Always About You?: The Seven Deadly Sins of Narcissism. He writes (p 17):

In a sense, narcissists are out of touch with reality. They are not mentally ill, like a psychotic; they are just unwilling to acknowledge truth that doesn't match their preferences. While normal people can weigh events rationally and draw fair conclusions about themselves, narcissists do not. They lack the objectivity to live with reasonable insight because their need for self exaltation does not allow them to accept that their perceptions might not be the ultimate truth. Their idealized view of themselves blinds them as they try to make sense of life, particularly the elements in themselves that might be imperfect or that might require adjustments (and they never want to make adjustments).

2) When a borderline's intense emotions lead him to use projection or emotional reasoning ("feelings equal facts"), that's an unconscious lie. When we are gripped by a strong emotion that doesn't fit the circumstances, we interpret what is happening in a way that fits with the emotions we are feeling instead of the facts presented to us. In other words, we seek to confirm what we already feel and ignore new evidence that does not fit, maintain or justify the emotion. We all do it, but people people with BPD (who see things in black and white and have unstable, intense emotions) do it to a greater degree.

And as if that weren't enough, lingering negative feelings about other issues make one more likely to see negative intent. People with BPD tend to remember every hurt "done to them" as though it happened yesterday. Their false conclusions lead to problematic decisions and behaviors since they're always assuming the worst. They also project their own feelings onto others, so their "You hate me," means "I hate myself." These are untruths, but not really overt lies (as damaging as they may be).

It's hard to tell the difference between a conscious lie and a conscious one. A man says, "It is like we both walk into the same movie theater. I thought that we entered into see the same movie. We sit together. We enter and leave at the same time. But afterwards, I learned that what she saw was entirely different from me, even though we sat and watched the same movie. Her version is no where even close to mine."

What Clinicians Say About Lying and BPD

In the essay "Lies and Their Deception" in the same book, Lying, Cheating, and Carrying On, Clarence Watson, JD, MD pulls no punches when he says, (p. 98):

Given that a BPD hallmark is interpersonal relationships that alternate between idealization and devaluation, the person with BPD may distort facts aimed at the person with whom they desire a personal relationship.

Whether through attempts to draw persons into [intense and rocky interpersonal] relationships or viscously attack another during episodes of the extreme rage associated with perceived abandonment-the borderline personality may use lies and deceitfulness to accomplish these objectives.

Impulsivity and poor impulse control, he writes, means they may not consider the impact of their words before they speak. "In the moment, their desired objective, whatever that may be, takes such precedence over speaking the truth or behaving honestly that the potential consequences of their conduct are reduced to shadowy details."

Other reasons for lack of truth-telling

Some statements may start out as deliberate lies; over time, they become real (the old saying, "Tell a lie often enough and it becomes the truth"). Some statements may be exaggerations, such as a woman accusing her husband of "strangling her" when he touched her neck. People with BPD--especially the conventional type--may judge themselves harshly and expect others to do the same. Lying serves to deflect shame when something might make them look bad, thereby maintaining whatever self-esteem they have on a temporary basis.

This backfires on those people with BPD who then feel worse for having lied (or at least being found out).We all have things about ourselves we would prefer others not know. But we see the good and the bad and hope others do, too. With their black and white world and rejection sensitivity, people with BPD believe that anything "bad" would make others reject them.

Lies may create drama and gain attention. One woman lied that she had been raped to get her boyfriend's attention when he had not been paying enough attention to her.Lies may mask real feelings and put up an impressive façade; this is especially common with invisible BPs.Lies may help make sense of why things happen to them in their mixed-up identity.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Some lies maintain the facade of the False Self: the perfect, superior self the narcissist thinks she is or pretends to be. On a more conscious level, lies are central to:

* Staying in power and keeping things under control

* Keeping the flow of narcissistic supply (adulation by others, which are like ambrosia to the NP)

* Satisfying the grandiose, entitled self

* Avoiding any shame if their status is not as high in reality as they think it should be

* Minimizing the onerous possibility of having to concern himself with your needs.

A Few Examples from Partners

* "He lied consistently about his earnings even in the face of documentary evidence."

"* She told me she had cancer when she didn't."

* "He lied consistently for at least a decade regarding fidelity. He used gaslighting techniques to convince me that I was imagining 'missing' condoms from packs in our bedroom."

* "She denied verbal abuse, telling me that, 'I never called you names when anyone else was listening.'"

* "He refused to say where he was going, where he had been, or when he intended to return home--even when doing so was simply to facilitate normal family life-mealtimes, etc. His most oft-used sentence was 'That'll never be known.'"

* "He lied about his history of dyslexia, even when it would have helped our sons with the same problem."

* "She said she had a night class when she went to a hotel weekly with another man."

So how can someone consciously lie like this? NPs have no empathy. They require narcissistic supply--what's a little lie when your very survival, is at stake? And besides, they think, rules apply to other people. Under these circumstances, telling falsehoods is probably uncomplicated and effortless. Watson says, "Overall, their frank manipulation of others may be part of a 'by hook or by crook; mentality to accomplish their goals."

[phroyd]

There are still a few things in public life that you cannot fake. You can fake photographs and you can fake news. You can fake conviction and you can fake emotions. You can fake a Twitter-petition and you can fake Facebook outrage. But you cannot fake an almighty crowd.

The numbers attending Saturday’s march for a second “people’s vote” on Brexit will no doubt be contested. The organisers claimed more than a million people were out; detractors inevitably argued a few thousand fewer. But make no mistake, for anyone who travelled to it, and shuffled along among it and who tried to find their way home after it, the Put it to the People march represented a formidable sea of humanity, and a powerful strength of feeling.

And let no one tell you that this was just a London crowd. By 10.30 at Speaker’s Corner there were people arriving for the high noon rendezvous from all corners of the country and beyond. Groups draped in the saltires of Scotland and the dragons of Wales. Anna Soubry MP was among the earliest arrivals, walking cheerfully down Park Lane through the gathering crowds with her daughter (“my security for the day”) having been forced to stay away from her home last night after death threats.

Meanwhile phones were alive with feeds and photos of people making their way from Newport and Newcastle, Carlisle and Canterbury. An entire train had been booked from Bristol, rattling along Brunel’s Great Western Railway into Paddington. There were overnight coaches from Inverness, dawn starts from Cornwall.

Some had gone more than the extra mile. Ed Sides, 63, had walked here from his home in Swansea over the past couple of weeks. I’d spoken to him on the penultimate leg of his journey, along the Grand Union Canal. “If I didn’t do something I felt I would regret it for the rest of my life,” he said, voicing the sentiment of many. Sides had tried to make the theme of his quest “walking and talking”: “When you talk to ardent Leavers and you meet them on the street, or by a riverbank where they are fishing or whatever, you find you can have a proper conversation,” he said. “And that’s something we all need to do in the coming days.”

Like many of the marchers, he felt that if nothing else walking had been a good way of avoiding the stress and frustrations of watching the news. “I thought, if I am sitting at home on Twitter for the next three weeks I am going to go insane.”

That feeling was shared by those expats who had flown in from the continent who, having been denied a vote in the first referendum, were now facing the climax of three years of painful uncertainty. Rebecca MacKian, 52, who has lived in Turin for the past 15 years, joined up with 20 others from the “British in Italy” group to be here.

“If no-deal happens then the next morning we will become what the Italian government now calls an ‘illegal resident’,” she said, a status that will affect everything about her life from driving a car to continuing to run her training business. “We have literally been working every day – 1,000 days – with each other to try to get some clarity on all of it. I never thought I would become addicted to Parliament TV, but I have.”

Jason Harris, 47, had got up at 2am to be here with his 14-year-old son Oran. They lived on the frontline of backstop territory in South Armagh, Northern Ireland, three miles from the border. Harris, a landscape designer who works on both sides of the border every week, also felt he had to be here rather than shouting at the television. “It is clear that either no deal or her deal will leave things in Northern Ireland up in the air for years,” he said. “I fear we will spend the next decades just trying to get back the freedoms we have given away.”

Like many on the march his priority had changed in the past week or so, with the options narrowing and the cliff-edge looming, and the online petition torevoke article 50 climbing towards 5 million signatures. “Revoke would now be number one, number two people’s vote,” he said. That idea had travelled in this crowd. Variations of the three Rs populated signs and banners: revoke, remain and reform.

There have been many attempts to divide the respective Leave and Remain tribes since the referendum – into somewheres and nowheres, populists and globalists, gammons and snowflakes.

One of the simplest distinctions, however, has always seemed to come down to that division between those who relish the idea of being cheek-by-jowl with people unlike themselves, and those who feel threatened by that idea. As the tide of protesters inched its way along Piccadilly toward Trafalgar Square it looked like an above-ground exhibition of what most Londoners experience below ground every day: the tolerant sharing of space with others. The people who had come to demonstrate voiced, above all, a conviction, to borrow that telling phrase from Jo Cox, “that we have more in common than that which divides us”. (Cox, it goes without saying, would have loved this event. Her killer would have loathed it.)

There had been suggestions that the march would be met by counter-demonstrations, but there were none in evidence. As the crowd first massed, with its blue and gold EU flags, I heard one or two shouts of “traitors” from those driving by. These “patriots” would have done well to talk to Brigadier Stephen Goodall, who led the “Veterans For EU” group.

Goodall will be 97 in June. He had travelled up from his home in Devon with four generations of his family including his great-granddaughter. During the war he helped to pull survivors out of the rubble of the Coventry bombing. He served in India and Burma and was awarded the Military Cross in 1945 for bravery behind enemy lines.

I had spoken to the brigadier the day before the march about his reasons for coming. “It was an easy decision,” he said. “There is not much time left for me to do anything and I just feel if we can even at this late stage get people thinking sensibly, then it will be worthwhile.” His great anxiety, as a former controller of the Slimbridge Wildlife Trust, was that our fractured politics would deflect us from the co-operative spirit required to combat climate change. “One thing that I always bear in mind from when we were in Malaya in the 1950s,” he said, “was this imperative that governance was first about reaching hearts and minds. We need politicians who think first of people,” he said, “not about their investments in the City of London.”

Goodall was pushed in his wheelchair near the head of the march, along with a brass band. It was impossible watching that sight not to make some comparisons with those few stubborn souls on the ill-fated “March to Leave”, moved to trudge along lonely hard-shoulders by Nigel Farage, only to find that he had turned up for the photo opportunity and left them to fend for themselves. Farage, alive to BBC requirements for “balance”, had returned to preach on Saturday to his handful of leaderless foot soldiers at a pub car park in Linby, Nottinghamshire: “You are the 17.4 million,” he told a crowd of 150.

As the thousands upon thousands flowed down towards Parliament Square there was, contrarily, a spirit that the Brexiters have failed over the past three years ever to begin to convey: that of creative optimism. You saw it in the 100 and more tango dancers led by Matthew Cooper, who had met in growing numbers on each of the past three protest marches, aged between 20 and 80. And in the improvised speeches on freedom given by an Emmeline Pankhurst lookalike under the statue of the suffragette. And even in the bloke flogging Donald Trump toilet rolls from a shopping trolley to stockpile should the rationing begin.

There was a very droll Britishness in the spirit that tempered any edges of anger from the many younger voices on the march. There were lots more students’ union buses than on previous marches, and among them plenty who had lost their faith in the Labour leadership to solve the crisis and deliver on its conference commitment to campaign for a second referendum.

Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on a screen. Get outside.

That brief marchers’ favourite “Oooh Jeremy Corbyn” had been replaced for several sections of this crowd by a more plaintive “Where’s Jeremy Corbyn?” The answer, perversely, was that the Labour leader was canvassing in Morecambe Bay – about as far from this event as it was symbolically possible to go.

Only one of Labour’s frontbench felt able to lend his voice to this event. Tom Watson, breaking ranks, was given something of a hero’s welcome on the speakers’ stage alongside some of those others who have emerged from the sorry parliamentary process with heads held high: Soubry, Jess Phillips, Dominic Grieve, David Lammy, Caroline Lucas; and some of those from beyond the Commons who have best articulated the cause of returning to the people to find a way through the current impasse: Michael Heseltine and Nicola Sturgeon.

Their collective message served as a reminder that when the prime minister stands up again this week and claims to speak for “the people” with her unloved deal and her fingernails-down-the-blackboard phrases about delivering Brexit, she will not speak for the million individuals who filled the wide streets and squares of the capital yesterday, or for the millions more across the country who were with them in spirit.

Watching the crowd I was reminded of a book I reviewed for this paper not long after those electoral convulsions of 2016 here and across the Atlantic. The book, On Tyranny, by the Yale historian Timothy Snyder, was a little survival guide against the digital forces of populism and the brutalist politics they promoted. Snyder called above all for a “corporeal politics” in response, for voting with paper ballots that can be counted and recounted; for face-to-face conversation, and for marching rather than online petitioning: “Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on a screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people.”

Those who did this on Saturday will no doubt be told in the coming days, as Britain determines the kind of country it will become, that they were wasting their time and effort. But this march mattered in the simple and fundamental way that mass marches always matter: as a reminder to those who make decisions in their name that democracy is not a settled state, but a shifting expression of collective will. As one little girl’s sign had it: “The people are STILL speaking”.

Phroyd

[marta-bee]

This is intended more as a love-letter to Sherlock S3, than a criticism of Sherlock S4, so please take it in that vein. :-) (But equally please be aware of the possibility of a not-wholly-positive impression from S4, and scroll on past if you prefer.)

I was reading @silentauroriamthereal‘s really interesting analysis of the “Watson domestic” in His Last Vow. My summary (but do read it for yourself) : defenders of Mary often point to Sherlock’s forgiveness of her as an argument for why we the reader should absolve her, too; but Sherlock is much less motivated by whether we can really trust Mary than what’s good for John. Protecting John and enabling John’s happiness, along with solving the case (which doesn’t apply here) has consistently motivated pretty much every decision he’s made across three series; and with a heart about to give out on him, Sherlock was trying to manage God’s understandable, justified but also unsafe-to-express rage at that evening’s revelations. He was trying to make sure John survived Sherlock’s impending cardiac episode, when Sherlock wouldn’t actually be able to do anything to help him.

I’m not saying that’s the only possible analysis. I will say it makes sense of a heck of a lot about HLV, including the imbalance between Sherlock’s “John Watson is definitely in danger” revelation in his mind palace and his urging John to reconcile with “that wife.” It also doesn’t necessarily require Mary to be evil, just dangerous and acting as an antagonist. Good antagonists can have their own motivations and their own agency (the best usually do in my experience!), and not every antagonist need be a villain.

Whatever your stance on Mary and Sherlock’s “forgiveness” of her, though: what really caught my attention about SA’s analysis here is how well she captures the psychological drama of HLV generally. Good God, those characters! You have Sherlock returning from his own private war, still physically busted up and certainly bearing some definite psychological wounds, justified for faking his own death in one sense (he was saving John and the others) but not in another (he engaged Moriarty without proper planning (I’d argue) and so allowed himself to be painted into that corner). Like so many returning veterans he expected the world to have frozen at the moment he left it, and be ready for him to slip back into it; though of course it couldn’t work that way. Then you have John, who of course has moved on and has his own entanglements which flow both from Mary being his “type” and deeply-ingrained societal cues about masculinity and respectability, and rejecting the rootless, “bohemian” life he had with Sherlock that burned him so badly. (You see this so clearly in his blog entries surrounding TEH, where he uses Sherlock’s transcendent intellect and perceived lack of human connection and emotive self to let him off the hook.)

And then there’s Mary. Mary, who was dishonest and denying John's agency in an entirely different way, who through her status as a woman almost against both their wills ensnares him in a pregnancy and all the familial duties that entails for a man like John, who is perhaps inexcusably criminal, perhaps excusably so, but still a force to be reckoned with. There’s this simply delicious parallel between the lies she told and the ones Sherlock did. There’s so much potential for such a really glorious analogy there.

This without getting into the Gay Stuff (TM): the romantic connection between John and Sherlock and the Jolto and Sherlock/Janine mirrors, the tension between John, Sherlock, and Mary coexisting in some sense versus “we can’t all dance,” the natural tension (and I’ll admit this was my first hope, that they’d go there, when I first heard S3 would involve John’s wedding) between Mary and Sherlock operating in entirely different spheres of John’s life, made possible by Victorian sexism, and those separate spheres not really being compatible with modern expectations of marriage. I still want to read (or write) a fic that takes seriously how a modern Mary would make her peace with a John who was always haring after Sherlock, disappearing for days at a time and with so little notice. And of course there’s the flip side of this dynamic: in a modern setting at least, John seems to demand emotional monogamy from Sherlock while he is free to maintain competing relationships with Sherlock and Mary. Just look at his first confusion and then outright betrayal, that Sherlock would do with Janine precisely what he’d done with Mary.

Clearly I have a lot of thoughts here. My point is that Sherlock S3, and His Last Vow in particular, easily has the most potential for character-driven drama of probably anything I’ve ever seen on TV. There’s such potential for payoff.

And I think that’s what makes the tail end of HLV and S4 even moreso, more than a bit painful. It’s not the frustration of my TJLC hopes and dreams (though, yes, there is that as well). It’s Mary, really. It’s not that I want to hate her, want her to be awful; rather, it’s that I feel like I never really got to know her; her character seemed such a cocktail, and I’m still not clear which of the many versions Mofftiss present of her is meant to be the “real” one. Which mean that all of those fascinating questions I had surrounding her in S3, they never really take a definite form, let alone offer a resolution of any kind. So she dies, and I’m left more confused than impacted. Clearly Sherlock an John mourn her deeply (and that’s so beautifully told - that lonely image of John drinking in his flat’s hallway!), but it’s not something I’ve really been able to access, personally, because I don’t feel like I understood Mary or her death. 

That’s a recurrent problem with S4 -- it’s Schrodinger’s storytelling, both here and not-here, meaning that any answer it had to all those questions I had from S3 are really only answered in what I choose to bring to the table. Which I can do, I’m a fanfic writer so of course I could play with these characters and take them in whatever direction made for the best story. But as a consumer, it feels like that’s not really my job in this mode; and as a fanfic writer it does feel like the foundation's not entirely there. Which is sad, because as I said: So. Much. Potential.

And I grieve for Mary’s character (if not her death), and am dissatisfied with it, for much the same reason. It’s not that I disliked her or wanted her to be pure unadulterated evil. But I did want her to be something, and if she is that, I’m not entirely sure I know what it is. Or at least what Mofftiss meant for her to be.

For the record, TST actually comes reasonably close to my preferred vision of Mary’s character: a military assassin, possibly with a history of branching out for private clients, not itself inexcusably immoral and not all that different from John and Sherlock in their way, but certainly the kind of thing that would need accounting for and certainly something John should have learned about before they married if only because her past put his future at risk through their association.

Give me super-sekrit black opps Mary who has to balance her own safety against John’s wellbeing (and maybe even his life), who’s not inexcusable but equally whose choices and past put her intractably on the other side of the final showdown with John and Sherlock. Bonus points if Mycroft Knows and/or (*gasps*) is complicit.

[junker-town]

Is Tom Brady really worth $30 million to the Patriots now?

Tom Brady is set to be a free agent for the first time in his career.

Or would the Patriots be overpaying for continuity and past production?

Tom Brady is set to hit the open market for the first time in a 20-year career. After years of signing bargain contracts for hometown discounts, the six-time Super Bowl champion could reclaim his status as one of the league’s highest-paid players.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported New England is willing to give the passer responsible for all six of the franchise’s NFL championships a $30 million+ salary to keep him with the only team he’s ever known. This would be a big turnaround for a player who’s signed below-market deals recently in order to pad out his roster around him.

It would also leave major questions for the Patriots to face this offseason, even with their veteran quarterback in tow. Namely: How much is a 43-year-old Brady worth?

Brady (finally) backslid in 2019

Paying Brady a top-six salary in 2020 based on his 2019 performance would be a leap of faith from the Patriots, who typically have been steely when it comes to retaining aging talent. A contract with an average value of $30+ million would stand as one of the 10 richest in the NFL — more than Jimmy Garoppolo, Matthew Stafford, or Derek Carr averaged in previous record-setting deals. It would still trail, even with inflation, the mega-extensions signed by fellow veterans Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger, though both are only in their late-30s instead of their early-40s.

There’s no doubt Brady was worthy of a top salary all the way up until 2018, but this past leaves room for concern. Here’s where he ranked statistically as a passer in his age-42 season.

Passing yards: 7th (4,057)

Completion rate: 27th (60.8)

Touchdown rate: 26th (3.9)

Yards/pass: 29th (6.6)

Adjusted yards/pass: 21st (6.8)

Passer rating: 19th (88.0)

QBR: 19th (52.5)

That doesn’t tell the whole story of his 2019. He was the driving offensive force behind a 12-4 team that won the AFC East for the 11th straight season. But much of that strength came from a defense that ranked best in the NFL in both yards and points allowed. When that unit needed an extra counterpunch to beat good teams, Brady struggled to provide it.

His Patriots went just 3-4 against playoff teams, and the two teams they did beat — the Bills and Eagles — failed to advance out of the Wild Card Round. Brady threw for 637 yards in those games and recorded just 5.4 yards per attempt.

Here were his numbers in the seven starts he had against teams that advanced to the postseason, including the Patriots’ loss to the Titans:

Not good! Jay Cutler, for comparison’s sake, had a 75.1 passer rating and a 9:7 touchdown:interception ratio in his lone comeback season with the Dolphins in 2017.

This wasn’t all on Brady

One major caveat in Brady’s sudden downturn can be traced to his lack of playmaking support. Rob Gronkowski retired and was replaced by Matt LaCosse, Ryan Izzo, and a 38-year-old Ben Watson. Together, they combined for 36 catches, 418 yards, and two touchdowns.

An overtaxed receiving corps couldn’t pick up that slack. Julian Edelman remained a reliable target (11 drops aside), but his supporting cast couldn’t keep pace. First-round rookie N’Keal Harry missed the first half of the season due to injury and didn’t make much of a difference upon his return. Josh Gordon was mostly a non-factor before getting hurt and then released; he’s currently on the league’s exempt list after failing another league drug test.

Antonio Brown signed a $10 million contract with the Pats and lasted one game before his off-field baggage led to his release. Mohamed Sanu, acquired before the trade deadline at the steep cost of a second-round pick, had little influence upon his arrival, injured his ankle soon after, and had 15 catches in his final seven games. Despite all these opportunities, Phillip Dorsett was mostly an ignored presence on the depth chart.

This put all the more pressure on New England’s offensive line and running game, which didn’t step up. Center David Andrews missed the entire season due to blood clots in his lungs. Left tackle Isaiah Wynn was out half the season with a lower leg injury, forcing the team to turn to September free agent Marshall Newhouse to protect Brady’s blindside for its first eight games. That went ... poorly.

Marshall Newhouse... pic.twitter.com/BlDmY97HWO

— Tucker Boynton (@Tucker_TnL) November 17, 2019

Fullback James Develin went on injured reserve after just two games. His replacement, Jakob Johnson, made it four games before landing on IR. Linebacker Elandon Roberts had to move to the backfield in their steads.

This all contributed to a massive sophomore slump from Sony Michel. The former first-round pick was electric in New England’s run to Super Bowl 53, rushing for six touchdowns in three postseason games. But in 2019, his yards per carry dropped from 4.5 to 3.7 — even as his yards after contact (2.4 to 2.4) and broken tackle rate (11.0 to 10.9 percent) remained the same.

That’s a lot of moving parts that went awry, and it would be foolish to believe Brady was insulated by the swirling tide of awfulness that surrounded him. At no one point was this more evident than in the team’s home loss to the Titans in the playoffs.

And despite all this, New England still ranked 11th in the league in offensive efficiency, per Football Outsiders. There’s room to build from there.

That leaves this team with plenty of holes to plug in order to make one or two (or three?) seasons of mid-40s Brady worthwhile at a high price. So how would they get there?

Brady could rebound with a better supporting cast ... but where will that money come from?

As it currently stands, the Patriots are slated to have a little more than $50 million in cap space headed into the 2020 offseason, not counting Brady’s voided $6.7 million hit. Brady’s deal would eat up somewhere between $20 and $30 million in space for next season, which would immediately handcuff the club when it comes to signing veteran help. The bulk of whatever’s left over would likely go toward pending free agents like Devin McCourty, Kyle Van Noy, Danny Shelton, or Jamie Collins, all of whom were vital to the Pats’ league-best defense last season.

Not all of those guys will be back, but the ones who re-sign will leave precious little salary cap space around them. While players like A.J. Green, Emmanuel Sanders, and Eric Ebron will be available in free agency, New England may not be able to harvest the cream of that underwhelming crop. The Pats could be stuck trying to turn other teams’ unpolished goods into gems, either through that market or via low-key trade.

That works out great when those guys turn out to be Wes Welker, LeGarrette Blount, or Randy Moss. It’s been much less of a boon when those buy-low deals have brought in players like Eric Decker, Jordan Matthews, or Scott Chandler.

The draft is another viable avenue to add talent, but not an especially reliable one. Bill Belichick’s track record with receiver prospects isn’t especially successful, and the jury’s still out on last year’s top pick Harry. The Patriots are also without their second-round pick thanks to the aforementioned Sanu trade.

This puts the them in a bit of a catch-22. Brady needs better targets, but if he’s going to re-sign in New England for $30 million, the team won’t be able to afford many upgrades. That leaves a thin line for Belichick to walk when it comes to balancing his roster over the final however-many years of his star quarterback’s career.

The Patriots’ willingness to spend suggests Brady will stay, but that’s no guarantee

There’s a chance Brady finishes his career outside New England. The Raiders are reportedly interested in making him the crown jewel of their debut season in Las Vegas. Or the two-time regular season MVP could make a return to his home state now that no one’s really quite sure what the future holds for the Chargers and free agent quarterback Philip Rivers. Several other teams could use him as a towering bridge between their present and future at quarterback.

It’s easy to see why he’d be a wanted man outside Foxborough. Brady has spent the back half of his career shattering expectations for aging quarterbacks. He’s the oldest player to ever win MVP honors and the oldest starting QB to win a Super Bowl. Projecting his decline is a futile exercise.

His 2019, however, was not a season worthy of a $30 million deal, no matter what his legacy says. Paying out the nose for Brady would ensure a New England legend stays in town, but it would also handicap his team’s ability to fill the holes that led to its worst playoff performance in a decade. There’s no way both Brady and Belichick don’t know that.

So the question now is whether they hurtle forward toward mutually assured destruction, or whether they’ll return to the careful roster building that’s helped make the Patriots the most accomplished team of the millennium.

[interstellar-kai-blog]

Prevalent issue about sexual assault

Me Too

When I told my friend I was suicidal, a strange set of societally pre-determined actions were forced into motion. There were a series of things my friend hadto do. He had to call my parents. He had to tell me to go to a therapist. He had to call me, regularly, to make sure I was ok.

Part of me acknowledged the necessity of these actions, and that they came from a place of love. And, another part of me felt the distance of these actions.

In a way, my friend wasn’t my friend anymore. He was “society.” He was the embodiment of “reason” — he did the things he was supposed to do. He did the things “anyone” would do in his position. He did the right things. But also, in one of the loneliest moments of my life, my friend slipped away from me.

It had to be that way. I get it.

I get it.

Later, we reconnected as friends and regained our lost intimacy. But, I also get why people kill themselves. I see how you can get so trapped in that lonely land of personal disconnection, and no one can reach you anymore.

When you’re suicidal, the people around you get so scared that they don’t act like themselves. They turn to societal consensus to inform their behavior, and suddenly you find yourself longing for connection but surrounded by robots.

I’m prone to becoming a robot too.

When I wrote a piece on being sexually assaulted, I included a link to the national sexual assault hotline because I basically had to do that. That’s what responsible people in our society do, right, when we write about sexual assault? We include a link to some societally approved “help” organization?

But, it’s not like I ever called that hotline myself. It’s not like I can personally recommend them, or that reaching out to these mysterious highly regulated INSTITUTIONS ever helped me in any way.

The biggest thing that helped me is religion, but I can’t really say that. That’s a faux pas. RELIGION is a personal choice, I can’t recommend it as a genericchoice for people who are suffering. And anyway, isn’t it taking advantage? Isn’t it taking advantage of someone to recruit them to your religion when they’re suffering, even if it would save their life?

To recommend religion seems predatory, so I didn’t recommend it. I gave the number to a hotline I never used, because that seemed sensible.

(If you’re curious, my religion is Zen Buddhism.)

Anyway. Now all these people are going “me too” on the facebook and twitterz, because “If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote ‘Me too’ as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.”

So, ok, great. I guess now I have to write “me too” because that’s like, what reasonable people do or something. But, it also makes me so fucking angry for reasons I don’t fully understand, but are related to my personal hatred of feeling like I have to do something. In fact, feeling like I have to do something is connected to why I was assaulted in the first place. I went back to my male friend’s place because I felt like it would be impolite to say no. Reasonable people trust their friends. Why did I feel weird? I must be being unreasonable.

(Spoiler: I was not being unreasonable.)

There’s this quote I like, that is often credited to Lilla Watson, but she prefers to credit to Aboriginal activists group in Queensland, Australia. The quote goes like this:

If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time.

But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.

Anyway. Now also trending on the internets is #IWill with people saying all the things they will do to help with sexual assault or whatever.

And like… I keep thinking of that “if you have come here to help me” quote.

When I told people about my sexual assault, a lot of people were like, uhh… what can I do? Listen? Do you want me to listen?

And I guess like, sure, listening is fine or whatever. It’s definitely the THING we always tell people to do. But, really, you can’t help someone who’s been assaulted. Like, you can a little bit, but… getting over sexual assault and trauma is — unfortunately — mostly a personal process. The main thing I wish people would do, when encountering people’s sexual assaults, is consider similar influences in their own life.

I was trying to explain sexual assault to a male friend, and he goes “I can’t imagine what it’s like.”

And I responded, “I think you could. It’s this really normal thing. We act like it’s exceptional, but it’s not. You could imagine it if you wanted to.”

Then he responded “I’m on too many drugs to do this now,” so we didn’t finish the conversation, but I’ll finish it now. We do this thing, where we act like sexual assault and harassment is this STRANGE thing that WOMEN experience and men don’t. But it’s not. It’s a common thing, that is similar to other common things in our society, and can be explained with analogies.

Well, first off, a lot of men are actually sexually assaulted and harassed. We don’t acknowledge this enough, and this is sort of a “women’s” hashtag movement, but it really shouldn’t be. Many men can understand what it’s like to be sexually assaulted because they have experienced it.

However, even people who haven’t been sexually assaulted often have experiences that are similar. Have you ever been forced to do something you didn’t want to do?

Were you bullied in school? Were you ever physically reprimanded for your behavior by a caretaker? Have you been forced to do things in your job that you didn’t want to do because you needed the money, or because your immigration status or something depended on your compliance? Have you ever been arrested? Have you ever been forcibly drugged or sedated in a hospital? Were you ever physically restrained so someone could perform a painful procedure on you, even if it was ultimately for “your benefit?” Have you ever served in the military? Have you ever dealt with someone acting racist toward you, and you just absorbing it because you were not able to respond or correct their behavior?

We live in a culture that is *designed* to force people to do things that they don’t want to do. I believe this is mostly because we live in a colonial culture, and the primary function of this culture is to exploit the many for the benefit of the few. The majority of us — even white people, even men — are exploited for the benefit of the few at the top. The majority of us spend most of our lives doing things we don’t want to do. We spend our best years creating more money for CEOs who already have millions, instead of spending time loving our friends and families. How deeply fucked is that? Who would want that?

Why did I go back to my friend’s house that night? Because I was so used to doing things that I didn’t want to do that ignoring my internal compass just felt normal. I was used to doing work I didn’t like doing in my job. I was used to being forced to be in school, and being bullied, and being unable to escape. I was used to being forced to hide my real emotions so the people around me wouldn’t get upset at me.

We look along this one dimension of when we force people to do things — when we force women (and, we do seem to be prioritizing women here) to be sexual when they don’t want it — and we demonize it.

And, I agree. It’s not ok to force women to be sexual. It’s also not ok to force men to be sexual.

However, in my worldview, it’s also not ok to ever force anyone to do something they don’t want to do in any situation. Yet, as a culture, we do it all the time. So like, of course we’re going to have a problem with sexual assault. Of course people who are themselves constantly forced to do things they don’t want to do are going to in turn force their will on others.

Entitlement to the sexuality of another comes from the belief that sexually exploiting another is the only way to reduce your personal suffering. If you want to reduce sexual assault, explore your own suffering. Explore the suffering of others. Find ways of reducing suffering without exploitation.

And, if you want to consider what it’s like to be sexually assaulted, consider the times that you were forced to do things you didn’t want to do, or were trapped in situations you didn’t want to be in. Think about how you internalized that, and how it affected you. Think about any long term lingering fears and paranoias you have from being forced to do things you didn’t want to do. For me, being forced to do something I don’t want to do often leads to feeling “frozen” (which is why I chose that particular title image.) I feel emotionally numb, I often feel cold, and I retreat and become very cerebral.

I don’t mean to imply all these events are similar in magnitude, simply similar in quality. I don’t mean to say that being sexually assaulted is “just like” having to work late one night to avoid getting fired; I’m just saying that they spring from the same root. And, examining that causes and societal conditions of that root won’t just help sexual assault survivors; it will help everyone.

Written by Emma Lindsay

[frances-janvier]

@pwoperfangirl

it’s okay :) many people have stated these things in much better ways since i’m bad with words, but i’ll try to summarize it

there are countless plotholes: this is bbc sherlock, a show in which things used to fit together perfectly. now, there are many major plotholes. for example, how did john and sherlock survive jumped out of the windows of 221b baker street while it was on fire? how could john have escaped the well with the rope when he said that he was chained to the wall? how could Dr. John Watson MD not recognize that the bones were human until he saw the skull? the whole weird plane thing? moriarty tormenting sherlock and john bc of eurus apparenlty BUT the christmas five years ago would have been after tgg? there’s much more than this, too.

lack of cohesion to the rest of the season and the rest of the show: the showrunners had said before tfp aired that season four was going to be the most connected narratively, that loose ends would be tied up, that tfp would be very related to tld, that tfp would be a culmination of the whole series, etc. however, this episode did not explain any of the weird inconsistencies and weird plots and weird elements of the last two episodes, nor did it have much connection to the rest of the show, opting instead to have the plot be based around sherlock’s secret sister who we found out about in the last few minutes of tld.

sloppy writing in general: so many things were set up and then just written off with one line. for example, eurus shooting john at the end of tld. one throwaway line of her actually just shooting him with a tranquilizer. and then why did eurus need to be three people?? there was literally no need for her to be the bus lady, the therapist, and faith.

awful messages: first of all, demonizing mental illness is not okay!!!! eurus was suicidal and had some other mental illness for sure and then they show her as an insane demon. wtf. secondly, having everything that sherlock is today be bc of eurus?? no. your trauma does not define you and that’s an awful message to send. finally, the message at the end about who you really are not mattering?? that’s terrible. who you really are DOES matter, and nobody should tell you otherwise.

queercoding the villains: literally every villain in this show has been proven to be either explicitly or subtextually queer and that’s just wrong and i should even have to explain why. oh, and eurus is also a rapist. the only queer character we have is harry, john’s alcoholic and lonely lesbian sister who doesn’t even show up once.

sexism: bbc sherlock has treated its women disgustingly throughout this entire show but it just adds onto that all during tfp. first of all, eurus. not even going to say anything on that. irene was a lesbian dominatrix and was sexualized so much and i hate hate hate that the writers made her fall for sherlock. i mean i guess that isn’t tfp but the whole show, really. anyway!! the scene with molly was absolutely awful. they used her as a complete plot device, they didn’t need to do that to her at all and it was completely unnecessary. she’s a 40-something-year-old woman who knows that sherlock at the very least only thinks of her as a friend. and to force her to say i love you to sherlock was just seriously cruel and i feel so sorry for the sh*rlolly shippers who feel happy after that scene... ALSO this wasn’t in the episode itself but was one of the only official comments from the creators afterwards was moffat saying that “she got over it and then just shagged somebody. thats what people do, they get over it.” and i think that is 100% awful. and the treatment of mary!! they started to flesh her out into a nice, 3d character, but then they threw it all away, gave her a super fake redemption arc all in one episode, and then almost forgot aboit her for the rest of the show

regressing back past the beginning of the show: we’ve quite literally gone back to the relationship status of john and sherlock in the very first episode, except not even that, since they’re not even living in 221b together. and like,, the whole point of s3 and s4 was that sherlock had become a good man.

and then there’s the queerbaiting by a gay man but that’s more about johnlock, so this was what i hated about the episode disregarding ships for the most part.

this list is in no way complete so feel free to add onto this, anybody