#caretaker watson

[b4kuch1n]

simulated earth (it does not matter)

transcript

[somethingintheforest]

i literally cannot chose between Burke's Watson and Hardwicke's Watson. i literally cannot. they both bring so much to the role, both understand the character completely, but both bring a different interpretation. but i still can't chose who i like better. it's like being asked to only save one of your two children from a burning building. i want to smoosh them together to create the Ultimate Watson.

[moonfromearth]

Being Annabel's best friend, Rashida comes and goes as she pleases, pretty much.

However, she and Daniel don't always get along...

Daniel: Anna! You're friend's being mean!! Annabel: Not now, Daniel, I have to go to work. Daniel: But-.

[consult-sherlockholmes]

Are you feeling better than you did yesterday ?

Are you okay ?

Yes. Although I do still have a slight bump on my head, and I might be developing a cold because I keep sniffling. Or might be caused by something else than a cold. @consultjohnwatson can I have something for my headache? I would prefer morphine.

[ms-neverlands-book-of-fiction]

On Pins And Needles by J_Baillier, 7PercentSolution

A tremendous character study on one Sherlock Holmes.

[thalialunacy]

[for the @calaisreno May Prompts Tour, which affords me the opportunity to be supremely self-indulgent]

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) 13: laugh (14) (15) (16) (17)

Is this still the number for John Watson?

John pauses, thumb hovering. Before he can choose a response, another message flashes in.

It's Harry

He nearly drops the phone. Or maybe he nearly throws it against the wall. Hard to say. 

His reflex to caretake wars with his lingering resentment of her absence. But he knows he would regret ignoring an olive branch… or whatever this is.

Hi

Everything okay?

No small talk, got it

Yes I'm fine, good in fact

and no I'm not going to ask you for money

He breathes in deeply.

I'm glad things are going well for you

And he is, at least in the abstract.

Thanks

I know this is the part where I'm supposed to ask how you are

But you know I'm pants at texting

Can we just have coffee or something?

John taps his phone to his lip absently and considers his options. A public reunion seems like it could be a volatile mistake, not to mention it's 7pm on a weekday. Sherlock is at the lab, Rosie is having her after-supper blanket time, and John is catching up on charting.

And to be honest, he's pretty bored.

Come to mine for tea?

Harry's three dots wibble for a while, which John supposes is fair.

Right now?

With my schedule, I have to take opportunities where I can

Okay, yeah, I'm free

He sends her the address, feeling both pleased and annoyed. One would think that hitting his own rock bottom would make him more sympathetic towards his sister. But really, it just piles helpless anger on top of guilt on top of anger, ad nauseum.

He's not even sure she knows he's a father, for Christ's sake.

Turns out, she doesn't. She walks through the door he holds open for her, and stops abruptly when she sees Rosie. 'Oh my God,' she breathes, staring. 'Oh my God. You--' She turns to John, eyes wide. 'She-- Johnny. She's yours?'

He nods, and despite everything, he feels his face curve into a proud smile. 'Her name's Rosie.'

'Can I--' Harry indicates the blanket with a sharp movement. 'Can I say hello to her?'

'Yeah, course.' He follows her, and folds himself down behind Rosie. 'Sweetheart, this is your Aunt Harry.'

Harry makes a bit of a squawking noise, probably at the 'aunt' bit, but tamps it down. 'Hi, Rosie,' she manages, her voice rough but determined. 'It's lovely to meet you. What are you playing with?'

'Avocados,' Rosie mostly manages to say, then holds one up for Harry without hesitation. Harry takes it with a giggle, and before long they're thick as thieves with a pile of emoting avocados between them.

Harry glances up at him when there's a lull. 'So. The dad life is treating you well, yeah?'

He hesitates, then nods. 'It is now.'

She eyes him, but doesn't ask about what came before now. Instead, she says, 'I'm just going to ask, alright -- who's the other parent?'

He raises an eyebrow. 'Why d'you say there is one?'

Her eyes twinkle. 'Because you do not have the fashion sense to have bought her this outfit. Your bird rich, then?'

He coughs. 'Well. No.'

She waits, though he can see she's trying not to be annoyed by his reticence. She's never understood people wanting to keep things private. 'No?'

'My… flatmate. He's able to buy her things I don't give a toss about, yeah.'

She blinks. 'You have a gay flatmate?'

John feels his ears heat up. 'I do, yeah.'

She seems weirdly impressed. 'You've come a long way from being a rugby lad, haven't you?'

He snorts. 'I'm learning how to do plaits, if you'll believe it.'

'She's not got enough hair for that yet.'

'Sherlock--the flatmate--insists it's a useful skill, though I've no idea why.'

She doesn't reply, and he looks up from where he's helping Rosie with her current avocado. 'What?' he asks, though he knows it's useless. Harry is no Sherlock but honestly, she doesn't have to be, because his emotions have always been written all over his face. It's a curse and a blessing.

'Oh holy shit,' she breathes out.

'Language,' he admonishes reflexively.

'Sorry, I mean-- Holy noses, Johnny.'

'Don't be smug.'

'Oh, I take no credit for this, I always knew the overcompensating locker room talk was hiding something.'

He rolls his eyes, but his lips are twitching. 'Yeah, insecurity about willy size.'

'Okay, ew, first of all. Second of all-- What the--' He gives her a warning look. 'Ever-loving heck.'

'Short version?' She nods quickly. He decides to also give her the slightly-less-mad-sounding version. 'Got married, got pregnant, had baby, wife passed away, realised I had feelings for my flatmate. Who is a man. And who is effectively fathering my child.'

She claps her hand over her mouth, and for a moment he fears she's going to cry, but then realises she's laughing.

'Oi, that's just not on,' he protests.

'But it's ridiculous!' She holds out a hand to him placatingly, speaking through continued laughter. 'It's lovely and sad and all that, but you have to admit--'

There are tears escaping the corners of her eyes, and he feels it begin to bubble up in his chest, too. Her laugh has always been a thing of beauty, of loud, annoying, contagious, unforgettable beauty, and he can't help it.

And she's right, really. It is kind of ridiculous.

He lets out his own laugh, finally, and reaches for her hand.

[❤️]

[thegildedbee]

Intimidate: May 9 Prompt from @calaisreno

John Watson’s unfailing refusal to be intimidated by himself has always been a source of irritation to Mycroft.

He had revisited the issue at suitable intervals over the course of their acquaintance, seeking to satisfy his desire to arrive at a definitive answer to this conundrum, the better to remediate this deficiency in Watson. 

(That he has yet to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion about the phenomenon is one of the few failures that he allows himself to admit – within the confines of his own head, of course. It is a ridiculous state of affairs. After all, he has a much-loved panoply of tactics at his disposal for intimidating entire countries. Which he uses. Frequently. Successfully.)

(At one point he had toyed with the idea of writing up Person X’s behavior on this score to use as a “hypothetical” example in a training exercise for the department’s analysts to see if they could detect any meaningful clues he had inexplicably overlooked. He had quickly decided, however, that it would be prudent to set this idea aside, as the acquaintance of his department’s personnel with Sherlock’s sphere could unmask the pretense of a fictional model, without any compensatory insights having been generated.)

Given current circumstances, it is time to tick off this item on his list of outstanding actions. He gathers himself mentally, and begins a review of his previously generated list of candidate explanations. 

Initially, he had believed that Watson’s apparent imperviousness to his exercises of power was stupidity, advertised as bravery. After all, a cognitively-endowed individual encountering Mycroft in the key of intimidation would make a sound assessment of possible consequences and respond appropriately, as in “a word to the wise is sufficient.” For those with a deficit in intelligence, a simple recalibration in leaving less to subtext in conveying his meanings typically sufficed. And yet, not so with Watson. Strikethrough that premise.

Early on he had posited that the problem was aggression due to his military training – and yet Watson’s service file indicated he had no trouble following orders. Strikethrough that premise.

A later supposition was that Watson’s behavior is due to his being of small stature – the compensatory demeanor of a man to appear larger, as in a cat with an arched back and its hair standing up, or when a puffer fish expands like a balloon. And yet there are no other indications that Watson finds his physical limits of concern to support this supposition. Strikethrough that premise.

He had also considered that Watson’s attitude was the consequence of being a man with nothing to lose. While this fact might have powered his non-responsiveness to displays of power at one time, he had not appeared to be in such a state for quite some time -- and yet his obstinacy continued. Strikethrough that premise.

One explanation of which he is rather fond is that the man has a perverse enjoyment of being contrary for the sake of being contrary. And yet, sadly, this premise must also be committed to the strikethrough rubbish bin, as this attitude is not on display in other situations, as it would be if it was a personality characteristic.

A recurring conjecture has been that the biographical detail of Watson being a medical professional is relevant – that he has a caretaker complex. This rationale, he believes, has some merit. But it seems insubstantial as a complete explanation for why Watson appears to be uncowed while being on the receiving end of intimidation by one such as himself (not that there is another one such as himself known to him. But it is always a possibility; a vanishingly slight one, but a possibility nonetheless).

It is always at this point in the analysis that he comes up against a factor that seems inescapably relevant, but that he finds he is resistant to giving way to: that Watson’s imperviousness to intimidation is causally related to his association with his brother, rather than to circumstances that are solely Watson's own.

It is as if Watson’s insubordination is in the service of establishing a demilitarized zone around Sherlock, with Watson patrolling its perimeter, to repel and/or neutralize anything that he considers to be a threat. Well, was in the service of.

But why such a dedicated defense of his brother, such that Mycroft's intent to intimidate falls flat? This assertive stance had appeared within a very short period of time – Watson had become very loyal, very quickly. Scarcely a day after being informed of Sherlock’s existence he had killed a man – with an illegal weapon – because he believed his life was threatened, even while unable to hear what was happening, and the only evidence being that of viewing the unfolding of a pantomime.

Mycroft purses his lips in impatience and blinks his eyes to refocus them. No more time can be expended on the Watson question today – there are many urgent matters of international importance needing to be put right. And now that Sherlock has been removed from Watson’s life, Mycroft's listed item re analyzing Watson’s motivations can indeed be ticked off, due to that reality. 

Yes, Mycroft points out to himself, even Watson, needs must, be intimidated by death, and come to display submission to its dictates. It is unlikely that he will need to experience yet again Watson’s non-cooperative, headstrong, insolent manner (at least not any time soon). Indeed, with Sherlock "dead," there is no need to ponder the question further.  ........................................................ @calaisreno @totallysilvergirl @friday411 @peanitbear @original-welovethebeekeeper rest of the @s in the tags, which will work for communication purposes, I hope? just say the word if you want to be untagged or tagged xoxoxo

[magpiecrust]

I still remember a post or comment that, in reference to Holmes' neurodivergent traits, declared that he's "like a child" that Watson needs to be a caretaker to.

I forgot who it was, or where, on when, but i'm still pissed off.

[atomicpoetrymusic-blog]

Randomly, on a whim, I decided to re-watch Stranger Things s4. I was focused on other stuff, just letting it play in the background, but I had a realisation about my favourite relationship on the show - Steve and Dustin. And I had to write about it.

In s2, when they were first thrown together, no one, not even the writers, predicted how good and compelling a bond they would form. Steve was going through a tough time, but he still stepped up and helped Dustin with his Dart problem. He gave the younger boy advice about girls, and Dustin grew to look up to him as a capable protector, caretaker and role-model, actively enjoying it when Steve complimented him. Dustin, meanwhile, wriggled his way into Steve's heart with his assertiveness, youthful curiosity, high intelligence, and his sweet nature (also because he essentially followed Steve around like an excitable puppy, and proceeded to not leave him alone).

Along the way, the audience saw how they operated as a team - functionally, they were essentially the trope of 'the brains and the brawn'. Dustin came up with the theories and the plans, and Steve implemented them.

By the end of s2, Steve and Dustin had no specific reason to hang out AT ALL, but they both still chose to. As it turned out, they liked each other's company, despite their differences.

In s3, we got more of the same, with added flavours of Robin and Erica thrown into the mix. Dustin, while still the brains of the operation, needed Robin's linguistic skills, as well as her grounding logic to keep him from going completely off the rails, while Steve also needed Robin to lift some of the weight of responsibility for the younger two. Erica, while only initially needed because of her small stature, kept everyone focused on the task at hand, and also provided an iron backbone to simultaneously criticise and embolden her friends. Their dynamic as a foursome worked, and was many people's (mine included) favourite part of s3.

The relationship between Dustin and Steve, in this time, had clearly become more brotherly, with the bickering and snarking overlaying a genuine trust and care for each other. They were thrilled to see each other again after Dustin had been away, insulted each other to their faces despite being incredibly supportive of each other, and were very protective of each other when in the Russian elevator/base.

In s4, however, the duo, while still the same one we know and love, had developed into something even better - a competent team that knew they work well together, and used that to their advantage (sometimes begrudgingly). Because of their intrinsic differences in intellect, physicality, and general skill sets, they both have very different ways of approaching the same problem.

This is probably best shown in the first basement scene of episode 4 ('Dear Billy', probably my favourite episode of the show overall). Steve, Dustin and Lucas are reading up on Victor Creel, and Steve is vocally confused by the information presented. Dustin criticises Steve on not being able to understand the concept, and goes on to talk about his theories on the Upside Down and HOW it is all happening. Steve then explains his confusion, about WHY Vecna would have done these things, and WHY he had started up again.

And later, in episode 6, 'The Dive', when the Hawkins crew are all updating Eddie at Skull Rock, Dustin again is focused on HOW his compass is acting strangely, and concludes it must be because of a Gate (which he was right about). After some discourse between the whole group about HOW Dustin's compass was going wonky, Steve is the first to question WHY a Gate had opened up.

This is why they make such a fantastic team - because they are 2 sides of the same coin. It reminds me of the most famous detective story dynamic - Holmes and Watson (which is fitting, as Dustin quotes Sherlock Holmes in s4, to Steve).

Dustin (Holmes) provides the scientific, factual evidence and uses this to devise theories on HOW something happened. Steve (Watson) provides the emotional, personal reasons for WHY something happened. They round each other out and build off each other's ideas to form a cohesive through-line that explains both the HOW and the WHY.

There are loads more examples, but here are a few off the top of my head:

S3 - Steve hears 'Indiana Flyer' playing in the background of the Russian transmission. Both Dustin and Robin brush him off, asking him to focus on the Russian, but he wants to know WHY the music is there.

S2 - Steve wants to know WHY Dart and the other demodogs leave the junkyard, and Dustin provides him with the HOW (because of the hive mind).

S4 - Once Steve, Nancy, Robin and Eddie get trapped in the Upside Down, Dustin gets stumped on HOW the Gate opened up. His usual way of figuring things out isn't providing him with answers. So, he turns to another way of thinking - WHY there is a Gate in Lover's Lake. Which then leads him to the answer they needed. (Yes, this is all Dustin, but I truly believe he would not have been nearly so capable of coming up with the WHY of it all pre-Steve. Even in s1, he was the one everyone went to for the HOW).

In conclusion, I once again took a single idea and turned it into a multi-point essay. I always loved the Steve and Dustin dynamic so much, and now my love for it has grown that much bigger.

[livmadart]

What ever it is I’m sure he’s very precise with care and training.

(Referring to this)

Oh I’m sure he is a great caretaker of Watson!

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Five Fics Friday: May 10/24

Happy Friday everyone!! Got LOTS of fics being boosted this week, so make sure to give the authors lots of love, AND then I hope you'll check out the other two fics to fill out the list! Have a great weekend!

SIGNAL BOOSTING

Happy birthday, Sherlock Holmes! by Holmes_WatsonACSAneroxiaDalt (G, 1,665 w., 1 Ch. || Victorian AU || Established Relationship, Love Confessions, Light Angst, First Kiss, Idiots in Love, Hurt Sherlock) – During the journey, Holmes was overcome by a million overwhelming feelings. Today is his birthday. His birthday. And Watson, dear Watson, his sun in the sky, his purpose in life, had not achieved this. Maybe he forgot, but he couldn't blame him. A story were Watson forgot the birthday of Holmes. Or not?

I took the miracle move on drug, the effects were temporary by 221Bug (M, 3,840+ w., 1/4 Ch. || SH Chapter One / SH The Awakening Fusion / 1980s AU || WiP || Mental Health Issues, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Love at First Sight, Psychiatry) – Mycroft is worried about the influence Sherlock's imaginary friend, Jon, is having on his life, so he sends him to a psychiatric hospital. There Sherlock meets Dr. John Watson, who looks remarkably similar to Jon. And has kind eyes. And knows Brahms. And maybe, just maybe Sherlock could imagine opening up to him. But in order to let someone in, Sherlock himself must first confront the gatekeeper of all his deepest fears and insecurities.

Lies of Omission by Breath4Soul (M, 5,942+ w., 5/8 Ch. || WiP || Oblivious John, Cockblocking, Sassy Sherlock, Bisexual John, Speed Dating, Jealous Sherlock, Dom / Sub Undertones) – John and Sherlock have both been skirting the truth with certain lies of omission. Will a Speed Dating event finally force them to fill in the blanks?

RECENT MFLs

The Last Summer by CumberCurlyGirl (T, 3,301 w., 1 Ch. || Retirement, Devotion, Established Relationship, Bathing/Washing, Facial Shaving, Sussex Cottage, Beard, Caretaking) – Sherlock lovingly cares for a bedridden John in their Sussex cottage. John reveals that he's always wanted to grow a beard.

You Ain't Alone by EnduringChill (M, 163,064+ w., 88/? Ch. || WiP || Post-HLV, Grief/Mourning, Mutual Pining, Love Confessions, Scars / Scarring, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, Eventual Happy Ending, Minor Character Death, Minor Injury) – In this universe, Moriarty does not save Sherlock from his death mission. The jet carries him to Eastern Europe to battle the Russians. Sherlock has every intention of beating the odds and returning to John. A blast and a fire leave Sherlock with severe burns across his body and face. Mycroft takes matter into his own hands to oversee Sherlock's rehabilitation and recovery. A terrible decision is made that will alter both Sherlock and John forever. Their separate paths to healing bring them closer together than they realise. A story that proves that no matter what forces pull them apart, John and Sherlock always find a way back to one another.

[hiddenramen]

the thing about elementary is that i don't understand what precisely they wanted to do with it. it feels very much like a reaction to bbc's sherlock, which is fine, whatever, there's room for all kinds of holmes adaptations, but the choice to make them a man and a woman was so weird on like. multiple levels?

making the watson character a woman wasn't really like, revolutionary. watson is somewhat of a caretaker role and the gender swap makes it read even more so. holmes is still a british white dude. honestly it would have been better if they'd kept watson a man and made sherlock a woman, but it seems like they wanted to preserve sherlock as a lead with sex appeal to women, and even amp it up, which again is like. a choice but okay

but then on top of that, we have to contend with the johnlock problem, which is: if we make them romantic then we look homophobic, even though the show is written like they're going to be romantic. but if we don't make them get together, our show comes off as.... heterosexual queerbaiting? at that point, which is the funniest possible corner to write yourself into. and at this point we've made sherlock a sexy lead for women so they don't even get to use watson as an audience surrogate. just baffling choices

[cruetrimeblog]

The Unfortunate Story of Michelle Knotek

Michelle Knotek is a convicted murderer from Raymond, Washington. She was convicted of second degree murder and first degree manslaughter in 2004. She was responsible for the torture and death of Kathy Loreno and Ronald Woodworth. Both were friends of Michelle who lived with her at different times. Her husband David was convicted of the murder of Shane Watson, their 17 year old nephew. It's also suspected that Michelle was responsible for the death of 81 year old James McClintock, from whom Michelle inherited many assets after his death. James died from a traumatic head injury while Michelle was acting as his caretaker. The Knoteks' case became widely known due to the presence of abuse and torture.

Michelle was sentenced to 22 years in prison. She served 18 years of that sentence and was released on November 8, 2022. David was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He served 13 years of that sentence and was paroled in 2016.

Kathy Loreno was working as a hairdresser in Washington when she befriended Michelle. Kathy moved in with the Knoteks in 1991 after having an argument with her family. She had no idea about the psychical abuse she would endure there. Kathy was reported missing by her family in 1994. When authorities asked the Knoteks about Kathy, they stated that she ran off with a truck driver and moved to California.

Michelle told everyone that she was staying in contact with Kathy. However, Kathy's brother hired a private investigator who concluded that Michelle had most likely killed Kathy. David later told police that Kathy died by choking on her own vomit. But due to the physical abuse that the Knoteks had ben inflicting upon Kathy, David didn't take her to a hospital or report the incident to police.

Shane Watson was born in Tacoma in 1975. He was Michelle's nephew. He moved in with the Knoteks around 1988. Shane disappeared shortly after Kathy did. The Knoteks originally claimed that Shane ran away to Alaska to work as a fisherman. David later admitted that he shot Shane in the head with a rifle.

Investigators believed that David killed Shane to keep him quiet about Kathy's death after Michelle caught Shane with pictures of Kathy's abuse. David told investigators that he burned the bodies of Kathy and Shane and scattered their ashes at the beach.

Ronald Woodworth went to live with the Knoteks around 2001. He was a victim of their psychical abuse, just like Kathy. Witnesses claimed to see Ronald doing yard work in his underwear, and jumping from the second floor window with no shoes on, causing many injuries. Michelle would then pour boiling water and bleach onto his sore feet.

Ronald went missing in 2003. David later admitted to burying him on the Knotek property after Michelle told him that Ronald committed suicide. Ronald's autopsy determined that his death was a homicide.

Michelle was originally charged with two counts of first degree murder in the deaths of Kathy and Ronald. David was charged with first degree murder for Shane's death. David was also charged with criminal assistance and the unlawful disposal of human remains.

Both Knoteks pled guilty to lesser charges in 2004. Michelle entered an Alford plea. She pled guilty to one second degree murder charge and one charge for manslaughter. She was sentenced to 22 years in prison. She tried to appeal her convictions but was denied. She served 18 years of her sentence and was then released in 2022. David served 13 of his 15 year sentenced before being paroled in 2016.

[consanguinitatum]

Theatre Deep Dive: David Tennant in Hurlyburly (1997)

In today's spotlight on David Tennant's theatre career, we'll feature 1997's production of Hurlyburly by David Rabe, and David's role as Mickey.

By 1997, David was coming off two years of successful theatre. In 1995 he'd been nominated for Best Supporting Actor in the MENTA Awards and Best Actor at the British Regional Theatre Awards for his role as Kenny in An Experienced Woman Gives Advice.

In 1996 he'd completed four theatre roles: Tom Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie at the Dundee Rep, and Touchstone in As You Like It, Jack Lane in The Herbal Bed, and Alexander Hamilton in The General From America in Stratford and London for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

He took a day off from The Glass Menagerie rehearsals to go to London to audition for Orlando in As You Like It, and while he didn't get that role, he did bag the role of Touchstone. Follow this link if you want to read most of an extensive essay he wrote about playing that part...while he was playing it!

David won rave reviews for all these roles, including a Theatre Management Award nomination for Best Actor for 'The Glass Menagerie.' His Royal Shakespeare Company performances were all sell-outs, and in particular, his portrayal of Touchstone was noted as a standout performance. And while David had played many previous theatre roles, up to that point Touchstone had been the longest he'd played any part. He inhabited the role of Touchstone for almost an entire year - from 18 April 1996 (his 25th birthday) to the run's close on 29 March 1997. During the run, he'd injured his ankle.

Also, keep in mind he was simultaneously doing his other roles in The Herbal Bed and The General From America! The General From America ran from July to October 1996 in Stratford and from February to April of 1997 in London; The Herbal Bed ran from May to September 1996 in Stratford, and from October 1996 to January 1997 in London.

He was a BUSY boy indeed!

His next role - as Mickey in David Rabe's blisteringly caustic play Hurlyburly, would take him for the first time to the West End's Queen's Theatre (now the Sondheim Theatre). A transfer of the Peter Hall Company's March to April 1997 production at the Old Vic, the Queen's production would run from August to November 1997.

There's a belief in the DT fandom that David played the role of Mickey in both runs - at the Old Vic and at the Queen's. That's false. The only three actors who transferred their roles from the Old Vic were Rupert Graves as Eddie, Andy Serkis as Phil, and Susannah Doyle as Bonnie. David replaced Daniel Craig (yes, THAT Daniel Craig!) as Mickey. At the Old Vic, Stephen Dillane had played Artie, Elizabeth McGovern had played Darlene, and Kelly MacDonald (yes, THAT Kelly MacDonald!) was Donna. At the Queen's, Mark Benton played Artie, Jenny Seagrove played Darlene, and Jessica Watson was Donna.

Photos of Hurlyburly from its Old Vic run

Weirdly, neither Graves nor Seagrove were supposed to star in the Queen's run. Ethan Hawke and Patsy Kensit were!

But Hawke - who would've made his London stage debut - walked out after a day's rehearsal and Kensit followed the next day. So Graves and Seagrove stepped in.

According to its programme, Hurlyburly was originally scheduled to begin previews on 14 August 1997. But because of its casting problems, it seems it began its run a week later, on 21 August? Yet newspapers give dates anywhere from 13 August to 28 August. So I'm really not certain of the exact date.

It was performed with American accents, too!

The director of Hurlyburly was Wilson Milam. Doctor Who fans will recognize the name, as Milam later went on to direct 2003's Scream of the Shalka - a well-known series, one where David featured in an uncredited cameo role as the Caretaker!

Hurlyburly ran for 2 hours and 40 minutes and began at 8pm on Mondays through Saturdays. There was one interval. Its weekday Wednesday matinee began at 3pm, and its Saturday matinee began at 4pm. Tickets ran anywhere from £7.50 to £24.

But what's Hurlyburly about? Set in the Hollywood Hills during the excesses of the 80s, it centers on divorced Hollywood casting directors Eddie and Mickey, and their associates Phil and Artie. In six scenes across the space of twelve months, they hurtle towards self-destruction.

These men hate everything: themselves, their friends, the movie industry, and especially women. Their language pours out in crude torrents of hostility and violence. They snort lines, drink, mistreat women, and shout at each other. A LOT. The women in their lives are just there to use and discard. Their girlfriends are annoying props, other women are sex objects or boring and pitiful, they've abandoned their children, and their ex-wives are the focus of undying and vicious disdain.

The production got rave reviews, and Rupert Graves was nominated for the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor. David also got great reviews! His Mickey made an impression as a "mocking and maddeningly self-possessed," "self-controlled, empty" and "cynical outsider". He thought himself a charming God's gift to women type, but had a "detachment that becomes chilling."

Given the amount of photographs taken from the Old Vic run of Hurlyburly, you'd think there would be more photos taken from its Queen's run featuring David. But…no? There's only this one from the programme, and one of him in a blue shirt:

Now for some Trivia Time! During Hurlyburly's run, its assisant director, Charlotte ­Bond, asked David for a favor. She was going to be involved in a play later that year at the Edinburgh Festival called Tamagotchi Heaven and she wondered if he'd be willing to film a small cameo role for the piece.

He agreed, filmed it in about an hour, and promptly forgot about it - until a 2008 Chain Reaction radio interview he did with Catherine Tate reminded him of it. Because she'd SEEN it, and somehow recognized him from it....even though they hadn't yet met! Here's the interview where they speak of it (it's 2 minutes in):

And that, my friends, is what I know of the story of Hurlyburly. I hope you enjoyed it!

[transgayhawkeyepierce]

The problem with Elementary was, while it was fun to see a Holmes adaptation that takes his addiction seriously, it forever stuck that version of Watson in a caretaker role. Joan really wasn't given enough characterization and never seemed to be able to catch up. I stand by my opinion that they should have made her a vet with a limp. At least some significant trauma would be a reason why she needs Holmes too, outside of his Incredible Intellect. Why she's an outsider too. It would have provided something warm and understanding to their dynamic outside of arguing and disappointment.

My second big gripe with it, is how the cast generally treated Holmes? Like, as the designated Freak and Boundary Violater, it seemed like the series thought that was justification to have every other character just show such extreme contempt towards him at the drop of a hat? Even yelling at him and talking to him in such a harsh manner I would consider it extremely inappropriate in a work environment. Even if Holmes was in the wrong, I would often feel like the reaction to whatever he did was also in the wrong, if not more so lol. Like, for instance there's a plotline in season 2 where Holmes asks Watson not to fuck his brother. Clarifying that his brother is a bad person, and he just doesn't really want her too because it's his brother. This is treated as insanely unreasonable on his part for absolutely no reason lmao. Why? I just really felt like This Holmes and Watson just don't like each other. Or rather that Watson just genuinely doesn't like Holmes and feels he is a burden on her life.

And a bit of minor one, but the wierd Insistence that Holmes is straight, straight straight straight, to the point of rubbing the audiences faces in it. Like, I'm not against necessarily changing characters' genders to make Sherlock Holmes a less male-centric story or whatever, but as a character who is widely interpreted as gay or ace, it was just very weird and unnecessary? Also the Holmes and Fem!Moriarty romance obsession thing got old sooooo fast.

[thalialunacy]

[for the @calaisreno MayProWriMo, which we're halfway through, whaaaat. take heed: I'm gonna call this one nc-17/nsfw/explicit; also smol cw for John being a middle-aged white dude who tries hard.]

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) 16: experiment (17)

'The true method of knowledge is experiment.' -- William Blake

John's birthday do turns into a Rosie-themed party, but he doesn't mind. He's chuffed, truth be told. And not at all biased.

Luckily, all the other adults present are also not at all biased, so she has a willing audience for her various toddler antics, and throws herself into them full-speed.

'Perfect,' John says aside to Sherlock as Rosie demonstrates to the twelfth guest how to use her new rocking horse. The thing is solid. 'She'll wear herself down and pass out as soon as I put her to bed.'

Sherlock glances down at him from where he'd been watching a folded-up Stamford give the toy horse a few rocks before listing to one side and plonking down onto the carpet dramatically. 'You have plans?' he deduces easily while Rosie's giggles spin through the air.

John clears his throat. 'Possibly.'

Sherlock's lips curve into a smile, even after he turns his focus back to the room. 'Indeed.'

---

'In the spirit of science, there really is no such thing as a 'failed experiment.' Any test that yields valid data is a valid test.' -- Adam Savage

In true contrarian form, Rosie fights the fight of the exhausted and over-stimulated when John tries to start her bedtime routine after finally shoving all the guests out the door. He gets more water on him than she does during her bath, she ends up with backwards jammies on because she absolutely refuses to wear them any other way, and she has declared her disgust with every single one of their normal bedtime stories before he can blink.

John loves her to the ends of the earth, but he's suddenly feeling some strong nostalgia for his bachelor days. Very strong. Very. Strong.

A few moments before his patience is truly drained to nil, there's a knock on the door and Sherlock sticks his head in. 'Rosamund?' he asks, walking over and meeting her gaze. 'What's all this?'

'Don't want bad story!' she exclaims with watery eyes, like the idea is tantamount to state-sanctioned torture.

Sherlock glances at John, who just shrugs wearily. 'There's no accounting for taste.'

Sherlock snorts. 'Alright, Watsons. Here's the plan. Watson the Elder will go have a bath and some tea, and Watson the Younger will listen attentively while I tell the most riveting story of all time.'

He tucks her blanket back around her and she settles a little at his touch. Then he starts in with That Voice, and she's no match. 'Long ago, there once was a woman named Marie. She was from a land far, far away called Poland.' John makes a noise, and Sherlock in turn makes a shooing motion at him.

Plodding his way down the stairs, John muses that all of Sherlock's Rosie stories have involved female protagonists, usually non-fictional. They're not a particularly outwardly 'woke' bunch, the residents of 221 Baker St, but John reckons it's the little things. Like raising a daughter with heroes like Marie Curie.

It's not something they've even discussed, as her caretakers, and affection for Sherlock hits John hard in the chest. He's the luckiest bastard in the world, he really is.

---

'Argument is conclusive, but it does not remove doubt, so that the mind may rest in the sure knowledge of the truth, unless it finds it by the method of experiment.' -- Roger Bacon

That appreciation is still lingering when John exits the loo in his bathrobe to find Sherlock sprawled on the kitchen table, which is a new one, reading a book that looks about as old as the earth itself.

'Feel better?' he says without lifting his eyes to John.

John nods, approaching him. 'You left out the part where Marie Curie died of radiation poisoning, yes?'

'Obviously,' Sherlock says, easing his legs over the edge of the table until he's sitting on it like a normal person, but still reading. 'That will keep until she's at least four.'

'Right. What's the book about?' John asks as he makes his way between Sherlock's knees.

Sherlock holds up a pointer finger. 'One moment.'

John shakes his head with a small smile, then without really considering it he rolls his palms up Sherlock's thighs. The detective is still wearing his party trousers, fine wool John really doesn't want to know the cost of, and it feels smooth and satisfying under his skin.

He leaves his hands at the top of Sherlock's thighs, pressing lightly into small spaces. Sherlock coughs. 'If you distract me, it'll take even longer.'

John raises his hands. 'Fine, fine. I'll just be in bed.' He lowers his voice a little. 'In your bed.'

Sherlock goes very still, eyes staying glued to the page. But his thighs tighten around John when he tries to back away.

John chuckles, and debates the merits of keeping his hands to himself. But before he's decided, he's interrupted.

'Done,' Sherlock announces loudly, slapping the book shut and putting it down on the table with only a modicum of care. He pulls John into him immediately, but his brow is a little furrowed. 'Do you mean it?'

'We've shared beds before,' John strings him along with.

Sherlock tuts. 'John Watson, don't be coy, it doesn't suit you.'

John sobers, and then nods. 'I want… ' He goes for the plain truth. The opposite of coy. 'I want to sleep in your bed, and I'd prefer it'd be after some orgasms.'

Sherlock makes a noise John's not sure how to interpret.

'If you want,' John adds lightly. 

Crystalline eyes search John's face. 'Aren't you tired?'

His smile blooms slowly. 'Yeah, I am. But not too tired for this.' He reaches up to cradle Sherlock's face in his hands, and kisses him, slow and steady, feeling the beat of his heart.

---

'If I experiment enough, I get a deeper understanding.' -- Terence Tao

The first word gets drawn on Sherlock's right hip.

John's left index finger traces eight letters while his right hand tucks into Sherlock's pants and draws them down and off, his mouth following then trailing along hot, hard skin. He knows Sherlock's watching, and likes the idea that he's being at least a little unpredictable.

He's not done this before, but he's done this before. His tongue, and palate, and salivary glands adjust without much fanfare.

The second word, also eight letters, is then stencilled into Sherlock's right thigh, where the hair is downy, and the tendon cords under John's hand.

'John--' Sherlock murmurs roughly. 'What--'

John, on a whim, tries a thing with his tongue, and Sherlock cuts off with a groan. Then John finds himself so involved he forgets to do the next word until Sherlock pulls him up into a tight embrace.

John lets him, because it leaves him in the perfect position to tongue the ten letters into Sherlock's long, exposed neck.

'John, really. Your penmanship is--' His breath catches as John uses a few teeth. '--terrible.'

John huffs a laugh, genuinely amused. 'Doctor, remember?'

'No excuse,' Sherlock says blithely, then starts pulling away.

John is unashamed to admit he tries to stop him, tries to keep him close. Sherlock's gaze softens, and he leans back in.

'Not going further than this bed,' he says against John's mouth. 'It's just that I have something I wish to do.' He smiles, slow and long, and says, 'You did just have a bath, did you not?'

John searches his face, feeling scorched down to his toes at the implied invitation. His thumb traces the fourth word, only four letters, into the thin skin of Sherlock's unbroken wrist, and Sherlock's eyes widen fractionally.

'Perfect,' Sherlock says, then captures his mouth in another kiss. 'Turn over.'

'Your fracture,' John protests. 'It isn't fully healed.'

Sherlock rolls his eyes, and John is reassured he's still the same as he ever was. 'Which is why you should turn over. I'm going to kneel at the foot of the bed. That alright with you, Doctor?'

 'Oh, hell. Yes.'

The fifth word-- Well, John is surprised it took this long for the tables to turn, really, but the fifth word gets bitten into the rounded flesh where John's upper thigh tucks into his arse, before he has a chance to rise up onto his hands and knees. All seven letters, nibbled precisely into sensitive skin while Sherlock's uninjured hand teases at the goal.

'Jesus God,' John mutters weakly. 'Sherlock--'

'Up,' Sherlock says with a tap. John levers himself into position with a grunt, and barely has time to steady himself before Sherlock licks into him.

'Fuck,' he hisses, almost surging forward but being caught round the hip by Sherlock's good hand, steadied.

And then absolutely taken apart.

'Sher--' he falters, ages and a moment later, panting and trying to hold onto his clanging heart. 'Please, come here, I want-- I want you to come with me-- Oh, fuck.''

Sherlock's groan reverberates into him, and John falls onto his forearms, arse held in the air purely by strength of will. He'll congratulate himself later.

When Sherlock pulls away and climbs back onto the bed, John is caught in a messy web of lust and turns over just enough to pull Sherlock down onto his side. 'Please,' he says roughly, reaching for Sherlock's prick. 'Can I--'

'Yes,' Sherlock hisses, seeking out reciprocation. 'Whatever you want.'

And they sync up without too much struggle, racing to bring the other pleasure, and John can't quite remain tethered when he feels Sherlock's tongue tracing the sixth word over his heart. 'Sherlock,' he whispers. He tenses, and it's over; he's awash with sensation and floating away.

---

Seven steps of the scientific method: 1) Question 2) Research 3) Hypothesis 4) Test 5) Analyse 6) Conclusions 7) Communicate.

'You know,' Sherlock says enough moments later that John can focus on him again. 'The seventh step is debatable.'

John smirks sleepily, reaching blindly for his pants to wipe the majority of the evidence off their skin. 'I'd say communication is the most important part, actually.'

Sherlock huffs; John feels it on his temple and decides he's not moving for a while. And it takes a while for Sherlock to say what John can tell is brewing in his mind, anyway. It's alright. He can wait.

'What was that about, truly?' Sherlock finally asks quietly.

'Well,' John says, thinking as he traces figures, meaningless figures this time, into Sherlock's arm. 'Sometimes experiments are about demonstrating a known fact that’s already proven. '

'And this one proved…?'

John's hand comes to a stop. 'Oh, come on, you know what.'

Silence stretches after that statement, and John finally raises his eyes to meet Sherlock's. A smile spreads across his face at what he sees there.

'Just that I love the hell out of you,' he says matter-of-factly.

Sherlock lets out a stream of breath he'd apparently been holding. 'A reasonable conclusion,' he mutters, bringing their mouths together.

John grins, knowing exactly what Sherlock is saying with those words, and lets him have it.

[❤️]