Acd Holmes - Tumblr Posts

8 years ago
We All Know What Happened The Last Time Holmes Went To A Party.
We All Know What Happened The Last Time Holmes Went To A Party.
We All Know What Happened The Last Time Holmes Went To A Party.
We All Know What Happened The Last Time Holmes Went To A Party.

We all know what happened the last time Holmes went to a party.

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1 year ago

(It's finally time I start posting on this dreaded website.)

The Illustious Client story breaks my brain in many ways but something that faszinates me so much is the Picture of Dorian Gray references Doyle slaps in there at the end, after the evil guy got hit by the toxin.

Like: - The features which I had admired a few minutes before were now like some beautiful painting over which the artist has passed a wet and foul sponge. They were blurred, discoloured, inhuman, terrible. - I could have wept over the ruin had I not remembered very clearly the vile life which had led up to so hideous a change. - “The wages of sin, Watson—the wages of sin!” said [Holmes]. “Sooner or later it will always come. God knows, there was sin enough,”

The entire theme of sin and evil in the end turning someone ugly. The first quote literally comparing the scene to a painting. Also the guy previously being described as very handsome ("He was certainly a remarkably handsome man. His European reputation for beauty was fully deserved. In figure he was not more than of middle size, but was built upon graceful and active lines. His face was swarthy, almost Oriental, with large, dark, languorous eyes which might easily hold an irresistible fascination for women. His hair and moustache were raven black, the latter short, pointed, and carefully waxed. His features were regular and pleasing, save only his straight, thin-lipped mouth. If ever I saw a murderer’s mouth it was there—a cruel, hard gash in the face; compressed, inexorable, and terrible. He was ill-advised to train his moustache away from it, for it was Nature’s danger-signal, set as a warning to his victims. His voice was engaging and his manners perfect. In age I should have put him at little over thirty, though his record afterwards showed that he was forty-two." - thanks Watson, very heterosexual of you). The parallels are so strong.

Like, I know for a fact that Doyle read The Picture of Dorian Gray, he mentions it in his autobiography.

I don't know what to do with that. Just find it curious.


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9 months ago

I know it's common knowledge around here that Doyle "hated" his creation, Sherlock Holmes. But let's be precise, “I have had such an overdose of him that I feel towards him as I do towards paté de foie gras, of which I once ate too much, so that the name of it gives me a sickly feeling to this day.”

The character of Holmes himself was not conceived without love and I personally find it hard to see such a complex and detailed character as so very hated by his author. The comment Doyle made is so unserious in its tone it leans more to a joking, superficial manner than to any strong feelings. I don't feel that connection so strongly as generally might be


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9 months ago

The Gayest Original Sherlock Story

Anyone who asserts that there is no gay subtext in the original Arthur Conan Doyle Holmes canon has probably never read ‘Charles Augustus Milverton,’ from ‘The Return of Sherlock Holmes’, wherein Holmes and Watson burgle a house extremely erotically.  Seriously.  This is the gayest original Sherlock Holmes story that ever gayed.  I must stress – I’m not asserting that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was gay, or even that he had any gay ‘agenda’ (horrible phrase, I know, but can’t think of any other to fit) at all in writing Holmes and Watson.  What I am asserting is that this story, in particular, is fraught with an air of thrilling transgression that borders on the sexual, and whatever conclusions we draw from this, it is nonsensical and pointless to deny it.  It is particularly illuminating, perhaps, to bear in mind whilst reading it that at the time of writing and publication, homosexuality was a criminal offense.  Gay people were often forced to meet clandestinely, at night, and engage in their intimacies in constant fear of discovery.

I was simply going to cite the relevant quotes from the story below, as I really think they speak for themselves, though I’ve added some commentary for cohesiveness.

It is worth noting that at the outset of the story Holmes makes it clear his particular distaste for Charles Augustus Milverton – a disgust and dislike far more intense than any he ever expresses for his arch-nemesis Moriarty.  Moriarty, Holmes seems to almost revere, as an equal.  Milverton, Holmes detests.  The reason he detests him is that Milverton’s particular brand of evil delights in exposing scandalous romantic secrets.  Scandalous romantic secrets betrayed in letters.  It makes one wonder, perhaps, at the source of Holmes’ aversion to such a person.  Does it betray a personal fear?  We might bear in mind here contemporary historical trials in which (sometimes famous) people were charged with homosexual conduct on the basis of letters to lovers and rent boys.

Fairly early on in the story, is the following exchange between Holmes and Watson:

‘You would not call me a marrying man, Watson?’

‘No, indeed!’

Watson’s response is vehement.  It partly serves as preparation for the comedic surprise of Holmes’ sham engagement to Milverton’s secretary, though it also provides a very comfortable bed for the remainder of the story’s subversive activities.

When Holmes confides his plan to rob Milverton’s house, Watson takes it for granted that they will do it as a pair.

‘When do we start?’

Not surprising, perhaps, considering their close partnership in cases thus far, though Watson’s absolute, passionate insistence to accompany Holmes on this occasion speaks of a loyalty and protectiveness in their attachment, and even a hint of jealous entitlement to Holmes’ company.  Ironically, Watson even resorts to blackmail in a bid to force Holmes to let him help foil a blackmail plot.  Watson is desperate to monitor Holmes throughout this dangerous endeavour, and moreover, to share this exciting and significant experience with Holmes.

‘You are not coming.’

‘Then you are not going,’ said I.  ‘I give you my word of honour – and I never broke it in my life – that I will take a cab straight to the police-station and give you away unless you let me share this adventure with you.’

Holmes acquiesces quickly, and expounds the theme of ‘sharing’.

‘Well, well, my dear fellow, be it so.  We have shared the same room for some years, and it would be amusing if we ended by sharing the same cell.’

Holmes and Watson’s lives and fates are intertwined, and this agrees with both of them.

Holmes then takes delight in displaying his burgling toolkit to Watson.  It is described with fetishistic relish, and Watson is clearly impressed.

‘This is a first-class, up-to-date burgling kit, with nickel-plated jemmy, diamond-tipped glass cutter, adaptable keys, and every modern improvement which the march of civilization demands.’

Much is made in this story of the fact that Holmes and Watson are transgressors.  They are crossing a line – stepping outside the bounds of the upstanding activity in which they usually engage.  Conan Doyle’s Watson is skilled in evocative description as a narrator, but from the moment Holmes and Watson break and enter Milverton’s House, Watson’s prose becomes markedly sensual.

‘An instant afterwards he had closed the door behind us, and we had become felons in the eyes of the law.  The thick, warm air of the conservatory and the rich, choking fragrance of exotic plants took us by the throat.’

Holmes and Watson have now crossed the line.  They are transgressors, and imagery of physical touch suddenly abounds.  Not only imagery – Holmes and Watson actually touch many times throughout this scene.  Fleetingly and teasingly, and occasionally with more prolonged purpose.  Watson’s senses are all heightened – he describes other things that touch him, too, as his hand is in Holmes’. 

‘[Holmes] seized my hand in the darkness and led me swiftly past banks of shrubs which brushed against our faces….’

Smells, too, become intensified to Watson as their hands are entwined,

‘Still holding my hand in one of his, he opened a door, and I was vaguely conscious that we had entered a large room in which a cigar had been smoked not long before….’

It is almost as though they have achieved a symbiosis through touch – Holmes’ remarkable powers of perception transferring to Watson as their hands clasp each other.

The tension of the scene is incredible.  And small false climaxes of adrenaline and excitement leap up out of the darkness,

‘Something rushed out at us, and my heart sprang into my mouth, but I could have laughed when I realized that it was the cat.’ 

The room in which Holmes and Watson then find themselves is a perfect setting for clandestine passion.

‘A fire was burning in this new room, and again the air was heavy with tobacco smoke.’

It has a fire (I was going to go on here about symbols of burning and heat and passion, but one can get too caught up in a line of analysis), but is also enveloped in concealing fog.  

‘I touched Holmes on the arm, and he turned his masked face in that direction.  I saw him start, and he was evidently as surprised as I.’

More touching, more building tension and adrenaline and emotion.

‘I don’t like it,’ he whispered, putting his lips to my ear.

Yes.  Well.  And that.

‘….I thrilled now with a keener zest than I had ever enjoyed when we were the defenders of the law instead of its defiers….  Far from feeling guilty, I rejoiced and exulted in our dangers.’

It’s all starting to speak for itself now, really.

And that’s not even getting to the bit where Watson watches in electrified awe as Holmes takes out his tools and penetrates a safe box.

‘With a glow of admiration I watched Holmes unrolling his case of instruments and choosing his tool with the calm, scientific accuracy of a surgeon who performs a delicate operation.’

This whole passage is unbelievably detailed and explicit in its fetishistic description of Holmes’ manual dexterity and expert handling of the tools.  Watson takes pleasure in Holmes’ pleasure, and this creates a sort of feedback loop of breathless excitement.

‘I knew that the opening of safes was a particular hobby with him , and I understood the joy which it gave him to be confronted with this green and gold monster….’

‘For half an hour Holmes worked with concentrated energy, laying down one tool, picking up another, handling each with the strength and delicacy of the trained mechanic.’

And Holmes partially undresses.

‘Turning up the cuffs of his dress-coat – he had placed his overcoat on a chair – Holmes laid out two drills, a jemmy, and several skeleton keys.’

Taken out of context, Watson’s expression of anxiety at discovery is very, very suggestive:

‘I stood at the centre door with my eyes glancing at each of the others, ready for any emergency, though, indeed, my plans were somewhat vague as to what I should do if we were interrupted.’

Until at last, Holmes releases Watson from his state of anticipation,

‘Finally I heard a click, and the broad green door swung open….’

And then they are interrupted, and have to hide, and are forced again into close, clandestine physical proximity.

‘….Now I gently parted the division of the curtains in front of me and looked through.  From the pressure of Holmes’ shoulder against mine I knew that he was sharing my observations.’

There’s more hand-holding, and coded, non-verbal communication, which suggests intimate familiarity – a private language between the companions,

‘I felt Holmes’s hand steal into mine and give me a reassuring shake, as if to say that the situation was within his powers….’

And then finally the ultimate climax, and Holmes’ white-knuckled grip on Watson stronger than ever:

‘….as the woman poured bullet after bullet into Milverton’s shrinking body, I was about to spring out, when I felt Holmes’s cold, strong grasp upon my wrist.’

They escape into the night.  In the morning, in the giddy wake of the night’s tumultuous transgression, they have a satisfied breakfast.

Subsequently they discover the true identity of Milverton’s murderer – and it’s a famous face.  And so we leave the narrative with Holmes and Watson’s shared secret.  Watson focuses on Holmes’ lips, and his finger, as he emphasises their mutual, furtive knowledge of something scandalous.

‘My eyes met those of Holmes, and he put his finger to his lips as we turned away from the window.’

I’m sorry.

But.

It’s just.

So.

Gorgeously.

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!


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1 year ago

THIS! This is EXACTLY how I picture them in my head too!🎩🔎

I often see canon Holmes and Watson's default state pictured as

A simple, linear drawing of John Watson and Sherlock Holmes, bust cropped, they are turned slightly to the left, standing next to each other. Watson's on the left, he has a cheerful expression and side-glances at Holmes. There is an arrow pointing at Watson saying "cinnamon roll". Holmes has a grumpy expression, looks like everything annoys him. There is another arrow pointing at him, saying "moody bitch".

but what I read them as, is rather

A second, similar linear drawing of John Watson and Sherlock Holmes, they are standing in the same way. This time Watson has serious expression, his brows slightly frowned in concern, the moustache covers his lips, so it's hard to say whether he smiles or not. The arrow pointing at Watson still says "cinnamon roll". Holmes here is explaining something with a witty smile and closed eyes. The arrow pointing at him still says "moody bitch".

and I think that's a lot funnier


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1 year ago

Raaaaghhh bbc Sherlock rant because I desperately need to see more people hating on it

BBC Sherlock is written terribly i can write an essay on it. All the characters were nerfed so bad. The took an expressive emotional considerate man and turned him into a cold emotionless asshole. Which would be fine as just another adaptation, but people are using the BBC version of Sherlock as the base point for what he’s like which isn’t good. In the books when Holmes made a deduction about Watsons alcoholic brother and Watson was like “hey man maybe don’t dig up my family issues like that” and Holmes was IMMEDIATELY SO APOLOGETIC. Meanwhile in the BBC show it just glossed over the obvious emotional weak point for Watson and Sherlock didn’t even apologize. The BBC show is also just poorly written. It gives Holmes information that isn’t available to the audience, and makes it impossible for viewers to solve the mysteries. Which is literally half the fun of mysteries in the first place. It’s like Moffat is more focused on making himself look clever and outsmarting the viewer than actually writing a good fucking plot and mystery. Another character who was nerfed so badly (but let’s face it, they all were) is Watson. For most of the show it treats him as practically Sherlocks pet dog, inconsequential to the story. While in other adaptations, and the original books, he’s an instrumental part of the story and investigations. He’s more than just Sherlocks tag along, he’s Sherlock’s partner. Fucking treat him like it. The female characters are also incredibly poorly written. It reduced Irene Adler’s character to just “the baddie who’s in love with Sherlock.” Which again would be fine if it were just treated as just another Sherlock Holmes adaptation, but people use the show as a base point of Sherlock and Irene’s relationship as well. Which, in the books, it makes it very clear that Holmes is NOT in love with Irene, and Irene is NOT in love with Holmes. The only female character in the show who is actually a person and not a cardboard cutout is Mrs. Hudson. And don’t even get me started on the scientist (doctor?) lady who is so fucking boring and unimportant I can’t even remember her name. Her only purpose for 90% of the show is just being the silly girl who’s in love with Sherlock. The shows writing is so stupid and so ridiculous. Which would be fine, if the show weren’t also trying to be serious. Having this terrible of writing would be alright is it were supposed to be satirical, but it’s not. Moffat wants me to take his shit show seriously, and I can’t. If you’re going to have this stupid of writing, at least be aware that the writing is shitty so it’s somewhat redeemable. A Holmes adaptation that actually does a good job of this is House MD. It’s ridiculous and it knows it’s ridiculous and it’s not trying to be something it isn’t. The BBC show IS trying to be something it isn’t. It’s trying to be this serious and intriguing mystery when in reality it’s just a bunch of shitty writing and even shittier mischaracterization mushed together and thrown onto TV screens. The only parts of the show that I liked was the camera shots and the acting. The show has its pros and I can and will acknowledge them, but the cons outweigh them tenfold.


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1 year ago

Imo any adaptation that fucks up Irene Adler is intrinsically not Holmes. She causes him to grow the fuck up and realize he can be wrong sometimes and has to adapt to reality. If she is retconned into becoming a prop for how amazing he is, he is NOT growing and becoming who he is meant to be. So the sexism of ruining her character is hand in hand with why this also ruins his.


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1 year ago

Shoutout to my English teacher who’s letting me do my “Shakespearean love letter” assignment as a letter to Holmes from Watson


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11 months ago

I’m making a playlist of Sherlock Holmes video essays and stuff on youtube.

Like any adaptations I just want sherlock videos lmao

I feel like there aren’t a lot of youtube retrospectives about sherlock


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11 months ago

So true, Holmes was always described as being more unconventional and strange for his time period. I never understand why people make him this sexually appealing dude when Watson himself says he looks like a bird lol. Sherlock doesn't even show interest in romance, he wouldn't wanna be percieved like that anyways. Bro is NOT interested in being sexy More Watson love hes so underrated

I always find it hilarious when more recent adaptations of Sherlock Holmes makes Holmes the dreamy heartthrob/attractive one (not that he’s not a total catch) because my dudes, Watson is right there. He is literally like a Victorian wet dream, he is everything that classic Victorian period would find appealing- adventurous, fought for his country, learned, has groomed facial hair (legit that was like the equivalent of being 6’ tall today), polite. He’s got just enough “melancholy” (depression) and rakishness (gambling) to still be a gentleman but like a bad boy gentleman. A real Romantic (both romance how we think of it today and like Romanticism) archetype. If anyone is the heartthrob here, it is Watson.


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11 months ago

Thinking about how important The Dancing Men was. This was one of the first times Holmes fails his client. It reminds me a lot of A Scandal In Bohemia in the way that Holmes fails his client in each. In A Scandal, Holmes' own bias against women is what causes him to lose. He learns from his loss and overall no harm is done. The King is in no real danger, as Adler even says herself that she has no intention of using the photos as blackmail. Despite Holmes being bested, nobody is harmed. His failure is not detrimental in any way.

In The Dancing Men, Holmes is shown to be very excited about desiphering the messages. He spends two hours just working on the codes. Everything is completly in his control until he gets the final telegram with the final message in it. It literally reads as "Elsie prepare to meet thy God." Holmes desiphers the telegram and "suddenly sprange to his feet with an exclamation of suprise and dismay." He realizes the dangers and is unable to do anything about it as the last train had already departed. He was not fast enough and is forced to stand by and wait. This was mostly out of Holmes' control, as he tried to save Elsie but was unable to.

The fact that she shot herself is also worth noting. Knowing of the danger and being unable to save her from making an attempt on her own life leaves Holmes shattered. Watson writes about his sulking in fair detail. It is so clear that Holmes is absolutely distraught about the turn of events but is unable to properly mope because the case still needs to be solved. He continues solving the case despite his client's horrible medical state.

"This sudden realization of his worst fears left him in a blank melancholy." -Watson

The contrast beween both of these fails are very interesting. The way control of the situation gets ripped from under his feet so quickly is wonderful. He has no time to grieve in his mistake because the case is still going on around him. He is forced to get back to helping his client. In a way, his dedication to solving this case for his client even when she has given up is admirable. Holmes gave her his word that he would solve the case and he does not faulter in that goal even when Elsie gives up.

Edit: Guys i forgot Elsie wasnt the client oops😭


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11 months ago

no, I'm sorry, if I were victor trevor I would hop on a steamer back to england to kick holmes's ass. like what do you MEAN you gave his father's dying confession of his most deeply held secret to your roommate and he published it in a fucking magazine???? his father was so horrified at the thought of his misdeeds and original identity going public that he literally died and watson just puts it in the fucking paper. I'd be so upset, I genuinely think that would turn me into a supervillain.


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11 months ago

Every single time I reread A Study in Scarlet I am startled when halfway through it becomes deeply inaccurate america fanfiction. Like Holmes reveals the murderer and immediately the next chapter is waxing poetic about the harsh, barren landscape of the western (??) US.

One cannot truly forget the Murder Mormons, but I always put it out of my mind for long enough that the switch jumpscares me.


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10 months ago

Do you ever think of Holmes alone at Baker Street after Watson's marriage and. And. And Watson's things are gone. Watson is gone, and there is just this aching gap around Holmes in the flat. The dust has not yet covered the space on the shelf where Watson's books used to be. Half of Holmes's home is gone, and he cannot even run his finger along the edge of the pain because there will only be one plate on the breakfast table tomorrow (and tomorrow and tomorrow), but you can't cut yourself on empty space.


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10 months ago
If There Are Zero Lestrade Fans Then I Am No Longer On This Earth
If There Are Zero Lestrade Fans Then I Am No Longer On This Earth

If there are zero Lestrade fans then I am no longer on this earth


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10 months ago

dunno if anyone has ever posted about this, but i think about this bit from ILLU constantly- they are so silly and married in the beginning here


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