The Sinking Of The Titanic: Sixty Years Later by
flawedamythyst, 15 k, teen. (AU Titanic fusion.) John Watson is
interviewed for a documentary being made for the sixtieth anniversary of the
sinking of the Titanic. The story he tells is not the one the interviewer was
expecting.
The Man No One Liked
series by shouldbeover, 7 works, teen to explicit. Historical Downton Abbey
feels. Sherlock is a valet in a grand house that Dr. Watson comes to visit
about an unexpected will. Sparks fly immediately between the two. Some casefic
as Sherlock is wrongly accused of murder. Historical details of the time are
amazing, the story well told, and the love story, beautiful and sexy.
How the mouth changes its shape
by breathedout, 132 k, explicit. Historical gender-swap AU. This story transports
you to the lesbian scene of London in the 1950’s. A female Sherlock and a greaser
Johnnie Watson are fascinating characters who must solve a murder at a lesbian
bar. A sprinkling of smut sneaks in around the edges. So well done.
Dawn Before the Rest of
the World seriesby PoppyAlexander, 9 works, teen to
mature. Historical AU. Has 1920’s Downton Abbey feels. Watson, the new gardener
at the manor is wooing Holmes, the head butler. It takes awhile for Holmes to
realize this. Sweet, lovely, with bits of angst.
Bring Me Back To Life
by yalublyutebya, 51 k, explicit, WWI AU. Our pair meet in a psychiatric
hospital during the war. Slap me
sideways, this is amazing. This historical tale is both beautifully written,
and deals with the war and period homophobia in such a thoughtful way. The love
that grows between them that dare not speak its name is both heart-breaking and
exquisite. Thumbs up.
Bury the Bells
by unknownsister, 71 k, explicit. Historical fic – set in WW I era. Parade’s
end inspired universe. Sherlock and John
hurt so good pining for each other until the eventual happy ending. Great
historical love story laced with angst!
The signal
by dioscureantwins, 7 k, explicit. 1930’s AU – first time meeting. Sherlock
decides to experiment, seeing if he can grab someone’s attention out the window
before the rent boy across the street with his own perfected wink and lip lick.
Interesting things develop when Sherlock lures up a handsome army doctor. Told
from Sherlock’s POV to his brother Mycroft the next morning. This is GOLD!
The Bone Fiddleseriesby Vulgarweed and htebazytook, 10
works, explicit. American Johnlock AU set in WV during the 1970’s. John, a
recently discharged Vietnam vet, returns to family land in West Virginia,
looking for a place to heal. He expects things to be boring and quiet until he
meets his odd new neighbor, Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock solves crimes for the
sheriff, something needed with a spate of murders popping up around the area.
I am so sad I accidentally left off two of my favorite historical works:
Long
Ago and Far Away seriesby lotherington. 27
works, gen to explicit. Historical AU of Sherlock and John set in WW II era.
The two must overcome their own shortcomings, an on-going war, and the fear of
being caught with the love that dare not speak its name. Somehow, in secret, a
beautiful relationship flourishes between them. Sex and love and building a
life together. Each fic takes its title from a song.
The Violet Hour by breathedout,
58 k, explicit. Historical casefic. An
incredible story taking place in the 1920’s that combines real history, and
actual artists and writers of the period with Sherlock and John. The pair are
investigating a double mystery of a woman who went missing from a town 80 years
ago, and one who went missing from the same area 4 days ago. They befriend
decadent bohemians who encourage John and Sherlock to finally address the
attraction between them. A little porn. An utter tour de force and fav.
But, wait, there’s more …
Angel with a Fiddleby Remy_Writes,
10 K, explicit. On the night before John is set to ship out to Germany, he goes
to a Carnival with his mates and meets an amazing young man. Oh, be still my
beating heart. This was gorgeous! Sherlock as an itinerant fiddle player was
fabulous, and John the young soldier was perfect as always. All thumbs up for a
gorgeously romantic tale!
One
Night In Parisby
orphan_account, 6 k mature. A young army doctor spends a night in Paris with a
gorgeous civilian and is reminded that there are other things to live for than
war. Set in 1917 France, during World War One.
last minute! it’s still january 31st in california. my submission for clareiow’s #drawbenedict challenge. bic pen on strathmore bristol smooth, probably about 7 hours. open in new tab for 1280 x some larger number. [my art tag]
I was just thinking about what Teenlock would really be like, and you just know John wouldn’t be the most popular guy in school.
Chances are John and Sherlock would be those two kids who are practically joined at the hip, and hardly hang out with anyone other than each other (they would have some other peripheral friends). They’d sit together in class and at lunch, giggling about things only they’d find funny, and talking about some pretty oddball stuff.
Everyone thinks John’s nice enough, but he and Sherlock are just kinda strange, but at least they have each other. And no one is surprised when a class reunion rolls around, and it turned out they got married and are solving crimes for Scotland Yard.
inktober #3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (i think this is called cheating).
Sherlock in a sheet, ballpoint pen in my large Paperblanks, about 6-7 hours. technically still a WIP, but i wanted to post, and hopefully start (and finish?) a different one tomorrow. thank you ♡
This gif is so perfect. The expressions. The way John nods. I kinda fucking forget what the actual dialogue was. Sorry I couldn’t find the original post.
Canon Holmes and Irene Adler had literally three interactions. In two of them, he was in disguise. In one of them she was in disguise. They didn’t even have a conversation. Canonically happily married to a man. Literally moved Holmes out of her way using just her pinky finger.
Fuckbois throughout the ages : HE LOVES IRENE ADLER. HE TOTALLY WANTED TO SLEEP WITH HER. THAT’S WHY HE ADMIRES HER. #TRUELOVE #SOULMATE #STAR-CROSSED LOVERS
Sherlock Holmes in ACD canon : I wanna fly out of the window and over London holding Watson’s hand. My Boswell. My conductor of light. IF YOU TOUCH WATSON I WILL KILL YOU AND YOUR ANCESTORS.
People: They are friends. #NOHOMO #PLATONIC #JUST BROS
Heteronormativity is a powerful drug.
Holmes’ canon reaction to Irene Adler getting married:
Putting his hands into his pockets, he stretched out his legs in front of the fire and laughed heartily for some minutes.
“Well, really!” he cried, and then he choked and laughed again until he was obliged to lie back, limp and helpless, in the chair.
“What is it?”
“It’s quite too funny.”
Holmes’ canon reaction to Watson getting married:
“I get
a wife out of it, Jones gets the credit, pray what
remains for you?”
“For me,” said Sherlock Holmes, “there still
remains the cocaine-bottle.” And he stretched his
long white hand up for it.
Irene getting married made Holmes laugh for literal minutes until he choked, and then laugh again until he could laugh no more.
Watson getting married made Holmes reach for his drugs.
And there it is 🙌
I’m hijacking this post to be salty about how Irene has been treated…sorry.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, repeatedly – Irene Adler did not give a fuck about Sherlock Holmes! That’s been the most frustrating thing about her portrayal everywhere! She didn’t give a crap! She just wanted security so she could go get married to Godfrey!
I wish we had that Irene. Instead of being another character whose star is hanging in Sherlock’s solar system, she’s the person who reminds him he’s not the center of the universe – he can make mistakes, he can get cocky, he doesn’t know everything and his methods aren’t full-proof. And best of all, she teaches him these lessons…as a sort of aside. Like, it was a side-effect of her doing her own thing.
He’s the one who learned something. He was bested. They weren’t chasing after each other and she wasn’t some mysterious minx or clever coquette whose sole purpose in the plot was to be sexy and confident and then have that sexiness used against her and the confidence pulled out from under her feet so that Sherlock could be clever and prove how awesome he was (I’m looking at you, BBC and Ritchie versions).
I mean, I’m an absolute sucker for anything, anything Sherlock Holmes. I loved the stories, I love every piece of media I can get my hands on.
But Irene is my favourite character. And she. Gets. Shafted.
(John is my very close second favourite, ofc)
You just said what I occasionally scream in the void. The mistreatment of canon Irene Adler. Except Granada, no one got even close and that sucks. A strong feminine character reduced to damsel in distress. A Scandal in Bohemia has always been one of my favourite stories because it thrilled me that how a woman outsmarted Sherlock Holmes easily. And made him do a double take on his self confidence. Irene didn’t give a single fuck really. I bet she was kind of annoyed and did the most beautiful thing. Tricked Sherlock Holmes, happily got married to the man she loves and did everything gracefully. That is the beauty of her character.
And then I look at the modern adaptations and I just sigh.
Yes and yes! Irene Adler–actually, Irene Norton, because she is happily married by the end of the story–is a total badass who barely noticed Holmes getting in her way. The way she is treated in almost every adaptation is beyond disappointing. She’s such an intelligent and vibrant character and yet she gets treated as a prop for forced romance.
Anyway, just to continue quoting from canon, here we have Holmes saying that he hopes she loves her husband:
“Irene Adler is married,” remarked Holmes.
“Married! When?”
“Yesterday.”
“But to whom?”
“To an English lawyer named Norton.”
“But she could not love him.”
“I am in hopes that she does.”
He hardly seems heartbroken over it, and is more interested in dissing the King than anything at this point in the story.
And here we have Irene saying it herself:
As to the photograph, your
client may rest in peace. I love and am
loved by a better man than he.
Irene Norton loves her husband. She doesn’t love the King of Bohemia. She doesn’t love Holmes. Both Holmes and the King got in her way of trying to marry the man she loves, but she outsmarted them both and got what she wanted. The whole case is about this and yet I get the impression that many adaptations fail to realize that her whole story is about her trying to be with the man she loves without all these other people interfering and trying to control her. And she is the one who saves herself in this story. Holmes is not the hero, he’s just an annoyance.
I’m going to bring the attention back to Holmes again for a moment: I want to point out too that SCAN, the story that gives us “the woman” is also the story that gives us “I am lost without my Boswell.”
Holmes would be lost without Watson, he says it himself. When the story opens, Holmes is living alone at Baker Street, cycling through fits of energy and lethargy, and “alternating from week to week between cocaine and ambition” after Watson’s marriage. Watson drops in on him, and Holmes does what he can to get Watson to stick around for a case. Once he finally gets Watson to stay, Holmes’s mood begins improving, going from aloof and barely talkative until we reach the point of him laughing uproariously about Irene’s marriage. I don’t want to make this post much longer, but I wrote a post about it here that analyses the story step-by-step (under the assumption that Watson’s marriage is real and that SCAN occurs after SIGN–perhaps in the future I’ll approach it from a different angle).
Just to throw in my two cents–Irene Adler (in the Guy Ritchie movies) is killed off by Moriarty to further Sherlock Holmes’ character development. I mean, what BBC did with Irene-is-a-lesbian-but-also-not-really was bad, but Ritchie’s thing was almost worse. I think one of the main problems with Sherlock Holmes interpretations is that most of the major ones are engineered by men who either 1) didn’t read A Scandal in Bohemia or 2) genuinely don’t give a flaming fuck. I agree with all above analyses^^ Irene is a good character and doesn’t deserve all this subpar treatment.
take time to figure it out 