#acd canon

[writer-of-random-things]

On the Nature of Holmes & Watson (& Trevor)

This was meant to be a meta, but in reality it's probably just going to be a rambly wall of text and emotions. Oh well.

Something that always captivated me about the ACD canon was how...special Holmes and Watson were. They were unique in their commonality, their casualness. The Holmes stories had served as the blueprint of the modern detective genre in itself--I had expected a sidekick. What I had not expected was the way the sidekick and detective came to be; to be remembered as one of the greatest friendships in literary history.

There is something so inexplicably beautiful about a lost, lonely, war-weary veteran returning to a city of thousands. A 'cesspool' of a city, he calls it; and yet somehow, in some way, he manages to find a enigmatic, strange person that needed Watson as much as he did him. In STUD, Watson mentioned how he spent his days before meeting Holmes wasting his days, idling about from hotel room to hotel room. After all the war and trauma, only followed by the banality and blandness of living in a city that is thronging with distant people, I can't help but think how much Watson and Holmes saved each other. Yes, over the course of their many adventures, they have saved the other's life many times. But I like to think that they saved each other from themselves; from the loneliness and the struggles they faced. Watson finally had something to do with his life again through accompanying Holmes and chronicling his exploits. Holmes finally had something he could project his ideas off of, somebody that could appreciate and constantly be in awe of his talents. Somebody that could help him when needed, and sit in comfortable silence or conversation; someone to make him not alone.

This is very important for Holmes. I suppose anybody who read the ACD canon already knows this already. But for all we know, the last friend Holmes had was Victor Trevor, who was just alone as he was. And Trevor left to work on a tea plantation in Nepal after the events of 'The Gloria Scott' (...I don't know why Conan Doyle made him do that. Is it because the British like tea so much?). The point is, Holmes was alone again. The great detective, who often liked to present his ideas as if he was an monologuing actor, was alone on the stage, with no one in the audience to clap for him. Then Watson came along, and Holmes became a prominent detective; but more importantly, he gained a lifelong friend.

At the end of the day, that's why I keep returning to the Holmes stories. Yes, Sherlock Holmes is brilliant; yes, the cases are intriguing and I love Victorian literature so much that I would've probably read it even if I wasn't invested in the characters. But at the heart of every case is the friendship between these lost, lonely men, who somehow found each other in a city of millions and made the best of it. The ACD canon is as much about mystery as it is human connection. I can't properly express it, but wherever the stories take place--on the windy hills of Dartmoor, the countryside of Reigate, or the crackling fire of Baker Street--Holmes and Watson will always be there, side by side. We see this, in every adaptation since.

They are truly the fixed point in a changing age, and I love them for it.

#acd holmes #acd canon #sherlock holmes #dr watson #uh victor trevor too I guess #me rambling

[detective-holmez]

I love Sherlock Holmes

#Johnlock #sherlock x john #sherlock #john watson #sherlock fandom #acd canon #acd johnlock

[krogerkryptid]

The semester is almost over which means! We're almost back to analyzing the entirety of the Sherlock Holmes canon while looking at Victorian queer culture!! Stay tuned!

P.S. I am such a boomer when is comes to tumblr dot com and since I post other fandoms/interests a lot would being updated for this be easier with a tag to follow? I'll add a poll since my reach is tragically small (I am but a little guy) and who doesn't love a good survey

#I am so so excited about this #john watson #sherlock holmes #acd canon #acd holmes #acd watson #sherlock fandom #I am so serious though I am a detective #an investigator #I'm going to use the cork board in my new apt to map this whole thing out like a madman #I have already made a map of notable queer places in Victorian London and it's my prized possession

[andyoullhearitagain]

Everyone gives Sherlock Holmes a hard time about being mean about Watson's writing, but honestly imagine you told your roommate "sure, you can write up an account of my work for the newspaper," thinking it would be like, about the murder, but then he publishes it and it's 90% about you, as a person, and it's a huge hit and now everyone in London knows that you hoard newspapers and do cocoaine when you're depressed. Because I think you'd be little miffed too.

#sherlock holmes #acd holmes #acd canon #john watson #holy run-on sentence batman

[contact-guy]

From Sherlock Holmes: the Valley of Fear

(Something something queerness was considered a form of insanity in the Victorian era something something mostly I am just Moved by Holmes having a crisis of confidence and needing reassurance before he can go to sleep)

Text under cut:

It was late that night when Holmes returned from his solitary excursion. We slept in a double-bedded room, which was the best that the little country inn could do for us. I was already asleep when I was partly awakened by his entrance.

"Well, Holmes," I murmured, "have you found anything out?"

He stood beside me in silence, his candle in his hand. Then the tall, lean figure inclined towards me. "I say, Watson," he whispered, "would you be afraid to sleep in the same room with a lunatic, a man with softening of the brain, an idiot whose mind has lost its grip?"

"Not in the least," I answered in astonishment.

"Ah, that's lucky," he said, and not another word would he utter that night.

#let Watson sleep #sherlock holmes #john watson #acd holmes #acd canon #my art

[noodles-and-tea]

Some good ol’ ACD Holmes and Watson

#THE johnlock ever #reading the og stories is actually such a joy I would recommend #oh smitten #my art #sherlock holmes #john watson #johnlock #acd johnlock #acd holmes #acd watson #acd canon

[agoddamneddelight]

merry christmas from the guys! 🎄

#pt 2 #should i post them w mistletoe every year as a tradition #sherlock holmes #john watson #acd holmes #watsolmes #acd canon #my art

[sherlockianscholar]

*watson enters sitting room occupied by holmes and client*

watson: oh i'm so sorry for intruding. i'll just leave--

holmes: *JUMPS OVER SETTEE* *PULLS WATSON INSIDE* *SLAMS DOOR* *PUSHES WATSON INTO ARMCHAIR*

holmes: this is my friend and soulmate, dr watson

#sherlock holmes #john watson #acd canon #acd holmes #acd watson #acd johnlock #victorian husbands #acd sherlock holmes #acd john watson #victorian johnlock #johnlock #granada #granada holmes #granada watson #granada johnlock #original post

[somethingintheforest]

Friendly reminder that Doctor John Watson had no one. He returned from the war ill and newly disabled. He had nowhere to turn at his most vunerable moments and drifted without purpose within his new, alien life.

Friendly reminder that Sherlock Holmes had no one. He was different, no one understood him. He had been battling addiction alone for years. His only chance at survival in a world he was ill-suited for was to carve out his own niche.

Friendly reminder that they met each other when each of them desperatly needed someone. Friendly reminder that Holmes was instantly open with Watson, and Watson was instantly smitten. Friendly reminder that Holmes provided Watson with a mystery, a distraction that Watson desperatly needed. Friendly reminder that Watson showered Holmes in praise when he was so unused to it. Friendly reminder that Holmes let Watson write about his life, and Watson helped him through crippling drug addiction.

They're both broken men who begin to heal in the presence of each other. They built their lives around each other, encouraged each other, comforted each other. If they hadn't met, their lives would have been worse for it.

#mine #thinking about Them #oooooooh they are. everything to me #im drunk hope this makes sense <3 #sherlock holmes #john watson #dr john watson #acd canon #acd sherlock holmes #acd holmes #acd watson #acd john watson #acd johnlock #granada holmes #granada johnlock

[3na-exe]

if i ever say no to gay victorians CALL THE POLICE ! MY IDENTITY HAS BEEN STOLEN FOR SURE

#these have been in my drafts for a while. here u go ! #3na-png #sherlock holmes #john watson #acd holmes #acd canon #acd sherlock #acd johnlock #granada holmes

[lordcastaway]

i am a clownery enjoyer (mycroft is not)

#acd holmes #acd canon #sherlock holmes #mycroft holmes #my art

[benrybenrybenry-chr]

being into sherlock holmes is so stupid like. yeah here's my blorbo, you don't know him. you think you do, but unless you've systematically fallen in love with him through the personal writings of his retired army doctor best friend you really don't. yeah. he's one of the most popular and well known characters in the world. I have interacted with at least 60% of the current fans. hey do you think he associates the sounds of waterfalls with death? do you think he'll ever get over that? I won't. good talk

#sherlock holmes #acd canon #acd holmes #acd sherlock holmes #like idk bro something abt it is so surreal to me #it also just feels so stupid to say when ur talking to people who dont. get it #they think of him like an icon more than a beloved book character #like he isnt a character to them hes a representation of detective media #so it seems silly to them #yk that I care that much #its interesting #to me at least #those books mean way more to me than they probably should #its probably the autism

[im-on-speeeeeed]

Alright you guys

#I’m not adding BBC Sherlock #I have beef with BBC Sherlock #Sherlock Holmes #House MD #herlock sholmes #enola holmes #basil of baker street #the great mouse detective #acd holmes #acd canon

[ogsherlockholmes]

Holmes when a woman needs help: Watson, immediately, we must leave. Yes now, right now, no I don’t care if I’m in withdrawal, I must save her. I will adopt her, she will be my own. She can’t pay? Her safety is payment enough, I would do anything for my daughter

Holmes when a rich man needs help: … I don’t know, maybe. He’ll pay? A lot of money? … might have to think about it. He thinks his life is in immediate danger? Bit dramatic, don’t you think? (Ends up solving the case more out of wanting to solve a case rather than help the client)

#inspired by multiple posts I’ve seen but can’t remember #sherlock holmes #sherlock #acd #sherlockholmes #acd canon

[grim-cc]

me and my malewife boyfailure lurking

#sherlock holmes #john watson #johnlock #acd holmes #acd johnlock #acd canon

[contact-guy]

On referring to my notes I see that it was upon the fourteenth of April that I received a telegram from Lyons which informed me that Holmes was lying ill in the Hotel Dulong. Within twenty-four hours I was in his sick-room and was relieved to find that there was nothing formidable in his symptoms. Even his iron constitution, however, had broken down under the strain of an investigation which had extended over two months, during which period he had never worked less than fifteen hours a day and had more than once, as he assured me, kept to his task for five days at a stretch. Even the triumphant issue of his labours could not save him from reaction after so terrible an exertion, and at a time when Europe was ringing with his name and when his room was literally ankle-deep with congratulatory telegrams I found him a prey to the blackest depression.

-Sherlock Holmes, the Adventure of the Reigate Squire

***

OKAY I have a headcanon about this opening, which is that Holmes and Watson had a big argument and Holmes left London in a fit of pique. He worked himself to a breakdown, crashed hard, and checked into the nearest hotel, intending to recover on his own…but some bellhop or maid was a fan of Watson’s writings and sent the telegram and then Watson TRAVELLED 500 MILES IN A DAY TO GET TO HIM anyway that’s why I drew it like that.

#the maid watching like omg my otp has reunited #that’s me #john watson #sherlock holmes #acd holmes #acd canon #my art