#openshaw

[no-side-us]

Letters From Watson Liveblog - Mar. 6

The Five Orange Pips, Part 1 of 3

A bark (or rather barque) in this scenario is presumably referring to a type of ship, but I like to think it's actually about a missing dog that Holmes and Watson had to go find.

Mr. Russell was apparently well-known at the time for his sea stories, and was even admired by Herman Melville! They each dedicated one of their books to the other, which I find really cute.

Oh, Mary. I know that Watson needs to be at Baker Street so he can be there and write about whatever case occurs, so it's always interesting to see what excuse there is for him to be able to do so.

Oh, Holmes. It's a bit of a sad line, but it at least speaks a lot to Watson and Holmes' relationship with one another.

The woman obviously referring to Irene Norton, née Adler. Though evidently there is a contradiction because this story happened in 1887, as Watson mentioned earlier, and The Scandal in Bohemia takes place in 1888. So minus one point to Doyle for poor continuity.

This threw me for a loop. Apparently the first bicycle of a kind was invented in 1817, so yeah I guess this is a believable scenario. It also kind of dates this story in a fun way.

Let's see. Plantation owner, confederate soldier, and a racist, though that last part probably goes without saying. Well, this is as bad as a guy can be in Doyle's time, so hopefully he's not like, a good person in this story.

Elias is evidently not on good terms with the KKK, which is funny considering his history would make you think he's a shoo-in for being their friend.

On one hand, it's nice that Elias is dead. On the other hand, it's not nice to see the KKK have this much reach and power. But on the other, other hand, they are being shown as the villains in this story so far.

This story sure is contemporary for Doyle's time. I wonder what the audience back then thought about all this, or rather, I wonder what the American audience back then thought about all this.

My heart is full of forebodings as well, though for other reasons than John here.

A very, dare I use the term, political Sherlock Holmes mystery so far, and one in which I eagerly await the next letter.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

#letters from watson #the five orange pips #sherlock holmes #john h watson #john openshaw #elias openshaw #joseph openshaw #arthur conan doyle #liveblogging sherlock holmes

[mariana-oconnor]

The Five Orange Pips pt 2

There were no signs of violence, no footmarks, no robbery, no record of strangers having been seen upon the roads.

Ghost murderer.

"They have, however, allowed me a policeman, who may remain in the house with me." "Has he come with you tonight?" "No. His orders were to stay in the house." Again Holmes raved in the air.

First, all my Holmesies at the rave:

Second, I'm really going to agree with Holmes here. Neither of the first two deaths occurred in the house. The policeman should be on bodyguard duty not house guarding duty. What the actual? This is spectacular incompetence. To the point where it borders on conspiracy.

"There is but one thing to do. It must be done at once. You must put this piece of paper which you have shown us into the brass box which you have described. You must also put in a note to say that all the other papers were burned by your uncle, and that this is the only one which remains. You must assert that in such words as will carry conviction with them. Having done this, you must at once put the box out upon the sundial, as directed. Do you understand?"

And we come to the further reason why Elias Openshaw was a massive dick. By burning the papers he ensured that his family would have no way to prove that they were gone and therefore protect themself. The one scrap exists by luck rather than design and honestly, isn't proof that everything's been destroyed. Do I want the bad guys to get their papers back? No. But there was definitely a better way to play this than to leave your family with literally no way to protect themselves. You can't just say 'the papers don't exist anymore' and expect everyone to believe it.

Outside the wind still screamed and the rain splashed and pattered against the windows. This strange, wild story seemed to have come to us from amid the mad elements—blown in upon us like a sheet of seaweed in a gale—and now to have been reabsorbed by them once more.

In case you had forgotten, the weather is miserable, but Watson's clearly loving it.

"But have you," I asked, "formed any definite conception as to what these perils are?" "There can be no question as to their nature," he answered.

Based on the lack of any physical evidence at the second death site, I still feel like 'the ghosts of the people Elias Openshaw murdered' would 100% be a reasonable solution for this story if it were to step into the supernatural.

As Cuvier could correctly describe a whole animal by the contemplation of a single bone,

Sounds fake, but OK. It's the Victorian period. Anything goes. (Also apparently Cuvier was anti-evolution and laid the basis for scientific racism, so we're really in it now)

"It was a singular document. Philosophy, astronomy, and politics were marked at zero, I remember. Botany variable, geology profound as regards the mud-stains from any region within fifty miles of town, chemistry eccentric, anatomy unsystematic, sensational literature and crime records unique, violin-player, boxer, swordsman, lawyer, and self-poisoner by cocaine and tobacco. Those, I think, were the main points of my analysis."

Ah, a flashback to A Study in Scarlet, if I remember correctly. Nice little nod to the readers, ACD.

a possession of all knowledge, which, even in these days of free education and encyclopaedias, is a somewhat rare accomplishment

In these days of wikipedia... I think you might call that a completely unknown accomplishment.

And we finally get to the part of the story with the anti-racism. Thank you ACD for putting this in Holmes' voice and making it very, very clear where he stands on the matter.

"You will observe," said Holmes, laying down the volume, "that the sudden breaking up of the society was coincident with the disappearance of Openshaw from America with their papers. It may well have been cause and effect."

And this is where we get the 'Openshaw might have been remorseful and changed sides' narrative from. That and the 'my sins' line from the first part. Sure, fine. Maybe he decided that they were going too far and perhaps the murdering, intimidation and terrorism were a little more extreme than he wanted. But fuck that, because he kept the fucking papers.

Maybe it was shame that held his tongue, but I keep coming back to the papers, over and over again. If he was already marked for death then why tf did he burn the papers and not turn them over to an authority that could actually do something with them? That would have protected his family at least a little and it would have stopped the papers from falling back into the wrong hands. It's absolutely the best play here. He has evidence of crimes committed. He has nothing left to lose. He should have turned the papers over immediately, but whatever. At this point he has no reason not to turn them over.

Sure, he probably would still have been killed, but he was dead anyway. All he had to do was try to take them down with him. But he didn't. He burnt the papers. So even if he was remorseful or ashamed or whatever (and it doesn't seem like from his nephew's description of him that he was particularly changed in his viewpoints) he still didn't go far enough to actually try to do something about it. Instead he put his family at risk and tried to protect what? His reputation? Fuck that.

He stopped for himself. He protected himself. And then at the end, he protected his reputation.

"There is nothing more to be said or to be done to-night, so hand me over my violin and let us try to forget for half an hour the miserable weather and the still more miserable ways of our fellowmen."

Some music to soothe the spirits. Holmes fiddles while London storms.

#long post #the five orange pips #letters from watson #Sherlock Holmes #Look I really don't like Elias Openshaw and I don't think he is at all redeemed by the narrative #he's a racist selfish idiot murderer

[polyedron]

Half-elf warlock rogue. He's a fancy butler. I originally drew him as an old man but had to de-age him for the specific campaign he was for, so he comes in two flavors now. His name is Ulysses Openshaw and he's composed, professional, dutiful, and loyal to his master. He can be quite deadly with a blade but he often resorts to more subtle means of getting rid of people, such as poisoning. He is charming and well spoken, but has origins as a street urchin rogue who worked for a crime lord lich (Uncle Faustino who I posted before here.)

#dnd #d&d #dungeons and dragons #warlock #rogue #half elf #half-elf #dnd character #fantasy art #victorian era #oc #ulysses openshaw

[thethirdromana]

"It is not yet nine. The streets will be crowded, so l trust that you may be in safety. And yet you cannot guard yourself too closely." "I am armed." "That is well."

I think for me one of the biggest culture shocks reading these stories is all the characters casually wandering around London with guns.

The first law restricting the sale of firearms in the UK was the Pistols Act in 1903, twelve years after this story.

#letters from watson #sir what are you doing with that gun #mr openshaw you should not be allowed to have that #don't you know those things are dangerous??

[47gaslamps]

Apologies to @skyriderwednesday for being the first witness to this moment of initiation

#sherlock holmes #it was about tying the death of john openshaw to the death of john douglas #reasonable thing to be passionate about #but still #dweebish

[sheilamurrey]

Lies: The Yin and Yang of Fauci

Compare the yin and yang I just happened to read two very different articles about Fauci and his potential prosecution. And I am taking my emotions out of this issue to be able to meditate on the 3D yin and yang symbol and find a better way to feel about it when I see various headlines about him. I’m sharing a portion of each below with enough context to make sense. If you want to read the…

View On WordPress

#epoch times #Fauci #nonsense #Robyn Openshaw #ying yang

[willowreader]

This is a very technical article, which most people will have a difficult time understanding, but I decided to post it for those who might be interested. All the subtypes of Long Covid are very interesting.

#covid #sars cov 2 #long covid

[dathen]

Letters from Watson: Worst Client poll 2

Poll 1 link

Now with the correct poll length, sorry for the repost!

Disclaimer: Note that I’m going to be including *every* client in this, not just the dreadful ones, so don’t be alarmed if you see a beloved character in the line-up. (just don’t vote for them!)

Don’t forget to add your rationale and/or runners-up in the tags!

#letters from watson #sherlock holmes #acd holmes #lfw polls

[holmesillustrations]

Vote for your favourite, the top 9 will proceed in the bracket. Since theyre all different shapes and sizes, make sure to click into the full views!

Paget Eliminations // Other Artist Eliminations

Full captions and details for each illustration below the cut:

All Sidney Paget illustrations are for the Strand Jul 1891 - Dec 1904

"This Photograph!" Scandal in Bohemia Characters: King of Bohemia, Watson, Holmes

"What on Earth does this mean?" Five Orange Pips Characters: Joseph Openshaw

"He made neither sound nor motion." Speckled Band Characters: Watson, Holmes, Dr Roylott

"I read for about ten minutes." Copper Beeches Characters: Violet Hunter

"Mr. Hall Pycroft, I believe?" said he." Stockbroker’s Clerk Characters: Beddington, Hall Pycroft

"Mr Henry Wood, I believe?" Crooked Man Characters: Holmes, Watson, Henry Wood

"Phelps raised the cover." Naval Treaty Characters: Holmes, Watson, Percy Phelps

"His name," said the cabman, "was Mr. Sherlock Holmes." Hound of the Baskervilles Characters: Cab Driver, Watson, Holmes

"Good heavens!" I cried, in amazement." Hound of the Baskervilles Characters: Watson, Holmes

"He bent forward and picked up a little brazen cylinder." Dancing Men Characters: Watson, Local Surgeon, Insp Martin, Village Constable, Holmes

"You couldn't come any other time-eh?" Charles Augustus Milverton Characters: Unnamed Noblewoman, Charles Milverton

"I caught a glimpse of Dr. Armstrong within."Missing Three-quarter Characters: Pompey, Holmes, Watson

#acd holmes #sherlock holmes #tumblr bracket #sherlock holmes illustrations #elim poll #sp elim

[covidsafehotties]

The information gathered by this study has lead researchers to begin work on long covid rapid tests. Watch for updates!

#mask up #covid #covid 19 #covid isn't over #pandemic #covid conscious #long covid #covid is airborne #wear a mask #coronavirus

[no-side-us]

Letters From Watson Liveblog - Mar. 8

The Five Orange Pips, Part 2 of 3

I know I shouldn't be surprised, because it's the KKK and all, but Joseph Openshaw seemed like he didn't know anything about what his brother had done and yet they still killed him. No wonder the son is so scared.

It's always one of the nicest moments in a case when the client gets rejuvenated after talking with Holmes and Watson. It's the reassurance of a reliable answer to their problems, I think, and the nice fire and room of Baker Street that must feel nice.

You know, for a story that directly references The Sign of Four, you'd think Conan Doyle would pay closer attention to the continuity regarding Mary and her mother. As in, you'd think he'd remember that Mary doesn't have a mother.

It's weird seeing the KKK referred to so mysteriously. I guess it wouldn't exactly be something the British audience of the time would be aware about.

First a reference to The Sign of Four and now a reference to A Study in Scarlet? There was also that reference to A Scandal in Bohemia (albeit with poor continuity) in the first letter.

The Five Orange Pips is the fifth ever short story published, so I wonder if Doyle will sneak in some other reference to the three other short stories at one point.

Sadly, I have heard of the Ku Klux Klan.

Though I have to say, it's weird how dramatic Holmes is acting in this reveal, with the pause and the lean forward and the low voice. Maybe the British audience did know about the Ku Klux Klan, just not necessarily the abbreviation as the KKK? I don't know.

Before this story, I never knew the KKK was that old. You learn a new, terrible, thing everyday I guess.

Nothing distracts you better from some terrible thing going on in the world than some good ol' music. Some things never change.

I remember a few, sad details about the rest of this case, so while I'm looking forward to the next letter, I still have that sense of foreboding with me from the last one.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

#letters from watson #the five orange pips #sherlock holmes #john h watson #john openshaw #joseph openshaw #arthur conan doyle #liveblogging sherlock holmes

[skyriderwednesday]

This is what breaks me about this case, because as much as this is a failure, it's not Holmes's fault. He couldn't have known that death was so close on Openshaw's heels, but he takes it so personally, he blames himself. It's clear he feels a personal responsibility for every person who comes to him for help, and he's devastated that he wasn't able to keep his client safe.

Anybody who ever says Holmes doesn't care about others has absolutely no idea what they're talking about.

#sherlock holmes #letters from watson

[polyedron]

Made covers for my OC playlists. 😳

#oc #marius cusanton #uncle faustino #ulysses openshaw #dnd #dungeons and dragons #fantasy art #d&d

[pop-goes-the-weasel]

Just look at how much fury Holmes suporesses when he hears of the fate of John Openshaw

(Link along with the image)

#letters from watson #sherlock holmes #sidney paget #Five orange pips

[mariana-oconnor]

The Five Orange Pips pt 3

It had cleared in the morning, and the sun was shining with a subdued brightness through the dim veil which hangs over the great city.

I mourn the loss of the storm descriptions, but this is still lovely.

I also have 'I can see clearly now the rain has gone' playing in my head.

As I waited, I lifted the unopened newspaper from the table and glanced my eye over it. It rested upon a heading which sent a chill to my heart. "Holmes," I cried, "you are too late."

Once again Watson reading the paper is important. Does Holmes just miss out on major events when Watson isn't here? Does he turn up to meetings only to find the person he was meeting with is dead? Does he have other people read the newspapers for him? Does he... do it himself? *shudder*

This is a really tragic story, even allowing for the fact that Elias Openshaw was a tremendous dick and his death was the opposite of a tragedy. Holmes and Watson's inability to save anyone is just... This isn't something you would see in modern detective fiction, except in very extreme examples. I'm not convinced that any of the Openshaws were exactly good people (hanging out with racist former terrorists will do that) but there is still tragedy in this. They all died. The last two for no reason. It's such senseless death. Holmes was too late. Everything was just too late. Even if they weren't good people, their deaths are just... so pointless.

In real life, I don't tend to think anyone deserves death. In fiction, a satisfying death is... well, satisfying. These offer no satisfaction or pathos or purpose. So yeah, tragic.

"Between nine and ten last night Police-Constable Cook, of the H Division, on duty near Waterloo Bridge, heard a cry for help and a splash in the water.

I love how they record the name of the officer in the paper. It's more like an incident report than a news story. Good old Police-Constable Cook. I hope he got a nice cup of tea and a biscuit.

It proved to be that of a young gentleman whose name, as it appears from an envelope which was found in his pocket, was John Openshaw, and whose residence is near Horsham.

If this were a modern mystery it absolutely would not be John Openshaw. That's a terrible way to identify a body. I know there's no DNA and no fingerprinting, and also his entire family has been murdered by racist terrorists, but still. Sometimes I have letters to other people in my pockets. Sometimes I have loyalty cards etc. belonging to other people in my pockets because I am borrowing them. But I am not my father... I kind of want it to not be him. He's faked his own death and is living in Tahiti and the person in the river is the guy who tried to kill him. Good for John.

The body exhibited no traces of violence, and there can be no doubt that the deceased had been the victim of an unfortunate accident

Vengeful ghost. Vengeful ghost!

calling the attention of the authorities to the condition of the riverside landing-stages.

Well, at least some good has come of this adventure. I'm all for improving health and safety.

"No; I shall be my own police. When I have spun the web they may take the flies, but not before."

Police-Constable Cook has had enough excitement for one day. Best if he gets some rest.

But now shit's personal. They made him angry.

All day I was engaged in my professional work

I mean, I know Watson has a day job, but it's strangely jarring to have this 'we failed' revelation and then Watson goes off and listens to people cough for 8 hours or something. 😂🤣😂

"I have them in the hollow of my hand. Young Openshaw shall not long remain unavenged. Why, Watson, let us put their own devilish trade-mark upon them. It is well thought of!" "What do you mean?" He took an orange from the cupboard, and tearing it to pieces he squeezed out the pips upon the table. Of these he took five and thrust them into an envelope. On the inside of the flap he wrote "S. H. for J. 0."

Sherlock is petty af and I am here for it.

"I have spent the whole day," said he, "over Lloyd's registers and files of the old papers, following the future career of every vessel which touched at Pondicherry in January and February in '83."

I also appreciate that Holmes is shown here doing the tedious legwork. It's not all sudden sparks of inspiration and instant feats of deduction. Sometimes you have to go down to a room full of records and read until your eyes bleed.

We did at last hear that somewhere far out in the Atlantic a shattered stern-post of the boat was seen swinging in the trough of a wave, with the letters "L. S." carved upon it, and that is all which we shall ever know of the fate of the Lone Star.

Another set of criminals lost at sea. Not sure why that happened this time when they could have been caught another way, but... I guess they... got their comeuppance? ACD really liked 'storms blow everybody dies' endings, I guess.

Return of the 'equinoctial gales' though! Glad they got a callback after being such main characters throughout. Does that count as foreshadowing?

#Letters from Watson #Sherlock Holmes #The Five Orange Pips #Apparently I'm doing liveblogs of these now #sorry? #I almost wrote the five orange popes both in the title of this and in the tags #that would be a different story

[geeoharee]

Poor Mary Sutherland.

We've had two rather rough cases in a row here - John Openshaw ends up dead after consulting Holmes (although one feels there's probably not much anyone could have done to prevent that, his murderers seem ridiculously determined) and now this.

There is absolutely no reason he couldn't have told her the truth, and I find it hard to understand why he didn't. I'm normally a big proponent of 'Holmes isn't a misogynist, he's 1. living in the 1890s and 2. gay as a window' but him tossing it aside with "Women don't like to hear hard truths" is very unpleasant. Nobody does! You must know that, you're a PI, half your cases must end with things people don't want to hear!

There's also something of a trend of My Loved One Has Disappeared, What's Up With That? as the inciting incident for a case - we had Noble Bachelor, Twisted Lip, and now Case Of Identity. In the first two, something was going on that the loved one ought to have told their partner about, and Holmes says so. In this one... well, the loved one never existed in the first place. Tricky.

I still call it one of my favourite cases though, purely for Holmes threatening to give the guy the thrashing he deserves. Always the champion of the wronged woman! NOW TELL HER, YOU ARSE

#sherlock holmes #letters from watson #iden