Hard Words, Chapter 3

Boromir/Original Female Character, Boromir Lives, a Shire wedding, culture clashes

Rating: T (some adult language and themes)

Chapter wordcount: 5600

See pinned post for all tags and flags

<Previous Chapter

Boromir strode up the Bywater lane, holding his sword hilt to keep the scabbard from banging his knees. Folk were making their way toward the party field in groups, all laughing and singing, all with flowers in their hair. They stopped and gawked at him as he passed, and he offered greetings in return. He knew he stood out more than ever. He’d brushed the black wool of his uniform until it gleamed, polished the buttons and buckles to high shine, oiled his embossed leather vambraces and belt, and cleaned his kit down to the rivets. He’d stitched the embroidered sleeve hem that had been coming loose, though not elegantly—it would need the attention of a better tailor than he when he returned home. He’d washed in soap and hot water from head to toe, lathered and shaved, and pulled his hair back into a short half-tail. His silver piping glinted. His horn shone. His pleated white sash, the mark of the office of the Steward, had not a single crease out of place. Under his arm, he carried the carefully-rolled standard of the King, which he’d kept bound in a leather sheath all the way from Minas Tirith. And in his gloved hand was a single stem of nodding bluebells.

*flails* i love this so much!

I think you'd like to see this. If you're insane that is, obviously.

Thanks to.. khm.. me we know that the nightingale is indeed singing in the last 3 minutes of the season.

Thanks to @doctorscienceknowsfandom we know that there are actual flowers in the Bentley when Crowley gets in the car and turns on the engine.

Here they are. In the lower right corner.

I don't know about the red-ish one barely seen in the dark, but the clearly visible one indeed looks like a tulip. White or yellow, I can't tell.

Now. Did I spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to find an actual Victorian era book on the language of flowers, which mentioned white tulips? Yep, I did. Did I find one? Alas, no. Some called a yellow tulip an emblem of hopeless love though. Contemporary articles name white tulips a way to say "I'm sorry", but we don't seek the easy paths.

So I chose a book by Robert Tyas The Sentiment of Flowers; or, Language of Flora, first published in 1836, which was an English adaptation of Le langage des Fleurs (1819) by Madame Charlotte de la Tour, which according to Wiki 😅 appears to be the first dictionary of the language of flowers.

The summary in the end of the book looks intriguing 😁

And here's the actual article on the subject. Enjoy 😁 If you are insane, I mean. If you're not that insane you can proceed straight to page 73.

Thank you for this!! Do you by any chance still have the book? I've been wondering if the other, red flower might be either a gladiolus or (I think more likely, but who knows) a geranium...or an amarylis? If either ou'd those look like they have interesting and relevant entries, perhaps they might be worth posting?

I've been staring at the Naval Treaty email schedule going "are we there yet?" since Wednesday, and we're HERE!

I know the standard argument is that he was looking for A Clue over near the vase of flowers - do you believe it for a second? I don't. That might have required walking over to the vase. It did not require a short monologue on the goodness of God followed by completely losing touch with the fact there were other people in the room.

From a 'Holmes as queer' perspective, independently from the Holmes/Watson perspective, it's probably my favourite paragraph in the book. I'm not gonna pretend to be very educated about queer thought in the 1890s, I'm just extremely gay and think that 'Isn't it nice that my heart can find this beautiful, even though that feeling serves no purpose for the continuation of the human species?' might mean something. And that he believes it's a gift from God. Given the place and time he's living in, I think that's incredibly powerful.

Oh yeah and I found a floriography dictionary.

can i talk about this. and about how tsot added green carnations

well spotted, and yes this was discussed back then. try #language of flowers, i think?

eta, for starters, check out @cheuwing and @fandeadgloves from the s3 semester/hiatus era.

mmhmm. there's Extensive meta from s3 semester about the flowers in TSOT, some of which are like a direct visual quotation from The private life of sherlock holmes.

I have no idea if someone pointed this out before, but this is the scene in TPLOSH where Holmes says that he’s gay. Now look at the flowers behind him …

And this is TSOT … ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

except to be clearer they also added green carnations to it

mmhmm.

there's also quite a bit of meta from s3 semester about the language of flowers, if folks are interested. i think--i hope-- i have rb it by now with that tag.

In Victorian England, lilacs the flower implied being reminded of a first or an old love.

Excuse me while I go and bury my face in a pillow and screech.

Bisexual flowers and houseplants

I only recently noticed this. (Sorry if this has been discussed before).

When John is in therapy in ASIP, he is framed with two different houseplants in the shot:

On the right hand side, there are “Calla lilies” (I encircled them in pink for your convenience). 

I’m sure you can all do the whole google and wikipedia thing just as well as I, so I’ll just say that they are often associated with the Greek goddess Hera, with femininity, fertility and childbirth. Bingo!

So, that’s our metaphor for heterosexuality on this show; that’s the heterosexual side of John’s dual sexuality, so to speak.

Do you want further proof? Well, do you know what a “Calla lily” actually looks like? I shall be a gentleman and refrain from posting pictures of the female organ in question here. Instead I will just leave you with this lovely painting by Georgia O’Keeffe and whistle innocently to myself:

On the left hand side, there’s a “Monstera” (I encircled it in blue in the screencap above).

This houseplant is literally called the “monstrous” or the “abnormal”. You do understand where I’m going with this, right? Mofftiss have repeatedly used this metaphor in (and even outside of) their show because it’s something that has been done A LOT in Victorian horror stories. Think of the brilliant meta ‘Ghost stories are gay stories’ (x) by @heimishtheidealhusband. Mofftiss did this with ‘Dracula’, too, wherein Dracula himself is a metaphor for repressed, ‘abnormal’ homosexual desire, for the monstrous, the exotic, the weird.

And if you don’t believe me that the “Monstera” plant in that shot is supposed to represent John’s homosexual side, here’s one other little hint. This is the fruit of the “Monstera”:

Yeah, I know, right?:D 

Kinda phallic!

And what’s even better: You can eat it.:D Apparently, it’s delicious. Which is why this plant is actually called “Monstera Deliciosa”. You can’t make this stuff up.:)

So, in other words: John is sitting in the office of his therapist, and visually his problem (his actual problem, not the surface-text problem, but the subtextual one) is sitting right there in the room with him: He has trouble dealing with his bisexuality.

I mean we had seen a similar metaphor on the menu during John’s wedding, hadn’t we? There were two meal options, remember? (x)

Bonus plant:

There’s actually a third plant in that room (encircled in yellow). (Of course, there is! This is five minutes into the show; it’s all exposition. They have to introduce Sherlock, too.)

It’s a bit blurry, but I’m willing to bet that this is a ficus. And you know, ‘ficus’ is slang for ‘gay man’ in some languages. Because a ficus is, erm, tall, wispy and sort of sprawling all over the place…like…I hate to say this, but there’s an ironic eye twinkle in this and I’m saying this with love, really…like Sherlock!:)

And look they put it right next to the infamous bust, which I had already discussed in my sculpture and art meta series (here: x), the bust that represents introspection and childhood.

Yeah. So, the solution to John’s conundrum above (bisexuality) is already in the room: The solution is Sherlock! It’s just that Sherlock is caught up in some introspection business (dare I say, extended-mind-palace stuff) and has to deal with his childhood first (*ahem* see ‘Follow the dog’ theory: x) before he can be the solution to what ails John.

—————-

And I have only decided to post this now because @dinner-starving had asked me about any new meta coming up. Apparently I need a kick up the backside sometimes.:)

All screencaps taken from here: https://kissthemgoodbye.net/

Tagging a few people: @loveismyrevolution @waitedforgarridebs @loudest-subtext-in-tv​ @ebaeschnbliah @gosherlocked @sarahthecoat @sherlockshadow @possiblyimbiassed @raggedyblue @spenglernot @tjlcisthenewsexy  @dinner–starving  @kateis-cakeis  @kettykika78 

Thanks @sagestreet​ - yet another brilliant one! :) How many times are they able to point out the same problem in the subtext while never once addressing it directly? How many opportunities have they created to smuggle in more and more symbolism? Is there a single prop in this show that doesn’t have any hidden meaning about Sherlock and/or John? Seems like Sherlock, in order to ‘save John Watson’, must go the full circle of introspection, recognising who he really is (and was). And for all that Sherlock (and by extension John) might be dying in S4, the underlying problem is psychological/emotional rather than physical, right?

By the way - once we’re at it - what might be going on with Sherlock and this Snake plant (X, Dracaena trifasciata) when he’s seeing Ella in TST?

According to Wikipedia it’s “associated with Oya, the female Orisha of storms”. Is the East Wind coming, perhaps? ;)

@ebaeschnbliah​ @raggedyblue​ @gosherlocked​ @sarahthecoat​

Dracaena means ‘she-dragon’ and another name for that plant is ‘Saint George’s sword’ … knights, swords, dragons and ‘Sherlock is a girls name’ … well, well … :))))   (X X X)

@sagestreet @possiblyimbiassed @raggedyblue @gosherlocked @sarahthecoat

OK, so Sherlock is both Smaug a dragon and a dragon slayer @ebaeschnbliah ? In that case he’d ’slay’ himself, so to speak. :) And Ella is a double mirror, as @sarahthecoat pointed out. Who probably only recieves in Airbnb, according to @raggedyblue . Love this fandom! :))

rb for discussion!

Bisexual flowers and houseplants

I only recently noticed this. (Sorry if this has been discussed before).

When John is in therapy in ASIP, he is framed with two different houseplants in the shot:

On the right hand side, there are “Calla lilies” (I encircled them in pink for your convenience). 

I’m sure you can all do the whole google and wikipedia thing just as well as I, so I’ll just say that they are often associated with the Greek goddess Hera, with femininity, fertility and childbirth. Bingo!

So, that’s our metaphor for heterosexuality on this show; that’s the heterosexual side of John’s dual sexuality, so to speak.

Do you want further proof? Well, do you know what a “Calla lily” actually looks like? I shall be a gentleman and refrain from posting pictures of the female organ in question here. Instead I will just leave you with this lovely painting by Georgia O’Keeffe and whistle innocently to myself:

On the left hand side, there’s a “Monstera” (I encircled it in blue in the screencap above).

This houseplant is literally called the “monstrous” or the “abnormal”. You do understand where I’m going with this, right? Mofftiss have repeatedly used this metaphor in (and even outside of) their show because it’s something that has been done A LOT in Victorian horror stories. Think of the brilliant meta ‘Ghost stories are gay stories’ (x) by @heimishtheidealhusband. Mofftiss did this with ‘Dracula’, too, wherein Dracula himself is a metaphor for repressed, ‘abnormal’ homosexual desire, for the monstrous, the exotic, the weird.

And if you don’t believe me that the “Monstera” plant in that shot is supposed to represent John’s homosexual side, here’s one other little hint. This is the fruit of the “Monstera”:

Yeah, I know, right?:D 

Kinda phallic!

And what’s even better: You can eat it.:D Apparently, it’s delicious. Which is why this plant is actually called “Monstera Deliciosa”. You can’t make this stuff up.:)

So, in other words: John is sitting in the office of his therapist, and visually his problem (his actual problem, not the surface-text problem, but the subtextual one) is sitting right there in the room with him: He has trouble dealing with his bisexuality.

I mean we had seen a similar metaphor on the menu during John’s wedding, hadn’t we? There were two meal options, remember? (x)

Bonus plant:

There’s actually a third plant in that room (encircled in yellow). (Of course, there is! This is five minutes into the show; it’s all exposition. They have to introduce Sherlock, too.)

It’s a bit blurry, but I’m willing to bet that this is a ficus. And you know, ‘ficus’ is slang for ‘gay man’ in some languages. Because a ficus is, erm, tall, wispy and sort of sprawling all over the place…like…I hate to say this, but there’s an ironic eye twinkle in this and I’m saying this with love, really…like Sherlock!:)

And look they put it right next to the infamous bust, which I had already discussed in my sculpture and art meta series (here: x), the bust that represents introspection and childhood.

Yeah. So, the solution to John’s conundrum above (bisexuality) is already in the room: The solution is Sherlock! It’s just that Sherlock is caught up in some introspection business (dare I say, extended-mind-palace stuff) and has to deal with his childhood first (*ahem* see ‘Follow the dog’ theory: x) before he can be the solution to what ails John.

—————-

And I have only decided to post this now because @dinner-starving had asked me about any new meta coming up. Apparently I need a kick up the backside sometimes.:)

All screencaps taken from here: https://kissthemgoodbye.net/

Tagging a few people: @loveismyrevolution @waitedforgarridebs @loudest-subtext-in-tv​ @ebaeschnbliah @gosherlocked @sarahthecoat @sherlockshadow @possiblyimbiassed @raggedyblue @spenglernot @tjlcisthenewsexy  @dinner–starving  @kateis-cakeis  @kettykika78 

Thanks @sagestreet​ - yet another brilliant one! :) How many times are they able to point out the same problem in the subtext while never once addressing it directly? How many opportunities have they created to smuggle in more and more symbolism? Is there a single prop in this show that doesn’t have any hidden meaning about Sherlock and/or John? Seems like Sherlock, in order to ‘save John Watson’, must go the full circle of introspection, recognising who he really is (and was). And for all that Sherlock (and by extension John) might be dying in S4, the underlying problem is psychological/emotional rather than physical, right?

By the way - once we’re at it - what might be going on with Sherlock and this Snake plant (X, Dracaena trifasciata) when he’s seeing Ella in TST?

According to Wikipedia it’s “associated with Oya, the female Orisha of storms”. Is the East Wind coming, perhaps? ;)

@ebaeschnbliah​ @raggedyblue​ @gosherlocked​ @sarahthecoat​

I couldn’t help but check out the other study of Ella, the psychotherapist who probably only receives in Airbnb. I don’t try to identify any plants here, but I see clearly the panel behind Ella. A plant without leaves could be dead, dry, or just paused. Like Sherlock. In addition, it is not true, in spite of the others, it is a reproduction, the art that imitates reality. Like Sherlock’s fall (leafless).

@possiblyimbiassed @sagestreet @ebaeschnbliah @gosherlocked @sarahthecoat

also i don't want to blw by this delightful comment, both about the *picture* of a plant=sherlock's fake death, and the idea that ella only meets with clients in airbnb, which is why it's a different space each time. :D

Bisexual flowers and houseplants

I only recently noticed this. (Sorry if this has been discussed before).

When John is in therapy in ASIP, he is framed with two different houseplants in the shot:

On the right hand side, there are “Calla lilies” (I encircled them in pink for your convenience). 

I’m sure you can all do the whole google and wikipedia thing just as well as I, so I’ll just say that they are often associated with the Greek goddess Hera, with femininity, fertility and childbirth. Bingo!

So, that’s our metaphor for heterosexuality on this show; that’s the heterosexual side of John’s dual sexuality, so to speak.

Do you want further proof? Well, do you know what a “Calla lily” actually looks like? I shall be a gentleman and refrain from posting pictures of the female organ in question here. Instead I will just leave you with this lovely painting by Georgia O’Keeffe and whistle innocently to myself:

On the left hand side, there’s a “Monstera” (I encircled it in blue in the screencap above).

This houseplant is literally called the “monstrous” or the “abnormal”. You do understand where I’m going with this, right? Mofftiss have repeatedly used this metaphor in (and even outside of) their show because it’s something that has been done A LOT in Victorian horror stories. Think of the brilliant meta ‘Ghost stories are gay stories’ (x) by @heimishtheidealhusband. Mofftiss did this with ‘Dracula’, too, wherein Dracula himself is a metaphor for repressed, ‘abnormal’ homosexual desire, for the monstrous, the exotic, the weird.

And if you don’t believe me that the “Monstera” plant in that shot is supposed to represent John’s homosexual side, here’s one other little hint. This is the fruit of the “Monstera”:

Yeah, I know, right?:D 

Kinda phallic!

And what’s even better: You can eat it.:D Apparently, it’s delicious. Which is why this plant is actually called “Monstera Deliciosa”. You can’t make this stuff up.:)

So, in other words: John is sitting in the office of his therapist, and visually his problem (his actual problem, not the surface-text problem, but the subtextual one) is sitting right there in the room with him: He has trouble dealing with his bisexuality.

I mean we had seen a similar metaphor on the menu during John’s wedding, hadn’t we? There were two meal options, remember? (x)

Bonus plant:

There’s actually a third plant in that room (encircled in yellow). (Of course, there is! This is five minutes into the show; it’s all exposition. They have to introduce Sherlock, too.)

It’s a bit blurry, but I’m willing to bet that this is a ficus. And you know, ‘ficus’ is slang for ‘gay man’ in some languages. Because a ficus is, erm, tall, wispy and sort of sprawling all over the place…like…I hate to say this, but there’s an ironic eye twinkle in this and I’m saying this with love, really…like Sherlock!:)

And look they put it right next to the infamous bust, which I had already discussed in my sculpture and art meta series (here: x), the bust that represents introspection and childhood.

Yeah. So, the solution to John’s conundrum above (bisexuality) is already in the room: The solution is Sherlock! It’s just that Sherlock is caught up in some introspection business (dare I say, extended-mind-palace stuff) and has to deal with his childhood first (*ahem* see ‘Follow the dog’ theory: x) before he can be the solution to what ails John.

—————-

And I have only decided to post this now because @dinner-starving had asked me about any new meta coming up. Apparently I need a kick up the backside sometimes.:)

All screencaps taken from here: https://kissthemgoodbye.net/

Tagging a few people: @loveismyrevolution @waitedforgarridebs @loudest-subtext-in-tv​ @ebaeschnbliah @gosherlocked @sarahthecoat @sherlockshadow @possiblyimbiassed @raggedyblue @spenglernot @tjlcisthenewsexy  @dinner–starving  @kateis-cakeis  @kettykika78 

Thanks @sagestreet​ - yet another brilliant one! :) How many times are they able to point out the same problem in the subtext while never once addressing it directly? How many opportunities have they created to smuggle in more and more symbolism? Is there a single prop in this show that doesn’t have any hidden meaning about Sherlock and/or John? Seems like Sherlock, in order to ‘save John Watson’, must go the full circle of introspection, recognising who he really is (and was). And for all that Sherlock (and by extension John) might be dying in S4, the underlying problem is psychological/emotional rather than physical, right?

By the way - once we’re at it - what might be going on with Sherlock and this Snake plant (X, Dracaena trifasciata) when he’s seeing Ella in TST?

According to Wikipedia it’s “associated with Oya, the female Orisha of storms”. Is the East Wind coming, perhaps? ;)

@ebaeschnbliah​ @raggedyblue​ @gosherlocked​ @sarahthecoat​

I couldn’t help but check out the other study of Ella, the psychotherapist who probably only receives in Airbnb. I don’t try to identify any plants here, but I see clearly the panel behind Ella. A plant without leaves could be dead, dry, or just paused. Like Sherlock. In addition, it is not true, in spite of the others, it is a reproduction, the art that imitates reality. Like Sherlock’s fall (leafless).

@possiblyimbiassed @sagestreet @ebaeschnbliah @gosherlocked @sarahthecoat

Is it just me or do the chairs in @raggedyblue ’s picture of Ella’s study look more like John’s chair by the fireplace at 221B, while the ones in my picture look very much like Sherlock’s chair at 221B? Why can’t these two idiots just sit together, in front of each other like in canon, and have an honest conversation with eachother? (Think end of TAB here) :))

so ella is kind of a double mirror...

Bisexual flowers and houseplants

I only recently noticed this. (Sorry if this has been discussed before).

When John is in therapy in ASIP, he is framed with two different houseplants in the shot:

On the right hand side, there are “Calla lilies” (I encircled them in pink for your convenience). 

I’m sure you can all do the whole google and wikipedia thing just as well as I, so I’ll just say that they are often associated with the Greek goddess Hera, with femininity, fertility and childbirth. Bingo!

So, that’s our metaphor for heterosexuality on this show; that’s the heterosexual side of John’s dual sexuality, so to speak.

Do you want further proof? Well, do you know what a “Calla lily” actually looks like? I shall be a gentleman and refrain from posting pictures of the female organ in question here. Instead I will just leave you with this lovely painting by Georgia O’Keeffe and whistle innocently to myself:

On the left hand side, there’s a “Monstera” (I encircled it in blue in the screencap above).

This houseplant is literally called the “monstrous” or the “abnormal”. You do understand where I’m going with this, right? Mofftiss have repeatedly used this metaphor in (and even outside of) their show because it’s something that has been done A LOT in Victorian horror stories. Think of the brilliant meta ‘Ghost stories are gay stories’ (x) by @heimishtheidealhusband. Mofftiss did this with ‘Dracula’, too, wherein Dracula himself is a metaphor for repressed, ‘abnormal’ homosexual desire, for the monstrous, the exotic, the weird.

And if you don’t believe me that the “Monstera” plant in that shot is supposed to represent John’s homosexual side, here’s one other little hint. This is the fruit of the “Monstera”:

Yeah, I know, right?:D 

Kinda phallic!

And what’s even better: You can eat it.:D Apparently, it’s delicious. Which is why this plant is actually called “Monstera Deliciosa”. You can’t make this stuff up.:)

So, in other words: John is sitting in the office of his therapist, and visually his problem (his actual problem, not the surface-text problem, but the subtextual one) is sitting right there in the room with him: He has trouble dealing with his bisexuality.

I mean we had seen a similar metaphor on the menu during John’s wedding, hadn’t we? There were two meal options, remember? (x)

Bonus plant:

There’s actually a third plant in that room (encircled in yellow). (Of course, there is! This is five minutes into the show; it’s all exposition. They have to introduce Sherlock, too.)

It’s a bit blurry, but I’m willing to bet that this is a ficus. And you know, ‘ficus’ is slang for ‘gay man’ in some languages. Because a ficus is, erm, tall, wispy and sort of sprawling all over the place…like…I hate to say this, but there’s an ironic eye twinkle in this and I’m saying this with love, really…like Sherlock!:)

And look they put it right next to the infamous bust, which I had already discussed in my sculpture and art meta series (here: x), the bust that represents introspection and childhood.

Yeah. So, the solution to John’s conundrum above (bisexuality) is already in the room: The solution is Sherlock! It’s just that Sherlock is caught up in some introspection business (dare I say, extended-mind-palace stuff) and has to deal with his childhood first (*ahem* see ‘Follow the dog’ theory: x) before he can be the solution to what ails John.

—————-

And I have only decided to post this now because @dinner-starving had asked me about any new meta coming up. Apparently I need a kick up the backside sometimes.:)

All screencaps taken from here: https://kissthemgoodbye.net/

Tagging a few people: @loveismyrevolution @waitedforgarridebs @loudest-subtext-in-tv​ @ebaeschnbliah @gosherlocked @sarahthecoat @sherlockshadow @possiblyimbiassed @raggedyblue @spenglernot @tjlcisthenewsexy  @dinner–starving  @kateis-cakeis  @kettykika78 

wow, this show really doesn't miss an opportunity!

OMG OMG OMG

Ok so someone has probably already posted about this and I just missed it…so forgive me.

BUT.

I JUST GOT THIS IS THE MAIL.

Which is great right?  Right.  Lovely book, high quality.  10/10 recommend.

BUT.

I flip to the first page and LOOK…HOW FUN!  A GAME!  You have to find the clues hidden in the pics!  

The text says “You see, you just don’t observe…hidden within the illustrations are nine clues, essential to solving the crimes in each episode.”

Oh OK, let’s look at the clues for the fun little game…

Standard stuff…Carl’s trainers, the pills, the hound’s pawprint, the deerstalker, John’s gun, Mary’s wedding ring, the knitted cap…

Wait…

MARY’S WEDDING RING???

IS A CLUE TO THE CRIME COMMITTED IN THE SIGN OF THREE???

HOW DARE???  

BUT GUESS WHERE IT’S HIDDEN???

Here’s a clue…

ANY GUESSES???

THE FUCKING POOL!!!

THE. FUCKING. POOL.

I CAN’T MAKE THIS UP!!!

IF MARY ISN’T MORAN I WILL EAT THIS COLORING BOOK.

OH. MY. GOD.

They also drew John’s gun instead of Mary’s for His Last Vow. Interesting choice, that.

ooh, good point. fun one to re read with so much more meta by now. these are all pointers to some of the important topics that we have explored in meta.

asip, pills: drugs=chemistry of love.

tbb, lotus tattoo: language of flowers.

tgg, carl's trainers: shoes, transport, body, that whole body/heart/mind theme. remember all the shoe photos during s4 setlock? "going back" etc?

asib, the boomerang: things that come back to you, or never really left. memories, themes, recurring dreams, karma, "family", etc.

thob, the footprint of a gigantic hound: follow the dog series by sagestreet!

trf, the stoopid hat: a hat of another's choosing, sherlock's straight facade.

teh, train guy's hat: why would he mind being different? he keeps and mends his favorite things. also trains in tunnels, hurrhurr. ;) attention to detail.

tsot, "mary"s ring, as discussed above.

hlv, john's gun: very interesting, as you point out, that it's not "mary"s gun, so it's not about her shooting sherlock. it's about john's dick gun instead. hmm. also possibly leading into the "doctored footage" at the beginning of s4.

Back again

I know that it gets old, and I’m not sure who still follows this blog or is eager for meta after all these years… But, here I am!

I took part in the tenth anniversary Sherlock watchalong, and it was such a thrill to share my thoughts and excitement with other people! It made me want to share more here. I still have an on-going meta on flowers & Sholto (the research is done, now I just have to make sure the language & structure is nice to read). I think I’ll start smoothly at first. So I’ll answer to old questions and see where it takes me. To all the lovely persons who still reblog my meta and ask questions: a huge, heartfelt thank you.

Most importantly: I hope that everything is going as smoothly as can be for all of you. Sending waves of kind thoughts and encouragement to everyone. Take care, dears(talker!).

(…….. I had to => MISS ME?)

wahoo!!

The Sign of Three :  The Language of Flowers

After making my post about Wisteria, conspiracy-turns-me-on asked me about the boys’ boutonnières and I assume Mary’s wedding bouquet. She thinks I’m an expert on plants! Ha! I’ve fooled you all! My plan is working!

Note: I am not an expert on plants but I thought I’d give it a shot. Luckily, the flowers here are pretty common and I knew most by sight. I still made some guesses. I tried to make any doubts clear. I am happy to debate my flower identifications. :)

If you don’t want to go into the rambling details and research here is the short version.

Finding Meaning in all this Confusion (explaining my process)

My first thoughts when looking at the flower arrangements was how unremarkable they appear. (It’s not like they made the boutonnières out of green carnations, blue dicks, and grass.) All the flowers I could identify by eye are common in bouquets I’ve seen. Cascading bouquets like Mary’s are very classical. Hers appears to be wired into shape but in Victorian times it would have been woven with string and flown freely. I figured the ordinary contents would mean unremarkable wedding symbolism. I did not go into this expecting any message at all.

I did notice that there are a large variety of flowers in both arrangements. The boutonnières have 3 types of greenery and 3 flowers. I count at least 7 different flowers in Mary’s bouquet and a fern. Is that more than average? Kate’s bouquet only had 5 things. Most of the weddings I’ve been in had 2 or 3 flowers in a formal bouquet. Was this a sign that there is a hidden message? Is this the bouquet fashion in Britain?

When it comes to symbolism, please realize for some flowers I could go to 5 sites and get 5 different meanings. It was important for accuracy to not let my preferred narrative dictate what I saw or how I interpreted it. I identified the flowers first, then researched their meaning. Humanity and culture change over time and so do meanings of arbitrary things. Heck, so do the names of the flowers. In a few cases I had to look for older/english names of flowers in order to find them in the books. “Floriography”[1] is a Victorian hobby so I tried to use an actual Victorian books[3][4] when I could. If I was going to find a message I wanted to be sure it wasn’t coming out of my head.

So the meanings you see here came from extensive alone time between myself, google, and several online Floriography books. I tried to eke out the most consistent meanings because the “Language of Flowers” in a ‘ Tussie-mussie’[1]  is not the same thing as looking up the plant’s historical symbolism. The message should have more clarity of association than a vague connotation. Theoretically, you can hide a quote from your favorite poem or song just by selecting the right flowers [4,p.260]. I had fun trying to find quote passages that fits the flowers here… I suggest you play with it. 

Google and I have spent so much time discussing plant genitalia, we are now getting married in the fall. You’re all invited.

Okay, let’s get to it.

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reblogging since the color and flower themes in TSOT came up again recently. @raggedyblue , who commented on lilac and lavender, and @tendergingergirl who supplied the link to @cheuwing 's meta on the wedding flowers.

wqw, interesting distinction! this makes me want to review the language of flowers metas from s3.

Here you go. @cheuwing marys-wedding-bouquet-john-and-sherlocks

Mine hlv-the-fluent-tongue-of-flowers-windows

thanks! i think i have bookmarks somewhere, but have to go looking. @cheuwing wrote a lot.

Bins, garbage bags and white roses …..

Impressions from Sherlock BBC, The Lying Detective,  

Knocked over bins, garbage bags strewn along the hedge, garbage also in front of the second half of the house (along with white roses in front of the neighbours window) …. when a street is closed because of filming, waste collection happens on another day, I assume. 

Guns and white roses

September, 2019

Interesting. Reminds me also of Mrs Hudson’s bins in ASiB. 

Yes, @gosherlocked  the bins and all the garbage. In ASIP, the very first episode, Sherlock finds the pink case inside a skip, it looks like the content of bins or barrels is burning to light the darkness inside the Dragon Den Black Tramway in TBB, a CIA agent gets thrown onto Mrs. Hudson’s bins in ASIB as you mentioned above, bins are kept deep down under Baskerville at level -B, the drug-house in HLV is full of garbage and good old Mrs. Hudson knocks over the bins in TLD. But even without those knocked over bins a lot of garbage can already be detected around the twin-houses, in one of which Elsa (Eurus), the therapist resides. (I’ve most likely forgotten some more examples)  

TBC below the cut …

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oh, i like very much the idea of "bins"=sherlock's "deleted" memories! IIRC there's meta about the pink case (sherlock's gay identity) being fished out of a skip (had been "deleted" by prior fandom/adaptations) (@sagestreet maybe??) And the other episodes where bins figure prominently are also ones where sherlock's buried memories/sexuality start to resurface. All Those shots of the gherkin in TBB, irene=sherlock's libido in ASIB, dogs/redbeard in THOB.

I'm not sure both bouquets in TLD are roses though, not sure if it matters. The ones sherlock pulls out of the vase to drink the water, look like peonies to me. We need a flower expert like @cheuwing or @fandeadgloves to take a look. At least, off the top of my head, i think they were the ones writing about the flowers in s3, there may be others as well.

Floriography Masterpost

updated whenever a new flower is used

follow @petalsuggestion​ for content!

“Every flower lover should know that most flowers convey a certain situation or expression; this makes flower arrangement an intensely personal and emotional action.” 

–

Bad Emotions

Good Emotions

wow! Great resource!