My hyperfixations are usually less singular and more like a braid of related content being woven together. My year of Good Omens had a lot of Doctor Who and David Tennant’s entire IMDB braided into it.

In a similar way, Sherlock Holmes as a hyperfixation has taken me through Benedict Cumberbatch’s entire filmography and down the Marvel rabbit hole. Now I’m obsessed with Loki--not only the Tom Hiddleston MCU character, but all the old stories. So my Sherlock Holmes braid has the MCU and all of Norse mythology plaited into it now.

At any given point during the week I might be listening to a Johnlock podfic, reading the Prose Edda PDF saved on my phone, searching for Loki amigurumi dolls on Etsy, at the library searching “Sherlock Holmes” into the catalog for the 17th time, listening to the Mythology podcast while I wait for the new Sherlock & Co ep to drop, reading poems from Trickster, My Beloved out loud to my cat, watching MCU Loki edits on TikTok, trying to draw Jeremy Brett’s beautiful face… I actually feel quite cultured in this period of my autistic little life.

I think about this a lot - someone tweeted about Sherlock in 2012 and I switched on my TV. I found Tumblr, learned about Benedict Cumberbatch and the whole bottomless lego set of Sherlock Holmes analysis and adaptations... I've watched so many films (Marvel! Star Trek!), loved every minute of Cabin Pressure, listened to the canon in multiple ways, gone to performances of 3 different Wilde plays, watched Hamlet and Frankenstein on screen, a couple of Chekov plays/films, gone to The National's concert, and read thousands and thousands of words of media analysis and meta. I find it so hard to start with something new - someone peeled up a little edge on the world to get me started, and all those threads of culture spread outwards. An infinity to explore!

INKTOBER DAY 7: BRILLIANT - Holmes and Watson from Sherlock & Co.

I recently binge-listened to the whole series, and fell in love, so this is my interpretation of Sherlock and John from the podcast "Sherlock & Co." This is my first attempt, I'm still working out the details. I will say, I've seen other fan art portraying Sherlock as a POC, and I love it. And I recently saw here on Tumblr someone say John would 100% have a Dog Mom shirt, and I totally agree, but I cannot find that post now to tag and thank them for the inspiration.

Thank you @bluebellofbakerstreet for the prompt, and @docjwatsonmdblog and @detectivesholmes for being brilliant.

Sherlock & Co Recipes Masterpost

It suddenly dawned on me that having a masterpost for all the recipes would make sense (also I realised the search function on my blog is shit), so here you go! All the recipes I've listed for the various foods in the series. If it's listed, but not linked means either I haven't made a post yet or the link is broken.

Thank you!! This is awesome!!!

cool!

Exhibit nr 1: Sherlock only considered that John and him have a "rapport" after Marianna said it

Exhibit nr 2: He only called John his best friend after John confirmed they were best pals in a previous story

Exhibit nr 3: In Shoscombe Old Place, Sherlock referred to himself as one of the people John loves

Logical conclusion: John told Sherlock that he loves him, in those exact words.

That is all.

Jolie’s thoughts on

Shoscombe Old Place (Sherlock & Co. podcast)

Good call shifting the environment away from the way too similar horse racing scenario of Silver Blaze.

Thank you also, Joel, for letting our boys go on a holiday. It’s not what I imagined when I said I wanted Consequences after Dancing Men, but it works! And I find it telling that Sherlock especially seems to have offered no resistance to the plan. Seriously, S & J camping by the river (and Sherlock going fishing, because of course he would!) for real and not just as a blind (like in ACD’s story) filled me with happiness and serenity.

I was not prepared at all to learn so much about John's childhood and family circumstances. "Made and then broken in the Army and subsequently fixed at 221B Baker Street", yes, that is the John Watson that we know and love in any universe. 😭

I'm so glad he still has a refuge in his old town now, and I love that Sherlock gets invited totally as a matter of course. I so heard him on the "weird feeling when a place you used to call home doesn’t feel like home anymore", too.

I'm also left wondering a LOT whether John’s canonical unhappy alcoholic brother (also Henry/Harry, like the father?) from Sign of Four exists in this universe. If yes, there should be traces of him in the old family home for Sherlock to deduce… Unless of course he’s a half brother or something who never lived there (from John's dad's earlier marriage or relationship, possibly?). Or maybe the traces are there and Sherlock just never said a thing, and only will later…

I also wasn't expecting John to run into his famous so-far-nameless ex! I found myself hoping that they wouldn’t go down the tropey route of the Crazy Evil Ex. When John called Carrie "evil" when they were trapped in the crypt, that really didn’t seem accurate. But John was being so realistically cranky about everything to do with Carrie, I really felt for him.

Sherlock was being such a sweetie throughout, especially at the start. Doing small talk with the neighbour, NOT pointing out that John rambles exactly as bad as his mum sometimes, not wanting him to have to call his ex in person, repeating over and over that they’re in a beautiful place with good beer and he’s really enjoying himself… Calling John invaluable… Feeling a little bad about recklessly leading them both into danger in Dancing Men, perhaps (not that John didn’t follow willingly and without question)? Or just being happy that he and John are still alive and still around and evidently didn’t fall out over the Dancing Men business, either?

"I'm a big boy. I can do it." - "Would you like me to call her?" - "Yes, please." - "What’s wrong?" - "Poor signal in this village." - "I’m blocked, aren’t I." My heart 🥹 How I love a protective Sherlock.

And our boys getting philosophical in ancient sacred buildings at night is almost a tradition by now. I love it when they do that. The River Thames analogy was so intriguing, too. Who would have thought that Sherlock could be such a poet?

"A sea? A lake? A waterfall?" [10 seconds later] "Shoutout to Professor James Moriarty, who is listening intently to every word." AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!! 😱😱😱 That was the creepiest moment ever and John was so right to lose his shit.

How close are we to Reichenbach? We might be there by August. Or Joel might be pulling all our legs.

Whatever it may be, don’t deny yourself the pleasure of looking at this absolutely beautiful art by @paperleef !

Oh and then of course there was a case as well, but it hardly seemed to matter for most of the story. No surprises there for the connoisseurs of ACD’s original stories, either.

I’m glad that they did not go down the Crazy Evil Ex route with Carrie after all. I was a little narratively underwhelmed by how John’s dynamic with Carrie and its potential for conflict just fizzled out. But thumbs up for realism there. They’ve both moved on and that’s it. Like so often in RL. And didn’t we all love the fact that John now considers Baker Street his home, Sherlock & Mariana his family and the Sh & Co project his future.

I also didn’t expect Part 3 to turn into an anti-classism manifesto, but it does make sense, especially seeing how the matter bugs John all the time, too. Check out this great meta by @comicgeekery on the matter!

I would also like to contest Mr Emory’s ideas about the founding date of the Adidas shoe brand, but that’s just a tiny detail.

Sherlock: "John Hamish Watson!" - John: "Don’t Hamish me!" 😂 - Wasn’t aware that’s a verb, but apparently it is!

The car chase scene/river rescue scene was so good I literally forgot this was just audio. Also, Sherlock and John diving in a lake together to get Robert out was just… so touching. And so cool. (I think I’m mostly in love with how Sherlock switched immediately from "Watson, get out of there" to "OK, I’m going right in there with you".) And did you all notice we got another "John"? It’s still being saved for special moments. 🥰

Dear Joe, nobody who dies on duty on a peacekeeping mission gets a cheap place in heaven in my opinion. But then, if Harry Watson was anywhere as modest and laid-back as his son is, and something tells me that he must have been, he probably took a cheap place on purpose, not to be a pain, and when an angel came up and wanted to guide him closer to the hero places, he was just, "nah, mate, I'm good here".

Also, Sherlock packing their things before the case was even wrapped up, to make sure John would find it easier to go back home to London, rather than lingering and questioning his life choices, was so sweet again.

"You’re stressed, any you’re lashing out at those you love (!). You’re losing your mind. You spoke to a river!" - "And you put a dog in a bag!" - Possibly one of my favourite ever closing scenes of this show. (Treat yourselves to this lovely observation by @itsnobodysproblem , please!)

DOOMED NARRATIVE

I am struggling to see how Sherlock and Co would do a final problem situation bc there’s no way John is going to sit down and make a disclaimer like “hey everyone trigger warnings for this episode, Sherlock dies.” And also edit it all together. So either it has to be a John is uploading parts live as they happen, which would break the whole structure of the show, or we just get hints throughout the regular episode and then an announcement and hiatus. Or they just won’t do it at all and continue making silly little case episodes.

At the end of the day Goalhanger is a business and the podcast is less than a year old and doing well so it wouldn’t make sense for them to be away long.

I like @jolieblack's thought of a minutes-long "hiatus," totally resolved within the episode. Evidence they might do it that way: 1. They did A Study in Scarlet completely offscreen. 2. The episode they just did, The Lion's Mane, was originally written by ACD as being after Holmes had retired to the countryside and Watson never appears in it. Holmes even complains about how infrequently Watson comes to visit him.

Joel Emory also keeps referring to the show as "crime comedy" and wanting it to stay light. As we know by now, that doesn’t mean it can’t get pretty dark sometimes, in terms of horror/gore (Retired Colourman) and even in terms of the lead characters cracking under pressure occasionally (Dancing Men), but our boys have always bounced back very, very quickly so far. So I doubt he'll suddenly go down the road of deep and lasting interpersonal drama and trauma for Reichenbach and give the whole show a completely different tone.

(I may also have to very much eat my own words in the end, but for now I think the probabilities are not in favour of heavy, prolonged angst.)

i really really hope the podcast finds an entirely new angle on both moriarty and reichenbach.

excuse me, i'm about to get a bit long winded. but this is what rears up in my mind about those two things. several years ago, i finally started watching dr who, after so many of my mutuals here discussing it. (and #13 was going to be jodie whitaker, who i loved in broadchurch). i went to the libreary and worked my way through all of #9 and #10 (except for a few final specials they didn't have on dvd). fell even more in love with david tennant. BUT every time the show did what felt like the obligatory episode on the cybermen, the daleks, or the master, i just felt bored. here we go again, ugh. those stories just never felt as alive, interesting, creative, unpredictable, or applicable, as the ones without those obligatory adversaries. idk, maybe if i watched them again i would see something i missed before? meh.

this podcast starting up, was the first time i recognized that feeling in myself about moriarty and reichenbach. i think it had been there before, with bbc sherlock and the ritchie films, but i hadn't articulated it yet. ACD wrote SIXTY stories, but every adaptation seems to feel obliged to be centered around that one. not simply to have a go at it, like irene adler (which most adaptations also botch in the same boring way, thank you granada for actually reading the whole story with comprehension), but bake it into the structure of the overall project.

which leaves me just looking for a fresh take. what if someone with real imagination had a go at the canon, and liberated the story from that one ball and chain, and allowed 59 other stories the breathing room they deserve? i am so so so hoping the podcast is going to be that. so far it's doing great.

Fellow Sherlock and Co fans, I have crazy theory based on what we learned from the latest episode (SPOILERS for Shoscombe Old Place Pt. 2!!)

So three things I loved about the episode:

1. John views Baker Street as home to him more than his actual hometown (just a sweet thing that made my heart gush🥰)

2. Sherlock went on a tangent about how all bodies of water meet their ends, whether it’s a sea, a lake, or a WATERFALL!

3. Professor James Moriarty was canonically mentioned in the show right after the waterfall reference!

BUT, the key thing I’m piecing together is that he is a professor as in someone who would work at a COLLEGE, and I remember that it was mentioned in Gloria Scott that Sherlock exposed a principal at his college for a huge scandal he committed; really important to know that this guy’s life was DESTROYED because of Sherlock’s detective skills.

This may be a huge stretch, but this is what my brain pieced together:

1. The principal’s life was ruined by (mostly himself, but in his mind he would blame) Sherlock. He literally cried in a fetal position in Sherlock’s dorm!

2. Sherlock stops his hand stimming when John mentions Professor James Moriarty in the shoutouts yet says nothing.

3. Why would a random Professor James Moriarty want to mention his full name in the shoutouts, including his job title, and that he’s “listening intently to every word”? Why not just say ‘James’ like every other shoutout name and say that he loves the podcast?

So my crazy theory is this: Professor James Moriarty is actually the PRINCIPAL that Sherlock ruined the life of! Either he’s lying about the professor title or he had to work up to be a professor after he got fired from the college and needed to work up some high title such as being a professor to fix his reputation; it works, considering it’s still in that familiar education field he worked up to. Either way, he’s been listening to the podcast and waited until now to let Sherlock know that he’s there…

What do y’all think? Is this truly crazy brain rot, or do you see the connections?

Ho ho! Kudos to you, OP, for this observation alone.

UK usage of the title Professor is restricted to universities afaik and I strongly got the impression that the principal whom Sherlock exposed as a student was in a boarding school, as in, an institution of secondary rather than tertiary education. (Like, a sixth form college, which is the UK equivalent of the final years of US High School, not the same as a US college that you attend after High School.) That means either the principal had a distinguished career and became a university professor *after* the scandal, or he’s not Moriarty. It is suspicious though that he remained nameless in Sherlock‘s retelling of the case.

I‘m intrigued!

hmm. could be.

THE ABERGAVENNY MURDER

A Sherlock & Co. Podcast casefic by Jolie_Black

An elderly man turns up at 221b with an exciting new case for Sherlock, John & Mariana - if they can only work out what it is! Their client is unfortunately not a great communicator... any more.

Set after The Reigate Squire. Now posting here on AO3!

Also a contribution to the @pridemonthpromptfest , Day 9: Together.

Part 2 is up on AO3!

In which the mysterious client gets a name, Mariana can’t sleep, John is desperate for some tea and Sherlock holds a dead man‘s hand.

Part 3/3 is now up on AO3!

In which the power of tea, of friendship and of compassion is making itself felt, and the case is solved.

This story is now complete - thank you for reading!

Sherlock & Co Podcast Episode Notes Master Post

I thought it was time to have them all in one place.

Follow the links for Jolie's thoughts (and share your own!) on all Sherlock & Co cases so far!

The Illustrious Client

The Noble Bachelor

The Problem of Thor Bridge

The Golden Pince Nez

The Blue Carbuncle

The Cardboard Box

The Red-Headed League

The Gloria Scott

The Solitary Cyclist

The Creeping Man

The Retired Colourman

Silver Blaze Part 1 & 2 / Part 3 & 4

The Reigate Squire

A Case of Identity

The Dancing Men

Jolie’s thoughts on

The Dancing Men (Sherlock & Co. podcast)

OK, deep breath.

What a ride.

There’s a reason why I’m so late putting my thoughts into words this time round. This case really hit different, at least the final 15 minutes did.

Let’s talk about the earlier four fifths first… Lots of great moments as usual!

John getting into another tussle with London water fowl. "Get a life!" Who needs to get a life, we wonder fondly.

"I bring soup, glorious soup!" - So sweet! Even sweeter with the reversal at the end.

"Never mind Sherlock, his best mate is that bloody microphone." - Not the most hilarious punchline ever, Stamo, but what I love most about this comment is how John doesn’t find it funny at all.

John being a tech nerd with the audio editing of the cryptic message! Pop culture knowledge and tech nerdery doing what Sherlock Holmes couldn’t. Wa-hoo!

Another highlight: The Stamfords singing for fun (and John ruining it by insisting on singing along). And *then* the Stamfords becoming absolutely instrumental in making the final musical puzzle! (Not that they couldn’t just have used a regular recording for their trap, like Abe did for his message to Elsie, but then where would have been the fun. I’m surprised that Sherlock can’t hold a tune, btw. I’m even more surprised that he was trying to sing for an audience.) But the whole music puzzle theme was lovely altogether. Very clever, very creative. "The Police! It’s The Police!" 😂

Not entirely sure what to think of the NYPD behaving like a third rate action drama NYPD… but yeah, we got the message. And I guess it was also a necessary preparatory scene for the end of Part 3. I mean, there’s actually no way in hell that the London police would set a trap for a murder suspect pretty much with the main objective of killing him right away, rather than arresting him. There’s also no way in hell that the London police would shoot at two nerds running around in their crime scene just like that. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I was left wondering after Part 1 what the significance of the Lost Rivers of London was going to be. That mention and the explanation seemed just too random to be random. And then it came back in part 2… And then I turned out to be right. Yay!

Poor harassed Inspector Martin is a whole mood. 😆

And then - tadah - we finally find out about "Lestrade"! 🥳 Didn’t I say she was the character I was most interested in meeting? Love "Gwen", which I’m taking as a nod to "Greg", my personal favourite Lestrade of all time. Also, good choice to make her a very high ranking officer, to explain why it’s OK for the police to cooperate with an irregular freelancer like Sherlock (a major headache in any modern adaptation).

"A lot has changed in those 8 seconds" - This is just bound to be another absolute classic in our fandom.

John playing a BBC presenter! Dream on. And boo John for not acknowledging how absolutely correct Sherlock’s comment about war never being "other news" was. I love that they got to officially hijack the actual BBC for their stunt though.

John getting a too-tight bullet proof vest and making a new friend. 😝 Seriously Sherlock, your status was never in question here.

"Don’t stereotype Americans!" - "He’s from Chicago, for God’s sake!" - Love how John just never takes his own advice.

And THEN…

I have so many questions. Sherlock and John should have so many questions, too, for themselves and for each other.

I would like to know what John thinks it is that makes him run after Sherlock into situations so frightening and dangerous that he literally wets himself. That really is no joke.

I would also like to know why these two are convinced that they’re fine going after an armed, mentally unstable killer on their own, especially when a police team armed to the teeth is standing ready just around the corner. Is an unhealthy adrenaline addiction a necessary prerequisite of being Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, and if yes, will we see (hear, I mean) them actually talk about it, reflect on it, deal with it? Nobody forced them to confront Abe with zero backup like that. Are they just OK with it?

Yeah, like all of you, I forgot about the bullet-proof vest, too. Not that I could tell, in audio format, that John *didn’t* get shot in the head or in the leg or in any other place that might as well be fatal…

The way Sherlock says "please" kills me.

As does the way he goes back and forth between "John" and "Watson" in this scene, depending on whether he’s being coolly calculating or horribly worked up emotionally.

Is John actually telling Sherlock to shoot Abe before Abe shoots them (again), when Sherlock is about to drop the gun? Our Jonk, who hates gun violence and who keeps telling Sherlock that he can’t just shoot people, even if they’re very bad people?

I won’t be shouting and screaming and yelling about Sherlock completely losing the plot and taunting and abusing a dying man (a certified mentally ill man, too) and - according to the official transcript - actually strangling him, too, because we’ve been doing nothing else for a week now. But I want this addressed, too. I want this to be reflected on by the characters. I want them to figure it out live on audio where that came from and what it means. If I was John I’d be effing *scared* of my flatmate after this, even if he called me his best friend in the same breath.

A lot of us are seeing the parallel to the showdown of the first episode of BBC Sherlock, of course, and what Sherlock does to the dying bad guy in that scene… and I think it’s legit to wonder what this parallel means for the podcast. Especially since it has no equivalent in ACD canon. ACD’s Holmes does taunt bad guys sometimes after they’re defeated, but only ever verbally, and not when they’re physically hurting, let alone dying. And he sometimes lets fate run its course, rather than stepping in and saving a bad guy from the consequences of his own actions (like Baron Gruner, or Charles Augustus Milverton), but that’s only *allowing* bad things to happen, not actively inflicting physical and/or emotional pain on an already suffering/dying villain with his own words or hands. BBC Sherlock could plausibly do it because that was still the Sherlock without John, the Sherlock before John, the Sherlock that eventually got changed for the better by John’s positive influence. Here in the podcast, Sherlock has been sharing his life with John for months already and he’s *still* doing this? I find that disquieting, to say the least.

I guess what I want most from this episode is CONSEQUENCES. And I’m worried that we’ll just not get any. Starting with John needing at least one broken rib after being hit by a bullet at such close range, if not several. But more importantly, consequences in terms of "what the fuck did we do there and let’s count in how many ways it wasn’t OK". I mean, seriously, our boys are in for YEARS of therapy now.

I am so curious to find out just how badly that will all be glossed over in the upcoming episodes. I mean, I know this is fiction. I know the Podlock Universe is a place where you can be back making music within a day or two of shooting yourself in the head and being in a coma. But I don’t want realism for the sake of realism, I want it for the sake of the characters' journeys and their relationship.

I also want to know how on earth Joel is planning to top this one once he gets to the Three Garridebs.

So many good points. I really expected that when Sherlock dropped the gun, John would pick it up and shoot to save him. I thought his training would kick in. That's probably more of a Hollywood movie move, though, isn't it?

I agree the whole set up seemed unlikely. But it shows Sherlock acting erratically already. I was disturbed by Sherlock singing him to death. He must have been out of his mind. Was he high? Does that explain why he was so incautious about their lives running through the kill zone and then violently reacting when John was shot? As though his brilliant mind hadn't thought through the consequences.

I believed John went along because he wanted to try to get Abe in custody without killing him and was annoyed by the police's plan. He thought he could talk him in, or Sherlock could pull something amazing out of thin air. But then they got there and the shit hit the fan.

All through, this was a tragedy, and I expect consequences too. I don't know if we'll get them with the episodic nature of the project. I think they were supposed to mostly stand alone. People these days expect a long arc though, so I hope character growth happens.

good discussion, i wondered about many of these things too. the shooting in bbc sherlock is something i grew to feel increasingly uncomfortable with, so i hope it's not going to become a regular feature on the podcast. i would far rather see a veteran returned to civilian life who reflects the *extreme hesitancy* to pull out a (licensed, legal) firearm in a crisis situation. because that is what i am hearing from the (admittedly few) veterans i know personally.

otherwise, i thought the way the code was modernized was brilliant.

Heart, brain, soul and sound

THE ABERGAVENNY MURDER

A Sherlock & Co. Podcast casefic by Jolie_Black

An elderly man turns up at 221b with an exciting new case for Sherlock, John & Mariana - if they can only work out what it is! Their client is unfortunately not a great communicator... any more.

Set after The Reigate Squire. Now posting here on AO3!

Also a contribution to the @pridemonthpromptfest , Day 9: Together.

not if it's you

DAME GWEN LESTRADE, MET COMMISSIONER

that was such a great moment!

what is sherlock & co and would a casual bbc sherlock fan who is a less-than-causal johnlock shipper like it??? i keep seeing the fanart on my dash and its piqued my interest

yes! seconding the other notes so far. according to an interview with the writer on the i hear of sherlock everywhere podcast, the plan is to work through all the original stories, eventually. so far it's been short stories, each one taking up 2-3 episodes (with one 4 part). so there's LOTS of goodness ahead, and plenty of time for the friendship to develop.

it's also nice listening to a show that comes out once a week, like we wish our tv shows would go back to. a cliffhanger has a chance to BE a cliffhanger. and it doesn't seem like the writer is going around congratulating himself on his cleverness, he's just getting on with writing a damn fine show.

I mean it with every ounce of my being when I say I adore Sherlock & Co, I love it all so much.

I love how Sherlock Holmes embraces and understands his autism, how he can't understand the social norms but is trying to, how he is hilariously witty but caring and wanting to help people. I love how John Watson wants to support Sherlock as much as he can and goes out of his way to learn how to support him, mentally and emotionally and in his cases, and how he's allowed to still be smart and intelligent and useful. I love how he talks to us and helps us understand the cases better by giving us context or his own funny interpretations, like the books. I love how Marianne accepts Sherlock's antics and the way he calls her Mrs Hudson, and that she is just as involved in the cases and gives her own thoughts and ideas. I love how the characters and the audience aren't just treated like bumbling fools who can't keep up with Sherlock and we're here to enjoy the ride and the investigation just as much as he is. I love how the cases are brought to life so we can easily trace them back to the canon but they're still individual and updated in new and exciting ways. I love all of it so much and I'm so excited every week for the new episode, it brings me so much joy.