a study in pink, and the mirror moment;

[falling_voices]

This was intended as a form of introduction for the S2 meta, but after several rewrites of it it simply didn't seem to fit, so I'm putting it up now, perhaps as a prologue. See, ASiP remains my favourite episode pretty much on par with TRF, and I find the echoes between both of these episodes to be fascinating, but upon closer reflection ASiP

Comments

[ningen_demonai]

Only problem with that is what Sherlock probably had in mind: Can John keep his emotions about Sherlock being alive down? I'd be all for that (cuz Jooooohn) but yeah. D:

And most "punching Sherlock in the face" is probably cuz the writers themselves want to punch Sherlock in the face. It's like a compulsion. But yeah, I can see why it's uncomfortable and also probably not too logical cuz John is a soldier and he'll at least hear someone out before punching them in the face (unless the person punches him in the face first, hello Sherlock). Unless John thought it was just some ~experiment~ where Sherlock fucked off for 3 years or whatever just cuz he could. IDK, emotions are weird in this 'verse.

Plus Sherlock really didn't have a choice! I mean, John's life is gonna suck hardcore for a while cuz he's pretty much alone again, except for a couple people whom he may not be able to stand for a bit cuz their connection is Sherlock, but it really was the only choice. The organization isn't stupid enough to view "suddenly disappearing John" as something normal, and they've still got Mrs. Hudson and Lestrade in their sights. Ugh. Stupid Mr. Thompson with his really good episode. :(

[falling_voices]

Re: post-TRF fic, I especially like those where John figures shit out. the sensation of falling just as you hit sleep was amazing, in that sense - I've seen quite a few stories in which he gets suicidal over Sherlock's death, and all of these feel trivializing and ill-fitted to the headcanon I have of John.

John's not - emotional, I suppose; he's the kind of person who sometimes acts impulsively, but keeps a hard check on his feelings most of the time. His best friend coming back from the dead might be the kind of trigger that would break that frontier between his brain and his emotions, but I have a hard time believing that his first instinct would not be hugging Sherlock or otherwise expressing relief over his survival.

John trusts him over anyone; I doubt he'd be given to disbelieving his story or accusing him of cruelty when Sherlock really, really didn't have a choice. It constantly baffles me when writers place him in the position of the bad guy in this deal, or imply that John is somehow right in thinking Sherlock was playing with him/being purposefully cruel. :((

[ningen_demonai]

It's interesting, cuz the author hates the hell outta her fic right now. Poor greywash.

I AM ALL FOR HUGGING SHERLOCK hugging Sherlock is good. Punching him is just us being horrible people. :|b And yeeeeah, I can't see him as suicidal really. For one, the man will soldier on and it will suck, but he'll do it. For two, even if he did feel suicidal, he won't do it cuz it'll probably add fuel to the flame of "SHERLOCK'S A FAKE" and like hell he's gonna give the paparazzi that kinda enjoyment.

A good chunk of what I've read actually puts them both in a sympathetic position, in a way, except Sherlock less so cuz everyone loves John. Except for the people who don't, but I don't give half a flip about them in the first place. ~Bias~

TL;DR I totally understand your point, and agree with it logically, but my emotions just want John punching him cuz 3 fucking years.

[falling_voices]

I've read that, and it saddens me, a little. I understand her issues with her characterization of Sherlock, and - well, it hasn't bugged me much while I was reading, because I realized that she was trying to tackle a man who has never had to deal with his emotions on a truly visceral level, not even with Irene (to be frank, the violin-playing and smoking in ASiB seemed to me to be less revealing of his emotions than concealing them, shutting himself up in clichés and addiction because he has no frame of reference for them otherwise), and who finds himself consistently overwhelmed by this new intensity. So - yeah, that gives his characterization some leeway; I'm especially grateful for the way she wrote him in connection to John, as well as John's own characterization, which seemed to me to be the perfect middle between the usual personalities given to him by fandom: he's neither too mushy nor too much of a BAMF, both of which always slightly bother me when I read fic. I really love greywash's John.

Most post-TRF I've read - okay, maybe half of it, but that's still quite a lot IMO - casts Sherlock as unfeeling and machine-like following the events of the fall, which seems rather... stunning, to me, because these last moments are among the most emotionally wrecked we've ever seen him (I've seen many people argue that his crying was faked for John's benefit, but I don't quite agree - I believe that the emotions behind his tears were quite real, and the only thing he forced out was the fact that he showed them instead of concealing everything the way he usually does - and that certainly helped to convince John of his suicide). I still love John and his struggles, I'm just - I guess I love John too much not to be wary of the way he's characterized in most fic, and him getting in over his head like a teenager after Sherlock's "death" appears massively OOC to me. :(

We don't even know if it'll be three years, though? In ACD!canon, H&W have known each other for a decade when Holmes stages his death. In BBC!canon, they've known each other for eighteen months - maybe they'll reduce the hiatus proportionally?