The Cardboard Box: Hans Sloane Could Lend Him a ... Hand.

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Canon Story: The Cardboard Box
Rating: Teen for Creepy!Holmes
Summary: Two monographs is just the beginning.

“Holmes! Where are you?” I stopped. “Oh, are those—?”

“As I said, no part of the body varies so much. I endeavour, as always, to be thorough in my research.”

“Your collection is extensive,” I said.

“Thus, the use of the lumber room. Extensive, yes, exhaustive, lamentably, no,” he replied as he eyed my pinna with no little interest.

Comments

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

Watson had better sleep with his earmuffs on and gun in hand.

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

I read a fanfic a long time ago where Sherlock is only nice to John because he wants to use his body to grow spores. This is sort of a Victorian version. A little creepy!Holmes for your Sunday. Ears...ears...EARS!

[debriswoman]

Run fast, run far, Watson...

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Hands off my Watson's ears, Holmes!

And that must be one lumber room Mrs. Hudson absolutely refuses to dust ^^"

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Watson tossed the hawthorn stake from hand to hand and looked at Holmes thoughtfully.

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Hee, hee. And cover your ears!

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Hee, hee. The first time she discovered Holmes' collection she had to go into the cupboard with a new bottle of gin all by herself.

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

I had to look that up. You think with all the vampire fic I've written I would know that one.

Well done. But Holmes just wants the ear. The blood--well, minus an ear's worth--can stay where it's at.

He does need to find a new supplier of pickling jars, though. Mrs. Hudson won't give him anymore of hers. :(

[castiron.livejournal.com]

Creepy indeed!

(Huh, the timeline works for him to have acquired Van Gogh's ear for his collection....)

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Maybe he and Mortimer from Hound (with his skull collection) are two of a feather.

[debriswoman]

This can only end badly...

[sanguinity]

They do a side profile in mug shots for a reason, Holmes. And mug shots store much more efficiently.

Am I the only one in this comm not worried about the safety of Watson's ears? I'm sure Watson already lets Holmes examine his ears whenever he likes; there's no reason at all to be hasty about adding them to the collection. And besides, where else is Holmes going to have such a good opportunity to make a longitudinal study of the effect of aging on ears' distinctive characteristics?

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

Lestrade smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Mr. Holmes, but the landlady had invited me to tea and we were forced to open one of your jars of preserves. Worst marmalade I've ever had, frankly."

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

Funny you should mention Van Gogh (http://sherlock60.livejournal.com/492449.html)...

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

Who collects whom first? Will Mortimer get Holmes' skull before Holmes collects Mortimer's ears?

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

And that's how the second larder became the never-mentioned lumber room.

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

You and Holmes, ever the scientists! Well said.

[castiron.livejournal.com]

Heh!

[sanguinity]

Well, right after I typed that, I thought "But that longitudinal study would work so much better with a control ear..." And then I sat on my hands hard, lest I type it. (And now I have, oh well.)

Although I really think that the statistical power of having two aging ears available for observation far outweighs the inconvenience of having to rely on written and photographic documentation of the original state. Especially since one can always expect bilateral asymmetry, and preservation doesn't actually cancel the effects of time on a sample, but only minimizes it. (And that's best-case: sometimes one's attempts to preserve a sample only hastens its degradation.)

There, I've talked myself around again to having a solid scientific reason to let Watson keep both of his ears. Both affection and science can be well-satisfied in this matter, hooray!

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Now there's a fic. Makes for a new, refreshing villain when one tires of Moriarty.

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Applauds the union of heart and mind!

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

Stamford did warn Watson that Holmes was the type of guy to give poison to a friend just out of scientific curiosity, and was as likely to try it himself - and in "Devil's Foot" he does exactly that.