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megpie71

December 2025

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Sunday, March 15th, 2026 10:37 pm

Reading. I continue to work my way through the She's A Beast archives, to a degree that is not necessarily ... uh ... optimal, in terms of all the other things I want to do...

I slowed down on LIFTOFF, on account of resuming reading from the start with A, and then this evening I tripped and fell and am. More. of the way through it. again.

Finished What Is Queer Food? by John Birdsall. Ultimately the argument is that the queerness is a function of community -- the role that food plays in eating together -- though he also tries at various points for "enjoying food is queer" (among other things), which I do not think I am the target audience for. (Having said which I am now wondering what it would take to convince me of that line of reasoning, and Ideas Are Stirring. Hmm.) Overall a mixture of anecdotes from culinary history and fiction to fill in events that went unrecorded; he does hold space for people to be complex and flawed, and I appreciated the history that was actually history, but -- alas, this did not really work for me.

Writing. Words. Continue. To be. Eked out.

Watching. The 2026 Migraine World Summit is ongoing and eating a lot of my time and brain; thus far nothing has made me actually vibrate with fury and I've had a couple of useful joining-the-dots moments, so mustn't grumble there, really. And I have finally watched the talks from last year's Day 2 that I missed due to time changes, and have started transferring my digital notes from last year into my notebook...

Playing. Inkulinati: we continue Not Dead Yet in the Exploders run on Master difficulty.

The Ridiculous Colours Game.

Sudoku... appears to have let go of my brain for now?

Cooking. This evening I have been attempting to remember how to make Spätzle, and got there eventually (part of the difficulty being that this is the first time I've made them since acquiring a dedicated Spätzlebrett, and I needed to reestablish correct consistency of the dough...)

Eating. This morning we engaged in a Weekend Morning Ritual of going down to the local fancy bakery and getting brunch from them. We also got Treats for Afternoon Tea; I am delighted that they'll supply me with cardamom buns that I don't have to actually make myself.

I have also been Craving Brownies, but not enough to actually make them myself (and also The Oven Is Broken), and consequently have eaten them courtesy of both Wagamama (ritual Thursday night takeaway) and London Zoo (Saturday afternoon tea).

Exploring. London Zoo! Saw creatures! Maybe I will even go back and edit in more details about the creatures! Creatures: good.

Several bimbles around local front gardens (etc) to enjoy Spring Flowers.

Growing. Harvested (and consumed!) more salad. Transplanted some garlic. Wrangled some more weeding. Have yet to sow any more things but really want to have Actual Plants this growing season so, uh, maybe that can be a priority for Breaks From Migraine World Summit, not that that's worked so far...

Observing. THE BAT.

And then for brunch this morning we took our breakfast slightly further than usual to a different park bench, this one surrounded by daffodils, and then additionally wandered a little way down the New River (neither new, nor a river) to see if the coots were doing things yet (which I have also been checking every time I go to the pharmacy to pick up meds). The coots aren't, BUT there were TEN EGYPTIAN GOSLINGS peeping about the place!!! At least one of whom was Extremely keen on coming All the way down the bank and plapping along the edge of the bricks, presumably because they were warm and felt nice on feet? Certainly two very gentle attempts to chase it back towards its parents got them contemplating hissing at me, and only persuaded it to maybe do the thing for about thirty seconds at most, so I gave up on that and just stood back and watched them for a bit, and then was very relieved that the foolhardy baby did upon parents Alarm Calling (as best we can tell about A Passing Dog) go FWEEP FWEEP FWEEP all the way back up and into the bundle of its siblings. An unexpected and very welcome delight.

Sunday, March 15th, 2026 03:30 pm
st pat 2026-1.jpg st pat 2026-2.png st pat 2026-3.png

More icons here at my journal
Sunday, March 15th, 2026 05:50 pm
Got up yesterday morning baked 4 loaves of soda bread (here's a picture of 2 of them), ate some myself (I kept the 4th loaf) then schlepped out ot the island to deliver them to my brother, sister, and niece.

We went out for a fun dinner - the onion rings at this place are so good! even if the service was a little haphazard - and then I went home with my brother's family. It was early enough that I could have come back here, but my middle niece was like, "aren't you going to hang out with us?!" so of course I stayed, and ended up watching KPop Demon Hunters with middle and youngest niece (youngest was like I don't wanna! but at the end she was like, that was really good!). I should note that they are 27 and 24, but they still like hanging out with me! <333 And now we want the prequel about Rumi's mother and her demon affair.

My car this morning came 90 minutes early, so I rolled out of bed expecting to be able to have a bagel and a cup of coffee before I had to leave, but there he was, blocking the driveway, so I got home before I was even scheduled to leave.

The amount of benadryl and Zyrtec I have to take at their house because of the cat is ridiculous, and I ended up coming home and sleeping for most of the day. I'm glad I didn't cancel my PTO day tomorrow though - I scheduled it when this dinner was originally planned for tonight. I did tell my boss she could ping me if she needed me ahead of their meeting with the board chair tomorrow afternoon, but I so hope she doesn't.

*
Sunday, March 15th, 2026 10:37 pm

Note: I haven't had more than a short nap in over 36 hours. So this is going to be a really short and possibly incoherent post.

The main thing this week was my (short) trip to the US -- first solo transatlantic flight. Far easier than I'd been afraid it would be. The bank errands didn;t get run, but I got to the Wednesday grief group gathering in Third Place Commans, got my driver's license renewed (and had a nice long chat with MG from the Tuesday group, while she drove me down to the DOL in Tukwilla), and had lunch with my kids on my (79th) birthday. The sushi place was closed, but we went next door and had ramen and pork buns.

I took Lilac, and got everything done that needed to be done, but it was a struggle. Some scattered commentary below. There are links below but you'll have to dig them out yourself -- I'm going to bed. With my cats.

Notes & links, as usual )

Tags:
Sunday, March 15th, 2026 04:27 pm
The wall-to-wall crowd of the memorial from which I have just returned testifies to the love poured out and returned by the guest of honor, but I would still rather have been in the worldline where they were present to be celebrated in more than memory.
Sunday, March 15th, 2026 09:00 pm


Week 10

is started now. Good luck, everyone!

Under the cut, you find the weekly playlist. To check out what prompts/minimum/points are waiting for you this week, please visit the Board.

If you can't find your name on this list, you might be moved to the Hiatus List. This is not a punishment, but it helps to make the playlist clearer for everyone. You are always welcome to jump back into the game. Use three tokens to post two of your missed prompts.

In case you have missed a week or you don't like your prompts, remember your Joker Card. Every Joker Card comes with 15 tokens.
Use three tokens, and you can create two extra works for two missed prompts.
Use two tokens to roll the dice again.
Use five tokens to move to any square of your choice (exception: go!, chance, jail)

Reminder:
You still have three weeks left to earn points. Remember that you can earn extra points for finishing a row of streets or stations.
- a row of streets (3 of the same color) => Easy (2 / 3 points per street) = 2 extra points /  Difficult (4 / 5 points per street) = 3 extra points
- all stations (four) = 4 extra points
You might want to check out your already finished squares and use your Joker Tokens to complete a row.


To re-visit full rules go here.
Weekly Playlist )

There is a chance for even more points for those who did sign up for the Team Challenge.

Post all your finished works at [community profile] fandom_empire_workplace until Sunday, March 22, 18.00 UTC, but I will allow belated works until I've made the closing post. Countdown here.
Sunday, March 15th, 2026 08:39 pm
Posting for week 9 is closed now. Thank you to everyone participating this week.

Regular Challenge
We have had a total of 14 participants this week.

Maximum weekly points:
[personal profile] elian_panatomicpublishing and [personal profile] suzy_queue  reached a maximum of 9 points.

Maximum regular points in total:
[personal profile] elian_panatomicpublishing has reached 59 points.


Team Challenge
Team Alpha
3 participants
line gold finished
card finished
individual points for everyone filling at least one gold prompt
team points: 2 (gold line) and 10 (completed card)
57 team points in total

Team Omega
4 participants
individual points will get counted after finishing a color
60 team points in total

A new board is already added to both teams!


Maximum points (regular+team) in total:
[personal profile] melime has reached 74 points.


To check out all scores, have a look at the Google Highscore Sheet. If you find an error or have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

The playlist for week ten will be online soon!
 
Sunday, March 15th, 2026 03:30 pm
Council of Assholes (4043 words) by thedarlingone
Chapters: 1/16
Fandom: Star Wars Legends: X-Wing Series - Aaron Allston & Michael Stackpole
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Wes Janson/Derek "Hobbie" Klivian, Wes Janson/Original Character
Characters: Wedge Antilles (Star Wars), Tycho Celchu, Wes Janson, Derek "Hobbie" Klivian, Airen Cracken, Diane Klivian (OC), Darren Klivian (OC), Darla Klivian Velsper (OC)
Additional Tags: Effective Negotiations, Questionable Spy Techniques, Star Wars Worldbuilding, Family Drama, Dysfunctional Family, Family Secrets, Planet Ralltiir (Star Wars), backstabbing, Ralltiir Birth Order Culture
Summary:

Hobbie is forced to return to the home planet that cast him out and face his overbearing Family.



new story! 16 chapters, plan to post one a week, about 60k final total
Sunday, March 15th, 2026 11:33 am
* Last night went I went to go stretch my legs after watching hockey, a cop decided to do the whole 'slow down, stare at me, block the cross walk' shit on me. He didn't just do a slow roll, he actually stopped for about 10 seconds and blocked my path. JFC, I don't need that shit.

* Sports Bra finally posted the info for the bus to the Torrent Pride game. I was about to give up and book a bus trip/hotel. Now I need to figure out food since I don't think I can eat anything at CPA and don't know if I can get away with bringing in a protein bar.
Sunday, March 15th, 2026 11:15 am
Title: Can’t Pretend
Characters/Pairing: Jonathan Pine/Teddy Dos Santos
TV Series: The Night Manager
Music: Can’t Pretend by Tom Odell
Length: 3:35
Streaming/download at: DW | Tumblr
Tags:
Sunday, March 15th, 2026 05:44 pm

Last week's bread held out admirably.

Friday night supper: ven pongal (South India khichchari).

Saturday breakfast rolls: eclectic vanilla, came out a bit more vanilla-y than usual.

Today's lunch: Norwegian halibut fillets panfried for slightly less long than suggested on packet, as I have found this in the past to be a bit of an over-estimate, served with samphire sauce, baby cauliflowers quartered and cooked thus (used lime and lemongrass vinegar for the acidulation) and La Ratte potatoes roasted in goosefat.

Sunday, March 15th, 2026 10:12 am
So, L and I went to see Hoppers at the movies on Thursday. The premise sounded very stupid to me when I first heard about it, but L had showed me the “lizard lizard lizard lizard” teaser some months ago, and the lizard looked cute, and L wanted to see it by RH was not interested in seeing it with her, so I said I would. I watched Dan Murrell’s review of it with some trepidation, but he said it was a good, though “lesser” Pixar, with a good message but not too preachy, which seemed relatively reassuring. And both L and I ended up enjoying it more than we expected and laughing A LOT, which was nice.

We saw it in 4DX, which was my first experience of that at feature length – more on this part )

In fact, the only time the chair-jolting part became really unpleasant was during the previews )

The movie itself was fun! More, with marked spoilers )

It’s not a movie that will stay with me in some, you know, profound way, like an Encanto or an Inside Out or a Spider-Verse, but it was cute and a time well spent! I even don’t terribly resent it for costing us $33/person XD (though, seriously, that is insane).

*

I also watched a couple of comedy specials:

Pierre Novellie Why Can't I Just Enjoy Things special – about his autism diagnosis via heckler. I liked Novellie when he appeared on How Do You Cope, talking about his autism, and enjoyed him as a guest on Elis & John, in more free-form conversation, and then [personal profile] scytale recommended this special, so I watched it (because I couldn’t get into Netflix for some reason, and B, whose email it’s linked to, was asleep in Normandy, so I couldn’t watch the James Acaster specials I was planning to watch with my solo dinner at home). I liked it (some joke spoilers) )

And then I was watching his other special on YouTube, Quiet Ones, and there is a bit he reads from a paper (because he finds it too boring to remember) about Moore’s Law XD I mean, what are the odds XD XD This show was from 2021, so a lot of it is about the lockdown, and I generally thought it was less strong (which makes sense, you would expect an artist to get better at his art as he practices it more), but I did appreciate the “quiet ones” bit, among the differences between men and women, after which the show is (justly) named.

*

Some more Taskmaster-adjacent content:

- CoC 4 portrait fanart -- what a gloriously mad bunch! :D (cartoon!Andy is my favorite)

- Another Taskmaster Podcast popped up for the second live event in NYC (the last night of the tour). There was some repetition of stuff I heard Greg say on other stops or other interviews, but still some fun gleanings. Assorted tidbits )

Long Alex & Greg interview during the US tour (YouTube): Fun and thoughtful, with some unusual questions and good rapport. Assorted tidbits )

*

I think it's also time for an Elis & John catch-up. It’s been a bit over a month since my last post, but really, because it took me about a month to get through the previous catch-ups, over 3 separate posts, I’ve actually got over two months worth of listening I’m catching up on – i.e. 2 months of new shows and about 7 months of Radio X backlog.

First, a visual bit: John and a giant teddy (from ~10 years ago?)

Second, John was on Chris and Rosie Ramsey’s “Shagged, Married, Annoyed” podcast earlier this year, where the schtick with the guest is he reads a listener-submitted story, which of course I don’t have much interest in, but he also talked about some personal stuff in more detail than I’ve heard elsewhere. (The recording was from about 6 months earlier than the podcast, so, mid-2025-ish, because How Do You Cope was actively putting out episodes and John said he’d been sober for 2.5 years, when he passed three years in November 2025.) Personal tidbits: giving up meat, spooky bum procedure )

Catching up on the current shows, Jan - Mar 2026 )

(I do also have ~8 months of Radio X shows to post about, but that's going to be a separate post -- hopefully it all fits in one, LOL.)

*

And oh hey, it's mid-March somehow, so this is probably a good time to check in on my fannish goals )
Sunday, March 15th, 2026 01:06 pm
My right shoulder and neck started hurting Friday night, along with an ache on my right side. I tried Tylenol, which did nothing, but this morning it occurred to me that while I know naproxen doesn't help the weird neck/shoulder tension, it might help my back. I tried, and yes it helped.

Other than that, I went for a walk in the snow yesterday, after staying in all day Friday, and in the evening rysmiel, Sasha, and I watched the first half of the National Theater at Home production of _The Importance of Being Earnest_. It's very good, and we are going to watch the rest of it tonight.
Sunday, March 15th, 2026 04:07 pm

I read something that seems particularly relevant on Long Covid Awareness Day, a day which as an online pal who has LC says says,

We are combatting willful ignorance. People actively do not want to know about Long Covid, and the long-term health consequences of Covid infections. They do not want to see us.

The thing I read is about "AI" as currently understood, and grief. And I'm glad it connects both of these things to covid.

Generative AI emerged during a global pandemic -- a global trauma of mass death (1.2 million people in the US died of COVID, and about 7 million globally -- these are, no doubt, figures that undercount how many actually died of the disease, let alone those like my son who died during that time period of other causes -- overdoses, suicide, murder, and deaths related and unrelated to the pandemic).

Mass trauma, mass death and, as such, mass grieving. But it was, at the time and still to this day, a grief interrupted, a grief buried, a grief denied, a grief unobserved. We were often not able to bury our dead, not able to hold funerals, not able to have wakes, not able to observe the rituals of death, not able to gather, to bring food, to hold and comfort one another.

And when we were told the pandemic was over -- it hasn't really ended; the World Health Organization says there were around 150,000 cases of COVID reported in the last month -- we didn't deal with our trauma. We didn't deal with our grief. We were supposed to bury our feelings; we were supposed to forget. It was back-to-school, back to work, back to "normal."

There was, in fact, a massive demonstration of grief – an outpouring of grieving in public – during COVID; and that was the Black Lives Matter movement, the protests that occurred in cities throughout the country particularly after the murder of George Floyd. This grief was not private or hidden; it was collective. This grief was not just personal, expressed by those impacted directly by racism and police violence; it demanded from protestors and onlookers, empathy, solidarity. This grief was expressive – even as we are always told with protest, as with grief, that that is not the “good way” to say it. The grief of Floyd’s death – and all the deaths – was not sufficient. It was not simply a marker or memorial of death; but it was an act of life, an act of repair. It was a demonstration of love and loss and fury; it was a commitment to the future.

Sunday, March 15th, 2026 04:16 pm
Hot cross buns have reappeared at my favourite bakery in town (the time between them posting about this on their Instagram stories today, and me rushing out to the bakery to buy some was six minutes), everything is all wild garlic, all the time, and I hung my laundry on the washing line outdoors for the first time this year. All, in their way, are my personal markers of spring's return — although it began raining after lunch and I had to rush out into the garden to rescue everything before it had completely finished drying.

Yesterday I was in Cambridge for the afternoon. I went for a massage (the masseuse told me my shoulders and neck were the tensest she'd ever seen in a client), refilled my spice jars at the refill shop, and got my hair cut. My hairdresser, who is prone to belief in conspiracy theories and quackery, didn't even spout any nonsense this time around (apart from recommending black seed oil as a cure for all medical ailments), which was something of a relief.

After the haircut, I met Matthias for dinner at this restaurant, which was fantastic, and of course featured at least one dish involving wild garlic!

I've read three books this week )

Today has been sleepy and slow: laundry, cups of coffee, hot cross buns, reading in the living room. For most of the morning I was following the sun around the room like a cat, basking. Now, I'm watching the rain on the windows.
Sunday, March 15th, 2026 03:04 pm

I had this tab open before, but I've only gotten around to reading it properly now that it seems to echo that emotional literacy thing.

It's the arousal-valence model.

By identifying your current level of arousal and valence, you can start to build awareness of your bodily sensations and the connection between those sensations and your emotions.

It looks like a good next step for me in "what to do next," like it's all well and good understanding that I'm bad at identifying and acknowledging my emotions, but now what can I do to make this less of a problem for me.

Sunday, March 15th, 2026 03:37 pm
Having been a One Piece fan since 2004, I was INCREDIBLY surprised when I went from "but why would you do that?" about the then forthcoming One Piece live action adaptation to head over heels in love with the writing, acting, production, and music. I was absolutely psyched for season two, which came out on Tuesday. My old friend [personal profile] shayera suggested getting together to watch it, so she came over to hang out with [personal profile] doctorskuld and me this weekend. We've all been into One Piece for 20+ years, and are fans of the magnitude where we have all written One Piece fic and made One Piece vid, as well as gone to events in Japan. (Seeing Oda Eiichiro live and getting to be in the crowd shouting "Arigatou!" at him is forever going to be a highlight of my fannish life.)

Which is to say: we are probably the worst kind of audience to try to please. But, of course, we all loved it. It is a tour de force in every way. THIS is how you adapt a manga! This is how you pour your heart and soul into making something so good it's impossible not to be won over by it.

I really was excited when the incomparable Sonya Belousova & Giona Ostinelli released two tracks from the S2 OST (not yet released) ahead of the premiere. The first was the absolutely epic Pray to the Sun, featuring none other than THE HU as well as Declan de Barra. Listen to that sound! That is 100% what Elbaph music sounds like! It's got such a wild range of instruments, from Nordic nyckelharpa to Mongolian morin khuur, and those lyrics are - well. Let's just say that if you're up to date on the anime they will mean more than you may think.

Then they released their collaboration with baritone saxofonist Leo P, Whiskey Peak Saloon. Amazing energy! Amazing fun! I highly recommend Sonya Belousova's Instagram for lots of informative (and enthusiastic!) behind the scenes information on the OST.

As for the eight episodes - I am so glad season 3 is already in production, because I need more immediately. It's so bonkers and fun in the best way, at the same time as it manages to capture both the emotional heart of the story. And the production is so good?? Not just the amazing quality of everything from costume and props to sets, but the level of details that goes into everything - and also the way they've adapted the story...! There were so many great easter eggs, shout-outs, and treats for fans of the manga and anime, and I've put several on Tumblr already. Let's see...

This moment, when Dragon turns around in episode 1, and the camera focuses on the man standing behind him? Yeah, I made a teakettle noise of surprised delight. I also think there may be a relevant Wanted poster very out of focus in the background when they enter Loguetown.

Another fun Loguetown background thing that actually comes back in episode 5 is Hero of the Marines: The Musical about Garp. Just. The amount of namedropping that happens in the legible part of the review of said musical is astounding.

There's also a lot of legible text in the Baroque Works files that we see in episode 5.

Finally, for fans who've watched through Wano there is a huge easter egg standing around on Dorry's chest in episode 4. (I believe for fans up to date on the manga there are two Easter Eggs.)

...I say "finally" though I am pretty sure I am not done with discovering fun things in OPLA. I mean. I haven't even made a gif set for it yet...!
Sunday, March 15th, 2026 02:57 pm
Happy Mother's Day to all that celebrate today. I got a lovely text from Corey saying he'd phone on his way home from work. Which is thankfully around 8 today and not late shift bar closing hours.

It was the Consett Cats craft fair yesterday. I knew going in we wouldn't make any money due to the location, and that's exactly what happened. But what I did do was get to talk to many other adopters, give some money to the rescue from items that did sell, and come home with a Consett Cat tote bag and a ridiculous amount of baked goods and cake. Even more cake than I planned as I was talking to one of the bakers at the end of the afternoon and she asked if I wanted to take three leftover cupcakes, and really, how could I say no?

There was also an Easter egg drive in the run up to the fair, with the donated eggs being put in brown bags and sealed up for a lucky wheel spin. At first they used the wheel correctly, but they'd had so many eggs donated by the end of the fair anyone spinning the wheel won an egg no matter if it landed on win or lose. At £2 a spin I got the eggs I need for the nieces and nephews, and maybe a spare for myself.

There was another good thing, the lady on the table next to us was a professional shopper for M&S for her day job and she was giving us tips on stall product placement and most interesting, the new trends coming in. Apparently, it's going to be tissue box covers, decorative trays that hold candles etc that can sit on coffee tables, wooden bangles and hare decorations. Now, most of those James can do, maybe not the bangles, but the rest, yeah. So, I think he's going to try for some of those for the next fair, which is this coming Saturday.

I enjoyed the season finale of Star Trek Academy, and am glad that season two has not only already being announced, but shown as wrapped via an Insta video from Karim Diane. It really has been my favourite new show recently, and there's not a character I don't like.

I've also watched the last ep of Call the Midwife, and what a bittersweet episode it was. The show did lose it's way a little at times, and was often the Dr Turner show, but I did enjoy it and will be watching the film and prequel show while waiting for season 16 to eventually be show, which will be a while from what the show creatorshave stated.
Sunday, March 15th, 2026 03:15 pm
Dark Winds, Season 3: continues to be both beautifully acted, thoughtfully and empathically written, and a visual feast. Also heartbreaking in the day it follows up on s2's conclusion for Joe Leaphorn and his wife Emma. Small spoilery remark. ) Also I was more grateful than ever that the show takes place in the 1970s and wasn't updated to the present because Bern's new job with border patrol would have felt very differently even before her subplot kicks in.

Young Sherlock: aka the one by Guy Ritchie which doesn't feel like a prequel to his Holmes movies and is the better for it. I mean, I didn't dislike his first Holmes movie, which was the only one I saw, but I wasn't crazy about it, either, and never felt the need to see it again. Also it was made at a time where all the various iterations of Sherlock Holmes seemed to lean into emphasizing his arrrogance. Now, this show is entertaining fluff with only the vaguest nods to when it's supposed to be set: female students galore in Oxford, 1870, for some reason a rich and high ranking visitor takes the carriage instead of the train to Oxford, while someone in the production team actually remembered the Paris Commune happened, they evidently forgot or ignored both the near starvation of the population part of that and that there was also the Franco-Prussian war going on, so everyone makes a trip to Paris for one episode with no armies in sight, but the Folies Bergeres being in business with dancing girls, etc., etc., etc. Not to mentiion something extremely plot spoilery ) But honestly, because the show doesn't pretend to be anything but fun fluff, I did not mind. What I do suspect is someone in the production team has watched at least some Smallville and thought, hm, that "Clark and Lex were bffs for a while when young before Lex went evil" premise is great, we should do that with Holmes and Moriarty". And proceeded to follow up on this idea. Young Sherlock, played by a member of the gifted Fiennes clan, and young James M, played by Mat (the second one) from Wheel of Time, have the necessary chemistry and homoerotic subtext, they hit it off famously, and at the same time the seeds for future supervillaindom in Moriarty are there. And the show does make it believable these are two young guys smarter than most others around them and on each other's level. Most importantly, though: this Sherlock Holmes is the first one in what feels like eons who is not introduced being a jerk to the people around him. (I love Elementary ! But while Elementary's Sherlock was never as extreme as Sherlock's Sherlock, he, too, started out being rude to his Watson and everyone else.) It might come with the much younger territory, but while he's cocky, he's not (yet?) abrasive, downright tender with his mother, and, lo and behold, civil to people who aren't awful to others in front of him. Otoh, it may also be that Guy Ritchie and his production team watched the last season of Sherlock and thought, hm, dysfunctional Holmes family drama, unexpected relations, we like it, we like it, but how about giving the women better parts? Spoilers were very entertained indeed by the result ) Oh, and absolutely no one gets raped or threatened with rape. Like I said, this fluffy show with a heavy emphasis on the bromance manages to do very well by its female characters. Anyway, whether nor not this gets another season - which it doesn't really need for the story it has told - I enjoyed myself.