Sometime ago during my stupid google searches I discovered that “Red Beard” is the name of the UK’s first nuclear weapon. Now I feel there is a connection between the following bits of our show, and please correct me if I am wrong.
The awful lot of explosives we generally have on our show – and the missing fifth pip
The Bruce Partington Programme being about a missile defense system (which is a reference to but not canon)
Mummy Holmes being the author of “The Dynamics of Combustion” (which is also a reference to but not canon)
Sherlock knowing about a top-secret CIA project called H.O.U.N.D., because “he must have read about it somewhere” (this is what you can do with top-secret CIA projects, you can just google that shit)
Hound being another word for dog, which is even why Sherlock takes Henry’s case, so it must mean something
Sherlock, who initially wanted to be a pirate, calling his dog Redbeard (which is entirely NOT canon!)
Bluebell and Dr Stapleton as mirrors for Redbeard and Mummy Holmes
This could be such a crack theory. But listen.
Once upon a time, little Sherlock got bored. Mycroft didn’t have time to play with Sherlock, which is why he finds himself in Mummy’s study. Guessing the combination for the safe was literally child’s play for him, so he sits on the floor, cross-legged, digging through some quite fascinating papers of Mummy’s. This all sounds so interesting, science seems to be rather fun, though these little CIA logos are quite annoying, what does this mean anyway.
This is how Sherlock reads about H.O.U.N.D., which doesn’t make sense to him as an acronym, because “hound”, isn’t that a word for “dog” they use in these old-fashioned books? And there’s this other project called “Red Beard”. If I ever have a dog, I might him call Redbeard. This sounds like a proper name for a future pirate’s companion. Redbeard…
Could the Redbeard-issue be the fifth pip/bomb?
(I’m sorry, I can’t really think about this properly now, so I’m just putting this out there, hoping for your input! In addition to this post… calling
Friends, family members and loved ones of learning disabled and mentally ill people need to have a working knowledge of what Executive Dysfunction is, and respect the fact that it is a prominent feature of that person’s psychology and life.
Executive Dysfunction is best known as a symptom of autism and ADHD, but it also features in depression, anxiety disorders schizophrenia, OCD (which by the way is also an anxiety disorder), personality disorders; etc, a whole myriad of mental illnesses and disabilities can result in executive dysfunction.
Years ago when I was like 14 and had recently learned of my autism diagnosis, I watched a youtube interview between autistic people, and an autistic woman said something along these lines:
“Sometimes, a lightbulb will burn out, but I cannot change it. I have the physical capability to change the lightbulb, and I want to change the lightbulb, and I know I need to do it, but because of my autism I just don’t do it. So the lightbulb remains unchanged for weeks. Sometimes people have to change the lightbulb for me.”
When she said that I related so much, because constantly throughout my whole life I have wanted and needed to do things with my wanting and needing being akin to my spurring an extremely stubborn horse who refuses to move. For the first time I learned that I wasn’t just “lazy”, I had a condition that prevented me from doing things as easily as other people can, but unfortunately it took me years since then to understand that.
Imagine that you are a horserider, but your horse is entirely unwilling to move even if you want to move. You dig in your heels, you raise the reins, but the horse refuses to respond. Your wants and needs are the rider, and your executive functions (the parts of your mind responsible for getting things done) are the horse.
I think it’s incredibly dangerous for neurotypical loved ones to not understand, or be aware of, or respect executive dysfunction. Neurotypical can assume that we are just being lazy, careless, selfish or difficult, when in reality we want to do the thing but our brains prevent us from consistently and reliably doing the thing.
That misinterpretation can lead to toxic behavior and resentment on the part of the loved one, which will harm us emotionally and do us a lot of damage gradually over time.
That damage can take the form of internal self-criticism, complicating executive dysfunction even further and making it worse.
edited for easier reading!
THISS
YOOOOOOOOOO MORE POSTS ABOUT MY LEARNING DISABILITIES YO DAWG NICE
“The man sitting next to me wouldn’t treat his one luxury item like this…”
My favorite thing about Sherlock’s introductory deductions of John is that he knows, just from one look at him, that he’s a man who takes good care of the things he loves…
