Character: Sherlock Holmes Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (RDJ Movie incarnation) Arrival Date: 4/18/2012 Canon Point at Date of Arrival: After pushing himself over the balcony and into the Reichenbach waterfall, right after hitting the water Can he be canon punctured: Yes Disclaimer: Not Sherlock Holmes, not Robert Downey, Jr. I own neither and this profile/character concept is for Land of Make Believe RPG only. Land of Make Believe is entirely fictional. This means that it is in no way real, nor do we the players believe it to be so.
BASICS; Full Name: Sherlock Holmes Nicknames: Holmes, Shirley, Shirley-no-mates Age: 37 DOB: 6th January, 1854 Occupation: Consulting detective Birthplace: London Species: Human Sexual Orientation: Sherlock is a three on the Kinsey Scale, being equally heterosexual and homosexual. (And highly commitment phobic.)
PHYSICAL; Overall Physical Appearance: Sherlock is exactly 173 cm tall, or 5'8". As to his weight, it fluctuates with his lifestyle habits as does his build. Before Watson left Baker Street, Holmes was about 12.5 stones (175 lbs) but he has since dipped. Existing on a diet of coffee, tobacco, and coco leaves (with the occasional swig of embalming fluid instead of brandy for a drink) hardly does one good when it comes to building a good, healthy physique. Age has helped with the shift in his appearance as well and his lifestyle habits are starting to show wear.
Holmes' rarely tamed, generally wild hair has the beginning hints of grey to it as does his beard and mustache. Though more grey can be found in his facial hair, the characteristics of age sneaking up on him are there. With deep set brown eyes and a elongated face, all the same, Holmes can be quite dashing physically. Of course, when he speaks from the generally smirk-wearing mouth of his, it can be questionable just how appealing he is; looking like his esteemed doctor companion couldn't even help him when it comes to (figurative) magnetic appeal after he has managed to put his foot in his mouth. Dress Style: Holmes' fashion habits tend to veer toward the bohemian in concept as well as what's available. He generally wears a pants, a shirt, often a scarf or ascot of some sort, and a jacket. Occasionally he'll toss in a vest. Usually, the shirt is white, the jacket (and vest, when he wears one) a dark colour. He veers more toward darker colours, rather than bright, though he's been known to dash in with something odd. He tops his looks off, generally, with a worn-down fedora, a boulder hat, a set of "sunglasses," or something else out of place simply because he can. Left/Right/Ambi: Right PB of choice: Robert Downy, Jr.
PERSONALITY; Personality: Sherlock's personality is, quite distinctly, his own. It's layer upon layer of what he attempts to and actually feels the desire to convey (at a whim, often, and the truth behind his actions and statements can be questionable at times) and is rarely what Watson actually manages to convey in his stories based on his adventures with the detective. At the end of the day, it boils down to one simple matter. Holmes is a man of intellect with a rare mind and a child-like petulance and craftiness to go with it.
In his latest case, he and Watson were accompanied by a Romanian gypsy named Madam Simza Heron. She questioned Sherlock, "What do you see?" while he was trying to spot a disguised assassin hiding amongst a room of diplomats. His answer was rather telling in relation to his personality and his mind. He rather simply said, "Everything. That is my curse." Holmes has a talent and perhaps, as he said, a curse for seeing the smallest of details that others may miss. A hint of mud on the boot, a piece of fabric torn from a jacket, a faint trace of pale skin where the tan has yet to fade from around a previously worn engagement ring. He can often feel compelled to blurt these details out and is rather poor about self-control when pushed, or even when he just lacks the desire to have that self-control dictating his movement. He enjoys a sense of freedom and that can lead to inevitable and extreme trouble at times. This impulsive behaviour can lead to a number of social situations needing smoothed out as well (usually something done by Watson.)
Sherlock also, notably, has some commitment-like issues in regards to social situations and women. His companion has written him to be rather asexual in his novels; something that Sherlock would severely disagree upon. He, rather, doesn't wish to be put into a "purgatory" by the restriction that a wife would bring. He instead focuses his attention elsewhere. Part of the time his attention is focused toward his doctor companion, generally attempting to drag Watson about (or else trying to butt in with Watson and Mary), or else he focuses his attention toward cases. In true Holmes style, he will often indulge in less than sane behaviours when working on a case or lacking any case to take on as well. He has been known to use cocaine (chewing coco leaves,) as well as take morphine on rarer occasion. He's also drank embalming fluid (formaldehyde) due to it having a bit of a kick.
All of that aside, including addictive behaviour, Sherlock has a good heart. He has been known to take a case for the simple fact that someone needs to do it. He has been declared a fugitive, been forced to ride a pony, died (once, though technically was thought dead twice), and been through a good deal of stress among other things with cases. His brother, Mycroft, has a similar mind and similar abilities to Sherlock. Unlike Sherlock, Mycroft lacks the motivation that Sherlock has to actually go out and make use of his mind toward the better.
Sherlock is also extremely loyal. He was willing to shove himself off of a balcony and over Reichenbach waterfalls due to the fact he knew he couldn't win a physical fight with James Moriarty, both to rid the world of the criminal and because he knew the threats the professor was making against Mr. & Mrs. Watson would come to fruition if James escaped.
The epitaph at Sherlock's funeral said,
"In Loving Memory of Sherlock Holmes 1854-1891 He Played The Game for The Game's Own Sake"
and such is quite true. Sherlock plays the game simply to play the game. With a mind like his, rather than focusing it toward heinous deeds, he prefers to use some motivation and spine to see what it is he can accomplish. Of course, having it be a game only helps all the more. It means there's a bit of fun and enjoyment to be had. Positive Traits: * Sherlock in undoubtedly loyal. Even when he will try to push people away from him and keep his distance, he cannot turn a back on someone he cares about. (And yes, he will deny until his dying breath the "care" aspect.) * Sherlock has a good heart underneath it all. He could use his mind toward the pursuit of money and live a life of luxury - essentially what peer Professor James Moriarty with his "rare" mind and what his brother did in a very legal sense by getting his political position - but rather he dedicated his life to trying to achieve something with actual pursuit of the mind. * Sherlock is dedicated. While this can be a bit of an issue if he doesn't have someone to pull him back, he will go to whatever lengths he must to achieve his goal. * Sherlock enjoys a good challenge. While he (obviously) prefers that the fate of a person's life, western civilization, etc don't hang in the balance, he relishes something about the chase for answers. Figuring out the unknown and not having everything blatantly obvious is thrilling for him and he can be downright child-like in his enthusiasm. Negative Traits: * Sherlock has issues associated around admitting the fact he has feelings. He finds them downright incumbering, at times, and would rather push them aside when they're restricting or upsetting vs. facing them. * Sherlock has an issue with not getting his way. In short? He hates it. This includes "sharing" his companion, Watson. He was, and still can be, a bit like a child who has been told to share their toy. He will misbehave for attention, on occasion, when this sort of thing happens. * Sherlock can be quite blunt. In his pursuit for the end truth of whatever case he's on, he can say or do things that rub people the wrong way when, truthfully, he usually isn't even meaning to irritate them. Though there is, of course, the occasional person where he tries very hard to irritate them. * Sherlock can be downright selfish. He can blow past other people's feelings, either by saying or doing something wrong, and will try to write it off or else make it as if they're the one at fault. (A prime example being Watson's stag party where he forgot to invite any of Watson's other friends.) Likes: Gladstone, John Watson, kind of Mary Watson (he's coming around), Sim, hedgehog goulash, drinking, coco leaves, tobacco, his pipe, coming up with disguises, Irene, performing experiments, his violin, being intellectually stimulated, getting his way, olives. Dislikes: Being left out, James Moriarty (James Moriarty's teeth, his disposition - all of it), pretentious rich people and/or politicians, heinous-minded people in general, stupid people, not getting his way, attempts to throw Western civilization into a world war, Mrs. Hudson, anything by Franz Schubert (especially Die Forelle), the idea of being left completely alone/dying alone, the concept of domestic-style entanglement and all that comes with it, being wrong, being yelled at, horses, being tortured, boredom. Talents (Skills): Violin (it's debated between a talent and a practical flaw), the art of deduction from very small details, (when in good health) he can be quite excellent with physical fighting, Sherlock can lie and be convincing when he tries and doesn't oversell it, pickpocketing & creating disguises when in the line of a case, dealing with animals (he's kept a parrot, a goat, a snake, sheep, etc; it's just Gladstone that he somehow almost repeatedly kills with his experiments.) Practical Flaws (Lack of Skills): Violin (it's debated between a talent and a practical flaw), somehow managing to almost kill Gladstone repeatedly, handling boredom (it's a serious issue for him that may result in indulging of addictive behaviours), being polite in social situations when he doesn't want to, coping vs. giving into impulses, riding a horse (he can't do it; he can't handle the idea.)
HISTORY; Background Information: Sherlock Holmes was born to Joseph and Amber Holmes, the couple's second and final child. He and his elder brother Mycroft were quite lively children and both enjoyed having a good challenge, though Mycroft always had very distinct differences in personalities. Whereas Mycroft was always notably more laid back, Sherlock (or "Shirley" as Mycroft called him) was far more precocious and inquisitive. After childhood games of creating encryptions and so forth as genius-like children do, Sherlock went off to University. He developed, or more exactly refined his methods of deduction as an undergraduate. He pursued cases from fellow university students as an amateur detective. After an encounter with the father of a classmate, he decided to take up being a detective as a profession. After university, he spent six years as a consulting detective before having financial difficulties. These difficulties lead him to take on a roommate - Doctor John Hamish Watson.
Holmes and Watson lived together at 221 Baker Street, London, where Holmes ran his consulting detective service. Watson started into assisting Holmes on his cases easily enough and, from there, Sherlock started to rely upon the Doctor for a good number of things. Past ensuring that he didn't forget his pistol at home (something Sherlock would occasionally do just to bait Watson into following him,) Watson provided an astute mind that was ready and willing to pick up deductive skills that Sherlock could teach. Watson became his "bishop" in the "game" between Sherlock and James Moriarty, at that, due to what he had been able to pick up from his time assisting the detective.
However, that's skipping ahead a bit. Holmes and Watson have had two very notable cases as of late, one before and one following Watson's marriage. Before, the duo clashed with a man by the name of Lord Blackwood. Lord Blackwood had killed five young women and was going to kill a sixth when the detective and his flat mate stepped in. They were able to stop the murder before Scotland Yard's "finest" Inspector Lestrade and the police arrived, at which point it would've been too late for the young woman.
Blackwood was eventually sentenced to death, but requested to see Holmes in prison before such occurred. He warned Sherlock of three more unstoppable deaths that would cause great "changes" to the world, something that Holmes demeaned initially as the desperate, empty-threat ramblings of a madman. Blackwood was hanged and pronounced dead by John Watson and it's where the case should've ended but, rather, it was where things really started to get interesting.
There was a visit to Baker Street by one Irene Adler, a former adversary and one of the few to have outwitted Holmes. She attempted to hire him to find a missing man named Luke Reordan, then left. Holmes, donning and shifting into makeshift disguises as he went, followed her and caught the basic exchange between Irene and her mysterious employer. Holmes was able to deduce that the employer, hidden in the shadows of a carriage, was a professor who intimidated Adler.
Moreover, very shortly after, Lord Blackwood's tomb exploded from the inside outward. The heavy stone lid blew into pieces, giving the appearance that Blackwood had risen from the dead, especially once Luke Reordan was found (dead) inside of Blackwood's coffin instead of Lord Blackwood. A gravedigger who was present also saw Blackwood, leaving him in utter shock, leading to potential for public panic. Holmes and Watson stayed focused in on the case, however, and used clues taken from the body to find Reordan's home. There were a number of experiments, therein, that seemed to be attempts to merge science and magic.
Blackwood sent a few thugs to destroy the man's house and all of the evidence as contained within. Irene's mysterious employer had said that Reordan was the key to Blackwood's plan. After Watson and Holmes survived a battle with the thugs, and were briefly arrested, Sherlock was taken to the Temple of the Four Orders while Watson went home with his angry fiancée who had posted his bail. The Temple of the Four Orders was a secret magical organization with quite notable leaders – Lord Chief Justice Sir Thomas Rotheram, U.S. Ambassador Standish, and Home Secretary Lord Coward. They admitted that Blackwood was a former member of the society and, based on physical similarities, Holmes grasped that he was Sir Thomas' bastard son. They attempted to hire him to stop Blackwood; it was an offer that Holmes refused. It wasn't long before Sir Thomas and U.S. Ambassador Standish were both seemingly killed by supernatural means by Blackwood. Blackwood took control of the order, with them out of the way and Lord Coward secretly working with him. Blackwood planned to overthrow the British Government before conquering the United States and the rest of the world.
Holmes and Watson are lured to a butcher warehouse in their pursuit for Blackwood and there find Irene Adler, changed to a meat hook, gagged, and headed toward a band saw. They were able to save her in time, but there were a series of explosions set off by Blackwood that injured Watson in the trio's attempted escape. Lord Coward, under Blackwood's orders, issues an arrest warrant for Holmes. Holmes set his priorities. He first checked that Watson was going to survive his injuries by disguising himself as a doctor and sneaking in to see him. After, Holmes went into hiding. There, he studied Blackwood's rituals and concluded the next target would be Parliament. Watson and Irene joined him again and Holmes, on his own, tricked Coward into revealing that the plan was to kill the members of Parliament.
He, Watson, and Irene discovered a machine below the Palace of Westminster. It was based off Reordan's experiments and would release cyanide gas into the Parliament chambers, killing all but Blackwood and his supporters. Blackwood had slipped the men supporting him an antidote beforehand in a communal wine glass used in a Temple of the Four Orders ritual after he took over. Holmes and Watson battled Blackwood's men while they attempted to disable the machine, all the while Blackwood strutted into Parliament and announced all but his supporters would soon die and tried to claim it to be magic. He continued, until the very end, to attempt and exert himself as a powerful sorcerer through trickery. The key is that there was an end, as Irene managed to remove the cyanide gas containers from the machine and fled with them.
Lord Coward was captured by the angry Parliament members, but Lord Blackwood managed to escape. While Holmes was busy confronting Irene on the top of the incomplete Tower Bridge, Blackwood interrupted. Sherlock managed to trick him into becoming entangled in ropes and chains hanging over the Thames. Amidst their battle, and after Holmes explained away all of Blackwood's "magic," Blackwood fell with a noose of chains around his neck and was properly hanged and died.
Irene admitted to Sherlock, after, that her mysterious employer was none other than Professor James Moriarty. She warned Sherlock that Moriarty was as intelligent as Sherlock but far more devious. Life settled back into a temporary lull as Watson moved out of Baker Street, though a new hint of direction came up as the police report reveals that an officer was found dead near Blackwood's machine. James Moriarty had used the confrontation with Irene and Blackwood as a diversion and had taken a key component of the machine that was based on the new science of radio.
About three months later, Irene Adler delivered a package to Dr. Hoffmanstahl; payment for a letter he was supposed to deliver. Dr. Hoffmanstahl opened the package and there was a bomb inside that was triggered. Only due to Sherlock having followed Irene (and fought off a group of four thugs protecting her mid-tracking,) the detonation was prevented until it could be put safely into a sarcophagus that contained the explosion. While Sherlock was doing this, Dr. Hoffmanstahl and Irene both escaped. However, Holmes managed to get the letter from Dr. Hoffmanstahl and Irene before such happened.
After exiting the auction house they were at, Sherlock found Dr. Hoffmanstahl assassinated. Unbeknownst to him, during this time, Irene went to meet with Professor James Moriarty. Despite being in a very public place, Moriarty killed Irene via tea infested with a rare fast acting, very aggressive strain of tuberculosis. Moriarty had deemed her position in his employ compromised by her love for Sherlock.
Watson came to Baker Street to get Holmes for his stag party, as the "best man" Holmes was supposed to have planned it and invited all of Watson's friends. Rather, Holmes showed Watson the verge of a breakthrough he had made while investigating a series of seemingly unrelated murders, terrorist attacks (bombings), and business acquisitions. He connected all of the items to James Moriarty. Then, the two go off for a night of "fun" for Watson's supposed stag party. Upon arrival at the stag party, Watson figured out that Holmes hadn't invited anyone along besides Mycroft and Mycroft's assistant. He had forgotten about the party; even the location Holmes picked wasn't truly for the sake of the party. He chose the place that the intended letter recipient would be. (From the letter he had gotten during Hoffmanstahl and Irene's little exchange.) It was there he met a gypsy fortune teller, Madame Simza Heron. The letter was sent by her brother, Rene. Holmes also managed to defeat an assassin sent to kill Simza while there, but she fled the scene before he could interrogate her.
And then it happened. Mary and Watson married and set off to leave for their honeymoon. All the while, Holmes finally met with James Moriarty. The professor revealed to Holmes that he had killed Irene Adler and said he would kill Mary and Watson if Holmes' interferences in his plans didn't cease immediately. Seeing little alternative, Holmes followed Mary and Watson on their honeymoon for protection. He even threw Mary off a moving train when they were crossing a river - a river where he had Mycroft situate himself in a boat to wait for Mary's "unplanned" departure. Holmes and Watson defeated Moriarty's men who had been sent to kill the happy couple, then agreed to one last case in order to assure that Mr. and Mrs. Watson would be safe to go about their normal lives.
The duo traveled to Paris to locate Simza. After they find her in a gypsy camp, Holmes informed her of why she had been targeted by the assassin. Her brother Rene had made a deal with the devil - James Moriarty. There was the concept that Rene may have told her something, quite on accident (as he wouldn't wish to convey anything on purpose and thus make her a target), and they needed to figure out what it was. Holmes and Watson made the connection that it potentially had something to do with the anarchist group that had been blamed for a number of explosions. Simza admitted that she and Rene had, at one point, been a part of the anarchist movement but had quit when it became too extreme for them. The trio went to the headquarters of the group and found out that the anarchists were being forced to plant bombs for Moriarty.
Holmes, at this point, was rather unfortunately tricked. He deduced the bomb to be in the Paris Opera when it was actually at a nearby hotel. The bomb killed a number of assembled businessmen, but Holmes figured out it was a cover for an assassination carried out by an aide of Moriarty's - Sebastian Moran. The target, Meinhart, had partial ownership in a weapons factory and upon his death the full ownership of the factory went to Moriarty. Holmes, Watson, and Simza traveled to the factory in Germany by following the clues in Rene's letters. Unfortunately, this involved riding horses. Holmes was rather firm about his dislike of the idea and ended up being put on a pony to ride. He still has a very strong dislike of horses, ponies, and anything along such concept where it has a mind of its own and is between his legs.
At the factory, Watson was caught under sniper fire from Moran while Moriarty captured and tortured Holmes. Moriarty revealed a good deal of his plan, of course, to Holmes. He told Holmes how he owned quite a few shares in multiple war-profiting companies and how he intended to instigate a world war to make himself a fortune.
Watson realized he had been hiding behind a covered up cannon and used it to destroy the lighthouse that Moran had been shooting from. The structure collapsed into the warehouse that Moriarty had Holmes captive in, enabling Watson to grab a very badly injured Holmes and make a hasty escape. Watson, Simza, and Holmes escaped through the forest with others from their gypsy-based traveling band and escaped onboard a moving train. Holmes died at one point on that train, though Watson managed to bring him back to life with a "wedding gift" that Holmes had given him. It was an extract from a sheep adrenal gland. Holmes awoke rambling on about the nightmarish dream he had and how, in that dream, the pony held a fork on him. Once alive and able to get past the idea of the pony, Holmes deduced that Moriarty's final target was going to be a peace summit in Switzerland.
Holmes had figured out that Dr. Hoffmanstahl had given Rene radical reconstructive surgery to alter his appearance to match that of one of the ambassadors. Two of the thugs chasing them when escaping the factory had looked like twins, but had scars behind their ears that were evidence of the surgery and the second lacked any empathy when the first was shot. They had been the experimental attempt; Rene had been perfecting it with the goal of starting an international incident and sparking the war Moriarty so craved. Holmes stepped outside onto the balcony with Moriarty, leaving Simza and Watson to find Rene and stop the assassination attempt. Watson and Simza manage such, though Moran stepped in to prevent Rene from being taken alive before making his own escape.
As Simza and Watson prevented an international incident inside, Sherlock revealed that he had managed to defeat Moriarty in far more ways than he knew. Amidst his torture, Holmes had slipped Moriarty's personal diary out of his pocket and had replaced it. Holmes had allowed himself to be captured and, at that, had planned it so far ahead that he had a duplicate ready. He knew that even a man with Moriarty's mind would need to have somewhere to keep track of his ever-growing financial empire and that the diary was the key to Moriarty's finances. Holmes had sent the original copy of Moriarty's journal to Mary Watson in London, who he also sent instructions on how to decode the book. Mary and Inspector Lestrade sized the bulk of Moriarty's assets and made an anonymous donation to the widows and orphans of war fund. Holmes and Moriarty both anticipated an impending physical fight between them and, at the same time, both realized that Moriarty would win due to Holmes' injured shoulder from his time being tortured. Moriarty told him that he would endeavor to "find the most creative of endings for the doctor and his wife."
Between the danger that Moriarty posed to the general public as well as the Watson's, and given the hopelessness on Holmes' part to win the fight, he made a very logical decision. He blew sparks from Moriarty lighting Sherlock's pipe for him into Moriarty's face and grabbed onto him, forcing them both over the balcony and into the Reichenbach waterfall below right as Watson stepped out onto the balcony.
Now, Holmes had noted a breathing device of Mycroft's before the summit and Mycroft had even told him to set it down and let it be when Holmes asked if he could have it. Holmes hadn't listened to his brother and had the device in his pocket, intending to use it to try to survive after hitting the water. Holmes let go of Moriarty mid-fall and their bodies flew separate directions as he intended to reach for the device and see what happened. After getting it in his mouth and being plunged into icy cold waters, Holmes instead found himself suddenly opening his eyes to being in a plush castle room. Pets:Gladstone Technically none Affiliations: Scotland Yard, Watson, Mycroft Alignment: Neutral Good Hobbies: Playing the violin, solving cases, reading, performing experiments of varying sorts Family Members: Henry Holmes (Grandfather - Deceased) Katherine Holmes (Grandmother - Deceased) Joseph Holmes (Father - Deceased)
Benjamin Bell (Grandfather - Deceased) Edith Bell (Grandmother - Deceased) Amber Holmes (Mother - Deceased)
Mycroft Holmes (Brother - Mildly irritating) Home: 221B Baker Street (an apartment up 17 steps) Personal Finances: Varies
CONTACT/DISCLAIMER; OOC Contact Post: Located here! Disclaimer: I am not Sherlock Holmes, nor am I associated to Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock is a fictional character and doesn't exist.) I just wrote the profile. I am also not Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, who created Sherlock, nor am I associated in any form. (I'm also not Guy Ritchie nor am I associated with any aspect of the movies... though if they'd like to hire me, I wouldn't object! LOL.) Would I be writing this if I was? I am also not the played by in the icons that I use to portray Sherlock. I'm not associated with the PB either. In short, please don't sue me. I don't have anything to take.
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holmesian) wrote,
