A Study in Situations
is a set of Sherlock Holmes drabbles by KCS. Because it was written using a prompt table, it does not have a settled genre. The plots vary from dramatic to comedic and concern Lestrade, Mycroft, Mary, and of course Holmes and Watson, in a variety of situations both unusual and domestic.
This work includes examples of the following tropes:
- Anger Born of Worry: In "Worthy", Holmes is helping patch up Watson after an information-gathering expedition gone wrong, and he demands to know what the doctor was thinking going into public houses. He doesn't expect the doctor knows that his severity is out of fear rather than frustration with him.
- Celibate Hero: In "Kiss", Holmes walks in on Mary and Watson kissing in the sitting room. He's supremely miffed and stalks out of the room; Watson insists that he should knock first if this bothers him so much.
- Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: One drabble starts an arc about a particular case fairly early in Holmes and Watson's friendship. They are undercover and when Watson sees a barrel about to flatten his friend, he yells at him to look out, using his actual name. The slip causes an uproar and ruins three days' work. Despite the fact that the warning probably saved him, Holmes is furious and storms off.
- Creature of Habit: In one fic, the narration notes that Holmes makes a habit of rising at 7:00 and only extreme circumstances can pull him out of bed earlier. Watson unthinkingly causes such a circumstance when he opens the window to better admire the falling snow, letting an icy draft into 221 Baker Street.
- Crisis Catch And Carry: "Flight" concerns a point early in Holmes and Watson's friendship when the detective changes his mind about Watson's usefulness on cases. An investigation goes wrong, resulting in Holmes taking a bullet in the leg. Watson demonstrates that he's quite able to carry him while covering the retreat with a number of excellently-aimed warning shots that discourage pursuers.
- Death Glare: In one ficlet, Watson gets booked for disturbing the peace after punching a man who unwisely insulted the British army in front of him. When Holmes comes to bail him out, the detective's glare keeps the policemen from whispering about the situation as he and Watson leave the building.
- Defensive "What?": In one drabble, Holmes nearly gets run over saving a child. When Watson glares at him, not appreciating the scare, he asks "What?" and questions Watson's sense of adventure.
- Early Personality Signs: Mycroft suspected that his little brother would always be in motion when he overturned his bassinet at a very young age. As predicted, he continued to rush through life.
- Eccentric Millionaire: Downplayed; one drabble has Watson note that Holmes regularly spends gobs of his earnings from richer clients on concerts and other things, has spent a lot on Watson in the past, and still has enough money to retire comfortably to the country at any time...and yet he keeps using the same dressing gown even as it gets increasingly damaged. Watson muses that the term "wealthy eccentric" fits very well.
- Eye Scream: Implied in one drabble. Lestrade arrives to pick up a criminal for Holmes and the man has two black eyes, apparently the result of rousing the detective's protective instincts over Watson.
- Fingore: Downplayed; the opening drabble has Watson treating Holmes' hand after he shuts it in a door. It's not as bloody as some examples, but Holmes laments that he won't be able to play the violin for weeks.
- Hypochondriac: Discussed in one ficlet. While trying to patch up a stubborn Holmes, Watson comments that doctors call a patient who thinks he's sick when he isn't a hypochondriac and wonders if the profession has a term for a patient who claims he's all right when he isn't. Holmes suggests "doctor-murderer."
- I Can Still Fight!: In "Crisis", which is part of a mini-set about one particular case, Holmes becomes ill thanks to having to go out into the rain to find Watson and neglecting to care for himself afterwards. Once the sickness has passed the crisis point, Holmes wants to get out of bed and get on with the case, despite being too weak to contradict Watson's argument that one more day of convalescence is not going to ruin anything.
- Ironic Echo: One ficlet forms a short sequel to The Adventure of the Dying Detective. During said adventure, Holmes claimed that Watson had mediocre qualifications and limited experience in the disease involved. In the drabble, Holmes has made himself sick from eating too much solid food after starving himself for days to fool the villain. When he begs Watson to do something, the doctor throws the words back at him.
- Now, Let Me Carry You: One drabble talks about the relationship between the Irregulars, Holmes, and Watson. Holmes employed them and sometimes saw that they got education or apprenticeships, and Watson dealt with physical and emotional injuries. At the end, a pair of policemen drive off a group of armed criminals attacking the two, and Holmes realizes that the constables are significantly older former Irregulars.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Mycroft spends one drabble reflecting on his brother's extreme hurriedness; he has always been in motion and hated waiting for anyone else. Accordingly, it does not escape his notice when he sees Sherlock walking slowly so as to make sure that Watson makes it across the road safely.
- Prefer Jail to the Protagonist: In one ficlet, Lestrade snaps handcuffs on a criminal who Holmes captured and notes that they're probably unnecessary, because the guy doesn't look like he wants to go anywhere besides the police ambulance. Lestrade calmly tells the man that messing with Watson was a mistake.
- Soap Punishment: Mrs. Hudson washes out one of the Irregulars' mouths with soap after he says something profane about Holmes' scale of pay. The boy protested by saying that Holmes says the same word.
- The Tooth Hurts: In "Hit", Watson awakens in the hospital as Holmes and Mary come in and notices that Holmes has lost a tooth. The detective insists the story behind it is "nothing of consequence", but Mary tells her husband that it happened thanks to Holmes punching a man who was "rather rude" to her.
- Too Unhappy to Be Hungry: The last ficlet, concerning Mary and Watson's wedding, involves Watson half-playfully scolding his friend for disrupting the ceremony by passing out during the vows. He had not eaten for three days prior. When Watson asks why, Holmes mutters that it's not the same eating by himself.
- Wanting Is Better Than Having: In one drabble, Watson jokingly asks Holmes what he wants for Christmas, and the detective, who is a major Scrooge, grouchily answers that he wants either quiet or a murder to occupy his mind. He regrets saying that when a counterfeiting case puts Watson in the hospital.
- You Are Fat: In "Sad", Mycroft Holmes and his younger brother are discussing a case. The discussion devolves into a verbal sparring match, and Sherlock's weapon of choice appears to be insulting his brother's weight.
