Snowflake Challenge: Day 3

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

The Snowflake Challenge Day 3 is:

In your own space, share a favorite piece of original canon (a TV episode, a song, a favorite interview, a book, a scene from a movie, etc) and explain why you love it so much.

I decided to discuss Victorian Turkish bath.

In the original Sherlock Holmes stories, there are two mentions of the Turkish bath. At the beginning of "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax" Holmes questions Watson's enjoyment of the Turkish bath [Why the relaxing and expensive Turkish rather than the invigorating home-made article?], but by "The Illustrious Client," both Watson and Holmes have a weakness for the Turkish bath and, that greatest gift of lines: It was over a smoke in the pleasant lassitude of the drying-room that I have found him less reticent and more human than anywhere else."

Oh, Artie*, really, you shouldn't have!

* meaning Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.



But why Turkish? Why am I so keen on Sherlock Holmes fic set in Turkish baths? Well, it's a private setting and a contrast to the more conservative, public sphere of Victorian society. It's usually an all-male (or all-female) setting which lends itself to homoeroticism. It's a sensual world, full of perfume and spice and the scent of human bodies. It's a world of contrasts, heat vs. cold. Cool pools, hot sweat, smoke. And it usually features massage & states of undress. And there's an exotic element: orientalism, otherness. So if you're keen to write Holmes & Watson in an explicit scenario, it's a natural fit. Causal coupling, established relationship, first time, it all works very easily at the bath. Pretty much any kink you'd like them to explore is possible.

Just to add, I have never been to a Turkish bath, but I have been to a Korean spa, and I enjoyed the experience. I've had various experiences with massage over the years and enjoyed most of them. I have not-well-articulated ideas about healing touch and manual manipulation. I've had experiences where a massage was damn near miraculous (i.e., it enabled me to complete a half-marathon when I was 6 months pregnant!). And I am very sensitive to smells myself, so I like the idea of Holmes and Watson in a pleasantly-scented (even erotically-scented) environment. And I enjoy writing explicit fics without have to worry about how they're going wash all the goop off.


Here are some Sherlock Holmes (ACD) Holmes/Watson Turkish bath fics. All are explicit or mature rated. There may be mention of a case, there may be feels, but the focus of these is mostly two fellows getting off with each other at the bath.

Benefits of the Turkish Bath and Head of Steam by tweedisgood. The first is three drabbles. The second was written for the Come at Once challenge.

Anything stirring by gardnerhill. Written for the Come at Once challenge.

But Why Turkish? by mistyzeo. A commissioned work.

How Sherlock Holmes Was Compelled to Remember One Festive Occasion Per Year: A Reminiscence by John H. Watson, MD by MirithGriffin. I consider this the gold standard in Turkish bath fic.

Comments

[smallhobbit]

There is much to be said for a good Turkish bath!

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Hee! It is useful as well as intriguing setting, I'll agree. I was happily surprised when Wodehouse let Bertie go to the bath after he doesn't pinch the umbrella (or the cow creamer).

[potentiality_26]

Here from Snowflake!

What a great post about a great element of canon, and such lovely recs <3

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Thank you! I am so glad you like them!

[scfrankles]

It was really interesting to hear in more detail why you lean towards Turkish baths ^__^

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Ha! I think you're being kind. You already know! And you enable me with your tattoo artist of dragons and Hammam Bouquet!

[seleneheart]

I've always sort of wondered if it was similar to the bathhouses that bigger cities had before AIDS.

Thanks for the recs! I like ACD better than other versions of the detective and I'll certainly be giving these a look.

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Yes. Probably.

Great!

[donutsweeper]

I hadn't realized they show up only twice in ACD canon! There's a Turkish Bath scene in the Roxburg/Hart "Hound of the Baskervilles" which I always really liked so I guess I just remembered them showing up more often in adaptions and made assumptions on canon about that.

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

I've seen the Roxburgh film but unfortunately can't remember the bath scene. But, yes, only twice and the first time Holmes isn't a fan but by the second time he is, so what happened in the interim to change his mind is the stuff smutty, smutty fic is made of :)

[donutsweeper]

There's some lovely closeness between Holmes and Watson in it, but one little (but well done) touch is that Watson has a towel wrapped around his waist and another thrown over his shoulder. The second towel's placement looks just natural and random - until you remember Watson's war wound was that shoulder and the towel hides it, which could be taken as making life easy for the makeup people (which it probably at least in part was) or as something Watson does to hide the scarring. He was never ashamed of his time in the army in canon, but he never did like drawing attention to it or the injuries he got their either.

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Ah. I did like Hart's Watson in the film and this is an interesting comment because I'm in the beginning stages of planning a fic which (in part) focuses on BBC John's scar, so I shall feed it to the muse for further nuance. Thank you.

[donutsweeper]

\o/ Good luck with your fic!

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Thank you!

[luthienberen]

I must read this! I haven't had a chance this week to keep up with reading Dreamwidth properly, but will do so this weekend. The Snowflake challenge is quite a fascinating concept to me.

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

It's a good challenge in that 1. it is positive. 2. it can apply to any/all fandoms 3. I thought I knew everyone in fandom, but yesterday I realized I was wrong, so new people 4. it encourages you to read a bit more, reach out a bit more, and make connections that you wouldn't otherwise.

No down-side except that because it is 15 days some of the day's challenges can get a little overlapping. But so far, I'm enjoying it.

[luthienberen]

A positive challenge is so beneficial and it is lovely that someone came up with it, because I feel fandom and people as a whole could use some positivity :)

Anything that crosses fandoms is good for me and I agree wtih you! I am finding out a lot about people so spiffing.

Hmmm, hopefully the overlap won't be too much?

I also agree with you entirely on the sensual private setting of the Turkish baths and the enclosed separate world it harboured - within this little world anything is possible and I am glad fic has taken that in stride for Holmes & Watson and so on.

Also..a half marathon when 6 months pregnant?!? :O
That is incredible.

=^_^=

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Thank you! The child carried is going to be 8 years old, so a long time and a different body ago. I can manage a 5k these days but that's about it.

A half marathon while 6 months gone? *bows in admiration*

[pronker]

I read and enjoyed each venture into the steamy. or not, heat, thanks for posting. The luxury of the baths must have been really something to experience for Victorians in their love of exotica.

The gasogenes, tantaluses, hansoms and suchlike make my little heart beat faster.

*wistful sigh* How I wish Ingres had undertaken a study of men in the baths in addition to the women portrayed.

Re: A half marathon while 6 months gone? *bows in admiration*

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Thank you. The child being carried turns 8 this year. So it was a long time and another body ago but I still remember how much the massage helped me. It was pretty amazing.

You're welcome.

Yes! The Victorian tantalus! What a metaphor! What a symbol! What possibilities! I could do a lot with a tantalus if there were more hours in the day and less tasks like laundry.

I am not very educated as to art so I had to google Ingres, but whoa! I love it! I shall have to come back to him, too, and study a bit more. I also happened upon Man Ray's Ingres's Violin and what an image that is too! So much possibility with Holmes/Sherlock. And I write an awful lot of genderswapped Holmes/Sherlock so that could work, too.

Thank you so much for commenting. I've got so much more on my muse shelf than a few minutes ago. Cheers.