I swear I love how some people look at it this way because it's all things that I didn't even notice
The first time we saw YuuMori talking about atonement was in Grapefruit Pie—no one tried to repent for anything in the first chapter. But in Grapefruit Pie, Burton was suffering because his son died and he (and his wife) both feel he is at fault for letting it happen.
Maybe he was. He didn’t do anything. Was there a lot he could’ve done? Realistically, no. But he feels he could’ve done more, and so does his wife. And what helps him heal and move on and make amends with his wife is, well, doing something. And there’s a parallel to that and the Moriarty brothers in sharing their crime and sin and burden together (something that, interestingly, also sort of comes up with Sherlock and William), but it’s also a way for them to put “right” some of the wrongs.
Whether or not that’s atonement for Burton’s earlier sins is questionable. I mean. He murdered a guy; the series never argues that murder is a good thing. But it is still a way to deal with guilt, to do something with it.
In Dancers on the Bridge, we see a little bit of it, too. After a fashion, it can be laid at Lucien’s feet that Frida died. Was it really? No, but he helped bring her to ruin. And he bought her a headstone, finally, the way her coworkers wanted her to be remembered. He did something to make up for the small fault he committed in drawing her into something.
YuuMori talks a lot, in addition to atonement, about being corrupted by society and the devils on Earth. Neither Burton nor Lucien would’ve had anything to atone for were it not for the devils William wiped out, and they are sort of seen as cleansed afterward—not perfect, not quite whole, not over what they lost, but in some way having done something to repair what was broken and wrong and moved on.
But the first time the thing with atonement becomes really clear is Mycroft.
Mycroft hasn’t done anything wrong, but he works for the British government years decades after one of his ancestors committed acts of tyranny on behalf of the British government in France to make up for his family’s crimes. Sherrinford Holmes got himself killed out of his own guilt, and his own, and because he was dead he could do nothing to fix it. Nothing to help anyone. And that sin got passed onto his family and bound them to try to atone for the entire mess he created.
If we want to get all religiously Christian here as YuuMori likes to do, it’s a kind of Original Sin: something passed down because of the sins of your ancestors that taints you from birth. That’s why Christianity does baptism; to cleanse that away.
Sherlock was protected from that sin by Mycroft, who sacrificed himself in a way for his little brother, bearing the weight of their family’s atonement on his own shoulders. Someone did something for Sherlock to keep him from having to repent in a martyr/sacrificial way to save him. Sherrinford didn’t redeem himself by dying. He just passed the burden along to innocents to try to fix the damage he caused.
And when William was seen as dead, and Albert ran away from the job, Louis took his place working under Mycroft for the British government. Someone had to make up for the sins of the family, and Louis took up that burden, and Albert took up that burden, hoping to protect William from some of it the way Mycroft protected Sherlock.
Of course, that’s not how the story ended up going: trying to protect their brothers did nothing. William and Sherlock serve their time repenting for their crimes with the United States. Because no one can take on the burden of your atonement for you. The burden never leaves.
It’s always there until you take it into your own hands and do something about it.
MTP Masterlist
Me And My Husband :- [fluff | oneshot | 1691 words] Summary: I like fluff. I like horses. I like sherliam. Not necessarily in that order. (Sherlock tries to court William. He wants to be the Prince Charming for him I am very serious about them. Set in NYC when Liam had the bandage eyepatch.)
Angels like you can't fly down to hell with me :- [angst with happy ending | 7/7 chapters | 19,396 words] Summary: Soulmate AU where you dream of a single moment of your future with your soulmate. As the end of the final problem draws near, William is more and more convinced that his soulmate dream must be false or of a past life, because he can see no possible way he and Sherlock Holmes will have a future of drinking coffee made using a handkerchief for a filter in a cozy apartment with no curtains.
Partners (In Crime) :- [fluff | oneshot | 2315 words] Summary: When William and Sherlock find out a local restaurant has been cheating innocent people out of their money, the former Lord of Crime and Hero of London take it upon themselves to serve justice. But it seems they chose to have quite a bit of fun in the process.
Feverish Fondness :- [fluff | oneshot | 2315 words] Summary: "Even the walk from the kitchen counter to the couch had felt impossible, legs shaking under him as his 'minor' headache turned skull-splitting. Silently, William cursed himself for going out for groceries in the rain the previous day. 'Liam?'" / In which William James Moriarty gets sick and Sherlock Holmes takes care of him.
A Bleeding Nose And A Blessing :- [fluff | oneshot | 1054 words] Summary: Sherlock Holmes comes to Mycroft's office with a gold ring on his finger, and the elder Holmes is smart enough to know what that means. / Sherlock marries William and goes to Mycroft to get his blessing hehe
Cotton Carnage :- [crack | oneshot | 1083 words] Summary: PILLOW FIGHT IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS / Bedding provided for late session became ammunition when Lord Moriarty threw a pillow at his parliamentary boyfriend in the middle of a meeting
Sorry About The Blood In Your Mouth, I Wish It Was Mine :- [songfic | hurt/comfort | oneshot | 1055 words] Summary: Some write about the hero saving the day, some write about the happily ever after, but who writes about the gap between them? Staining your hands with scarlet leaves you ridden with guilt. That's a tale as old as time. And when there's someone to kiss your crimson palms and not worry about the blood in their mouth, it isn't easy letting that happen. After all, it had always been easier for him to hold a sword than a hand.
The Five Times Sherlock Holmes Got Constructive Criticism From A Stranger And The One Time The Stranger Was His Boyfriend :- [crack |6/6 chapters | 5449 words] Summary: Sherlock works at a diner. William loves going to said diner. Problem? William is a little infatuated by the pretty chef and so the pretty chef in question finds anonymous notes every other weekend. Sherlock, too, is more than a bit interested in this secret "Lord Of Cuisine" and makes it his mission to find him.
Until It Killed You :- [wip | reincarnation au | modern au] Summary: "Hear me well and clear: fate does not change for anybody. But you defied me. You tried to die. You tried to die and leave him behind. And now he is dead and you are left behind." In which William James Moriarty defies fate for his ambitions, and pays the price for it by having his life's only love taken away. It's up to fate itself to decide whether he deserves it back or not. Though one thing is for sure: he would have to atone for defying it. But can he? While his lover wanders through the lonely valleys of the afterlife, he is a mere ghost lingering in the night. Both grieving each other as a soul grieves a body. And all they can do is wait.
Oh yeah- it's still true-
“Why can IRL people be hot like fictional characters- especially guys. It’s so unfair give us hot guys IRL”
Said by both me and @sherliam-hualian on Discord
Speculating a bit…
Yuukoku no Moriarty
I think, just a thesis, that it was between that case on the train and Irene Adler that William decided he wants Sherlock to be part – key figure – of his plan
Because prior to that, the case in which he tests Sherlock, he was offering Sherlock Holmes an in
What William offered him, information on who the great criminal is, was an invitation. If Sherlock Holmes had shot that man, like William set it up, then there were only two possible outcomes
Sherlock Holmes would join the Moriarty family – the Moriarty Pact
The Moriartys would need to “liquidate” Sherlock Holmes
It wasn’t just a test of Sherlock Holmes’ character, in the very same breath, it was an open invitation.
So, I think, prior to the murder on the train, William wagered with the idea of Sherlock Holmes joining their cause
He was still scrutinising Sherlock, still gauging who he is as a man, during that train case
There had to be one distinct point at which William decided how to proceed about Sherlock Holmes. The more likely one being the case around Adler, although it is possible that first ideas formed and solidified around their interaction on the train.
EDIT: in the manga canon it’s clear William already had his sights on Sherlock for his later role when he tested him with “A Study in ‘SH’”. This obviously influences what I said but I still think his repeated offerings towards Sherlock can be seen as William wanting him in the plan either way. Either as his chosen nemesis, his curated antagonist, or as part of the Moriarty Pact, in an active role Sherlock would be made aware of.
Because previously, with that chance of gaining Moriarty’s name. That offer of Sherlock committing one murder in exchange for such a valuable information, that would only leave Sherlock to join the Moriarty Pact or die.
But once the Irene Adler case happened, those documents affirmed the Moriarty Plan. Those documents solidified what the Moriartys had planned and it gave them a lead.
A red thread, if you will.
After the Irene Adler case, that was the point when William also locked Sherlock’s role into place. When he decided their whole plan would hinge on Sherlock Holmes.
Once their plan locked into place – because it was already set it motion and only gained a more determined shape through those documents – William had to have decided that he wanted Sherlock Holmes on the other side of it.
I assume William’s decision started to form earlier, someplace between that case on the train and Adler’s case.
EDIT: obviously between “A study in ‘SH’” and Adler’s case, considering where the manga draws attention to William having locked his sights on Sherlock
But then again there is the fact that even then, even as the case around Irene Adler set things into motion, William took a wager.
Moriarty’s name. The master criminal’s name. The true name of the Napoleon of Crime.
Quite literally handing that to Sherlock Holmes, full-well knowing Irene Adler would die… I think that was a final test.
William took a bargain, the chance of Sherlock opening that letter when he heard of Adler’s death was not zero. It wasn’t likely, for Sherlock to snap and open the letter, but there was no insurance. The chance never was zero
I think that was the final olive branch. Like how they showed Adler what James Moriarty is capable of, that letter was a final invitation extended to Sherlock Holmes.
Holmes refusing, burning that letter, it was what sealed the plan.
Sherlock Holmes himself sealed himself into that role William Moriarty wrote for him. That role William tailor-made for Sherlock Holmes, and Sherlock Holmes alone, to fulfil.
Obviously, later on, Sherlock defied expectations any way. And thoroughly so. But without knowing it, he made himself one of the key components of the Moriarty Plan.
And this is entirely besides the point of how formidably they played Mycroft Holmes – twice!
Because Mycroft– That case which enabled the MI6 to be founded, that kidnapping of William, Mycroft must have seen through the scheme.
At least the aftermath, the bigger picture of Moriarty orchestrating that kidnapping must be obvious to Mycroft.
Of course, to him it is Albert who pulled the strings. Towards Mycroft, it is Albert who orchestrated that Albert’s troop would be in London, that his brother William would be kidnapped, and that William would be taken to the lair of the opium smugglers.
That plan – because Mycroft Holmes must have seen through it for what it was – proved to Mycroft what Moriarty is capable of.
It doesn’t matter that, towards Mycroft, Albert was the mastermind. What mattered is that Albert showed him “this is what I can do with my resources I have now” and essentially left Mycroft no other choice but to hand the MI6 to Albert Moriarty.
William’s whole kidnapping, the entire set-up of it, was to show that Albert Moriarty knows how to use resources he has. That he knows how to orchestrate things.
That James Moriarty is fully capable of seeing through things others wouldn’t dream of attempting.
Of course, that is probably also where they earned Mycroft’s distrust because in proving how powerful, how organised, how capable the Moriartys are, they made him cautious about them.
They have been playing psychological games with Mycroft Holmes from the beginning. From the moment Albert got wind of the MI6 possibly being formed.
And while Mycroft was left with doubts about Albert’s loyalty, there were no doubts whatsoever about his capability.
The further you get into the story, the more it all falls into place, really.
If my future relationship is not like Sherliam then I don't want it.
I need someone who looks at me like how those two look at eachother.
Listen, to all the lovely Indians out there, I'm sorry if I offend you right now but 'Slumdog Millionaire' (even though it's from 2008-) is a knock-off version of William's backstory. Let me re-write this and explain my point.
William grew up in the slums of Whitechapel. He lived there together with his brother Louis. They found it really hard to survive in the slums. Their mother died. Luckily, William and Louis got away together.
They met Albert, and William suggested he could be the third Lord of Crime. The three of them became brothers. One day Jack- also previously called 'Jack the Ripper'- Took Albert, William and Louis and made them his apprentices. etc..
Y'all see my point? I mean, not everything is correct and you can hate me all I want but I just thought it was really cool
( Please tell me if I'm wrong because I don't want to spread misinformation)
It's my birthday y'all!
And yk what that means? It means that William and I are compatible with eachother because he's from april 1st and I'm from april 30th-
You see the connection~
Just let me live my delulu life please 😔
oh no
I bet he has a whole photo book of James in his bedroom
Louis being #1 Bond supporter <3
Louis fan girls for James, can’t prove me wrong
I love Miyuki Kazuya.
Pro Baseball Player Miyuki Kazuya November issue GO Magazine Cover au🏆
''We are not Kings... We're challengers!''
Miyuki Kazuya covers the November 2023 issue of GO Men's Magazine. To get a copy, subscribe to GO Seido Magazine for $FREE.99 /monthly 💸💸
OKAY UPDATE SHE BOUGHT THE WHOLE BOX IN GERMAN?! (GERMAN?!)
And that's all I'm gonna know for 2 months 😭
OH HELL NAH MY TEACHER GOT THE MANGA'S TODAY IM GONNA CRY