Love The Expression Of The Cat

MBTI Flavored Advice

One of the main downsides of typing is that many people, once they read about their type, stop developing upwards. They use their type to excuse bad behavior. Don’t take the stereotype that INTJs are often sarcastic or blunt as a reason to freely make mean comments, or put people down. It’s important to remember to always stay on the up-and-up, keep improving yourself, recognize and work on your flaws, regardless of whatever negative trait your type is listed to naturally have. Take the best qualities of every type and work hard to meet them to become the best version of yourself you can be. So, this advice is for everyone.

ESTP: Exercise until you sweat out the bad feelings. Run until there’s no negativity left in you, and channel frustration into sports. It’s cathartic.

ISFJ: Go out of your way to remember the little things. Remember more birthdays, more favorite foods, more little details about people that they would expect you to forget. Put the effort in.

ISTJ: Write things down. Write things down even when you think you’ll remember. Get a little notebook, get a pack of different color highlighters, and make a list. Prioritize. Keep it tidy.

ESTJ: Set goals, but make them actionable. Make a step-by-step plan, then actually follow through. Determination and discipline is key.

ISTP: Depend on people less. Know that you are an entire person by yourself, and you have all the tools you need to get the job done. Talk less, think more, listen to music, work with your hands, stay mysterious.

INTP: Stay inquisitve. Approach everything with keen eyes and an open mind, and never take things at face value. Everything’s a puzzle, and you want to leave with the biggest knowledge base you can get. Absorb everything.

ENTP: Try everything once. Approach life like a game, and you’ve only got a short time to play, have the best time you can, before it ends too soon. Don’t take anything too seriously, don’t let anything weigh too heavily on you. When bad things happen, and they always do, sometimes the best thing you can do is shrug and say, “Fuck that.” and move on.

ENFP: Don’t be ashamed of enthusiasm. Don’t let negative people make you feel like you’re being silly or childish for liking the things you like. Be as radiant and as energetic as you are, love things unabashedly, and never water yourself down to please wet-blanket people who don’t matter at all.

INFP: Stay soft. A tender heart is the most underappreciated and wonderful quality you can have, and don’t buy into people who think it’s cool to be emotionally detatched and cold. Feel things completely and intensely, cry when you have to, and know that it’ll never make you weak. Protect yourself, but don’t shut people out.

INFJ: Be objective. Approach problems from all perspectives, and always look for the bigger picture. Don’t get caught on pettiness, don’t let others get caught on pettiness. Help people where you can, offer insight where you can, and ultimately let things go.

ISFP: Be present. Notice the small things. You only live in this exact moment right now, so take a second here and there to stop and look around. Find comfort and beauty in how warm your mug is in your hand, how nice the light looks on your friend’s face, and how lucky you are to exist in peace at this very point in time.

ESFP: Friends are the most valuable commodity you can have. Befriend everyone. Build your network. Nobody thinks you’re lame. Let people be drawn to the energy you give out. Embrace the spotlight when it comes around, but don’t push people aside to get in it.

INTJ: Stay cerebral. Your mind is your most important tool, and it’s awesome. Take it out for a spin as often as you can. Seek intellectual challenges, embrace chances to prove yourself, don’t dumb yourself down to accomodate other. If you know a billion facts about sharks, and it happens to be Shark Trivia Night at this restaurant you’re at with your friends, don’t turn it down for fear of seeming weird. Get your shark on, but remember: there’s a fine line between pride and arrogance. Stay on the right side of it.

ENTJ: Don’t be afraid of your own potential. Know you’re smart enough, strong enough, tough enough to attain absolutely any goal. Ambition is not a bad thing to have. Embrace your ambition, and do what it takes to get where you need to be.

ESFJ: Don’t underestimate the value of people. It’s tempting to cut yourself off from the world because it’s comfortable there, but teach yourself that when you extend a hand to others, you’ll get many hands back when you yourself need help. Remain socially conscious, remain respectful, and remember that “what goes around, comes around” applies to both cruelty, and kindness.

ENFJ: Balance working smart with working hard. Don’t treat other people like tools, but don’t let other people walk over you. Find the midpoint in everything, and build your house there. Be diligent, but don’t be obsessive. Be friendly, but don’t be passive. Get what you deserve.

My Thoughts About Sherlock’s The Final Problem

I was never one to be thrown off by spoilers. Maybe that’s the very reason why I kept lurking on Tumblr the day the BFI screening and the supposed leak happened. And it was, needless to say, as expected of the Sherlock fandom to blow things up more than they should because, in a way, this entire time, we were shaped by this series to smarter, more vigilant, and to be just like Sherlock: logical, until emotionally compromised.

To summarise:

(I am mostly talking about myself, but hey, feel free to sympathise).

This is why it was puzzling to me why the response was split in half. I saw people who find it amazing and there are some who were deeply disappointed. And it wasn’t until I watched the episode that I understood why.

Some of us expected bigger things ahead because we have been amused by this series in the past, making us theorists. But I realised that they said this series was darker because it dealt with matters of the heart. One that is often more devilish than what the mind can conjure. We were expecting a complete mind game and yet what we got was a harrowing experience through and through.

And yes, I liked it. Loved this episode, in fact. Although I did find the explosion and the 3 men hanging by the window a bit too much to the point of hilarity (it was quite cringey if I’m being honest) but it didn’t make me lose my attachment to the plot because it was a culmination of everything. It has it’s highs and lows, in which I will get into detail.

So as I am drowning (no pun intended) in my own feelings today, I will discuss my assessment of the episode because why the heck not.

That very tacky explosion and the continuity errors

When I saw that shabby, Hollywood-esque explosion from the episode teaser, I laughed out loud and said “WTF”. But hey, I was so emotionally compromised regarding a scene before that (will discuss in a bit) and figured it was okay. 

Plus, there are bloody continuity errors again, and as someone who took videography classes back in Uni, this is kinda funny to me too. 

Mrs. Hudson listening to rock music. 

It’s just worth noting to realise that she and I share the same taste in music. 

“That’s why he stays.”

Onto more serious parts, ever since the part in TAB where Mycroft was assuring Sherlock that he will always be there for his brother, it has always been painful for me to look at him. Maybe it’s because I’m also the eldest child in the family (and I have an equally stubborn brother similar to Sherlock), but think that before Sherlock had anyone, he had no choice but to stick with Mycroft. And it must be painful for him to have this cold and hard facade to keep tabs on his brother who he obviously cares for so much and have someone else (John) be considered more like family when the immediate situation calls for it.

And I think Mycroft knows that. I’m not saying that John doesn’t deserve to be considered family, because he really does. But Mycroft, from the very beginning, knows deep in his heart that if it goes down to choosing between him and John, he would have the shorter end of the stick. And it’s much more painful to think that he knew he was the ultimate cause of it too. 

So, in all honesty, I was already a crying mess 20 minutes in the episode when Sherlock admitted he liked Mycroft’s portrayal of Lady Bracknell. It may seem like a trivial thing, but Mycroft expressed how much Sherlock’s opinion meant to him (with death looming over their heads, mind you), even if it was about a play that had happened years ago, when he simply said, “That’s good to know. I’ve always wondered.”

The girl on the plane

At first, I thought this case was a part of the entire mess. And it wasn’t until the back and forth between Eurus’ challenges and the girl that made me think she was also a trick. 

The parallelisms of the girl asking Sherlock to pay attention to her and Sherlock solving the puzzle to save John correlates to Eurus making him choose again between her and his best friend. It’s an agonising parallelism once you realise it. 

It also showed how Eurus mirrored both Mycroft and Sherlock. She was like what would have happened if one of them went wrong. The idea of loneliness and isolation consumed her and she was desperate to be saved (yes, I do know she’s a bloody psychopath to resort to her measures). 

Maybe Mycroft felt like he did a mistake when he treated Eurus as a case, but it was already too late. This can also show why Eurus preferred Sherlock because he was the emotional one. “What is pain” she asked. And as Sherlock was different from her, maybe she wanted to learn from him as an experiment of sorts. But Redbeard got in the way and her impulse is to get rid of him.

The metaphor of the glass was also worth noting. Just like the parallelism in the line from ASIB where Irene said that Sherlock didn’t know where to look, it was because Sherlock gets easily distracted by his emotions that it affects his logic. He lost the idea of ‘you see but you do not observe’ because was overwhelmed, scared, and he knows that in this situation, he couldn’t trust his mind or his memories. That’s why he didn’t notice the glass. He was trying to understand Eurus to the point that he wasn’t looking at her clearly enough. He was swayed by the illusion of her. 

That’s why Mycroft was very careful with Sherlock. He didn’t want him to fall into the same tendencies as Eurus, seeing as something inside his younger brother broke when Redbeard disappeared. So even if he distanced himself from his brother, he liked to let him know that he was always watching. He let Sherlock know that he was the smarter one so that he would rely on him and not his own instincts as Eurus did. And as we can see, Sherlock does consult Mycroft, even in his mind palace. 

It is worth noting that Eurus is definitely a worse version of Sherlock. She can be cold and vile at one point, and soft and vulnerable the next. But her methods doesn’t change. It was another thing that was constant to all of the Holmes’ siblings.

Eurus and Moriarty

Now, listen. Moriarty will always have a place in my heart. He was the ‘big bad of dreams’, in my opinion, that even if I found Magnussen and Culverton creepy, no amount of craziness will top that…

Until I saw him and Eurus.

To me, it was a toxic yet intriguing combination. The amount of calculation and chaos to have them together was exciting to me that I’m actually craving for more. Yet, that small interaction they had was enough to send chills down my spine and make me feel unnerved. 

In all honesty, I was hoping that Moriarty was alive. The whole recording thing felt a bit weird to me and it was one of the things that I found iffy in this episode. But having Moriarty add to the pressure of Eurus’ games as he does the ticking of the clock, made it a bit forgivable. 

Maybe it was just me missing Moriarty so much? Yep. Probably that. 

Not to mention that despite this being a flashback, James really does know how to make a freaking entrance. 

It was also quite amusing to me how the actress who played Eurus is named Sian Brooke, which reminds me of Richard Brooke, aka Moriarty’s ‘alter ego’. 

“You have to keep it together.”

I wanted to make all of these into separate points, but I think it’s better to just keep them all in one place. This is because it deals with one of the core ideas within the show and how this episode defined them – Sherlock’s relationships. 

Irene’s Theme

Being an Adlock shipper, I simply have to include this part. Not because it cheekily implies the sexual relationship of Irene Adler and Sherlock, but I read into this scene quite differently. 

In Eurus’ own words, she said, “Not Bach. You clearly don’t understand it. Play you.” And in the way the narrative flowed, Eurus shifted from the idea of sex, to manipulation, to Sherlock’s obvious nervousness. Two notes in and she could already tell that this piece was written by her brother out of passion and vulnerability – a weakness she used the entire time. 

But still, why Irene’s Theme to define him through his music? 

I believe it’s because when he met Irene Adler, that’s when Sherlock truly grasped the idea of being attuned to his feelings. If we look back, objectively speaking, ASIB was when he started to get challenged both intellectually and emotionally. He lamented her without really being sure why, he even admitted that he was distracted by her as they were playing ‘the game’, and he went ahead and saved her in a place miles and miles away from home. Finally, to reference TLD, it was made known that he still gets in touch with her from time to time.

And in my assessment, as Mycroft is Sherlock’s calculating and logical half, and John is his moral and emotional compass, Irene was the thin line putting both together. Somehow very similar to how Mary’s role was like.

To connect it with this episode, it was a foreshadowing as to why Sherlock was so rattled by the idea of losing someone important to him. And that someone being a person not part of his immediate inner circle. It was because he was left with a hole of not knowing how to deal with loss. It was a new, yet familiar feeling for him. And Irene Adler rekindled that missing link.

Molly Hooper

I’ll just go ahead and say it. This scene killed me. 

It was cruel in the cruelest of ways because as soon as Sherlock mentioned Molly, everything started to click. He was going to hurt her. And it wasn’t really the fact that it was to save her life that made it cruel, it was the idea that after all these years of Sherlock finally coming into terms of how much Molly Hooper means to him, in a split second he was about to lose her.  You can hear the desperation when he said “I know you’re not an experiment, you’re my friend.” It was like he wanted to tell her to not lose faith in him still.

When John suggested Irene (being the bloody captain of the Adlock yacht), it was obvious to Sherlock that it wasn’t the case. For more logical reasons, if they are still keeping in touch, he would still have her measurements in mind. Plus, Eurus would be smart enough to know that Irene and Sherlock are not the type of people who would adhere to whims of the heart in such a situation.

Whereas with Molly, it was different. Sherlock has been dismissive of her feelings from the beginning. I think Sherlock was genuinely confused as to why Molly was being so hesitant and it was because he thought that after all these years, after all the bullshit he’s done, she would’ve moved on. But he was wrong.

And yet somehow, this scene also showed us that she’s not the Molly we’ve seen from Season 1. She was smart. She must’ve noticed that something was up right at the moment when Sherlock started yelling and pleading. But also keeping herself in mind and how she will not be played around with this simply, she asked Sherlock to say the words first like he meant it and in my opinion, it wasn’t because she was being a martyr and she wanted to hear the words ‘just because’ – she wanted him to know how it feels like to be forced to say things in the face of insensitivity and emotional suffering. She wants him to know that she thought he already knows better.

Only for us to see that Sherlock did mean it. He does love her and she is very dear to him. The way he said the words were very clear, sincere, and it wasn’t forced at all. His very action of wanting to keep her alive was enough to breathe out the words. And to me, it sounded like a goodbye, because he knew he was hurting Molly and that he will lose her. You could see his agony as he was destroying the very coffin that personified his and Molly Hooper’s relationship (EDIT: whether you see this as romantic or not, I leave it up to you. I personally don’t, as I believe that as there are varying degrees of love shown for all of the characters, this episode proved above all that Sherlock is not someone typically attuned to the whole ‘romance’ thing. Still, I am open to the possibility).  

That’s why I was happy to see Molly smiling and visiting in the end montage because things had worked out.

Now, I will need a moment to cry a little bit more before I go back to typing…

Sherlock’s choice

It had to be John. From the very beginning, as I stated above, Mycroft knew he was going to lose this one. I think ever since the night he asked Anthea to monitor Sherlock and John at the beginning of ASIP he knew. 

And I think he finds it enough consolation that Sherlock read through his mask. You can see a change in his facade when Sherlock explained to John that Mycroft was simply making it easy for him to choose who to shoot. It was like an approval he wanted for so long (the minute he started being an asshole, I was screaming at the TV, asking him to stop because dammit Mycroft. You are so predictable!)

It was also quite possible that he was still trying to protect Sherlock from triggering his memories if John, his best friend, dies. The parallelism, of course, leads to another twist of this story that is Victor Trevor (kudos to this reference from the books, btw).

And this is where the line was drawn. I believe that Sherlock’s choice to shoot himself, rather than shooting Mycroft or John, was not because he believed he would be saving them, but is was the idea that he wouldn’t want to witness their death. It was like making him choose a side of himself and that he will never be the same if he were to lose one side or the other.

So to conclude this point, I want to tie it in by saying that Sherlock took John’s advice when he asked him to keep himself together. Because by choosing his own death, he didn’t have to lose either and rip himself apart.

“Context: it’s not good and it’s not bad. It is what it is.”

I think the reason why the fandom is torn with their opinions of the episode was because of the very idea of context. We were forged on subtext –we loved it. Whether it’s for shipping, solving cliffhangers, and even conspiring on theories regarding this ‘final’ episode, we are a fandom that relied on things that are unsaid. And yet in this one, we were made to see how Sherlock’s emotional context worked. (You thought I was gonna rant about certain shipping wars again but nope. Already rested my case in this post so there’s that.)

It showed us how each person we have encountered in this story filled in the flaws of this character, and we are left with a heart behind the legend. To play with the words of Lestrade, Sherlock is now both a great man and a good one. And their cases won’t tell that story, because their adventures will highlight his intellect. But through this we got to see Sherlock as a man. We got to see his heart in its purest form.

It was like a tribute, an end, a beginning, a loop – it was a reminder that the story of this series is about the legend that is Sherlock Holmes and John Watson.

“When all else fails, there are two men sitting, arguing, in a scruffy flat like they’ve always been there, and they always will.”

There were references to both the ACD canon, and other Sherlock tributes (the Stradivarius, Victor Trevor, Rathbone, to name a few), which I found interesting as someone who started with the ACD books before I came across this series.

Overall, this episode made me laugh, cry, feel, think– and I can assure you that I find it refreshing yet lonely. It was like we are seeing a beginning and a backstory, but we are also introduced to a conclusion. It feels sad to say goodbye to Sherlock, if ever that is really the case, but in all honesty, I feel like they did justice to it if this is how it ends. 

In my opinion, there was no trickery or baiting. We saw what we wanted to see, felt what we wanted to feel, and we were warned over and over that we will all come back to these two men, living in 221B Baker Street, solving crimes and leading adventures, and it gave us just that. 

I find it disappointing how Moffat and Gatiss are being slammed for this, too. They were very explicit about the fact that they were the biggest Conan-Doyle nerds and that they were never going to stray that far from his work. Of course, reshaping the story but keeping the core of the 19th century work is what they planned to do. They admittedly said this was their own version of fanfiction. 

Is it underwhelming? I don’t think so. Is Eurus a worthy villain for a finale? I believe she is. I just think it’s better if they stretched the reveal and ‘the game’ throughout the season to make the storyline feel more weaved together. What is my take away from this and the entire series? That everyone can be family. That everyone can be saved. That everyone has a story. 

And just like how this fandom has become a family for most people, don’t set it on fire just because it’s not how you expect it to be. Live in the adventures you loved. Embrace the characters you looked up to. Treasure the friends you have created. One part of the story is not all there is to it. 

And just like how open-ended that final narrative has been, remember that at the end of the day, the rest of the story is still up to you. 

“In the end, fate and destiny do not just happen out of coincidence. They are products of earnest, simple choices, that make up miraculous moments. Being resolute, making decisions without hesitation, that is what makes timing. He wanted her more than I did, and I should have been more courageous. It was not the traffic light’s fault. It was not timing. It was my many hesitations.”

How To Start Conversation with MBTI Types

ESTP: ask them where to get the best offer for something

ESFP: ask them if they’re going to *insert a popular band’s next concert*

ISTP: watch a gory movie, guess how they do the effects

ISFP: ask for song recs, ask their fav band and said band’s best song(s)

ENTP: scroll through 9gag/other meme page/mutual fandom tumblr tag together, then compare your headcanons

ENFP: ask, “Which movie(s) you’re definitely going to watch in cinema this year?”

INTP: ask them to explain one of the logical fallacy

INFP: self-inserts yourselves into a serial you both love

ESTJ: ask their help to assemble IKEA products

ESFJ: ask about work, their last holiday, anything, and/or tell them about your (crappy) day

ISFJ: invite them out to your gang’s get-together

ISTJ: ask tips to stay organized. Avoid too many small talks

ENTJ: discuss about your state’s/country’s/world politics. And politicians

ENFJ: talk about what you aim for in 5 or 10 years later.

INFJ: talk about whether euthanasia is morally right

INTJ: discuss ideologies. If you don’t know much, ask them to explain what Communism is and isn’t

When you go to an interview and your brain is like figuring out every answer to every question and you think you’re so confident you’re gonna get that job then the manager asks you a question but you’re like “uhm, uhm, I uhh”.!! Like why can’t I just deal with other people. Seriously!!?

Sherlock-The Final Problem

Family is all that matters. MYCROFT willing to sacrifice his life for Sherlock and Sherlock knowing that it's just Mycroft's way of telling him to shoot him. I know their family is really messed up but they still care for each other in their own convoluted way.

Laughing because

Here we have

• Sherlock texting Irene back

•  Flying halfway across the world to take on armed terrorists to save her 

• “Oh, but I will have the cameraphone, though.”

•  “The Woman. THE Woman.”

• Just him imagining her in an extremely intimate and sentimental manner in the middle of a life-or-death situation, NBD. (And it’s made clear that this is not unusual.)

•  “The Woman Will Cry”

• Irene as the very first of Sherlock’s pressure points:

• The red rose she sent or left Sherlock in his hospital room (red roses are symbols of ‘one true love’). The fact that he took it with him when he snuck out.

• Sherlock having a conversation with John about Irene’s importance to him in his Mind Palace, including the fact that he kept a picture of her in his pocket watch:

• Every single person involved with the show to any significant degree giving numerous quotes supporting Adlock.

• And of course, The Lying Detective, where it becomes canon that Sherlock kept her moan text alert five years and several phones later, and that he does indeed reply to her.

People who ship That Other Ship in her tags:

• “WhY is this ADlock being forced down our throats out of NOwhere?!?!?”

AWKWARD INTJ’S THOUGHTS #2

As we all have already established, INTJs work differently than other people. We are cold, rational and analytical. We are brutally honest, dislike humankind and don’t care about other’s opinions. We don’t like any involvement, feelings, or emotions. But despite that, we are all only weak, fragile humans. And even we have some fears, or face adversities. Don’t try to deny it. Everyone is afraid of something. Voldemort was afraid of dying, the Joker was afraid of being considered as a common clown, Sauron was afraid of the Ring being destroyed, Sherlock was afraid of John leaving him, Moriarty was… Well, I’m quite sure he was afraid of something, too. Sherlock has only three seasons, I’m slowly dying waiting for fourth, shut up. You know I’m right.

We all fear something or have to overcome adversity. Everyone experiences those in their own, specific way, but as always, INTJs’ way is the most specific. Let me explain it on me.

Five months ago I was diagnosed with social anxiety and depression. I started treatment, psychotherapy and other stuff that was supposed to help me. Today I made a decision. As I am terrified of using public transport and generally being in public, I decided that would be a big step for me to take a tram and just go, even if it was supposed to be five minutes ride. I did as I said. When I got out of the tram, I was expecting to feel something. Happiness. Relief. Pride. I didn’t feel any of those. I started my walk back home with my mind being completely blank. Until I got home. Then I felt it. I felt this overwhelming anger.

I was so angry at myself that I was so weak before. That I let myself be weak. That I let myself feel weak. That I let myself act weak. Because that, THAT, is the biggest humiliation for INTJ. To show feelings, to show fear and let the fear take control. Of course, fear is rational in certain situations. But most of the times, it’s not. And we don’t like irrational things. And we don’t like to feel out of the control. Oh, no, we really don’t like it.

We must remain strong, to feel confident. INTJs are those cold, silent, untouched people looking at everyone with their analytical gazes. And feeling anything, especially fear is a humiliation for us. You may say, that fearing something is human. You’re right. And INTJs are human, even if most of times we seem INhuman. But we see and feel and act and react differently. In our own, specific way. And showing weakness, let alone asking for help, is the last thing we’d do. The same applies to adversities. We don’t want your help. Even if we’re falling, we don’t want you catch us. We want you to leave us alone, so we can do it on our own. That’s what how we are.

Cold. Rational. Analytical. Untouched. And strong. Oh god, unbelievably strong.  

You only have one life. How exactly are you going to spend it? Regretting? Dieting? Crying? Questioning? Hating yourself? Running after people who don’t give a shit about you? You have one life. Spend it well, go out and live. Make yourself proud.

(via toxicvas)

Irene Adler- The Final Problem

In the scene where Eurus told Sherlock to play the violin, Sherlock played Bach. However, Eurus wanted him to play "you". This was very interesting because what Sherlock played was Irene Adler's theme from ASiB. Now she deduces that he's had sex ( subtle hint with Irene) just because he played that song. Now in the ending montage (I don't know if this is what they really intended but I want it to be a clue,hahaha) Sherlock texted " You know where to find me- SH"- To whom might this text intended for. My guess is Irene because who does Sherlock text using the initial SH in the show? It's only Irene