What might you try to smuggle in Victorian London

Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by NateSean, Nov 13, 2017.

  1. LostThePlot

    LostThePlot Naysmith Contributor

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    They sort of do. Tobacco is cheaper in France, and booze too IIRC, but not to a huge amount. There isn't the kind of profit margin there used to be when hopping the channel meant duty free. As it stands fags are about £2.50 a pack cheaper but if you want people to buy them you have to sell them cheaper here too, and while making a quid a pack in profit might sound good if you want some pocket money you need to sell a couple of crates just to pay for the fare. If you're passing through France and have mates to buy it then you might as well but it's definitely not what it used to be. A major upside to leaving the EU if you ask me :)
     
  2. archer88i

    archer88i Banned Contributor

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    @LostThePlot, damn! Ok, I'll have to come up with another retirement plan. Lucky I still have like thirty years...

    [Insert quiet sobbing noises.]
     
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  3. LostThePlot

    LostThePlot Naysmith Contributor

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    Ah don't worry man, once we leave the EU then all your smuggling dreams will return to life :D And then you'll only be sobbing for all the other stuff happening ;)
     
  4. NateSean

    NateSean Senior Member

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    He takes payment. The prince gives him a down payment in Scandal in Bohemia. Also in one of the short stories a client gives him an envelope of money when Homes agrees to take the case.

    It's fame and glory he shuns and he'll work for free for someone like a widowed mother or a kid trying to find his missing father. And I think he does Scotland Yard cases pro bono.
    But he would have to take money at some point or he couldn't afford the rent on the flat, the concert tickets, trains, and meals.

    There's a wide range of things a person could forge. But if he diversified then forgery is only a menu item. Someone mentioned hit lists.

    There's also passports, betting slips, etc. The shop owner could simply be a middle man for a number of criminal enterprises.
     
  5. LostThePlot

    LostThePlot Naysmith Contributor

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    Sure, but he's not known as a greedy guy is he? He's not someone that many people would believe is using his position to fleece someone. I don't think anyone would believe some dodgy financial dealings even with his name signed on it.
     
  6. Sclavus

    Sclavus Active Member

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    Holmes was never greedy, and only took money to pay the rent or "stick it" to a rich prick who was involved in the crime he was investigating. It was always about the case more than the money for Holmes. For Watson, gambling was a problem that had led to his financial issues resulting in his sharing a flat with Holmes, if I recall.

    If Holmes had financial problems, it would probably extend to his lack of available work and the propensity for drugs that would get to him. If I recall, he had a penchant for cocaine, morphine, tobacco, and opium, so I could see him getting into financial problems trying to maintain his habit. What I can't see is Holmes getting desperate enough to commit crime. For him unjustifiable crime was a cancer he wouldn't participate in, no matter how desperate.

    Holmes had a tendency to forgive repentant criminals, and would commit crimes like burglary or trespassing to prevent or solve greater crimes, but I can't see him committing crimes out of selfishness for want of a drug. If London was suddenly so boring as to drive him into constant drug use, he'd very likely move to somewhere with more criminals.
     
  7. LostThePlot

    LostThePlot Naysmith Contributor

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    Right, but my point was that it'd be very hard to forge a document that would be both plausible and embarrassing to him. That's all that I was talking about by him often working for free. And yes, you're right, I don't believe Holmes would never begin committing crimes just for the money and neither would anyone else. And that's why even something signed and sealed and witnessed to implicate him in doing something, or even being unethical and unprincipled just wouldn't ever hold water.
     
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  8. The Dapper Hooligan

    The Dapper Hooligan (V) ( ;,,;) (v) Contributor

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    I think a better tactic would be to make a play at his pride or at his curiosity. Those seem to be his top motivators in most of his stories as he doesn't really seem too concerned over other humans or or worldly possessions. Occasionally he'll show concern for someone if he knows they're in imminent danger, but this trait rarely surfaces until he's well into a mystery.
     
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  9. Sclavus

    Sclavus Active Member

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    How much he likes you sort of depends on how good a puzzle you bring him, with a few exceptions (usually a damsel in distress or somebody who is absolutely losing their shit in a panic). He cares deeply, otherwise he would apply his skills to a less noble enterprise and could probably make bank, but he doesn't want to be noticed caring, as if empathy were a threat to his mental powers. It's a very interesting insecurity.
     
  10. The Dapper Hooligan

    The Dapper Hooligan (V) ( ;,,;) (v) Contributor

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    "Love is an emotional thing, and whatever is emotional is opposed to that true cold reason which I place above all things. I should never marry myself, lest I bias my judgment."
     
  11. LostThePlot

    LostThePlot Naysmith Contributor

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    And as we all know the desire to marry is pretty solid evidence of compromised judgment ;)
     
  12. Robert Musil

    Robert Musil Comparativist Contributor

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    And the desire to marry oneself, even more so!
     
  13. LostThePlot

    LostThePlot Naysmith Contributor

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    To be honest if you must marry then you can probably do worse than marrying yourself.
     

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