Deliver Us from Evil Series/Characters
Heroes: Civilians
Sherlock Edward Holmes, Esq.
- A Father to His Men/"Well Done, Son" Guy: Holmes plays these tropes very straight with his Irregulars, especially Davy Wiggins.
- Awesome McCoolname: Sherlock Edward Holmes. Edward, in Old English, literally means Happy/Prosperous Guard. Pretty fitting.
- Bilingual Bonus: Holmes speaks in French, sometimes, thanks more to his half-French mother than to his classical education.
- Brainy Brunette
- Challenge Seeker
- Dangerously Genre Savvy: Technically this, but he tends to be a bit reckless with his own safety.
- Dark Is Not Evil: He is often described simply as being "dark".
- Determinator
- Disney Death: Twice. The Reichenbach Falls, of course, but the middle of Mortality also counts.
- Dude in Distress: It's a recurring theme of the series.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette
- Guile Hero
- The Hero/The Protagonist
- In Harm's Way: So often that Wiggins actually calls him out on this several times.
- The Leader: Type I.
- Like Brother and Sister: With Mary.
- Love Hurts
- Manly Tears
- Mr. Fanservice: Oh so much.
- Not So Stoic: Not at all...
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin/Tall, Dark and Handsome: It may be Adaptational Attractiveness, but Holmes is definitely this in the author's illustrations. He is also 6'2", a nod to Jeremy Brett.
- Sharp-Dressed Man
- Sherlock Scan: As per usual.
- What Beautiful Eyes! Grey Eyes: It's almost blatantly obvious that the author fangirls over Holmes's eyes, and just about as blatantly obvious that they're based on Jeremy Brett's eyes.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: In The Road to Reichenbach.
John Hamish Watson, M.D.
- Big Brother Instinct: Towards Holmes - also his Berserk Button.
- Bonnie Scotland: Oh, aye!
- Dark-Skinned Blond: The personality aspect is inverted, but the actual coloring is played straight. Watson is described as having ginger-colored hair along with a permanent tan.
- Deadly Doctor: Eep, do not mess with Sherlock Holmes. You'll be very sorry you did.
- Deadpan Snarker
- Determinator
- Enemies with Death: He's a doctor. It's his job.
- Fake Brit: In-universe. Watson speaks and acts like a Londoner but is a full-blooded Scot.
- Happily Married
- Hazel Eyes
- The Heart
- The Hero/The Protagonist
- Honorary Uncle: To the Irregulars.
- The Leader: A combination of Types I and II.
- Love Hurts
- Manly Tears
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right
- The Smart Guy/The Medic
- Tranquil Fury/You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry
- The Watson: Averted.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: He plays this trope straight with the Irregulars.
Mycroft Tristan Holmes, Esq.
- Aloof Big Brother
- The Chessmaster
- Dangerously Genre Savvy
- Grey Eyes: Usually described as being "near-white".
- Manly Tears
- Sharp-Dressed Man
- The Quiet One
Baker Street Irregulars
David "Davy" Jonathan Wiggins
- Awesome McCoolname: David Jonathan.
- Deadpan Snarker
- Calling the Old Man Out: Does to Holmes regarding his recklessness with his own safety. several times.
- Establishing Character Moment: Wiggins's first scene neatly establishes him as a sardonic, concerned Hypercompetent Sidekick.
- Determinator
- Genre Savvy/Street Smart
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: To Holmes.
- The Lancer: To Holmes's, then Watson's, leadership.
- The Leader: Or "lieutenant", of the Baker Street Irregulars. Combination of Types I and II.
- Midnight Blue Eyes: Described as "sapphire blue".
- Promotion to Parent: Had to step up to be the man of the house and the father-figure to his siblings when his father abandoned them.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right
- Wise Beyond Their Years: Davy is just 22, but he tends to act older (and, in some cases, wiser than his own employer). Though he has a mother and a home, he worked as a beggar and pickpocket before being hired by Holmes.
Peter Wiggins
- The Lancer: To his brother's leadership of the Irregulars.
- Parental Abandonment
- Street Smart
- Wise Beyond Their Years: Approximately 19 or 20, his backstory is the same as his brother's, barring Davy's Promotion to Parent.
Supporting Women
Mary Watson neé Morstan
- The Chick
- Establishing Character Moment: Mary's first scene sets and cements her sibling-esque relationship with Sherlock.
- Hair of Gold
- Happily Married
- The Heart
- Innocent Blue Eyes
Rose Hudson
Annie Rebekah Lestrade neé Rhys
- All Jews Are Ashkenazi: Annie's mother is a London-born Jew of Prussian descent.
- Brainy Brunette/Child Prodigy: Annie is incredibly well-educated for a working-class woman, having largely taught herself through books. She can speak several languages aside from her native ones: French, German, Italian, and Breton, as well as classical Greek and Latin.
- Brown Eyes
- Dark Is Not Evil: Dark hair, dark eyes, and fairly brown skin.
- Happily Married
- Hot-Blooded: Oy vey.
- Odd Couple: Not exactly a "fire and ice" deal with Geoffrey, but it's not far from the truth, either.
- One Steve Limit: Played with. "Annie" is revealed to be the name of Sherlock Holmes's deceased fiancee.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse
- The Smart Girl: Of the Yarders' wives.
- Welshman And A Jew: Annie's parents, Dai Rhys and Ruby Rhys neé Eisenman.
- Yiddish as a Second Language: Subverted. Yiddish was her first language alongside English.
Heroes: Scotland Yarders
Geoffrey Michael Lestrade
- Adult Fear: Of all the characters, he's the only one to truly fear for the Irregulars' safety. As the main page says, considering that he's friends with at least one, has another among his constables, and has a nephew in their ranks, he has every right to feel a parental horror at the boys putting themselves in danger.
- Awesome McCoolname/Fandom Nod: Geoffrey Lestrade, courtesy of aragonite.
- Beware the Nice Ones
- Brown Eyes
- Consummate Professional: Or, in Holmes's own words, the "best of professionals."
- Dark Is Not Evil: Like Holmes, Lestrade is often described as "dark".
- Deadpan Snarker: Oh so much. The narrative from his Point of View tends to be very dry...
Watson: (concerning Moran) "I think you'd know him if you saw him, Lestrade. The man has a presence."
Lestrade: "Well, then, that limits our man to half the men in that room. Come along, let's get you back out there."
- Deuteragonist: As an Ascended Extra - Lestrade is one of the three major POV characters.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette
- Establishing Character Moment: The scene that introduces all of Mortality's Yarders (excepting Sean Youghal) establishes Lestrade as a dry-witted, Older and Wiser, generally world-weary Team Dad and Only Sane Man.
- Fair Cop
- Fake Brit: Another in-universe example, as Lestrade is a London-born Breton.
- Friend on the Force: To Holmes, Watson, and Wiggins.
- Genre Savvy: When you've Seen It All, it's a little hard not to be Genre Savvy.
Lestrade: "I mayn't be a genius — I may even be an imbecile, as Sherlock Holmes is always so kind to point out — but I do know how criminals think."
- Happily Married
- Heroic BSOD: When he believes Holmes to be dead - he suffers it again later on, in the aftermath of the raid.
- Inspector Lestrade: Played positively.
- The Kirk: To Patterson's Spock and Gregson's McCoy.
- Odd Couple: As mentioned in the folder above, not exactly a "fire and ice" deal with his wife Annie, but not far from the truth, either.
- Older and Wiser: Combine Seen It All, Only Sane Man, and Team Dad, and you've very much got this.
- Only Sane Man: Whether he's interacting with the rest of the "Five-Man Band" or his own colleagues, he is so very much this (even when Watson's around).
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Just watch his interactions with Wiggins.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Lestrade is fairly short at 5'7", but he's also known to be a holy terror to his subordinates and colleagues alike when he's worked up.
- Not to mention the fact that his dry wit is a superpower all of its own.
- The Quiet One: Another of Lestrade's superpowers - he's incredibly long-suffering.
- Seen It All: He's been on the London Met for over two decades, longer than most of his colleagues.
- Sharp-Dressed Man
- Sixth Ranger/The Smart Guy: To Sherlock Holmes's unofficial "Five-Man Band". See the main page for further details.
- Team Dad: He even considers himself something of a father-figure to Holmes.
- Tranquil Fury: He's The Stoic that you wouldn't like when he's angry.
- The Watson: To Patterson's "Holmes".
Tobias Gregson
Gregson: (concerning Patterson) "Have to admit, I've always wondered what it would be like to have Sherlock Holmes as One of Us. Now I don't have to wonder, and I don't like it one bit."
- Dumb Blond: Inverted. Gregson is the Sherlock Holmes-acknowledged smartest man at the Yard.
- Establishing Character Moment: He is quickly established in his first scene as a smart, snarky Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
- Fair Cop
- Friendly Rival: Is this to Lestrade, who doesn't reciprocate the "rival" bit anymore.
- Happily Married
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold
- Insufferable Genius:
Lestrade: "Come off it, Tobias — you look like a thunderhead about to erupt."
Gregson: "Volcanoes erupt, Ferret Face. Thunderheads burst."
Lestrade: "What's going on in that bright head of yours, other than the incessant need to demonstrate your superior knowledge?"
- The McCoy: Surprisingly so, but Patterson seems to bring out the trait in him. (Canonically, Lestrade and Gregson are more like The McCoy and The Spock, respectively - even in Mortality, they go back and forth as needed.)
Gregson: "[Patterson] could have had enough consideration for the poor Doctor to make his announcement less abruptly."
Daniel Patterson
- Ascended Extra: From one mention in "The Final Problem" to supporting character.
- The Chessmaster
- Consummate Professional: Another heroic example.
- The Cynic: Then again, he's rather entitled to it, after all the years he's spent undercover in the underbelly of Victorian London.
- Dangerously Genre Savvy
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette
- Foil: Patterson to Holmes, rather as a deconstruction of the popular image of Sherlock Holmes, in-universe but also in Real Life.
Word of God: "I think that by Patterson living the image Holmes attempts to project, it makes Holmes that much more human."
- Establishing Character Moment: Patterson's is the most concise, introducing him as cynical, sarcastic, cold, and something of an in-universe Expy to Sherlock Holmes. In other words, a true Knight in Sour Armor.
- Good Is Not Nice: Nooo, not really.
- Hero of Another Story: He's spent most of his career - fifteen years at least - investigating Moriarty.
- Icy Blue Eyes: Often described from Lestrade's Point of View as icebergs or pieces of ice, with just as much emotion.
- Insufferable Genius
- Knight in Sour Armor
- Sharp-Dressed Man
- Sherlock Scan: He can do this just about as well as one of the Holmes brothers.
- Sixth Ranger
- The Spock: To Lestrade's Kirk and Gregson's McCoy, as far as team dynamics go... Really, he's just The Spock, period.
- Supporting Leader
- The Stoic: But, for just one moment, Not So Stoic.
- Tall, Dark and Snarky
- What the Hell, Hero?: Gets this from Lestrade and Gregson a few times in Mortality alone.
Roger Bradstreet
Harold Morton
Stanley Hopkins
Hopkins: (solemnly) "Sherlock Holmes, detective genius forever and ever, world without end, Amen." (winks at MacDonald)
Athelney Jones
Alec MacDonald
- Bonnie Scotland
- Fair Cop
- Even Heroes Have Heroes: Lestrade holds that MacDonald and Hopkins are Sherlock Holmes's biggest fans, John Watson aside.
Sean Youghal
Villains
Professor James Richard Paul Moriarty
- Big Bad
- The Chessmaster
- Consummate Professional: Absolutely The Best at what he does.
- The Corrupter: He wanted to be this for Sherlock Holmes. Fortunately for the world, Holmes was rescued by The Cavalry.
- Diabolical Mastermind
- Disney Villain Death
- Evil Genius: He's not just a Diabolical Mastermind - he's an astrophysicist as well, one far ahead of his time.
- Grey Eyes: Of the icy variety.
- Light Is Not Good
- The Man Behind the Man: To the Red-headed League, Culverton Smith, and purportedly many others.
- Odd Friendship: Played with. He trusts Moran more than anyone else of his subordinates, but he makes it very clear that Moran is a subordinate. Their dynamics are pretty much as "fire and ice" as it gets.
- Sharp-Dressed Man
- The Syndicate: He's not just the Diabolical Mastermind - he IS The Syndicate.
- Wicked Cultured: He puts the "wicked" in "cultured".
Colonel Sebastian Moran
- Consummate Professional
- The Dragon
- Midnight Blue Eyes: Called "Prussian blue" in the narrative.
- Sharp-Dressed Man
- Wicked Cultured
Culverton Smith
- Ambiguously Brown: Undoubtedly from so much time in the tropics - Holmes thinks that he could almost pass for a native of Sumatra due to his coloring.
- Black Sheep: Of his family.
- Brainy Brunette
- Brown Eyes
- Dark Is Evil
- Deadly Doctor: Played with, as he has all the knowledge of a Ph.D. without actually having acquired his doctorate (or even an M.D.) due to financial difficulty.
- Evil Uncle: Out of Greed for his half brother's estate. Called out on this by the Big Bad, himself.
- Serial Killer: Officially called a "multiple murderer" and unofficially labeled a Complete Monster by Holmes himself.
- You Have Failed Me...: Gets this from Moriarty, along with a second chance. He blows it.