#are closer to what Holmes would have looked like in those stories

[svartalfhild]

I wish more adaptations of Sherlock Holmes acknowledged that his career began when he was fairly young. He was 27 when he met Dr. Watson. He wasn't yet 40 in a large portion of his cases. I feel like that gives some interesting context to those stories.

Like that bitch was barely 29 when he let the villain fucking die in The Adventure of the Speckled Band. He was 34 when he met Irene Adler, began his rivalry with Moriarty, and when Dr. Watson met and married Mary Morstan.

[afewproblems]

Season 2 Halloween AU Part Three

Part One, Part Two

Eddie waits till the end of the day to strike.

It's after four, and almost everyone has left for the day with the exception of the teachers and the janitor --who has already given Eddie the stink eye for remaining after hours for 'no reason'.

But Eddie does have a reason, a pretty decent one too.

He's waiting for King-Steve to get out of detention.

Turns out it didn't take until lunch for the whole school to hear about Harrington and Wheeler. In fact, the way Eddie heard, Steve had been ambushed not two minutes after his conversation with Nancy by Hagan and Hargrove.

Now here was where the story differed depending on who you heard it from.

Tammy Thompson told her lunch table that Steve freaked out when Hargrove started talking shit about Nancy.

Mark Holmes told Jim Cutter that Hagan got punched in the face and Hargrove was simply defending his friend from Steve.

Sarah March told Jeff in their homeroom that Steve wound up with a black eye after gym class that morning and was almost suspended for the week.

Eddie knows there must be a thread of truth linking all of these stories together. And at this point, he'd much rather hear it straight from the source.

Plus with a black eye Harrington would be needing those glasses back.

Eddie snaps the gum in his mouth and stuffs his hands in his pockets as he leans against locker 109, certain that Steve will have to stop by before he leaves.

"Munson?"

Speak of the devil.

Eddie tilts slightly in the direction of the voice and blows out a low whistle at the sight of the shiner on Steve's face.

It's already a deep purple, though it isn't as swollen as Eddie would have thought. It matches the colour of the bags under Steve's good eye and is accentuated by how strangely pale he looks today. Steve's lip is also split down the middle, blood staining his polo collar.

Huh, so it didn't happen in gym.

"Looks like someone had an interesting day," Eddie smiles as he crosses one leg over the other and taps the tip of his chuck on the linoleum, Steve winces at the harsh squeak it makes.

"Look Munson, whatever you want, just get it over with," Steve manages to say through gritted teeth, his hands have clenched into loose fists but the same tremor from the night before has returned in full force.

Eddie pushes himself off of Steve's locker and watches as the other man tenses. Eddie rolls his eyes and reaches behind himself, grabbing the shades from where they are hanging off his back pocket. Steve's gaze follows Eddie's movements and barely halts a flinch as the sunglasses are tossed into his chest.

Steve only seems to catch them with his latent jock ability but still nearly drops them in surprise.

"You left these in my van last night," Eddie shrugs at the way Steve's head tilts slightly, he looks from the glasses in his hand to Eddie and back again with a frown.

"Oh," he breathes out, and the tension drops from Steve's frame like the strings holding him up are all at once severed.

"First a taxi service, now a courier," Eddie smirks, dropping his left hand to his hip, "how ever will you make it up to me Harrington?"

Steve grimaces, rubbing a hand down his face, he winces as it brushes the deepening bruise under his eye, "I'm sure you're about to tell me".

Eddie grins, pretending to consider his options as he lifts a ringed hand to his chin to hold it thoughtfully for a beat while Steve stands before him, looking more and more frustrated with every passing second.

"Where's the fun in that?" Eddie says with a sly smile as he steps closer, nearly into Steve's space, and leans in.

"Maybe you'll owe me one," Eddie winks as he says it before dropping his voice into a wheezing Italian affectation, "perhaps one day soon I'll call upon you for a favor--"

"What?" Steve sputters out in a strangled laugh, leaning away from Eddie's sudden proximity.

From this angle Eddie can see the slightest flush creeping down Steve's neck.

"The Godfather? You know?" Eddie raises an eyebrow at the blank expression on Steve's face, "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse?"

Steve's brow pinches in confusion as he shakes his head.

"I mean," Eddie huffs, moving out of Steve's space again, "you'd probably like it, you have plenty of practice rejecting offers don't ya big boy?"

It takes a second for the words to register for both of them.

Steve's eyebrows cut creases across his forehead as they rise into his hair and Eddie immediately wants to fling himself off the gymnasium roof.

Of all the stupid, stupid things--

"Is this about the weed?" Steve asks slowly with a frown wrinkling his nose, it would be cute if Eddie wasn't beside himself with relief.

Focus.

"Yup," Eddie manages to say with a straight face despite the way his heart is racing. He clears his throat and leans backwards to drape himself against the lockers again, miscalculating how far he's moved away from them after Steve showed up.

Eddie loses his footing and slams into the metal with a loud bang, sliding down onto the floor in a leather clad heap.

"Jesus Christ," Eddie hears from above him, opening his eyes to find a pair of wide hazel ones staring into his own.

"Did you hit your head?"

Eddie ignores the question and the heat that rises in his face and ears. He wants nothing more at this moment than to tell Steve to fuck off, to leave him to crawl into a hole now and finally live the rest of his days as a Hobbit.

But King-Steve is persistent.

"Come on Munson, we should go before someone comes to see what happened, I'm not getting another detention for you," Steve huffs as he holds a hand out in front of Eddie.

Eddie looks from the outstretched hand in front of him, to Steve's face. His stupid, earnest, beautiful face, and takes his hand, grunting as he rises back to his feet.

A door opens down the hall, near the admin office and both men freeze as a pair of heels begin to click and clack their way down the hall.

"Shit," Eddie hisses at the same time Steve barks out a frantic, "Go, go, go!"

They scramble to get away from the lockers and make a beeline for the side exit, a mixture of laughter and curses echoing after them.

Eddie doesn't stop running until he reaches the driver's side door of his van.

He pants out a wild laugh and shakes his head as Steve bends at the waist with his hands braced on his knees. When Steve rights himself, there's a flush of exertion and a bright smile that is only slightly marred by the black eye and split lip.

"You're a trip Harrington," Eddie breathes out before clutching his throat, "I think I swallowed my gum back there".

Steve laughs loud and bright and Eddie can't help but watch the way his head tips back, exposing the long column of his neck. He looks up again, his eyes seem to search Eddie's face briefly before he shakes his head with an expression Eddie's never seen before.

"Yeah well," Steve huffs, his good eye crinkles at the corner from his smile, "you're not what I thought you'd be like either Munson".

And Eddie just doesn't know what to do with that.

Instead, he clears his throat and kicks at a piece of gravel that careens across the empty student parking lot.

"Where's your noble steed?" Eddie asks, his head on swivel. Harrington's car was fairly iconic around here, no way it would have been missed among the sea of beat up Ford's and Gremlins.

Steve tilts his head and frowns slightly, "I left it at Tina's remember?"

And yeah, shit, that makes sense, he must have caught the bus that morning and completely missed it with detention.

"...do you need a ride?"

"Okay".

Part four up!

Tag List: @eriquin @luvinthefreaks @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @goodolefashionedloverboi @ellietheasexylibrarian @bambibiest @sadboislovebeans @howincrediblysapphicofyou @coleys-a-nerd @whycantiuseunderscore @airconditioning123 @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @corrodedbisexual @starman-jpg @ilovecupcakesandtea @yoriposts @clumsiluni @pelinelin @phantomcat94 @lololol-1234 @anaibis @airconditioning123 @steveshairspray @hellfireone @sunswathe @eddielives1986

and for some peeps that I think may be interested! @strangersteddierthings @steddierthings @steddie-there @steves-strapcollection @outpastthebrakers @henderdads @stevesbipanic

[edosianorchids901]

Where Flowers Bloom

@flashfictionfridayofficial prompt - "pushing up daisies"

“Crowley!”

Crowley jumped, startled awake by the sudden call, and nearly fell out of the hammock. He steadied himself, then pushed up his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes. “Hrgk?”

“Where are you, you old serpent?”

“Hammock.” He had been taking a nice, solid nap. Unintentionally. He’d been reading a sci-fi novel, but apparently it hadn’t held his interest. “Where are you?”

After a moment, Aziraphale traipsed out from behind a hedge and waved. He wore a floppy hat and green gardening gloves today. “I’ve just been looking over the vegetable beds.”

“Oh? How are they?”

“They’re pushing up daisies.”

Crowley stared at Aziraphale’s displeased expression. “What? What happened?”

“I just told you.”

“No, but how?”

“I have no idea.” 

“No, I mean, are the plants withered? Does it look like there were animals digging in the beds? Or did…” A sudden suspicion crept through the fog of Crowley’s mind. “Wait. Hold up. What do you think ‘pushing up daisies’ means, angel?”

Aziraphale stared at him. “That it’s pushing up daisies.”

“Right, but what does that mean?”

The befuddlement on Aziraphale’s face wrenched into concern. He stepped closer and laid his gloved hand on Crowley’s brow. Then he pulled his glove off and touched Crowley’s brow again. “You don’t seem overheated, but given your confusion, I’m a bit concerned you may have given yourself sunstroke.”

“I’m in the shade.”

“Yes, but you’re awfully confused.”

“Nuh.” Crowley shook his head. “I’m not now. ‘Pushing up daisies’ is an expression. Means ‘dead’. But m’ guessing you mean literal daisies, eh?”

“Of course I mean literal daisies!” Frowning, Aziraphale shook his head. “I really do find your methods of expression difficult to follow.”

“Oy, it wasn’t my expression. Human ingenuity.” Crowley tried to climb out of the hammock and almost flipped it over. Aziraphale wordlessly caught his arm and helped him out. “Thanks. Er. Er, okay. So, are you sure they’re daisies? Not vegetables that have bolted?”

“They aren’t runaway vegetables, no.”

Crowley groaned. Sometimes, having a conversation with Aziraphale could turn into a nightmare. For somehow who read as much as he did, he had tunnel vision when it came to vocabulary. “Nuh, that means when the plant goes to seed early. It doesn’t mean running away. Well, except maybe in the case of the horseradish.”

It was Aziraphale’s turn to groan. “That was an awful pun.”

“Yes,” Crowley agreed. “Come on, angel. Let’s go see.”

Once they reached the vegetable beds, it didn’t take very long to confirm that they weren’t growing vegetables. Crowley walked all the way around anyway, glaring at each flower.

“Well,” he finally said, looking over the sea of white and yellow with occasional splashes of pink, “those are definitely daisies.”

“Yes, that’s what I said.”

“Never doubted you.” Crowley winked, knowing Aziraphale would see it despite the dark glasses in the way. Aziraphale rolled his eyes. “Okay. Okay. So, what happened to the vegetables? D’ya think someone broke in and switched them out? Could be part of a secret plot.”

Aziraphale blinked at him. “You’ve been watching too many James Bond films. I think the true answer is much simpler than that. Elementary, really.”

“You’ve been reading too many Sherlock Holmes stories.”

“No such thing, my dear.”

“And there’s no such thing as too many James Bond films.” Crossing his arms, Crowley stared at the vegetable bed. Flowerbed, now. “Could be the seed company switched the seeds to save money.”

Aziraphale chuckled. “No. I really don’t think it’s that.”

“What is it, then?”

Smiling, Aziraphale took his hand. “My dear fellow, do you remember an afternoon when we’d had a little too much wine, and decided it might be fun to try ‘drunk gardening’?”

Crowley froze. “Oh no.”

“Oh, yes.”

“Shitshitshit, we absolutely grabbed the wrong seed packets, didn’t we? Forgot to double check, didn’t we?”

“It seems so.”

Crowley hissed in annoyance. Then he pulled himself together, making a new plan. “Right, okay. Time to cut some flowers for a table centerpiece.”

[thekatebridgerton]

thekatebridgerton 2022 Masterlist of aus

this post is going to be long, to be fair, I think I wrote out my favorite aus in 2022. it was a great year creativity wise. So lets take a look:

If Eloise had been closer to Marina her book probably would have been more like a genderbent WHWW pt 1

au If Eloise had met Phillip while he was Married to Marina pt2

Forced Marriage au Bridgerton men edition

Bridgerton couples There was only one bed trope

List of The Bridgerton as mental illnesses darker timeline au

The hoe and the monogamist trope (saint and sinner)

Crack Encanto au post pt1

Crack Encanto au post pt2

Crack Encanto au post pt3

Which Bridgerton is the most insomniac

The Bridgertons on a scale of 1 to 8 Royalty au edition

The Bridgertons as Star wars Characters pt1

Philoise almost meeting aus

Gregnelope crackship au idea

Kanthony first words soulmate au aesthetic

Bridgerton couples mafia au p1

Kate interviewing for the wife Position au

Wallflower Penelope has no suitors because…au

Violet Bridgerton time travel fix it, multicouple oneshot

Reverse TVWL What if Kate tried to go after Benedict au

Mafia au pt 2, the Kanthony drabble

Mafia au pt3 Polin edition

Bridgerton couples Star wars au pt2 the story

Philoise College professor x student au

She’s all that polin au

Colin vs the angry wallflower and the bored modiste oneshot

Masterlist of Birdgerton rom com ideas

Polin Made of Honor au (ft bluerosejuliet)

Bridgeton couples Criminal minds au

Polin Aesthetic prompt: Abduction to love

Polin Aesthetic prompt: Best friend brother + brother’s best friend

Polin Aesthetic prompt: Two person Love Triangle

Polin Aesthetic prompt: The one that got away

Polin Aesthetic prompt: Childhood marriage promise

Polin Aesthetic prompt: friends with benefits

Polin Aesthetic prompt: Fish out of water

Addams family au vignete

Polin Aesthetic prompt: Secret baby au

Polin Aesthetic prompts: Polin in Law enforcement

Sophie as Benedict’s mistress, comedy au

Polin Aesthetic prompts: Neighbours to lovers au

Bridgerton mafia au post #4

Bridgerton couples Yandere au part 1: the plot

Bridgerton reincarnated au pt1

Bridgerton Yandere au pt 2, how it may end eventually

Bridgerton yandere au pt3

Bridgerton yandere au post #3

Bridgerton Yandere au post #4, Gregory’s take

Philoise meet cute S2 au

Reincarnated au pt2 Franchesca version

Genderbent Felicity: Felix Featherington verse pt1

Ghost x Reincarnation au pt1

Kanthony as rival fashion designers au

Kanthony Medieval warlord au

Gaslight gatekeep girlboss OG post

Kanthony twisted Cinderella au

Bridgerton Couples, write on your skin soulmate au

Bridgerton couples professional Athletes au

Reincarnation au part 2

Reincarnation au pt3: the climax of the story

Bridgerton Reincarnation au pt4: the plot thickens

Ghost x Reincarnation au pt2

Genderbent Felicity: Felix Featherington verse pt2

Reincarnation au p4

Twisted Fairytale Full au pt2

Kanthony pirate-ish au

Penelope fake Dates Phillip, Polin au

Polin meet the Robinsons idea

Gaslight Gatekeep Girlboss inspiration idea pt2

Bridgerton Ghost Whisper au pt1

Felix Featherington verse pt 3

Bridgerton couples Sherlock Holmes au

Reincarnation au pt5, Saphne edition

to the anon who asked which were my favorites, for the 2022 aus, its really hard to pick, I absolutely adored writing my Twisted Fairytales Bridgerton au and one of these days a will totally write a full fic about it, but also the Star Wars au and the Mafia au were so much fun!! I loved writing those. The reincarnation verse was also so good, and arghh I should have expanded on the Criminal minds au.

Long Story short, it's really hard to pick which was my favorite au to write in 2022, but the ones I listed above always make me grin like a maniac, even when I'm busy and sleep deprived.

[the-judicial-assistants-notebook]

*KICKS THE DOOR DOWN* WWWAIT FREYA I HAVE MIXED FEELINGS ON FANDOMS VIEW OF THIS SHIP I NEED TO KNOW UR OPINION. HOMUMIKU???

WKSHJSHJDBJHAHAHAH HIIIII, GRACE!!!! ❤️💕💞💝💗💖💘💓💕💞💖💞💘

Homumiko (HUGE spoilers for DGS after the bingo sheet):

I have been waiting to get into this ship properly, because I have THOUGHTS and I need to be forced to get them out coherently.

Let's get into the basic ship itself. Honestly? No comment. I think hmmk cheats a bit by relying on the literal decades people have spent shipping Holmes and Watson together, and I doubt that they would be half as popular without this history; but, as someone who has never had strong feelings about HolmesWatson either way, I don't have that bias! Even if we're just going off of DGS and looking at how they complement and trust each other, and are obviously more comfortable around one another than most other people, I don't really have a strong opinion on them. I do think they're close, but whether that bond is platonic, romantic, sexual or some mix of the two is just not something I particularly care about. You know who I do care about, though?

Susato-san.

OKAY, SIT DOWN, EVERYONE BECAUSE THE SHIP BINGO PART OF THIS IS OVER, AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE PARTS OF HMMK I DO CARE ABOUT AND WHY THAT ACTUALLY HAS VERY LITTLE TO DO WITH THEM AND EVERYTHING TO DO WITH HER.

Let's get this out of the way first. Based on my very modern sensibilities, I take a rather harsh stance on Mikotoba's parenting.

Do I think he loves his daughter? Sure. But which parts of his daughter? Because it's very easy to love a child who is always obedient, elegant and the literal embodiment of idealised Japanese womanhood without knowing or truly even looking at her. I think Susato made it easy for him to love her, because she believed she had to earn it. Her father left when she was born, consumed by grief over her mother's death -- her mother, whom she killed. I know the game tries to justify this by saying it was Jigoku who dragged him away (and I do think him leaving was good for him, because I doubt he would have been a good father even if he'd stayed due to his grief), but the point is that he still left. For six years. And when he returned, he didn't even return because of her (whether she knew that from the moment she met him or not is debatable, but I think, at least on a subconscious level, she knew. And, of course, it's also debatable whether he could have returned sooner because of his commitment as a transfer student, but the Mikotobas are a powerful family, and, if Soseki could return before his period of learning was fully up, I think he would have been able to pull strings to return home if he wanted to).

This falls under speculation, so I understand not agreeing with it, but I don't think Mikotoba ever properly spoke to Susato when she was a child, especially not about what he did in England. I believe that a part of the reason why Susato started reading the Sherlock Holmes stories to begin with was because they featured a doctor in London, like her father had been, and she wanted to feel closer to him through those stories. And it probably worked! Her father probably did start engaging with her more after after she picked them up, because it was an easy way to connect with her. That's why I believe she was so insistent on the existence of John H. Watson, as a doctor, when she met Iris and learnt the truth.

There's this distance between Susato and her father which glimpse in moments in the game, like how he remarks on her lack of composure in court (suggesting that he isn't used to seeing her yamato nadeshiko mask slip), how he less requests her trust and more orders or expects it forthright, and how he seems reluctant to face the parts of her that inconvenience him (like how he asks her to play the koto when he isn't home and how, when faced by her real anger, he looks to Holmes to explain the situation rather than actually attempt to himself).

HOWEVER, in the setting of the game (Meiji-era Japan), I will concede that Mikotoba is a fantastic father. He may not have been very present in her life growing up, but men largely weren't expected to be. Their jobs were to provide for their children, not nurture them. And Mikotoba went well beyond his duty in that regard. Add to that the fact that he had her properly educated, ensured she knew how to defend herself, and allowed her to pursue her studies overseas at a level that was on par with any man, and you can see that he's really quite a great father; which is why I don't think he sees his absence as a flaw or even notices he was absent. Susato, though, does.

Now, Susato is obviously a product of her time, too, so I believe she'd be insulted if anyone was to suggest that her father or childhood was lacking in some way. That being said, I do believe she is aware of the distance between them in a way he is not. I think her affection for him is founded on a sense of duty and filial piety rather than pure love (although, obviously, she does love him), and, as she grew older, she stopped vying for his affection; hence why she's obsessed with the Great Detective more so than anyone else when we meet her. I also think that this distance contributed to her becoming so attached to Kazuma, in spite of the fact that he kept her at arm's length, too; he may not have allowed her very close, but he was always there, and he saw her for who she truly was. When she leaves at the end of the first game, Susato is not so much anxious that her father is ill as she is shaken -- she seems more upset that she's leaving her Baker Street family rather than that her actual father might be dying, and I think that's because she knows how to live without him. This distance between them, I believe, becomes all the more apparent to her when she goes to London and sees the deep bond held between Iris and Holmes.

And, speaking of, you know who else I think is aware of the distance between them and the part he played in creating that distance? The Great Detective himself, Mr. Sherlock Holmes.

See, I think Holmes has always known about Susato. I'm quite sure that, from the moment they met, he knew that Mikotoba was running away from something and that he had left an infant daughter back home. He just didn't care.

We don't know what Holmes was like when he was younger, but I believe he was a lot closer to how he appears in a lot of modern adaptations and how Watson describes him in some of the Sherlock Holmes stories: the 'cold, calculating computer' character. I don't think it's a stretch to think that Holmes viewed marriage and children as mere distractions and interferences to the mind; and Mikotoba was, presumably, his first real friend. He wasn't going to let something pesky like a baby back home detract from his friend's obviously sterling character and brain! After all, it's a lot easier to ignore this nebulous, abstract entity when you simply consider its existence, and thus its abandonment, unimportant. It's a lot easier when you don't know what it's like to be a father yourself. It's a lot easier when you don't know her.

Here's the thing: I believe Holmes's image of and relation to Mikotoba began changing from the time he started raising Iris. Suddenly, that inconsequential baby seemed to bear quite a bit of consequence, actually. But it was still all right to keep dismissing her, because maybe Mikotoba's baby wasn't special the way Iris was. Maybe she was a brat or an idiot, and really not worth much time at all! Maybe she could've lived without him and been perfectly fine, regardless...? As time went on, I believe the excuses he made for Mikotoba's decision all those years ago became increasingly flimsy, but he was still able to hold onto them because The Daughter was still an indistinct figure in his mind. She wasn't quite real.

That is, until he met her.

In the game, Holmes tends to keep a certain width between himself and Susato. He very rarely initiates conversation with her the way he does Ryuunosuke, and from a Doylist (ha) perspective, this is obviously because Ryuunosuke is... the main character. Looking at it from a narrative perspective, though, I think he was afraid of hurting more than he already has and must.

Holmes is a very resolute man. He sticks by his decisions regardless of what anyone else thinks, so I don't think he ever regretted what he did. However, I do think he felt guilty. Certainly, he didn't quite take her father away from her, but he did play a role in keeping him from her for so long. I think there was a part of him that consciously guided Mikotoba away from thinking about Japan while they lived together, because, well... he didn't want him to leave.

There's an interesting layer to the separation that Holmes creates with Susato, because, beyond the distance he maintains between her and himself, he also keeps her identity separate from her father's. Contrary to how he refers to Ryuunosuke by his last name, Holmes only ever calls Susato "Miss Susato" or "my dear (madame)", and never "Miss Mikotoba". I view this is his way of, perhaps subconsciously, dividing from that little girl he once decided did not matter. And it's interesting because, to an extent, he tries to do with her and Kazuma, too.

In the SS Burya case, despite meeting Susato first and seeing how affected she is by Kazuma's "death", Holmes largely ignores her in favour of focusing on Ryuunosuke and his bond with Kazuma. He calls Kazuma Ryuunosuke's "dear companion" and pretty much only interacts with Susato when he has little other choice... until he sees her cry.

See, I believe that when Holmes found out Susato was going to England and was about to be wrapped up in the whole messy affair, he was fully committed to Not Giving a Damn about Her. Sure, he would let her and Kazuma live with him, but by no means was he going to allow himself to grow attached to her because, again, he values his relationship and history with Mikotoba too much for it to get complicated in this way. Susato's relative composure throughout the case helps him hold on to this resolution; however, when he catches that final conversation between her and Ryuunosuke in the cabin, he is finally forced to see and acknowledge the amount of pain she is truly in. It forces him to at last face the fact that he can't avoid or fake aloofness around her any longer, because she is not some nebulous, distant entity he can continue to ignore. She is an actual girl with a fiercely strong spirit, a brilliant mind and real, human emotions. A girl whom he's hurt twice-over now and must continue hurting until all his lies finally come to light.

When he makes that decision to enter the cabin and console her the only way he knows how, he throws away any hope he had of feeling anything but apathy towards her. In truth, he probably didn't have much hope of that to begin with, because at his core, Sherlock Holmes is a good man, and he cares.

He cares for her, too, even though he may have no right to. How could he not, when she loves him so openly, trusts him so readily, saves his life? How could he not, when she comes to him in the middle of the night with a secret she can't tell anyone else because his judgement is the only one she wholly trusts and believes in? How could he not, when she refuses to accept he lied despite the living, breathing evidence he did until he admits it himself? How could he not, when after everything he has done, she still looks at him the way she always has and says that she's proud that her father is the assistant of "the Great Detective"?

How could anyone not? How could Mikotoba not... love her the second he laid eyes on her?

And of course this doesn't shatter his love for Mikotoba -- he has no right to these feelings in the first place: no matter how indignant or guilty he may feel, it doesn't change the fact that he has been lying to and manipulating her the entire time they've known one another. He can't even bring himself to tell her that he's been lying; he has to go through Ryuunosuke instead, because, even after all this time, he still can't face the woman whom he's done nothing but cause pain for from the moment she was born. When he can't even give her that ounce of respect, who is he to judge Mikotoba?

So he doesn't. Till the end of the game, he keeps Susato at a distance and pretends that everything between him and Mikotoba is as it was from the start. But, inside, I think he knows it isn't. Because I think Holmes can see that Mikotoba doesn't feel half as guilty about what they've done as he does, and that he doesn't view the fact that he left Susato 16 years ago as a real problem. And while he doesn't judge Mikotoba for that, I don't think he can look past it anymore. That final investigation and dance of deduction, to me, is less an assurance that they are still the same partners they were before, and more a final farewell to their old, uncomplicated bond -- the one that did exist before they grew to love other people and understand what love truly meant to both of them.

Going back to the ship itself, I think shipping them pre-DGS works perfectly well. They both had a huge impact on each other's life and changed one another for the better; Holmes by drawing Mikotoba out from his grief, and Mikotoba by pulling Holmes from his life of solitude and loneliness. They needed each other, but it is also because of these reasons that I think there was an issue of codependency between them, hence the semi-horrible for each other box I gave them. With Mikotoba, it's clear cut. Holmes helped him run away from his very real issues at home and allowed him to live like he was a bachelor with zero familial obligations again. With Holmes, it gets a bit more foggy, but I believe that Mikotoba basically allowed him to live believing he was the only person Holmes would ever truly connect with and properly befriend. Holmes is obviously his own person and whatnot, but I do think there was a bit of unhealthy attachment there on his end if not both.

During DGS and post-DGS is where their ship gets more complicated for me, because, while Susato is still very much there at the beginning of their relationship, her role in their lives and what they did to her becomes impossible to ignore once she and Holmes actually meet. I don't believe that they can just pick up from where they left off because there is now (imo) a fundamental disagreement in how they view their actions and how it affected her. So, even if they do go back to being lovers or whatever afterwards, I feel that there should be this chasm or weight between them that they simply don't talk about or acknowledge in any way. Because I don't think they'd discuss it. Holmes because it isn't his place, Mikotoba because he sees it as a non-issue (maybe he doesnt even notice this distance), and both because sweeping unpleasantness under the rug is so ingrained into their cultures.

My main issue with the way this ship is often portrayed post-DGS (why they got a 50-50 on the I would erase them from existence box) is that it ignores what happened with Susato. The few times I've seen the concern that she might have an issue with their relationship even brought up in hmmk works is always because they're gay. Which, like!! Fair!!! It's the 1800s, I get it, but!!!! You're ignoring the actual, very big issue for why she might be hurt and that's because DGS ends with her finding out that three of the men she's closest to have been lying and using her for their own means her entire life!!!!!!!! And she just has to take it!!!!!!!

Which brings me to the second most popular interpretation of this ship which doesn't just put Iris and Susato in a box somewhere unseen, and that's the one where all four of them are a peaceful happy family with 0 issues! And this one bothers me because it seems like it's taking what Susato said at the end of the reveal as what she 100% sincerely meant down to her core, rather than something she had to say because (1) it is her duty to honour her father no matter what, and (2) because Iris was there. When she learns the entire truth, I don't think Susato knows what she truly thinks or feels about any of it; but she sees Iris, and she sees this little girl who was abandoned through her circumstances as a baby, named after her mother, and forced to grow up much sooner than she should have been, and she sees a girl who is more her sister than anyone else. So she does what she always has and tucks away her own emotions so she might tend to someone else's. She has been the perfect daughter her whole life; she can be the perfect sister.

Even if you don't subscribe to the, admittedly, harsh view of Mikotoba's parenting that I do, I don't see how you can get away from the fact that they still lied to her for a significant portion of time. Especially from Holmes, whom she trusted and believed in more than anyone else! In the face of his shoddy deductions, she still held onto her unwavering belief that he was a genius and a good man, and then it comes out that he's just been lying to her from the first day he met her. I just can't extract the ship from their treatment of Susato, so when I say that I would erase the ship from existence, it's mainly about these two bits. As with Asoryuu, the primary reason why I don't ship them personally is because I can't do that to her.

And, obviously, it's just shipping and fun and games, and everyone should feel free to ship whoever in whatever way they want bUT IN A SPECIAL WORLD MADE PERFECTLY FOR ME. iris would be perfectly oblivious, and susato would have tossed both holmes and mikotoba into the thames and left them to figure it out. In a world that must still vaguely make sense with the canon of the game, though, then Holmes would have given Mikotoba the boot and taken the kids; because he may be a coward, but at least I can see that he knows he fucked up, and he allows Susato to set the terms of their relationship, just like he does Iris.

Anyway, I'm so sorry for how long, convoluted and only tangentially-related to the ask this is, but thank you so much for it, Grace!!!! I don't think I quite got down what I meant precisely, but it's the closest to coherency I've ever gotten so. Thank you 💖💕💗💓💕💘💕

[storytellingdreamer]

Watching Granada Holmes: The Second Stain

A short summary of this episode could be: “She would have trusted him if he’d trusted her. But he didn’t, so she couldn’t, and then they got themselves into quite the mess indeed.”

Yes, the underlying theme of this episode, and its High Stakes Government Matter, is trust. Also there’s a Woman In Need plot, though not quite in the usual fashion.

Anyway, see my other episode recaps here. (And yes, they seem to have settled into a longer format...) Let’s start.

The intro is rather sparse, with those glimpses of the scowling Important older man (Bellinger, who reminded me of Mycroft until I got a closer look at him), and the nervous younger one (Hope), set to the voiceover and the music.

I think I’m finally starting to get used to Hardwicke’s voiceovers, yay!

The music reminds me of something else that usually has lyrics to it, but apparently this was an original composition.

My favourite part of the first bit at 221b is the fact that Mrs Hudson helps Holmes and Watson tidy before their client arrives – well, given the time of arrival, the client did basically interrupt breakfast.

We hear a little of what the matter is, though it’s all very hush-hush. Holmes asks some very reasonable questions (through word or raised eyebrow), encouraging T. Hope to explain details. Watch the answers…

Go to the police? “Impossible,” Bellinger declares (though he uses more words than that).

What do the servants know? Nothing, they “couldn’t possibly have known there was anything more valuable than the ordinary departmental papers in the box…”

Did Hope’s wife know? Bellinger answers for Hope, this time, declaring Hope’s sense of duty means this matter is “superior to the most intimate domestic ties”.

Hope concurs: “Until this morning I have never breathed one word to my wife upon this matter.”

Refer to the summary at the top of this recap, and mark that comment of Hope’s for later.

A little Watson note: watch when the camera cuts to him, to show sympathy/ awkwardness at Hope’s increasing distress, or masked irritation at Bellinger’s continued attempts at secrecy.

Bellinger tries to bribe Holmes with the promise of “any reward that it is in our power to bestow”.  

I was not surprised to see what happened next. The deliciousness of Holmes doing what he does best – getting answers from people who don’t want to give them. In this case, by pretending he doesn’t want to take the case. It works, of course.

Watch what Bellinger says in his acceptance speech, though: “I will tell you, relying entirely on your honour, and that of your colleague, Doctor Watson.”

Holmes’s response: “You may safely trust us.” Hm!

The details of the letter keep the intrigue going, and help make the first part of the episode interesting, rather than boring. (Unlike, say, the military matter story behind Crooked Man.) Why? 

For one, it feels verrrrrrrrrry relevant to today. (An Important Figure committed something Inflammatory to writing? Uh oh.) 

Secondly, the terms Bellinger uses to describe the consequences of the release of the letter: “a great war”, “lives of a hundred thousand men”, remind me, at least, that some twenty years after the timeframe of this episode (assuming that it’s set in 1894), Bellinger’s prediction came true over a different matter. 

After that little speech, Watson and Holmes trade off, asking necessary questions, with Watson doing the bulk of it at first while Holmes thinks. Holmes’s ultimate answer to Bellinger’s “what do we do?” question is not encouraging, however: “Prepare for war.” Logically, the letter could be anywhere by now...

So, with promises exchanged to keep all informed, Bellinger and Hope depart, sombre music in their wake. 

Holmes and Watson only have a small moment to collect themselves before the next visitor shows up. Watson gets a chance to buy the paper, but not read it – not until after she’s gone. Though I do like that they’re able to joke about things, lifting each other’s mood. 

Their next visitor is Lady Hilda, Hope’s wife. And she demands several things – the first of which is to not tell her husband she visited. 

“Your ladyship puts me in a very delicate position,” Holmes says. 

Lady Hilda’s reply is Most Interesting Indeed. “There is complete confidence between my husband and myself in all matters except one... politics.”

Holmes and Watson listen to her story. “I am aware,” she says, “That there was a paper stolen last night, but as it is political, my husband refuses to take me into his complete confidence. It is essential... that I should thoroughly understand it.”

Holmes is Discomfited. As he tells her, she is asking him to forgo his “professional secrecy” and tell her something when her questions should really be directed at her husband. Or, paraphrased, “Don’t put me in the middle of your domestic conflict, please, Lady!”

Lady Hilda’s response: “I have asked him. I come to you as a last resort.” Before she asks some more pertinent questions for Holmes to wince at. 

Unfortunately, Holmes and Watson cannot give Lady Hilda what she wants, and so, eventually, she departs. 

But not without a last word: “I cannot blame you, Mr Holmes, for refusing to speak more freely, and you ... I’m sure, will not think the worst of me because I desire to share my husband’s anxieties. Even against his will.” 

Skipping forward a bit (or else we’ll be here all day), the next fun bit happens when Watson finally has a chance to read the paper, just as Holmes is about to go out. 

A delightful little scene with Watson calling after Holmes, just as he’s about to leave. Holmes hears the important bit (murder of E. Lucas, one of the letter-thief suspects!) and dashes back upstairs to listen closely as Watson reads the details out. 

They retreat to the sitting room, and Holmes reminds Watson in cases such as these, there’s no such thing as a coincidence. The events are connected: the question is how. 

That question will occupy them for the rest of the day and into the next, in one form or another. 

Note the short conversation between Holmes and Watson, later, after Developments with the murder case. 

H: “Lestrade is buzzing around like a bluebottle!”

W: “I’ve got to know him rather well, would it help if I spoke to him?”

H: “No! No, it would not. It’s the case where the law is as dangerous to us as the criminals are. We must be patient and wait.”

Watson’s comment refers to his time as a police surgeon, I imagine. The rest of it, well – there’s quite a lot of “hurry up and waiting” to be done, with Holmes pacing around and Thinking, while the hours draw on. 

Is it any wonder that by breakfast the next day, Holmes is growing frustrated? 

I adore the breakfast conversation between Holmes and Watson because it feels very real – and, as someone who thinks aloud most of the time, familiar! 

They bounce ideas back and forth. Watson acting as a sounding board, and Holmes trying to decide what to do next to break them from the gridlock.

... whoops! I think you were too deep in your own thoughts there Holmes, that match was still lit! 

SUCH an ND moment there, though I thankfully have never managed to set something on fire in my distraction! 

The next scene at Lucas’s house is delightful. 

The business about the stained carpet but no stain on the woodwork – A Clue, at last! Holmes finds a way of getting rid of Lestrade so he can search the room, with Watson as lookout. Very Amusing. 

That isn’t as successful as they’d hoped... but fortunately, Lestrade’s errand was not a wild goose chase after all (as I’d first thought - though with Holmes, it wouldn’t be!), and they have a new line of enquiry. 

One which Holmes very quickly realises is going to be The One! Excellent little trick with the bit of card, Holmes (though of course, I didn’t understand it until the next scene). :D 

And so we’re off to... the Hopes’ house, to speak with Lady Hilda again. I adore this scene. 

It’s another verbal sparring match, only this time, its weighted in Holmes’s favour, given what he now knows. 

Lady Hilda falls back on the societal niceties to buy herself some time: “it’s not very manly to come here and browbeat a woman...”

Holmes shows his hand, and then shows he means what he says (“Is Mr Trelawney Hope at home?”), and then... waits. Watching Lady Hilda in the mirror as she considers her options. 

And when she ‘fesses up, and returns the letter? She begs Holmes not to tell Hope, because she loves her husband dearly and knows it would “break his noble heart” to know what she’d done. 

Holmes concocts a plan, and asks for Lady Hilda to tell him “the real meaning of this extraordinary affair” while they wait. 

Lady Hilda does so. A short voiceover flashback reveals that the heart of this case began as a Woman In Need blackmail case, which was resolved by the woman herself, Lady Hilda. Unfortunately, the solution only created a bigger problem - and all because her husband did not trust her in political matters.   

I imagine that Lady Hilda only went to Lucas’s house because Lucas knew that Hope didn’t include Hilda in political discussion, and used that knowledge against her in the wording of the note. 

There, Lady Hilda is faced with a choice – stand firm against Lucas’s demands and risk having her life ruined if Hope does not support her; or fetch this other letter that she knows nothing about, in exchange for the one that matters to her. 

Is it any wonder that she chose to do what she did? 

Unfortunately, her being there also led to Lucas’s death, as his secret wife was distrustful of her presence there. 

When Hope returns we get a little more context. Hope is obviously one of those well-meaning but ultimately irritating men whose misogynistic attitudes mean he sees politics as something his dear Hilda shouldn’t have to worry her pretty little head about. “I know it is difficult for you to understand...” he says, after a pivotal moment. Pfft!  

Holmes’s solution to the whole affair is marvellous. As my partner pointed out, note the positions of everyone in the room during that scene. Hope is the only person who was definitely looking away when Holmes enacted his plan – and indeed, Bellinger following Holmes and Watson to ask for clarification out-of-earshot of Hope suggests he saw it and said nothing. 

Therefore, Holmes's solution lets Lady Hilda save face by making Hope look foolish - and for once, Hope is the one in the room who is least informed about a Political Matter, instead of his wife. Oh, the dramatic irony!!! I LOVE IT.

A Doubly Satisfying solution given what I said about Trust, above.

[Image description: Holmes and Watson outside the Hopes’ house, visible from the knees up. Holmes has just leapt into the air with both hands raised in delight, while Watson looks on, grinning. / end image description.]

[22ndnervousbreakdown]

You do have some really fun ideas, and usually I'm all up to inventing modern aus, but the way I see this concept, I don't think it really works with anything but the canon Victorian setting.

As is, it would be a Sherlock Holmes adaptation that makes a point of not really resembling the canon, to the point of intentionally being unrecognisable as a Sherlock Holmes adaptation at first. Stacking a modern setting on top of it would, in my opinion, make it one too many layers of separation, very possibly putting it into the realm of not really being Sherlock Holmes anymore. Yes, that way the reveal would be less predictable — but I don't think it's necesseraly a good thing. The way I see it, the reveal should be predictable to a certain point — not 100% and not from the start, but enough to (let's imagine this show has a fandom) make it a popular theory a couple episodes before it happens, that sort of thing.

It shouldn't be that hard to do with Victorian setting: you'd just need to reference canon Sherlock Holmes events (probably slightly tweaked for the sake of continuity, logic, etc) with enough vagueness so it can plausably be a coincidence, especially to wider audience not thoroughly familiar with the Sherlock Holmes canon. If you move it to modern times, you wouldn't have canon events to go off from — you'd have adapted canon events. Which would already inevetably make them quite far from what happened in canon, and any degree of vagueness would probably make that separation too big for it to... Make sense as an adaptation? Not sure how to phrase it better, but I hope you get what I mean x)

And, again, I don't think it's hard to keep references to canon plausibly random or looking like regular easter eggs in the Victorian setting. 221B mention and suchlike is absolutely plausible as an eastern egg, Sherlock Holmes is a famous enough character in the 1890s, it's also not unreasonable for a Totally Random Show Set In That Times to just have some references for him being an actual public figure, and those mentions of him bein not connected to the main character (not immideately, at least) is kinda the point of him being in hiding. That said, while this show should definetly have some easter egg-type references of this kind, and they would function as hints, they're also very easy to avoid when not needed, because, again, he's in hiding. He's not telling his story to anyone and no one he meets knows him — well, again, up to a certain point. Or maybe later in the series someone even does (some politician and a former client of his, for example, to whom Holmes turns for help... Btw I can very well imagine it being either Irene Adler or the king of Bohemia, not named, or probably just someone close to him who knows the story and probably works as a messenger here), but Holmes is quick enough to indicate he can't blow his cover even for a second and this person never adresses him by his name and references the circumstances of their previous meeting vaguely enough so, again, it can be recognised as something from Sherlock Holmes canon if you know it well enough, but leaves room for plausible deniability.

I also imagine this show as being really episodic at first, so in the first episodes it's only slightly hinted that there even is a major plot arch, then it gradually takes more screen time and eventually — just in time for the reveal — becomes the main focus. So for that first half I think it wouldn't be hard to make the main character's backstory be revealed really gradually and only growing more recognisable when we're closer to the reveal, as most of the screen time would be dedicated to each individual episode's plot anyway, not to the backstory. (Btw! I also imagine there being a brief subplot of us learning that the reason he's on the run is definitely because he killed someone, and he doesn't seem at all remorseful about it, cue some moral dillemas all the while it's revealed, first, that he's not followed by the police or something similar but by the killed person's associates, then, that they're certainly not the good guys, and eventually, obviously, that the killed person is Moriarty). So it's only after the reveal, in the 2nd half of the show, that the plot arch — of Holmes finally breaking away from the Moriarty's henchmen for good, getting ready for his return and, well, returning — would be concentrated on the most, and by then there wouldn't be any need to make actual plot points vague anymore.

Anyway, yeah, while I strongly disagree about the modern setting, thanks for the opportunity to talk about the concept in more detail I guess, because apparently there's a lot that I've come up with but hadn't seen an opportunity to add it here x)

Guys listen up I have a banger concept:

TV show (called "The Hiatus" or something like that), set in the late 19th century. It starts with us meeting the Mysterious Enigmatic MC, who's traveling through Europe, obviously on the run from someone or something. Every episode starts with him arriving in a new town under a brand new alias in hopes to quietly spend a couple of nights there, but then he accidentally encounters some random person (usually a child or a woman who's been wronged somehow) in a difficult situation and can't help but help them. He doesn't actually want to even briefly speak to anyone, he's all Mysterious and Enigmatic and secretive and EcCeNtRiC and On The Run and very obviously in huge distress but somehow he just always can't leave a situation as it is (and also visibly very curious to resolve it). The people he helped are usually amazed by how clever and observant and also Mysterious and Enigmatic he is and want to get to know him better, but after helping them he always has to leave the town even earlier and more hastily than he planned to.

As the show progresses we gradually learn more of his backstory, including that there's this Certain Person that our Mysterious Enigmatic MC had to leave and now misses dearly and can't contact, (and the more time passes, the harder it gets for him to stop himself from writing to him).

Only about halfway through the show, after N episodes and some amount of increasingly obvious hints it's finally officially revealed that our Mysterious Enigmatic MC is post-Reichenbach Sherlock Holmes.

The very last episode is, obviously, The Empty House.

[empathydm]

Sherlock Story Chapter 2

Help me roleplay Sherlock Holmes in this collaborative story adventure. Last text: As Holmes and I sat in the cozy study, the faint sound of footsteps and a soft tap at the window interrupted our chess game. Instinctively, I turned towards the sound, squinting in the dim light of the room. "Who could that be, Holmes?" I asked, suspicion edging my words. Holmes remained undeterred, his gaze focused on his next move. "Only one way to find out, Watson." With a calculated ease, he crossed the room and swung open the window. The chilly evening breeze swept into the study as a familiar figure stepped inside. The woman. Holmes's mysterious connection. Her presence filled the room, lending an air of enigma to an already intriguing atmosphere. "Would this be a bad time to ask for your assistance, Mr. Holmes?" she inquired, her voice confident and imbued with a hint of desperation. Holmes, unreadable as ever, simply raised an eyebrow and motioned for her to sit. She gracefully took the offered chair and peered at Holmes, searching for a glimmer of reassurance. Her inquisitive gaze shifted momentarily to me, acknowledging my presence, before returning to Holmes. "Detective..." she began, her voice betraying a simmering anxiety. Holmes cut her off with a subtle wave of his hand. "No need to explain, my dear. Your presence alone tells me there's a mystery to be unraveled." A flicker of relief danced across the woman's face. She leaned closer to Holmes, lowering her voice. "There have been more disappearances, Mr. Holmes. Several men have vanished without a trace, right from Mudie's Select Library." Holmes's eyes narrowed, his initial intrigue evolving into deep concern. "Mudie's? But that's a reputable place. It's frequented by the upper class and those seeking knowledge." "Yes," the woman agreed, her voice tinged with urgency. "That's what makes it all the more perplexing. The disappearances seem to be connected, but the authorities are baffled. That's why I've turned to you." Holmes rose from his chair, an electrifying surge of determination flowing through him. "Rest assured, my dear. We will get to the bottom of this curious affair. Watson and I shall investigate Mudie's. Leave it to us." The woman nodded gratefully, the weight of unease seemingly lifted from her shoulders. With a clatter of footsteps, the woman disappeared into the cool shadows of the night, leaving Holmes and I to prepare for a new and perplexing case. As I gathered the earthly tools of medicine, my voice brimming with anticipation, I looked to Holmes. "What do you make of all this, Holmes? The disappearances seem rather peculiar, don't they?" Holmes paused briefly, a mischievous sparkle in his eye. "Indeed, Watson. The game is afoot once more. I suspect there's more to this than meets the eye. The library awaits us, and the answers lie within its silent walls." How should the story continue? Please vote by liking the following posts: Option 1: Library holds answers. Investigate ASAP. Option 2: Library holds secrets, Holmes investigates. Option 3: Library books hold dark secrets.#MysterySolved Full text for each option in following posts. The votes are counted every 6 hours. #Sherlock #rpg #fanfic.

[chriscalledmesweetie]

Mrs. Hudson Tribute Episode

In a comment on The Three Holmes-Watson's Gruff, PatPrecieux suggested that in response to Una Stubb's passing, she would like BBC Sherlock to do "a tribute special like TAB to honour this lady who really was the heart of the show."

I concurred, and here's what I came up with:

It starts with Sherlock and John, retired in Sussex. Rosie and her wife have just arrived with their son, Harry, to celebrate his second birthday. This leads to bittersweet memories of Rosie's second birthday.

We have a series of flashbacks to party preparations in 221B, then guests arriving - Molly, Lestrade, Mycroft - with lots of presents. They wonder why Mrs. Hudson is late, and eventually John goes down to check on her. He comes back up ten minutes later with one of those patented Martin Freeman "I can do it with a look" expressions that tells the whole story. Mrs. Hudson died of a brain aneurysm in her sleep.

Next, we have the heart-wrenching and heart-warming memorial service, where everyone reminisces about Mrs. Hudson's colorful life. They use footage from the show, from behind-the-scenes, and from work Una Stubbs had done previously in her 60+ year career. Each of the main Sherlock characters has a chance to talk about how she touched their lives.

Then comes the reading of the will. It turns out that Mrs. Hudson has left 221 Baker Street jointly to Sherlock and John. John, who had still (inexplicably!) been living in his old place even after Mary died, decides to move in to 221A. To get the place ready for him and Rosie, he and Sherlock go through Mrs. Hudson's things, with both laughter and tears.

Comforting each other in their grief brings them closer together, and discussing their feelings about Mrs. Hudson's loss opens them up to talking about other difficult topics. Eventually, the subject of their own relationship comes up, and they finally acknowledge their romantic feelings for each other. The long-overdue Johnlock kiss happens at last.

Back in Sussex, grown-up Rosie says she's sad to have lost Nana Hudson before she was really old enough to remember her, but from everything she's heard about Mrs. Hudson, Rosie is sure she would have been delighted to know that losing a Nana led to Rosie gaining a Papa.

The closing shot has Sherlock and John with their arms around each other on one side of the fireplace, Rosie and her wife on the other, little Harry between them, and in pride of place in the center of the mantel stands a framed photo of Mrs. Hudson.

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[thebadboyfanclub]

You Are Family Now (Sherlock x Reader)

So I had to repost this, @elanna-elrondiel​ was the one that requested it and i’m so happy they did, I feel like since I had to post it once again I should name you for this brilliant idea. Enjoy!

“Mister Holmes may I introduce you to my niece, miss (y/f/n)”

A young woman smiled at him as she extended her arm for him to take, her hands were covered but a pair of silk black gloves and her white dress complimented her complexion perfectly. Sherlock took her hand and gave a gentle kiss, before looking straight into her eyes, however she could swear that he looked in her soul.

“Sherlock Holmes, Charmed”

“Likewise, what brings you to my dear uncles event? I don’t recall being in your presence before”

“Destiny I hope, only that could explain being around such an ethereal woman”

-

After that fatal meeting Sherlock had pursued her, he was astonished by her kind heart and lively spirits, she looked at the world in rose colored glasses and her curiosity about everything was so heart warming to him, it was also a reminder that not everything has to be a mystery and sometimes you need a little sugar in your coffee.

“Happy birthday beloved”

“Oh Sherlock, you spoil me way to much”

“As I am expected to do, especially since it’s your first birthday we spend together”

Sherlock had asked he to spend the night in his home, after their engagement a few days ago she was free of the judgmental eye of the public and could do whatever she wanted with her fiancé in public or not. Sherlock touched the button of her nose with the red rose he had brought with the breakfast, he could not believe how fast he had fallen for her, she was needed in his life, she grounded him, she was the sensitive happy little tune in his head that brought a smile on his face.

“Happy birthday dear”

“Thank you honey”

He leaned in to give her a gentle kiss that made her smile in between the quick little pecks that moved from her lips to her entire face. She started giggling at the matter and tried to push him away.

“Sherlock the food tray”

He swiftly placed it on the floor and dove under the covers yet still on top of her. She kissed him back as her hands held on the material of his shirt on the side of his torso. She loved how smitten he was behind closed doors, how his hands felt almost like feathers by how gentle he was with her, as he pulled back and looked at her, her right hand traveled to his hair, combing through his curls with the feeling of it making her smile once again.

“How did I get so lucky?”

“I don’t know, I guess my uncle hosts great events”

The scene was interrupted by a ring of his doorbell. He wasn’t expecting anyone, he had made sure to not be disturbed today, it was all about her today so a sudden visit was the last thing he needed.

“Maybe it’s your brother���

She spoke, sensing his irritation and questioning the rude visitor. He looked back to her and gave her a kiss once again, dreading the fact that he had to go and open the door.

“Whoever it is, they are getting a brief excuse as for why they can’t come in. I’ll be back in a minute darling”

He put on his robe and to cover his pajamas and left her with her breakfast. (Y/n) didn’t mind it, her stomach was very excited about the delicious treats she was offered by her love, the smell of the pastries and the orange juice definitely made up for the few moments he had to be away from her.

As Sherlock opened the door he was met with the very last person he expected it to be.

“Mother?”

“Oh Sherlock, it’s so nice to see you”

Eudoria didn’t miss a beat nor took into consideration her sons wide eyes and shocked demeanor, she hugged him tightly as a way to show how much she had missed him, even thought she valued her kids independency, they were still her children.

“I wasn’t expecting you to visit”

“Oh dear how could I not? As soon as I got your letter informing me of your engagement I had to come and meet the girl that will be a part of our family, you have a lovely home by the way”

She said as she looked around. It was the first time that Sherlock didn’t know what to do exactly, his mother was in the same home with his fiancé that has no clue of what is going on.

“Is she here? Of course she is, you were never fond of high heels”

She let out a small giggle as her gaze found the shoes that were placed right next to his from last night. Sherlock quickly regained his cool and smiled at his mother.

“It’s her birthday today”

“Oh good, go get her for me please. I’ll wait in the living room for you two”

Without even waiting for a positive or negative response, she walked away from the hall and onto the living room. Sherlock huffed as he walked up the stairs, he had no doubt that his mother would adore (y/n), however (y/n) always became nervous whenever the topic of meeting his family was brought up. As opened the door of his room, there she was eating the breakfast he had made for her, she looked  up at him with her mouth full, it was such a sight to see her do anything, she truly looked like a princess.

“Who was it?”

“My...mother”

Silence. As (y/n) waited for him to laugh or show any hint of this being a silly joke of his to tease her, as she waited the chances of it being a joke became thinner and her heart started to beat faster by the second.

“What?”

“I wrote to her about our engagement, she came to see you”

“no, no, no this can’t be”

“Darling, calm yourself”

He approached her, his hands taking hers. Of course she wanted to meet his family, she always tried to get some stories of them out of him, his mother sounded like a very interesting and excellent lady. Yet, this wasn’t the way she wanted to meet her, wearing the dress she wore last night, her hair is a mess and she didn’t have a stitch of make up, she couldn’t meet her in this state.

“Sherlock I can’t meet her, i’m not prepared”

“Dear she will love you no matter what, come on let me help you with your corset”

Sherlock took the tray and placed it at the table a few steps away from his bed. He was expecting her to be on her feet when he turned around, to his surprise she was still in bed, looking utterly mortified.

“(Y/n) come on now, she is waiting”

“What if you tell her i’m sick?”

“Dear, she is not stupid and she traveled all the way here just to see you, wouldn’t it be rude if you didn’t come down to meet her?

“I suppose so”

“Let’s get you ready”

(Y/n) let her feat touched the ground and slowly collected her dress. She stood still as Sherlock started tying her corset, he was.... used to assisting her tying it back up.

“What if... she thinks I’m not enough for you? What if she advised you not to marry me?”

“Then I guess we have once less invitation on our wedding”

“Don’t be ridiculous Sherlock, we can’t marry without your mothers blessing”

“And we won’t have to, you are a remarkable young lady that I am blessed to have in my life, I am sure my mother will think the same”

with one final tie, her corset was ready. Sherlock placed a light kiss on her shoulder and span her around to look at those eyes of hers. His arms wrapped slowly around her waist, bringing her closer to him.

“I will give you a few minutes to get ready, I will be right next to you through the whole thing alright?”

“Fine. I’ll be down in a minute”

He left her get prepared and for one last time went back down to his mother was had sat down in one of the chairs next to the window. The light of the sun brought warmth in the room and showed off the furniture that he had chosen.

“She is quite nervous to see you mother”

“Oh nonsense, I’m not some stuck up mother that thinks no one is enough for my son.”

“She just really wants to make a good impression, she always asks about you”

He sat in the couch close by her, patiently waiting for lovely little (y/n). Not even a minute went by before she appeared, her her up and away from her face and a nervous smile on her lips, she walked to Eudoria and bowed to an extent that made Sherlock think she touched the ground.

“Miss Holmes, it’s an honor to meet you”

“The pleasure is all mine dear. Let me look at you”

(Y/n) straighten her posture and smiled even brighter at the woman. Eudoria took in her sons fiancé before smiling herself.

“Oh my, you are a true beauty dear. My son is a very lucky man”

“I think I am lucky to have him in my life, you raised a very noble man miss Holmes”

“He is alright, but you... I see why he chose you”

Sherlock decided it was a good time to join the two women. He stood next to (Y/n) and took her hand in his, giving it a light squeeze just to let her know he was there for her. He looked over at his pleased more that was still staring at (y/n)

“She is even more wonderful once you get to know her mother”

“I have no doubt about that. What is your name love?”

“(Y/f/n)”

“A  beautiful name for a beautiful lady. My so told me it is your birthday today”

“Yes miss Holmes it is my birthday”

“Oh please call me Eudoria, you are family now aren’t you”

(Y/n) almost collapse to the floor. Joy took over her and it was shown by how red her cheeks had gotten, with shaking knees she held herself and nodded at the request Eudoria had made.

“We must celebrate then, Sherlock I’m sure you can make a reservation to a nice restaurant for dinner”

“Of course, if (y/n) wishes to do so”

“I would love to have dinner with your mother”

“Excellent, now I have reserved a room for me in the Lenox hotel, I’ll give you two some privacy now”

“Allow me to walk you out mother”

Before she stepped out of the room, Eudoria opened her arms and hugged the young girl. (Y/n) restrained herself from fainting and hugged her back, the nervous smile was replaced by a big happy smile that reached her ears.

“Welcome to the family (y/n)”

“Thank you miss- I mean Eudoria”

Eudoria giggled at the flustered (y/n) and walked away accompanied by her son. As they reached the door she turned to her son who was also smiling, of course he was sure that they would get along but it was even better now that it actually happened.

“She is a lovely girl Sherlock”

“I know mother, she is perfect”

“Now Sherlock, marriage is not an easy thing so please don’t make me come here and beat you with a stick, cause I will if I find out you are being a bad husband”

“Mother if I recall correctly marriage is between two people, not just one”

“Oh please Sherlock, the girl almost passed out when she saw me, I saw how she relaxed when you took her hand, she loves you”

“And I do as well”

It was true, Sherlock loved and adored (y/n), she was his one and only. Eudoria hugged her son once last time and walked out of the house. As Sherlock was returning to the living room, he heard quick footsteps coming towards him and in a blink of an eye (y/n) had ran to him and hugged him tightly, making him take a few steps back by the force of hers

“Well now, someone’s excited”

“She called me family”

“You are family (y/n), I told you she would like you”

“Yes you did but.... she did as well”

Sherlock could only giggle at her cute outburst of excitement. (Y/n) had a lot of friends and family members that were already married or engaged so she had heard the mother in law horror stories, she was delighted that Sherlocks mother was not one of them.

“We must find an excellent restaurant for tonight”

“Yes, before that”

A squeal was heard that had escaped (y/n) as Sherlock swiped her off her feet and took her in his arms bridal style. Another kiss was given to her that she responded almost immediately this time.

“I have to give you one of your birthday presents”

“One?”

“Of course, one for your personal pleasure and another to flaunt to those rude little “friends” of yours”

“They are better than your brother”

[fancyfeathers]

Here is a sneak peak for the story, I am going to go make tea after this

“My lady.” Your maid’s voice called out to you from the other side of your bedroom door as you closed your bedroom window that you just crawled through. “There is someone here to see you, your mother asked me to fetch you.”

“Y-yes, I am here, just one moment.” You made quick work to rid yourself of your muddied tights and shoes, only having time to replace the shoes with flats from your bedside. You tried to pull your hair back as you opened the door to see the worried face of your maid, a rare sight. “Is everything alright?”

“I…I am sorry, my lady.” That is all she said before she turned down the hall, expecting you to follow. You did not dare to push since your mother would be furious if she found out you were speaking to the staff when you were supposed to be meeting with guests.

Your maid led you to the drawing room and you could see your mother exit the room you were approaching with a wide smile, more happy than you have seen her in years, that concerned you. You were about to question her glee but a voice preemptively cut you off.

“Miss (Name), it is a pleasure to see you again.” You whipped your head around in the drawing room to see the all too familiar face of Mycroft Holmes standing there. You glanced back at your mother, then back at him, and to your mother again.

“Mother, what is going on?” You questioned her, a grave tone taking hold of your voice and expression. “What is this?”

“Oh my dear, Mr. Holmes has asked for your hand in marriage.” Your heart sank at your mother’s gleeful words. You felt like you were going to be sick when you heard those words. You stepped back as your hand laced through your hair as your face was covered with shock. “Please there is no reason to be so dramatic, be lucky that you have such a likable match-“

“Miss, why don’t you let me talk to her alone.” You heard Mycroft suggest as he stepped out of the drawing room to where you and your mother stood in the hallway. You felt his hand slip around your waist as he came to stand next to you. “I am sure the shock of the whole situation just took her by surprise.”

…bastard

Your mother excused herself while you were led into the drawing room, he let go of your waist to close the double doors, allowing you to make your way to stand next to the fireplace, putting distance between the two of you. He took a step closer to you, the sound of floorboards creaking behind his weight drew your eyes up to look at him.

“Is this some sort of punishment for sticking my nose where it does not belong?” Your eyes narrowed at him as you questioned him which was an expression returned by him as he steps closer to you, his eyes narrowing at your chosen tone of voice.

“No, it is not.” He replied in acknowledgment of your question which made you raise an eyebrow. “I thought you were a smart woman, I figured you would realize this is a way to save your life.”

“I beg your pardon?”

I am working on another yandere work for Moriarty the Patriot but with Mycroft with a darling who is inspired by Eloise from Bridgerton and I just said fuck it and I am making all my stories for Moriarty the Patriot interconnected.

So I’ll probably make a master list for them at some point but idk lol

[joanquill]

Sherlock Holmes Headcanons

Sherlock Holmes

Tags: Headcanons (Jealous!Sherlock and Clingy!S/O)

What He's Like When Jealous

I feel like he’d be the jealous and protective type

But not so much that it’s toxic or suffocating

Like if a random guy is talking to you and everything’s casual, it’s all good

But if a person was flirting, making advances to you, or looking at you the wrong way and you don’t notice, he steps up

He gets all pouty and upset when he gets jealous

He usually just walks up to you guys and leans closer to you, sending glares at the person.

If he still doesn’t get the hint, he joins in the conversation and pulls you closer to him

If he goes over the line, like touching you and making you uncomfortable, RIP this person’s pride

He would make deductions about him to make him back off and low-key to show off to you

LMAO, imagine calling the person out in the middle of a public place

“I wouldn’t talk all high and mighty if I were you…”

“I guess compulsive cheaters have their way with wo/men, huh?”

“Your girl/boyfriend left you after two weeks. What makes you think you have a chance with my S/O?”

Worst case scenario, he straight-up fights this person.

When the person finally leaves, he gets a little more touchy than usual.

Holding your hand, keeping you close, keeping an eye on you if ever there’s another annoying person comes along.

If John was in the scene, he’d tease Sherlock about it, of course.

I feel like he’s a little insecure.

But whenever you do something that makes him feel loved and wanted, all his insecurities go away.

Having an older brother who’s “ better ” than him and having financial issues are some of his insecurities since he wants to be the best for you.

Clingy Significant Other

HMMMMMMMMMMMMM

I don’t think Sherlock would like a clingy S/O at the START of the relationship.

But if you’ve been dating for a long time, he LOVES your affection.

I also think he’s touch-starved, but it takes a while for him to be comfortable with it.

But it will be worth it in the end!

He doesn’t mind if you stay close to him while you’re working, experimenting, listening to him play the violin for you, or listening to him talk about a new case.

But hugs, kisses, and possibly even holding hands takes him a while to get used to and comfortable with

So he loves you for being patient with him and waiting for him to be comfortable enough for those.

When that hurdle is conquered, he loves it when you play with his hair or massage his head.

It helps him relax and clears up his mind.

He usually prefers physical affection at home.

He’d lean on your back, hold your hand, put an arm over your shoulder, a hand on your leg or thigh, your legs entangled as you’re sitting on opposite ends of the couch, etc.

Just anything so he feels your presence with him.

He listens to you intently when you talk about your day or just something you love and remembers the little details.

Long story short, he likes physical affection but respect his boundaries.

[anne-i-write]

moriarty the patriot headcannons

| requested by anon: “uhhh kinda weird lmao but how would the moriarty bros react to an s/o from the future? (Headcanons) thanks! OwO” |

william x reader; louis x reader; albert x reader

word count: 1355

tw: a few swears, if i’m missing any please let me know!

a/n: i’m so sorry that these are coming out so slow please enjoy!

william: 317 words

please

as soon as you wake up he’ll be staring at you intently

“where am i?”

“durham, england, 1880… and in my room”

it takes you like ten minutes to process everything that’s going on because: “i’m dreaming right??? or did i actually shift???

after finally accepting the fact you indeed did not shift and are not dreaming, you finally looked at the man who had stayed silent during your incoherent ramblings

“you seem more awake now, is it alright if i ask a few questions?”

hhh he’s such a gentleman

you both honestly take this whole time shift thing really well

louis definitely walks in on you two and he’s like,,

“who tf are you and how did you get in”

sdjkfhd pls its so funny when you guys converse

his speaking manner is so refined and yours is just,, yours

but he loves it

he thinks its cute

he comes up with a story for you because there were people who were no doubt going to question how you came into his life

and from there you two hit it off really well

accidentally said you two were to be wed during a conversation and the nobles went insane

when you are on the carriage ride back from the party he apologizes for saying something so out of line

“i wouldn’t mind being married to you, william.”

this man always has something to say but THIS

YOU

he wanted to respond with something witty but you just,, existed and made him melt

“let’s go buy a ring tomorrow then.”

asks you questions about the future

only trivial things, never if his plan works in the long term

but judging by the way you talk about your previous life he can tell that everyone is somewhat equal, except for “the dumbass politicians” you speak about

oh did i mention he picks up your swears too LMAO

louis: 459 words

 he’s heading back to his room when you come OUT of his room

“who tf are you, how did you get into this house, and why are you here”

instant kill mode

you think you’re dreaming so you’re like,, ok cool and you tell him most of your life story and he’s like

??????

has never been more dumbfounded in his life

who is this person and what are they wearing and why are they telling me their life story

eventually the rest of the moriarty team gets involved and matters are settled lmao

you all agree that staying in the manor is the best course of action at the moment

louis thinks you’re taking this a little too well so he’s still a little sus of you

like seriously,, the future?? cmon now

the people you’re working for probably made those weird clothes for you

but anyways

you’re helping him clean the house and cook

“this is fun,,, but honestly?? if i have to do this by myself everyday i would cry”

you keep saying this and you know it’s getting annoying for louis but he ISNT TALKING

if you can’t beat em, annoy em

finally gives in

“how did you used to wash clothes in the future?”

and you get this big smile on your face and you start TALKING

you’re so excited that he finally spoke to you

even tho you know you lowkey annoyed him

but you’re talking and louis is like,, huh

you’re talkative, but not annoying at all

you have little stories that make him laugh sometimes

needless to say you both get closer

but it isn’t until one night louis is making rounds around the manor that he passes by your room and hears crying

so he’s worried and he goes into your room

bruh you try pulling that shit where you wipe away your tears and be like “oh i’m okay!”

like,, no u aren’t

louis makes you spill what’s bothering you

“my friends, my family… are they okay? are they looking for me?? they must be so worried”

note that you’ve already been at the moriarty estate for about two months without any word that you can return to your own time

and louis holds you

he teaches you more about the year that you’re currently stuck in and he tries to take your mind off of the bad things

asks william to buy more books to indulge you bc you have some book withdrawals bc “WHAT DO YOU MEAN A TALE FOR THE TIME BEING HASNT BEEN PRINTED YET” followed by a short crying session

he’s a really good boyfriend

you taught him what a boyfriend was and he couldn’t stop thinking about how much society’s view on relationships changed

albert: 579 words

is walking down the streets at night when he sees you barreling down the road in your clothes

you look pretty scathed when you run right into him

“are you alright?”

you’re scared and out of breath but he’s wearing what you can only assume is a uniform of england

he takes you to his place and tries to calm you down

he asks you questions and you tell him everything straight out

you know you look crazy but you couldn’t bring yourself to care

you were just walking back from a friend’s place IN BROAD DAYLIGHT and you felt dizzy and you woke up alone in a dark alleyway

“where are you from?”

you obviously give him your city but he corrects himself

“what year are you from?”

“2019”

doesn’t want to believe you bc you’re all frantic and maybe insane

but your clothes just seem to different for him to brush off the possibility

tells you to sleep it off and gives you his bed

he’s already writing a letter to his brothers that he’s possibly coming back with someone

“ohoho brother albert has a suitor now?”

anyways, albert asks you more questions about your other life as you’re both on the train to durham

albert went out to buy you more fitting clothes before leaving and you couldn’t even repay him

but he tries to get you in a comfortable position so you don’t spiral again

but he’s genuinely nice about it when he finally accepts the fact that you are in fact from the future

funny enough, you both don’t get each others names until you get onto the train

“oh, my name is albert james moriarty”

and you’re briefly like “oh like sherlock’s nemesis” but then you remember that this is only the victorian era

sherlock holmes doesn’t exist, it’s just a coincidence

so you both get to the manor and he introduces you to the moriarty team and this is where you’re like,,

oh my God

this is real and i know the ending

you suddenly want to travel back further in time and never meet them bc they’re all really sweet towards you

and you got attached to them more than you should have

albert notices you’re a little tense so he makes small conversation to get your mind off of things

“i do like to play the piano”

bro

they have a piano delivered to the house to make you feel more comfortable and hopefully keep you occupied

itching and nostalgic (ironic), you play songs from rachmaninoff and joe hisaishi, despite it being from the future

everyone knows chopin so shhh

“that’s beautiful, did you compose that?”

“no, but another composer did, i don’t even think he exists yet”

you’re very adamant on keeping things the same

like,, no i’m not going to tell you how to create a washing machine because i don’t want to mess up the timeline if i do go back to the future

you do get very sad occasionally because you are homesick and being placed in a world where you have only heard stories of is very disorienting

but albert and the boys make up for it

albert always tries to be by your side and if he can get his hands on a piano sheet he’ll buy one for you and see if you already know it

it’s always nice to have them around, but you know the troubles you’ll eventually have to face

moriarty the patriot taglist: @zoehanji

[john-smiths-jawline]

Chapter 10: Sentiment, Bleeding Out, And Winning The War

“JOHN!” Sherlock screamed. John ran through the battle, dodging blades, bullets, claws, anything that was in his way. He finally reached him. And what he saw… what he saw would haut him for the rest of eternity. Sherlock was standing there, with Rin next to him. Everything seemed fine… until John took a closer look at his boyfriend. The dark shirt made it hard to see, but after a few seconds, it became readily apparent that Sherlock was bleeding out. To illustrate the point, Sherlock put a hand to his stomach and showed John the dripping, bright red.

“Sherlock,” John breathed, the name a whisper off his lips. He ran forward and caught Sherlock as he collapsed, blood soaking through the shirt and dirtying John’s hands and sleeves. At this display, Rin made a disgusted sound and skipped, actually skipped, away. John would have ran after and killed them, if not for the soft moaning sounds and weak grip on his shirt. John made gentle shushing sounds as he lowered his love to the ground. Sherlock brought his lips to John’s. It tasted like blood and hope and was over too quickly. John wondered if you could even die if you already had. Well, John thought grimly, he was about to find out. John’s grey shirt was quickly turning a much darker color. He wished the blood was his. He’d already seen Sherlock bleed out before. He hoped to never see it again. Especially not now, when they both already died.

“This time…” Sherlock murmured, his hands still around John’s neck. “This time, you caught me when I fell.” Now John wished someone could catch him. Hold him in place as the world collapsed around his, converging on Sherlock and the blood coming out of his abdomen. And catch him someone did, for he felt a hand on his shoulder. Not Sherlock’s bloodied hand, but someone else’s. Someone who left his hand on John’s shoulder for only a moment before kneeling down close to his brother, pinstripe suit wrinkled, and running a cut-up hand through Sherlock’s raven curls.

“Oh, Sherlock,” Mycroft whispered. “Just what have you got yourself into now?” Sherlock looked at his brother with surprise, then gratefulness, then gentle compassion. John didn’t think the brothers ever looked at each other with such emotion, such sentiment. Truth be told, they probably haven’t.

“Oh, absolutely nothing, brother mine. Absolutely nothing,” John tried to set Sherlock down, recognizing this as a private moment between the reunited brothers. However, Sherlock grabbed tight onto John’s arms and refused to let go. He turned those beautiful multicolor eyes to John, pleading. The message was clear. Stay. So John brought Sherlock back in close to his arms, thankful that the bleeding was finally starting to slow. He had still lost more blood then John would have liked, and he could see Sherlock teetering towards unconsciousness, but he wasn’t going to die today. Or tonight, as a beautiful cyan moon was rising in the slowly darkening sky. As if Mycroft hadn’t done the unexpected enough, he sat next to John and motioned for him to let the brother hold Sherlock’s top half. John let him, and Mycroft held his baby brother’s head and began to tell him a very long and involved story about a pirate captain named Redbeard that was so complicated that it took a Holmes to understand it. John was very confused very quickly. But it’s not like he wasn’t used to the feeling. You’re confused a lot if you want to be around Sherlock. Who, John just noticed, was asleep. Well, more like his body finally gave out. But, John supposed, that wasn’t too different from any of the other times Sherlock finally slept. Collapsed over the couch, or his experiment, in a cab, Lestrade’s office, over a body, and, one memorable time, on John. John sometimes wondered why the man even owned a bed.

“Doctor Watson?” Mycroft whispered. John lifted his head and made a sound to signify he was listening, gently gripping Sherlock’s bloodstained hand.

“When did you start to love him?’ Mycroft asked. This was not the question John was expecting, and it took him a second to answer. When he did, there was a wistful smile on his face.

“When I first met him, that day in Bart’s lab. I lay eyes on this beautiful, intelligent man and I immediately knew. This was the man I wanted to spend my life with.” As he finished speaking, John lifted his hand and pressed a kiss to Sherlock’s knuckles. His love let out a soft sigh and tried to turn on his side, in the process leaning on his wounded stomach. His eyes flew open, and he let out a gasp of pain, tears welling in his eyes as he quickly straightened back out. Both John and Mycroft were comforting him in an instant. John pressing a soft kiss to his pips and Mycroft gently smoothing away the wrinkles of pain in Sherlock’s forehead. It was then that everyone realized that the battlefield had quieted. Before there were screams, both human and demon, gunshots, and other various sounds of battle. John learned to tune them out years ago in order to focus on healing those that were wounded. In the end, that got him shot. So, after that, he tried to focus on everything. In the end, that got him anxiety. With Sherlock, there was never any point. The man captivated every single ounce of John’s attention. Except the time they were running around London and John was trying his level best trying to make sure Sherlock never had to get shot. The thrill of the chase. The blood pumping in his veins.

“Just the two of us against the rest of the world,” Sherlock finished, giving John a pained smile. Mycroft didn’t answer, his head turned instead to the side, where a small crowd was advancing. John tensed before realizing it was their friends. And re realized something else. Before it was pretty split between John’s people and Sherlock’s people, but now they were mixed together. Deer was talking animatedly with Soo Lin. Jennifer and Harry were definitely going to hook up later. Overall, it was a beautiful mix.

“John?” Sherlock asked. “Now that there’s nothing to do but wait… are you going to leave me?” John shook his head.

“There’s no one I’d rather wait 102 million years with than you, Sherlock.” John reassured his lover. And then they kissed. And for a moment, just a moment, it felt like they were back at Baker Street. …that was the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever done …and you invaded Afghanistan. And they both started to laugh, the sound carrying all the way over to Heaven and Hell.

Gone Before Your Time

Summary: AU where Sherlock dies when he jumps and John commits suicide. They both end up in the Gone Before Your Time Department, where people who die before their scheduled death end up. They meet each other there and have to make a plan to make sure that Moriarty, who is also in the Department, goes to hell (quite literally). But it’s not as straightforward as anyone would like. There are lies, plans within plans, and people from the past that Sherlock and John would both rather forget. There will be ten chapters and an epilogue. Tags will be added as the story progresses. Please leave a comment! (Major Character Death is for first chapter only)

[panvani]

Mochizuki Jun The Case Study of Vanitas Anime da Vinci Interview - pt. 2 -

An interview conducted by Anime da Vinci with mangaka Mochizuki Jun regarding The Case Study of Vanitas. Part one of my translation is here. I said it was going to be two parts there, but I’ll be releasing it in 3, sorry.

In summary: A more in depth description of how Vanitas and Noé were developed, how Mochizuki wants to represent their relationship, Mochizuki’s feelings on “evil,” and how she wants to incorporate death.

Includes translation notes.

Initially, Vanitas was the vampire, and Noé was the human.

- The way Vanitas and Noé are depicted within the story is quite charming. How did those two come to be as they are? With that, how would Mochizuki Jun-sensei go about introducing “this person is Vanitas,” and “this person is Noé (a vampire)”?

Mochizuki Jun: Initially, Vanitas was the vampire, and Noé was the human. Drawing from Sherlock Holmes, Vanitas took the role of Holmes and Noé of Watson. But, no matter what I did with that concept, my boss would look at it and go “I mean, looking at this, the feeling I get is just... well, isn’t this kind of ordinary? In my opinion, it’s just... not interesting,” when providing consultation. Then, I got the advice of “hey, what if the vampire and the human roles were switched?!”  I was like “huh? A human Holmes and a vampire Watson? Wait, that’s- really extremely super cool!!” And it felt like I was suddenly looking at a completely different landscape. Vanitas’ prominent canine teeth are vestiges from those drafts.

MJ: A different friend of mine criticized my design for Vanitas, which is how he ended up developing those two-level side bangs. Noé’s design completely changed from the first drafts to serialization. Originally he had glasses and was more of the straight man of the comedy duo. I was forced to part with those and other ideas.

MJ: If I were to introduce them with a single phrase, it would be like:

Vanitas - A self loathing deviant.[1]

Noé - Body of a man, spirit of a maiden!

- Speaking of those two, even though they’re always butting heads, they still choose to be alongside one another, and end up fighting together to cover each other’s backs. That relationship is so endearing. In what manner does Mochizuki-sensei mean to depict the two of them?

MJ: They’re not friends, and their goals don’t exactly align[2]. Sort of contrarily, they always fight like dogs but still feel a mutual draw to one another. There’s not enough room to cover it all here, you know what I mean? Noé’s naivety frustrates Vanitas, but his foolish earnestness makes Vanitas harbor a desire to be close to him. Noé sees the light of Vanitas’ power which can do things far beyond Noé’s ability, and feels an attraction to the darkness that lurks in Vanitas’ shadow.

- The characters of Vanitas, especially in the case of when a depressed disposition shines through a carefree countenance, always have such impactful expressions. Please tell us if you have any points of fixation when it comes to drawing expressions.

MJ: I don’t have any specific points of fixation when it comes to expressions, but I usually end up redrawing the expression several times when I make a new panel. Whenever I draw a character’s face I end up making the same expression on my own face, so I leave a really bad impression when I draw in front of other people...

MJ: Aside from that, when I read manga by other people I’ll often go “oh, that’s a really good expression!” In those cases, I’ll try to analyze what about the drawing communicates the right emotion, follow that as closely as possible, and keep it in mind when I increase the stock of my own drawn expressions. I wanna get good at drawing...

Try to contain meaningless death within The Case Study of Vanitas.

- Though there are even humans who regard vampires as enemies, neither seems to be “good,” nor does either seem to be “evil.” Please tell us about the feelings you held when you decided to depict neither side as an axis of good or evil.

MJ: Simply rewarding good and punishing evil is bad storytelling. Those easy to swallow “I’m looking for world domination!” type characters always make me ask “Why’s this character want world domination?” “How do they intend to achieve it? For what purpose?” “What about their history led them to that conclusion?” “In the first place, when talking about evil, how was it that what we’re calling evil was decided to be evil?” It’s a really obnoxious way to get my head spinning with ideas as I try to look for an answer I can accept. Before I know it, that “easy to understand enemy” doesn’t really exist to me, no matter where I look.

MJ: Since I wholeheartedly reject “evil,” I think authors who create antagonists whose feelings you can see and relate to are extremely admirable.

- That monologue which began in the first chapter’s finale seemed to contain all sorts of foreshadowing. Has Mochizuki-sensei already envisioned the plot all the way up to the final chapter?

MJ: I haven’t firmly decided all the way to the end yet since I’m the type to not know what she wants to draw, but I’ve pretty much got the rough outline until the story’s conclusion. On my way to that final station called “the story’s end,” there are some stations at which I’m absolutely, inevitably going to have to stop. Still, I feel like it’s up to me as to which route I take on my way there.

MJ: For he who may have stuck with me since my previous works, I’m trying my hardest to work my way up and make the railway line of this current story feel more like a roller coaster.[3] Since in my previous work, Pandora Hearts, I wanted to make a bunch of distinctive events on their way to the last scene, which was supposed to be the highlight of that character’s arc. Because of that, most deaths in Pandora Hearts were made to be cathartic. In The Case Study of Vanitas, I think I want to try to include completely meaningless death.

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[1] The word Mochizuki uses is 自分嫌い天の邪鬼. 自分嫌い is pretty directly just “self hating,” but 天の邪鬼 literally means “demon from heaven.” In speech, it’s used to mean “pervert” or “contrarian.” The manga translates 天邪鬼 (the same word spelled differently) as “bad tempered,” which I don’t like.

[2] Since I saw another translation for this part: Mochizuki specifically says 仲間とも違う, nakama to mo chigau, which means more literally “[their relationship] is also a different thing than a comrade.” 仲間 is sort of an infamous word among Japanese translation circles. It frequently implies “friend,” but is closer to “person with whom one finds commonality [in faction, ideas, goals, etc.]” Another translation might be “kindred spirit.”

[3] Yeah she starts using a train metaphor it wasn’t fun to translate

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Part 3 here.

[babymetaldoll]

“Ask the girl out, for crying out loud!” (Spencer Reid/ Reader)

Summary: Random talking about books and authors in the jet back from a case creates a lot of awkward silences between Spencer and Reader, they can actually even drive Rossi a little crazy. 

Pairing: Spencer Reid/ Reader

Warnings: I’m getting fluffier and fluffier with every word I write

Word count:1,2K 

Masterlist    

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It was a long flight from Seattle back to Quantico. Everybody was asleep on the jet, after a whole night awake, catching yet another serial killer. Ok, not everybody was asleep. Spencer was sitting at the very back of the plane, reading his favorite Edgar Allan Poe anthology. He knew by heart every word of it but revisiting it made him feel like home, like talking with an old friend. 

He didn’t have many old friends, so he guessed books could do the trick. 

- “Again? really?”- (Y/N) asked him and sat next to him holding two cups of hot coffee. 

Spencer smiled, not taking his eyes from the page. He knew if he did, he was going to blush and get nervous, ‘cos every time they talked, he got a fluttery feeling in the stomach. He couldn’t help it, even after all those years. He just had to live with the fact he loved his best friend in silence and made his best to pretend nothing was going on. 

- “I can’t help it”- he answered and pretended to continue reading. 

- “I would tell you to find another book you love, but I’m pretty sure you already read all the books in the world”- Spencer gave her a knowing grin, trying to annoy her. 

- “Jealous?”- but he failed

- “I don’t know… I don’t think so, I like to know there’s a book out there I still don’t know, and that it might turn out to be my favorite.”

Reid frowned thinking about it. When was the last time he got so excited with a book it turned to be his favorite? he had read many books, he had loved a lot of them, but nothing had the same effect on him as that Edgar Allan Poe’s anthology he got when he was six. Maybe it was the impact it had on him at such a young age. Maybe he just was a sucker for horror. Whatever the reason was, Spencer hadn't found another book to call his favorite. 

- “Have you ever thought about which character from a book you would like to meet?”- (Y/N) looked at him with honest curiosity after a few minutes in silence and forced him to stop reading again. Spencer didn’t really mind the interruption, he wanted to talk to her.  

- “No, I don’t know… I think I’m more curious about talking with authors than with characters”- he frowned, rubbing his chin, realizing he had never thought about it.  

- “Why?” 

- “I guess I want to know what they thought about while creating these amazing worlds, how they came up with such brilliant ideas…”- Spencer sat correctly on his seat and closed his book, biting his lips to cover a smile- “Did you know that Sir Connan Doyle was a detective of sorts himself? he actually used the Holmes method to solve the murder of an 82-year-old woman from Glasgow, named Marion Gilchrist”

- “Are you serious?” 

- “Yes! and he was friends with Harry Houdini, but had a bitter spat on the grounds of spiritualism that broke their friendship entirely”- (Y/N)’s mouth fell open 

- “No way!” 

- “Yeah! I’ve always wanted to know what that argument was about… can you imagine what it was to be friends with Houdini?” 

- “Maybe Sir Arthur kept asking and asking him to do magic tricks for him, and Houdini just wanted to make him disappear”- (Y/N) made a pause and looked at Spencer’s wide-opened eyes, waiting for his reaction. 

- “Really?”- he closed his eyes, looking in pain after such a terrible joke- “Please, don’t tell me you thought that could ever be funny”- but (Y/N) giggled

- “Oh come on! it wasn’t that bad” 

- “It makes me want to disappear”- the girl elbowed her friend, feeling her heart beating a little faster each time he smiled at her. 

- “Well, I do want to meet a few book characters”- (Y/N) changed the subject and sipped her coffee- “I think there are a lot of them who need to be told a few things” 

- “What? who?”- Reid furrowed his brows, trying to follow her idea  

- “Well, for starters, I need to have one long talk with Holden Caulfield”

- “I can’t imagine what you would say to him”

- “I would give him a hug, I love that kid, I’ve always thought we could have been friends growing up, I mean, we were both rebels against our families and school...”

- “Did you know there is a highly shared theory about The Catcher in the Rye among conspiracy groups? It’s believed that the book is actually used as a trigger for sleeper assassins who were trained by the CIA’s MK-Ultra mind control program”

(Y/N) smiled at her best friend and didn’t say a word for a few seconds. He didn’t know if he had said something wrong or not, he had just said the first thing that came to mind. As pretty much always. 

- “Are you trying to tell me I might be a serial killer, Reid?”- she asked, leaning into him slowly. As she got closer, her heart beat faster, and Spencer’s cheeks turned red. He had to hold his book tight to make sure his hands didn’t shake. His eyes were fixed to her lips, and all he could whisper was. 

- “No… I don’t think you… are… a serial… killer”- he even stuttered. For a second, they were so close they could actually kiss if Reid moved his body a few inches closer. But neither of them did a thing. As always. 

- “I would also love to meet Mr. Darcy and ask him to stop being an ass with Lizzy”- (Y/N) sat back on her seat and sighed, trying not to look as frustrated as she felt. 

- “You did finish the book, right?”- Reid asked playfully, but she just groaned under breath. 

- “I know they got married and lived happily ever after, but for the first half of the book, he was a jerk and it really upset me”

- “It’s called character growth, (Y/N), it’s part of the story”

- “Well, sometimes it’s annoying! don’t you ever want to yell at some book character to stop joking around and do the damn right thing? like, we know you love the girl! ask her out once for all!” 

There was a heavy silence between the two of them. A long, awkward silence. You could feel the sexual tension in the air as they stared at each other.  

Yes, everyone knew those two were madly in love with each other. 

No, neither of them wanted to make the first move, afraid of the rejection. 

Yes, Spencer was sure (Y/N) would laugh on his face if he ever asked her out 

No, (Y/N) could never refuse a date with Spencer, she loved him ever since he first started rambling facts, five minutes into introducing himself. 

Yes, they were driving the whole team insane. 

- “We all know exactly what it’s like to want to yell at someone’s face “ask the girl out for crying out loud”!!”- Rossi nearly shouted standing behind their seats, making (Y/N) and Spencer jump- “Now, if you are not going to say what we all want you to say, I will suggest you two shut up and let the rest of us sleep.” 

Spencer and (Y/N) looked at each other and shrugged. Reid opened his book again and she just closed her eyes. Rossi walked back to his seat and sighed.

- “I’m gonna marry again before those two have their first date”- he whispered to Hotch, who chuckled and didn’t take his eyes from the files he was reading. 

- “That’s not really that hard, David.”