#so the webs break the shape and ties them to the background. A nice detailing idea that I'd like to adapt and try sometime

[lurking-loaf]

Trick or treat!! ::3

Hello Mini! What a fun zombie costume you have there! I like the face paint and all those stitches everywhere!

Going with the theme of your costume, here are some gummy candy brains! And to sweeten the deal, a can of Sprite! It might not look like it at first glance, but with a little ✨imagination✨ (and some squinting) anything is possible! Happy Halloween and thanks for stopping by!

[gffa]

“I’m gonna read some other stuff this week!” I think to myself. “I’m not gonna read just STAR WARS fic! I’ll mix it up!” A week later, well. Here we are, crying about Star Wars like always. From the prequels to TLJ, let’s cry about ALL OF IT. STAR WARS FIC RECS: ✦ Five Questions by naberiie, luke & rey & background finn/rey, some tlj spoilers, 3k    Before Rey stands the elusive Luke Skywalker - ace pilot, Master Jedi, war hero, legend. She was sent to bring him back and was ready with the answers General Organa had given her - “He’s been away a long time. He’ll have questions.” Rey did not expect that some of his questions would be about her. ✦ Reeds by ambiguously, mira & jedi & cast, 4.6k    When Mira was eleven years old, two Jedi came to her door. ✦ breathe by ignitesthestars, finn/rey & cast, tlj spoilers, ~1k    The Falcon has beds, but for as few people are left of the Resistance, there are still too many of them to fit comfortably. Used to sleeping in tight places, Rey asks Poe to wake her up when it’s her turn to fly and finds a corner to curl up in. ✦ Just To Sleep Underneath Your Bed by LemonTwister, obi-wan/anakin & cast, NSFW, mild d/s undercurrents, some darker themes off-page, attempt at non-con, 46k    Anakin struggles with desires that he isn’t allowed to act on. Obi-Wan shouldn’t be surprised when his student rebels. ✦ untitled by fireflyfish, anakin/padme(/obi-wan eventually) & obi-wan & ahsoka & mace & jedi, 1k    “ANAKIN SKYWALKER! WHERE IS MY FANCY ASS NABOO WEDDING INVITATION?” ✦ Anakin Skywalker and the Stray Droid by protos_metazu_ison (larkspyt), obi-wan/anakin & anakin/padme & cast, 22.2k wip    Anakin adopts a stray droid, much to Obi-Wan’s displeasure, which is fine because Rusty doesn’t like Obi-Wan all that much either. ✦ untitled + untitled by lurkingcrow, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & luke, 3k    It feels like one of her dreams. How many times has she found herself in the old days, chasing after her master as they rush through empty corridors, only to wake to a much colder and darker reality? ✦ Whatever I Do (I Do It To Protect You) by Callioope, jyn/cassian & galen/lyra & bodhi & baze & chirrut & kes/shara & cast, 84.2k    When Orson Krennic landed on Lah’mu, Lyra Erso made a choice. She chose her daughter. Now they move from planet to planet, identity to identity, rebel cell to rebel cell, until they wind up at the center of the rebellion. ✦ On the other side by esama, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon, 41.5k wip    Dozen years ago Obi-Wan went into AgriCorps - now Qui-Gon Jinn is taking a new padawan. Somehow, this is Obi-Wan’s problem. ✦ Backstep by MissLearn, obi-wan & anakin, 1.1k    Back to the wrong start. ✦ Not Quite The End by Fish_and_Celery, luke & obi-wan, force ghosts, ~1k    “I was always afraid I’d take after my father,” Luke said. “It should have occurred to me when Ben slaughtered the new Jedi and fell to the dark side that I was taking after you instead.” ✦ untitled by subskywalker, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, d/s, bondage, ~1k    Please consider that one night, when their relationship is still new and they’re still exploring their kinks, Obi-Wan asks Anakin if he would like to try out being tied up. ✦ everything will glow for you by waterandsilver, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, mild d/s undertone, 2.4k    Sometimes when Anakin kisses, Obi-Wan has half a mind to remind him that he’s not in battle anymore. ✦ Flatmates by maraudeuse, luke & han/leia & obi-wan/anakin & cast, force ghosts, 5.5k    After the end of the Galactic Civil War, Luke, Leia and Han decide they need a break and move to Coruscant together to figure out their next steps. They certainly don’t expect to be sharing their apartment with four very insistent Force ghosts. ✦ untitled by darthrevaan, obi-wan & anakin & shmi, sith!obi-wan, ~1k    Anonymous asked: any au, anakin has a miserable cold full details + recs under the cut 

✦ Five Questions by naberiie, luke & rey & background finn/rey, some tlj spoilers, 3k    Before Rey stands the elusive Luke Skywalker - ace pilot, Master Jedi, war hero, legend. She was sent to bring him back and was ready with the answers General Organa had given her - “He’s been away a long time. He’ll have questions.” Rey did not expect that some of his questions would be about her.    Oh, this was such a lovely and beautiful read, it’s such a good look at Rey’s character, her steps into this bigger world and her care for Finn, how he’s connected to her thoughts in so many ways, how he helps give her something to touch on with her growing Force powers. But also it’s such a wonderful look at Luke, the dry humor and tired but still genuine hope, the kindness in him, and how he’s a little weird but still so very Luke Skywalker. There are ton of lovely little moments (Rey discovering things on the island! watching Luke meditate! discovering the Force in a more real way, finally being able to touch it! her joy at these things is wonderful) and this is the feeling I wish TLJ had given me, that bright and warm and good feeling about the hope and wonderfulness in the galaxy, even in times of darkness. It’s a lovely read that I absolutely adored. ✦ Reeds by ambiguously, mira & jedi & cast, 4.6k    When Mira was eleven years old, two Jedi came to her door.    Oh, this was another absolutely wonderful and beautiful read, it gives such lifeto Mira Bridger when she’s young and it breathes such lovely detail into the world she lives in at the time and the way the Jedi approach her family. It fits so well with Rebels and TCW and what we know of the Jedi, the way they’re a little strange and people distrust them so very strongly, but they’re kind and warm and aren’t here to steal away any children. They sit and talk with the Bridgers, they talk to Mira and there’s this gorgeous sense of how Mira doesn’t really want to go, but she also maybe wishes she could go, just a little, to give shape to these powers and feelings she has. There’s the currents of destiny underneath the story, which is something I’ve been thinking about re: Star Wars, how destiny is absolutely a thing, but it’s so much more understated and elegantly illustrated here!    The fic does a beautiful job of not only the world and the brief moments we get with the Jedi (who, even from outside the pov, felt nicely depthful!) but gives such weight to Mira’s character, she feels real here, I cared very much about her! She was a child, but one who knew things, who still saw the world as a child but also as someone who was connected to the Force in that way Force-Sensitives have. I love the details of where Ezra got his name from, I love the web of connections being weaved here, and I love the writing. I mean, yes, my heart soared for how spot on the Jedi are to TCW/Rebels, how this is exactly in line with how we see them, it’s such a warm, good feeling! But also that this is Mira’s story is wonderful because she is wonderful here. Such a great read! ✦ breathe by ignitesthestars, finn/rey & cast, tlj spoilers, ~1k    The Falcon has beds, but for as few people are left of the Resistance, there are still too many of them to fit comfortably. Used to sleeping in tight places, Rey asks Poe to wake her up when it’s her turn to fly and finds a corner to curl up in.    I really enjoyed this short piece as a post-TLJ fic! It’s complicated on both their sides, so much has happened over the last couple of days, so much has changed since then, but there’s still a connection between these two, they still touch on each other to steady themselves. There’s an adorable bit of teasing, but even beyond that there’s something very real and important in this connection and, oh, it definitely did my heart good. ✦ Just To Sleep Underneath Your Bed by LemonTwister, obi-wan/anakin & cast, NSFW, mild d/s undercurrents, some darker themes off-page, attempt at non-con, 46k    Anakin struggles with desires that he isn’t allowed to act on. Obi-Wan shouldn’t be surprised when his student rebels.    While reading this fic, I felt like it was something I would have seen 10-15 years ago, that it was in that style and I can’t really put it into words what I mean, other than that the tropes seem more of that era. And it’s not to its detriment, I actually felt this strong wave of nostalgia for it, because it was also so incredibly engaging at the same time, even when I thought I would be craving a more modern style to fic. And that’s the thing here! If the fic had been described to me, I’m not sure I really would have gotten it, how it was going to affect me, because I’d have turned right around on the mention of the non-con/etc. But–and part of this is that the fic really lines up with my views on other things, so it put me in the right frame of mind–somehow that worked for me, because it was born out of Anakin’s desperate attachment, which does get billed as “attachment = any affection” a bit, instead of the canon “possessive relationships” but it’s not in a mean-spirited way and when you step back and really look at Anakin’s behavior, it is possessive and obsessive, it’s coming from a place that Anakin Skywalker is very much prone to, and so his actions (the attempted non-con, the getting involved with skeevy people) stem from that and so it made sense to me and I bought it! If you have a hard nope at these things, you might still want to pass it over, but if you’re sort of on the fence like me, I would suggest picking up the fic anyway, because this Anakin is more of a mess in a way that’s brought to the surface, but is absolutely one I see in him.    Where the fic really got me is in how well it absolutely nailed that underlying d/s theme, which was super fucking satisfying to my id, like, holy shit, so satisfying, because Obi-Wan definitely has an iron hard commanding voice when it’s needed and Anakin practically reverberates in place every time Obi-Wan gets strict with him, even when he’s in trouble. Anakin’s authority kink is definitely on parade here and it’s so goddamned good and spot on for his character, especially when you combine it with that stubborn unwillingness to let his deeply rooted attachments/borderline obsessions go. He’s younger here, but not to the point that it broke me on the dynamic, especially when this fic is all about how Anakin really, really wants that authority over him kept in place, that even as he struggles to be seen and respected and praised, it’s still there–the fic really does a great job at showing that, at really threading it through the entire story.    This is all stuff I’m feeling from the fic, rather than that it’s stated outright, which is another thing I loved, because that makes a story all the better for me when an author achieves that, because it’s not easy! And the writing is engaging, I read this in about two sittings because I absolutely could not put it down, it just swept me up and was like, “Here, a fic for your id and it’s really getting down what it wants to get down!” in a way that I enjoyed so much. Which is all before the sex that finally happens and, holy crap, was that some incredibly satisfying sex, like there was no way I could read anything else for awhile after this because it was so satisfying. Anakin has wanted this forever and it plays into the d/s undercurrents and the noise is fucked out of his head for awhile and it lasts for several pages and it was honestly like this fic wondered how it could best please me in a (long!) sex scene? And then just fucking nailed it.    So much slow opening of Anakin up with fingers and long, long moments of “you’re not going to come until I say so” and then Anakin getting the noise thoroughly fucked out of his head when Obi-Wan is finally inside him and fucking him hard and deep and completely. So much of Anakin turning over and presenting himself to show the absolute mess his Master has made of him, because he’s sated and because he knows Obi-Wan will be weak to that, because it’s proof of how Anakin finally has gotten what he wanted. So much fingering Anakin afterwards, swollen and sore around the rim, who loves it for the proof it offers and the thorough wrecking of him, he wants to just be fucked into absolute utter pliancy. So much of Anakin desperately wanting another around, so he straddles Obi-Wan and rides his dick like a thing possessed, until Obi-Wan grabs hold him and fucks him even harder because Anakin is beautiful and needy and greedy and perfect. So much of Anakin’s stubborness and greed mixed with how desperately he loves his Master, how he really does try to be a better person and how he matures throughout the fic, but he’s still Anakin. So much of Anakin wanting his Master in him again and again, because only when he’s filled up does he finally feel like he’s not missing something, not empty, because he wants that affection, because he wants his Master’s heavy hand on him, because he’s such a brat sometimes, but in that, “My sweet, dangerous Anakin” way that is perfect.    It’s also a nicely long fic and I actually really loved the ending, it was perfectand so very Anakin and the right place to end the story, I’d been hoping for something like that and then it happened! But it’s also charismatic in a way that appeals to everything I want from it, it’s one of those that I’m going to read again someday because I want to really take my time with it, and it’s one that had some ridiculously hot sex–every time Anakin would rub his fingers over his entrance or every time Obi-Wan would slide fingers into him, the way Anakin would shiver or shake from it, the way there’s such hunger for each other, and the way there was truly a sense of “wow, Anakin just got wrecked and finally he feels content!” woven into it, the way Anakin finally got the dicking he wants so desperately, all of it added up to this fic that was just so very, very rewarding a read for me! ✦ untitled by fireflyfish, anakin/padme(/obi-wan eventually) & obi-wan & ahsoka & mace & jedi, 1k    “ANAKIN SKYWALKER! WHERE IS MY FANCY ASS NABOO WEDDING INVITATION?”    So, there was a question of whether or not the Jedi can get married (Anakin not being a reliable narrator) and whether or not the Jedi can fuck (they can, absolutely) and it just kind of ballooned into a hilarious thing and then Fishy wrote beautiful, beautiful crackfic where Anakin has no idea why the Jedi are so weird around him, but the truth is THEY WERE JUST WAITING FOR THEIR WEDDING INVITATIONS. They know, you’re not subtle, Anakin, and I read all of this with such a :D face (until about ¾ths of the way through, then it was legit irl cackling) because it’s so adorable, charming, and fun. The whole thread was a blast, but Fishy’s fic just made it that much better, truly a treasure blessed upon our fandom. ✦ Anakin Skywalker and the Stray Droid by protos_metazu_ison (larkspyt), obi-wan/anakin & anakin/padme & cast, 22.2k wip    Anakin adopts a stray droid, much to Obi-Wan’s displeasure, which is fine because Rusty doesn’t like Obi-Wan all that much either.    Chapter 5: This is an update rec and will focus on this chapter, rather than the fic as a whole. I was really delighted to see this one updated, as I really like the undercurrents going on in it, that there are some rather sharp edges to the unresolved feelings, especially from Obi-Wan and Padme, who aren’t often explored in that sharp sense. Obi-Wan especially here has a brief moment of being really sharp in a way that doesn’t break his character, but also isn’t just the perfect, soft, gentle man he often is as well. And it was really satisfying for me, in that way that made me think about all the times that Obi-Wan has let things slide because he’s trying to achieve a greater good! But also more of the explanations of who Rusty is! I really am fond of that droid and it works so well, I love this whole fic already! ✦ untitled + untitled by lurkingcrow, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & luke, 3k    It feels like one of her dreams. How many times has she found herself in the old days, chasing after her master as they rush through empty corridors, only to wake to a much colder and darker reality?    In an AU where Anakin didn’t fall to the dark side but the galaxy still fell, it takes awhile for Ahsoka to find him and his family again. These two ficlets are lovely, they’re a small piece of a bigger AU, but function just fine as they are, and have really lovely emotional weight to them. Ahsoka seeing her Master again, seeing the little kidlet with him, meeting the other kidlet, seeing Obi-Wan again, how much that means to her, how much that brings her home again, the sense of family and love there, is all beautifully done and is both bittersweet and incredibly warm. It’s just the right amount of angst and just the right amount of emotional impact–that scene where Ahsoka realizes it’s not just Anakin, but Obi-Wan, too, and that there are kidlets there, that’s a moment where it feels like her whole world opens up again, and, oh, it’s lovely. ✦ Whatever I Do (I Do It To Protect You) by Callioope, jyn/cassian & galen/lyra & bodhi & baze & chirrut & kes/shara & cast, 84.2k    When Orson Krennic landed on Lah’mu, Lyra Erso made a choice. She chose her daughter. Now they move from planet to planet, identity to identity, rebel cell to rebel cell, until they wind up at the center of the rebellion.    I didn’t know how much I needed a Lyra Lives AU until I tucked into this one and just immediately got swept away. I really enjoyed the way this still felt like the Jyn we know from canon, from the movie and novels, while also being different because so much is different here when Lyra lives to be able to protect her daughter. It allows for room to nudge things just a track or two over from the canon and that means a whole lot of changes–many explored, some only lightly touched on–in a way that really felt organic and well thought out. It’s not an easy fic, but it is a fix-it one and it’s still a Jyn/Cassian fic at its heart, but also it’s a Jyn fic and all her complicated, prickly, tightly wrapped up issues layered over that soft heart of hers. I bought this fic every step of the way, it does the heavy lifting of the changes to the plot that such an AU would demand, and it gives a satisfying conclusion, like, yes, this is exactly what I wanted! And as a nice little bonus, it’s the only fic I can think of where Obi-Wan lives past ANH to join the Rebellion, even if it’s not explored for more than a moment and it’s not guaranteed, that brief moment was wonderful. But this is a Rogue One fic at its heart and, oh, the whole cast is there and it’s such a good read. ✦ On the other side by esama, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon, 41.5k wip    Dozen years ago Obi-Wan went into AgriCorps - now Qui-Gon Jinn is taking a new padawan. Somehow, this is Obi-Wan’s problem.    I do have a couple of caveats about this fic. I spent the entire fic being distracted by how much of it was explicitly contrasted against canon, not in the AU aspect, but in the basics of the GFFA. The final chapter also swerves really hard into anti-Jedi territory (simply as a warning for those who aren’t here for that!) in ways that don’t really work at all with canon–which I spent the whole chapter wanting to argue with until I realized that this was only a JA/JQ-based story, rather than based on George Lucas’ Star Wars Jedi. So the problems with the Jedi here are based on those books rather than canon, which settled my mind a lot!  And I don’t mean this as a backhanded compliment, genuinely it’s about finding the right mindset to going into a fic and I think it would help readers! The second is that there’s something really sad and bittersweet about this story, that there’s nothing of the Obi-Wan Kenobi we know left, that this version is almost a completely different person, his character and reactions have almost nothing left of the man from the movies and shows, in a way that made me miss him the entire way, I had such feelings about that!    Okay, I know I’m giving this a bit of an ear-pulling, but genuinely I would not put this on my list if I weren’t recommending it honestly. I do mention caveats because, if you’re using my recs, you probably have certain tastes and would want heads up about things or I think certain warnings can put me in the right headspace for a fic and I want to help with that if I can. The thing about the fic is that the writing is, as always, smooth and polished, the author has a tremendous way of writing cleanly and with enthusiasm for what they’re going for! The sheer love for aquaponics and that aspect of building up the world radiates through the entire fic and I loved that so much, I could have read an entire 50k on the set-up of the water tanks and plants and fish! The detail in describing all those plants was clearly a blast to write and it shows, the enthusiasm is so, so infectious for it. And while I wish there had been more Obi-Wan & Anakin interaction, because their relationship is at the heart of the Star Wars and to have them in the room together without touching on that feels a little aching to me, they do get a cute scene later, and bb!Anakin is so much fun to read. I genuinely want to recommend it for the aquaponics (such a Star Wars thing to do!) and for the cuteness of moppet!Anakin, those things really engaged me hard in this fic! ✦ Backstep by MissLearn, obi-wan & anakin, 1.1k    Back to the wrong start.    I am so very into time travel fic and body swap fic, so while this is a quick start and it’s still early yet, I enjoyed it a lot! The fun of the build-up to the reveal, the anticipation of where this is all going to go, it’s spot-on for what I wanted from this set-up! ✦ Not Quite The End by Fish_and_Celery, luke & obi-wan, force ghosts, ~1k    “I was always afraid I’d take after my father,” Luke said. “It should have occurred to me when Ben slaughtered the new Jedi and fell to the dark side that I was taking after you instead.”    I admit, I almost turned around at the summary, because I’m not here for missing the point that Luke wasn’t speaking the truth when he went on his rant to Rey, but the note about them being the author’s favorites made me curious and the fic isn’t really what I feared it was going to be. Instead it’s this quiet little reflective piece between these two characters who had such an important relationship, it’s a calmer and more honest look at the course of their lives, the sense of wry humor and willingness to keep going even when they’re tired, that they’re both such good people that I really enjoyed about this. I love the quiet sense of hope here, it’s very fitting to Star Wars. ✦ untitled by subskywalker, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, d/s, bondage, ~1k    Please consider that one night, when their relationship is still new and they’re still exploring their kinks, Obi-Wan asks Anakin if he would like to try out being tied up.    Headcanon posts aren’t usually long enough to work for fic, but this one was at least 600 words and I’ve recommended shorter fics and, honestly, if it had more paragraphs and a little tweaking it could have been a fic! Also, it’s my blog, I rec what I want. XD And this just hit that *___* place for me, that id-pleasing, embracing of the tropes it presents (Anakin lies being tied up and Obi-Wan likes fucking the noise out of Anakin’s head) and some really, really pretty imagery and some very saitsfying sex described. I am so here for Anakin getting tied to the headboard and then a lot of very happy fucking! It’s a pick-me-up for those who really like this sort of thing. ♥ ✦ everything will glow for you by waterandsilver, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, mild d/s undertone, 2.4k    Sometimes when Anakin kisses, Obi-Wan has half a mind to remind him that he’s not in battle anymore.    I’ve probably recommended this fic before, but I don’t care, because I reread it again after seeing it on subskywalker’s fic recs list and it’s one of those that’s just exactly what it promises, in the best way. It’s a pwp fic with happy, eager participants, with Anakin who is hungry and greedy and demanding and bright and brilliant and wants Obi-Wan to just fuck him now, that coming is nice and all, but he wants more. And Obi-Wan who wants to fuck him just as much, who loves this brilliant, bright, greedy, hungry, bratty man and cannot resist him. I love how there’s really much angst about it, just that they have to wait for the right time and then banter the entire way through, until Obi-Wan finally snaps and fucks him, which manages to shut Anakin up for a brief moment. It’s just really joyful, wonderful sex that everyone involved–the reader included!–had funwith and I loved it. ✦ Flatmates by maraudeuse, luke & han/leia & obi-wan/anakin & cast, force ghosts, 5.5k    After the end of the Galactic Civil War, Luke, Leia and Han decide they need a break and move to Coruscant together to figure out their next steps. They certainly don’t expect to be sharing their apartment with four very insistent Force ghosts.    This is total fluffy crack in pretty much exactly the way it says on the tin! It’s one of those that’s just entirely warm-hearted and adorable to read, the kind where you want everything soft and cute and happily ever ever, where it’s one big pile of domesticity, including the Force Ghost House Guests! There’s a lot of cute scenes and little details, lots and lots of little moments that are rather slice of life in the really fun way, and just that it’s one of those fics I needed after some of the angst in this fandom. Super cute!! ✦ untitled by darthrevaan, obi-wan & anakin & shmi, sith!obi-wan, ~1k    Anonymous asked: any au, anakin has a miserable cold    This probably won’t make perfect sense without being familiar with The Black Library, but context is basically that Jedi!Anakin has found himself landed with a Sith Lord who is just quietly running a library and, oh, hey, his mom is here, too. In this ficlet, Anakin gets sick and I am always here for sick!fic, especially when Shmi is there to be no-nonsense with the both of them, yet warm and kind, while Anakin is miserable and Obi-Wan is annoyed. It’s just PURE ADORABLE.

[multifandom-madnesss]

Sherlock’s Mirror Palace / Dream - or, a tour of TST’s particularities and several open questions

Feat. lots of images and links to other people’s metas/theories. 

Btw, @johnlockfulfillment has started a Masterpost :)

Let’s look at these many, many little things that make me certain most of TST was either Sherlock’s mind palace version of actual events or his projection of future occurrences or a dream or something else but drug-induced. 

This also ties in with variations of Extended Mind Palace, as @impatient14 details here with 20 reasons; and @tjlcisthenewsexy shows here. 

This is surely not complete yet, so this post will be edited. I also have a list of questions at the end, both timeline-related and more general. 

The over-arching message, for those wanting a quick summary: 

There are too many things wrong or wonky in this version of reality for it to be actual reality. It’s rather a mirror verse (indicated by the many, many mirrors akin to TAB, or the reversed layouts of places like the Watson flat) or a dream sequence to enable Sherlock to process or work through something (see @shawleyleres meta on the recurring dreams). 

Everything after that first fishy fin transition (at least) is mind palace or a distorted/mirror version resp. dream. 

I’m going to show you why I think this, with the aid of a lot of pictures and links to other people’s metas. If you’re skeptical, please give this a chance. Hell, they literally told us right at the beginning that they are going to manipulate actual events:   

Cabinet Member: That is now the official version, the version anyone we want to will see.

Having taken care of the threat of incarceration by doctoring CCTV footage, a “naturally high” Sherlock decides to wait since he is the “target” of a posthumous ploy by Moriarty. Then we get new credits and Sherlock telling us the original story of a tale he re-wrote as a child when he couldn’t do much with premonition. 

We also get this fish-y transition into a rather wonky 221B: 

The skull is facing the other direction and now wearing a magnifying glass. Most curiously, though, is the fact that John is typing on an iPad while it’s obvious he has the photos open and not a web browser: 

John blogs about the many cases that Sherlock solves - during which we get the second “It’s never twins” from Sherlock - and yet the initial shot of his ‘blog’ show it’s just as inactive as the blog the BBC had set up. (More on this here, by @glenien). 

The cases are all (or for the most part) CONTRADICTIONS, as @separating-my-porn-and-tjlc has detailed so brilliantly here. @tigressthetiger also talks about how wrong the cases are here. 

Keep in mind we already had TST as a case on John’s blog, wich was different. And they neither acknowledge nor resolve that in any shape or form. Lestrade actually tells us repeatedly to read John’s blog!

Oh, also: the one client, with the Mary-esque wife, had a fish tattoo. And something about the gf’s name was also wonky, as @tigressthetiger  explains here.

Then, there is the negative of a skull that has replaced the skull poster we are familiar with. And the skull GETS BRIGHTER (x). 

The Watson flat, too, is mirrored. And I’m not only talking about John sleeping on the wrong side of the bed and there being a mirror through which this position was established, but that’s a great point as well. (See also @gosherlocked‘s post here).

The flat’s entire layout is also REVERSED. 

In His Last Vow, the front door was on the other side. See, John opens the door with the window at his back: 

In TST, it’s reversed, just like the bedroom. 

From the Christening, we again have a watery transition to Sherlock explaining the way of life to Rosie: 

The next bit was the only thing that really struck me when I watched TST for the first time: the time loop on the bus.

We transition from a sleeping John at 221B to a John dozing on the bus with a daisy in his hair, which he showed to Rosie (who has a fish mobile! and really weird wallpaper, featuring the magpies from TSoT and clowns/jesters). Sherlock texts him about Greg coming by Baker Street the following day (why only this late? I thought Lestrade was feeling the pressure to solve this?), and we get a house reflected in balloons when Greg explains the case. 

Another weird transition happens via the magnifying glass on Sherlock’s side table, motivating some split-screen action, as well as the door window transition leading to the case.

Back at 221B, the brunette forensic officer is carrying a file tied with a pink shoe-lace. She is waiting outside the door while Sherlock is dealing with a client... and yet, the file (or one also tied with a pink shoe-lace) is already inside 221B: 

Curious, isn’t it? HOWEVER - at the end, after Mary’s death, we see Mrs H and Sherlock in 221B and there are two files in the flat, one back there and one on the desk. So it’s likely these are simply two files from the brunette forensic woman.

Fast forward a little bit into the cave-like secret base (lit by candles and electricity), we also get to see Sherlock and Mary via a mirror: 

Mary renders Sherlock unconscious and flees. Cue weird fish eye transition and we see Redbeard as well as two children playing on a stony beach - one of them, presumably Sherlock, is pretending to be a pirate. 

Once Sherlock is awake again, he seeks out his brother... whom is introduced this time as two people:

He’s also not the Mycroft I remember - the one working to ensure the stability of the British government... since Sherlock says, when enquiring about A.G.R.A.: 

Sherlock: Well, I mean the British government. Or whatever government you’re propping up. 

Very weird. So we’re led to believe Mycroft is morally grey (also wearing the suit for it) and is for hire, rather than motivated by loyalty to his country? (This ties in nicely with @delightedwhenz‘s theory on Mycroft being Amo here). 

The Mycroft-Amo connection is also furthered by the superimposed text of AMMO being mirrored when Sherlock turns the pad he wrote it down on. 

We get another mirror when Sherlock and John catch up with Mary: 

Sherlock calls about having made the faulty “Amo” connection to Lady Smallwood. Sherlock and Mycroft are juxtaposed on screen during their phone call, then move in the same direction: 

Sherlock’s over-imposed shot prevails, however we stay with Mycroft on English soil. 

On the flight back, we catch the first glimpse of E (aka Faith, Culverton’s daughter? See @abitnotgood‘s great find here) in the plane window and are given a flashback to John presumably cheating/flirting with the Lady in Red/E/a literal red herring:

Now, during the flashback, I noticed an inconsistency in the background. In the twoshot of John and E, we see a firetruck in the background. In John’s subsequent close up, there is a police vehicle, but no firetruck. 

See?

As someone who as filmed before, this is something I’m prepared to accept as being a genuine blooper. You don’t control the street when you’re filming outside (at least not unless you close it off, and I doubt they did that, please correct me if I’m wrong). 

Still, it’s another particularity. 

John saves her number (which is a fake tv number, as @warmth-and-constancy points out here) and certainly texts her an “Hey”. We have no definite proof, however, that she is the one on the other end of the night owl/vampire debate. @jenna221b (I think, can’t find the post rn) suggested it’s a code, like Vatican Cameos, and Vampire signals which plan to execute, like Lazarus did on the rooftop. @the-7-percent-solution, however, suggests he might be texting Harry here.

We also get John composing a breaking it off text, only to find her at the bus stop (Culverton in the background on a poster saying “murder” and “business”). We never find out if he really breaks it off or not.

We do get - after Mycroft interviewing Lady Smallwood (with another mirror) - another moment at the Watson flat, talking about bedtime stories, and then Sherlock realising how wrong he was on the Vauxhall Bridge, the shot finishing with the MI6 building prominently featured. 

Mary gets a longer message (a code, a cypher, idk, but something is weird about it. “The curtain rises” is a meaningful quote, in any case, as @eleclectic has shown) than John. Why would Sherlock comment on Mary’s final act? Premonition? It has to be more than simple foreshadowing for us viewers. 

We return to the final show down at the aquarium, with John lagging behind due to having to find a babysitter first. And the more I re-watch this scene, the more likely I find it that the secretary was forced to pretend she was Amo by, if not Mycroft then someone. (Seriously, if she really had a lucrative side business, how come she only bought a cottage and still lives in a tiny flat??).

During the scene, we also have jellyfish in the background, which cease flapping about in their pool after Mary pushes Sherlock out of the way. John and Sherlock previously discussed a case with jelly fish, and them stopping their movements in sync with Mary’s heart stopping might open up a connection.

More importantly, though: Why doesn’t Sherlock move himself? Why is he paralysed? If Mary had enough time to jump into the trajectory, Sherlock would have had time to evade the shot, too. He must have seen it coming, he’s Sherlock after all. 

We get another shark fin transition from grieving John to the secretary being taking in (via a very weirdly lit tunnel of mysterious location):

And THEN we switch elements. We stay an eerie blue but rather than water, it is fire. Fire obscuring something I have no idea how to name, and giving way to the cemetery: 

Edit: This might very well be a coffin! Aka Mary’s coffin. 

A grieving John ignores his phone (phone as heart? Is he ignoring E or Harry/second recipient?) and Sherlock pays Ella a visit. 

Ella: But I can only help you if you completely open yourself up to me. [said no therapist ever, as @merlenhiver pointed out]

Sherlock: That’s not really my style. I need to know what to do. 

Ella: Do?

Sherlock: About John. 

Meanwhile, Mycroft returns to... a mirror verse version of his flat (or a secret safe house for people to retreat to?), where he stretches his spine (like John did after the Christening). There are Asian cuisine take away menus on his fridge, as well as an elephant and the number 13. Or rather, the 13th - a date? Since Mycroft looks at his watch immediately, I’m inclined to call it a date of some significance. 

Edit: @jenna221b found a proverb stating that at the 13th stroke of the clock, all previous strokes must be called into question. 

Mycroft calls Sherrinford and WAITS for this person. 

Also, the empty state of the fridge for me is a direct contrast to TAB Mycroft who is obese and always surrounded by food. 

Then we see parts of Mary’s very curious DVD, hear Mary repeat certain phrases over and over, and Molly tells Sherlock that John doesn’t want to see him anymore. 

Sherlock, voice over musing over avoiding Samara and death, ‘walks’ from London into the watery blue imagery again. 

And we close on what, to me, looks like a POV shot from below water upwards, where the sun is showing the onlooker which direction to turn to come up for air... 

... before the post-credit “Go to hell, Sherlock.”

What’s my point?

It’s simple: we are not in reality. This is a mirror universe, or a dream. If it’s a mirror version/Mind Palace, it’s either 

a) what Sherlock thinks will happen (all the talk about probability and extrapolating behaviour on the basis of mathematics)

b) or a distorted/filtered version of what actually happened, which Sherlock is processing in his mind palace. 

Alternatively, it’s a dream helping Sherlock solve the mysteries of Moriarty and Mary. 

I contend that everything after the first fishy fin transition is mind palace/dream (if EMP ever since the HLV hospital scenes proves incorrect after all). Sherlock is still high, after all, even higher than before due to the “natural high” maybe?

Timeline questions: 

Why did it get dark before the boy brings the tea to Sherlock, John, and Mary? Or is this a second tea?

When did Mary’s hair have a chance to grow so much?

I’ve also read that the baby looks older earlier in the chronology than later... there is definitely some time-related inconsistency happening. 

A few additional questions: 

How does Sherlock know about “The problems of your future are my privilege”? He was in the kitchen at the time. 

Likewise, when did Mary find out about Sherlock being a “dragon slayer”? (x)

Why does AJ conclude Mary is the traitor, or why does Sherlock conclude AJ is looking for HER, when she isn’t even an English woman? Sherlock deduced that in HLV, after all. 

Why did Mary get herself a new fake ID between shooting Sherlock and Appledore? It was issued 14 October 2014 (x)

Why does John, a trained soldier, not use a gun when he has one when he could (probably) have incapacitated AJ?

What about Charlie and his parents, or rather, making Charlie so explicitly camp, growing up with a father who worships Thatcher, and not mentioning it once? Also, His parents, or rather, his mother pretends like there is no such time when the hadn’t been together (which was after the father’s 21st birthday), and she asks Charlie about “eating properly”, a question which Charlie evades (food = sex?). 

On the topic of food, what is the deeper significance of Sherlock openly eating ginger nuts (and talking about food) while high and waiting to become a target, or how can we connect this to existing theories/metaphors? 

Is E wearing a rose necklace a connection to Rosie/Mary?

What’s with the daisy John has in his ear? 

What’s up with the Black Pearl? Redbear/Barbarossa the pirate connection? Why is the issue dropped?

I’m sure there’s more and I’ll add to it when I come across something. 

If you have ideas about answering them, or additional stuff to add to this, let me know =)

Tagging some additional folks who might already have things to contribute: @alilysrose @isitandwonder @deducingbbcsherlock @adlerforpresident (and many more)