#the shading was odd on the original because it sort of implied the light source was identical for both of them

[jugacolours]

[nervestatic]

SMPSTUCK AU / human session lands

you get a planet! you get a planet! all my bitches be getting planets. back at it again with my homestuck au, finally posting some mcfucking uhhhhhhh more information!!

check out the smpstuck au tag to find out more!

TECHNOBLADE / the land of frost and ruins rabbit consorts, derse dreamer

so! techno! breaking his land down into parts, i’ve given techno frost as a callback to SMP earth, and the kingdom of antarctica! he’s got a very cold world, with most of the structures covered in spires of ice. ruins was built to play off of the idea that minecraft is a post-apocalypse game, so techno’s land ended up being a world that used to be populated on the surface, but froze over. his consorts are rabbits who build warrens under the ice and populate the ruins! his land is very isolated and lonely, and requires a lot of solo grinding in order to get anywhere under the ice, which i thought would be fitting for his playstyle.

PHILZA / the land of ash and frogs frog consorts, prospit dreamer phil had half of his land decided for me- as the space player, it was always going to be the land of [x] and frogs. i chose ash for him as a middle ground between how i think of phil’s current hardcore world, which i mostly associate with the nether, and his hardcore series 2 world, which i mostly associated with the desert. i’m imagining a lot of big and empty space, with a near-constant downfall of ash reminiscent of the basalt deltas in the 1.16 nether, just. filled to the fucking brim with frogs. there are frogs everywhere. please god help this man

WILBUR SOOT / the land of rivers and pulse salmon consorts, derse dreamer i had a lot of fun designing wilbur’s land! i’ve always thought it was interesting when the lands interact more with the players, which is what pulse refers to. his land is covered in a network of rivers that glow from within, the water levels and light shifting and changing in time with wilbur’s pulse. when he gets emotional, his pulse changes, and his land changes to reflect that, which i thought would be really interesting with a rage player!

(also haha wilbur fucked a salmon)

NIKI / the land of flowers and slumber bird consorts, prospit dreamer niki’s land is actually based off of the wizard of oz! she’s associated fairly heavily with flowers, especially now that she and puffy have a flower shop, so her land is just covered in these great vast fields filled with flowers. but, like in the wizard of oz, it’s easy to fall asleep there- and stay asleep. niki, as a breath player, has an easier time navigating it than most, but for how pretty and charming it is, it’s probably one of the most dangerous lands on this list. her quest is about waking up the consorts to free them!

ERET / the land of glass and depth dolphin consorts, dual dreamer eret’s land is, for the most part, underwater! his house is on a little spire surrounded by ocean, similar to dirk’s house in the original comic. there are odd glass structures under the water, and there’s a lot of vibrant colors and life that he can just barely see from the surface. the only problem is that he’s got no way to get down there! his quest is about figuring out how to contact his consorts and how to navigate the world without, like, drowning.

TUBBO / the land of tunnels and hives bee consorts, prospit dreamer tubbo :D tubbo’s land is actually mostly hollow! it’s build like a giant beehive filled with smaller beehives. it’s fairly labyrinthine in nature, with lots of interconnected loops and twisting tunnels similar to how caves generate in minecraft, and he has to be careful not to accidentally wander into a hive and bother the consorts lest they get angry and try to sting them! he has the hardest time getting to his gates, because his house doesn’t spawn on the surface- it spawns inside the tunnels, meaning he has to find his way out before anything else.

TOMMY / the land of discs and shade crocodile consorts, derse dreamers tommy’s land was, of course, inspired by what started smp wars in the first place- the discs! also drawing from lohac and lowas in canon, it’s a relatively open world with lots of large flat surfaces- the discs! they form plains and cliffs that need to be climbed between, and can be quite precarious to walk on. it’s also relatively dark- there’s no natural light sources aside from tommy’s house, which stands out like a beacon compared to the rest of the land. his land is also where the scratch device is!

FUNDY / the land of chaos and circuits ??? consorts, dual dreamer SO. locac. fundy’s land takes on the appearance of a large circuitboard, stretching in rainbow colors as far as the eye can see. he has yet to find any actual consorts, but he’s also been a little busy dealing with RNG. similarly to his RNG difficulty in minecraft, fundy’s land has the inherent aspect of chaos built into it, randomizing the effects of every action he takes. his quest is... actually kind of vague and confusing, much like most of the things about locac. it does help him learn how the fabric of SBURB works, though, because locac is the only land that’s malleable in this way!

DREAM / the land of caves and fog spider consorts, derse dreamer the land of caves and fog was inspired by the manhunts! the entire surface of the planet is littered with cave openings- some of them are tiny, barely big enough to hide in, and others are huge and sprawl beneath the planet’s surce! the further into the caves you go, the less foggy it gets, but the spider consorts aren’t exactly friendly and you’re gaining visibility as you lose safety. i wanted dream’s land to call back to the way he just sort of... vanishes, bringing the literal aspect of fog to it.

GEORGE / the land of mirrors and bridges salamander consorts, prospit dreamer so i’ve already talked about george’s land a bit in my fic, which you can read here! lomab was intended to be a little bit ironic in nature- the witch of void, georgenotfound, surrounded by things that make him see himself. his quest, and ultimately his Choice, are all about balance- about acknowledging the lines between isolation and being perceived, and finding a good middle ground between those two things. the land itself is lots of chasms with bridges going over them- stone bridges, rope bridges, wooden bridges, you name it, and there’s thousands of mirrors in various sizes scattered across the surface.

SAPNAP / the land of flame and bone bat consorts, prospit dreamer sapnap’s land is, effectively, the nether! lots of fire, lots of giant fuckoff fossils that are big enough to use as the basis for consort cities! it’s fairly dangerous at first, until they manage to alchemize a fire extinguishing system to put sapnap out whenever he inevitably catches on fire again. i haven’t thought his quest out too much- i wanted his land to tie into his aspect (doom), so i thought it would be quite poetic to imply that once there were creatures who lived there, before the game, and now it’s just ruination.

BADBOYHALO / the land of blades and string mouse consorts, derse dreamer badboyhalo’s land is, effectively, a giant quilt. hundreds of thousands of strings woven together create a net overtop of what is, essentially, the void, strung up using massive blades that were inspired by his knife-throwing! the land is all about risk and reward- step wrong and the strings might cut, but cut the strings on purpose and you’ll change the landscape in a way that benefits you. it appeals to bad’s sense of caution, but forces him to take risks to complete his quest and get the rewards!

and that’s it! some human lands. i hope you enjoy this. if you have questions please god send me asks

[bolddeducktionneverfails]

Launchpad’s Association with Della Duck: A Secret Agenda?

When it comes to working for the McDuck family, I don’t think LP’s just along for the ride. He certainly can't be in it for the pay: in the old show, Scrooge pays him pennies an hour. If that's still true, why on earth would LP bother sticking around? That isn't enough money to sustain him. (But then again, Scrooge stated “Every dent is coming out of your salary!” which ultimately causes him to work for nothing...still though.) I’m sure he wanted to befriend Scrooge in the process since he wants to be friends with everyone and possibly because he wanted to take the opportunity to work for someone so important, but maybe he’s also hoping for an exchange of information. The main reason why he could be working for Scrooge might be to find out what happened to Della. If anyone has an idea, it’d be Scrooge.

When the reboot opens up, we find out that LP just started working for Scrooge. He was really eager to talk about the aviation aspect of his life. His mentions of being a pilot could have been him seeing if he could carefully segue into asking Scrooge about Della. (Because bad things do happen to those who speak of her.) He was low-key trying to motivate Scrooge to come out of retirement so he could go on an adventure with him. Maybe he’s hoping that one of Scrooge’s adventures could possibly lead him to her or he wants to stay close to the family in case anything important leaks out.

Launchpad could be playing dumb (to an extent) so no one will suspect anything and to remain on Scrooge’s good side.

Launchpad has access to the mansion and he’s just roaming around the place. Does he live there? He just so happens to be behind the door whenever the word “pilot” is mentioned. Was he eavesdropping?

In the pilot episode of Darkwing Duck, “Darkly Dawns the Duck”, LP mentions having a scrapbook of newspaper clippings. Frank Angones confirmed on his Tumblr that this will still be relevant in the reboot. When Scrooge goes to look at his diving outfit, he walks past an old ripped up newspaper with a headline that alluded to Della’s disappearance. It’s likely that LP could have his own copy of the same article in his scrapbook with who knows what else.

Della and Launchpad definitely could have known each other, they’re both from well-known families with aviation relations: LP from The Flying McQuack stunt pilots (assuming this will be carried on into the reboot) and Della piloting for The Richest Duck in The World.  Della may have been his friend from flight school or their paths just so happen to cross one day and a friendship formed from that. Launchpad was probably a fan of hers; he was probably a fan of the McDuck’s in general with their globe-trotting and whatnot. Heck, Della could have been a fan of his family. For all we know, they may have inspired her to become a pilot️! The more active you are in your field, the more people you’ll meet within that field.

Why are Della and Launchpad matching? No, they’re not straight up matching but they're both pilots wearing brown and green.That doesn't automatically mean that they have a connection, but sometimes in art, it can signify importance.  One could argue that they have these colors because they’re pilots, but judging by characters like Baloo, Ripcord, Loopy and Gadget, it doesn't seem to be a requirement to wear them.

Tᴏᴘ, Lᴇғᴛ ᴛᴏ R��ɢʜᴛ: Tʜᴇ TᴀʟᴇSᴘɪɴ ᴠᴇʀsɪᴏɴ ᴏғ Bᴀʟᴏᴏ ᴀɴᴅ Gᴀᴅɢᴇᴛ Hᴀᴄᴋᴡʀᴇɴᴄʜ ғʀᴏᴍ Cʜɪᴘ ᴀɴᴅ Dᴀʟᴇ : Rᴇsᴄᴜᴇ Rᴀɴɢᴇʀs.

Bᴏᴛᴛᴏᴍ, Lᴇғᴛ ᴛᴏ Rɪɢʜᴛ: Lᴀᴜɴᴄʜᴘᴀᴅ’s ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ; Rɪᴘᴄᴏʀᴅ MᴄQᴜᴀᴄᴋ, LP ᴏғ ᴄᴏᴜʀsᴇ, Bɪʀᴅɪᴇ MᴄQᴜᴀᴄᴋ ᴀɴᴅ Lᴏᴏᴘʏ MᴄQᴜᴀᴄᴋ.

Only Baloo has been confirmed for the reboot (not explicitly, but c’mon, you can’t have Cape Suzette without Baloo), but I think it’s safe to say that whenever any of these characters will show up, they’re not going to lose their signature colors. That breaks the rules of the character designs they’re going for. This show likes to update old characters while still retaining key features. (Like Webby for example, she has an indigo vest and a purple skirt now, but she still has pink articles of clothing.) Brown is very common when it comes to what pilots wear, but those shades of green? Whenever green is incorporated in aviator outfits, they’re usually in much duller shades and sometimes boarder-lining brown.

At first, I thought their colors were some kinda indicator of the flight school they went to, but I later began to doubt that. Their outfits probably aren't something that a school would enforce anyway, they’re a little too casual; Della’s wearing shorts and LP’s even more so with his t-shirt and cap.

I also thought maybe what Della is wearing in the reboot was a reference to her pilot outfit in the “80 is prachtig”/”Family Ties” comic that the show-runners drew inspiration from for her character. I took another look at it and the design is completely different from what Reboot!Della wears. Green and brown are present, but overall, the design of it isn’t strong enough to make a good comparison.

In “Woo-oo!”, Della is depicted in an outfit closer to what LP used to wear in the old series, but in other depictions, her outfit falls more in line with what Reboot!LP wears when he's adventuring.

Nᴏᴛᴇ: Tʜᴇ ᴘɪᴄᴛᴜʀᴇᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴘ ʀɪɢʜᴛ ᴡᴀs ᴅᴀʀᴋᴇʀ ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴛʜɪs ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ ᴏғ ɪᴛ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ʜɪᴅᴅᴇɴ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ɢᴀʀᴀɢᴇ. I ᴀʟᴛᴇʀᴇᴅ ɪᴛ ᴀ ʙɪᴛ ᴛᴏ ɢɪᴠᴇ ᴀɴ ɪᴅᴇᴀ ᴏғ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪᴛ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʟᴏᴏᴋ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪɴ ɴᴏʀᴍᴀʟ ʟɪɢʜᴛɪɴɢ.

Tʜᴇ ᴘɪᴄᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏᴛᴛᴏᴍ ʀɪɢʜᴛ ɪs ғʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴍɪᴄ “Oʟᴅ Mᴏɴᴛᴇᴘʟᴜᴍᴀɢᴇ Hᴀᴅ A Cʜɪᴄᴋᴇɴ!” ɪɴ Issᴜᴇ #2 ᴏғ IDW’s DᴜᴄᴋTᴀʟᴇs sᴇʀɪᴇs

Della’s scarf is often a shade of blue-green and LP’s hat falls in that spectrum. Blue-green is the dominant color in Della’s dedication room (and the dining room where she shoved Donald’s head into a cake, lol). LP was mainly wearing a shade this color and other various shades of green in “The Impossible Summit of Mt. Neverrest”.

Launchpad’s standard wardrobe has never had the color green or blue-green in it until the reboot. (As far as I know, anyway.) He had a light-green scarf in Fabian Mense’s concept art and now he wears two green articles of clothing. LP completely loses the color green when he’s a chauffeur. Based on the covers for the new DT comics and other early promotional material, it’s suggested that he was originally going to wear his chauffeur outfit consistently no matter what task he was doing. Somewhere later in production, it was decided for him to have two separate outfits.

Tᴏᴘ, Lᴇғᴛ ᴛᴏ Rɪɢʜᴛ: Fʀᴏᴍ ᴏɴᴇ ᴏғ 2ᴠᴇɪɴᴛᴇ’s ᴘʀᴏᴍᴏs, ᴘᴀʀᴛ ᴏғ Cᴏᴠᴇʀ B ғᴏʀ Issᴜᴇ #4, ᴀɴᴅ ᴘᴀʀᴛ ᴏғ Cᴏᴠᴇʀ B ғᴏʀ Issᴜᴇ #5.

Bᴏᴛᴛᴏᴍ, Lᴇғᴛ ᴛᴏ Rɪɢʜᴛ: A sᴄʀᴇᴇɴsʜᴏᴛ ғʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ Dᴜᴄᴋʙᴜʀɢ Qᴜᴇsᴛ ᴍᴏʙɪʟᴇ ɢᴀᴍᴇ, ғʀᴏᴍ ᴀɴ ᴇᴀʀʟʏ ᴘɪᴇᴄᴇ ᴏғ ᴘʀᴏᴍᴏ ᴀʀᴛ.

Della and Launchpad’s outfits seem to suggest that they’re very in-tune with each other. This is looking a little too close to purely be a designing coincidence...

So...they’re both pilots, they have a good chance of knowing who the other is, it’s very likely they were friends and they’re sporting similar colors. With all these similarities, factors and connectedness going on, one can’t help but wonder…

Could Launchpad…

...actually be…

....the long-lost father of the triplets?!

(Yes, I'm going THERE! And yes, I know, but here me out.)

I mean, with all this talk of mom, it’s only a matter of time before there’s talk about dad, right? LP and Della are oddly connected from the get-go. In “Woo-oo!”, the pilot episode, Launchpad, a pilot, constantly states “I’m a pilot!I’m a pilot!I’m a pilot!” and what do we find out at the end of the two-parter? HDL’s mom is a pilot. Like...what’s with all this pilotception? I’m having a hard time believing that the show-runners would set something up like this for it to go nowhere️.

We still don’t know too much about Launchpad. He has this mysterious background that the characters aren't really paying attention to; especially Scrooge. He constantly ignores LP every time he tries to talk to him about his life.

It seems to be implied that he was a world traveler before he started working for Scrooge. He claims that the road is his office and he has the ability to speak other languages. (How well he’s able to speak them isn’t exactly certain. He suddenly spoke in Swedish when Webby was trying to lie to her grandmother and he probably knows Chinese as well.)

It’s been confirmed that the old episode, “Double O Duck” will be reworked into this show, and depending on how the crew plans on using its story elements, he could have been or could still be a spy! Back in the 90’s there was a Disneyland live show called “Plane Crazy” that involved Launchpad along with a few other Disney Afternoon characters being recruited by the FBI to retrieve a stole spy jet. There’s another secret agent connection right there! The show-runners aren't just pulling from the comics and the previous show, there’s a good possibility that they could use something like this as a source. (I mean, they made something as obscure as a Toontown Online reference! Almost anything is possible!)

No one expects much from Launchpad McQuack. People think he’s just this stupid comic relief guy who keeps crashing planes everywhere. The Macau trip proved that there’s more to him than what he seems. LP is an outsider with a ton of connections.This won’t be the first time he surprises us.

If he’s the father, why does he not remember his children? At first I was thinking that maybe some mind-wiping might have come into play. (How far is Scrooge willing to go to cover up Della’s existence? What the heck happened to the mailman?!) It would explain his odd behavior and why he’s so unfocused, but now I’m leaning more towards an event in the past that could have prevented him from returning to his family.

He could have gone missing himself, he probably didn't even know Della was pregnant during his absence. Maybe he had a severe injury that kept him sidelined. (No one has ever died during LP’s crashes, but has anyone ever gotten hurt?) LP is already a clumsy-accident prone character who always ends up getting in some sort of dangerous incident. In the episodes we've seen so far, something always ends up impairing him during the adventures.

                       Let’s check the hit counter:

Bitten up by snakes

Falling off a mountain

Freaking out about ice fever

Several arrows to the back

He had an eye-patch in that same episode, so he possibly sustained an eye injury

Crashing into a wall

Getting paranoid about mole monsters

He’s also apparently sunk a helicopter in a wave pool once

Tʜᴇ Iɴsᴛᴀɢʀᴀᴍ ᴅᴇsᴄʀɪᴘᴛɪᴏɴ ɪs ғʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜɪs ᴘᴏsᴛ. Iᴛ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ʀᴇғᴇʀʀɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴍᴏᴜɴᴛ ᴏғ ᴛɪᴍᴇs ᴛʜᴇ ᴠɪᴅᴇᴏ ᴡɪʟʟ ʟᴏᴏᴘ ʀᴀᴛʜᴇʀ ᴛʜᴀɴ Lᴀᴜɴᴄʜᴘᴀᴅ ᴄᴏɴsᴛᴀɴᴛʟʏ ʜᴀᴠɪɴɢ ᴛʜɪɴɢs ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴ ᴛᴏ ʜɪᴍ, ʙᴜᴛ sᴛɪʟʟ.

In HDL’s original comic debut, their mom leaves Donald a letter, mentioning their father being hospitalized due to a firecracker exploding under his chair. Doesn't sound too far off from some kind of crazy thing that could have happen to Launchpad. 

[Note: Della originally started out as Donald’s cousin.]

Sky Pirates exist in this universe due to Talespin, maybe they raided his plane and kidnapped him. If he’s a spy, he could have been called out on a long mission. Launchpad could have also been in the military. I've seen comments when some viewers were speculating that LP might be suffering from PTSD due to how badly he reacted in “Terror of the Terrifirmians!”. The oldest illustration of the triplets’ father (WHY did they give him human ears?! ARRHG!) depicts him having a buzz cut hairstyle. This could be suggesting he was a soldier. Launchpad did army crawl in “The Impossible Summit of Mt. Neverrest!”, and there was a scene where he was acting like a drill sergeant in “The Living Mummies of Toth-Ra!”. Heh, I guess that could be another explanation to why he’s wearing green.  (LP just strikes me as a character who has had multiple occupations in the past.) 

[Note: Della was previously called “Thelma” and “Dumbella” before her name was finalized.]

If he’s the father, how could Donald and Scrooge not know who he is️? I really don’t think they would know...Della probably didn't properly introduce them to him. This could have been due to his possible disappearance. He could have been really busy due to whatever job he had at the time or maybe she was afraid to tell them who he was because they could have thought poorly of him. (He probably was notorious for his constant crashing around.) I have a bit of a feeling that Della kept certain important things in secret; her love-life probably being one of those things (And the possibility that she was working with Magica). I’m sure Scrooge could care less about who Della’s dating, he just needs her to be available for adventures.

Now with Donald, I dunno. In the “80 is prachtig”/”Family Ties” comic, Della just randomly shows up at Donald’s door with the triplets. He had just returned from the navy and he didn't even know she had children. Why wouldn't she tell Donald? It feels so weird for someone as close as your twin sister to lose contact like that. (Really? No letters? No telegrams or whatever means of long-distance communication that existed in that time frame?)

D’oh geez...what if Donald knew or had a feeling but saw Launchpad unfit to take care of the boys?  He already isn't very fond of LP for mishandling his damaged houseboat. I just wanna see Donald show a general annoyance towards Launchpad regardless of it having anything to do with Della. LP’s character was basically created to r̶e̶p̶l̶a̶c̶e̶ help fill the void Donald left behind in the old series after he went off to the navy. It would be entertaining to see something meta like that.

Towards the end of “Woo-oo!” where Scrooge instructs HDL not to tell their Uncle Donald about going to Atlantis, Launchpad says “Wait, who is that?” This could suggest that he doesn't know who Donald is, but it’s possible that it was the “Uncle” part that threw him off. Donald wasn't an uncle 10+ years ago, so maybe he thought Scrooge was referring to another relative. It’s also possible that LP wasn't paying attention during Scrooge and Donald’s exchange in the earlier part of the special. Depending on how far the spy element will be worked into his character, he could also be pretending he doesn't know who Donald is so his cover won’t be blown. (Would Della not tell Launchpad about her brother? If so... why?)

If the relationship Launchpad and Della have is a romantic one, I don’t think the show runners are going to be quick to confirm it. Frank Angones stated that this show isn't about romantic relationships. That doesn't mean that there won’t be any romance, but it’s main focus will be on the platonic relationships that go on in a family. Discovering who both of HDL’s parents are fits perfectly with the family theme of the show, but we probably won’t see this get addressed until maybe the third season or the end of the show in the fourth season. (Disney has a rule about how their shows can’t exceed four seasons.) The relationships of the main cast needs to be established first before a surprise element like this can be thrown into the mix.

While it may take a long time for their connection to be addressed, I believe there may already be hints to insure that this is happening. In my next post, I'll be discussing some other interesting things I've noticed and what they could mean.

Are you up for more reading? Continue here.

[nightingveilxo]

Not The Real Molly

First off, I will say part of this was originally an add-on to this post. So, you can read the portions from other contributors, then switch to this one for what I added, as well as newer items.

The person wondered why Molly was looking directly at the camera, breaking the fourth wall like John and Sherlock. Mary looking at Molly was an additional item of question. But, if Molly is under Mary’s control or Molly isn’t as she appears to be…?

As stated by others in the first meta, Molly wears the same colors as Eurus (via the sweater she wore as a John mirror in S3), and they have the same bracelet.

There is also the red in her hair, during TLD. Although a different shade than that of “E” or Amanda’s red wig, it’s still a bit different than her norm. Maybe just a mood-changer, since it’s brown at the beginning of T6T, and then darker toward the end of that episode. This isn’t conclusive evidence, just another thing that seems possibly off about her role.

There is also the fact we still never saw the footage where she is wearing the wig to make her look like Sherlock, and a shirt that looks like something John would wear (though in the tweet, she only references Sherlock). Odd, since that was her last day on set. If she posed as Sherlock to John though, and vice versa, then it makes more sense.

Meanwhile, almost everyone else in S4 is wearing blue, but not Molly...

The Woman In Green

Based on Conan Doyle's The Adventure of the Empty House, this "Sherlock Holmes" entry finds Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) trying to solve the case of the "Finger Murders"...Though it isn't sporting to reveal Moriarty's nefarious scheme here, it can be noted that The Woman in Green comes to a nailbiting conclusion as a hypnotized Holmes wanders precariously along the ledge of a penthouse! ( x ) (This is the film where water is used as a mirror, and a means to hypnotize people.)

Inside the empty house Watson, looking through the window, believes that he sees a sniper shoot Holmes in his apartment. Holmes then appears at the house and explains that he put a bust of Julius Caesar there because of the bust's resemblance to his own face (Holmes realized that as soon as he sat there, Moriarty would have him killed). Inspector Gregson takes the sniper, a hypnotized ex-soldier, away, but the sniper is later killed on Holmes's doorstep.

Holmes now realizes that Moriarty's plan involves:

1) killing women and cutting off their forefingers, 2) making rich, single men believe they have committed the crime, 3) using this fake information to blackmail them, and 4) counting on the victims being too terrified to expose the scheme.

If we’re still in S2 or Molly is under Mary’s control, until Mary dies in T6T (possibly shot by John), this works. It just means she ends up with a new part.

Moving on...

Molly was aware of everything, when the others in the background weren’t.

She flat out says so in TLD…

Sherlock: Yeah but, to be fair, you work with murder victims. They tend to be quite young. Molly: Not funny. Sherlock: Little bit funny. Molly: If you keep taking what you’re taking at the rate you’re taking it, you’ve got weeks. Sherlock: Exactly, weeks. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Molly: For Christ’s sake, Sherlock, it’s not a game! Sherlock: I’m worried about you, Molly. You seem very stressed. Molly: I’m stressed; you’re dying. Sherlock: Yeah, well, I’m ahead, then. Stress can ruin every day of your life. Dying can only ruin one. John: So this is real? You’ve really lost it. You’re actually out of control. Sherlock: When have I ever been that? John: Since the day I met you. Sherlock: Oh, clever boy. I’ve missed you fumbling ’round the place. John: I thought this was some kind of … Sherlock: What? John: … trick. Sherlock: ’Course it’s not a trick. It’s a plan. (True, but not quite the one Sherlock implies.)

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One of the first things that bugged me about the flashbacks in TFP. As a child, Eurus Holmes has brown eyes, except when she is lighting the match. If it’s Molly, it makes more sense than just John’s imagining it all, without a basis. True, Eurus dyes her hair, and could be wearing contacts to make her eyes blue in TFP, but oh wait…She took the brown contacts out during TLD, so it’s not that.

And, Eurus says she wasn’t going to kill her, but look at the way it happens…

Eurus: This is an experiment.  There will be rigour.  Sherlock, pick up the gun. It’s your turn next.

Rewind briefly, to Sherlock pointing out to Molly in TLD that she works with murder victims. So, it’s that kind of rigour/rigor mortis.

Then, despite what Eurus said about the whole series of events in TFP, Molly says differently…

Sherlock: Molly, this is for a case. It’s … it’s a sort of experiment. Molly: I’m not an experiment, Sherlock.

Fast forward…

Eurus: Saved her? From what? Oh, do be sensible. There were no explosives in her little house. Why would I be so clumsy? You didn’t win. You lost.

So, is it a game or not? I would say no, but it is playing.

I theorized in this piece yesterday, that women of ‘eligible age’ became all one person in S4, because of someone trying to reason out of Sherlock and John being a couple. At least, until the woman in question either fulfills her role in the scenario (then suddenly vanishes) or the mirror of one of the men, does. It never happens to Mrs. Hudson, because she is a mother-figure, and she has her own role to play.

It always puzzled me that a character meant to only be in one episode, made it through all four seasons. Yes, Molly is likeable. But, what appeared to happen to her in TFP, was awful. If it’s not really Molly though, then it’s understandable why at the end of TFP, she is happy as a clam in the montage. Mary is gone, and the ill-fated phone call never actually happened. 

Molly or Moriarty...

The Adventures of Shirley Holmes (1997-2000)--the series follows the life of Shirley Holmes, the great-grandniece of Sherlock Holmes who, with the help of ex-gang member Bo Sawchuk, tackles a variety of mysteries in and around the fictional Canadian city of Redington. On some occasions, she found herself matching wits with nemesis Molly Hardy (whose name is a word play on Sherlock Holmes' archenemy Professor Moriarty).

A nod to Rathbone, and possibly The Woman in Green.