#he even watches for watson's reaction. and i adore that little look they share at the end

[usalock]

This sort of case would have interested our old friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Yes, indeed.

#granada holmes #inspector lestrade #john watson #granadaedit #i like this moment a lot. i like lestrade trying to lighten the conversation after bringing up holmes #bc while he's in a place where he can talk about holmes he eventually notices that watson isn't #or at least just doesn't want to be talking about holmes at this precise moment #and so he makes his silly little remark to make watson smile. and i love him for that #bc you know he doesn’t seriously think he’s good enough that it would be unusual for holmes to get the better of him #he knows what he’s saying is ridiculous and he knows watson knows it too #he even watches for watson's reaction. and i adore that little look they share at the end #and i just really like lestrade as someone who doesn't mind making a small joke at his own expense if it means cheering up a friend #thank you colin jeavons and edward hardwicke 🫶🏽 #lestrade #sh #i also like lestrade talking about holmes at all because of course he does. of course he still thinks about him #they both miss him they’re both remembering him fondly in this moment #mine

[shyrose57]

Brothers anon, it makes me really happy and comforts me that you enjoy reading what I submit. It makes me really happy to write all of this and finally be able to tell someone my ideas. Thank you so much.

At first he kept trying to deny the father figure role, but when one night Jackie had a nightmare and came to him and ended up calling him dad, he stopped denying it and accepted it. And once he accepted it he did basically adopt all of them. Jackie and Grievous are literally chaos incarnate most days. They regularly love to prank the contestants and just act insane. Ran and Jackie just kind of hang around eachother, like Ran could be reading and Jackie training and they'd enjoy eachothers company. They do sometimes nap next to eachother, or play card games (which is a rare instance where Ran gets (playfully) rilled up and competitive). Grievous and Ran bonding sadly gets interrupted when Ranbob suddenly drops in, but before that Grievous would try to talk to Ran about what book he's reading and just try to make conversation with him.

Oh the height difference definitely remains. And its both terrifying and hailours to new people. It's even better when it's a 2v2 fight because Jackie has a habit of just climbing Ran like a monkey gym and sitting on his shoulders and its terrifying.

Well, since the drinking age is 3, I personally think the age limit is like 14 or something close. I believe I made their ages as Ran is 19 (almost 20. Maybe 4 months away), Jackie is 16, Watson is 30 something, Grievous is 22, and Ranbob is 28 (Ran is younger than his brother by 9 years) I have written down all their ages somewhere (and the ages where the events of Mizu took place) and if I got any wrong I will submit another ask with their ages. The other gladiators have managed to keep good relationships with most of eachother. A few like Grievous and Genevieve are close, Edward, Levi, and Watson are drinking buddies. Lagguis sadly isn't as involved cause he is sick and can't vist often at all. (I think I got everyone. Tell me if I missed anyone please, I cant check cause whenever I exit tumblr, tumblr deletes everything in my ask :') )

I dont have many rules for the Pit rn but I do have, no injuries that could cause long term or chronic damage, no sabotaging opponents, no teaming unless its a team round, no blackmail or anything of the sort to force an opponent to forfeit, and in order for a battle to end due to forfeit both sides must agree to it. But the Pit in general is a lot of things, there's fights for money, fame, and positions (like general). There's tournaments meant for nothing other than to show skill and just to fight your heart out. It's open to anyone above 14 and anyone under 80, to people from Subbin to those just passing through.

And there are different battles in the Pit, theres singles, the ones we saw in the Tales of the SMP episode. Teams, where teams of 2 battles against eachother. Free-for-all, where literally everyone fights against eachother. And Ion battles, battles where there are super powered weapons (like flame 2 iron sword. Or strength 3 potions) that spawn in the area at random. Typically Ran and Watson work best toghere, as their strategists and plan everything with back up plans, and they always call out warnings and watch eachothers back so its incredibly hard to actually hit them. And Jackie and Grievous work best toghere, with the two going insane and often taking people by surprise with their unmeasure and randomized movements and attacks.

At the start Ranbob was completely under Dreams thrall, not being able to really think for himself and even foregoing self care. When Ranbob starts to become himself again the fishermen are more than confused and hesitant, with Cletus especially stating multiple times that it may just be a trick. So it takes a while but Isaac actually is the one to suggest maybe it isn't a trick, and has to do with the mask that was found. This is later confirmed when the mask is brought to the group and Ranbob has a massive negative reaction that sets him back to how he was when they first met him.

Im honestly not sure yet, I think I want it to be a 'lets never go back' type thing but im not positive yet.

I dont have a solid backstory for the fishermen, but I know I want a little bit of it to tie to the story. Do you have any ideas for their backstory or nah? I do know I want them to have met eachother while they where in unfortunate situations and because of those they got family level close.

Ranbob doesn't take the little space well at first; staying outside when able too, even though that really upset Benjamin; and Ranbob has no idea how the outside works and has no idea how to read the weather or what he can and cant eat, but hey the enderman boi is trying his best to make up for everything he's done. And trying to build his own house to not impose on the fishermen (much like Ranboo did with Techno), but Benjamin wouldn't accept that and kept dragging him inside. It wasn't that hard for Benjamin, Isaac, and Charles to get used to Ranbob, already being used to sharing a small house, it was more Cletus with him refusing to leave Ranbob alone even for a second because he doesn't trust Ranbob at all.

The two groups actually get along surprisingly well! They like eachother and Watson once said, "It was like a family reunion. Or like long lost siblings finally found their way home."

I am once again not sure! Originally I planned for them to stay in Subbin and in the Pit. But the more I think about it the more boring that is and more I like the idea of the groups traveling toghere in the world.

I like this question! So enderman travel in groups called hauntings right? I personally headcanon the enderman in this group are basically family, biological or not. And ever since Ran and Ranbob lost their family they lost their haunting, which can be mentally damaging to a enderman. Once Ran found Waston, Jackie, and Grievous and started hanging around them more, he started feeling a connection ot them he hasn't felt on a long time. He's claimed them, as his haunting, his family. And he'll defend them with his life against anyone and anything. And then suddenly Ranbob came in, a enderman that should be part of his haunting but isn't, a enderman that killed his previous haunting. So Ran is incredibly defensive over his group, and is trying his best to keep Ranbob as far from his haunting as possible, to protect them.

Now Ranbob also got a haunting, his being Charles, Isaac, Benjamin, and even Cletus. So Ranbob is also defensive over his family. But unlike Ran, Ranbob still considers his brother as part of his haunting, his family (and yes, Ranbob did think Ran was dead when he first chased him out years ago, so he's shocked and relieved that his baby brother is still alive). And he sees how his family gets along so well with Rans family and then starts to even consider Rans haunting part of Ranbob's. Basically Ranbob has a big heart and is willing to accept almost anyone into his family, no matter what they've done.

Yep, the reason Porkius is so interested in Ran is because he's an enderman hybrid. And no one else is a hybrid expect for the two brothers (and Porkius, with him being a piglin hybrid).

Porkius is excited! He's excited to see what happens and is more than happy to agree to help as long as he is kept in the loop. Though unless he's directly asked to be involved he prefers watching from a distance at whats happening. Just so he doesn't get mauled by a pissed off enderman.

Sorry for any spelling mistakes (its late) and its so long! Im probably going to try to shorten them.

I’m glad you’re happy, it’s a nice thing to feel. Your ideas are really cool, and I hope I’ll get to see more of them in the future.

Now, can I simply say how adorable so much of this is? Jackie going to Watson when he had a nightmare, the Rans being protective of their groups, Jackie climbing Ran? I love that, it’s very heartwarming and cute, and it made me smile.

So Watson wasn’t really sure what to do with his new title at first, hm? And then Jackie called him dad? How’d he feel about that? How’d Jackie feel about the slip? Or did he even notice? He’s parenting them all, he’s gonna have a dad voice and everything. How do the adopted ones feel about him embracing it?

Jackie and Grievous, two people to truly fear when they wish to cause havoc. Tremble before them. Do they prank people, or do they just become absolute madmen on the battlefield? Or something else. Honestly, anything with these two just instantly makes me amused. 

Jackie and Ran being chill buddies. very nice. Ran getting competitive over card games is a funny thought. Does he win often? Does Jackie? What kind of card games do they play?

Rather sad Ran and Grievous bonding is interrupted, but it’s nice to hear Grievous trying it. Hopefully they’ll get there someday. 

Oh my god, it’s the height difference. Jackie getting on Ran’s shoulder sounds absolutely terrifying. Imagine being some poor new guy pitted against these gremlins and the short ones climbs on the tall ones shoulder-both look absolutely gleeful with the destruction they’re about to wreak, and you already know you cannot outrun them. 

Jackie...Jackie...he’s da youngest. He’s small, and young, and you have no idea how much I’m laughing at this. I don’t even know why, it’s just really, really funny to me. Probably something to do with what a complete force of chaos we all know this boy is. Oddly fitting, but hilarious. How does Jackie feel about this? 

How do the others? Are they a bit more protective over him? Does Ran like to flaunt his three years more over him? 

Grievous and Genevieve are buddies! Very nice, they seem to have a good dynamic. Watson, Edward, and Levi also being close? Very interesting, has a lot of potential. I bet they share a lot of funny stories.

So we’ve established the basics of The Pit. Doesn’t seem too bad, for a fighting arena, to be honest. Seems pretty popular, actually. Do the gladiators live there? In the palace? Or do they just have a house somewhere nearby? What kind of establishments and areas are around? Food places, stores? 

So Ran and Watson are the scariest team because of their strategy, and Jackie and Grievous are the scariest team because of their randomness? It checks out. I’m curious though, how do the other combinations work out?

Ranbob sounds like he has a less than fun time here, and the poor guy could really use some closure. What’s he like, free from the influence of the mask? He seems pretty close to Benjamin, so at least he’s got that going for him. Though he and Cletus don’t seem to have the strongest bond at first. How is that resolved?

And how does Ran feel about his brother’s new haunting, after everything? I imagine that he’s at least a little bit unhappy with it, for one reason or another-and there’s quite a few reasons for him to pick from.

How did that house-building attempt go, between Ran never being above water, and probably never building a house before? I can’t imagine too well.

Some ideas for backstory, well, hm. Isaac seemed dressed a bit fancier than the others, perhaps he comes from a richer family than the others? That’s about all I’ve got for now, sorry. 

It’s nice to hear they got along, who clicks the easiest?

Possible road trip? Always fun.

So, the enderman hybrids have adopted their respective groups as their hauntings. You’ve mentioned Ranbob’s pretty cool with this, how does Ran feel? Obviously, he’s less than pleased with Ranbob, but what about the fishermen? Protective Ran and Ranbob! How protective exactly? Is it subtle, or overbearing at times? Actually, how do their instincts lead to them interacting with their groups overall?

Porkius must not see Ender hybrids too often, if he’s so interested in them. It’s nice that he’s willing to help out though, and his concern is valid. I wouldn’t want an angry enderman hybrid after me either. 

Are hybrids not overly common, then, if there’s only Ran, Ranbob, and Porkius around currently, or are they just not mentioned a lot?

Thanks for the ask, a lot of it made me smile. I enjoyed reading it, and I hope you’ll be willing to send more when you have the time.

#dream smp #Brothers AU #dream smp au #tales from the smp #ranbob #ran #jackie #watson #isaac #charles #benjamin #cletus #grievous #porkius

[ryqoshay]

How to Handle a Nico: Elementary, My Dear Maki-chan

Primary Pairing: NicoMaki Words: ~1.7k Rating: G Time Frame: Later in Maki’s 1st and Nico’s 3rd year of high school Story Arc: Stand Alone

List of all HtHaN scenes

Author’s Note: The first scene, of what will likely be several, inspired by the detective theme of the 36th Score Match in LLSIF, featuring NicoMaki.

Maki gave herself another glance in the changing room mirror. The earthy and brown tones were not as cutesy as most of the other outfits she had worn today, but instead gave off a more formal feel. The stripes on the waistcoat and notch lapels of her jacket looked sharp, or… what was the word Nico had used for the other outfit? Dashing? Also, the darker colors made the red ribbon stand out that much more. The same held true for her hair with the brown hat, which she now donned.

She smiled at her reflection and the full effect of the complete costume. It was supposed to be a detective theme and it was definitely working. Maki felt like she should be running around Victorian London, chasing criminals and seeking clues to solve a mystery. Kotori and the photography company did good work, as always.

Still smiling, Maki left the dressing room and turned down the hallway. She immediately stopped when she noticed someone leaning against the wall.

“Nico-chan?” The first-year inquired.

“Tut tut.” The third-year shook her head. “That’s Nicolock to you.”

“What was that?”

Nico produced what looked like an old-fashioned pipe. “Nicolock Holmes.” She said before putting the end in her mouth. She then blew into the pipe, which released a barrage of bubbles into the air. “No. 1 Detective in the Universe.”

“Sherlock?”

“Nicolock.” The older girl corrected again. “And you must be Makey Watsikino.”

“Watsi… wha?”

“Watsikino.”

“I don’t get it…”

Nico giggled before blowing more bubbles.

Maki shook her head before inspecting the other girl’s costume. The pipe certainly fit with what she knew of Doyle’s character, as did the ulster coat and deerstalker hat. The pink ribbon securing the flaps added a distinctly Nico-nii-esque flare… geez, did she really think of it that way? Anyway, the braids, while having nothing to do with Sherlock or detectives or whatever… Maki couldn’t deny that they were quite cute. Then there was the ego; Nico definitely shared the famed detective’s ego. However, there was one thing that seemed lacking…

“So… why are you Holmes and I’m Watson?” Maki asked.

“<Elementary, my dear Maki-chan.>” Nico stated in English, with her best attempt at a British accent.

Well, that certainly sounded like something Sherlock might say… Still…

“Is it?”

“Of course! Nico is the No. 1 Idol in the Universe, so it only makes sense that she would play the part of the No. 1 Detective in the Universe.”

“Hrm…”

“Hey…” Nico’s eyes narrowed. “Is Maki trying to imply that Nico isn’t smart enough to be Sherlock?”

“Wha?” Maki balked. “No!”

In truth, Maki had actually been wondering about Nico’s deductive reasoning skills, not her intelligence… wait… that kind of had a bit to do with intelligence. But also observation! Nico was capable of being quite perceptive, when she needed to be. And in that light, the same held true for intelligence. She wasn’t an idiot, even if she often acted like one.

“Uhm…” Maki found herself unable to give voice to her thoughts in the face of Nico’s scrutiny.

“Nico would make a fine detective.” Nico declared after a moment. “I’ll prove it! Feed me and I’ll grow, but water me and I’ll die. What am I?”

Maki racked her brain for a moment. She knew she had read the answer to that at some point. So why couldn’t she think of it now?

“When you need me, you throw me away.” Nico continued. “But when you’re done with me, you bring me back. What am I?”

“Wait, you didn’t give me time to answer the first one!”

“There’s a one-story house where everything inside is pink: …”

“Nico-chan owns a house?”

Nico pursed her lips. “Pink walls, pink doors, pink floors, pink ceilings, pink windows, pink curtains, pink chairs and pink tables. What color are the stairs?”

“Those are just riddles, Nico-chan.” Maki said before the other girl started another one. “You just read them in a book somewhere.”

“Isn’t reading how Maki-chan gets a lot of her intelligence?”

“I… uhm…” Maki found she couldn’t refute that.

“And detective stories often have riddles in them.”

“… I suppose.”

“And isn’t there a villain that is always spouting off riddles and such?”

“… Not in Sir Author Conan Doyle’s work… I think?”

“Well, one of them had to have had at least one riddle.”

“I remember a code made with men holding flags or something. Maybe that counts?”

“Ah, Holmes and Watson!” A voice came from behind Maki. “I love it.”

“Hey, Nozomi.” Nico greeted.

Maki turned to see Nozomi and Kotori dressed in military themed outfits similar to the one Maki had worn a little while ago.

“Good choices, Kotori-chan.” The purple-haired girl continued.

“I had a lot of fun researching ideas for this set.” The ash-haired girl replied.

“Maki-chan wants to know why the adorable Nico-nii is the playing the part of the illustrious Sherlock.” The raven-haired girl said. “She doesn’t think Nico is smart enough.”

“That’s not it!” The redhead protested.

Nico stuck out her tongue.

“Actually, I decided to have Maki-chan be Watson first.” Kotori explained. “Because Watson was a doctor.”

“Ah, that makes sense.” Nico nodded. “Maki-chan is going to be the No. 1 Doctor in the Universe after all.”

Maki raised an eyebrow but wasn’t sure what to say in response.

“So Nico is Sherlock because…” Nico prodded.

“Because Watson is often the straight man to Holmes’ eccentricities?” Nozomi suggested.

“Well…” Kotori fidgeted with a part of her costume. “I stumbled across some fics during my research…”

“Fics?” Nico questioned.

Nozomi snickered. “Seems like Kotori-chan thought if Watson was with Holmes, then Maki-chan should be with Nicocchi.”

“Of cour…” Nico cut off. “Wait, just what kind of fics were you reading Kotori?”

“Oh, that’s the photographer calling.” Kotori looked past the other girls before scurrying off.

“I don’t get it.” Maki spoke up. “Does she think Nico-chan and I would be good at solving crimes together or something?”

Nozomi laughed. “No, Maki-chan, she…”

Nico growled in warning.

“Anyway,” Nozomi shifted gears “Nicocchi’s voice also sounds kind of like one of the girls from that detective anime that came out a few years ago…” She paused in thought for a moment. “But wasn’t that character based off a different detective…? Nero…?”

“Nero Wolfe?” Maki suggested.

“Yes, that one.”

“No, that won’t do.” Nico shook her head. “If Maki-chan is Watson, then Nico is Sherlock. That much is obv… <It’s elementary.>” She corrected by repeating her earlier phrase.

“Well…” Nozomi smiled. “I suppose there are a few mysteries when it comes to you two.”

“There’s no mystery!” Nico suddenly grinned. “Maki-chan is the best partner for Nico-nii!” She turned and glomped onto her junior.

“Buweeh?!” Maki uttered.

“It’s a brilliant solution!”

Nozomi laughed before turning as though hearing something. “Oh, that really was the photographer…” She said before wandering off to join Kotori.

“And we have our own shoot to make.” Nico said, letting go of the younger girl. “<Come, Maki-chan, the game is afoot!>”

“A-alright…” Maki replied.

As her senior took her hand and began to lead her down the hall, Maki found herself thinking. Who was right, Nico or Nozomi? Was there a mystery or a brilliant solution? Certainly, there were many things that Maki thought about when it came to her time and interactions with Nico. But… what was that line Doyle had Sherlock use? Something about impossible and truth and improbable…

When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. That was the one. And the truth was that Maki enjoyed her time with Nico, despite, or perhaps sometimes because of their silly spats. Despite, and again perhaps sometimes because of Nico’s bratty behavior. The Maki of just a few months ago might have thought such a situation was impossible, and even now, Maki often considered it improbable. But truth it was all the same.

Maki felt the pang of something that was slowly becoming familiar as Nico let go of her hand when the two reached the set. However, it was quickly replaced with a different, warmer sensation as she watched Nico cheerfully greet the photographer and assistant. Nico was in her element and Maki couldn’t help being fascinated by watching her.

A smile came to Maki’s lips in response to the broad one being displayed by the older girl. When Nico’s smile was genuine, as it was now, it was contagious. She wasn’t forcing her smile through her idol persona. Well, she had just done her Nico-nii thing, but that was practically a ubiquitous gesture for pretty much every situation. But it was obvious Nico was honestly thrilled to be in the photoshoot. And maybe, perhaps, she was actually happy to be paired with Maki for this part, and not just faking it to get a reaction.

Maki watched as Nico enthusiastically obeyed the instructions from the photographer for a specific pose. She then suggested her own, which was accepted and shot. This was one of the sides of Nico that Maki admired. The Nico who put forth an honest effort to be the idol she dreamed of being. The Nico with no fear or embarrassment in front of the camera. The Nico who cute just by being herself.

Maybe… just as Watson found something he admired and respected in Holmes, so too had Maki found something in Nico. Just as Watson put up with the eccentricities of Holmes, so too did Maki deal with Nico’s. Just as Watson followed Holmes on his adventures, so too did Maki often follow Nico. And just as Watson was the best partner for Holmes… perhaps… just maybe… Maki really was the best partner for Nico?

Nico-chan’s partner… That… wasn’t a completely unappealing concept…

“Maki-chan!”

“Huh?” Maki blinked back to reality.

“Your turn!” Nico skipped over. “Hey, once you’ve taken a few, we should do a couple together!”

“I thought we were all basically separate for this set?”

“Well, yeah, for the magazine, sure.” Nico shrugged. “But we should take a few for fun as well! Watson and Holmes make a good pair and so do we! We definitely need to have a picture together!”

“Alright, alright.” Maki replied, moving in front of the green screen.

Maki smiled and posed as the photographer instructed. However, her smile grew when, after a dozen shots or so, Nico jumped in and grabbed her arm. At least for today, she knew she was happy to play Watson to Nico’s Holmes.

Author’s Note Continued: By the gods, I love these costumes. I can’t wait to add them to my teams, see their pop-ups, listen to their home screen quotes and read their side stories.

As mentioned above, I’d like to write another scene or two that includes these costumes or references them in some way. And thanks to a convo with myonmukyuu concerning an adorable piece she posted recently, I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do with the next scene.

Also, at least for now, I am presenting both Nico and Maki as not being incredibly familiar with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s works. Maki may have read a mystery or two of his for a class and either may have seen a Sherlock movie. They know some quotes and general themes, but I don’t currently headcanon either as being mystery buffs.

This headcanon may change should I come across anime-canon-compliant material that says one or both does like Sherlock and/or mysteries. Maybe such a detail will be revealed in the side stories for these cards. If anyone playing the JP version is willing to fill me in early, before these cards hit WW, I’d be quite grateful. And in the light of such information, I may decided to come back and retcon a few things in this scene.

In the meantime, I’m probably going to keep putting off the scene for their new UR pair so I can write another scene for this set.

Edit: I’m not entirely sure where exactly I want this in the timeline. Thus, for now I’m just putting it after Pool Cleaning, such that it might be a continuation of that photohshoot. Not the same day, but maybe that particular photoshoot could end up being a multi-day event? That could open the door to some other ideas and scenes I could add later.

Cards Referenced:

#NicoMaki #Nishikino Maki #Yazawa Nico #How to Handle a Nico #Love Live #fanfic

[abadpoetwithdreams]

Nirvana in Fire Episode 9 Reaction

In just one week I will be taking to the skies yet again, this time to go visit my dear friend ewokshootsfirst for two weeks! So as of this typing I hope to finish this reaction post before I depart, since I do not expect to get any writing done while I am away, but if I don't manage that feat then, um, sorry, and I guess you are reading this in early February instead of mid-January. (Note: GUESS WHAT it's February I literally resumed watching this ep as SOON as I was back in the US and dramafever stopped blocking my videos (I found out even saved-for-offline-viewing videos are unwatchable overseas the hard way, lol). I did write about half of this before my trip, but the rest is post. While very jetlagged.)

Episode nine begins with a focus on a sign that apparently reads Su Residence hanging over a doorway, so this is our cue that Mei Chang Su has, indeed, moved out of the Snow Cottage. Ironically, his new manor is covered with literal snow, as the fall from Jing Rui's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Night has evidently not slowed, but never mind that. I hate that now whenever I see snow falling at night my first thought will be good time for a murder, btw. Thanks, Nirvana in Fire.

There are lots of workers bustling around carrying furniture and sweeping and mending things and doing other busy moving-house work, and in the midst of them in the middle of a snowy courtyard Fei Liu is building a snowman. Or at least he is piling snow up in a shape that might turn into a snowman. Maybe he is building a SnowMeng to destroy. Su is watching him fondly from beneath a sheltering jut of roof. When a man (might be Li Gang, hard to tell from this distance) tells Su he should go inside, because it is too cold for him out of doors (he looks very bundled up in this scene), he says okay and then immediately is like FEI LIU THROW ME A SNOWBALL which is the exact opposite thing to what he just agreed to, sighhhh. So he starts playing catch with Fei Liu in the snow, and it would be adorable because he looks so giddy and happy, but I'm with his household on this one, GET INSIDE AND GET WARM, MCS. Why do even the cute things on this hell show just make me sad??? A woman also scolds him and tells him to go inside (and again he says okay and doesn't budge, behold Actual Child Lin Shu, ladies and gentlemen), but then a fellow named Doctor Yan shows up, and he looks Serious. All it takes is a harrumph from the imposing-looking doctor, and Su guiltily, reluctantly, retreats indoors. This is an oddly charming scene, but of course in typical NiF fashion it's also terribly sad, because it isn't fair, our hero should be able to play in the snow and enjoy the chill air, and it's yet another reminder of how he is caged: in his invalid body, in his false face and persona, in his self-imposed quest for justice. Strangely enough, this scene reminds me of how Jing Rui described how carefree his friend Su was before they returned to the capitol together. For the first time, I can sort of imagine what that would have been like, and it is heartbreaking.

Young Master Lin Chen is so smart to have sent Doctor Yan over, Li Gang says with a smile, as he watches Su re-enter the house. Ahh, Lin Chen, the sword dancer! Nice to hear his name mentioned again, as I have not seen him since episode one and I quite liked him in that ep. Also a reminder that he was the one looking after Su's health, and it would seem that has not changed.

Meanwhile Minister Gao is happily pouring himself a relaxing cup of tea, cheerfully expounding upon how good he feels now that he has handed the murder well case off to the other ministry as Ban Ruo suggested. If he had kept working on that case any longer, he jokes, I'm afraid that this case might still be around but I wouldn't be. His audience, one of his subordinates, laughs politely and then says slightly apologetically that The magistrate of Lantai County seeks an audience. Gao reacts as poorly as might be expected, all happy relaxation feelings gone, but his officer hastens to reassure him that this is nothing like the murder well case. It is simply that people have spotted a beast on Xiaogu Mountain. Wait, what? That has to be relevant to the plot somehow but as of now it just seems really random. Gao says the other man should take care of it on his own, and expresses his fervent wish that no more cases implicating imperial officials pop up. I don't think he will get his wish; not as long as Mei Chang Su lives, anyway.

Now it is time to check in on what Yu is doing! A new character has arrived to meet with him: this is Minister Qi, and I thiiiink he is Yu's ally in the Ministry of Justice, because he reports that Minister Gao took Ban Ruo's hint and sent all case materials to the Ministry of Justice, and Yu responds by saying that now he knows that the case is in Qi's hands he no longer worries about anything. Minister Qi smiles way too much, it's creepy. Well, smile while you can, mister; I am certain MCS will come for you eventually! Qi reminds Yu that if they manage to take down Lou Zhi Jing then Yu will be able to hopefully install one of his supporters in the highly influential Minster of Revenue position, further growing his political power. Yu definitely knows this already, so this is just early-episode exposition to remind the viewer of where the stakes are in this situation.

Cut to: Mei Chang Su again, and AHH I LOVE THIS SCENE. Mainly because it introduces what is one of my favourite bits of MCS Extraness™ so far, namely, the game pieces. Yeah, that's what I want to call them: these wooden tiles carved with a lot of writing I obviously can't read. Are they supposed to be a visual nod to mahjong, with its eliminating pairs of pieces from the gameboard? (Since as is revealed in this scene, Su is balancing how he is crippling CP and Yu by taking out their allies in even matches?) Anyway, he is holding two of them meditatively, as he sits in his new manor, and when Meng shows up to ask what he is plotting (hi, Meng!), Su begins to lay out the rules of this deadly game he is playing with the powerful officials in government.

Yu and the Crown Prince are vying for the throne, says Su. We know this. He then goes on to elaborate, however: each prince has equal power over the six ministries of government. We already know CP has Revenue and Yu has Justice, but now we have confirmation that this equal balance exists. Meng, listening, suddenly frowns and stoops closer: there on the table are six wooden tiles, each painted with the name of a ministry. THE GAME IS AFOOT, WATSON. I LOVE THIS. It's both really cool, a very clever and dramatic visual way of helping the viewer keep track of what is surely about to become a very very complicated game of politics, but also just a little chilling to see Su literally reduce people in the capitol to pieces in his game. Is there a tile with Jing Rui's name on it because I wouldn't be surprised. Just disappointed.

Meng lays each piece out and says what each is, which I appreciate because dramafever wasn't subtitling the tiles themselves and for an instant I was worried I'd have to track down online translations for them (I have tried to avoid any and all googling related to this show because I'm terrified of spoilers). The Ministries are:

Justice, Personnel, and Public Works (Yu's team) Revenue, Justice, and Rites (CP's team)

Not sure why Justice is listed on both sides, unless they are different branches of it or something. Or just a subtitle thing again. Guess I'll find out as I go along.

Meng pauses, considering the tiles, and then looks up at Su, who has been watching him in silence. You are thinking about cutting off their supporters one by one? he asks, looking, I think, a bit concerned. Su smiles like this is a private joke, then replies that he isn’t just getting rid of the six ministries (JUST the six ministries, oh yeah, because obviously that would be underachieving), he is getting rid of our old friend the Duke of Qing (who has been haunting the doings on this show ever since the beginning of episode one!) and the Marquis of Ning as well. Military? Meng asks, and Su confirms. He is looking not just to destabilize the powers that be in government: he means to utterly tear them down. Lin Shu has come home to ruin the lives of everyone who wronged him and to raise up the righteous and guys I'm getting emotional about this I have to move on.

As we already know, the Marquis supports CP and the Duke of Qing supports Yu, keeping that balance of power equal. And now Su starts illustrating to Meng how he has started to tear his foes apart, all the while carefully keeping that balance so that they do not suspect: the Minister of Revenue, Lou Zhi Jing, is done for after the whole Orchid Garden scandal, taking out one person from team CP. And how does Su illustrate this? By picking up Revenue's tile, considering it for a moment, and then casually tossing it into the brazier so it can burn there and keep him warm. Lin Shu is my favourite drama queen, this is so unnecessary and yet so satisfying. BuRN THEM BURN THEM ALL

Furthermore, he reminds both Meng and us the viewers, the Duke of Qing has also been taken down, so that's one less ally for Yu. Su allows himself a tiny smile at this one, and then yep, into the brazier the tile goes. Prince Yu might still want to fight for his ally, though, says Su, and even more ironically he might come to Su for help in that fight. And then, with perfect comedic timing cutting the tension of this scene: in comes a servant announcing that Yu has just arrived for a visit. Meng is impressed by Su's predictive skills, but you can just see the animation leave Su's face, and indeed his entire body; he visibly sags, steeling himself. He may have anticipated the visit, but he is not happy about having to deal with Yu again. He was enjoying showing off to Meng, I think; enjoying being able to share his plans with a friend he can trust.

Meng says ah, I will go into hiding before Yu comes in, and I was honestly a bit disappointed he didn't just do the ol' lampshade over the head and stand in a corner bit or whatever the equivalent of that is in ancient fantasy China, but he exits to hide much more sensibly and now we cut to see Yu stepping down from his carriage at Su's door, and he is wearing this giant collar of almost blue fur, his outfit is exquisite. Oh, and we also see Su return his wooden tiles to where he stores them in a plain wooden box at his side, while meanwhile the Duke of Qing and Minister of Revenue are burning merrily away in the brazier. Still totally legible, by the way, but this doesn’t seem to worry Su so I won’t let it worry me either (but can you imagine how amazing it would be if Yu noticed, ahahaha).

They talk about the Duke of Qing case a little and Yu tries to act like, oh, that's all water under the bridge, no hard feelings. But then he makes a formal bow (!) and asks Su for help on the case! Father has already formally summoned Prince Jing today to appoint him in charge of trying the case, says Yu. Su does a very good fake surprise reaction at hearing this.

(We are also treated to a glorious little scene that basically just consists of the Minister of Justice scurrying to welcome Prince Jing to his office and praising Jing for his military service and commenting on what an honor it is to have him visit (lies) and not-so-subtly asking why are you here instead of resting on your time off from the battlefields? and then Jing turns around with icy deliberation and just fixes him and his sycophancy with the most deadpan, scathing Look, and WELCOME BACK JINGYAN I HAVE MISSED YOU SO)

Back at Su's house he asks Yu: didn't you or the Crown Prince protest Jing taking control of this case? Yu looks unhappy as he admits that the Emperor has forbidden them from getting involved, and further that whatever Jing decides will probably go in the Crown Prince's favor (since, remember, Yu's ally is in the wrong here, and Jing will always be fair). But Yu cannot do anything to interfere, or his dad would be very upset. He also admits that he is worried because he cannot bribe/influence that stubborn Prince Jing anyway LOL. That's my boy!

Su looks a little proud of that stubborn Prince Jing but he does remind Yu that Jing owes him a favor (for shielding him from punishment in the Ni Huang case). Yu just huffs a small, disparaging laugh at that:

You might not know what my seventh brother is like. I have never sen anyone in Imperial Court who is as thickheaded and behaves more like an old fogey. Not even father can handle him at times. I'm afraid that small favor isn't enough to make him obey me.

Priceless. Mei Chang Su, listening to Yu's analysis of Jing, looks increasingly amused, but manages to hold himself in check. He also fidgets a bit with his right hand (all these closeups of Hu Ge's hands are killing me btw I always love watching how people use their hands in film and his are so nice. Yes, I guess I have two fixations on this show: Su's hands and Jing's eyebrows.) which I guess is significant since the camera focuses on it but I don't know why. Maybe that's his tell when he's thinking hard, I'll have to pay more attention in future.

Su says So essentially you want me to somehow control Jing to make sure the Duke is spared punishment? Yu leans forward eagerly: that is exactly what he wants, and if Su can do it, Prince Yu will be extremely grateful. Su keeps fidgeting with that hand. Maybe it's more just a tell of when he wants to kill someone lol

Meanwhile, Jing is making the Minister of Justice's life miserable by reciting the protocol for the trial at him, demanding proper preparations be made, and announcing his Imperial-ordained authority over the trial. Qi tries to bluster and delay by saying he hasn't received any orders from the Emperor yet, so he cannot start doing what Jing says until he gets said orders! Jing blinks, taken aback a bit: I AM the Imperial order, I just told them to you right now, he says. That's not the same as actually seeing official paperwork, Qi simpers, and it's easy to see why he likes Yu, they are both super slimy. Look, Prince Jing, he says, in a very insincere show of apology, I wish I could start helping right away and it isn't like I WANT to make you look bad, it's just that official protocol says I cannot do what you say until I get the paperwork. Aw what a shame. Oh, and also I am already busy with many important cases and am understaffed etc. etc. so you might have to wait a while to get this case started anyway! Poor Jing looks very put out, but he cannot exactly argue. How long does Qi need to prep the case? he asks. Oh, not too many days, Qi replies. It should only take maybe two weeks? How does two weeks sound? I hate Qi. Jing considers, then steps forward. The official paperwork will arrive tomorrow, and I will return here then, he says. By then, think carefully before you answer me. And then he just WALKS like a BOSS out of there, knocking Qi deliberately aside with his shoulder as he goes and totally ignoring the Minister of Justice's attempts at speaking to him further. He's so sick of having to deal with this horrid little man already and he hasn't even properly started the job yet, poor Jing.

Back with Su and Yu: Su tells the prince that what he is asking for is a dead end path. When Yu is confused, Su explains: Yu is very powerful and has everything going for him but he has forgotten the most important rule: that there is one person against whom you must never set yourself, namely, the Emperor. Yu leaps to his feet, alarmed. What? Su is mistaken; he would NEVER go against his father's will! This is a big deal not just because obviously one must not cross one's emperor, but also the emperor is Yu's father so doing anything against him is a huge crime against his filial responsibility as well as his political allegiance. No wonder Yu has such a violent reaction to Su accusing him of such an act.

Our Mei Chang Su, however, is unfazed. Who do you think demanded that Qing be tried to begin with? he asks Yu. Do you think it was the Crown Prince or Jing? No; it was the Emperor, and thus if you try to interfere with the outcome of the trial in anyway you are setting yourself against not one of your brothers but against the Emperor himself. DO look at the big picture, Yu.

Yu sinks back down, shaken. Is there really no solution? Yu asks. Su shakes his head: The Duke of Qing is a lost cause, he says, and I think Your Highness knows it. (This is intercut with the Duke of Qing and his family being dragged out of their house in chains, to emphasize just how Doomed he is.) Yu takes a bracing gulp of tea and says he does not think Su understands just how important Qing is to him. Oh, I do, says Su, with a slight chuckle (you have NO idea, Yu). Yu starts to question why Su left the Marquis' manor so quickly: surely there must be a reason? Su dodges the question, and Yu backs off a little disappointed, but then vows that as long as you are willing to favor me, the gates of my manor will always be open for you. Su doesn't exactly look thrilled by this promise, but that's just what he gets for his deceptions working so well. I'm pretty sure in the novel I remember him literally throwing up after spending time talking with Yu because Yu nauseates him literally that much, so I like imagining that that expression is just his fighting not to hurl face. All of Mei Chang Su and Yu's conversations are made even better by just keeping in mind that Su is spending them fighting not to literally vomit.

We meet yet another new character: Lie Zhan Ying, Jing's adjudant general! He works with Jing so I automatically like him. He also has something of Jing's straightforward, no-nonsense mannerisms, which is a nice way to remind us of the divide between the political and the pugilist lifestyles, I love all the attention to detail in this show. Ying has arrived at whichever political building is holding the plaintiffs in the Duke of Qing case, to collect them and bring them to Jing's manor. The official who meets him at the door is wholly obliging, in stark contrast to Minister Qi's attitude towards Jing earlier. This official also mentions that the Crown Prince sent a message saying Prince Jing is going to all this trouble, so we mustn't hinder him. He also mentions how We are all working for the Emperor here, so basically Mei Chang Su was 100% correct in his advice to Yu and Yu has dodged a bullet by taking his advice and not trying to mess with the case. His meddling would have been VERY obvious and would have made him look VERY bad.

We return to Su and Yu, the former of whom is apparently walking the latter out. Yu takes a moment to ask if there is any further advice that Mei Chang Su wishes to impart? In my opinion, replies the very innocent and unbiased Divine Talent, it's best for Your Highness to abandon Duke of Qing State now and support Prince Jing. YOU SNEAKY CAD I LOVE YOU. (Sidenote: I forget if I mentioned this before, but the lighting work in this drama is delightful. This scene, for example, looks so very cold even without the clouds of breath curling up when the actors speak, it's lit so everything and everyone looks so frozen and sharp and blue. I'm yelling at my screen for Su to go put that gorgeous fur collar back on, even Yu is wearing his furs for goodness' sake, BEHAVE, LIN SHU.)

Yu is taken aback but considers. Jing is a prince, he says, and is acting under Imperial decree. No one, therefore, would think to stand against him; what does he need Yu's support for? Okay, so he has seemingly conveniently forgotten that that is EXACTLY what HE was planning to do just a few minutes ago. After a moment he grudgingly concedes that Minister Qi miiiiiiight stall things a bit, but that is all. Su, who totally eye rolled when Yu played innocent, shakes his head with a smile. Certainly Jing might need the support of the Ministry of Justice for the case, he says, but he isn't just talking about this mess with Qing. He is talking of all the days to come. And I start cackling at the look on Yu's serious duped face because I swear, if Mei Chang Su successfully tricks Prince Yu into supporting Prince Jing and aiding in his ascension to power, I will laugh myself SICK. THIS IS SO GOOD.

Su calmly explains that there will be more cases to be tried after Qing, and many of them will undoubtedly involve powerful families and wealthy landowners like the Duke. How could Prince Jing handle that alone? If Prince Yu were to throw his political weight behind Jing, then not only would Jing truly owe him on a scale that he could not ignore, but the Emperor would also be pleased because this would help him in implementing his agricultural policy. It is a win-win, Yu! Listen to the Divine Talent!

Sooo . . . you are having me draw Prince Jing over to my side? Yu asks slowly. My cackling intensifies.

Yep, that is correct, Su says, and with a touch of smugness: I have been planning this since the Ni Huang incident.

Yu is most impressed. He presses Su to tell him what the point of this strategy is. Su answers easily: What is the fuss about losing the Duke of Qing State? In terms of military power would two Dukes of Qing State even make up for one Prince Jing? OH, BRILLIANT. When presented like that, it make SO much sense! If you can get Jing on your side everyone is always on about his stubbornness and his lack of subtlety, so he would be the ideal ally. Plus, everyone (Yu and CP included) keep overlooking him because he has zero political power. But he has spent his entire adult life building military power. So of COURSE he would be more valuable a military ally than Qing! LIN SHU I LOVE YOU. AGAIN.

Prince Yu spends a full ten seconds silently having his mind blown (yes, I timed them, because his myriad of baffled/astonished/delighted expressions was HILARIOUS to watch, all hail this actor) but he emerges out the other side with a giddy smile. If I could win Prince Jing over, that would be great! He exclaims excitedly, before sobering a little to add that but judging by his temperment he wouldn't obey my orders to summon the army when I need him. LOLOL I WANT TO SEE THAT AU PLEASE.

Again, Su looks pretty amused by this read on Jing's character. He reminds Yu, however: why on earth would Yu ever need an army? Is he planning on taking the throne by force? WHAT? NO THAT IS CRAZY TALK, says a very worried Yu. That's right, Su. Play him like a fiddle.

We interrupt this scene to enjoy a temper tantrum being thrown by good ol' CP, who is raging about how Yu has essentially done in Lou Zhi Jing. Fine, then, he shouts, I will make certain he loses the Duke of Qing, too! And thus he is following neatly the path Su has laid out for him, effectively disguising the hand of Mei Chang Su in all this. The Marquis, much calmer (he always worries me, he is too clever), says CP doesn't have to worry about the Duke; even if Yu dared try to meddle in the trial, Prince Jing wouldn't back down. The Duke is doomed. Similarly, though, the Marquis points out, Lou Zhi Jing is also definitely going to be convicted of his various disgusting crimes. This means that the position of Minister of Revenue will soon be vacant! If CP acts fast, he can recommend one of his allies to the position before Yu can and thus can take control of that political seat and tip the scales in his favor. CP is mollified by this, but then goes on to scoff at the Marquis' urging that he not be anxious:

As long as Mei Chang Su exists how can I possibly remain calm? No matter where he moves to, you have to get rid of him!

Uh, oh. The Crown Prince storms off and the Marquis does not look unduly bothered by the order. Ugh, Jing Rui, you deserve so much better but your father is a toad.

Back with Yu and MCS, Su is continuing to remind Yu of his place. In the capital His Majesty is in charge of the Palace Guards. Commander General Meng watches over the palace. Should anything go wrong, who would have the chance to launch an attack once the Imperial decree was made? Yu looks so intensely uncomfortable. You're right, he admits to Su. Su reminds him the goal now should be to gain the Emperor's favor.

As to who gets military support, it's just a matter of perspective. What's the point of having [Jing] obey your every word? Even if we were to say at the least that should Crown Prince one day seek to hatch an evil plot and put His Majesty in danger, or to go against his decree, judging from Prince Jing's personality would he wait to be summoned by you to defend His Majesty?

Yu thinks this over, sighs, and agrees. Prince Jing prides himself on being righteous, he says disapprovingly. Oh, Yu. Su reminds him that helping Jing doesn't mean doing anything grandoise, just--be friendlier. It seems I will have to pay a visit to Prince Jing's manor tomorrow for your sake, Su says. He explains basically that Jing is super dumb when it comes to politics and so he must himself intercede to Jing on Yu's behalf to let him know what's up, otherwise Jing probably wouldn't even recognize any favors Yu does for him. Su is so mean when talking about Jing, he must love him very much. Also, this is hilarious that he has justified his comings and goings to Jing's manor to his enemy like this, so now when Yu sees Su with Jing he will just be happy and think they are working for him, while they are all the while working together to burn him down. Yu even bows to Su in gratitude, thanking him for his hard work, and if Yu wasn't such a hateful snake of a man I would feel very sorry for him right now. But he is, so I don't. Plus Su's blank, dead-eyed expression as he accepts this wholly misplaced gratitude has me laughing. He looks like he is 0.0005 seconds away from just turning to the camera and breaking the fourth wall like he's on The Office. Yu also pledges to be personally responsible for Su's safety, no matter what CP and the Marquis try. How many birds has Su killed with this one stone of a conversation? Lots of birds.

Yu magnanimously says Su does not have to walk him out, as he is an invalid and it is still very cold and wet; melting snow or rain or both has been dripping from the rafters of these scenes for quite some time now. Su watches him depart, and then Li Gang rushes up with The Fur and it's like the sight of the thick cloak reminds Su that he is cold; where moments before he had been holding himself with perfect ease around Yu, he now shivers and clutches the cloak close. I am very grateful to Li Gang for taking care of my boy. I wonder if Su deliberately ordered his men not to give him any warm wraps until after Yu left, for appearance's/pride's sake.  The two men return inside, and Su explains to a wondering Li Gang that he had to spend a very long time talking with Yu because Yu is difficult to deal with: he is very meticulous. Interesting.Whenever Su admits anyone is a challenge to manipulate I feel like I'm marking off this character checklist in my head: knowing that Su feels he has to tread carefully when speaking with Yu, for example, will add a nice layer of tension in their future meetings.

What is heartbreaking about this conversation is it is one of the few times we have so far where Su really does seem to be at his limit. He just seems so very tired--mentally from the intricate net he had to weave to catch Yu in, emotionally from having to pretend to be so cordial and mild-mannered around Yu when probably all he wants to do is stab Yu in the eye repeatedly (or, like, shoot him in the eye with an arrow, I suppose, wasn't it mentioned that Lin Shu's weapon of choice was the bow? A super awesome choice, by the way, as it is yet another shade of character depth: our hero's specialty was ranged weaponry and now here he is in the thick of the action in the capitol having to deal with all his enemies up close and personal. Just a fun little note), and physically because of the whole, you know, not-so-slowly-dying thing. Let the man rest! Where did that grumpy doctor go??

And, alas, Mei Chang Su cannot take the time to rest. Already he is moving onto the next stage of his plan: he tells Li Gang as they walk along (with Li Gang carefully supporting his boss, I am so grateful for this man) that he needs to visit Prince Jing tomorrow. Oh, and that he will also be bringing some golden chainmail. Whaaaat? Is it going to be dangerous? a very alarmed Li Gang exclaims. Su indulges first in a solid couple seconds of flat, disappointed staring, and then with a most massive eyeroll and silent sigh before he begins explaining, poor exhausted man. This is why he needs someone like Ni Huang on his side, someone similarly brilliant to himself and capable of making the same intellectual leaps he does, so that he does not have to constantly be explaining himself all the time. He just looks and sounds so Done.

The chainmail is to be a gift for little Ting Sheng, he says. That's super cute. But Li Gang disapproves, saying such a gift will be too suspicious coming from the East Yangtze Alliance leader. True, true. But it is odd that Su had not considered that; another sign seemingly of how worn thin he is right now. He asks Li Gang what he should do then (again, odd that he is asking someone else's advice, I cannot recall him doing that before??) but before Li Gang can come up with an alternative (he looks pretty stumped) Su calls Fei Liu (who was chilling on the rooftop, as one does) and tells him he will be giving a gift to Ting Sheng tomorrow. When Li Gang starts trying to comment on this plan, stating and restating the obvious about how Fei Liu is so eccentric no one will think such a valuable gift weird, Su juSt LIFTS his hand without even looking to coVER LI GANG'S MOUTH MID-SENTENCE, silencing him, and then he has the gall to look grumpily at his hand and SHAKE it like "EEW" BEFORE WALKING OFF he is so DONE LIN SHU IS DONE WITH TODAY HIS PEOPLE WOULDN'T LET HIM PLAY IN THE SNOW AND THEN HE HAD TO SPeND HOUrs PRETENDING TO LIKE PRINCE YU AND HE JUST HATES EVERYTHING I LOVE HIM SO MUCHHHH. WHAT AN ICON.

Then we get a hilarious scene where Minister Qi happily reports to Yu that he stalled Jing and sent him away earlier and it was so easy because Jing is a political idiot hohohoho and then Yu steps forward menacingly and is all Who told you to make him leave? and Qi suddenly realizes with a look of absolute horror that he did the Wrong Thing and it's beautiful. This show is so sad and so intense and so emotionally complex and then it every so often just turns into this terrific comedy of errors (that scene with the two princes madly competing for Su's attention at the combat trials always comes to mind as a brilliant example of this) and its so? Funny? This show is a GIFT.

Cut to the Marquis of Ning's manor at night, presumably that night! He has a headache. His son in law--Jing Rui's brother-in-law but also maybe Actual Brother because this family is so messed up, the pugilist dad son whose name I forget--shows up to report that he has sent out some men. Are you confident this time? asks the Marquis. Based on earlier goings on I'm guessing this is yet another attempt on the Divine Talent's life. Over at Su's manor, he is trying to convince a very disapproving Fei Liu that golden chainmail is a good present for Ting Sheng. Once he explains that Ting Sheng is not as good a fighter as Fei Liu and thus chainmail is something he will both like and actually find useful, Fei Liu is sold, and as always I really enjoy this scene between just the two of them, but then they hear a commotion. Go ahead, Su tells a suddenly alert Fei Liu, who darts off. Su then deliberately starts reading a book and ignoring the various sounds of fierce combat coming from outside, lol. Or at least trying to ignore; he's probably just trying to distract himself since he can't go join in. Li Gang eventually reports that all intruders were killed, so so much for the Marquis' second assassination attempt!

Next day we see Su stepping down from a carriage at the gates of Jing's manor. The Sad Music is back and he's got that awful heartbreaking Look on his face again--the one he had when Ni Huang led him to his old house, the one he had when royal grandma ripped my heart out. So I immediately am like OH NO and I try to brace myself for something soul-crushing. But you know what I have learned? You cannot brace yourself for any of the pain this show inflicts. If Nirvana in Fire wants you to hurt, then by golly you are going to HURT, and there is nothing you can do to prevent that.

Because we suddenly get a freaking FLASHBACK. A FLASHBACK YOU GUYS. We haven't had any flashbacks before except to the battle where Lin Shu fell off that cliff!!! And now out of NOWHERE we see a 17-yr-old Jing SMILINGGGGGGG ANd LIN SHU IS WITH HIM AND LIKE IT'S SO CUtE I CAN'T THEY'RE RuNNING UP tHE STePS TO THE GATe AND NOOOOOOOO

AND WANG KAI'S V.O. SOuNDS SO DIFFERENT FROM HIS USUAL JING VOICE It'S SO HAPPY???? MY BOYS WERE HAPPY THEY WERE FREAKING BEST FRIENDS I KNEW IT I kNEW IT and LIN SHU WWAS SO CUUUUUTE LOOK AT THEMMMMM

(Also like they're wearing the same colors so I love that visually, obviously, but also lol Lin Shu changed his WHOLE physical appearance somehow to disguise himself but his clothing is EXACTLY the same what a loser)

So the gist of the V.O. is that my fave boys were each other's fave boys too and Jing got this mansion when he was just 17 and eagerly assured Lin Shu that as far as he is concerned it is Lin Shu's as well because Shu is is best friend and what is his is theirs as far as he is concerned and omg someone make these tears stop

(ALSO he mentions that Prince Qi was the one who found the place for him! How much older was Qi than these two when he died? My impression is old enough to be the impressive cool role model but young enough that they felt personally close to him too. I'm gonna guess mid-20s????)

The flashback ends with the camera lingering to watch the shades of these two laughing, affectionate, bright-faced boys running side by side through the gate and up to the house, running away from us, as we can do nothing but watch them rush blithely forward, knowing what horrible, unfair futures await them. It's so mean, and so effective. I LOVE it. I'm also left shaken not only by the unexpected glimpse of what Lin Shu and Jing's past lives were like and what they both have lost, but by the certainty that this short flashback must surely mean there are MORE flashbacks coming in future and OH NO but also OH yES GIVE ME ALL THE PAIN.

We return to present-day Lin Shu, who is standing gazing up those stairs, watching his past self disappear. This place hasn't changed at all, he says, quietly. It's just like how it was back then. MY HEART.

And now here comes Jing to greet his guest. He bows coldly but politely, and Mei Chang Su pays his respects too. I am in agony. Ting Sheng is very cute and bows all the way to the ground for Su, his savior, and Su helps him up with a smile and he's so sweet with kids you guys

Ting Sheng really lights up when he sees Fei Liu, who proudly bestows his gift on the kid. When Jing realizes what the gift is, he bristles and tries to give it back to Su, saying it is too valuable a present. And Su, wholly innocently, says the gift isn't from him, for goodness' sake, it is from Fei Liu, so go talk to him about it instead! Poor Jing is so confused by this, clearly unsure of how to deal with Fei Liu. The latter of whom promptly snatches the chain mail back from Jing's hands and plops it firmly back in Ting Sheng's arms. Su watches, not even bothering to hide his amusement, and Jing after a moment's inward struggle gives up and invites Su inside, effectively allowing Ting Sheng to keep the chainmail after all. Point to Mei Chang Su! The boys scamper off to play together or fight together or whatever and their fake dads head inside for their own meeting.

(Jing's outfit is especially beautiful today, btw. I missed you, Wang Kai.)

Jing introduces Su to his guard as his friend Su Zhe, and then the two of them retreat further to Jing's private study. Along the way, Su is plainly eating up the place with his eyes, these halls must be full of ghosts for him. He pauses to look out over a courtyard, and Jing pauses too, to confess that all those men they spoke with had been present when Su's arrival was announced: they had wanted to see the famous Su Zhe for themselves. So we took a detour? Su supplies, with mild good humor. Jing's subtly changing expressions here are a marvel: slight embarrassment at being found out, relief that Su is not affronted, a momentary glance of reevaluation like he is sizing up Su again, and then even a small smile as he relaxes just a little. Is our favourite prince warming up to the Divine Talent a little? Time will tell, I suppose! But this tiny exchange is certainly the closest thing to friendliness that has passed between these two so far, and contrasted with that flashback it's like a punch to the gut. Also, the MUSIC. The Sad Music is playing again, but it's being played by a flute or whistle or something instead of the deep strings that usually play it, so it feels tremulous and hopeful instead of melancholic and that makes it even worse and also sooooo much better. Once again, I take a moment to rage at how this OST isn't available to buy anywhere that I can find.

Anyway, they get to the study and it's very sweet how Jing notices Su looks unwell and inquires after his comfort and calls for one of his men to bring in more braziers to heat the room when Su says he is cold because remember Jing doesn't even LIKE Su. He is just a Good Boy. He also congratulates Su on his recent move, because apparently Mu Qing is a gossip and told Jing all about it, ahaha. Su tells Jing the reason for his visit is to express goodwill on behalf of Prince Yu: Jing will now be able to run the trial of the Duke of Qing without any difficulties. Okay, but that is what I was going to do anyway, says Jing, because of course he does. Su wryly asks whether Minister Qi had been helpful? It doesn't matter if he has, Jing responds, stubbornly unfazed. Whether he cooperates or not the case will still be tried the way it should be. He is so totally out of his depth, bless his heart. Su looks so--not happy, but lighter. Jing's unshakeable, forthright virtue must be so refreshing. The contrast between his demeanor in this conversation and his frayed-thin, irritable behavior the previous day is very obvious.

Meanwhile, Ting Sheng is proudly giving Fei Liu a tour of his new home. They go to the military training ground, where Ting Sheng says he spends most of his time. Sometimes even Prince Jing himself comes to train him, he says, and ugh that is the cutest mental image ever. Fei Liu snorts: Jing is a poor fighter, he tells his erstwhile student, in a tone that implies he thinks Ting Sheng deserves better, and Ting Sheng doesn't even defend Jing, he just grins in agreement because if Fei Liu says it then it MUST be true. I adore these kids' friendship and pray nothing bad happens to them in future. It's weird and cute and sort of sad seeing how simple their lives are, largely oblivious to all the machinations all around them and even involving them.

Li Gang, however, tries to hush Fei Liu and remind him to be respectful, and Fei Liu of course responds by elaborating: even General Meng is better than Prince Jing! (Somewhere, Meng probably feels suddenly cheerful and doesn't know why.) Li Gang tries to do more damage control, so Fei Liu continues on: I'm the best, he says. It isn't even bragging, he just says it like it is the obvious truth. One of Jing's commanders overhears this and looks very annoyed by it, to put it mildly. Uh, oh.

Back in Jing's study, Mei Chang Su is quizzing him about how he views the case. Jing lays out how he has examined the evidence and it's simple in his eyes: the Duke is obviously guilty. Su plays a sort of game with Jing by playing devil's advocate and tossing a variety of excuses and loopholes at him and Jing manages to thwart them all: the Duke is guilty, and justice will be served. Su is impressed and very proud of his (former????) friend. Then Su lays out some BRILLIANT advice to Jing: basically, Jing is going to continue to judge over cases that involve wealthy landowners, right? And a lot of them will be guilty of the same crimes as the Duke. But Su says Jing should be careful not to punish them all the same way, even if their criems are the same. Why? Because if they were all punished the same, they would feel commonly wronged by the Emperor and might form an alliance against him, united by a shared anger. If there is no apparent pattern to the severity of the punishment, however, then the landowners will be jealous of/suspicious of each other, and will be focused more on comparing their lot with that of their neighbors', and they will not be unified. BRILLIANT, I SAY. Jing agrees with the wisdom in this plan. Su recommends he lets off some of Yu's guilty allies lightly as a way of saying thanks to Yu for his support. Jing frowns: Yu should be fighting to save the Duke of Qing right now. Why is he instead helping Jing take down his own ally? You are now very important to him, Su smiles, slightly sarcastically. Jing mulls this over. This is all thanks to you, he tells Su. And he should thank him, but . . . Jing does not want people to think that he is friends with or supporting Prince Yu. He doesn't want to side with either of his terrible brothers. Su tries to assure him that people will understand, but Jing is not appeased.

What others might think is not my concern, he clarifies. However, the spirits of heroes still linger. I don't want them to think that I have finally surrendered to the others.

Su tries to comfort him: Since they were once heroes, they will know who you truly are. Jing does not look convinced in the slightest. HOW has he survived all these years surrounded by enemies and ghosts, never able to forget either?

Su stands up and paces the room a little to try to ease some stiffness and numbness in his legs, and then he approaches a bow that is displayed on its own plinth in the room and this is it, even after the flashback, THIS is the moment of this episode that kills me. Because immediately my whole brain is just OMG THAT MUST BE LIN SHU'S BOW FREAKING JING HAS KEPT IT ALL THIS TIME

Su reaches out to touch it, and Jing, who had been concerned about Su's discomfort because he is a Good Boy, immediately SNAPS at him: Don't touch it! Su freezes. Jing leaps to his feet. Badpoet dies.

Su almost whispers his apology, and Jing approaches him, with a very visible hitch in his breathing as he tries to settle himself after his sudden alarm and impulsive reaction. He looks as though he is fighting down the adrenaline rush of only barely avoiding a tragedy. Perhaps he did. But shaken as he is he also looks a little sorry for yelling harshly at his invalid guest. Jingmum raised him right.

Jing tries to explain, his eyes drawn to the bow almost as if against his will: Please don't take it to heart. This once belonged to my late friend. When he was alive, he never liked to have his belongings touched by strangers. Oh, my gosh, he isn't even so protective of this weapon because it is important or of sentimental value to HIM, it's because Lin Shu hated people touching his stuff, and Jing is a Good Friend, a Best Friend, and Su's face, hidden from Jing, looks like he, like Jing, is remembering for a moment this kid who cared about dumb stuff like that, this kid who was Jing's best friend and who is now dead, who lived a life happy enough that such small things could MATTER to him, and then he swallows hard, and bows to Jing, and apologizes for his rudeness, and this is It I CAN'T I CAN'T WHAT IS THIS SHOW HOW HAS IT MADE ME CARE SO MUCH IN JUST NINE EPISODES HOW CAN IT POSSIBLY DRAG ME DOWn FARTHER IN LIKE FIFTY MORE HOW DID ANy OF YOU WHo HAVE WATCHED THE ENTIRE THING EMERGE BREATHING ON THE OTHER SIDE

(Somewhere there exists a happier timeline where Jing tells Mei Chang Su not to touch the bow because Lin Shu hated strangers touching his stuff and Su says okay and then makes his most trollish eye contact with Jing and deliberately starts touching the bow as much as he dang well pleases and that is how Jing finds out Lin Shu and Mei Chang Su is the same person the end)

Meanwhile, a decent distance away from all this misery and bro-angst, the indignant commander at the training grounds is demanding who Fei Liu is since he thinks he is good enough to insult Jing. I'm Fei Liu, the boy replies, as if that is all the answer necessary, and as it turns out--it is! Another of Jing's men recognizes the name as the fighter who arrived with the Lord of the East Yangtze Alliance. The one who defeated Xia Dong and held his own against Meng! Yep, that's me, Fei Liu affirms. Everyone looks very impressed. We also get a scene with Fei Liu taking out some challengers to show off his skills to Jing's men, best moment being where he grabs two men charging at him by the spers they are wielding and just smashes them onto the ground, aha. He's escalating the situation, basically. I wonder if Su was counting on that to happen.

Also meanwhile, at the palace, Yu and CP are arguing in front of the Emperor about who to make the new Minister of Revenue and oh this levity is SO NEEDED my soul is revived by CP's indignant squeak at Yu and the Emperor's fed up You have been arguing for more than an hour now LOL I swear at least half the Emperor's scenes so far have just been him watching his sons squabble. I would feel bad for the Emperor, except for what he did to Jingmum, so I don't. He deserves this. Also I guess he is also somewhat responsible for whatever ruined Lin Shu's life so he doubly-deserves this. He dismisses the princes, who walk out very quickly after glaring at each other sidelong. I would so not be surprised if the instant they are out of sight they start pulling each other's hair or pinching each other or whatever. They fight like preschoolers.

After they are gone, some random official starts telling the Emperor that the princes had the right to express their opinions like that as the question of who will take the position of Minister of Revenue is a very important and pressing one. The Emperor concedes that point but also angrily indicates the massive stack of names in front of him on his table: he has too many people to choose from! The official says someone named Shen Chui is acting as interim Minister of Revenue so he can hold down the fort for now, don't worry about it. The Emperor suddenly narrows his eyes, interested. Shen Chui? he repeats. Aaaaand--end of episode!

A weird ending, but I remember reading somewhere that these episodes aired two at a time, so with that in mind it makes more sense. I don't know why the Emperor is interested in this name, but I know I will find out next time. In the meantime I'm still reeling from all the Jing and MCS goodness in this episode. I missed Jingyan the last couple episodes but he came back with a vengeance for this one, and I am SO excited for wherever the show is taking him and his weird relationship with Su-who-is-secretly-Shu. Terrified, yes, but also EXCITED. Next episode is episode 10 and I am officially in the double digits! Nine episodes of emotional trauma down, sooooooo many more to go. BRING IT.

#nirvana in fire #badpoet watches nif #nif ep9 #badpoet watches #long post #cdramas

[justinelong-indiefilms]

Coming of Age in the New Generation: Independent Young Adult Films in the 2010s

FILM FESTIVAL LINEUP

       High school is a hard struggle that everyone can relate to. The teenage years have been a popular theme in film for a long time from The Breakfast Club, to 13 going on 30, audiences know the stereotypical characters and plotlines that come with the trope of a coming-of-age movie. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, indie movies that dealt with teenagers focused on sex and aspects of exploitation films. This is what was selling at the time and it worked, but as people and society changed, so did the independent film industry. Coming of age cinema in the 2000s dealt with new challenges that came with being a young adult in the newest age. Four films that capture the essence of it are Edge of Seventeen (2016), Booksmart (2019), Bling Ring (2013), and Me, Earl, and The Dying Girl (2015). These stories have their own loveable characters and quirky moments, but they all share some common themes. These indie projects focus on the rise of social media and how an online space can ruin relationships and reputations. They also emphasize the social hierarchy and constant anxiety of partying, fitting in, and making friends. Finally, even though there are some differences, they still pay tribute to those blockbusters coming of age movies we all know and love. Independent films combine some Hollywood themes with specific characters and some more darker ideas. This creates a more relatable world for teenagers across the country.

           Edge of Seventeen (2016)

     This movie follows Nadine, a 17-year-old struggling to get through high school after losing all her friends and having family issues. She also gets herself in trouble by accidently posting on social media about her fellow students. The movie touches on suicide, mental illness, and how a lot of people are tone deaf about the subjects. One review from The Guardian said that “it’s depressingly rare for a director to look beyond the teenager as a highly marketable brand and convincingly tap into the mess of insecurities, contradictions and swirling, unfocused surges of anger” (theguardian.com). I really connected with this movie and thought it was sensitive to the complicated topics at hand but paired with loveable characters. There were also great cinematic techniques overall.

        Booksmart (2019)

         Olivia Wilde’s directing debut became an instant classic once it hit theatres. It follows two best friends who have followed the rules and lived by the books ever since they were kids. As graduation approaches, they feel like they should explore the rebellious side of high school and take after their peers. The plot development involves them figuring out their sexuality, drinking and drugs and overall finding themselves. A review at the time said that “it’s adorned with verbal whimsy and brought to life by a vibrant cast but its substance is scantly developed, it’s clear and simple premise dismayingly oversimplified” (Brody, 2019).

Bling Ring (2013)

          With this film, A24 took a bunch of young Hollywood actors (Emma Watson, Israel Broussard, etc.) and put them in a crazy storyline that was based on a true story. This movie is centered around a group of teens who find secretive ways to break into celebrities’ houses and steal money, jewelry, and anything they can get their hands on. They feel like they are on top of the world and get an adrenaline rush from not getting caught by the police or pretending they are on the “elite” side of society. The director wanted to highlight “not the paralysis of having more than you could possibly want, but rather about the addictive thrills of wanting what you can’t quite have and trying to get it” (Scott, 2013). This ties into the part of coming of age where mistakes are made and sometimes, they could affect your future.

 Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl (2015)

        This movie stars a lonely, nerdy guy in high school named Greg (a common theme by now) who finds out that a girl he knows, Rachel, was diagnosed with Leukemia. They soon create a trio with their friend Earl and try to cheer up Rachel during her treatment. It is a witty, heartwarming film that also pokes fun at the cheesy teen rom coms mentioned before in the intro. The boys are young filmmakers and decide to create a home movie made dedicated to Rachel as they try and navigate the highs and lows of how their teen years are coming to an end. Life is coming at them fast, and it is hard to handle as an 18-year-old. The film was presented at the Sundance Film Festival and had an amazing reaction from the audience. According to Rolling Stone, “it’s that sharply funny, touching, and vital” (Travers, 2018).

         I personally grew up watching and adoring films like these. Little did I know this genre was a subcategory on its own and had so much more to it than I knew. These independent movies are exposing young adults to face controversial topics and compare them to their own lives. They provide a realistic depiction of high school and going through an important stage in life with a parallel world online. I hope you have the chance to experience one, if not all, the movies in this lineup.

 SOURCES: 

 The Edge of Seventeen review – an abrasive teen you can grow to love. (2016, December 04). Retrieved May 01, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/dec/04/the-edge-of-seventeen-abrasive-teen-you-can-love

Brody, R. (n.d.). "Booksmart," reviewed: Olivia WILDE'S Toothless teen comedy. Retrieved May 02, 2021, from https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/booksmart-reviewed-olivia-wildes-toothless-teen-comedy

Scott, A. (2013, June 13). Twinkly totems of Fame, theirs for the taking. Retrieved May 02, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/movies/a-bling-ring-lusting-after-celebrity-trinkets.html

[historyrepeatsitself-phff]

Chapter Seventy-Two

A/N: We’re getting VERY close to the birth now - I’m so excited to share it with you!! 

Emmy slowly climbed the stairs, struggling under the weight of her bump, before reaching her bedroom and collapsing onto the bed. She sighed, relief flooding her as her muscles relaxed and her eyes closed. She’d just spent the last few hours with Rainbows, Brownies and Guides, helping them celebrate Halloween with scary stories, dressing up and arts and crafts. It had been her first engagement for the last two weeks, and she was exhausted from it.

Harry appeared in the doorway, and he grinned at the sight of Emmy laying there. “Tired out?”

“Hmm,” she mumbled into the quilt.

“Want anything to eat?” he asked.

“I’m not hungry,” she murmured, then sighed. “I should probably eat something. I’ll have a sandwich in a minute or something.”

He moved into the room and perched on the bed beside her, smoothing along her back. “How was it?”

“It was good,” she said. “Although I was exhausted by the time the Guides got there. the Rainbows were cute, though. Very cute.” Then she bit her lip. “I think I let slip our due date.”

He raised an eyebrow, then chuckled at her. “I’m sure it’s fine, not long now anyway.”

“I just told them the second week of November,” Emmy explained, pushing herself into a sitting position. “That’s okay, right?”

“Of course, don’t worry about it at all,” Harry said, tucking her hair behind her ear. “You know the press started camping outside while you were at the engagement?”

“Really?”

“Hmm, the first few people started setting up,” he said. “Edward told me. There’s a handful of British press there already, a few foreign news outlets are meant to start arriving tomorrow.” He grinned. “Looks like it’s all happening now.”

Emmy smiled. “Not long at all. I’m so excited.”

“Me too.” He entwined his fingers with hers, and gave them a gentle squeeze. “Are you excited about the baby shower tomorrow?”

“Ugh,” she said, making a face. “I mean, I am, but at the same time I just want to sleep now. I’m so tired from today.”

“It’s just one day,” he said gently.

“Yeah, I know, and Kate has been so lovely to organize it,” Emmy said. “I’ll be fine once I’m there. Besides, they’ve all bought us useful presents, so I really do need to go.”

He chuckled. “That and the fact that it’s your baby shower.”

Emmy tottered into the room, groaning as she sank into one of the chairs. She mustered a tired smile as everyone beamed at her.

“How are you feeling?” Taylor pressed, from where she was sat beside her. She was bouncing in her seat, excited.

“Very tired,” Emmy sighed. “And uncomfortable. But happy, too.” She grinned. “Thanks for coming today.”

“We want to celebrate, don’t be silly,” Zara said.

Kate had invited most of the females in Emmy’s life to the baby shower. Taylor was there, of course, and Kate had wanted to invite some of Emmy’s older friends that she didn’t see very often, but Emmy didn’t want them there – none of them knew that her little baby was a girl, and she knew it would be too much hassle to try and keep it a secret. And so aside from Taylor, most of the other ladies were family.

Kate was there of course, as were Zara, Autumn, Beatrice and Eugenie. Camilla had managed to come too, and Sophie had arrived with her, bringing young teenage Louise too. From Emmy’s family, her stepmother Chelsea had come, bringing Tara – who was a few years younger than Louise and was sat beside her, shyly getting to know her. Emmy’s sister Lucy had come, as had her sister-in-law Susie who, miraculously, was in the UK for a few weeks with Benedict. Emmy’s brother was hoping to still be in the country for the birth, so he could meet his new niece before he had to return to America again.

The last few people weren’t family. Zoe and Lizzie were there, Lizzie already having lost a lot of baby weight. Claire was there, of course, in her role as friend rather than secretary, and she’d organized the invitations for the last few guests. Emmy’s hairdresser Hannah was there, as was Melissa who often came to do Emmy’s make-up with her. Emma Watson and Crown Princess Victoria had both been invited, but both were abroad and so could not make it. Emmy supposed that was the problem with having famous friends – they were always very occupied.

“Are we opening presents?” Beatrice said excitedly, her eyes flittering to the table piled with gifts. Emmy couldn’t look at it without feeling embarrassed – she hated being given presents in front of people, she really did. And those were a lot of presents.

But, she supposed, most of them would be for her little baby. Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad?

“How long now?” Eugenie asked, as Kate came in and handed round orange juices to each of the guests.

Emmy laughed before she could stop herself. “Sorry,” she said. “I’ve just lost track of how many times I’ve been asked that lately.”

Eugenie grinned. “Sorry.”

“No problem, we are now about two weeks away,” Emmy said, counting in her head. “Our baby’s due on the 15th, so actually two weeks today.”

“Wow, that has really gone so fast,” Autumn mused.

“I heard Guy had his little girl a few weeks ago,” Kate said, smiling. “That scared me, I remember when they came over to tell us they were pregnant.”

“It’s scary how fast time is going,” Claire agreed. “I’ve nearly been with you two years, Emmy.”

“What would I do without you?” Emmy said, somewhat dryly, and she shared a laugh with her secretary. Then she turned to Susie. “Susie, how’s Felicity? I haven’t seen her in so long!”

“It’s because she’s always in bloody America,” Lucy agreed, pretending to glare at Susie.

“She’s over here with us this time,” Susie said, smiling at Emmy. “She’s getting big, she’s started talking now, keeps winding Ben up by calling him ‘mama’.” She smiled at the memory. “You’ll have to come and see her at some point. Or we’ll see you, once your little one’s been born.”

“Hmm, you and Ben can come by,” Emmy said.

“Now presents?” Beatrice asked, pouting impatiently.

“You must have got her something really good,” Autumn said, with a grin.

“Only what she asked for, but I want her to open my card! It’s the cutest thing!”

Emmy managed a wry grin. “Should I be scared?”

“Knowing Bea, it’s probably inappropriate,” Eugenie agreed.

Beatrice opened her mouth in outrage. “We are at a baby shower! I can’t believe you guys think that of me!”

Eugenie sniggered, and she nudged her sister playfully. “We’re only joking, Bea.”

“Hmm, besides, it’s your turn next,” Zara added, smirking.

“Why is everyone in this family obsessed with people having babies,” Beatrice complained. “Honestly! Harry and Emmy’s baby isn’t even here yet and you’re trying to get me to have one!”

Sophie patted Beatrice’s shoulder reassuringly. “Well, it’s a long time to wait, you know.”

“Get practicing,” Eugenie said.

Beatrice rolled her eyes. “Dave and I have plenty of practice, I’ll have you know.”

“Ugh!” Kate said, giggling. “Too much information! Again, this is a baby shower!”

“Yes, ladies, let’s keep it clean,” Camilla said, chortling.

They moved onto the gifts then, Emmy awkwardly taking each one that she was passed by Kate. Some of the boxes were bigger, some were soft and squidgy, but each of the presents was elegantly wrapped in different types of pink paper or was tucked in gorgeous pink gift bags. Everywhere Emmy looked there was pink – pink bows, pink tissue, pink tags. Kate had even decorated her enormous pristine living room with pink balloons and banners, and each of the guests had been given a pink party bag full of cute little joke gifts.

“Oh this is adorable,” Emmy gasped, five minutes into the gifts. She’d opened one of Taylor’s presents – the other had been a playmat, which was soft and spongy so that the baby could lay on the floor and play with her toys. It even had a removable mobile for when she got a bit bigger. But in her hand Emmy was now holding the softest little babygro and matching hat – it had tiny bunnies on it, and she rubbed the fabric between her thumb and forefinger, feeling just how soft it was.

“Taylor, this is lovely!” Emmy mused, turning eyes to her best friend and beaming. “It’s so soft!”

Taylor grinned. “I touched it and went “I’m buying this”!”

Emmy laughed lightly, passing the babygro to Kate, who stroked it herself and then passed it to Camilla to have a look at. Emmy tried to get to her feet to give Taylor a hug, but she struggled. Taylor jumped up and came over to her.

“Thank you,” Emmy murmured to her, cuddling her tightly. “I love it.”

“I had no idea what to get you,” Taylor said. “What do you get the girl who has everything, huh?”

Emmy barked a laugh. “Hardly!”

“Open Skippy’s now, he was very disappointed that he wouldn’t get to see you open it,” Zoe piped up, rolling her eyes.

“Baby showers are a lovely thing to do with all the girlies,” Kate said, pouting. “And Skippy is very far from being a girl.”

“If he was here right now, he probably would’ve turned his nose up at the tea and then asked for a beer,” Lizzie teased.

“And scoffed all the Fondant Fancies,” Taylor agreed, and they shared a laugh.

Emmy was tearing the wrapped paper off of Skippy’s present, and she groaned as soon as she caught a glimpse. “He better not have!”

Taylor and Zoe snickered, both knowing what it was.

“Oh, he did,” Emmy stated, scowling with mock-dismay, before she grinned and held up the tiny Arsenal shirt. She examined it, raising an eyebrow, tipping her head to the side, wondering how she was going to tell Harry off for obviously arranging this.

“Skippy got a few sizes up,” Zoe told her. “He was going to get a newborn one but I said she’d grow out of it, and Harry certainly won’t be taking a newborn baby to a football match. He got the 12-18 months size.”

“Look at the back,” Taylor said excitedly, watching her best friend’s reaction.

Emmy frowned in confusion, turning it round, before her heart melted. On the back, above the number 26, was the name Clarence. She gasped out loud. “Oh my god! He got it personalized!” She felt tears prickling in her eyes.

“And the number 26?” Zoe said, grinning. “Anything special about that number?”

Emmy thought for a moment, before she gasped. “It’s our anniversary!” Her and Harry had been wed on the 26th June.  She hastily wiped at the tears pooling in her eyes.

“Oh shit, are you crying?” Taylor said, concern flooding her expression.

“It’s just such a lovely gift,” Emmy blubbered, wiping her cheeks. “So unexpected!”

“Aw, shame Skippy couldn’t see your reaction,” Lizzie mused.

“He was worried you wouldn’t like it,” Taylor explained to Emmy.

“How could I not?” Emmy murmured, laying the shirt in her lap and staring at it for a moment. She sniffled, then smiled around at everyone. “Sorry, hormones.”

Everyone laughed lightly at that, and then Kate passed her the next gift. “Charlotte and George picked this out especially for you.”

Emmy raised an eyebrow in surprise then, with eagerness, she tore it open to reveal a small Tatty Teddy, wearing a little t-shirt that said “Amazing Auntie” on it. Her hand went to her mouth, covering her delighted gasp, and she felt tears prickling in her eyes again.

“Kate,” she breathed, swallowing to keep herself together. “I love it, it’s lovely! Thank you so much!”

“Aw, you’re welcome,” Kate said. “And George did actually pick it out, we went out looking for something for you and he saw it and said that you would like it.”

“You need to give them both huge hugs from me as a thank you,” Emmy said lightly, her eyes returning to her little teddy. Most of her other gifts had been things that she would need for when her little baby arrived, or it was toys or clothes for the baby. This was the first real thing that had been for her, and she loved it.

“How are George and Charlotte?” Sophie asked Kate, as Emmy moved on with the gifts for there were a lot to get through.

“They’re good, yes, George is loving nursery,” Kate replied, smiling. “Charlotte is well too. Not talking yet, but she’s got plenty of time.”

“It’s a lovely age, isn’t it?” Susie said to her. “Felicity is only a few months older than Charlotte, they’re so sweet at this age.”

Emmy gave Camilla a thank-you hug as Kate and Susie discussed their daughters, before Emmy’s phone started to ring. Emmy looked at the screen.

“It’s Harry,” she said.

“Leave it!” Beatrice gasped, with mock outrage.

“Ignore him!”

“Don’t answer!”

“No guys, this is a baby shower!” Zara said.

Emmy grinned round as everyone told her to dismiss the call, then she made an apologetic face before answering.

“Hello?” she said.

“Hey baby,” Harry’s voice came through. “Not interrupting, am I?”

“Afraid so,” she replied playfully.

“Sorry, is it the middle of the stripper’s performance?”

She rolled her eyes at him, a smile tugging at her lips. “Do you know what Skippy got me?”

“No? Why?”

“Now why don’t I believe you?” she teased.

“Am I in trouble?” he asked, his tone laced with fake innocence. “Sounds good.”

‘I’ll show you what he got me when I get home,” she said. “Although, of course, you already know.”

“Of course,” he said dryly. “I just got home from the charity, I wondered whether you’re having dinner there, otherwise I’ll make us a stir fry.”

“I’m full to bursting with cakes I’m afraid,” she admitted. “But you go ahead.”

“Is everything okay?” he asked. “No baby?”

“How ironic would it be if the baby turned up at the baby shower?” she said, laughing. “Everything’s fine, I’ve got a lot of stuff to show you when I get home. We’ve got a lot of lovely gifts.”

“Okay, babe, I’ll see you later,” he said.

She was suddenly overcome with the desire to be with him, to have him there, and she shook it off before bidding him goodbye. It reminded her of when they’d first gotten together, when she had wanted to spend time with him every second of every day, when all she had wanted was his presence and his attention. The feeling had surprised her now, especially after a few weeks of her and Harry being too busy for much other than planning for baby.

“Harry must be so excited,” Chelsea mused, smiling.

“He is, yeah, he’s wanted kids for a really long time now,” Emmy admitted. “He’s been really good with everything, he’s been really helpful, and he’s read so many of those pregnancy and new baby books.”

“Is he panicking yet?” Zara mused. “Worrying about the birth? He strikes me as an overprotective husband.”

“You know him very well,” Emmy answered, and they shared a laugh. “If he is he’s keeping it to himself. I just think he doesn’t want to make me nervous, you know?”

“Are you not nervous?” Zoe asked.

“I’m terrified,” Emmy said, making a scared face.

Before long all the presents were open, the little cakes and scones had been eaten and people had to start leaving. Emmy received hugs from each of the guests, and eventually gave Kate a huge hug and thanked her for hosting.

“That’s okay, I enjoyed it,” Kate said, smiling at her. “It was nice to have all the ladies together, wasn’t it?”

“It was, it was lovely,” Emmy said. “Thank you, Kate!”

“Stop thanking me,” Kate said. “I’ll get William to bring the larger gifts round yours later, are you okay taking that?”

Emmy nodded – she’d managed to cram most of the small presents into some carrier bags which Claire was helping her carry. The secretary helped her out into the grounds before crossing the lawn to Nottingham Cottage.

“How are you feeling about the baby?” Claire asked her. “You all ready?”

“Yeah, everything is ready now,” Emmy said, feeling a nervous jitter pass through her. “We just need her to arrive.”

“And it’s not long at all,” Claire said, smiling. “I’m excited for you, you know.”

“Even though the little one is going to make your job ten times harder?”

Claire laughed. “Indeed. It’ll be good for you to have a baby to focus on. Anyway, I’ll leave you here.” She placed down the bags she was holding as they reached the front door. “I’ll be seeing you on the 5th.”

“You will,” Emmy said. They bid each other goodbye before Emmy watched her secretary return to the palace, and Emmy finally knocked on the door and waited for Harry to answer.

The baby shower had been on the 1st November, exactly two weeks before the due date, and those two weeks passed in a busy, stressful, nervous blur. It was Remembrance week, and both Harry and Emmy had many engagements to attend. Emmy being heavily pregnant meant she was able to avoid some less-important engagements, such as the remembrance concert and aiding the poppy appeal in London, but on Remembrance Day she had to visit a school to celebrate and remember those lost, and then attend the service at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday. While Harry was terrified that she might go into labour during each of these engagements, he was reassured by Claire, who had taken every precaution with Emmy. The two of them even had a code word for if Emmy felt a contraction or her waters broke.

With the knowledge that Claire was taking care of Emmy, Harry had a day with his grandfather on the cards for Remembrance Day. Their annual service at Westminster Abbey was ahead of them.

Phillip threw his grandson a warm smile as Harry slipped into the back of the car, shivering from the icy wind that had nipped at his cheeks.

“Hi Grandpa,” he said, grinning. “God, it’s freezing today.”

“It certainly is, it’s got so cold this past week,” Phillip said. “It’s meant to be stormy this weekend.”

“Great, just in time for all the Remembrance Day stuff,” Harry said, laughing humourlessly. “Always the way, I guess.”

“Hmm, anyway, how are you, Harry?” Phillip said. “How’s Emmy? She must be nearing the due date now?”

“Yeah, four days to go,” Harry said, his words sending a terrified yet excited thrill through him. Four days, and then their little one would be there with them. Four days, and then their life would change, but completely for the better, Harry was sure. He couldn’t wait to meet his little princess. “She’s a bit nervous, we both are. But excited.”

“It must be nice for her to take a break and relax,” Phillip mused. “She deserves a break, that one.”

“She does, not that she’s getting one,” Harry said. “She’s had engagements all week. Her last is on Sunday. At the Cenotaph.”

“Is that wise? She could pop at any moment,” Phillip said gruffly, frowning with concern.

“She was invited to engagements, and she wanted to do them,” Harry explained. “She said that it was an important week and she didn’t want to let people down.”

“I’m sure people would’ve understood the circumstances-”

“Trust me, Grandpa, I know,” he said, chuckling. “I’ve tried telling her all these things, but she really just didn’t want to be sat at home doing nothing. She said that would be worse than going into labour on an engagement.”

Phillip arched an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

“Apparently.” Harry shrugged. “If that’s what she wants, I can’t force her to stay home, can I? Besides, she has her secretary with her. Claire will look after her.”

“Is Emmy out today?”

“Yeah, she’s visiting a school in Crawley today for Remembrance Day,” he explained.

“She could’ve come with us,” Phillip said.

“I know, but she was invited by the headmistress,” Harry said. “Besides, this is our thing. Me and you, Grandpa.”

He smiled. “That is true. For how much longer, I wonder.”

“Nah, you better not make me come on my own,” Harry replied, nudging him as he grinned. “Wouldn’t be the same without you here with me, Grandpa.”

Phillip couldn’t help but smile at that, although he truly did wonder how many of these Remembrance Day services he had left with his grandson. His health had been getting complicated, not that he was going to tell any of his grandchildren that. They all had so much on their plate, they didn’t need to worry about him.

“I’m very excited to meet your little girl,” Phillip said to him.

Harry beamed. “Me too.”

“I’m very proud of everything you’ve achieved, you know,” he added. “Your whole life seems to be coming together now. You’re so popular amongst the people, you and Emmy. Both of you are so passionate about good causes, it’s so nice to see.”

“Hmm,” Harry said, then added, “Guess you all chose well, didn’t you? Emmy’s perfect.”

Phillip could sense the bitterness in Harry’s tone. No matter how happy Harry was now, he would never forgive his family for forcing him into this situation against his will, and Phillip knew that Harry’s relationship with his grandmother and his father could never go back to what it was before. And, evidently, his own relationship with Harry.

“Look, Harry,” Phillip began, clearing his throat gruffly. “I want you to know that I never had anything to do with all this. You know that, right? It was never my idea to have you marry someone for publicity, nor for you to have a child when it suited us. I even tried to talk your grandmother out of the idea once it had been suggested.”

Harry didn’t answer. He didn’t know what to say.

“I thought it was a poor way to repay you for being such an amazing asset to the family,” Phillip said. “I never wanted this for you. I wanted you to find your own way.”

“Thanks, Grandpa,” Harry said, throwing him a smile to show that he appreciated his words.

“I just wanted to make sure we’re “good” as you young people say nowadays,” he added.

Harry couldn’t help but laugh. “We’re good, Grandpa, don’t worry. I never blamed you anyway.”

Phillip smiled at that, relieved. “I know it’s not my place to say, but I don’t get to see you very often. Your mother would be so proud of you, you know that?”

Harry’s throat closed up with emotion, and he swallowed, trying to hold it in. “I hope so.”

“She would. Infinitely proud.”

That really wasn’t helping Harry’s composure. He closed his eyes as he nodded, fighting tears. “Everything I do, I do to make her proud. Everything.”

Phillip patted his knee reassuringly. “You’re such a good man. You know, Harry, if I knew that you were going to succeed your grandmother and father as King, I could die happy.”

Harry barked a laugh at the absurdity. “Come on, Grandpa, this is me we’re talking about. Me. Racist, drunk, immature Harry whose bare ass was on the front page.”

“You, Harry, who set up a charity in Africa to combat HIV, who created the Invictus Games to help injured veterans, who is one of the heads of a campaign to help Mental Health in the UK.”

He scoffed. “That was Kate’s idea. Kate, the actual future Queen.”

Phillip waved dismissively. “You know, between you and me, I would rather leave the country in your hands. You realise that?”

“I don’t know how the country would feel about that,” Harry quipped, then looked desperately at his grandfather. “Pease tell me that this isn’t the next thing you and Granny want me to do. First marriage, then baby, then golden carriage to my coronation?”

Phillip laughed at that. “You got your sense of humour from me, you should be more thankful.”

Harry grinned too. “Some say that I’m you through and through.”

“I wish I was even half the man that you are,” Phillip replied.

“God, you’re so soppy today,” Harry said, laughing. “What’s up? Have you been on the bottle, because it’s only ten o’clock in the morning, Grandpa, you’re getting earlier and earlier-”

Phillip chuckled too, but before either could answer they’d began to approach Westminster Abbey, and then the car was stopping outside the majestic building, as the crowds gathered to watch cheered in greeting.

“Let’s do this,” Harry said, grinning at his grandfather.

#historyrepeatsitself-phff #Prince Harry #prince harry fanfiction #prince harry fanfic

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Steph. There's a post going around arguing that our John doesn't love Sherlock but despises him (it's not an anti johnlock post tho) and it made me ridiculously sad. Can you give some examples of John loving Sherlock? :( It really bothered me

Yeah, Nonny, I saw that one too. While I can understand where the argument lies, Uhhhh I just don’t see it the way they do. I’ve written a similar meta before, but I never broke it down before. This isn’t all of them, just a short little list…for instance:

FIRST OF ALL: JOHN’S BLOG. If I didn’t know that it was official, I would have thought it was a fan-site. It’s terribly romantic and John essentially fawns over Sherlock in almost every entry. Read especially the entries done during the hiatus. They’re… just… JOHN, PLEASE.

Martin’s acting. Just, every time John is around Sherlock, his face does 300 different emotions, but the most blatant is lust / adoration / incredulity. 

Anytime the show is in John’s POV, it’s just… Sherlock is this ethereal being that John “can look but not touch”.

THE FUCKING PILOT. Just… The whole Pilot. John is literally one step away from jumping Sherlock in a back alley. And the really gay rooftop music. Just. Listen to that and be amazed at how gay that is. That’s ALL from John’s POV. AND John had this look on his face:

ASIP:

John had a limp until Sherlock came into his life and gave it new meaning.

John has trust issues – Mycroft confirms this and says John doesn’t trust easily – yet for some reason he was okay with Sherlock. “And the madman himself? He’s fascinating.”

He hits on Sherlock the first night. Granted this isn’t a sign of love, but dear god John had no idea that one little thing and rejection would start his endless pining.

Laughing against the wall together, and in awe at Sherlock curing his limp.

The eye sex. Good god, the eye sex. 

He stands up to Mycroft DEFENDING Sherlock and he has no idea who Mycroft is or what he’s capable of.

Even though he didn’t know Sherlock that long, he ran after Sherlock when the phone pinged.

He killed a man for Sherlock after knowing him for only about 24 hours, and had no guilt about it.

TBB

His PIN is “SHER”. Like at this point he’s only known Sherlock for a couple months and he already changed his PIN to “SHER”???? COME ON, JOHN, PLEASE.

He goes after Sherlock rather than protect Soo Lin, because he is worried Sherlock will hurt himself.

Spends his whole date with Sarah thinking about and talking to Sherlock. He constantly checks over his shoulder to see Sherlock’s reactions to literally everything.

And this was all after he just constantly lingers his gaze over Sherlock for the first half of the episode.

Eye sex.

TGG

He has incredible guilt about the blog post that causes the Yard to make fun of Sherlock.

“I thought you would have been flattered”. Literally John is hurt that Sherlock seemingly doesn’t like his blog. They had a fucking DOMESTIC because of a BLOG POST and John’s hurt feelings. Hashtag MARRIED.

John races back to Baker Street from Sarah’s AFTER SHE’S SUGGESTIVE WITH HIM just to make sure Sherlock is okay.

John’s jealousy towards Jim flirting with Sherlock.

*sighs* EYE SEX.

John was willing to kill The Golem for Sherlock.

John, strapped to a bomb vest, took an opening and grappled and held on tight to Moriarty, told Sherlock to run. Essentially, he was willing to sacrifice his body to a slurry of gunfire and an explosion if only Sherlock would be safe from Moriarty.

“People would talk.” Why does that concern you so much, John.

Then, John was willing to die with Sherlock, without hesitation. They shared one single look and it was done.

ASiB

John’s jealousy throughout the entire episode; he wouldn’t be jealous if there wasn’t some latent pining.

MORE eye sex and toffee eyes, or John looking like a kicked puppy for half the episode because he is sad that Irene seems to have taken his place.

John essentially gives up dating in this episode.

John goes on a case for Sherlock because Sherlock was too lazy to go on his own.

John checking out Sherlock in a sheet. 

Followed by them being silly.

The unnecessary tackle.

John had a date the night that Irene drugged Sherlock, but John stayed home to take care of Sherlock instead. Oh and the bum pat. JOHN, PLEASE.

John’s concern about Sherlock’s danger night has him teaming up with both Mrs Hudson and Mycroft.

John decided to try to pick up Sherlock again, only to be cock-blocked by Irene.

Even though he was with Jeanette, John consistently pays more attention to Sherlock at Christmas, eventually driving Jeanette to call John out on his obsession with Sherlock, naming Sherlock as her “competition”.

Irene knows EXACTLY what John likes. 

John confronts Irene and tells her to tell Sherlock she’s alive, because he hates seeing Sherlock upset; he thinks Sherlock was grieving about her, and not over his confused feelings John.

Irene essentially tells John HE LOVES SHERLOCK. She compares herself to him, AND JOHN DOESN’T DENY IT, but silently acknowledges that yes, he and Sherlock are a couple.

John wants to talk about what happened at Battersea, but Sherlock denies him because Sherlock’s scared of his own feelings and thinks he’s protecting John from Moriarty by keeping him at arm’s length.

John thinks Sherlock would be hurt to discover that Irene is for-real dead this time, so he chooses to lie, because John doesn’t want Sherlock to go into a sad fit again. John chose the “kinder” option, and then gives Sherlock what he wants when he asks for the phone even though it is not allowed.

THOB

John goes on a holiday with Sherlock. Just… they go on a holiday. There’s no argument about it, just… they go.

John doesn’t deny that he and Sherlock are together when the Innkeeper assumes they are together, rather he deflects, because it’s too close to the truth.

John pulls rank to show off to Sherlock for a change.

The cheekbones and the coat collar, essentially revealing that he stares at Sherlock all the time.

John forgives Sherlock for his brashness, experimentation, and ignorance of John.

TRF

Eye sex.

Another “people will talk” comment when they hold hands, and THEN John still holds onto Sherlock’s sleeve while Sherlock is babbling on.

John’s anger at both Kitty and Jim, defending Sherlock’s honour.

The rooftop exchange between the two and John’s unwavering faith in Sherlock (“I know you for real”).

John’s complete breakdown at seeing Sherlock dead.

The graveyard. Fuck.

Seriously, THE GRAVEYARD IS THE MOST BLATANT SCENE IN S2.

MHR 

Just the entire second half of MHR. John mourns like a grieving widower, needing a heavy drink and to be alone to watch the video of Sherlock again, holding back his tears as he watches Sherlock on screen.

In the blog entry, he talks about how charming Sherlock was and how much John himself understood Sherlock. The WHOLE entry is just one giant love letter to Sherlock.

TEH

John physically goes to Baker St. to “move on”. John couldn’t, in 2 years, bring himself to stay at Baker Street because it reminded him too much of Sherlock. Mrs Hudson calls him out on how he was “after” and John doesn’t say anything. Then he is angry about the comment that they were a couple because THEY WEREN’T. He blames himself for Sherlock’s death. 

To “move on”, John jumps into a relationship to get over Sherlock believing that his miracle would never come, only to have Sherlock come back at the worst moment and Mary manipulate John into a proposal.

Donde Estas, Yolanda? This song pretty much is John’s heart speaking.Actually, most of the music selection is really very “John” and his inner turmoil of trying to understand if he should try to make a move on Sherlock. Music in Sherlock is always important; it’s always projecting the feelings of either John or Sherlock on a subtextual level.

More eye sex.

John returning to Baker Street on his own, before the bonfire, dressed in his old outfit… It’s the only time in the whole episode he dresses like “pre-S3” John"… And his oscillation on the pavement and all that. 

And John’s RETURNS to 221b a second time. Because he can’t stay away.

I know it doesn’t look like it, but John forgave Sherlock.

“I was hooked. He’s like a drug.” JOHN, PLEASE.

#SherlockLives means #JohnWatsonLives. JOHN H. WATSON, PLEASE.

TSo3

SURPRISE! More eye sex and toffee eyes.

Stag night, pretty much all of it. It’s clear John is trying to loosen Sherlock up to make him more receptive to John’s advances. John tries to hit on Sherlock one more time before the marriage, but Sherlock was too drunk to understand what was happening. John assumes, with finality, that Sherlock doesn’t want him that way.

The obviously staged tumble forward to grab at Sherlock’s knee, followed by, “I don’t mind” and an indifferent shrug.

“I’m there if you want it.”

John’s first reaction to Sherlock’s adorable confusion after the best man speech was to hug Sherlock; he loves him so much that he is very moved by Sherlock’s admission to the whole of the room to how much John means to Sherlock. John even cried beforehand, and you can just SEE his FUCKING FACE glow every time he looks at Sherlock.

John ALSO grabs and holds Sherlock’s neck not once but twice in this episode.

John cluing in at the end of the episode that Sherlock does indeed feel something more for John when they share a look, and not being able to deal with his mistake, so he no-homo’d out of there because it hurt too much.

HLV

Only a month into their marriage, John is having wet dreams about Sherlock, and is visibly disappointed when Sherlock is not the one at the door.

John contacts Mycroft when Sherlock is overdosed.

Only to kick him out shortly after because he is upsetting Sherlock.

He tries to make Sherlock laugh and succeeds.

John’s jealousy once again, this time over Janine.

John’s longing looks to Sherlock.

John’s subtle “I want to come, too” when Sherlock mentions the case.

When John is searched at the flat, he makes a joke about his dick IN FRONT OF SHERLOCK to another man.

John’s immediate reaction to Sherlock being shot.

John’s off-screen acceptance to let Sherlock show him the truth about his murderer.

Mary knew that John loved Sherlock. It’s the whole reason she needed Sherlock gone, because John was starting to stray.

She didn’t want John to name the baby.

“John, you are addicted to a certain lifestyle. You’re abnormally attracted to dangerous situations and people.” [x]

Not really confirmed, but fandom assumes John left to stay at Baker Street during the 6 months we haven’t seen to care for Sherlock.

John’s acceptance at Sherlock’s plan for Appledore, even though it’s Christmas.

John not even flinching at the “damsel in distress” line.

John begrudgingly allowing himself to be flicked in the face just because Sherlock begged him to.

John’s horrified expression when Sherlock kills someone for him.

The Tarmac Scene, pretty much the whole thing. It’s set up like Casablanca’s plane scene, and John knows he has to let Sherlock go; he fumbles to find the right words to say to Sherlock. John, though, knew exactly what Sherlock was going to / wanted to say, and I think it hurts him that Sherlock never admitted his feelings.

TAB 

Because this episode takes place entirely in Sherlock’s head, I don’t think we should really include it in this list, but I’m going to anyway, since Sherlock actually picked up on John’s love for him. He knows that John will accept him regardless of his faults if he confessed his love for him. I think this is why S4 doesn’t sit right with me, because it completely diverted from this HUGE revelation that Sherlock had made in TAB.

Sherlock understands that John will always choose him, in the end. Again, another thing that makes S4 so OOC.

Also something that should be noted, running on the assumption that the modern scenes may possibly be real, John is concerned about the overdose and the fact that it could kill Sherlock.

Mycroft’s plea to John signifies that Myc knows about how much John cares for Sherlock.

And these are a crapshoot, because the whole series did a 180˚ with the narrative and John’s character. I’m so angry because I don’t believe for one second John would choose Mary over Sherlock. Anyway, here goes:

T6T

Sherlock is made Rosie’s godfather. I know that’s not much since there are two other god parents, but John absolutely insists to Sherlock needs to be there.

There’s speculation that the night texting is actually between John and Sherlock. I choose to support this theory because it is one of the few semi-in-character things in this series.

TLD

Ghost!Mary is supposed to be a projection of John’s inner thoughts, feelings and inner turmoil. Ghost!Mary often refers to how important Sherlock is to John, and that Sherlock is “his”. As shittily annoying as she was, it was REALLY insightful into John’s own thought process about Sherlock. 

The “romantic entanglement” speech. John is projecting here. He is essentially admitting to Sherlock that he lost his chance with Sherlock, and he regrets it.

John allows a moment of weakness in front of Sherlock, and allows himself to seek comfort in Sherlock’s embrace. As well, he allows Sherlock to touch him intimately; the neck is a vulnerable place and it’s very significant that John allows Sherlock this.

TFP

I’m not even going to bother with this one, since I think this is a fake episode. I think the closest is, given that I think this is in John’s head, he uses Molly as a stand in for himself, and he projects himself into Molly and his own fears for confessing to Sherlock.

Oh, and also if it is in John’s head, he pictures a life where he and Sherlock are raising Rosie; Sherlock has made effort to make 221b habitable for her, and John loves Sherlock so much that he believes and knows that Sherlock would do this for them.

Granted, it gets less and less obvious in S3 and S4; S3 because I believe that we are in Sherlock’s POV and he perceives his relationship with John differently, and in S4 because I believe that S4 is a false narrative and it literally took great pains to keep them separated for some stupid reason.

Finally, I’ve also written about why John loves Sherlock in past posts, because of similar discourse:

Why I Love John Watson

John Loves Sherlock!

People Severely Misread John’s Character in S3

John Was Scared of Losing Sherlock

Why is John Harsh in TAB?

Why Does Sherlock Love John?

I hope all of these help you feel better, Nonny, and please, everyone, I most likely will have missed many-a-point, so please add to them – I study Sherlock’s character more than John’s, so I have a harder time seeing John’s cues!

#steph replies #sherlock meta #pining john #Anonymous #this is a JOHN POSITIVE POST #I KNOW THE PROBLEMS WITH S4 #AND WHAT AN ASSHOLE HE IS IN S4 #just please... keep this a happy post #my john-loving followers really need it #john loves sherlock #my meta #long post #sherlock all seasons

[illuminating-dragons]

Dreams And Visions (1/51): A Matter of Family

Series Summary: Some days and nights in the lives of Sherlock and John, and Holmes and Watson after the Dream. They're not always happy, they don't always win, but they will always be together, and maybe that's all they need, in the end.Sequel to 'Sleeping on It'.

Chapter Summary: John’s got some skeletons in the closet, and Sherlock decides to rattle them.

Read it on AO3

Sherlock didn’t want to talk about It.

He and John had been as blissfully happy as an irritating older brother, infuriating Yarders and an overly-indulgent landlady could allow a couple to be. Nearly two months into their new relationship, they had yet to have a ‘couple-fight’ (This was established after John had pointed out that the domestics they had before they were a couple didn’t count as their first fight, no matter what. Sherlock had lost that argument—“which isn’t a fight either, love”—and had been careful ever since.)

Moriarty had been quiet, there were enough cases to keep them busy but not too busy, still plenty of time for candlelit dinners at Angelo’s and afternoons looking over cold cases, and they’d even gone to the cinema together. Sherlock wanted very badly to protest this arrangement, but got caught up in the spy story. (He did not ‘have a spy thing’, not at all. John was simply extrapolating from two film preferences, and anyways, John had chosen the films, hadn’t he?)

And Sherlock was happy, really happy for the first time in his life. Even early days with John, before the Dream (John called it the Night, but that wasn’t very specific, it had nothing to do with ‘magic moonlight’, as Mrs. Hudson said). He had a lover, something he’d never asked for, and found that it was better than everyone always said. Things were so usually backwards to that, and he didn’t want to spoil it.

So Sherlock didn’t want to talk about it.

But he couldn’t forget.

He tried, but he couldn’t delete the look on Holmes’ face when he asked whether John had told him about his family. How Watson hadn’t told Holmes about it until after fifteen years of friendship. How it was that revelation, more than Afghanistan, the horrors they saw as detectives, or even the ‘solution’ to Moriarty, that taught Holmes that Watson ‘hides his pain well’.

Sherlock heard John scream from nightmares every so often from the first night they shared a flat. He saw him turn green at the sight of an arson that killed a family of seven, saw a flicker of fear in his eyes when Moriarty was mentioned. They were normal reactions, subdued perhaps but still appropriate to the situation. Before the Dream he assumed that John Watson was as English as his name, and emotion was simply not done.

Now he knew for a fact that wasn’t true. John was open with his affection, clear with annoyance and laughed as loud as Sherlock did at crime scenes (well, they weren’t supposed to giggle, what else could they do?) It was only pain he hid, and Sherlock wanted to know why. He needed to make plans, specific to important details, so that John would never be hurt again.

Talking about it, on the other hand…

In the end it was John who started the conversation. They were sitting on the couch together, Sherlock paging through his email while John typed up their last case, head on Sherlock’s shoulder. Mrs. Hudson had gone shopping, as there were no more biscuits for tea and that was a Bit Not Good.

The sun was coming in at an awkward angle and John grumbled as he tilted his laptop screen back and forth, always coming back to the same position. Sherlock grinned.

“Mycroft does that too.”

John looked up at him. “What?”

“Well, he normally does it with books. He insisted on reading outside so Mummy wouldn’t fuss at him for exercise—he needed it even then—and the sun was his constant enemy. He kept trying to make the light fall differently, but he would always end up holding the book the same way without even realizing.” He sighed. “Should have known then he was going to be a controlling, stubborn…”

“Alright Sherlock,” John said, but he was smiling as he stopped moving his screen.

Sherlock hesitated only a second. If this wasn’t the right time, when would it be? “Did Harry do anything like that?”

John stopped typing. “Like what?”

“You know, those mundane little habits that people pick up in childhood and never get rid of?” Sherlock ached to watch his lover’s face, but he knew that wasn’t a good idea.

John leaned away from him, just enough to make it seem natural. “I don’t think so, not really. She’s quite a bit older than me, you know.”

Sherlock looked at him. “Mycroft and I are seven years apart, while you and Harry are barely five. You would have been around her more often than I with Mycroft. Why don’t you remember?” Sherlock felt his gut tighten. John had an excellent memory.

“I don’t know,” John said. “You tell me.”

It was a joke between them, a come-on for Sherlock to use his “bloody brilliant” powers and coax the information out of his silent but smiling lover. It was fun, although apparently it ranged from ‘adorable’ to ‘vomit-inducing’ in public.

John wasn’t smiling right now. He had pulled away from Sherlock completely .

“You were never close,” Sherlock said.

“Well, no, obviously not—I already told you that bit.” John was tense.

“But were you ever close to anyone?” Sherlock mused. “I don’t think you were, though I can’t imagine why.”  How could anyone not love you, John?

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say.

John stood up quickly, backing away from the couch. “Yes, I know, family’s meant to care about each other. I think you’d better drop it, Sherlock.”

“Why?” Sherlock challenged. “I want to know.”

“What do you want to know?” John snapped. “That I have no living family?”

“Yes you do,” Sherlock replied, baffled.

“No, Sherlock. No, I don’t, and I haven’t for most of my life.”

“They abused you,” Sherlock guessed.  

That was very clearly the wrong thing to say.

John stepped back, closed his eyes. His left hand was trembling.  He turned around and walked up the stairs to his old room. A few seconds later, Sherlock heard the door slam.

Not Good.

Sherlock was so wrapped in his own misery that he didn’t hear John come downstairs in the darkness, long after tea had been forgotten.  Didn’t notice him at all, in fact, until he was standing in the doorway of their room.

“Sherlock?” John sounded tired and…sore, the way he sounded after a long day of work and chasing criminals. Sherlock’s heart ached in response.

“Sherlock, I’m…I’m sorry dear.”

Sherlock, who’d been on the point of reciting his thousand apologies, looked up in amazement.

John stood in front of him, hands in his pockets. His eyes looked funny, though they weren’t red. He’d probably not been blinking enough, Sherlock deduced—John did that when he was upset, it was one of his tells.

Sherlock laid his hands by his sides. “I don’t follow. You have no reason to apologize to me, I intruded on a painful subject and made deductions after you told me to stop. You’ve been attempting to teach me common courtesy when dealing with strangers, and here I can’t maintain the proper behaviour with my own lover. The blame is entirely on my side, and I don’t fault you for losing your temper.”

John shook his head. “I wasn’t mad at you. I mean, yes I was, because you did push it, but…I didn’t want to talk about it, and that wasn’t really fair.”

“It clearly caused you discomfort,” Sherlock frowned. “Why is that unfair?”

“Maybe because you’re my lover, and my flatmate, and my friend, and you deserve to know why I don’t want to talk about my family?” John retorted.  

“I could deduce that for myself,” Sherlock said.

“You shouldn’t have to,” John said quietly. “Don’t you get it? There’s supposed to be talking and…baring of feelings, in relationships. You’ve told me about your family, and your nemeses, some of whom you think are your family" (Sherlock rolled his eyes)…"hell, you shared your whole world with me.”

“Not all of it,” Sherlock admitted, feeling a little uncomfortable. Since when was he the open one of the two of them? “Just the parts that I think will interest you.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t even ask if you were interested in my life before you, I just didn’t say anything and let your deductions be enough. That wasn’t fair to you.”

Sherlock thought this over. “I am interested,” he said carefully, “but not because I particularly relish the details. I am interested because your past is part of you, and I am beginning to realize it shaped you in ways I did not consider.”

John rubbed a hand over his face. “I wish it hadn’t. I tried not to let it.”

Sherlock hesitated, then patted the bed next to him. John came over slowly, sitting carefully on the edge of the bed. Sherlock held out his hand and John took it.

John took a deep breath. “I don’t think I’m ready…to go into all of it.”

Sherlock waited.

“But you deserve to hear the broad strokes, at least.” John’s grip tightened on his hand.

“My parents didn’t want me. They as good as told me right from the beginning, and I was expected to deal with that. I was never starving or anything like that, but when I wasn’t perfect…well, Father always made his displeasure clear.”

Sherlock thought back to the marks he’d seen on John’s back, his shoulders. He’d known they were too old to be from war, too deliberate to be from rugby accidents…but he hadn’t asked.

“Mother wasn’t unkind to me, but she died when I was eight and then it was just Harry and I with Dad. It was bad for quite a while—when she came out, when she started to drink as much as Dad, when she refused to go to school anymore—well. I had to be the perfect child. There was no reward in it, no congratulations: I wasn’t supposed to be alive so I had to make up for the mistakes of the daughter he adored. Still adores, despite everything.”

Sherlock realized he was gripping John’s hand too tightly. He tried to loosen his grip, but John hung on more tightly.

“I  got good grades, and I was smart, and I got into uni a year early. I saved what I could and I had some money from my granddad. He was good to me; gave me my first Gray’s Anatomy, actually. He was a soldier when he was young.”

That detail, a throwaway sentence to anyone else, explained everything.

“So I got into pre-med and became a surgeon, then I went to war. Why not? I wanted to do some good in the world, and it wasn’t like anyone would miss me. I did three years in Afghanistan, got shot, and flew into an airport with no one there to greet me.” John smiled, but it was shaky. “Then I met a madman and fell in love.”

There was a long pause; Sherlock could tell John wasn’t quite done.

“I tried to love them,” John whispered. “More than anything. But I just couldn’t.”

Sherlock pulled John into his arms, letting him bury his face in the crook of his neck. “They didn’t love you,” he whispered.

“Why should that matter? They were my family.”

Sherlock just held him for a few long minutes, running his hand up and down John’s back, trying to avoid the scars. He pressed a kiss to John’s bad shoulder, then to his temple then tilted John’s face so he could kiss his forehead. John stared back at him, eyes soft with pain.

“There was nothing you could have done.” John tried to protest but Sherlock held firm. “John, they hurt you. They made you think you were nothing. You were very lonely, weren’t you?”

John didn’t reply, trembling in his arms.

“And you grew up into a kind, brave, wise man anyways,” Sherlock continued in a low voice. “And you fell into company with others like you, but you couldn’t see that, because no one ever told you that you were wonderful. And why would they tell you that? They must’ve thought you knew.”

John buried his face in Sherlock’s shoulder. “Sherlock, I’m not—”

“You were wrong about one other thing too,” Sherlock whispered.

“What?”

“You’ve got a living family. You’ve got Mrs. Hudson, Greg…even Molly and Mycroft.”

John wasn’t trembling so badly anymore, but he still wasn’t looking at Sherlock.

“And you have me, too.” Sherlock made John look at him. “I’ll be your family as long as you want me. You love better and stronger than anyone I’ve ever met, and if you can’t find it in your heart to love those you were born to, the fault’s on them, not you.”

John kissed him instead of replying, but Sherlock knew what he meant.

“If you do want to talk about this another time, we can.”

John wiped his eyes. “I think that might have done it. I didn’t know I was worrying about all of that.” He smiled. “You did, though. Thank you, dear.”

“It’s my business to know, especially about you,” Sherlock replied.

John kissed him again, longer this time. “Thank you for being family. For sharing yours. For everything.”

“You’re not alone anymore John,” Sherlock said seriously.  “And you never will be again.”

He knew he’d have to say it again, maybe a thousand times before John would believe it, but he’d say it every day for the rest of their lives if he had to.

That’s what you did for family, after all.

#sherlock fanfiction #sherlock holmes fanfiction #johnlock #sherlock AU #crossover with original canon #dreams and visions #sleeping on it 'verse #crosspost from AO3 #acme146 fanfiction #tw past child abuse #hurt/comfort

[spiritcc]

The Musgrave Ritual

All the meh reactions that I’ve seen about this episode completely made me forget that it’s actually fucking awesome. 

Screw ye guys and ur weird fixation on kilts, I’m enjoying my atmospheric out of town case that is for once not linked to all these moriarties and other shit, and I’m having a great time.

As always, the Ritual(tm) says to beware the spoilers, even though the case is the only one out of the whole series that is a total standalone. 

Let’s enjoy the holiday just as much as Watson did.

I honestly adore this episode so much. You can accuse it of cheap scares, poor plot and the murderer unreveal, but that’s something I can’t really understand, cuz the episode’s great. 

That crown was on the ceiling all that time since frame one, you can’t see it well in the middle, but it’s there in plain sight.

Somebody fire seven centuries worth of janitors please, or just don’t praise anyone who found the crown past day one of the treasure hunt, yall stupid kilt motherfuckers deserve not having forks. 

Red’s dad is played by Red, genetics in action.

I liked the spoopy opening scene. Well, I liked everything in this episode, but yeah, the spoops were nice, very morbid from the very start, I thought they’d kill the elder kid.   

Originally I wanted to have it as they say it, the black man, but my proofreader was like how about no. So, the man in black. Very spoopy, yes. 

Pleasantly continuing to remind people that Watson is still a doctor and has a job to do. Bonus points for that very polite/ax-crazy dude for thinking he’s exceptional.

Now, Red. Reg, whatever, so far it’s Red and I’m calling him Red till the day I die.  

I loved Red because he is so woke about the entire situation, finally an adequate dude in a horror movie. Traditions my ass, ancient rivalry my balls, let’s just all chill there for a second and maybe fist bump to resolve all the accumulated problems. He’s such a simple guy it’s simply delightful to watch. Of course he’d give Watson permission to write about the story, that wouldn’t be even a permission per se, just something along the lines of “okay!”. He’s great, Holmes chooses cool dudes to hang out with.

When your uni buddy reads too much medieval netflix before sleep and thanks you for a night of wet dreams

Let’s admire an actual castle for once, Russian film companies might still struggle with overseas decorations, but they always have Vyborg and Vyborg always has some great stuff to offer. 

I don’t blame Red for wanting to demolish like all of it for reconstruction, this pile of stone shite needs it. It’s only fun and games until you actually have to live there on a permanent basis. 

Tag urself im watson

This is where Watson starts to have a great time, nothing gets you more pumped up than an excited dude demonstrating how to chop a head off using you as an example.

So, I do think that the spoopy feel of this episode works, firstly because it’s a new case and therefore you really have no idea what to expect and what happens next. Can’t do it with the hound, can you, when every dog on the street knows the plot by heart. And secondly, I think the actual visual part of it looks not only spoopy, but quite charming in its own way.

The old feel to the bagpipes music, the old books telling old tales of war and drama, the fact that everything described in those books actually took place one way or another. You just can’t think about anything else than “yikes, those times”. 

That’s why the spooper element works for me as well, you literally have no idea what to expect.

When your open-minded brother starts sharing ideas at the table

Now, I kinda feel uncomfortable with how this episode played with my own deduction games. Everything was set up around Tom, till the last second pretty much, the dude was as suspicious as ever. Brunton, as the canon perpetrator, looked so obvious you just dismiss him automatically. Then the episode double plays you and finally removes Tom as a decoy, only to reveal that it was indeed Brunton all along. I’m uncomfortable how easy it was and how easily this episode decided to screw with you. Actually, the Brunton reveal kind of disappointed me the first time, I thought it was too weak, now I don’t even notice anything since I know what happens. 

Other than that, Tom was not plotting a murder, Tom was just being very hospitable in the best traditions of Scotland. Culture clash. 

Their sibling relationship with Red is a nice sight though, Red couldn’t care less about Tom’s status and Tom is constantly pissed with Red’s ideas, but keeps most of it to himself. And both of them love each other, that was very nice. 

Yeah yeah, kilts.

It looks like the only thing everyone got from this entire episode, and I swear I still don’t get the hype. And it doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that I live in Scotland, but all I’ve seen so far is the kilts and not a single word about the actual episode. 

When your foot is the only thing stopping a fucking armed mystical psycho from breaking into the hall and butchering a man.

Yeah, this is where the black man finally resurfaces again, great spoop content

Their delivery of this is quite great, in my opinion, reading the same books again, but now suddenly noticing this myth you’ve just found out about all over the text. Dun dun duuun, he’s always been there bitch. 

I actually got the spoops from this moment, someone may laugh at me, but I find it kinda nice that I can still get spooped by some dude in a robe in our age of perverted horror innovations.

Oh, Watson is having fun, Watson’s on best holiday ever. 

Watson’s been accidentally hearing and seeing all the right things, but everybody kept dismissing him for various reasons. 

Yarmolnik

If I give up all the remaining decency I have about running this blog, I’d be spamming Yarmolnik till the day I get deleted. He’s been great pals with Panin, has a nice bromance with Boyarsky, but toch-v-toch is the show that ruined my life. I watch it for like 60% just to see him and other judges interact, these guys are unreal. This guy is unreal, I’m totally biased, he;s such a great dude. 

Anyway, Scottish cowboy

You know, since it’s kind of established the hound story didn’t have a real life source behind it in this series, this case here looks like it’s the one that spawned a lot of canon stories about castles and mysteries. Not even talking about the obvious Musgrave story, this case heavily foreshadows the Baskervilles, but for some reason, to me the biggest easter egg was the fucking sir Henry the Canadian cowboy from the Soviet series. Like don’t tell me these guys are not the same person, Red and Soviet sir Henry are like 80% identical. I’ll just believe Watson’s canon hound included Mikhalkov’s version of Henry, thanks to Red, the cowboy in a kilt. 

Stop eating glasses

I like how they actually give some background explanation as to how these dudes got to know each other in the first place, they’re both chemist nerds. 

Holmes went here literally for the lab equipment, and Red slept in the lab during this episode. He even wrote some paper. I just find it very interesting, Holmes actually interacting with someone to the point of them freely inviting him into an ancient castle, and Red, the simple okay guy, being a science nerd.

Watson’s raving 

Even in this episode Holmes managed to get punched in the face, fascinating. 

This Brunton guy sure has no fucking life.

Spend five years working as a fucking servant in your neighbour’s house?? Literally just drop any real responsibilities, abandon your own castle and go fucking carry trays for some dudes and then play it off as something very not loser-y?? No wonder Red is screaming, what the fuck’s all this medieval traditions shit.

ITS THE FUCKING XIX CENTURY LOOK AT THE CALENDAR DINOSAUR SHITE WHO THE FUCK DOES THIS

Of course Scotland does, there’s like, dudes about to kill each other? No? Not planning to help or anything? Bagpipes? Alright. Bagpipes

Bagpipes, hehe. One dude went like, oh wow other dude, I stuck a pipe in a bag and it makes sounds!!! Other dude be like, holy macaroni, first dude, we must think of a name for this pipe in a bag. The first dude be like, bagpipe. The other dude like, what if more pipes. The first dude, bagpipes. They had a jolly time. 

Literally how fucking stupid they were, Charles I was like the biggest and the laziest troll out there, but I’m more outraged by the fact that it worked. 

When some pathetic asshole defeats you in a fight, ties you into a celebration and starts hitting on your daughter.

See, Red is a chill guy, Red doesn’t need any drama in his life, Red wants some progress, pants, and a fork. You really should be questioning your apeass traditions there, buddy. 

So, hound of the Baskervilles. We had the spoops, we had a woman crying in the night, we had a rich heir coming from abroad wanting some sweet renovations, we had a guy hiding under a different identity, we had a temporal decoy, and we had a portrait.

Yep, throw a pup into the equation and there you have it, this Musgrave castle alone was a great source for some great stories in the future.

Why wouldn’t it be great, it has an atmosphere of its own, an entertaining case, a very likable main character, a castle, and a plot in its own little world that gives you a break from all the moriarty drama. Some families do have a quite barbaric history and very unforgiving customs. Treasures, mysteries and family rivalry make for some fascinating stories. And yo, the wild Scotland we all love, amiright.  

This is a blessed image of Watson petting a chicken, share it with your friends and gain +5 nights of man in black resistance and +2 pants

Holmes was plotting shit all this time, and yeah, his logic was always solid. He never considered Tom a threat, Tom would never need this entire shit show if he wanted the money. Holmes went after Stafford since day two, saved a gal in the process, trolled Watson in the meanwhile. He sure took no shit.

If the story was told from his perspective, it would’ve been the most boring case out of the bunch, and that is considering that Holmes was actually wondering the catacombs all by himself. The guy just never took no shit from anybody and had a great time and an easy case. 

Finally, what a scene, man. The times when the show first aired were some pretty dark times, nothing from whatever the promotional material ever explained what the premise of the series was, no elaborating whatsoever. Here’s a new Holmes show, Holmes is kinda pathetic, Adler is kinda the chick, everything is kinda different. See ya at nine on channel Russia One. That’s it, seriously, one of the reasons everybody opposed to it in the first place, nobody fucking knew what the show was about in the first place, just peeps mindlessly butchering canon once again for no fucking reason. The show itself never bothered to explain much. This scene at the end of the fifth episode, more than halfway through the series, was that long-awaited explanation out of nowhere that cleared up ALL the questions, and that scene was damn fucking good.

The reality is too boring or controversial to be told in its original form. The canon as we know it is a big pompous lie created to appeal to a reader. What I’ve been seeing in the show for the past episodes was the actual reality behind it. 

That was legit the first time ever when the premise became as clear as a day, and I couldn’t even care how late it was because the reveal was so fucking great. We are the ones that make them heroes. Or not. That’s the question then, who are the heroes? Them or us? 

Huh, huh, Watson

In my opinion, this is the point that makes this editor guy the accidental ACD of this universe. Watson might’ve modeled the Holmes character and all, but it was this fucking guy that pushed Watson to do all of this. He’s the actual creator. The force behind this entire world. The godly entity. Completely oblivious to the entire fact. He’s fucky, but here’s his credit. 

Could anyone have bought the reality as it was? Indeed, probably not. Would have they bough the Musgrave case in its original form? Totally.

#new russian sherlock holmes #marathon notes #the musgrave ritual

[istartedbelievinginitmyself]

Review of Harry Potter and the cursed child (play)

Hello!. So on Sunday 1st January i finally got to see Harry Potter and the cursed child in the Palace Theatre in London. And here is what i think:

It was absolutly incredible!!! One of the best shows i have seen so far (and i saw a lot of shows on west end). It was beautifully artistic and it nearly made me cry several times which means a lot.

The Plot

I know a lot of people don't like the plot, but it worked so great on stage. I loved the plot, it was exciting until the end. It is not perfect of course (there is nothing that's perfect not even the original books) but the plot was very good, i loved the time travelling and it served it's main purpose: character development. Other than the books or fantastic beast cursed child is not about adventure or about the world and the plot so much, but it's about interesting characters and character development, mainly about the development of Harrys and Albus' father son relationship. So the main focus is not on the plot, but on the characters. So i will move on to the characters.

    The characters/actors

I saw the whole main cast (which made me really happy) so here we go:

  Harry James Potter

I saw Jamie Parker as Harry Potter and i can't say enough how amazing he is. His performance was one of the best performances i ever got to see on a stage and this man is so talented it's not normal any more. His portrayal of Harry's pain about his relationship to Albus and about his haunting memories of the past was beautiful. His screams in Harry‘s nightmare scenes were bonechilling and we see how much Harry as a young adult with all this preasure on him is still haunted by his past. At the beginning of the play Jamie plays Harry very sorrowless and happy, we see what a loving father he is and Jamie Parker has great charisma on stage. With the developement of the plot however, Harry gets more and more stressed, there is a lot of preasure on him and Jamie‘s portrayal gets darker and he shows us the troubled but beautifully complex and very emotional human being. We see how much he loves his son and is trying to be a good father, but he has no idea how to show Albus his love. Harry as an interesting character is beautifully written and Jamie Parker brought Harry from the books to life on stage. I think he is perfectly casted and one of the most talented actors on the west end.

    Albus Severus Potter

I saw Sam Clemmett as Albus Potter and he was amazing. His portrayal of Albus shows how angry Albus was and we understand why he is so angry. Everyone expects him to be like what they think Harry was: a perfect human being (which Harry of course wasn't ). It must be very very hard to see that all your siblings go to Griffindor and are popular and you are sorted into Slytherin. He makes Harry‘s fame responsible for his suffering (and bullying in school) and that's why he behaves the way to Harry as he does. He doesn't want to see the famous Harry Potter he wants to see his father which is very hard for both of them. The most important scene in the whole play is the blanket scene in part one act one. The scene was tragically beautifully played by both Sam and Jamie and you could see that they both understood their characters perfectly.

Sam had great on stage chemistry with Jamie and Poppy (Ginny ) and with Anthony (Scorpius) of course. These two boys were brilliant together. Sam is an amazing and very young actor and we will definetly see more of him in te futute.

      Ginny Potter

I saw Poppy Miller as Ginny and she was awesome (you will hear this a lot). In the movies i never really liked Ginny and i don't think Bonny Wright did much for her character, it was so refreshing to see the strong and fierce Ginny we love so much from the books. Poppy portrays Ginny as a strong woman, a loving mother and as a very supportive wife (she has one moment when she doubts Harry, but this flaw and her apology just made her character more interesting and beautiful). She and Jamie had amazing chemistry and the kiss was so adorable. My favourite Ginny line, which is perfectly presented by Poppy, is when she answeres Draco with "my son is missing too!" Poppy literally screams this line and it's such a strong moment (Draco‘s /Alex' reaction is priceless).

     Hermione Jean Granger

I saw Noma Dumenzweni as Hermione and you can tell me whatever you want but this woman was born to play Hermione Granger. She is one of those very rare actors/actresses who have such an authority when they enter the stage. Her Hermione was so strong and fierce as i remembered her from the books and she played such an amazing Minister of Magic (i really can't imagine Emma Watson playing Hermione as Minister of Magic, it really wouldn't fit for me as i always found Emma to be not strong and bossy enough to play Hermione). But Noma also has some beautiful soft scenes in the play e.g. in her kissing scene with Ron (they are a perfect couple) and this one scene after they changed back time and she sees Rose and then fully realized that her daughter didn't excist in the other universe and they share a very heartbreaking hug. I don't care about her skin colour or that some idiots think that she is too ugly to play Hermione, she was incredible and perfect in my eyes.

     Ron(ald) Weasley

I saw Paul Thorne as Ron Weasley and it was such a delight watching him. Ron has a lot of funny moments in the play , which paul played masterly, he is trying to be the light in those dark moments, but at the same time he is still the good friend we saw in the books. He stands up for his wife and his friend and Paul made me love Ron even more. He had amazing chemistry with Noma and their kissing scene was so cute and heartwarming.

     Rose Granger Weasley

I saw Cherrelle Skeete as Rose. When reading the script book first i didn't like Rose that much, but Cherrele managed to let me see the Hermione part more in her and i actually really liked Rose in the play. She gives a very energetic performance and had some good moments with Scorpius. I think i saw not enough of her to properly judge her, but i think she is a very talented young actress.

     Draco Malfoy

 I saw Alex Price as Draco and he was amazing. In the first part he portrays Draco as we all know him from the books (at the beginning he is a little brat), but the more we get into the play we see the real Draco, he loves his son more than anything like Harry does (and yes they have a lot of father son issues too) and he gets more and more in touch with Harry, Ginny and Ron and Hermione as he has the same problem as Harry, his son is missing. To see Draco working with the golden trio makes a really great dynamic at the end of the play. I also love that through Alex incredible acting we see how lonely Draco always has felt and that he indeed is not a bad human being but a very interesting and developed character.

    Scorpius Malfoy

I saw Anthony Boyle as Scorpius Malfoy and i tell you if Jamie Parker wouldn't have been such an incredible actor this young man would have totally stolen the show. It's very hard to describe Anthony's acting and his high voice but this young actor is something special. I don't think anyone came out of the theatre not totally in love with Scorpius Malfoy. Anthony has perfect comedic timing and he was so talented in the more silent scenes (i swear i saw a tear in his eyes). Whoever will play the part on Broadway has some big shoes to fill and in my opinion has to go with a totally different interpretation of Scorpius because you can't imitate Anthony Boyle.

Before this blog gets even longer i won't go into detail about the other actors, but i have to especially mention Esther Smith as Delphi and Paul Bennett as Snape for doing an especially great job.

     The special effects

Please don't ask me how they do it! The special effects are incredible, they are like real magic and with some tricks i still have no clue how they do it . I was sitting there with my jaw open and it was just magical. I can’t even say what i loved best it was all so amazing. But please never let the Dementors near me again. They were so creepy and frightening, amazingly made, but so creepy, not to even mention their terrifying screams. I never felt that horrified in my life before, i guess that’s the biggest compliment i can make the person, whoever designed them.

      The costumes

All of the costumes were beautiful and fitted the characters very well. I loved how flowy the cloakes were, what looked really good in the dance numbers. I especially liked the costumes for the alternate Voldemort timeline, they were all black and so beautifully elegant especially Scorpius‘, Draco's and Snape's costumes.

      Things i didn't like

There wasn't much that i didn't like and it's really just nitpicking, but every great thing always has some flaws that's normal.

First of all i had some problems with some specific actors, mainly with the actor who played Bane. He was so over the top that it was nearly hilarious to me. Maybe he had a bad day or just is not my cup of tea.

As much as i loved Paul Bennett as Snape his voice was way too special to play Voldemort as well, it was a little bit outputting as it was very clear that it was the same actor. Normally theatre can hide it very well when an actor plays multiple roles, but that really doesn’t work with Paul Bennett. I really loved his Snape (which means a lot form e as a hardcore Snape fan), but because he was so special and fitted so well to Snape, it was to me as Snape tried to pretend he is Voldemort, which felt really weird to me. And i really didn't like that they went with no nose ,new body Voldemort as up to my knowlegde he only looks like this since book four. I guess they made it so the audience can recognize him better.

The last things i wasn't too fond of (but didn't hate either) were the Trolley Witch (it was very cleverly made and funny just a little bit too much for me personally) and Delphi. I loved Esthers portrayal of her especially at the beginning and i don't have anything against the idea of Voldemort having a child and overall i liked Delphi, but they could have developed her character a little bit more at the end, that's all.  As i said nitpicking.

All in all it was one of the best days of my life and the show is amazing and i love it with all my heart. If you have a chance to see it: DO IT!!! It is one of the most beautiful Harry Potter related things i have seen and please don't judge it too soon by just reading the script. The script is very empty without seeing this wonderful show bringing it to life

I know this blog is very long, but i hope you enjoyed <3

#harry potter #harry potter and the cursed child #cursed child #scorpius malfoy #albus potter #ginny #hermione #ron weasley #theatre #play #review #scorbus #jamie parker #anthony boyle #sam clemmett #noma dumenzweni #paul thornley #poppy miller #spoilers

[speedygal]

Sherlock fix it au

This post was made for the Sherlockians in the BBC Sherlock fandom. Remade twice since I bumped the battery and made my computer turn off by accident. Don't worry, this is the only thing I had to rewrite at the moment. Enjoy! :)

Sherlock is reviewing their previous cases while taking care of Rosamund Watson during the time that John Watson is at the store getting more baby food. Rosie really likes Sherlock. Really, really, really likes his chin and his nose and his curly hair so he gets his hair pulled at by the little one. Sherlock sees a pattern developing. Every two years there is a tragic event in his personal life. It has been occurring since 2010. He has given Rosie a questionable toy to play with being something that normally would be used by a Vulcan child and Mrs Hudson has no idea where he got that from. Sherlock claims he got it from a client. Rosie loves it. Hudson looks back at the many clients that knocked on his door and came in, some of which were crying while the two men were asking their case. Sherlock starts to get worried about Rosie. Because what if the next tragedy is John losing his only daughter? He begins to believe he is the titular character of this TV show. And it's called Sherlock. And it airs on the telly on the BBC channel. When John gets back, he sees Rosie has completed the game. And Sherlock has the board decorated in events from the past. Rosie is playing with her animals and organizing them that Sherlock had decided to purchase. Sherlock puts the little one in the high chair and John gets the spoon out for the baby. Rosie follows where Sherlock is going and that makes it difficult for John to spoonfeed her. John has to tell Sherlock to come over and stop moving around. Sherlock obliges. And Rosie makes these cute, adorable faces every time she has to swallow something. John finds it ridiculously adorable.  Sherlock is making faces while thinking and---Rosie spits out what she is eating laughing at him. John cleans her up and tries again to feed her this time with success.

Sherlock does research through the internet and makes a fake account. He does research for the sake of wanting to know if he isn't the only one effected by this 'narrative' that he has so far dubbed. There are replies, some recommending psychiatric help, and some giving genuine advice and others sharing their stories. Sherlock deduces the ones that are fake and some that sound genuine. Sherlock is going under the pseudonym of 'Spock House' and he is on the dark end of the internet. John asks which client gave the Vulcan toy. Sherlock gets Rosie out of her high chair and allows her to play with the toys that he left throughout the room for her.  Their conversation steers over to the board via John's curiosity John asks what kind of case involves the events of the past. Sherlock explains over Rosie. Rosie throws a temperantrum over her toy not working. John gets the batteries for Rosie's toy. Rosie resumes playing with her toy after he throws away the old batteries. John admits to Sherlock  that he, too, has  experienced this sensation when the two year period is up. Sherlock also explains that the bullet for him was broken through the sound barrier and that's illogical. She should be alive. And the person who made their lives shitty is responsible for it.  The way he phrases it sounds like he is high. Sherlock has to reassure John that is not high and that he has been sober from drug taking for awhile. He also points out that he only starts taking drugs again because of this stupid narrative. Sherlock has deduced that whoever is writing these stories is a sexist, homophobic, ageist, Sherlockian acting out his greatest fantasys (John never thought he would hear Sherlock say that), and does not have any clue about physics, and may also be a huge fan of Doctor Who. He provides evidence in the form of Jim Moriaty's video and Mary's videos which is illogical because she was so busy. He also tells John there is a slight chance he might be going mad and that this repetitive narrative is driving him nuts making him remind everyone he is a sociopath which he doesn't like to go around and say.  Sherlock also says this is a side by case for his "hypothetically-but-possibly-true-theory-that-might-not-be-and-we-are-insane." John has a long, serious expression on his face. Sherlock tells John that if they could go to whoever wrote this hell for John and convince them to rewrite the episode, he would do it.

John knows that there's a chance that Mary, Sherlock, and he could have been living happly if it wasn't for that stupid narrative. And he is convinced it is true. He does some digging by asking some of his medical professional colleagues to see if they experience it. There are some hypothetical conversations and--yes, there are some people who experience it but not as bad as Sherlock and John and Mycroft and everyone in London. He comes across someone calling themselves the doctor when coming back from the park with Rosie. The doctor, now a black woman with a purple scarf, apologizes but informs John that she can't help but she knows someone who can. And she apologizes for swooping in and leaving a alternate timeline version of Sherlock all those years ago on the sidewalk.  She had to cover for the man because it would have ruined the future plot twists. He rather that he had gone through this process when Mary had died without being highly impossible. And that grieving for losing  Sherlock. John asks if she knows that someone. She replies with, "What? Do I look like I have a tracker on him?" John stares back. "Oh, you do. Sorry, don't. He will find you." The doctor runs after a man in a trench coat while holding her sonic cane, "GET BACK, ARSEHOLE!" John coos back at Rosie and tells her to ignore the polite woman.

Sherlock is purchasing a new book when he is approached by a man who shares a uncanny resemblance with him. The man introduces himself as Doctor Strange. Sherlock deduces they share a common  aspect. Their actor. Doctor Strange informs him that he is correct, and he is  a highly well paid one named Benedict Cumberbatch. He offers him to meet the man. Sherlock refuses. He just like to meet the writer put the effort into a two year limit of bliss. Doctor  Strange informs him Sherlock that he would love to help him after watching The Final Problem. He offers to help the man next year and gives him a card, informing him if he needs reconstructive surgery that he needs to call this man  before it's too late. Sherlock is puzzled because it's the mans number and when he looks up, Doctor Strange has vanished. Sherlock decides to buy some comic books to analyze this person with back up information to know if he is  a worthy person to be an allie to. Sherlock finds out who this Stephen Strange is. When they meet up, Sherlock informs John that they have a chance to change the future. And the past. He makes a lengthy profile for the man to indicate he is patient, he is very skilled, he is very observant, and he is a lot like Sherlock facial wise in the comics. So Sherlock and John plan out what they are going to do, how to approach the writer, how to get to the writer, and convince them to change season 4. Spock deduces the episodes go in this order: the six thatchers, the lying detective, and the final problem. Which technically isn't even final since they are still solving cases and it is highly illogical for a episode title.

One year later, it is 2018, Rosie is using Sherlock as a way to walk with one hand on his pant leg. Sherlock and John have been sleeping together for the past, after reconciling their loss, and how hurt they are by Mary's pointless death being used to garner attention for the show and Euros being used as a prop just for their damn own evolution. They are both hurt by it. Sherlock wants to kill the man who made that deduction.  He has solved plenty of other cases sometimes with  Rosie in tow because she is his father godfather/uncle/ detective. Sherlock is secretly worried that it is getting  closer.  John gives Sherlock a massage while Rosie is rolling around on the floor as she has been doing rather than walking. Rosie stops, calling out "Uncle!" Sherlock drops his newspaper as she is wrapped around the legs of Doctor Strange. John dives in and grabs her, repeatedly apologizing. John is worried, as well, that the next plot is going to be aimed at his daughter. Sherlock has taken Rosie to the Holmes cottage during some of the intense, weird cases. Mrs Hudson has been babysitting Rosie while they were on their usual cases. Sometimes Molly has been taking care of her with Mycroft when Mrs Hudson is sick.  They share a conversation then he offers them a trip to fix everything. Everything leading up to Mary's death. John and Sherlock use their free hands to hold. 

Sherlock goes with John and Rosie into the past but not their past. The past of a different time. Doctor Strange informs them they have a time limit and he will be back shortly. He gives them a map and a piece of paper to know where the writers are.  Sherlock and John share a knowing glance as Rosie is looking around curiously.  They embark on what is most likely their daring case yet. To fix season 4 and give themselves a bloody ending. When they arrive, Sherlock informs them, "Get your hands off my personal life." And as you can expect, the reactions make the men fall. John comes in with Rosie when Mark awakens  with Rosie in tow. They are furious. John goes on to rant about how they have been treating him and Sherlock as a chew toy for the universe. They are not chewtoys. Mark thinks these two are Benedict and Martin but no, they prove it is not with three simple words "Mary Watson dies." They just wrote that line. The two men have a crying baby and a unconscious Moffat. Sherlock proposes a different story.  John offers to help make this story something to be remembered about and something that BBC could approve of and everyone is happy BECAUSE NO DAMN QUEER BATING IN THIS EPISODE. SORRY, NO, THAT'S OUR PRIVATE LIFE! WE DON'T MAKE JOKES LIKE THAT!  With some convincing and help. John and Sherlock help rewrite the three episodes. They like it, they sound themselves, and  Mary is alive. Rosie has calmed down.  John is the happiest. Sherlock requests they not make him a drug addict and shoots down when Elementary is mentioned. He has seen it, and, he is not that man. He is Sherlock Holmes a highly intelligent and deductive detective who does not need drugs to solve anything.  Sherlock and John have given Mark plenty of storyline material to last forever so they don't resort to the old timeline. They request to be given a happy ending, and if they dare make another season horrible as season 4, they will personally get the show cancelled. Sherlock and John are taken home by Doctor Strange to find they are in John's flat. And Mary is quite alive. Sherlock looks up to find if that thread he posted is gone. And John is in the mist of tears hugging Mary. Sherlock is willing to be in a hug with  Mary and he reciprocates. Sherlock decides to check for his old nemesis Jim Moriaty to find him quite alive and annoying but for the first time he doesn't care. Euros is a highly intelligent woman working as a psychologist.  And Mrs Hudson, otherwise, is still the same woman he left. He gives her a well deserved hug when he gets back home.  Sherlock feels upbeat and better about himself. Two years later there is a explosion in 221B and Sherlock and John dies. Kidding, they lived happily ever after with Rosie being raised by three parental figures. She calls Sherlock 'Dad' and John 'Daddy' and Mary 'Mommy!' and  Euros is this aunt who manipulates Rosie to do adorable stuff, inncoent things, really. Mycroft is appalled. Rosie calls him Uncle Mycraft to mess with him. Mr and Mrs Holmes are 'Grandma and grandpa.'

The End.

You are very welcome.

#BBC Sherlock #Sherlock Holmes #Mary Watson #John Watson #parent!johnlock #rosamund mary watson #sherlock au #johnlock