#sort of reminds me how Watson is talking about how Mycroft could very easily have a spy across from 221B

[lopsidedspecs]

At 221B

#my art #Finally finished!! #Do I love it? Do I hate it? I have no idea! Ive been looking at it for too long #Sherlock Holmes #John Watson #sort of reminds me how Watson is talking about how Mycroft could very easily have a spy across from 221B #frogwares sherlock #sherlock holmes the awakened #shta #digital art #procreateillustration #ipadart #artists on tumblr

[thebeethathums]

Home - 8

Pairing: John Watson x HolmesTwin!Reader

Warnings: The reader in this fic is a TWIN to Sherlock Holmes and as such shares some physical features to him. Please read at your own discretion with this in mind.

A/N: Bolded text indicates John’s Blog Posts

You practically fell down the stairs just as John was wishing his date a final good night, grabbing the door and flinging it open so you could pull the women inside by her upper arm, “Did you kiss her?”

Mrs. Hudson popped her head out of her apartment to see what all the noise was about and you snapped, “Back inside, Mrs. H.”

She disappeared quickly, knowing better than to question you, and John floundered, wondering what the hell had gotten into you. To any sane person, including John, this looked like a rather violent fit of jealousy as you pinned his date to the wall and demanded again, “John, did you kiss her?”

He bellowed, “Bloody Hell, (F/n)! Get off her!” and you let out an exasperated growl as he moved to pry you away from the petite blonde who was beginning to panic under your forceful grasp. He only got so far as to reach for your arm before he wobbled back dangerously and you hissed, “Dammit! You did.”

Trusting your brain and it’s rapidly created solution, you let go of the woman to grab the front of John’s jumper, pressing him up against the front door to block her from leaving as you attacked his lips with yours. He tried to fight it at first but after a moment he kissed back, even stopping you from pulling away when you’d deemed you’d successfully transferred enough of the antidote from your lips to his. Getting caught up in it, you momentarily enjoyed the way his lips fit perfectly against yours before he ran his tongue along your lip in a plea to gain entrance to your mouth and snapped you back to reality. You shoved him back into the door in order to pull away, gazing at his extremely befuddled face for only a split second before turning to find that you were looking down the barrel of a gun. Fantastic.

The blonde’s grip on the weapon was firm in an attempt to keep her hand from shaking and you ascertained that she preferred impersonal ways of killing since she didn’t have the stomach to get up close and personal- too much blood and gore. You blinked as she stumbled, “W-What did you do? H-He should be d-dead.”

You held up your hands as John slid to the floor breathing heavily and cheekily offered, “A kiss to make it better...Isn't that what they say?”

She glared at you as you sidestepped so you blocked her from taking a shot at John, “T-Tell me what you did or I’ll shoot!”

You smirked numbly, “Go ahead. My twin’s already dead. You’d be doing me a favor.”

This threw her for a loop, having not been the answer she’d expected, and you huffed a little tauntingly, “You can’t do it, can you? You only like knowing that you’ve ended a life but not actually seeing it. Pathetic.”

She waved the gun at you wildly, “You’re wrong! I will!”

You just chuckled darkly, “I wish you would but you won’t. I can see why he left you.”

“What?” she whispered, eyes going wide with panic and confusion.

“Your fiancé. He left you because you are weak and dull and now you kill men who remind you of him with a clever mix of the chemicals you use in your work as a toxicologist. Weak and pathetic. You couldn't even stomach murdering him, only men like him… A sad example of revenge if you ask me. I’m impressed you thought to put it in your lipstick though. Doing so made its origins almost untraceable… almost. Too bad your fiancé was right about you being a dull idiot and you made the mistake of going after John. He and I are going to have to have a serious talk about what he puts in that blog of his after this.”

She made a sort of flabbergasted noise in her throat as she gaped at you and you took a few steps closer, “I mean sure, I was getting close to figuring it out and his death would have definitely been a distraction but until now I really had no way of finding you. So thank you for literally showing up right on my doorstep. Makes my job so much easier.”

By the time you were finished with you little deduction rant, she was crying and wobbling pathetically, allowing you to easily grab the gun from her hand and turn it on her, calling over your shoulder, “John? Are you alright?”

Still a little hazy from both the kiss and the poison, he carefully pushed himself up off the floor as he puffed, “I think so.”

You yawned, “Good. Now would you please call Lestrade? I’d very much like it if your date was no longer in our flat,” completely calm despite what had just happened. John did as you asked as quickly as he was able and once Lestrade was on his way, you lowered the gun to look over at him, idly tossing your captive, “Move and, unlike you, I won’t hesitate to shoot.”

Giving John your full attention, you scanned his person worriedly, noting he was pale and still looked a little stunned, and then ordered, “Go lie down. All those chemicals provided a nasty shock to your system and you need to rest.”

Looking between the two of you, he opened his mouth to protest but you shook your head, “I was a soldier, John. I think I can handle one petite blonde for a few minutes, don’t you? Now shoo.”

Reluctantly, he climbed the stairs and you fidgeted, silently fretting over him, before knocking lightly on Mrs. Hudson’s door, your eyes still locked on your captive. She opened it a little warily and you offered her a signature Holmes smirk, “Would you be a dear and go make John a cuppa? He’s had a bit of a scare.”

“Of course, dear… I'll take care of him for you while you get that tart out of here. You two make such an adorable couple.”

Instead of correcting her you just let the corner of your mouth twitch up and then watched her climb the stairs, it wasn’t worth effort to try and explain.

Untitled  

She just saved my life by kissing me. Is it bad that I enjoyed it?  

You climbed the stairs after convincing Lestrade that John would come to give an official statement in the morning and found John on the couch with tea and Mrs. Hudson in the kitchen, trying to clean your mess.

John’s eyes snapped to you when you walked in but you just trudged to your room, flatly offering, “Be more careful in the future, John. You were fortunate I finished the antidote when I did… oh and we need milk.”

The door clicked shut before he could respond and he sighed, wondering what exactly he’d expected from Sherlock’s twin, and you flopped on your brother’s bed to look at the ceiling, thinking over everything that had happened as the grief and despair began to settle in again.

There was no way you were going to be able to sleep, even being as tired as you were, so you huffed and thought about kissing John. It had been the only solution- you weren’t supposed to like it. Maybe before Sherlock, before you were alone, the two of you could have had something… That might have been kind of nice. You’d always been a hopeless romantic, despite growing up being told that caring and love were weaknesses you shouldn't bother with.

It used to drive Sherlock up the wall and Mycroft certainly disapproved but you didn’t care. You’d read all those books about classic romance, about love prevailing and such, and you wanted that in your life. Sherlock had always blamed it on your lack of a Y-chromosome- for which of course you promptly punched him- but now… you considered that your brothers might have had a point. You’d cared about and loved Sherlock with all your heart and look where it had gotten you.

Curling up into a ball as the sadness you'd been keeping locked away while you worked got the better of you, a sob escaped your lips and you let yourself get lost in the memories of happier times.

The Kissing Conundrum  

When I went out on a date with Tracy Miller, I never expected the night to end with a gun pointed at me and a heated kiss from (F/n). It seemed so normal and actually quite pleasant. We went to a fun restaurant over in West End, had a few drinks, and then she offered to let the cab drop me off first since Baker St. was closer than her home. I thought finally a nice woman that I connect with- this could work- and then she tried to poison me. Yeah. That kind of put a damper on things.  

(F/n) figured it all out before I even knew… which lead to a tense moment where she pinned Tracy against the wall and I thought she was jealous. Before I could do anything, I started to feel woozy and next thing I know (F/n)’s shoved me up against the door and her lips are against mine. Her very soft and warm lips. It was actually a little fantastic. Even with the gun pointed at us after.  

Everything beyond that is kind of a blur but Lestrade informed me that (F/n) broke Tracy’s nose or rather ‘She fell’ as (F/n) claims. It would seem that’s another way she’s like Sherlock. He always protected the things he cared about… no matter what people said about him not having a heart or being able to care. So I know she cares but how much? Is it just as a friend of the brother she loved? Her friend? Or something more?  

It's difficult to tell. She seemed to enjoy the kiss but she hasn’t left his room since then and that was two days ago… not to mention her response to the whole thing was to tell me to get milk. I thought things were getting better. That she was letting me in. Perhaps I was wrong.

#John Watson x reader #john x reader #BBC Sherlock #reader insert #holmes!reader #sherlock holmes #Sherlock #John Watson #mrs. hudson #Reader #twin!reader #sibling!reader #Case #SAD #slowish burn #things are happening #x reader #fanfic #fan fiction #thebeethathums #home

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hello.I was wondering if you know any johnlock fics where Sherlock and John are pen pals? If you could recommend something, please do. Thank you. :)

Hi Lovely!

Ah, I’ve posted up lists before with them texting / writing to each other in these posts:

Epistolary / Texting / Letters

Morse Code

Letters After the Fall

But here are the fics specific to the topic you’re looking for! If anyone has anything else to add, let us know! :D (NOTE: anything marked with “{TO READ}” means I haven’t read it so read at your own discretion).

Dear John by starwarsfreak95 (T, 601 w. || Angst, Hurt Comfort) - Not all Dear John letters are bad. Sherlock tries to explain to John why he did what he did and how much John means to him.

Message Not Sent by Queerasil (K, 762 w. || Angst, One-Sided Texting, Pining Sherlock) - Sherlock texts John after the fall and during the hiatus. The messages are sent, but never received. Sequel to WORDLOCKED, TSTM, and Wait, How Do You Play This Game Again?

Text Me When It’s Over by immaculately-flawed  (K+, 1K+ w. || Friendship, Humour, Post-TRF, Texting, Sort-Of Pining Sherlock) – After the fall Sherlock starts writing texts to John. Of course, he never sends them… Until he does by accident. Post Reichenbach fic but not angsty.

Pen Pals by WerewolfDoctor (K, 2K+ w. || Epistolary, Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Post-TRF) – Most people don’t become pen pals by one of them writing a not-suicide note. Then again, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson have never exactly been normal, have they?

There’s Something Living in These Lines by teahigh (orphan_account) (M, 4,676 w. || Mutual Pining, Love Letters, Angst, Mutual Pining, UST / URT, Dirty Talk) – Two men, complete opposites in almost every way, who speak only in letters and pages torn from books.

Correspondence by Cleo2010 (T, 8,031 w. || Letters, Friends to Lovers, Jealousy, Dating ) – Sherlock’s been spirited away on a case for Mycroft. Part of the deal was that he and John could communicate via letter until the case was completed. Maybe the cliche is true, absence does make the heart grow fonder. Or perhaps something is growing on the feet in the fridge. Read their letters month by month.

Get It All in Writing by aceofhearts61 (T, 2,423 w., Ace Sherlock / Straight John, Love Letters, Romantic Friendship, Asexuality, Schmoop) – Sherlock and John write each other love notes. Part 8 of A Love with No Name

White Blank Page by SarahCat1717 (M, 11,936 w. || Post-TRF, Clever John, Reunion Fic, Pining Sherlock, Letters, Fantasies) – Post-fall, Sherlock is off eliminating Moriarty’s crime web. He finds he misses John. He can’t divulge that he still lives, but he placates his need to communicate with John and still feel a connection with him by sending him blank letters. But over time, this writing exercise lends itself to Sherlock exploring his feelings for his friend. What will happen when Sherlock returns to London and the man he has been “writing” to regularly for the past two years? NOT S3 compliant. Mary who?

The Dead Letters by cwb (E, 17,716 w. || Post-TRF, Love Letters / Epistolary, Forgiveness, Injury, Caretaking, POV John, Dev. Rel., Mutual Masturbation, Cuddling, First Kiss / Time) – Sherlock is dead, and John might as well be. When Sherlock breaks his silence to keep John from doing something drastic, John tries to work through his anger enough to respond. {{TO READ}}

Dear John by wendymarlowe (E, 23,031 w. || Post-TRF, Online Dating, Pining, Epistolary, Cybersex, Long Distance Romance) – With Sherlock dead, John eventually (under duress) makes a profile on an online dating site. And falls into a long-distance relationship with an enigmatic partner who reminds him of Sherlock in all the right ways. (Hint: it turns out to be Sherlock.) Part 1 of Dear John

Dead Letter Office by a_different_equation (M, 20,364 w. || ‘Bartleby’ Fusion / Office Setting AU || Different First Meeting, Epistolary, John’s Blog, Angst with a Happy Ending, Pre-Canon, John Watson is Sherlock’s Boss, PTSD John, Military Backstory, Writer John, Drug Use, Texting) – John Watson comes home from the war, gets a new job and meets Sherlock Holmes through Mike Stamford. Same tale since 1891, except this time it’s 2008, John is Sherlock’s boss, and they work together at the Dead Letter Office in London. It’s not a love story, until it finally is. {{TO READ}}

The Real Meaning of Idioms by feverishsea (T, 21,691 w. || Texting, Humour, Post S2) - After two weeks away, John finally texts Sherlock. He doesn’t expect Sherlock to respond. He doesn’t expect Sherlock to keep texting him. And he really doesn’t expect things to spiral out of control so rapidly.

Don’t Leave Anything Out by lookupkate (E, 27,422 w. || Epistolary, Falling in Love, Misunderstandings, Alternate First Meeting) – The first letter John writes home from Afghanistan is meant to go to a woman he went on only one date with. How it ends up in Sherlock’s hands is completely innocent. What happens next is not. What do you do when you find out the person you’re in love with has been lying about something as monumental as who they are? What do you do when you’re the one who lied? How on earth do you put the pieces back together?

A Study In Auto-Signatures, Sniper Dolphins, and Sex Holidays by cwb (E, 32,690 w. || Case Fic, Post S3, Evil Mary, Dev. Rel., Honeymoon, Epistolary, Bottomlock, First Kiss / Time, Fluff, Secret Agents, BAMF!John) – John and Mary go on their sex holiday, and Sherlock is grumpy and pining about it. Part 1 of HOT DOLPHIN SEX

Leveling Up by philalethia (M, 36,961 w. || Video Gamer AU || Different First Meeting, Epistolary, Gaming, Internalized Homophobia, Sexuality Crisis, Past Drug Use) – John plays video games, Sherlock writes a guide on GameFAQs, and they get on quite well together… eventually.Told entirely through emails, text messages, and voice chats. {{TO READ}}

The Pieces That Fall to Earth by Itsallfine (M, 49,513 w. || S4 Fix-It, Epistolary, Love Confessions, Slow Burn, Parentlock, Past Abuse, Coming Out, Questioning Sexuality, Mental Health Issues / Therapy, Angst, Happy Ending) – John and Sherlock have hit rock bottom, but with all their armor stripped away, they can finally speak honestly, seek healing, and find the truths that matter most. An epistolary post-s4 fix-it fic. (This fic is rated T except for one very clearly marked and easily skippable chapter, which is rated M.) Part 1 of The Pieces that Fall to Earth

In the Dark Hours by hubblegleeflower (E, 51,639 w. || Friends to Lovers, Unreliable Narrator, Closeted Bi John, Angst, Miscommunications, Slow Burn, First Time, John’s Blog / Epistolary) – John, wounded and silent, drifts back to Baker Street for healing…and then goes home again. He visits, gets more upbeat, chattier, smiles, jokes… and still goes home again. Sherlock wants him to move back in - it just makes sense - but John shows no signs of doing so. This is the story of how John and Sherlock learn to say what needs to be said when they’re both so very, very rubbish at talking.

between each beat are words unsaid by darcylindbergh, hudders-and-hiddles (T, 107,998 w. || Epistolary, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers, Angst, Happy Ending) – On their wedding night, John and Sherlock gift each other with the things they each said when the other could not hear, the things they each put down where the other could not see: a collection of writings that illustrate the way their love for one another has grown over the years. Part 1 of between each beat

#steph replies #johnlock fic recs #pen pals #letters #epistolary #my fic recs #johnlock29

[joshuabeck1001]

Sherlock Season 4: The Review, The End?

The end. Sherlock is over.

At least, Season 4 is over. But is this the last we will see of the world famous consulting detective? Well, the answer to that is not so cut and dry.

On the one side, episode 3 did feel sort of... final. On the other, each season always feels like it could be the last, and frankly, that's one of the reasons this show is so good, we never know when it will be the end.

Sherlock, as anyone who follows the show knows, comes few and far between; three episodes a season, and often multiple years between those seasons. And this isn't because the show is difficult or costly to make, but because its stars, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, are increasingly becoming more and more popular. With every season, it has become more difficult to schedule. So, even if we know there's another season planned, it may be a long time before we actually get to see it.

Of course, the biggest indicator that we will see the firm of Holmes and Watson again is how each season thus far has ended: with a cliffhanger the size of Reichenbach falls. Season 1 ended with the reveal of Moriarty, guns aimed at all the major players, and a bomb in between them. Season 2 with Sherlock's supposed suicidal jump, only to see him alive in the closing moments (the Reichenbach scenario which Robert Downey Jr.'s movie, which came out only weeks before season 2, also utilized). And season 3 ended with the infamous "Did you miss me?" campaign from Moriarty (or actually Eurus Holmes). Each season, we had more than an inkling that we'd see our dynamic duo again, it was only a question of when.  

With season 4, however, the game has changed. There was no cliffhanger. Only a montage showing that Holmes and Watson will continue to do what they do best: solve mysteries. Of course, we know that they will, but the way this was displayed almost felt like a swan song, a conclusion.

But was it? According to Steven Moffat, co-creator of Sherlock (also the current show-runner of Doctor Who), well... maybe? "I don't know how long we can keep it going. I'm personally willing but I'm hardly the main draw. I would be moderately surprised if this was the last time we ever made this show. But it absolutely could be."

And I think that was what season 4 was intended to be: a conclusion, one from which we could be satisfied with the series as a whole and how it ends, but also one from which they could easily pick up the story again, given the chance. I think the intention from everyone is to come back for some form of a season 5, whether it is a full season, or another special like The Abominable Bride. But on the off-chance that the stars never align and this group of talented people don't get to come together again, season 4 works as an ending.

And what an ending it was.

The Six Thatchers: I'll be frank, after season 3 and The Abominable Bride, which are my four favorite episodes of the entire series thus far, I felt the season 4 opener was a little weak. But only by comparison. It was in no way the worst episode of the show; if I had to pick my least favorite it would either be The Blind Banker (season 1, episode 2) or The Hounds of Baskerville (season 2, episode 2). But returning to Mary Watson's A.G.R.A. story line after it was well put to bed in season 3 (His Last Vow) felt a little redundant to me. I wanted to follow a different story, not to retread what I felt was a closed book. But, of course, life isn't that simple, and things in our pasts have a way of coming back to us, especially if that past includes being an assassin for the British Empire, as Mary Watson was. And bringing that back into the forefront ultimately lead to, SPOILERS, Mary Waston's death. Whether outside circumstances played any part in that decision (Martin Freeman and Amanda Abbington, who plays Mary, have actually been married in real life for sixteen years, and split just before this season was aired) or not, it ended up playing very well in the following episodes, even if the A.G.R.A. story line didn't service this episode the best. But even if this wasn't one of my absolute favorite episodes, it was still a fun story. The mystery of the six Margaret Thatcher statues was intriguing enough (although the smaller mysteries, like the dead boy in the burned car, were more satisfying). Mary's running montage was awesome (and even more awesome to find Sherlock waiting for her at the end of it all). And the comical moments were spot on as always. All in all, a good episode, but not a great one.

The Lying Detective: The second episode, however, is possibly my favorite episode of the entire series, a spot previously held by The Sign of Three from last season. Benedict Cumberbatch has always been a tremendous talent, and perfect as Sherlock, but enough cannot be said about Martin Freeman. The emotion he can bring to a scene, in just the smallest of expressions, is powerful. There are just no words to describe his performance in this episode. In fact, everyone was in top form for the penultimate adventure. Mrs. Hudson was another shining moment of the episode, however more lighthearted; Una Stubbs is equal parts hilarious, fierce, and unstoppable. From her wild car chase, one that only Mrs. Hudson could pull off while on the telephone, to the way she can stand up to Mycroft, really what would we do without Mrs. Hudson? And, of course, the villain of the piece, portrayed by Toby Jones. But however good the mystery is, however good the villain is, it is all overshadowed by the story line of Watson and Holmes. Watson, who blames Sherlock for Mary's death, and is hallucinating Mary in his despair. And Holmes, who has gone "to hell," as the late Mary told him to, in a bid to save Watson (as she said the only way to save Watson is to make Watson save him). The main story line in this episode is important, but it is the emotional moments between Holmes and Watson that make this episode great. This show would be nowhere without Benedict and Martin.

The Final Problem: Finally... Finale? The Final Problem is just that; final. Where was the last episode was a perfect episode of the show, showcasing the best of the series, this episode is different. It is different in that there isn't a real Sherlock-style mystery to follow. The story itself is grander, the stakes are higher. In all honesty, it feels like a finale. It feels like an ending. And it takes my three favorite characters, Sherlock, Watson, and Mycroft, and puts them in a room. This episode is more of a character study on all three men, showing them at their best as they face their worst. And their worst is Eurus Holmes, their long forgotten, psychotic sister, who traps all three men in a horror-show of a maze. And through this "experiment," we get to see the very best of each character. Each one had their moment. Sherlock when he busted the coffin after having to potentially ruin Molly Hooper (who he cares for way more than he ever lets on). Watson when he has to choose whether to kill a man to save someone else. And Mycroft... Let me say Mycroft has always been one of my favorite roles in the show. Always proper, always in power, brilliantly portrayed by series co-creator Mark Gatiss. Always a step ahead of Sherlock, and ten steps ahead of everyone else. Mycroft's moment was my favorite. When Sherlock was faced with having to kill either Mycroft or Watson to continue, Mycroft starts ordering Sherlock to kill Watson, saying hurtful things about Watson seemingly in an effort to prove Watson's uselessness in what lies ahead (which Watson actually agrees with). But what he really was doing was trying to piss Sherlock off enough that he'd kill him and spare Watson. It was Mycroft's backwards way of saving both his brother and his friend. However despicable Mycroft has ever been in the course of this series, this was his best moment. Other call outs on this episode go to the return of Moriarty, sort of (thankfully not actually still alive), the moment in Baker Street with the bomb, and, of course, Sherlock's charade in Mycroft's home at the beginning of the episode. No, this wasn't the very best episode of the series, but more often than not, series finales are not the best episodes. They are great, but they have to wrap up so much that sometimes they suffer. But, for me, I loved this one.

The style of the episode lends itself to feeling like a conclusion. This is the hardest case Sherlock has had to tackle, because it isn't a case at all, it is family. But it is also a mystery from his childhood that he never was able to solve: The Redbeard Mystery. And I'm not talking about the identity of Redbeard, but the song, the little jingle that Eurus continually sings. Someone described the first episode of this season as a Bond-style story, but really, this episode is more James Bond than the first. The villain reminds me of Spectre's Blofeld; a person from the main character's past that has returned to torture our hero. Spectre, however, was not a great movie; Blofeld took credit for all of Bond's previous foes, from Silva to Le Chiffre. "I am the author of all your pain," says Blofeld. Well, Eurus can make a similar claim, as we don't know what, exactly, she and Moriarty discussed in her five minutes unsupervised, but we can be sure that it played a part into his actions in season 2. Controversy, Eurus calls herself Moriarty's revenge. We don't know the extent of their work together, and we don't need to know.

Spectre was not a good movie. When I saw it, I rolled my eyes as Blofeld said he had done everything to Bond, because there was no background to support it. In Sherlock, however, we've had whisperings of Eurus at least since the season 3 finale. Sherrinford is mentioned, and Mycroft even claims he isn't capable of brotherly compassion. "You know what happened to the other one," he says. Redbeard was also mentioned in both episodes 2 and 3 of season 3. But, to me, the biggest sign is Moriarty's message, "Did you miss me?" Initially thought to be a message from the thought-to-be-dead Moriarty himself, it is clear now that it was from Eurus, asking her brothers if they missed her. Sherlock is so expertly written that, if I were to go back and watch the entire series, I have no doubt that I'd notice references as far back as the first season (one to point out, in season 3 Mycroft says "Both of us thought you were an idiot," referring to the fact that, as kids, they thought Sherlock was the dumb one because they didn't have any other kids around them to observe. Of course, we assume that he meant Sherlock and Mycroft both thought Sherlock was the dumb one, but more logically he meant he and Eurus thought Sherlock was the dumb one... Mycroft did say he is always testing Sherlock to see if he remembers her...).

In fact, Sherlock is so expertly written that I don't ever feel anything was done unintentionally. It is why this show has constantly been my favorite, despite there only being thirteen total episodes. It is this genius writing that makes it hard for me to watch the Sherlock Holmes movies with Robert Downey Jr., as much as I love them, because, compared to this show, it is unequivocally the "dumb Holmes." It is also this expert writing that leads me to believe that either this is the last season, or that we won't have too many more seasons to come. One can only write this good for so long, and I'd rather Sherlock go out with a bang than with poor writing.

I loved this season. I still think season 3 is my favorite as a whole, but this is a close second, and The Lying Detective is my absolute favorite of the entire run so far. And I say so far, because I believe there will be a season 5, or a special, or something. Even if it takes five years, ten years, whatever, I believe that we will get another adventure with Sherlock and Watson. But if we don't, The Final Problem works just as well as an ending for me. If The Final Problem is the conclusion to this show, it did go out with a bang. If that was the end, it was a fully satisfying end for me. This is an odd moment for me in television. I haven't been watching a lot of my regular shows, and instead I've been watching shorter shows on streaming services, shows like House of Cards and Lemony Snicket and The OA. Streaming television is clearly where it is at, as those productions are getting to be way better than the weekly fare on networks. But despite all that, Sherlock has been the best thing I've watched so far in 2017. I hope to see more, I'll always want to see more from Benedict and Martin, as they are so good together. But if that was the end of the game, I am completely satisfied, grateful, and proud of these last three episodes.

#sherlock #benedict cumberbatch #martin freeman #the lying detective #the final problem #six thatchers #steven moffat #mark gatiss #bbc #bbc sherlock

[nellie-elizabeth]

Sherlock: The Lying Detective (4x02)

Okay. So. Anybody who has read ACD's short stories might be familiar with "The Dying Detective," a story wherein Holmes pretends to be grievously ill in order to catch a bad guy, and he doesn't clue Watson in on the plan. Going in to this episode, I knew that Sherlock would have a trick up his sleeve. How did it all pan out? Let's take a look.

Cons:

I have a lot of questions and complaints. To start with the briefest of plot summaries: Sherlock is in a terrible drug spiral, John is roped in to help him take down Culverton Smith, a very wealthy man who Sherlock believes to be a serial killer. In the end, John sees the video that Mary left for Sherlock, and realizes that Sherlock has "gone to Hell" in order to force John to save him, thus helping him to save himself. John shows up in time to stop Smith from killing Sherlock. John then confesses to the hallucinatory Mary that he's been seeing that he cheated on her emotionally for the last weeks of their relationship. Then there's a big giant twist, which I'll talk about in the "pros" section a bit later.

So. Problems. I have 'em.

I seriously want to punch Steven Moffat for the way he writes his female characters. It's gone beyond what I can in good conscience ignore. Molly gets like two seconds of screen time, as we see that she's been helping babysit Rosie. She also shows up to do a drug test on Sherlock and confirm that he's got weeks left to live if he keeps using at this rate. Then she's never there again. What a waste of a talented actor and a dynamic character. She has become nothing but a plot convenience, whose entire character is there to serve the emotional needs of the male leads.

Speaking of which, Mrs. Hudson was sort of a bad ass in this episode, as she cuffs Sherlock and stuffs him in a car to bring him to John, tired of his drug addled ways. This was a cool scene, but take a closer look: we later learn that Sherlock had predicted John's whereabouts and had told Mrs. Hudson to take him there. We also learn that Sherlock's entire emotional state is a long-con to "save John," so anything that happens to him while he's high is still all part of Sherlock's brilliant plan. We also get Mrs. Hudson saying that she's "not their housekeeper," but all she does in this episode is take care of poor baby Sherlock.

Irene Adler. You've got to be kidding me. She doesn't show up or anything, but she does send Sherlock a text on his birthday. This gives John the emotional catharsis he needs to tell Sherlock that he should grab the opportunity to go make out with Irene or something, since Mary's dead and John knows that chances don't last forever. Or something. My God, the forced heterosexuality is making my brain hurt. (As a side note, even Mycroft is given a female love interest in the form of Lady Smallwood. Can you not just throw us a bone? A tiny one? Nothing?) Irene literally, literally said that she was gay when we met her back in Series Two. I cannot believe they're still pulling this thing wherein she's supposedly attracted to women except Sherlock Holmes because he's just so awesome. Ew.

Mary spends the episode as John's hallucinatory guardian angel, constantly encouraging him to get back to his predestined life on Baker Street with Sherlock. It feels a bit like a slap in the face. Mary was never my favorite, and I thought a lot of the crazy crap she did was forgiven way too easily. But to have her in the story just to remind John that he belongs with Sherlock is just... it's just... oy vey. It's almost like saying "oh, that was a fun little experiment having a woman around to mess with our bromantic relationship. But Mary's gone now, back to business as usual!" And you have Mary herself giving John her blessing for this. And John "confesses" his affair to his mental delusion, so that we can see Mary smile sagely and tell John to go be the man she always believed him to be. This is just blatant proof that Mary's entire character arc, including most definitely her death, was there to serve the emotional catharsis of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. It's Moffat's woman problem all over again. Some things never change.

And John... John's actually kind of a bad person? I don't know how to feel about this. Basically, Mary's plan was to have Sherlock fall so deep into despair that John would come through for him. But the fact is, John didn't. He didn't come to save Sherlock until he saw the video and realized that Sherlock was putting himself in harm's way to get through to John. Here's my big problem with this: earlier in the episode, Molly Hooper confirmed, with John standing right there, that Sherlock would be dead in a few weeks if he didn't stop using. And John did nothing. He knew how badly off the rails Sherlock was, and yet he still beat him to a bloody pulp and accused him of killing his wife. These things can be explained by John's anger and grief, absolutely. But for him to actually follow through with being a dick? For him to actually leave Sherlock to his drug-addled fate? The fact is, John's not an idiot. He sees how bad off Sherlock is, he believes it to be the actual truth. He'd need to be an idiot to not connect Sherlock's current state with Mary's death and their estrangement. And John does nothing until his dead wife shows up in a video to let him know that Sherlock is basically killing himself for John's sake.

I'm sorry, but... what a dick. This is sort of explained in the emotional catharsis moment, where John and Sherlock talk about their hetero love interests (barf) and John says that Mary was wrong about him being a good man. He says he wants to try and be the man she believed him to be. But that's just not... it's not... it doesn't hold true with anything we've seen of John's character. He is a good man. We've seen that time and again. He's loyal and forgiving and brave and smart and all of those things. His behavior in the last episode and in this one comes across as completely out of character. It's like they turned him into a jerk so that he could have an emotional breakthrough about how he's a jerk. That's not good character development. That's a lazy backslide leading to a cheap payoff. This development is also, apparently, supposed to be so that Sherlock could realize that John was "only human." I take it this was supposed to be a clever inversion. We've been so focused on how John views Sherlock, that we missed how Sherlock views John as this morally upstanding, untouchable god of goodness. Interesting in theory. In execution? Weak sauce.

Sherlock Holmes is always going to be a million steps ahead of everybody else. This is what makes a Sherlock Holmes story. I get that. In fact, this episode pulled it off successfully when Sherlock shows up at John's therapist appointment, having arranged to be there a full week before John even made the appointment. This was clever, and showed off Sherlock's deductive powers. The whole idea of going in to a drug spiral and using it to save John is also okay. But what I can't abide? He's drugged to the gills and being kept in Culverton Smith's grasp. At Smith's request, he says "I don't want to die" several times, actually choking up and starting to cry. We later learn that not only did he swap out his IV with saline, so that he wasn't actually being killed of an overdose, but that he also had a recording device placed in John's walking stick, because he somehow deduced that John would leave it as a parting gift for him, and that this would be how he'd catch Smith's confession on tape.

Nope. I'm sorry, nope. The whole thing works better if Sherlock actually does lose control over his faculties. I wanted him to be in actual, real danger of dying due to his drug use, not just the fact that Culverton decided to suffocate him. Sherlock was pretty messed up all episode due to his drug use, but at the end we learn that his actual plan went off without a hitch. Which is... pretty lame.

Lastly, we've got Culverton Smith, the villain who ended up coming across as even more of a cartoon than Moriarty. He was creepy, sure, and there were a few really great and chilling moments, like when he's messing with the corpses in the morgue. But in the end he's just a standard ego maniac who confesses to all of his crimes once the Great Sherlock Holmes takes him down with an elaborate plan that nobody else could have put into motion with such perfect ease. It's a little bit of a letdown. I thought this guy was going to be the real deal.

Pros:

Oh boy. I had a lot to complain about. One of the most difficult things about this damn show is that right alongside all of these legitimate and very serious complaints you have... off-the-charts incredible acting.

Benedict Cumberbatch gave an insane performance as Sherlock Holmes. Last week, I thought he was a bit hokey when playing high, but this week he was on it. My God. I really don't even know what to say about this. I won't bore you with too many examples, but just... the look on his face as John tells him he killed Mary, and then the look on his face later when John takes it back. The unbalanced, out of sorts way he deals with Faith Smith (Culverton's daughter... I'll get there in a minute). I think my favorite bit was his breakdown when he tries to attack Culverton with the scalpel. That was pure unadulterated panic on his face. He was scared and confused and I really don't think that level of animosity was in his original plan. Sherlock spends an entire evening with Faith Smith, and later meets her and realizes that the whole thing was a hallucination. (Sort of. Discussion of plot twist is forthcoming). His reaction when he realizes just how far gone he is... wow. Sherlock needed to let himself fall out of control for the sake of the plan, but I think even he wasn't anticipating it to go this far.

I mentioned how annoyed I was by Mrs. Hudson's service in the plot, but I do have to mention she was a total bad ass. She turned on the tears to get John to agree to see Sherlock, kidnapped Sherlock, held him at gunpoint, shoved him in her car... which is an awesome sports car, by the way. She also called Mycroft a "reptile" and kicked him out of her home, which was just beautiful in like twelve different ways.

Sherlock and John's relationship. Okay. So. It annoys me that Sherlock was so many steps ahead of everybody. And it annoys me that John wasn't going to save him until he learned it was a plan. It annoys me that they talk about their female love interests in their one and only intimate scene together. But my God. That scene. Sherlock is timid and apologetic and everything else in between. He desperately doesn't want John to leave, and John makes it pretty clear that he's only there because he has to watch Sherlock and make sure he doesn't get high again. There's this moment when John gets up to leave, and Sherlock asks "are you alright?" He's not saying it because he thinks he should. He's saying it because he really, really needs to know the answer. Everything he's been through, all the pain and the drugs and all that, he was doing because he wanted John to be alright. In this moment, he just wants to know if his plan was worth it. John breaks down, after talking to Hallucination!Mary for a moment, and then. Then. Sherlock Holmes gets up and holds John while he cries. He rests his head against John's and just cradles him. It was just the perfect moment and even if the lead-up to it had its problems... wow. I'm so grateful I got to witness that.

We've arrived at the last thing I need to talk about: the plot twist. Which was actually sort of several plot twists nested within each other. Everybody has been waiting for the secret Holmes brother, Sherringford. Mycroft actually brings up the name multiple times. We still don't know who Sherringford is, though... unless it's a code name meant to represent Eurus. Eurus Holmes, the East Wind... Mycroft and Sherlock's secret sister. Not only is she a secret sister, but we've actually already seen her. Three. Times. She's the girl on the bus that John had been texting with back when Mary was still alive. She's "Faith Smith," the woman who spends an evening with an extremely high Sherlock Holmes. Turns out, not a hallucination after all... just Sherlock's sister. And finally, she's John's therapist, a woman who sits across from him and listens to him talk about himself. As the episode ends, Eurus reveals the truth to John, and then points a gun at him, holding him hostage.

Eep! These little shits have been planning this for so long. Sherlock talks about the "East Wind" back at the end of last season, and how Mycroft once used it as a scary story to frighten him. And we all knew something was fishy about that woman on the bus. And when Sherlock thought he'd hallucinated a whole person, something seemed wrong about that. And then suddenly John's new therapist... just... wow. We're all culpable, because we all (or at least most of us) didn't see it coming. This woman was in last week's episode, and she was in this episode twice, playing two completely different characters, and I didn't notice it was the same person. That's... really impressive. Not only from the actress, but from the script and the care it took to make these people blend in. Sherlock saw "Faith" through a haze of drugs. John interacted with his therapist across an emotional and physical divide that made him never truly looking into her eyes. I cannot believe John was having an emotional affair with Sherlock's sister. I cannot believe John is being held hostage again. How many times does that make it? I can't believe that Moffat used his disgusting and unfortunate trend of setting women aside in the narrative in order to trick us into ignoring the answer that was right in front of us. It was... brilliant.

I'm forced to admit that this plot twist did a lot in making me come away from the episode with a positive impression. I can't wait to see how the newest Holmes sibling shakes things up. Apparently this is what happens when somebody as brilliant as Mycroft or Sherlock truly goes over to the dark side. It should make for an interesting finale.

My concern, going in to our last episode of Sherlock, maybe ever, but at the very least for several years, is that there's really no way to wrap up all of these dangling plot threads. What about all the ominous hints we've been getting about Mycroft's death? If he does die, will there be enough time to handle the fallout? And what about Moriarty? Is he tied in any way to Eurus, or is this another dangling thread? I feel concerned about what they've taken on, since this show has never been super great at wrapping things up to anybody's satisfaction. We'll have to see how it goes!

7/10

#review #sherlock #sherlock review #sherlock bbc

[flowritesstuff]

Blood Lust Chapter 9- Feeling Drained

Anthea walked into the office without knocking, confident and at ease in the house she knew so well, to see Mycroft had got dressed. He was  surrounded by paperwork and files, ignoring it all. His head was in his hands, elbows on the polished oak of the desktop.

''Mycroft. He's just confused about it- you know he doesn't understand this. He'll learn, John will see to that.'' She sank to her knees on the carpeted floor, resting a hand on his thigh. She tipped her head back to look up at him through the triangle of his arms. ''Come on- get ready for the day. You have a meeting at ten.'' She stood, straightening her shoulders. With one last brush of her hand over his shoulders she walked around the back of his chair and out of the room, returning to her own bedroom to collect her things.

At the office she passed on the morning's information- meetings, updates on important files, briefings on the world's affairs overnight. She left him working through a pile of papers in his office and returned to her own to compose her reports for the day and begin the arduous task of compiling new identities- the first entry on a long list of tasks. Throughout the day she found herself checking her phone for messages- usually there were one or two, but today her phone remained annoyingly silent. She found herself glancing at the wooden doors of her employer's office as though it would cause him to ignore his brother's rash words and reorient the tentative balance between them.

~

Mycroft sat up, leaning back in his chair to stretch the sore muscles of his back. His brother's words had made him realise just how often his assistant spent the night at his home- one or two nights a week, certainly far more than the occasional late night meeting with different time zones would require. It had become common, to ask her to book a table at some fancy restaurant and then simply to return to his home. It would have to stop- but thinking of that made him pause. He would miss her presence in his home, not just the lack of warmth in his bed, but the simpler comfort of sharing his time with someone he trusted implicitly.

Anthea was waiting when he left the office, despite the late hour.

''You should have gone home.  I didn't ask you to stay.''

''But you needed me to. Why shouldn't you be happy? Your brother has his own donor now- he'll soon understand.'' She reached for his hand and held it tightly between her own, trying to get him to understand- that emotions didn't make him weak, no matter what both he and his brother thought. ''I'll see you in the morning. As always.''

She turned on her bright red heel and walked away, not looking back.

~

Anthea spent the next morning looking through the files Mycroft held on Sherlock, trying to find a reason for her employer's refusal to allow himself to feel in the notes he had made on his sibling. There were many small indications of Sherlock's issues with emotion- instances of him insulting others for allowing themselves to become compromised by relationships, snide remarks about the general population's lack of intellect resulting from their overabundance of complicated feelings. The further back she got, the more vivid the remarks were- until she found out why.

Sherlock had had previous donors, Anthea knew that. She hadn't been aware just how many. The list she found was long- a long table, names, then two dates, then a final column- notes. The most recent name was of course John Watson. Roughly the twenty previous names' dates were very close together- none lasting for more than a week, some not more than a day. None had notes. Before that, it seemed to have been far more complicated. They had lasted months, some years. The notes were ominous.

'2/7- Sherlock thinks he's in love.

5/7- Sherlock asked about bonding.

15/7- Donor drained. Registered as accidental overdose.'

There were five or six entries that ended in the same way- donor drained. Sherlock seemed to get attached to his donors very easily and often asked about bonding- two entries ended as failed bonding attempts- resulting in the donor being drained. So this was why Mycroft had requested someone with a history of violence- someone who would be able to fight Sherlock off- even through physical pain.  She highlighted the important sections- including each time a donor left in suspicious circumstances, printed the document and stood up. Taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, she knocked once on the oak panelled doors and walked into Mycroft's office.

He looked startled- she suspected he hadn't actually been reading the document he was leafing through, lost in the tangled weave of his own thoughts.

''Mr Holmes. I require more information on your brother's history with donors.''

He flinched slightly at the impersonal address, she usually simply skipped calling him anything when in the office, as it was clear enough that she was speaking to him. She only ever used his surname in order to clearly delineate between work and home. He gave a tiny nod at the request for information, as though he'd expected it but wasn't looking forward to the discussion.

''Sit down. You'll have questions and it's quite a complicated enough issue as it is.'' He gestured to the plain chair opposite his desk and she sat, placing the file on the desk in front of her. He used one neatly manicured hand to spin it around to face him and flicked it open.

''Sherlock has always had difficulty retaining donors- at least, suitable ones. There were a few who took advantage- wanted the money and did the bare minimum to ensure they met the terms of their contract. Feeds but no other contact, refusing to speak to him, only meeting up at scheduled times to provide blood, not allowing him to have any extra feeds. I got rid of them.

''Then there are the ones who thought they could manage but couldn't. Usually they were desperate themselves- or thought it would be fun. Some wanted the high that comes with the reciprocal chemicals, some wanted a new experience. They didn't last long either. The longest ones are the ones you've marked. The ones who thought they were his friend- or saw him as a charity case. Either way, Sherlock finds any sort of positive attention addictive. He began to form connections- to see bonds that weren't there. He wanted to bond with them for life-''

He stopped, reminded perhaps of who he was talking to- his own life-bonded donor.

''Well- you know what that means- he asked some of them if they would- some said yes, some no- but either way, he's always been used to getting what he wants. He tried to bond- taking more blood, planning to transfuse his own back afterwards- without understanding properly what he was doing, drunk on the excess of blood. It never ended well.

''He hasn't done that for a while now.'' His voice turned quieter, softer, as he flicked through the lists of names and dates. ''I think he came to understand, incorrectly, that he'd always be alone- he's so used to it. Being supernatural and being, well, Sherlock- it hardly makes for an appealing life-partner.'' He ran his finger down the list, tapping at the final entry- Doctor John Watson. '' But now- we'll have to monitor the situation closely- and supervise a bond attempt. But this one... '' His voice trailed away, the softness vanishing as he closed the file and placed it to one side.

''We should visit them- I haven't seen them together in person yet, I might have missed something. And afterwards, we'll go for coffee.'' Although his voice stayed brusque and strong, his eyes flickered to hers as he stood up.

She smiled in response and lifted his coat from the coat stand by the door, holding it out for him as she had done so many times before.

''Yes. Coffee would be nice.''

#sherlock #bloodlust #chapter9

[illuminating-dragons]

Dreams and Visions (45/51): The Next Great Adventure (2/2)

Time Period: Crossover 

Chapter Summary:  When they wake up, they're somewhere very different.

Read it on AO3

           When Watson woke, his back didn't hurt.

           That was worth noting, considering that he'd woken with a bad back for the last seven years. It wasn't as irritating as his bad shoulder of course...which didn't hurt either.

           Watson sat up cautiously, his confusion growing as he realized that he wasn't in any pain at all. It wasn't just that, he marvelled. His body felt young and strong again, well up to several miles' run after criminals.

           He heard a gasp, and turned his head. Holmes was lying beside him, but he wasn't the rheumatic, wizened, dear face Watson had slept beside for the last decade or so. No, this was Holmes when they'd first met, bright eyed and face clear of lines.

          "Watson?" Holmes said, his eyes wide. "John?"          

         "Am I…:"

         "You're young again," Holmes marvelled. He touched Watson's cheek gently. "Are we dreaming?"

         "I don't think so," Watson said slowly. "I think we may be dead."

         "Ah, yes. I'd forgotten for a moment."

         Watson looked around the room. It seemed to be a strange cross between his own room at Baker Street and the long, sunny bedroom at the cottage, though there was no other bed. He wasn't quite willing to get up yet, but something told him they ought to explore.

         Holmes had no such inhibitions. "Come along, John!" he cried. "Let's go see where we are. I must admit, it is a strange sort of Hell."

         "Sherlock!" Watson chastised, looking about nervously. "You didn't really...you couldn't have really thought..."

         Holmes looked him directly in the eye. "Of course I wondered about it. I decided I didn't care. And you?"

         "The same," Watson admitted. "Though I must admit, this doesn't feel like Hell."

         "It's certainly milder than we were led to believe," Holmes said. "This room is perfectly lovely. The bed is soft, it appears that all of our favourite books are on the shelves, and—" he let out an exclamation of joy and rushed to the window seat, where a violin case lay. He opened it. "John, it's my Stradivarius, only...goodness, it looks brand new!"

          Watson had crossed to the shelves and was looking through the books. To his shock, he found his book of stories from his childhood, the ones his mother had read to him before she died of fever. He opened it and traced the letters, trying to take it all in.

         "This is wonderful!" Holmes said, and Watson could only agree. "Certainly a decent eternity, wouldn't you say, my dear?"

         "Yes," Watson nodded, but his attention was drawn by the door. It didn't appear to be locked, and when he tried the knob it turned easily.

         "John." Holmes sounded worried now, and part of Watson was worried that opening this door would shatter this illusion. Might it be some kind of test?

         Well. They might as well get it over with.

          Watson opened the door. To his surprise it opened on a staircase leading down. It was a perfectly ordinary set of stairs, similar to the ones outside his old bedroom, but somehow...different. The wallpaper had certainly changed.

         Watson looked at Holmes. "What do you think, dear?"

         Holmes took his hand. "We are together, John. I have all the courage I need."

         Watson squeezed his hand, then slowly, as cautiously as the old men they'd been, they made their way down the stairs.

           So far, Sherlock deduced, being dead had several perks.

           He and John were young again, for starters. John had done a rather enthusiastic cartwheel when he realized that his old wounds were gone too, even the scars faded. For his part, Sherlock's chest no longer felt tight and his hearing was as good as ever. They were also in an interesting blend of their retirement cottage and their Baker Street flat bedroom. John was keen to see if sex was easier than it had been in recent years, but Sherlock resisted, wanting to see if the rest of the flat was there.

           It was; their old kitchen, the refrigerator full of both food and toes, their sitting room with their old familiar chairs, a low hum of traffic outside. But there was something a bit...odd.

           John stood next to him, his brow furrowed. "There's bits here that I don't remember."

           Sherlock knew exactly what his husband meant. There were more chairs, for one thing, and a strange slipper on the mantel next to the skull. It was still their sitting room, still their flat, but it almost felt like there were other people who belonged here too.

           Sherlock was about to ask John, rather hopefully, if perhaps they ought to go downstairs and see if Mrs. Hudson might be there (he had very little data on this apparent afterlife, it was rather disconcerting to find out there was one at all). A creak from the stairs stopped him.

           Sherlock grabbed John's hand, suddenly frightened. Who was above them? Panic caught in his chest. Kitty surely couldn't be joining them already. What about Stan—

           But it wasn't either child. It was two men holding hands, both who looked oddly familiar. They reminded Sherlock of—oh.

           Of course, wouldn't they be younger as well?

           "Sherlock?" the taller one questioned.

           "Holmes," Sherlock replied. He strode forward and took the man's free hand. "Thank you so much."

           "Thank you," Holmes replied. He smiled at John. "Ah, John. Good to see you're well. They found you, then?"

           "Yeah, Kitty and Sher found me not too long afterwards," John answered. He looked awestruck.

           Watson was looking around the room. "What on earth—it's our flat, though it's...it's not, really."

           "It appears to be a mingling of both of our favourite places," Holmes said thoughtfully. "I rather like it. I'm not quite sure what that is, though." He pointed to the television.

           "Right, you two didn't have the telly!" John looked rather excited. "I wonder if we can watch what we like, there's so much I think you'd enjoy!"

           "Well, you can pretty well do as you like," chirped a voice behind them.

           All four of them whirled. Sherlock blinked. There was a man in the room he didn't quite recognize.

           "Stamford?" Watson asked blankly.

           The man blushed. "Well, not really. I just borrowed him for a moment, all those years ago. I wanted you to meet."

           "Who are you?" Sherlock snapped, pulling John close.

           The man didn't seem offended. "The name's...well, might as well call me David. I've got rather too many names, several that don't mean anything to either of you. I'm your guide, so to speak; I do the introductions."

           "Introducing us to what?"

           "Why, Heaven, of course." The man cocked his head. "Do you lot still call it that? You'll have to forgive me, there's an awful lot of dimensions and not everyone's up to the same terminology. Heaven, Paradise, Elysium...you know, the good place." His face turned serious for a moment. "I know you weren't all expecting to end up here. Very sorry about that."

           "Well, we..." Watson stopped speaking. Holmes put his arms around him.

           "Anyways, again, not all the dimensions are caught up with each other. Stupid, really. Just so we're clear, there was nothing wrong with the way you two loved each other. Nothing at all. We were all quite happy with the way things turned out after we…showed you each other." David beamed. "Nothing better than watching real love, it never gets old. "

           "Hope you weren't always watching," John muttered. Sherlock fought very hard not to blush. “So it was…it was you?”

           David's eyes twinkled. "Me and a few friends. We’re incorrigible romantics, and everyone thought it was a brilliant idea. Anyhow, that's not really what we need to talk about right now. So, here's the standard bit. Yes, you are all dead. No, there's no real tribunal, we sort of see all, know all...except the more, ah, intimate details. The people you love are all here. I do love saying that, it's not always true."

           "Can we see them?" Sherlock interrupted. He was a bit surprised that Mycroft's name was the first to spring to mind.

           "Of course you can," David said gently. "This is the good place, after all. You can do what you like."

           "How will we...what if we interrupt them?" Watson asked. "That might be rude."

           "Or incredibly awkward," John put in. Sherlock shuddered, remembering That Afternoon.

           "Well, that's the bit that's rather tricky to explain," David answered. "To put it simply, you won't. When you go to see them, they'll be perfectly happy to see you, you can stay as long as you like, do whatever you like, and when you want to go somewhere else, you can. You could spend the equivalent of a hundred Earth years having tea with Mrs. Hudson, for instance, and still come back to your husband as though you'd been gone only a moment."

           "And how exactly does that make any sense?" Sherlock snapped. "How could anything coincide?"

           "And how can time be spent that way?" Holmes added.

           "Shut up, dear," Watson and John said at the same time.

           David laughed. "Oh, I am glad this is working out. It was my idea, you see, to have the four of you in the same place. I think we got the details right, is there anything else you want?"

           "No," Sherlock said. "It seems just like our place, just more...more people."

           "That's the idea. And of course there's two outsides.” David indicated a door by the window that was certainly never in Baker Street. “You go out that way, you'll be in Sussex with your bees and gardens, and down the stairs is London from both times. You should try exploring each other's times, that might be interesting."

           Holmes' eyes lit up. "That will be interesting." He paused. "I don't suppose...but no..."

           "Oh, you can still have cases," David said. "There's loads of cold cases, and I mean cold, five hundred year old cases you can work on. And of course all the little interests you all have; plenty of time to indulge, plenty of material to find the answers." He winked. "Or Google anything you don't want to take the time to discover, that's utterly up to you."

           Sherlock's mind raced. Old music, manuscripts in pieces he'd examined at university, the films he and John had never had the time to watch...

           "The main thing is," and now David's face became more serious, "that you don't need it anymore. You're not tied to your bodies anymore, and your souls have been refreshed, so to speak. There won't be any more minds racing off the tracks."

           Sherlock was dumbstruck. His mind...it could be quiet? It hadn't been in over eighty years, even in the best moments with John, utterly focused on his husband. There was always something ticking away, screaming…

           "It'll take some getting used to," David said kindly, "but you can enjoy yourselves fully now. You can do whatever you want and feel completely in the moment."

           Sherlock drew John close, and the voice was quiet, and his mind was quiet, and all he could feel was John. Holmes was crying, Watson holding his hand.

           "I think I'd better go now," David said gently. "If you've got any questions, don't hesitate to ring, my number's in your phones. I reckon you four want to get on with things." He walked to the door, then turned, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Oh, and one other thing; Sherlock, John, you might appreciate this more than the other two, but...there's no need for lube."

           Sherlock sputtered, and David disappeared with a laugh.

           "What on earth..." Watson turned pink. "Oh. Is there..."

           John laughed. "D'you know, I think we ought to at least have a cuppa together before we start discussing the finer points of modern sex equipment. And get you used to talking about it openly," he added as Holmes jumped. "You're sharing a room, too."

           Holmes beamed. "We don't have to lie about it anymore!"

           "No," Sherlock said softly. "And it seems as though we have time to fully appreciate the men we love, without hard drive space taken up with nonsense."

           "I haven't the faintest idea what a hard drive is," Holmes said as he accepted a cup of tea from his husband, "but I echo the emotion." He took Watson's hand and kissed it as the man sat down across from him.

           Part of Sherlock wanted to rush out the door and see his brother and the rest of their family, and part of him wanted to take John back to their room and test out David's last advice, but part of him, maybe the same part that loved Watson even though he wasn't exactly John, who understood Holmes so well, knew what he really wanted to do right now. "Why don't we sit down and have a chat?" he asked, taking John's hand. "I want to know about your lives."

           When they were finished having their first real conversation in years, the first one with all four in the same room, the couples  would separate and go and see their families. Then they'd come back, and with utterly no embarrassment learn exactly what afterlife sex was like (it was quite extraordinary in Holmes' terms; fucking amazing in John's). Some times they would seek out their families, sometimes each other, sometimes keeping an eye on those soon to join them. They shared each other's art (Holmes adored crap telly, to the despair of his husband, while John developed a fondness for fountain pens), explored technologies, and sometimes, when they were all itching for adventure, they'd track down a good old cold case and solve it together (usually robbery, sometimes fraud, never murder for fun. That was a far more serious pursuit, one they engaged in rarely and with full commitment to righting the wrongs of the past, passing that knowledge on through the channels that eventually made their ways down to that Earth).

           Whatever they were doing, Holmes and Watson and Sherlock and John were finally safe, finally able to enjoy themselves and be happy without the scars of the past and without fear of discovery.

           Some would argue that they didn’t deserve that much of a reward. They were ordinary men who after all, hadn't accomplished much.

           Those people fail to understand that to love another person, and to make them feel extraordinary, is an accomplishment all in itself.

           Why not be rewarded for that?

#sherlock fanfiction #sherlock holmes fanfiction #johnlock #sherlock AU #crossover with original canon #acme146 fanfiction #dreams and visions #sleeping on it 'verse #afterlife #next great adventure arc

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hi, I wanted to ask you if you know any fanfictions about Johnlock texting/letters/internet messages, something connected with that? :)

Hi Lovely!

I thought I didn’t have many of these, so I was so excited that I would be able to get this done in 10 minutes... it’s now 4 hours later and I finally got a rough list done for you and I STILL can’t find the one I wanted to add to this list! I’m so angry, because I THOUGHT it was an FFNet fic, but i can’t find it urg. Oh well. I hope you like what I have picked for you instead!

SEXTING / TEXTING:

Unquantifiable by 221b_hound (M, 2799 w, Ao3) - John remains a terrible and foul-tempered patient, but he does try to make up for it with pet names and text message silliness. In the meantime, Sally Donovan visits Baker Street for a hint about the Milverton case, and has to deal with a Sherlock Holmes who can’t find words big enough to thank her for saving John’s life at the warehouse. For afters, there’s a viewing of The Princess Bride. Part 33 of Unkissed

Happy anniversary by Salambo06 (E, 3772 w., Ao3) - John inhaled deeply, feeling his cock pulse under the silk gown, and he let his eyes travel on the lean body in front of him. Sherlock was kneeling on the bed, their bed, and the picture had been taken so John could perfectly see his bare chest and pelvis. But what mattered most, what made John harden rather quickly, was the pair of panties Sherlock was wearing in the picture. Black, string over each hip and laces that outlined Sherlock’s erect cock barely hidden under the soft underwear.

A Brand of Gold by aquabelacqua (M, 12,757 w. Ao3) - John sank deeper into the pillows, let the mist and blur of the wine settle around him, let it shore up his nerves and dim the warning signals that flashed dully in the back of his mind. He let the rest of the disappointment about Lucy and his strange accommodations and about the weekend as a whole fade into obscurity. He let the vital, missing piece snap into place as surely and as cleanly as if it had always been there. He was flirting with Sherlock Holmes. **MUST READ**

Come Home by hudders-and-hiddles] (E, 3763, Ao3) -  When John leaves for a medical conference, Sherlock tries to entice him back home.

A Study In Auto-Signatures, Sniper Dolphins, and Sex Holidays by cwb  (E, 32,690, Ao3) John and Mary go on their sex holiday, and Sherlock is grumpy and pining about it. Part 1 of HOT DOLPHIN SEX **MUST READ**

The Real Meaning of Idioms by feverishsea (T, 21,691 w., Ao3) - After two weeks away, John finally texts Sherlock. He doesn’t expect Sherlock to respond. He doesn’t expect Sherlock to keep texting him. And he really doesn’t expect things to spiral out of control so rapidly.

Bread and Wine and Curry Once a Week by cwb (E, 8737 w., Ao3) - "I am not agitated. I’m just tired of it. The insinuations, the comments, that I have no… no interest in relationships, or sex.“ John and Sherlock muddle through a relationship. **FAVE!**

Entanglement by orphan_account (G, 3218 w., Ao3) - On Christmas Eve, snow covers London, John visits Harry, and Sherlock and Mrs. Hudson untangle some knots. Lovely pining Sherlock fic. Love this one!

Definitions by siennna (T, 101,528 w., Ao3) - Throughout his life, Sherlock Holmes has always taken facts and held them close like treasures, because in a world of complex emotions, unpredictability, and the unknown, logic has never failed him. Puzzles can always be solved and equations will always have an answer; he seeks and finds comfort in the steady absolution of facts and the knowledge that everything has a definition: an unchanging, consistent meaning. However, at age thirty-five he discovers the exception to all of his neat, tidy logic when he meets John Watson, the one person who evades definition and refuses to be easily categorized—and who makes Sherlock question his own previously unshakeable ideas about everything from life to love. (Apparently a WiP, but it feel complete enough, as the “last chapter” has been waiting for over 2 years)

Tease You Till You Come by phoenix089 (E, 6090 w., Ao3) - Initially, Sherlock was rather put out by John’s lack of presence on the case. But then he starts to recieve pictures, several of them, of an unexpected nature. The case is forgotten rather quickly after that.

Text Me When It’s Over by immaculately-flawed (K+, 1K+ w., FFnet) - After the fall Sherlock starts writing texts to John. Of course, he never sends them… Until he does by accident. Post Reichenbach fic but not angsty.

Texts and Tea by JillianWatson1058 (K, 959 w., ffnet) - A John who is woken up at 2:30 in the morning is not a happy John. Sherlock, frankly, doesn’t care. He just wants his tea.

Message Not Sent by Queerasil (K, 762 w. ffnet) - Sherlock texts John after the fall and during the hiatus. The messages are sent, but never received. Sequel to WORDLOCKED, TSTM, and Wait, How Do You Play This Game Again?

Iunctum by Fudgyokra (K, 221 w., FFNet) - He stood still for a long time, staring not so much at the words he’d been sent, but at the signature that marked them: A simple ‘SH,’ neatly tucked at the close of the words ‘I’ve missed you.’” A 221B ficlet; Sherlock’s return from the fall.

The Art Of Communication by StillWaters1 (T, 2K+ w., FFNet) - Lestrade was used to getting odd, non sequitur texts from Sherlock. But when “John went out for milk” was followed by a terse “two hours ago,” Lestrade immediately understood three things: John was missing, Sherlock was quietly panicking, and this could all end very, very badly.

LETTERS / EPISTOLARY

Letters by Jenna Flare (T, 2K+ w., FFNet) - John leaves letters on Sherlock’s grave as a method of coping. Sherlock reads them every week. Sherlock/John, John/Mary. T for swearing. Post-Reichenbach

Letters From Beyond by LittleBabeBlue (K, 637 w., FFNet) - A letter for John was found in Sherlock’s coat after he jumped. Post-Reichenbach.

Dear John by starwarsfreak95 (T, 601 w. FFNet) - Not all Dear John letters are bad. Sherlock tries to explain to John why he did what he did and how much John means to him.

Pen Pals by WerewolfDoctor (K, 2K w., FFNet) - Most people don’t become pen pals by one of them writing a not-suicide note. Then again, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson have never exactly been normal, have they?

In the Dark Hours by hubblegleeflower (E, 51,639 w., Ao3) - John, wounded and silent, drifts back to Baker Street for healing…and then goes home again. He visits, gets more upbeat, chattier, smiles, jokes… and still goes home again. Sherlock wants him to move back in - it just makes sense - but John shows no signs of doing so. This is the story of how John and Sherlock learn to say what needs to be said when they’re both so very, very rubbish at talking.

There’s Something Living in These Lines by teahigh (orphan_account) - (M, 4676 w., Ao3) - Two men, complete opposites in almost every way, who speak only in letters and pages torn from books.

Correspondence by Cleo2010 (T, 8031 w., Ao3) – Sherlock’s been spirited away on a case for Mycroft. Part of the deal was that he and John could communicate via letter until the case was completed. Maybe the cliche is true, absence does make the heart grow fonder. Or perhaps something is growing on the feet in the fridge. Read their letters month by month. Written after series one.

White Blank Page by SarahCat1717 (M, 11,936 w., Ao3) – Post-fall, Sherlock is off eliminating Moriarty’s crime web. He finds he misses John. He can’t divulge that he still lives, but he placates his need to communicate with John and still feel a connection with him by sending him blank letters. But over time, this writing exercise lends itself to Sherlock exploring his feelings for his friend. What will happen when Sherlock returns to London and the man he has been “writing” to regularly for the past two years? NOT S3 compliant. Mary who?

Get It All in Writing by aceofhearts61 (T, 2423 w., Ao3) – Sherlock and John write each other love notes. Part 8 of A Love with No Name

and stand there at the edge of my affection by coloredink (G, 2683 w., Ao3)

Winter of Life by You_Light_The_Sky (T, 5178 w., Ao3) – It was an experiment, really. On Christmas, Sherlock wrote to Santa asking for a friend. He got a broken toy soldier instead. This is the story of how he finds him again and again.

Dear John by wendymarlowe (E, 3 Parts, 30,802 w. Ao3) – With Sherlock dead, John eventually (under duress) makes a profile on an online dating site. And falls into a long-distance relationship with an enigmatic partner who reminds him of Sherlock in all the right ways. (Hint: it turns out to be Sherlock.)

BLOGS / SCRAPBOOKS / JOURNALS

The Case of the Vanishing Blog by Hekateras (K+, 2K+ w., FFNet) - Sherlock is in it for the hunt. John is in it for the action. Even so, the events at the Pool leave a mark on both, unwilling as they are to admit it.

One-Way Mirror by StormyNight108 (K+, 830 w. FFNet) - Post-Reichenbach one-shot. It’s been months since the incident, where a man lost his best friend. Slowly but surely, John’s life is starting to turn up a little. That night, his blog is updated to share good news to his followers, and one anonymous commentator is quick to share his happiness. It’s about as close to his friend as he can get right now.

Don’t Go Without Me by MirabileLectu (T, 1K+ w. FFNet) - Deep in the recesses of the cluttered space under John’s bed, far from the prying eyes of nosy landladies, there is a box.

To Sleep, Perchance to Smother Your Flatmate with a Pillow by Linpatootie (G, 5308 w., Ao3) - Sherlock wants to conduct a sleep study of sorts. John contemplates smothering him with a pillow. Part 1 of Two Coffees One Black One with Sugar Please

Journal of Truths by Goddess_of_the_Night (T, 2317 w., Ao3) - When John escorts Sherlock back to Baker Street from the tarmac, he discovers a journal that Sherlock has kept secret…that he has kept secrets in. What he sees when he opens it is nothing like what he expected. He expected scrawling notes of observations, or maths equations, or drawings of plants…anything but what he actually finds: confessions.

You fit me, Sherlock Holmes by orphan_account (G, 10,077 w., Ao3) – An unfortunate series of events leads to John accepting being a part of Sherlock’s study in physical intimacy. As the days pass by, John realizes he might be in for more than he bargained for. He doesn’t entirely mind.

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder by cypress_tree (E, 10,669 w., Ao3) – John helps Sherlock with an experiment: for an entire month, they are not allowed to touch each other and must remain at least one metre apart at all times.

The Great Sex Olympics of 221B by XistentialAngst (E, 58,611 w., Ao3) – John Watson thinks Sherlock Holmes should admit that he, Watson, is more of an expert on sex than Sherlock is. But Sherlock refuses to concede the point. He comes up with an experiment plan that will resolve the issue. The results will determine who wins the prize. But sometimes even the best thought-out scientific study has unexpected consequences.

POST-ITS / LISTS

I Believe In Sherlock Holmes by Cennis (K, 2+K w., FFNet) - When John came to Baker Street one Sunday about six months after the funeral and found an elegant wooden cane, expensive-looking yet sturdy, stuffed away in the shoe cupboard, he began ‘blogging’ again. It began with post-it notes. POST-FALL.

In case of emergency by AlessNox (K, 520 w., FFNet) - Sherlock is charged with making a list of what supplies they would need in case of an emergency.

The Three-Word Tin Collection by TheBookshelfDweller (K, 1K+ w., FFNet) - What happens when Sherlock has to store the things he wants to say to John while deconstructing Moriarty’s web, but the Mind palace proves an inadequate place to store them?

206 Reasons by whitchry9 (K+, 1K+, FFNet) - John won’t wake up, so Sherlock lists all the reasons why he should. Because he appears to be a bit besotted. How inconvenient.

Because Blah Blah Blah Happy by cwb (E, 4,578 w., Ao3) – John is entirely done with the milk situation and gives Sherlock a list of shit he’s pissed about. Sherlock sets out to make John happy. John is happy. Sherlock makes his own list. They are both very, very happy.

The Trouble With Being Subtle. by VictoryCandescence (NR, 5429 w., Ao3) - In which Sherlock experiments, John misinterprets, and everyone else stands back and waits for the light to turn on.

The Importance of Torn Papers by MyLittleCornerOfSherlock (G, 2427 w., Ao3) – Little things make a big difference, even little notes of thanks. Small reminders to show he cares.

Our Enthusiasms Which Cannot Always Be Explained by withoutawish (M, 32,961 w., Ao3) – The list that is tacked haphazardly on the refrigerator of 221B reads, ‘Kidney(s), and/or a full cadaver (preferably male, late 30s, under six feet tall), bag of fresh toes, sixteen cow’s eyes (corneas retained), dual exhaust hand –held flame thrower, an unopened first edition copy of Joseph Conrad’s 'Heart of Darkness’, and no less than ten abhorrently gruesome murders in the upcoming month.” The one neatly hanging next to it simply reads, “Sex.” One of these lists is not John Watson’s. If John Watson were to put what he really wanted in list form, to live in a land somewhere beyond ‘almosts’ now that Sherlock Holmes has indeed returned to him, he would never be able to look his flatmate in the eye ever again.

See Recipe for Details by pandoras_chaos (E, 4,981, Ao3) – John knows Sherlock’s mouth will never water over the sweet smells of baking chocolate biscuits or a lovely roast chicken, but he’s watched Sherlock nick mince pies out of Mrs. Hudson’s fridge often enough to deduce that the man does have taste, albeit confusing and obscure.So John makes a list: Things Sherlock Likes

And I have a few on my Marked For Later List which also have this theme. I HAVE NOT READ THEM, so I don’t know what they are like; I was waiting for them to finish before I do. As well, Alexx has a tonne of lists you can check out too!

The Pieces That Fall to Earth by Itsallfine (T, WIP, Ao3) - John and Sherlock have hit rock bottom, but with all their armor stripped away, they can finally speak honestly and find the truths that matter most.

Letters from Sussex by sussexbound (E, 3 Parts, 160,298 w., Ao3) – In the wake of the Mary/Moriarty affair, John and Sherlock have fallen out, and are living apart. But Sherlock isn’t content with this state of affairs–not one bit. He’s tired of dancing around the obvious.

A Small Drop of Ink, Falling by la_novatrice (fleurs_du_mol) (M, 4019 w. Ao3) – John starts keeping a notebook about Sherlock, for Sherlock to read. This is a small look into it.

Alexxphonix42′s Fic Rec List: Epistolary

Alexxphonix42′s Fic Rec List: Journals

Alexxphonix42′s Fic Rec List: Sexting and Texting

Alexxphonix42′s Fic Rec List: Wrong Number Texting

Alexxphonix42′s Fic Rec List: Met Online or Texting

#steph replies #johnlock fic recs #texting #epistolary #my fic recs #meetmyinnerdemons #letters and texting