#and s3 worked to fill in those gaps and I really enjoyed that

[cookinguptales]

remembering now why I don't listen to malevolent in public because I'm home now relistening to s3 and just whispering gay periodically like

[killiansprincss]

We Found Wonderland

Summary: Trapped in the past after the S3 finale, Killian and Emma are forced to fade into the background as a newly married couple in a village while Rumplestilskin works on the portal to send them back to the future. (No Marian) What challenges will they face, after all it’s only pretending to be married after all right? Inspired by Taylor Swift ‘Wonderland’

Due to tumblr word limit I’ve had to post this in 2 parts, find part 1 here

Also on AO3

“It was so lovely to meet you Emma, I love that I finally get to see the woman who keeps Killian on his toes. I hope we can do this again sometime.” Cassian says.

“Good luck with your child, I can see he or she will be brought into a loving house.” Emma tells them as they leave, not even looking in Killians direction.

____

“What the fuck was that all about back there?” Emma practically screams as they enter their home.

“What do you mean love?” Killian asks dumbfounded,

“Don’t play dumb with me Hook. The proposal story.” She uses his moniker, she’s angry with him, she’s pissed off.

“Touching didn’t you think? Really brought a tear to their eyes.” He smirks, he knows he’s winding her up but he doesn’t care.

“You want to know what I think? I think someone’s getting a little too comfortable in this life, you know pretending to be married and all. I think someone is forgetting. We are not actually married! We are not from here, we do not belong here. You’re in love with me but I’m sorry, I don’t feel the same.”

“You want the truth Swan?” Killian said through gritted teeth. “Fine. Yes I am getting comfortable with this life, for once you’re not always yelling at me when I’m trying to help. I won't lie and say I don’t enjoy you flirting with me for once instead of it always being me. And I don’t believe for a second my feelings for you are one sided.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Emma asks, the anger building up inside her.

Killian scoffs. “You know what I mean. When we were getting your parents together, at the ball. You looked at me different that night, like you were seeing a new side to me. You could’ve said something when we danced together over and over, but you didn’t. You got closer and closer to me over those 2 days, and when I rescued you from that blasted prison you acted like we were lovers and they didn’t question it. Ever since we found out we were stuck you’ve only been flirting with me more and more.”

“Because we are technically married. And it’s not flirting. It’s-“ Emma begins.

Killian moves closer, closing the gap between the two. She can practically feel his heartbeat as he looks into her eyes, “it’s what? Because I think you’re trying to ignore that gut feeling that you feel something for me. You don’t want to admit how you truly feel. What I feel. I’m not an idiot, you kissed me back in Neverland for a reason, and you felt something as I did. Bloody hell, I gave up everything for you Emma, I traded my ship to Blackbeard to get a magic bean to find you in New York even though you had no idea who I was. I-I” he couldn’t quite finish his sentence.

“You did what? Your ship?” Emma’s tone suddenly changes, “as in the Jolly Roger?”

Killian nods. “Aye. It was the only thing worth a magic bean.”

“You traded your ship for me?” She asks, still in shock. Nobody had done that for her before, he literally gave up his home for her. Everything he had. And she was a bitch to him.

Killian just nods. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think it important.”

His ship. His home. Killian traded his home to find Emma. She had no idea who he was, he didn’t know if the memory potion would even work, but he did it anyway. He came and found her, brought her home.

Instead of saying anything Emma takes another step towards Killian closing the already small gap between them and captures his lips with hers.

They both didn’t know how much they had been longing for this, it was similar to their first kiss back in the Neverland jungle, hot and fiery. It’s filled with passion and wanting. Killian breaks the kiss for just a second to move positions and when his lips are back on Emma’s small moans escape. For in this moment, in this kiss, nothing else mattered. They forgot about their argument, about the angry screams and cusses from before. All that mattered was each other and that they were together now.

Emma wraps her legs around a Killians waist as he leads them over to the bed. Suddenly only having one bed and having to share didn't seem like such a problem.

The moans escaping from each other’s lips were getting more frequent and louder with each kiss. These enchanted forest clothes were a lot harder to remove than modern ones, but Killian was happy to oblige the removal of the dress.

“God's you’re beautiful.” Killain says taking in the sight of the almost naked Emma.

“Just shut up and kiss me.” Emma tells him. She wants him, she needs him.

Killian happily obliges, kissing her lips and her cheek and her neck leaving marks that will need covering up tomorrow. He sucks on her neck and leaves hot kisses down from her neck down her body, paying close attention to her breasts and then her stomach and inner thighs causing her back to arch and more moans start to escape.

“Killian I need you please.” Emma pleads, she wanted him.

“You’re sure?”

“Yes please. Please.”

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After that night of pleasure, they never had to argue over the bed or awkwardly untangle themselves in the mornings. The next few months are spent exploring each other’s bodies every night, and finding out new things about each other every day.

Their relationship took a turn from pretending to be real and pretending to be in love, to not being so pretend anymore. They fell into the routine of a happily married couple.

There was also something else magical about that night. It seemed Emma’s magic had returned. Sparks flew that night in one way or another. It was electrifying.

___

“Hmm something smells good.” Emma says as she walks through the door after another horrible day at work.

Killian comes out from around the corner and presses a kiss to her lips.”I’m glad you’re home. I made you a surprise for dinner.”

“You know I hate surprises.” She whines

Killian chuckles, “I promise you are going to love this surprise.”

Emma sits down at the table as Killian puts a blindfold on his ‘wife’. “Whatever this is it smells good.”

Killian removes the blindfold as he pieces the plate of food in front of her,

“Is this?” Emma asks as she sees what seems to be a grilled cheese in front of her.

“My attempt at an Enchanted Forest Grilled Cheese. I went to the market and got the finest bread and the best cheese imported from Agrabah. I then made it into a sandwich and heated it up. I couldn’t figure out how to make the onion rings, which you so enjoy too, but this is the best I could do.”

“You did this for me?” Emma is shocked that he did this for her, he didn’t have to, but he did.

“I know you’re missing home, I can’t go to Granny herself and ask her to make you one, but this is the next best thing.” Killian gives her a smile. It wasn’t to get points or anything, he did it because he was really enjoying their time together but she was always talking about Stortybrooke, so he thought he’d bring a little bit of it to their home.

“Oh.My. God. This is incredible.”she says as she takes a bite “I love you.”

Realising what she just said, they’re both taken aback.

“Slip of though don’t worry I’ll pretend you didn’t say it.” He says awkwardly scratching behind his ear, a sad tone in his voice.

“No. No, I meant it. Sure it was a slip of the tongue but I don’t regret saying it. Killian, I love you.” She finally admits. “I didn’t admit how I was feeling for the longest time, but you stayed with me and helped me through it all. You didn’t have to come find me in New York but you did, you didn’t have to help me make sure my parents met but you did. You even became my fake husband so that we can slip through the cracks until we can go home.”

Her walls were slowly coming down each day she spent with Killian. He wasn’t running away, and Emma didn’t want to run when it all became real either. And for each wall he crashed through, she didn’t feel the need to build another.

“Gods I’m so pleased to hear you say that Swan.” Killian grabs her by the waist and spins her around, releasing laughter from Emma. “I love you too Emma. So much.”

_____

So we went on our way

Too in love to think straight

All alone, or so it seemed

But there were strangers watching

And whispers turned to talking

And talking turned to screams

Emma and Killian had been in the Enchanted Forest for around 10 months, hopefully Rumplestilskin would keep his word and have the portal so that they could go back to their world in 2 months time.

10 months in the Enchanted Forest, and Emma was still not used to the clothes or the food. Cassian and Maeve had invited them round a few more times, and this time they didn't need to lie about their relationship or their feelings as much anymore. The two of them had welcomed a baby girl, and Maeve had returned to work at the tavern, so at least Emma was no longer alone in battling off the creepy men.

Although, Emma couldn’t completely control her magic so there were times it spiraled out of control and she had hoped nobody would notice it was her. There was one time she was pouring drinks, it was a really busy shift, and she accidentally made the barrels explode and beer went everywhere. It took a lot of effort not to laugh at the beer that practically drenched the guy that had been trying to touch her up all shift.

“This happens all the time, don’t worry about it.” Maeve tells Emma as she grabs a rag to start cleaning up.

Phew. She got away with it. For now.

Except it kept happening.

Emma didn’t know why or what was happening, but her magic was uncontrollable.

“It’s happening again, I don’t know what to do.” She confides in Killian. She knows he will want to help, and not just because it will keep their secret safe.

Killian trusts her, he knows her magic is never intended to harm anybody. “Why does it keep happening at work, you don’t seem to have outbursts at home.”

“I feel safe at home.” Emma admits. “When I’m with you, I feel safe, I can pretend it’s just us and the rest of the world doesn’t exist. When I’m at work I get nervous because you’re not there and I have to do it all alone, keep up appearances. You’re so much better at it than I am.”

“I have something for you then.” Killian says as he pulls a chain from around his neck, with a cool silver ring attached.

“Wow, wow wow.” Emma’s heart suddenly starts to race, she loved Killian, but if this ring was his way of proposing they were moving way too quickly.

“Calm down Swan, I’m not proposing.” He realises he should have led with that before pulling out a ring. “You know I’m a survivor, and this ring is why. It belonged to my brother, a better man than I am. It’s kept me safe all these years, and now it’s going to keep you safe. At the very least it’s a reminder that you’ve got a smouldering piercing eyed pirate at home who loves you.”

She kisses him and smiles. Her smile is so bright, nobody has ever cared or loved her the way Killian does, and it’s kind of scary, but Killian hasn’t left her, he stuck by her and she’s slowly realising that being in love, especially with Killian, is nothing to be afraid of. “I love you too.”

Now when she was at work and felt her magic or became overwhelmed, she would hold the ring on the chain, and breathe. She would think of Killian and how they would be going home soon.

______

For the first couple weeks after clinging to the ring, Emma was fine. Her magic did become slightly overwhelming but she took the ring and held it for a few seconds, thought of Killain, and she was fine.

But then their story started getting poked at.

“Where did you say you came from again?” A girl at work would ask.

“Crestbourne, just north of here.” Emma says, hoping the subject will change soon.

“Crestborune? Isn’t that South?”

Emma plays dumb, “Right, I meant South. Sorry my head is spinning today, too much rum after work last night,”

Killian experienced the same thing.

“You say you were in the Royal Navy Jones?” Someone at work would ask.

“Aye, me and my brother. Under King Elijah.”

“Only because I have a friend currently in King Elijah’s army, and he hadn’t heard of a Jones in that army for over a hundred years.”

Killian didn’t know what to say, he didn’t expect to be caught out like this. So he just laughs and says, “Well I guess I didn’t make much of an impact if nobody remembers me.” It’s the best he can do.

That night at home, Emma and Killian discuss their situation.

“What do we do? Go back to Rumple? Work for him for the next 2 months?” Emma suggests, despite the fact that she doesn’t want to do this, maybe they had no choice.

“No. Absolutely not. I still don’t trust the Crocodile. If we go to him now before the Portals is ready- who knows what he’ll do with us?” Killian had every right to be afraid, especially as this Rumpelstiltskin was not the Mr. Gold they could threaten in Storybrooke.

Emma was worried, how much longer could this go on? “Then what do you plan we do?”

Killian takes Emma’s hand and pulls her in for a kiss. “We’ve come this far together. As long as we stick together, we can wager any more storms that come our way.”

Emma can’t help but smile at his sea analogies. But he was right, they had survived ten months together without any complications, they just needed to survive 2 more. As long as they were together, they could do this.

____

The next day Emma heads to work with Maeve, they both have an afternoon shift and she appreciated the company. Poor Maeve is working 3 days at the tavern and 4 days at the market. She and Cassian can barely afford clothes for their baby girl who is growing every day. Emma wishes she could tell her that it gets better, and that soon she hopefully wouldn’t have these problems. She’s pretty sure all jobs in Storybrooke pay a decent living wage.

“What’s happening up there?” Emma asks Maeve as they see a crowd start to form outside the tavern.

“I’m not sure.” Maeve looks equally as confused as they approach the growing crowd.

“WITCHES! BURN THE WITCHES!” They hear.

Oh no. No. This was not good.

This wasn’t like Storybrooke, people didn’t always accept magic here. And if they found out about Emma, who knows what they would do to her.

“I know there’s a witch here. Strange things have been happening, I know magic when I see it.” A man with a pitchfork says. Emma recognises him as a regular. A regular who likes to touch the girls that work there.

Emma’s heart is suddenly racing. Last night she made the barrels explode again. She tried to think of Killian and his ring, but she heard the name ‘Henry’ and her emotions, and therefore her magic was spiralling. The lights flickered before they cut out immediately and goblets started to shatter-despite being made of a heavy duty material.

Maeve looks at Emma, “Go. Go now before they find you.

Emma gives her a confused look, “what do you mean?”

In a quiet voice, she tells her, “I know you have magic. I see it, but you can’t control it. You would never use it to hurt anybody, but they don’t know that. Go now, escape while you still can.”

Emma gives Maeve a hug, “Thank you.”

“I know you don’t belong here. So I hope you can get back to wherever it is.” Maeve whispers.

Emma nods, Maeve was smart. “Things will get better. I promise.” Before she runs away back to their home.

Bursting through the door, she sees Killian taking a nap, he’d been working a lot more shifts lately, in his attempt to slip through the cracks.

“Killian! Wake up! Killain! We need to get out of here. They know. We need to find Rumple. I don’t care that it's only been 10 months. I need to be safe. I can’t do this anymore.” She’s rambling, Killian can’t understand what she’s saying.

“Swan calm down. What’s going on?” Killian asks, in his half sleep state.

Emma takes a deep breath and explains the Witch Hunt going on outside the tavern and how Maeve knows she has magic, and has given her a head start.

“THE WITCH LIVES HERE! I'VE SEEN IT!”

Suddenly there’s a pounding on their door. Emma and Killian look at one another. “Swan if you have a way of getting us out by magic, do it now.”

The door breaks down and there’s a crowd of angry villagers with pitchforks and spires, “There’s the witch, I’ve seen sparks and white fog coming from their house time and time again. She’s practising magic.”

“Killian I can’t control it, I don’t know how to get us out.” Emma whispers, panic setting in, her fists are glowing, letting the angry villagers know they’re right about their assumptions.

“Swan. Look at me.” Killian says, using his one hand to turn Emma’s face to his.”Your magic is inside of you. I understand you can’t control it, but I’ve seen you do it before. You can do this, I believe in you.”

Emma takes Killians hand in hers and thinks hard about what she wants. She wants to get home to their family. Killian has been by her side through it all, he’s been her rock, she thinks of his ring and how much she loves him. She feels her power, and focuses on escaping.

Her fists glow brighter, and a second later they disappear in a puff of white smoke, and appear into the great hall of Rumple's Castle.

Emma opens her eyes to see the results of her first time really using her magic.

“You did it Swan!” Killian wraps his arms around her. “You’re bloody brilliant you know that!”

Emma breathes a sigh of relief as she hugs Killian. She did it, she actually did it.

“You wield in magic. I’m impressed.” Rumples' voice tears them from each other’s thoughts about what just happened.

“The villagers found out about us lying. And we were at the centre of a witch hunt. Is there any way the portal can be ready early?” Emma is practically begging, which she never thought she would. This Rumple was far less likely to help them than Gold.

The Dark One just laughs. “Oh I haven’t been working on the portal.”

“Please tell me this is a joke.” Killian half laughs, hoping it wasn’t true.

Rumple raises his eyebrows, “I don’t joke. I’ve been working on a memory potion for myself. I already know too much about the future, can’t know anymore.”

Pressing her lips together to stop her from wringing her hands around his neck, Emma simply asks, “so how do we get home?”

“With this.” He says as a wand poofs into his hand.

“I don’t understand.”

Rumple rolls his eyes at Emma. “You have proven yourself powerful enough these past few months, you are the only one who can replicate the spell that brought you here.”

“So you’re telling me, these past 10 months have been a test? That we didn’t need to make up a fake life and live here?” Killian asks, anger building up.

Rumple laughs. “Of course it was a test! You needed to prove you were powerful enough. And like I said, there was no use for you in my Castle, I already had help.” Emma notices the Castle isn’t as clean as it was 10 months ago, assuming Belle had been captured by Regina by now.

“I’m gonna kill him when we get home.” Emma whispers to herself.

/\/\/\/\

Rumple poofs them into the basement, or the dungeon of his Castle, filled with what was most likely the most dangerous magic and weapons.

The glamour Rumple had put them on had vanished, and they were back in their other clothes, Emma’s leather jacket, her armour was back on and she felt somewhat safe. The wand felt heavy in her hand, it was powerful magic, also likely dark magic if it were able to replicate any spell or curse.

“How do I do this?” She asks Killian.

“You’re the magic one Swan not me.” His tone was cold, what was up with him?

“Are you okay?”

“Fine. Just eager to get home.” He says looking around at the magical objects

Emma lowers the wand and turns to face Killian. “What’s wrong with you?

Avoiding her gaze, he simply says. “Everything changes when we’re home.”

Emma furrows her brow, “What’s changing?” She grabs his hand and forces him to look at her. “Killian, what is going to change?”

“Us, Everything. Your feelings for me. It was nice while it lasted.”

“You think I’m going to leave you when we get back home?” She asks, slightly hurt that he would even think that.

“I’m a Pirate Swan. You think your family of royals and heroes are going to accept me?” Killian was afraid of going home, it wouldn’t just be him and Emma anymore.

“Killian, I love you. And that’s not going away when we get home. I don’t care what my parents think, you have stayed with me all this time. You have a mark in the hero column.” She kisses him, letting him know that while things will be different, things aren’t going to change between them.

As she kisses him, the wand In her hand begins to glow white. Holding Killians hand tight, she raises the wand in the air and thinks of home, and her family.

“You did it Swan.” Killian says, pressing a kiss to the side of her head, looking at the golden shimmering portal which had opened.

“Let’s go home.” She says as she places the wand on the table and grabs Killians hand as they jump into the Portal.

/\/\/\/\

They come through the Portal with a bump. Storybrooke. They’re home.

“We did it! We’re home!” Emma can feel tears coming from her eyes, she didn’t know when she would see home again.

“You did it Swan. You’re bloody amazing.” Killain says picking her up and spinning her around, the same way as when Emma told him she loved him.

“Let’s go. Let’s go find our family.” Killian could almost cry at the way Emma said ‘our’, they may not be married anymore, but she still loved him and they were in this together. Whatever they face next, they face it together.

And so they walk hand in hand to Granny’s to find everyone.

In Storybrooke, only a matter of days had passed, thankfully they hadn’t missed almost a year. But she did miss the official name ceremony of her baby brother, Prince Leo, named after Snow's father.

“So you’re Princess Leia?” Snow asks, as they flick through Henry’s book to find Emma and Killians adventure now in it.

Henry chuckles, “Nice alias Mom!”

“I guess that means you’re finally one of us. A fairytale princess at last.” David says as he muses the picture of Emma and Hook dancing together at the ball.

“So what happened after that? You were there almost a year? What was it like? Did you slay a dragon, or get caught in the ogre war?” Henry asks, wanting to know all about her Enchanted Forest adventure.

Emma rolls her eyes, “Sorry Kid, no dragon slaying or ogres. Gold, or uh Rumple. He wanted to test us, test my magic. So we had to pretend to be a married couple living in a small village out of sight, and I had to work in a tavern for 10 months until my magic returned and I was the focus of a witch hunt.”

“Witch Hunt?”

“Married to Hook?”

Her parents clearly had different reactions to her story.

Emma just laughs, “It was a scary experience all right. But I couldn’t have gotten through it without my ‘husband’. It wasn’t so bad, but I’m so happy to be back at Granny’s, I missed her onion rings.” And she gives Hook a knowing look that causes them both to smile at the memory.

“Wait-are you two?” Henry asks realising the looks and smiles his mother was sharing with Hook.

Emma doesn’t quite know how to react, she wasn’t ashamed, but her family didn't know Killian like she did.

“I’m happy for you Emma. Really.” Snow says, holding out her hands to both Emma and Hook.

“I guess the Pirate isn’t so bad, as long as you don’t hurt her I’m happy.” David fights the urge to say something worse, but in all honesty he was happy for Emma.

“Does this mean Hook can teach me how to sword fight?” Henry asks his grandparents with a grin on his face making Emma smile.

Her family was reunited. She wasn’t alone anymore. She had a family who loved her and wouldn’t leave her. It may have taken time, and a curse, but it was worth it. Henry didn’t bring her to Storybrooke to break some curse, he was bringing her home.

[writingwife-83]

My 2020 Sherlolly Self Interview

Thanks for organizing this fun activity @sherlollyappreciationweek! 🎉 I’ll start out with a very brief “about me” section-

I live in the northeast area of the USA, I’ve been married for seventeen years, have one teenage son, and I’m in my *gulp* late thirties now. I do volunteer ministry work and also work part time from home. Among other leisure activities, obviously I love writing! I started writing original fiction when I was a preteen, but I’ve been writing fanfic under the pen name “writingwife83” for over six years now. I discovered fanfic and the world of online fandom after becoming obsessed with BBC Sherlock in 2014 after s3 aired. I read The Full House, fell in love with the whole concept of fanfic, specifically for sherlolly, and couldn’t help but give it a go myself. And as they say, the rest is history!

Below the cut I’ll talk about some of the topics and fics suggested by followers/readers. Buckle up cuz it’s a lot lol...

Ok, first up to be kind enough to give me some feedback is @readstoomuch. You said- “what inspires you. Any story (I love them all!). Who do you love writing? Who is hardest for you? And which is that one story that you had fun doing?”

As for what inspires me, first and foremost it’s the show and characters itself. Watching those two on screen, it’s not hard to be inspired! But beyond that, I find a lot of inspiration in music and art, and just generally in other creative works and people. I think for a while I had my own internal inspiration and no lack of it, but as months dragged into years lol, I have found that the rest of the shippers are invaluable in filling the gaps when I lack inspiration and motivation. Some prompts I’ve gotten from others have taken on a life I never would have expected, and that’s pretty great. I honestly don’t think writing works best as a purely solitary activity. I know myself and although there is an aspect of my writing that will always be “for me,” that’s absolutely not all it is. It’s the fun of creating with others and it’s the fun of sharing with others.

As for who I love writing and who’s hardest, I think I’ve always felt pretty comfortable writing the main characters in Sherlock. I probably especially love writing Sherlock himself because he’s fun to break down and really dig deep into his emotions and thought processes. There have definitely been times some of the side characters have overwhelmed me and made me nervous about conveying their voices accurately. For instance, Mycroft can be tough if it involves pulling him out of his shell in a way that still feels believable and true to character.

That one story I had fun doing? Well there’s no way I can say just one. 😆 As far as reader response, there’s no other fic that can compare to the fun of I Told You So, that’s for sure. But as far as the actual plotting and creating, I think the fics I’ve had the most fun with are the multi-chapters I’ve done since becoming good friends with @thisisartbylexie. Having her as a sounding board, plotting buddy, and editor has absolutely increased my creating fun and has definitely also made me a better writer.

Thanks so much for asking @readstoomuch 🥰

Alrighty, @thisisartbylexie, you asked- if there's a fic that you ever wanted to go back to change in some way, which one would it be and why? Which one do you feel "oh wow, did I write that?" in a super positive way?

Idk how to choose just one fic. There are plenty that could use some changing lol! One I’d like to fix though, would be Pleased to Meet You. I know (because I’ve been told) that there’s inaccuracies in that one seeing as I’m not personally familiar with university settings in the UK. I did actually attempt research and I thought I got the idea, but apparently it didn’t work out terribly well. But the plotting and progression of that fic is one I’ve always been happy with, so I guess I feel like it’s a shame if it came off messy in some general ways and distracted from the rest of it. I like how I was able to weave that one into the canon of the show up to that point. And tbh it actually still fits as a uni backstory for them without any conflicts to the canon. As much as I enjoy canon divergence and AU, I also have a big soft spot for fics that simply connect seamlessly to what we’ve already been given.

As for “oh wow, did I write that?” I think one of my proudest accomplishments has been Zephyr. That fic kinda has it all lol. The tropes, the pining, the romance, the Victorian setting...ugh I love it. And there’s a climactic kiss moment in that fic that’s one of my faves I’ve written. I’m so glad I wrote it because of the Sherlolly Remix Challenge in ‘16, and at your suggestion, Lexie. But I will also be forever sad that I had to release that fic all at once on AO3 once completed. That fic would have been great fun to be writing and posting as I went along! And on top of being happy with the fic itself and how it came out, I’m awfully proud of the fact that you were excited enough about the fic to illustrate it, and that @goodshipsherlolly enjoyed it enough to record it as an audio fic. Honestly, what more could a writer ask for? 🥺

@mizjoely, you said you’d like to hear anything about The Queen’s Man. Okey doke, you got it lol!

I actually went back and read through most of that fic when I got this because it had been a long time since I’d looked at it. I gotta be honest that in hindsight...I’m a little surprised it did as well as it did.😂🙈 As some may remember, it started because I saw a magnificent manip and wanted to write something to go with it, and then because that was well received, somehow it just kept going. I did very little world building and development of characters in that fic. It was largely just one shippy, romantic, pining scene after another lol. At the end I did kinda tie it all in and wrapped the story up ok, but it was definitely one of those self indulgent fics where I didn’t feel like doing the hard parts and really just wanted to write the fun stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I loved writing it, and I’m so glad it got the positive reception that it did! But it just kinda makes me laugh because it goes to show sometimes you don’t know what’s going to do really well. You could agonize over clever plotting and world building and character development etc, and be so super proud of the finished product and all your hard work, but then you share and the response is like “meh.” And then other times you legit just throw something together with barely any careful thought, and the crowd goes wild! But aside from all that, the visuals in my head of that AU are just too drool worthy to me. Molly in Medieval royal attire? Sherlock in dark armor with a Purple Tunic of Sex™️ underneath? The two of them lingering in the dimly lit hallways and rooms of a castle and gazing endlessly in mutual pining? Yes to all.

Thanks for asking @mizjoely 😘

Ok wow, see what I mean? That was long! 🤣 If you read all the way through this whole thing, *Moriarty voice* thank you...bless you. Honestly, this ship is amazing and I don’t think I’ll ever have a writing experience anywhere else like I’ve had here. I’ve seen the other side of things in another fandom now, so I can all the more so confirm that there’s no ship quite like sherlolly. The warmth, reception, and longevity is mind blowing and I’m just awfully happy to have played a part in creating for the beauty that is Sherlock Holmes and Molly Hooper. 💕

[fba-art]

Just out of curiosity, why don’t you like young justice??

aight, so i knew i was gonna wait to respond to this ‘til i had some time to explain.

and i want to start out by saying that i don’t think Young Justice, as a property, is a bad show. in fact, i think it’s a show that had GREAT potential. i watched every new episode via livestream every saturday lol. and now, i’ll be honest when i say it’s been some time since i’ve rewatched it, and i’m always open to changing opinions. a few years back, i wanted to give it another, fresher perspective and dove in for a rewatch, but ultimately didn’t finish. i don’t remember my reasoning exactly, but i recall being disappointed.and it’s funny i received this ask this week, b/c my friend and i were planning on giving it another rewatch for shits and giggle after finals ( sober or not is tbd ).

but so, here’s where i stand on the show.

i started watching YJ when it was abt 5 episodes into s1. and i binged those first five and stick to my guns that holy SHIT 1-3 are bomb as FUCK. super strong start! Independence Day will never not get me SO HYPE and remind me why i fell in love with DC’s teenage heroes in the first place. it’s so… youthful. a fun conversation for another time.

and now, when i started watching YJ, it was like four months into my making my TT!Kid Flash rp blog, and two months after i’d gotten into reading comics; when i found out Wally was like a biG DC CHARACTER, NOT JUST AN OLD CARTOON ONE-SHOT, i went EVERYWHERE to get my hands on more about Wally West. ironically, the first purchase i ever made from a comic store was a silver age Teen Titans tale, issue #2 of TTY1, and two issues of the old Young Justice comics ( still some of my favorite comics to this day; more on that later ).TL;DRi saw a commercial for YJ, ft. my fave DC char and my fave comic title and went “HOSHIT”.

as the episodes pushed the show’s plot along, it was fun and explorative of a more intense side to the idea of a group of superteens in the DCU. and again, very TEENAGER-Y, which i say in the BEST of ways, considering that was the target audience as well. but, as part of that audience at the time, one of the things that had started to bother me was the character relationships. yeah, i was loving on most of the main cast at the time, but for the first half of the season, the team’s supposedly-close friendships were pushed to the backburner ( EXCEPT for KF and Rob’s, which was one of the only things that got me through the season ). the first season WAS about straining relationships. the social drama was palpable. you NEED conflict in your plots, and char-v-char is especially fun. but i remember feeling like there was little bonding. they were a group of acquaintances, learning to co-habitate the same space- not to say that they didn’t seem like friends, but there was a lack of balance between “teens being professionals in their field” and “teens being immature teens”. both were squeezed in, but both consistently felt forced.

which brings me to the next point: forcing relationships without developing them!i wasn’t sure why i was supposed to care about Roy, like. At all. the team always bringing up that they trained alongside him, grew with the guy, and then??? nada, except when the plot needed edgy tantrumy angst.then there was spitfire. i ship spitfire now, but the ENTIRETY of s1 i was SO FRUSTRATED, because all those two did was bicker. wally was pretty foul to artemis, who was also just plain mean to wally. and i say this with the two of them as my TOP FAVE CHARS.and don’t get me STARTED on the best char on the entire team, KALDUR’AHM!!!! who was shit on by EVERYONE– fandom and plot, alike. actually, i do recall in my last rewatch starting two tallies of everytime kaldur was DISRESPECTED and TREATED LIKE GARBAGE BY TEEN AND ADULT CHARS, versus everytime he was treated respectfully. this boy was BRUTALIZED through s1.m’gann and conner, too– a cute concept, but borderline cringey, even creepy, at times. i was rooting for supermartian. i was. but it was like the writers didn’t know how to write a slowburn. the idea was honestly better on paper than in execution.

the YJ spinoff comics filled in a lot of these gaps, i’ll admit. it explored the chars, their relationships, and their behavior in ways the show seemingly didn’t have time to do, and i LOVE the spinoff series. but i also firmly believe that you shouldn’t need a second media to fix the first. it’s capitalistic and no fun.

through the duration of the show, there were also issues such as the hiatuses. i don’t recall them coming with much warning at a time, nor sticking to much of a schedule. i don’t actually remember what they were for, either. but, before and after each of (three?? was it three?) hiatuses, the showrunners would introduce a new character during a new arc, give said character some liners or plot fodder, and do away with them for the rest of the season ( i.e Rocket, Zatanna, Garth and Tula, etc. ).

i have some other, nitpickier issues– why was wally That Way, why was clark Like That, how come bruce was the ENABLER the entire time, etc– but many can be argued as whether they affected the show as a whole or not.my actual biggest problem was the direction.the director.Greg Weisman.bc idk what the hell he was doing half the time, and i don’t think he knew, either. the writing wasn’t GREAT, but at least it was consistent. Weisman truly had a marketable property, a fan favorite, and one of CN’s best running shows at the time. but between the hiatuses, the writing’s faults, the insufficient character development, and a HUGE ego thanks to his fanbase, Weisman was unable to uphold the integrity of his show. there was both fan-pandering, AS WELL AS consciously going AGAINST fans’ wishes. there was that whole “Ask Greg”-thing, too, where he would get back to a fan once every blue moon and answer background questions about the show’s universe, which became a scene of hot debate. Greg Weisman became the JK Rowling of DC, and lost a lot of my respect with his lack of damage control, and impulse control.

then, with the very inception of the show– and i don’t actually know if i can blame weisman for this or not, but i wanna know who pitched it, otherwise– the show’s CONCEPT. why was Young Justice made with this particular cast of characters, cherrypicked through DC history, aged down or revamped or just cut-and-pasted where they didn’t fit? why was its concept, “COVERT TEAM OF ADOLESCENTS WITH SUPERPOWERS WORKING TOGETHER WITH LACK OF SUPERVISION”? why was the show called “Young Justice” when what they wanted was the TT v3 comics? WHY DID WE NEED TO TURN SUPERMAN INTO THE UNAVAILABLE-FATHER TROPE????? questions that will forever remain unanswered. that’s a lie, i can answer most of them, myself.but all in all, a show with great potential that failed in execution.

season 2, i actually enjoyed more than season 1– it felt like there was more of a handle on the story and cast, alike. did i approve of season 2 and what went down? debatable. but that’s a very subjective view. objectively, season 2 flowed better than season 1, but still didn’t follow through on subplots, nor resolved relationships or even characterization ( m’gann, girl what the fuck?? ). very little team bonding, save for, once again, two chars out of the whole team. again, another season of SO much potential, but one that fell short.

its pros, however– i really enjoyed the darker themes, getting darker as time went on. there was a lot of tragedy in s2, and different perspectives and walks of life to watch through different lenses. a much more diverse cast, and very different conflicts to tackle. i was impressed. i don’t think all the controversies were resolved, but i also wasn’t quite as upset that they weren’t; open-ended conflict is frustrating, but is a great lead-in to another season.

————which, for better or for worse, we weren’t supposed to have.i personally would’ve rather the show ended there, not quite on a high note ( are u fucking kidding me fjaoisdfjoaifio waLLY, this was during the n52, too ), but with a concrete END. of course there was more to explore, the world they’d built was a big one, but we didn’t need to.

i was literally just yesterday chatting w my sis, bc after school lets out, we wanna watch season 3. i really do. i’m upset that there is one, but i do wanna know what happens to my faves. and, on top of that, i’ve been meaning to do one BIG rewatch, anyways, to get me set up for s3. as a student of film, it’s a huge philosophy of mine to rewatch EVERYTHING and go in with the intent of giving it a fresh start and a clean slate– both medias i love, and medias i hate. it’s important to analyze pop culture critically, and even things that aren’t good can still be enjoyable.

for me, Young Justice wasn’t a phenomenal show to begin with, from its technological side to its creative team to its politics, and i stopped enjoying it pretty early on. but, that isn’t to say it didn’t accomplish GREAT things, and isn’t UN-enjoyable; it has its moments. also i would DIE for most of the cast, i fucking love the characters.

i don’t think anyone is wrong for liking Young Justice. i try to stay in the loop about it, and form new opinions based on whatever information is out there until i can get ahold of the source material. and, i do like aspects of the show. but ultimately, it just isn’t my cup of tea. 

[plumbobpost]

Fanfic Friday: Spotlight on Skell’s Fortune & Romance

Sul sul!

Today Week of Woohoo continues with a very special twist. I have had the opportunity to ask Skell a few questions as part of a new series of posts about storytelling in The Sims community.

Skell’s Fortune & Romance serves as a prequel to the Pleasantview and Strangetown storylines in The Sims 2 from the perspectives of the Caliente sisters, hence the title which references their aspirations. Her story takes place in the time period between the first and second games and fills in the gaps between the contradicting timelines of The Sims, The Sims 2, and The Sims 3. Although the story is largely from Dina’s perspective, it features most of the iconic The Sims 2 characters ranging from Olive Specter to the Tricous to Bella and Mortimer Goth, establishing its own vivid mythology in the process.

In addition to writing, Skell has also created beautiful Maxis-Match content for The Sims 2 and is a frequent contributor to the Totally Maxis Tumblr and the fansite Garden of Shadows.

Without further ado, I’ll let Skell speak for herself.

You’ve said in the past that Fortune & Romance started out as your attempt to make sense of Maxis canon for the premade characters of Neighborhood 1, Pleasantview, and Sunset Valley. How did this evolve from your personal headcanons into a full-fledged story?

“I had played TS2 off and on for years before I was part of the fandom, mostly just goofing around but I had a lot of fun taking pictures and experimenting with posing. One day I discovered Strangetomato’s “Strangetown Here We Come” on TVtropes and was amazed at the way she fleshed out the premade stories from the game. Through her comment section, I discovered the whole fandom and started paying better attention to the premades. Eventually I came up with a backstory for Dina that I really wanted to write and share.”

Why did you choose Nina and Dina Caliente to be your protagonists? Did you ever consider different lead characters?

“It was always gonna be Dina because I was intrigued her backstory with the mysteriously inconsistent Michael Bachelor and the fact that she’s part alien. I wasn’t as interested in Nina until I noticed that she was shy (like me in RL) and also autonomously beating people up all the time. That’s when I realized she was gonna be a co-star and balance to Dina’s antics.”

Instead of ignoring Maxis’ characterization of Dina as a gold digger, you embraced it and made it a focal point of her character. Similarly, you fully acknowledge Nina’s romance aspiration while not making her a heartbreaker. How did you find a balance between their implied “villainy” in The Sims 2 and making them more sympathetic characters?

“I enjoy classic movies where Marilyn Monroe or Thoroughly Modern Millie is like “teehee I’m gonna marry a millionaire,” and it’s quirky rather than villainous. In those stories, she usually falls for a poor guy and chooses love over money (and often he turns out to be secretly rich.) Since Michael didn’t give her a “married a rich sim” memory, I wanted to write Dina the gold-digger as a modern version of that kind of story.”

“Maxis kind of setup Romance sims for “villainy” by not allowing for casual or open relationships, but of course that can be fixed with mods. With Nina, it’s interesting that she doesn’t really fit the “outgoing party girl” type. I think of her as a quiet person with a very intense energy. She needs lots of exercise and woohoo so that she doesn’t explode.”

There are a lot of unconventional relationships in your story. Nina and Servo. Olive and Ichabod. The Tricous. Even Dina and Michael. That being said, there is very definitely a theme of “love conquers all.” What motivated your approach to these relationships? How does that relate back to your attempts at reconciling Maxis canon throughout different games?

“I have a thing for mixed supernatural relationships. Dina and Mike bonding over their hidden supernatural heritages was always key once I figured Michael had a magic side. I knew I wanted to have Nina be intimate with a servo because that’s HAWT, but I didn’t foresee how intimate things would get until I figured out Servo’s character. The Tricous’ happy polyamory was my explanation for all the weirdness going on with their relationships and family tree. And I wanted Olive, Ichabod, and DJ make up this very loving and weirdly “normal” Unholy Family.”

Speaking of reconciling Maxis canon, you created your own version of Michael Bachelor in order to match his appearance in The Sims better and to create a resemblance between him and his famous sister, Bella Goth. Why do you think Michael was depicted so differently throughout the first three games? What did you draw inspiration from in creating “The Ultimate Michael Bachelor?”

“I think it mostly comes down to them wanting to use a familiar name for Bella’s brother/Dina’s husband in TS2, and carrying that forward. In TS3, I saw a boy who had his life all planned out for him by his father. In my headcanon, he screwed that all up and became the graduate of TS1 who had no idea what he wanted to do with his life. His relationship to Bella is the reason why he’s still single by the time he reconnects with Dina, who helps him find direction.”

There is an abundance of strong female characters in F&R, some of which were not originally portrayed that way. Why did you feel that it was important to write them as such?

“Well, because I’m a proud “SJW,” of course! But seriously, it’s less about being strong and more about seeing them as people?”

^Best answer that I could have asked for.

A large portion of Fortune & Romance is dedicated to the mythology of The Sims universe(s) and to supernatural sims. How did you go about the process of world building? Did you draw inspiration from different games in the series and/or from outside sources?

“My biggest worldbuilding is the explanation of where the supernaturals came from. The fairies are sort of fallen angel types who each have an animal form, and their magic rubbed off on human sims to create the supernatural life states.”

“I try to base the worldbuilding off things in game or aspects of game play. The fairy backstory was heavily inspired by fairy tales, in the way they morally test humans for punishment or guidance.”

Aside from premade supernatural sims such as the Smiths, Calientes, and Summerdreams, how did you go about deciding which premade sims were supernatural and which weren’t? How did you decide what life state they were?

“Bella has that awesome bio about being descended from “occultists, decadents, and mystics,” but then in TS3 the Bachelor family is uber-normal, so it eventually became that Jocasta is a squirellier version of Samantha from Betwitched.”

How has Fortune & Romance evolved since you started? Are there things you would do differently if you were to restart it?

“I was such a younger, different person when I started it, and yes there are many things I would do differently. (Michael’s skintone, for example. I tried to split difference between games with a custom skintone in between S2 and S3, but everyone assumes he was whitewashed to S2.)”

“When recreating families for TS4 I came up with a backstory for Dulcinea and Nestor’s relationship as well as a backstory for Don that explains how he got to be the way he is. I still can incorporate these things, but it would have been nice to bring them in earlier.”

With your story having reached a climax, many readers are wondering whether or not F&R will come to an end sooner rather than later. Not to spoil anything, but will the story continue after the party and if so, do you intend for it to last until the events of The Sims 2?

“I never intended for it to last until the events of TS2 because then it would be really depressing. There is more stuff planned for after the party though!”

Aside from writing Fortune & Romance, you have also created a variety of Maxis-match custom content. Why do you prefer working in this aesthetic? How do you feel it complements your writing?

“The game is cartoony, and I like to use that style to tell the story. I prefer to keep things heightened and silly rather than realistic, which very much fits into The Sims aesthetic.”

Speaking of Maxis-match, you have been working on a project for The Sims 2 that involves adapting Maxis-based custom content to blend in better with the game files. Would you mind elaborating a bit on The Maxis Match Repository Project?

“The TS2 repository project is made up of conversions/separates/or otherwise adapted Maxis which pull their textures from the ones that are already in your game, rather than creating new ones. This makes the files much much tinier. I also wanted to create a catalog where you can easily find it all in one place rather than hunt all over the internet. Check it out and don’t miss out on the gems in the back of your catalog!”

You’ve played every main game in The Sims franchise, and you’ve even made some very popular 2t4 recreations of the Calientes and Michael Bachelor. Do you have a favorite game for playing? Creating sims? Making Content? Building?

“I enjoy a lot of things about TS4. The game looks great and CAS and Build Mode are the best of any game. My favorite aspect is making sims, especially that you can share sims with traits/careers/skills so they have their own little story packaged with them. However, it is much more difficult for storytelling since there’s not even a way to pick up sims and move them around.”

“TS2 is still the best as far as premade sims go, and it’s the only one I make content for. I’m a bit of a control freak with my sims, and TS2 has been mastered by fans at this point where you can have ultimate control.”

Why do you continue to play The Sims? Do you feel that the games provide a creative outlet?

“I always loved playing with Barbies as a kid and The Sims really is the ultimate dollhouse. The first time I ever heard about TS1 I knew I HAD to have it. My aunt bought it for me while I was on vacation, but I couldn’t play it until we got home! During the car ride back home and I read that manual from cover to cover multiple times, so many ideas buzzing in my head.”

Any parting comments, teasers, spoilers, public service announcements, etc.?

“I’ve been on hiatus a long while and am just now getting back into the swing of things. I’m currently working on finishing up the chapter I started posting on Tumblr but never finished. It was FreddyAirmail who got me back in the TS2 spirit by asking me to help out with the Crystal Springs neighborhood project. It’s a community hood with houses based on each of the Stuff Packs, and I made the families for Teen Style and Family Fun!”

Thanks again to Skell for answering my questions. To those of you out there who aren’t familiar with her work, go check out her Tumblr and make sure to catch up on Fortune & Romance.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, feel free to visit my ask box. If you are interested, give Plumbob Post a follow, and reblog for anyone else who you think would enjoy this blog. Stay tuned for upcoming posts!

Dag dag!

 *Photo Credits go to Skell*

[shirlleycoyle]

What Makes a GPU a GPU, and When Did We Start Calling it That?

A version of this post originally appeared on Tedium, a twice-weekly newsletter that hunts for the end of the long tail.

Names change. Perhaps the most jarring element of the recent, widely reported “alien” activity isn’t so much descriptions of sonic boomless sonic flight but that UFOs (unidentified flying objects) are now called UAPs (unidentified aerial phenomena).

Companies rebrand; Google became Alphabet and the Washington Football Team decided that was a good idea. With technology, terminology tends to become antiquated as industries progress beyond understanding their own achievements.

With that in mind, let’s consider how changes to the GPU (now the graphics processing unit) acronym and how it harkened a new era of computing applications, while frustrating an obvious customer base.

An ad from Tektronix Interactive Graphics, an alleged forebearer of GPU technology. Or were they?

Most of the history of GPUs doesn’t really count

How mainstream consumers came to expect graphic interfaces to work with computers is a long, fascinating history covered by many books and at least one excellent made-for-TV movie.

While Windows and Apple were gaining acceptance for their point-and-click interface, hardcore computer users, i.e. gamers, needed those points and clicks to register a lot faster. They also wanted the graphics to look more realistic. Then they started asking for features like online multiplayer, instant chat, and a slew of other features we expect nowadays, but seemed like a lot in the early to mid-1990s.

One could contribute the increase in technically demanding games to the 1993 classic Doom, as well as its successor Quake, which drove consumer interest in dedicated graphics cards. However, after talking with an expert that’s watched the field develop from the beginning, the history of GPUs just isn’t that simple.

Dr. Jon Peddie first got involved in the computer graphics industry in the 1960s when he was part of a team that made 3D topographic maps from aerial photography, leading to the creation of his company, Data Graphics. By the early 1980s, he was considering retirement and a career writing sci-fi (sounds nice) when he noticed an explosion in the field that was hard to ignore. Practical applications for high performance graphics were initially driven by CAD (computer-aided design) and GIS (geographic information system)  companies, though the video game explosion of the 80s would change that.

“Gaming was (and still is) the driver because of the volume of the customers,” Peddie said in an email. “The other users of 3D and GPUs were engineering (CAD, and molecular modeling), and the movies. But that market had (in the 80s and 90s) maybe 100,000 users total. Consumer 3D had millions. But, the pro market would pay more—thousands to tens of thousands, whereas the consumer would pay a few hundred. So the trick was to build enough power into a chip that could, in a final product, be sold for a few hundred.”

At this point in computing history, the acronym GPU had been introduced into the tech lexicon. This blast-from-the-past article from a 1983 edition of Computerworld details the Tektronix line of graphics terminals. But if you look a little closer, GPU didn’t yet stand for “graphic processing unit”. Instead, this iteration stood for “graphic processor unit”. Is there even a difference?

“None,” Peddie explains. “Tense at best case. English is not the first language for a lot of people who write for (on) the web.”

Okay, fair enough. But this isn’t actually the problem or even the interesting element of GPU history to consider, Peddie points out. It’s the fact that before 1997, the GPU didn’t actually exist, even if the acronym was being used. A proper GPU, it turns out, requires a transform and lighting (T&L) engine.

“Why shouldn’t, couldn’t, a graphics chip or board developed before 1997 be called a GPU?” Peddie asks. “It does graphics (albeit only in 2D space). Does it process the graphics? Sure, in a manner of speaking. It draws lines and circles—that’s processing. It repositions polygons on the screen—that’s processing. So the big distinction, that is a GPU must do full 3D (and that requires a T&L).”

Ultimately, like much of tech history, the story quickly becomes about competing claims between an industry leader and a forgotten innovator.

The Glint 3D graphics chip by 3Dlabs, arguably the first company to produce a true GPU. Largely used for “high-end 3D CAD applications”, it was released in November 1994 (still not the first “real” GPU but still a cool graphics chip). Though first to market, 3Dlabs would not enjoy the economies of scale available to their competitors, like Nvidia. Image: Jon Peddie

Bragging rights are claimed by the winners

Let’s get this out of the way since it’s a common mistake. The first PlayStation was not the first mass market GPU. That belief comes from the powerful marketing efforts of Sony and Toshiba. As Peddie explains, “The original PlayStation [had] a geometry transformation engine (GTE), which was a co-processor to a 2D chip that was incorrectly labeled (by marketing) as a GPU.”

Marketing is a big element in this era of GPUs, which is just before they actually came out. The breakthrough for a true 3D GPU was on the horizon and plenty of companies wanted to get there first. But the honor would go to a little outfit from the UK imaginitely called 3Dlabs. The specific innovation that gave 3Dlabs the title of first accurately named GPU was their development of a two-chip graphics processor that included a geometry processor known as a transform and lighting (T&L) engine. Compared with their competitors, 3Dlabs focused on the CAD market though it was trying to make inroads with the larger consumer market by partnering with Creative Labs.

The smaller size and professional focus of 3Dlabs meant there were still plenty of “firsts” to be had in the consumer GPU market.

The graphics-card sector was incredibly busy during this period, with one-time big names such as Matrox, S3, and 3Dfx competing for mindshare among Quake players.

But the winners write the history books, and a dominant player emerged during this period. By late 1999, Nvidia was ready to release the first mass consumer GPU with integrated T&L, known as the GeForce 256.

“That, by Nvidia’s mythology, was the introduction of the GPU, and they claim the invention [of it],” Peddie explains. “So you can slice and dice history as you like. Nvidia is at $10 billion on its way to $50 billion, and no one remembers 3Dlabs.”

(Side note: Nvidia is and always will be a noun and not an acronym despite the wide belief it is one.)

Pretty soon, the market would be loaded with competing GPUs each aiming at their own particular market niche. Canadian manufacturer ATI Technologies, which was later purchased by Nvidia’s biggest competitor AMD, attempted to differentiate their entry into the market by calling their GPU a VPU, or video processor unit, even though they were the same thing. This effort didn’t last.

“ATI gave up, they couldn’t stand up to Nvidia’s superior (and I mean that) marketing skills, volume, sexiness, and relentless push,” Peddie says.

By the early 2000s, major players like Nvidia had dominated the consumer market, quickly becoming villains to gamers everywhere. Interestingly enough, this exact market consolidation helps explain exactly why high-end graphics cards are so hard to find nowadays.

Behold! One of the most coveted items in the world. And it’s not even the top of the line.

So who do we blame for that GPU shortage, anyway?

If you’ve gotten this far into an article on GPU history and naming convention, I bet you’re wondering when I’m going to get to the Great GPU Shortage of 2020 (and probably beyond).

For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, the gist is this: the price of higher-end GPUs has exploded in recent months, if you can even find them.

For example, the folks over at Nvidia have three models of graphics cards that are generally sought after by gamers:

RTX 3090: MSRP $1,499

RTX 3080: MSRP $699

RTX 3070: MSRP $499

The individual merits of these models can be (and very much are) debated relative to their given price points and performance. However, scarcity has made the resale markets for these GPUs shoot through the roof as supply becomes scarce. Current listings price the middle-tier RTX 3080 at $1,499, while the 3090 and 3070 are nearly impossible to find. One listing for a 3090 on eBay is over $3,000 at time of writing.

The AMD line of graphics cards also deserve a mention here. Though not as highly sought after because, traditionally, they haven’t been as powerful, AMD has nonetheless been affected by the supply chain limitations for GPU manufacturing. Like the Nvidia line, the AMD RX 6700, 6800, and 6900 models have seen similar price spikes in the secondary market with most models fetching more than twice their original values in resale markets.

(One extreme example of this: Ernie Smith, the editor of Tedium, bought a refurbished AMD RX 570 for slightly more than $100 in mid-2019, which he used in a piece about reusing old workstations. That same card, which is basically a budget model and was already a little old at the time I purchased it, currently sells for $599 on Newegg’s website.)

Clearly there is heavy demand and capitalism is usually pretty good at filling that gap. Like many things wrong with 2020, a good bit of the blame is being placed on COVID-19. Manufacturing hubs in China and Taiwan, along with most of the world, had to shut down. While much of the work in hardware manufacturing can be automated, the delicate nature of GPUs requires some degree of human interaction.

A flow chart describing the current shape of the GPU industry. Image: Jon Peddie

Still, this explanation oversimplifies processes that have been trending in the graphics industry long before COVID-19 hit. Again, I’ll let Peddie explain:

About 15 [plus] years ago, the manufacturing pipeline was established for GPU manufacturing (which includes sourcing the raw silicon ingots), slicing and dicing the wafers, testing, packaging, testing again and finally shipping to a customer. All the companies in the pipeline and downstream (the OEM customers who have a similar pipeline) were seeking ways to respond faster, and at the same time minimize their inventory. So, the JIT (just in time) manufacturing model was developed. This relied on everyone in the chain providing accurate forecasts and therefore orders. If one link in the chain broke everyone downstream would suffer … When governments shut down their countries all production ground to a halt – no parts shipped—the pipeline was broken. And, when and if production could be restarted, it would take months to get everyone in sync again.

At the same time people were being sent home to work, and they didn’t have the tools needed to do that. That created a demand for PCs, notebooks especially. [Thirty to forty percent] of PCs have two GPUs in them, so the demand for GPUs increased even more.

And then [crypto] coins started to inflate … Now the miners (people who use GPUs to monitor and report …) were after every and any GPU they could get their hands on. That caused speculators to buy all the graphics boards and offer them at much higher prices. 

So, the supply line got hit with a 1-2-3 punch and was down for the count.

And that was him keeping a long story short. To put it plainly, companies that make GPUs were operating on a thin margin of error without the ability to predict the future. And this applies more to the general market for GPUs while tangentially addressing the higher-end customers.

Another point of frustration to add here was the unfortunate timing of the latest generation of video game consoles in 2020, which also meant a new generation of video games. The highly anticipated PlayStation 5 along with Cyberpunk 2077 was met with numerous supply and technical issues upon launch. Cyberpunk players reported inconsistent experiences largely dependent on hardware the game was being played on. On the differences between the game on a PS4 and a PS5, one YouTuber commented, “At least it’s playable on PS5.”

While Peddie expects the shortage to self-correct by the first quarter of 2022 (hooray …), he is not optimistic about the industry avoiding such missteps in the future.

“The [next] problem will be double-ordering that is going on now and so we have the prospect of a giant slump in the semi market due to excess inventory,” he concludes. “Yin-yang—repeat.”

There is a lot to learn from history even if it’s fairly recent. While it might be tempting to lean into market failures to meet demand, obviously the story is more complicated. Though GPUs have become required for billions on a daily basis, higher performance is left to a few with niche interests.

Still, the larger market should pay attention to frustrated gamers, at least on this point. Their needs push the industry into innovation that becomes standard in more common devices. With each iteration, devices gain a little more of those advanced graphics as they drip down to people who hadn’t noticed them before but now expect it.

After all, if it doesn’t have painstakingly realistic 3D graphics, can we even call it a phone anymore?

What Makes a GPU a GPU, and When Did We Start Calling it That? syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

[varietyofwords]

Addendum, Part Twenty-Three (Chicago P.D.)

Title: Addendum

Chapter: Twenty-Nine In a Day (Part Twenty-Three)

Fandom: Chicago P.D.

Rating: T/PG-13

Author’s Note: “She’s Got Us” (3x22) another rare episode from S3 where I didn’t feel like another scene was truly necessary, but I came up with this little scene after rewatching the moment where Jay says “There’s such a thing as having too much empathy. You leave nothing for yourself.” and tells Erin he wants her to sleep rather than care less. This addendum is set at the conclusion of the episode after the scene at Molly’s.

The clatter of her cell phone against hard wood startles her awake; her whole body jerking at the sound and sending her left arm smacking against the padded armrest of the couch. It takes her a moment to awaken, to blink through the sleepy fog of her mind and realize where she was.

She hadn’t bothered to turn on any lights in the apartment as it had still be light out when she arrived home after finishing up the paperwork to release Polly to her aunt and uncle, and it takes a moment for her eyes to adjust to the changes in conditions. To recognize the green trench coat draped over the armchair to her left; to register the buzz of the cell phone preceeding the knock at her front door.

Her limbs feel foreign -- sleepy and legarthic thanks to the fading of the adrenaline that kept her upright through a shift on patrol, a stint waiting at the hospital for their witness, and a series of moments chasing down leads -- as she pushes herself off the couch, and she doesn’t bother to raise a hand to her mouth to cover the yawn that escaped as she pads over to the door. Her fingers fumble with the deadbolt; her brain barely registering the fact that she probably should have stopped to check peephole over the sound of the ringing cell phone.

And her eyes end up blinking rapidly when she manages to unlock the door and yank it open letting the light from the hallway outside her apartment floods in the entrance to hers. Centering and focusing when a shadow makes a step towards her and those instincts time in the academy and years on the force have fine tuned and honed.

“Hey,” the voice from the shadowy figure greets, and her whole body relaxes at the sound. Another yawn escaping as she pushes the door open further, as she adjusts her stance so the light from the hallway illuminates her boyfriend’s face rather than blinding hers. “Did I wake you?”

“Hmm,” she murmurs with a sleepy sigh letting the tone of her voice, the inability to really focus, and the lethargic movements of her body be her answer. He had, in fact, awaken her, but she dismisses his apology with a shake of her head because she hadn’t meant to fall asleep. Because she had her own apology to make -- one that would explain why Jay was blowing up her phone and banging on her door.

“I’ll go change,” she mutters releasing her grip on the opened door and turning away from him. But a hand shoots out, a finger snags onto the back pocket of her jeans, and a soft voice sounds rather dubious about her plan as he informs her that she shouldn’t bother unless she wants to make it in time for last call at Molly’s.

“It’s that late?” Erin questions glancing down at the watch on his wrist. It is far too dark for her to see the numbers, and she is far too sleepy to get her eyes to focus on the watch, even if it wasn’t. But she registers the slow nod of his head, the crease across his brow, and the concern in his eyes, and she accepts that what Jay is telling her is true.

That she didn’t just come home under the guise of chasing of her clothes -- because the extra set she keeps in her locker at the district had been hand delivered by Jay to Med -- and fallen asleep on the couch. Rather, she came home and passed out and completely blew off her plans to meet up with him at Molly’s. To unwind after a particularly rough case with a beer; to, hopefully, hear about some good news about how Roman’s medical hearing went and whether or not he and Burgess would be paired back up on patrol in a few weeks like Platt planned.

“Sorry,” she replies twisting back around so she’s facing him, so his grip on her back pocket falls, and she offers him a sleepy, half-smile as he tells her that it’s okay. That he figured she probably went home and crashed.

“I’ll let you get some sleep,” Jay tells her taking a step backwards into the hallway and, this time, it is her hand that reaches out and her finger that snags on the gap puckering between two buttons on the front of his shirt.

“Stay,” she says, and the gruffness of her sleepy voice proposes it as more of a statement rather than a question. A statement he answers by stepping towards her, by following her back into the foyer of her apartment so there is enough room for him to slam the door behind them. He stops to remove his boots -- a movement she anticipates by releasing her hook on his shirt and padding over to where her cell phone sits next to her keys -- but she only has a moment to blink wearily at the three missed calls and one text -- all from him -- before Jay’s hands are on her waist. Before he’s tugging the cell phone out of her hand and telling her to get some sleep.

She doesn’t bother protesting, and she’s too tired to make comments with suggestive smirks about him becoming so bossy all of the sudden. So, instead, she moves wordlessly through the living room and into the bedroom with Jay on her heels.

Lethargic fingers make quick work of her belt and shimming off her jeans while Jay sweeps pillows off the bed -- words asking why she has so many muttered under his breath -- and pulls back the sheets. And then they trade rolls; his deft fingers working on undoing the buttons of his shirt and the belt holding up his jeans while she crawls into bed and works on fluffing up the single pillow he’s left her with. Barely manages to keep her eyes open and her head off the pillow long enough for him to slip under the sheets and lay down beside her in the bed.

Months of doing this, of sleeping beside one another night after night dictate the rest of their movements long after her eyes flutter close. Her body instinctively rolls into his -- the little spoon to his big spoon -- and his left arm curls around her waist as he helps pull her closer to him. Hot breathes curl around her ears as his breathing steadies, as her cheek buries into the pillow being propped up by his right arm and her eyes begin to flutter shut once more.

“Polly get off with her aunt and uncle okay?” The question is murmured into the crown of her head; the words lost into the mess of short, light brown hair brushing up against his face. And the tears that had threatened to spill over when she said goodbye to Polly return to the corner of her eyes as she manages to croak out a verbal agreement to his question, as silence fills the bedroom of her apartment once more.

“I,” she whispers after a moment, after the desire to sleep has started to leave her body as reminders of what they saw this time yesterday begin to resurface. “I told her that she was one of those people who I didn’t have to worry about. That no matter where she goes, everything is going to be okay.”

The response to her statement comes with the slide of Jay’s hand across her stomach so that his fingers rest of her leg instead of against the mattress, so that his fingers can rub small circles onto the exposed skin of her leg rather than dangling uselessly. And a soft kiss is pressed to the back of her head -- the contact causing her eyes to flutter close once more -- as Jay whispers assurances that he is sure that’s true.

“It’s no Wisconsin frozen custard,” he says after a moment where a tear has slipped down her cheek, where she can feel his body tighten behind her as he tries to find the right comment to make her feel better. “But St. Louis’ is pretty decent.”

There were a lot of things about St. Louis that he found pretty decent -- the zoo, the Arch -- and it had been his comments about the city that she had fallen back on when Polly asked if she had ever been there. Because Jay had been there as a kid -- more than a couple of times, apparently -- and he had always talked about it as a nice place. Had made a couple of not so subtle hints that maybe they should take a weekend down there, if she wasn’t up for dealing with mosquitos the size of birds up in Wisconsin.

“That fancy condo come with a frozen custard shop? Cause then you might learn what dry cleaners are,” Erin questions softly, and her lips tip upward into a smile for the first time since he brought her that combo. A smile that is rewarded the stilling of his hand against her leg and an exasperated huff of air behind her head.

“You gotta focus on the view,” he reminds her, and she hums noncommittally in reply because that is exactly what the builders of these new, tiny ass condos springing up across the city want him and every other potential buyer to do. To focus on the view instead of the lack of a bedroom or a toilet right next to the stove. To take out big loans in order to enjoy a view they’ll -- he’ll -- never to get see because they’re -- he’s -- too busy picking up overtime to pay off said loans.

The quiet filling the apartment is occasionally interrupted with the sound of a car rolling down the street outside her apartment, with the reminder that she may not have a view but she does have a neighborhood. The sounds of which dim at this time of night, and her eyes to grow heavy with sleep once more as Jay resumes tracing circles with his thumb on her bare leg.

“Did you see Roman?” She mumbles as she remembers part of why she was supposed to hit up Molly’s with him. The words are heavy and staccatoed thanks to the lethargy, to the strain of twenty-nine hours done in a day settling in, and her question is met with a sleepy yawn and a chuckle in reply.

“Yeah, there’s gonna be a sequel to that Roman-Burgess-Ruzek horror movie.”

Jay’s reply causes her to groan, to forget about sleep in favor of rolling over so her left shoulder is pressing into his chest and she is able to look at his face. To quirk an eyebrow in a silent instruction for him to elaborate and then prod him with the tap of her toe against his shin when she realizes he can’t see her in the dark.

“Overheard him telling Burgess that he’s being pushed out to some desk job,” he informs her, and her shoulders immediately sag with disappointment at what he’s saying because while she figured that was coming, that his recovery was taking longer than the Ivory Tower would be okay with, Roman is good police. Someone she wouldn’t mind working Violence Reduction Duty with, if Jay’d rather spend the time taking a shower rather than raking in a dollar a minute. “He asked Burgess to move to San Diego with him. Said he loves her. Probably.”

“He said that?” Erin asks; the incredulous tone of her voice squeezing out any sign of sleepiness. And Jay nods in reply, curls his finger around her hip when concern begins to twist her features and her limbs away from where she lays cuddling with him.

“You can call Burgess in the morning,” Jay reminds her. The edge to his voice, the concern seeping in clues her into the look on his face currently being obscured by the darkness. Tells her that he’s looking at her the exact same way he looked at her back at Med when he wanted her to get out of there, to get some sleep instead of waiting for Polly.

And this time she reaches up to brush her hand against the stubble on his cheek, tilts her head back so she can press a kiss to the underside of his jaw because she doesn’t want him to worry. Doesn’t want him to think she’s willing to wreck herself -- more than she already has today -- or willing to blow him and his concern off -- like maybe she did a bit this morning, like she did on accident this evening -- after he worked hard to keep her on track, to keep her fed and supported and aware that she was caring and carrying too much.

“I will,” she informs him before rolling back onto her side, before scooting backwards so his body can curl back around hers. And then she lets her eyes flutter close, buries her head into the pillow, and lets out a long yawn as his fingers resume their tracing movements on her skin. “But, right now, I’m gonna care less and sleep more.”

[klaineharmony]

Updated Klaine fic recs

Hi everyone,

So there was a small disaster earlier this year in which the first page of my Klaine fic recs had all of its links wiped out. At long last, I have reconstructed a chunk of that first page - all of my canon recs and fill-in fics, and then a few of the Dalton! Klaine fics. This was a long process, as I had to go through AO3 to find new links there for as many stories as I could, and then back through my old LJ and FF.net bookmarks for those stories that have not made it to the Archive. Many of these are stories that were were written during S2 and S3, early in the Klaine fandom, which means they may not be familiar to those of you who joined the fandom later. I will keep working on reconstructing this page (and the other two that follow it) on my blog, but I wanted you all to be able to enjoy the stories I have re-linked so far. More notes and explanation under the cut, as well as all the links. Please enjoy! :)

Canon Klaine: one-shots, fill-ins, slight AUs.

Unless otherwise noted, links lead to AO3. If authors have multiple pseudonyms, they will be separated with a forward slash, e.g. aspiringtoeloquence/mybriefeternity.

A Hint of Blaine by OccasionallyRestless. The “Furt” wedding scene with a Blaine twist - When Blaine gets a call from the New Directions offering to let him help with a surprise for Kurt, he readily agrees. Cue singing, cute dancing and Klaine fluff. Posted on FF.net.

After Opening by Aeditimi Scriba. Artie notices an improvement in his leading actors as “West Side Story” goes into its second performance. Klaine and Finchel, Artie’s POV. Posted on FF.net.

And A Thousand Moments Like This by DaybyDay. Post-Original Song kiss fic. Fluff. Posted on FF.net.

Be It You Outside My Door by water_nix/the-water-nixie. 4x04 fix-it fic. Blaine’s instincts lead him to the right place at last. Posted on LJ.

Before You Met Me (I Was All Right) by purplehairedwonder. Without New Directions, Kurt never goes to Dalton to spy on the Warblers. For Blaine, life goes on… except for those strange moments he feels like something is missing.  This is an AU inspired by that “Glee Actually” promo with Kurt asking Artie, “Who’s Blaine?” during the dream sequence.

Blame It On Insecurity by sunandrainfic/rainingaces. Blaine does not like blaming things on alcohol. A conversation between Kurt and Blaine during BIOTA. This is one of the most poignant and insightful BIOTA fics out there. Posted on FF.net.

Blaine Anderson is Missing by lovely-sparkle. AU spec fic for Season 4 Regionals. The break-up is included. What will New Directions do when Blaine goes missing on the morning of the Regionals competition? And why is Blaine worried about Kurt? Posted on LJ.

Blessing by antarcticbird/Alianne82. Happy engaged boys and the world’s best dad. 5x01 reaction fic.

Blossoming by avaserenity. Post-“The First Time.” Burt Hummel’s perspective. He knows because he’s never seen anyone look at Kurt the way Blaine does. Posted on LJ.

Box by trufflemores. 3x09. “But what are you promising?” Blaine surprises Kurt with a special gift before Christmas break. Gap filler.

Call by trufflemores. 3x22. Blaine makes a special phone call after Kurt tells him about his NYADA rejection. Gap filler.

Can’t Explain (How the Wind Went and Pulled Me Into Your Hurricane) by ahmarionette. After the kiss in “Original Song,” Kurt gets Blaine to explain some of his swings in behavior since they met. Posted on LJ.

Captivate and Enrapture by trufflemores. 3x08 and 4x09. “Oh my God, it’s the Gerber baby.” In which Blaine sees Kurt lip-syncing during Harmony’s performance, and Kurt finally sings for NYADA.

Convalescence by trufflemores. Quickie reaction fic to 4x07. Sometimes healing comes in unexpected ways. Blam friendship, with heavy Blaine angst.

Coping by trufflemores. 4x01. Kurt has been gone at college for months now. The New Directions’ newest member helps Blaine cope. Kurt/Blaine. Marley-Blaine friendship.

Counting Down the Days by skintightsocks. “It’s okay to be sad, you know,” Rachel says, petting at his hair. “You can pretend I’m Blaine if you want; I know we’re almost the same size.” It’s Kurt’s  first birthday in NYC, and he’s missing Blaine. AnderHummelberry friendship. Posted on LJ.

Enough by flaming_muse. 4x02. Standing there silently as Rachel works, Kurt wonders if he should say anything to her. He’s just not sure there’s anything else to be said. Klaine, HummelBerry friendship.

Epiphany by trufflemores. 4x12. Sam thinks he’s worthless. Blaine shows him otherwise. Sam/Blaine friendship.

Everything Changes by wowbright. The more Kurt thinks about Rachel’s yearbook message, the more he doesn’t know what to make of it. Finn does, though. (Reaction fic to “Goodbye” and "Rachel’s Yearbook Message to Kurt Scene".)

Fearlessly and Forever by missbeizy. 5x01 reaction fic. They hold court on a leather sofa in the common room where Blaine and the Warblers had sung “Teenage Dream” to a wide-eyed and very unsubtle McKinley High spy.

Finish Line by klaineaddict/iconicklaine. 4x01. Burt’s perspective on sending Kurt to New York. Originally posted on LJ; posted to AO3 by my request, for the Glee AO3 Fest. :)

Firsts by tweeney. 4x11. Kurt goes on a date with Adam, but his mind refuses to cooperate and decides to take a trip down memory lane to his first date with Blaine. Adorable and sweet fix-it fic. Posted on LJ.

Five Times Blaine Wanted to Kiss Kurt But Didn’t (and One Time He Did) by tweeney. Some S2 Klaine, missing moments and kisses. Posted on LJ.

Goodnight Sweetheart (Well, It’s Time To Go) by antarcticbird/Alianne82. Kurt and Blaine say goodnight on their third date after becoming a couple. S2.

Happy Days Are Here Again by klemonademouth. It had been eighty-two days since Kurt had been in Ohio. Eighty-two days since he’d touched Blaine. Eighty-two days since he’d held him against his chest and pressed his face into Blaine’s hair, inhaling the scent of sandalwood and pine. Posted on FF.net. Also here on LJ.

Hurry Up Please, It’s Time by lookninjas. This is technically part of lookninjas’ stripper!AU ‘verse, but it is really a reworked version of The Box Scene, and it is fluffy and lovely.

Hurt by foraworldundeserving. A “Never Been Kissed” missing scene. Kurt finally looked up, his eyes glassy, and Blaine had to stifle a gasp at the absolute terror reflected in them. “He snapped,” Kurt whispered. Posted on FF.net.

I Don’t Have to Tell You, But You’re the Only One by aspiringtoeloquence/ mybriefeternity. Takes place during the events of “Rumors” - 2x19. With all that’s going on at McKinley, Kurt misses his boyfriend more than ever. Posted on FF.net.

If This Ain’t Love Then What Is? by aspiringtoeloquence/mybriefeternity. "I mean, what would you do if Blaine proposed to you today?“ Takes place during 3x12 - Kurt’s thoughts. Posted on FF.net.

If You Let It Go by trufflemores. 4x04. “It’s an expression,” Marley explained. “If you love something, you have to let it go. If it comes back, it’s yours. If it doesn’t, it never was.” Blaine and Kurt’s phone calls post-break-up.

I Guess We Thought That’s Just What Humans Do by sunandrainfic/rainingaces. Missng scene from “I Do,” in which Tina and Blaine argue and work out their differences after the Vaopor Rub incident. Posted on LJ.

I Love You More Than I Have Ever Found a Way to Say by lavender-love00. Kurt and Blaine after junior prom, S2. Adorable and sweet, awkward and romantic.

I’m Beginning to See the Light by normal_scaresme. It’s Kurt and Blaine’s two-year anniversary, and even if they aren’t technically together, Kurt still thinks they should celebrate. S4. Posted on LJ.

In Want of Magic by trufflemores. This story is how I found Truffles, and it is a truly amazing piece of writing. 3x01 - 4x01. “I just … I want my senior year to be magic.” Kurt knew that there would be challenges to overcome his senior year. Little did he know just how tumultuous it would be. Kurt/Blaine. Blaine as a senior. Minor canonical alterations, but otherwise canon compliant. Posted on FF.net.

Initiation by WickedForGood13. The aftermath of Blaine’s first slushie facial.

I Thought You’d Keep Me Warm by water_nix/the-water-nixie. 4x04 fix-it fic featuring Sebastian. Sometimes the right push comes from the most unlikely of places. Posted on LJ.

It’s All Fiction by happyinchintz72. Follow on from 2x15 and their ‘non-conversation’. Kurt is frightened and doesn’t ever see how that will change… ONE-SHOT. Angsty fluff. Posted on FF.net. Also here on LJ.

It’s Not Unusual by gigi42. 4x21 reaction fic in Kurt’s POV. Kurt’s in survival mode, but the idea of Blaine is in everything he does.

It’s Time by trufflemores. 4x01. Blaine, after Kurt has left for New York.

It’s You They’re All Waiting For by missgoalie75. 4x02. Blaine tries to get used to the eccentricities of the new New Directions. Wonderful Blainetana and Brittaine friendship. Posted on LJ.

Journey’s End by the-cimmerians. 4x04 fix-it fic. After the break-up, Blaine flees Lima, and Kurt finds himself enlisted by the Andersons to help find their son. Kurt is as surprised as anyone that he agrees to go looking. Posted on Tumblr.

Kiss by foraworldundeserving. The now-famous, 234-chapter prompt fic that is equal parts fun, fluff, angst, and gorgeousness. While the kiss in “Original Song” was oh-so-beautiful, there’s millions of ways those two boys could have shared their first kiss. Posted on FF.net.

Kiss & Tell by impromptucoffee/engorgioblaine. Kurt and Blaine’s progression through the four bases. Originally a GKM fill. Awkward, sweet, gorgeous emotion and description. Posted on LJ.

Kiss Me Slowly by skitzzy. "He wasn’t even paying attention to the sky anymore; the only thing he wanted to see was the beautiful boy in front of him that no sunset in the world could ever compete against.” Posted on FF.net.

Last Night by Icicle Raindream. “The First Time” missing scene. Rachel and Blaine share a secret with one another backstage. Posted on FF.net.

Letting Go by trufflemores. 4x08. Kurt finally calls Blaine intending to end his relationship with him permanently. It doesn’t go as planned. Canon-compliant.

Locked Out of Heaven by trufflemores. 4x11. In which Blaine can’t have Kurt, and so he finds love wherever he can. One-sided Blaine/Sam, with mentions of Kurt/Blaine.

Memory by trufflemores. 4x10. “Who’s Blaine?” Kurt/Blaine. Sebastian/Blaine. A take off from “Glee, Actually,” in which we see what has become of the Blaine who never knew Kurt.

May Your Days Be Merry by manywingedescape/wingedescapes. “Glee, Actually.” Kurt and Blaine have a discussion about love and life after Burt falls asleep on Christmas night. 4x10. Posted on FF.net. Also here on LJ.

Need by trufflemores. 3x07. “I have to find Blaine.”

Never A Good War, Never a Bad Peace by foraworldundeserving. Finn and Blaine in S3. Nobody’s perfect. So under that logic, it was entirely unfair to watch certain people just float through life without so much as stumbling, and Finn wasn’t going to stand for it any longer. Posted on FF.net.

New Meanings by flaming_muse. 4x01. It’s with a little hesitation that Blaine pushes through the doors of the Lima Bean and breathes in the familiar scents of coffee and baked goods.

Oh, Whistle and Come to Us by purplehairedwonder. 4x08. Whistles had come to mean something both haunting and seductive to Blaine by the time the Warblers performed “Whistle” at Sectionals. This amazing story was written based on a meta post I wrote for fyeahgleemeta, and I am so flattered and awed by it.

One Fine Day and Catch the Wind by arainymonday. They had talked about their dads enough for Kurt to know three things: One, Mr. Anderson desperately wanted a straight son. Two, Blaine desperately wanted an accepting father. Three, Kurt had everything Blaine wanted. And they had talked about their families enough for Kurt to know three more things: One, the Andersons do not get along. Two, the Andersons are not happy. Three, Blaine does not feel loved by them. But Kurt had no idea it was this bad. Posted on FF. net. Also One Fine Day on LJ and Catch the Wind on LJ.

One More Night by trufflemores. 4x11. Once he starts thinking about Sam that way, he can’t stop. In which Blaine projects, Sam reflects, and lines dissolve. Explores Blam, but remains firmly Klaine. Kurt features fairly prominently. One-sided Sam/Blaine, Kurt/Blaine.

One Thing Kurt Got Right by abbypotter327. 3x22. Kurt takes his NYADA rejection hard, but he has Blaine to hold him together. Posted on FF.net.

Out of Control by trufflemores. 4x12. Sam’s on a downward spiral with the ‘Men of McKinley’ calendar. Blaine intervenes. Unbeknownst to him, he, too, is on a downward spiral that leads up to “Diva.” Blaine/Sam friendship. Posted on FF.net.

Pamphlets by foraworldundeserving. 2x15, leading up to 3x05. Because as much as he wanted to, no matter how easy it was to stay naive and pretend that relationships never went beyond the touch of fingertips, Kurt had to face up to the facts and the truth. He couldn’t stay a baby penguin any longer. Posted on FF.net.

Perhaps by aspiringtoeloquence/mybriefeternity. 3x03. The aftermath of Blaine being cast as Tony in West Side Story - Blaine and Kurt aren’t exactly experts at this whole healthy relationship thing yet, but they try, and that’s half the battle. Posted on FF.net.

Pink Sticky Notes and Portable Hearts by hopewithfeathers. Post-“Dance With Somebody,” 3x17. Kurt and Blaine couldn’t talk out and fix all their sadness and insecurities in one conversation, so Kurt goes to apologize properly. Angst, fluff, and sexy times. Posted on FF.net.

Play It Cool, Boy, Real Cool by aspiringtoeloquence/mybriefeternity. Pre-3x06. McKinley is where Blaine’s heart is… but he’d feel better if he spent more time with some of the members of New Directions. Posted on FF.net.

Please Don’t Come and Go by sunandrainfic/rainingaces. 4x04 fix-it fic. He doesn’t say these things, because how can you say those things to the boy you cheated on? Anything that had happened before is meaningless, now. It’s been blotted off the paper by the huge ink-stain Blaine spilled on the canvas. Posted on LJ.

Promises by bluecloudsupabove/ca_te. 4x01. Blaine sends Kurt off to NYC with love.

Put Up the Tree Before My Spirit Falls Again by water_nix/the-water-nixie. 4x08-4x10. Kurt has secretly hated Christmas since he was eight years old, and now that he’s living away from home he can avoid it with nothing but a little excess guilt. So when he calls to say he isn’t coming home for Christmas this year, Burt decides it’s about time he did something about that. It’s a good thing he’s bringing along a right-hand man. Posted on LJ.

Ready or Not by unwrittenfic/drunkonwriting. Kurt and Blaine come to Santana’s aid in the aftermath of the Finn and Santana situation in “Mash-Off.”

Remind Me To Forget by peanutmeg. Blaine’s moved on from Sadie Hawkins. He’s fine. It was years ago. But it seems that the past isn’t done with Blaine. Canon-compliant through 5x07.

Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall by flaming_muse. January 21, 2013. Blaine watches the inauguration alone in his house, a bowl of microwave popcorn cooling on the coffee table and a glass of soda fizzing gently by his hand.

Shooting Star by trufflemores. 4x18. AU spec. Blaine’s bad morning spirals rapidly downward when a gunshot is fired. Here there be Blangst. No character death. TW: shooting. Features Blam friendship and Klaine romance. Posted on FF.net.

Sometimes It Takes a Storm to Calm a Storm Within by thefatesallow/comewhatmay. Another beautiful 4x18 reaction fic, in which Kurt and Blaine talk after the shooting and are on the road to mending. Background Brittana as well.

Something New by the-cimmerians. Post-4x14. Kurt and Blaine reconnect and being again. Posted on Tumblr.

Swallow My Heart and Flee by fallovermelikestars. Blaine Anderson comes to New York thinking the world is his oyster, overjoyed at the prospect of taking a bite of the Big Apple, moving into an apartment he and Kurt can call home and finally living the Manhattanite life together they’ve always dreamed of. But then Kurt gets an offer that he’s not sure he can refuse, the plans they’ve made are turned on their head and Blaine finds out that having a dream and living it are two very different things. While the first three seasons of Glee are canon here, it goes AU after 4x01.

The Art of Fixing Hearts by bluecloudsupabove/ca_te. 4x04 fix-it fic by the incomparable Cate, immediately following the confrontation in Battery Park. Also here on S&C.

The Key Series, comprised of ‘The First Steps" and “The Next Steps” by Fabrisse. This is probably my absolute favorite 4x04 fix-it fic. Blaine comes back to New York the week after “The Break-Up,” and talking, domesticity, and forgiveness ensue.

The Five New Voicemails of Chandler Kiehl by aspiringtoeloquence/ mybriefeternity. 3x17. Chandler Kiehl’s phone number finds itself in the possession of the members of New Directions. Who have a lot of feelings. Set after “Dance With Somebody.”

The Perspective of Age by flaming_muse. 4x10, “Glee Actually.”  If there’s one thing that Burt does know, besides how to take any car engine apart and put it back together running better than before, it’s his son. Gorgeous fic from Burt’s POV in which he muses about Kurt and Blaine, love, loss, and his relationship with his son.

The Plans That We’ve Made by aspiringtoeloquence/mybriefeternity. Kurt and Blaine are back in Ohio for the holidays, and it feels like the next few weeks could be important in so many ways.

The Sparrow by wowbright. On March 8, 2013, at 3:42 p.m., the same calendar reminder pops up on both of their phone displays: “THERE YOU ARE - ANNIVERSARY in one week.” Kurt and Blaine do their best to cope with being broken up on their second anniversary. So poignant and sweet.

The Worst is Far Behind Us Now by normal_scaresme. Blaine calls Kurt after the events of 4x18. Lovely emotion and wonderful Anderson family moments at the end. Posted on LJ.

This House Doesn’t Burn Down Slowly by sunandrainfic/rainingaces. 4x01. It’s not the kind of “confronting what you’re afraid of” fear that got Neville Longbottom to win points for Gryffindor, or Diane Lane to dive into a lake and admit that she loves John Cusack. It’s the kind of paralyzing, one-wrong-move-and-the-snake-kills-you fear that boxes you in and turns out the lights and whispers in your ear, “Don’t make a sound.” Posted on LJ.

This Is It by impromptucoffee/engorgioblaine. AU for “Goodbye”; originally a GKM fill. Kurt gets into NYADA and Kurt and Blaine celebrate, all by themselves. Posted on LJ.

Till We Come Face to Face by the-multicorn/multicorn. They end up together at the Lima Bean, promises made over the phone at Thanksgiving long left behind. “I know the relationship between us is - complicated,” Kurt says. His hands are folded around the cardboard cup as if in prayer. “But I need to talk to my best friend. Can you do that?” Reunion fic, AU after 4x22. Also here on Tumblr.

To Love You Is To Need You Everywhere by undesirablenumber1/warble_on. 3x11. Blaine needs Kurt; a discovery reflected upon in Kurt’s arms. Blaine’s inner monologues on love and necessity and people who save you. Also posted here on LJ.

Transference by flaming_muse. Kurt and Blaine’s relationship is complicated; other people (and objects) are much more simple. Transference is the phenomenon of unconsciously redirecting feelings about one person or object to another. Set before through soon after 4x17, “Guilty Pleasures.”

Two Years Ago Tomorrow by flaming_muse. The afternoon of the day after Kurt and Blaine’s first kiss. Set within 2x16 (“Original Song”) and written for the second anniversary of Kurt and Blaine’s first kiss. So lovely.

Waiting, Hoping by flaming_muse. 4x21. Blaine’s perspective during “Wonder-ful.” There he is, Blaine’s Kurt. Almost.

When the Lights Go Out, Will You Take Me With You? by narceus. AU spec fic for 3x02 and 3x03. Blaine moves to New York with Kurt, and it takes his parents months to notice he’s gone. Beautiful and heartbreaking. Posted on LJ.

When We Can Say Goodnight and Stay Together by antarcticbird/Alianne82. 3x12. Kurt and Blaine talk about Finn’s marriage proposal to Rachel while doing … other stuff. Absolutely sweet and adorable perfection.

Wherein Blaine is Well on His Way to Becoming a Crazy Cat Lady by water_nix/the-water-nixie. Kurt’s impending move to New York may be upsetting Blaine far more than he is letting on. Cue Kurt and a plan to help soften the blow. Absolutely hilarious fic with spot-on voices for the the boys and the old ND members.

Wrapped in a Bow by livehighnmighty. Adorable Box Scene reaction fic. Posted on LJ.

You Are Not Perfect … To Me by cinnamont. 4x04. Kurt calls the universe’s greatest Dad for comfort and understanding and gets a whole lot more. Or, Burt Hummel giving Kurt a fatherly reality check. Posted on LJ.

You Touch Every Place in My Heart by bluecloudsupabove/ca_te. Alternative S4 Thanksgiving, where Blaine comes to NYC to surprise Kurt, with some loving and insistent help from Rachel.  Cate wrote this for me after talking to me for the first time, during one of the hardest periods of my life, and it is so gorgeous and sweet and perfect that it made me cry. Posted on LJ. Also here on S&C.

Warblers! Klaine fics

A Fine Frenzy and A Fine Frenzy: Outtakes by arainymonday. The New Directions and the Warblers experience new friendships, hookups, and breakups as they perform a musical rendition of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at a Renaissance Faire. Posted on FF.net. Also here on LJ.

Dalton by CPCoulter. Post-“Furt,” Kurt begins an entirely new chapter in his life at Dalton Academy for Boys. Blaine, Wes, David and the boys of Windsor House make his life, for better or worse, far more eventful than he imagined. It’s hard to say enough about this beautifully imagined fic, which is now over 400,000 words and has its own fandom. CP Coulter also has her own extensive Tumblr with updates, Dalton fics by other authors, and lots of additional info, which can be found here. Dalton is also on FF.net, here.

Klaine, As Told by David and Wes by Ultraviolet-Ink. When David and Wes do something, they don’t do it by halves. So when David suggests they document ‘Klaine’ in all of its entirety, it’s not going to be some half-arsed job - they’re pulling out all the stops. This was one of the first Wevid fics I ever read, and I laughed until I cried. Hilarious. Posted on FF.net.

Lantern by Salazarfalcon. The power’s out, and all the Warblers have is a single, flickering light that may or may not be a literary metaphor for one Kurt Elizabeth Hummel. Posted on FF.net.

[simplyshelbs16xoxo]

Sherlolly - A S3 Breakdown

Sherlolly Appreciation Week 2017 Day 4 // Season 3

Alright, not sure how long this is gonna be but prepare yourselves. I wil split each section by episode!

If you want to read a shorter fangirling version of TEH, click here.

The Empty Hearse (Sherlolly the Movie™)

first thing’s first…THAT KISS HOLY SHIT WELL DONE BC 

anywho, on to the meta…

Molly being the 2nd person he goes to see and the way he does it is absolutely adorable. That blurred smile of his in the mirror kills me. It’s so genuine.

Sherlock’s sudden concern about Mycroft’s lack of a love life is certainly telling. The two years away has definitely humanized him in ways that can’t be reversed. I also feel this showing that Sherlock acknowledges that he, too, is lonely in that area. Not long after that scene, we see him waiting by the window a bit anxiously and then Molly appears in the doorway. He appears to be nervous in asking her to solve crimes with him. The shaky intake of breath he does before asking as if he’s trying to figure out how to ask her is so telling. Especially in comparison to when he got John on board. When I first watched that scene before I became a hardcore Sherlolly shipper, and had immediately thought he was asking her out. I had no shipper goggles on during the first time.

Now, as he’s asking her, the music is a variation of John and Mary’s theme. I personally think the tone of it is even more romantic than the original. While we’re on the topic of music, the melody played during the stairwell scene is filled with wistfulness, romanticism and heartbreak. I’m not a music expert but a music junkie so to speak lol. Why would they make those two scenes so romantic if it wasn’t a mutual love? In other Sherlolly scenes, the music never compared to that of The Empty Hearse music. I uploaded the specific bits of this music. 

Listen to it here:

All of the cases he takes on within 221B are all dealing in relationships. Those cases usually bore him, as we know from previous episodes. But yet, he is so attentive to the woman who’s being catfished. He looks truly sympathetic to her case. AND THAT LINE: “and you really thought he was the one didn’t you? the love of your life.” HE GIVES MOLLY THIS KNOWING LOOK AS HE SAYS IT. SHE LOOKS A BIT TAKEN ABACK WHEN THEIR EYES LOCK. 

Going back again to that bit of “You’re not being John, you’re being yourself.” This shows that he at least platonically loves her for who she is. Just as he platonically loves John for who he is.

The fake crime scene Anderson sets up is still a bit wonky for me haha. They work together quite well, obviously admiring each other’s observations. John’s voice in his head, I think, is partly due to missing him and partly due to it being his conscience telling him off. Another bit of proof that Sherlock has been humanized…he now acknowledges his conscience more so than ever. 

“Welcome to my world.” It’s almost as if he’s trying to show off a bit here which is kind of adorable alright. That’s it. That’s all I got lol.

The childish giggles at the ‘mind the gap’ doorbell okay?? That’s one of the cutest things in this episode.

Mr. Shilcott talks about his girlfriend being a big fan of Sherlock and when he scoffs at it, laughing as he turns his head toward her, Molly gives him a death glare which causes him to apologize. He obviously thought she might laugh with him but quickly pulls it together. I’ve never seen him do this on any other case ever.

The flirty eyes and smirks and silly faces omg I cannot. The “he said he liked trains’ joke is just wonderful. Okay, this is hard for me to explain but like these subtle things are how I flirt in relationships or at least with someone I fancy. But that may be just me. They’re being playful with one another and it’s just so sweet.

Sherlock asks her out to have chips. HE FUCKING ASKS HER OUT STRAIGHTFORWARD. “Fancy some chips?” LIKE HELL YESS I DO. but instead, Molly’s confused like “what?” Now, keep in mind that Sherlock does not eat while on a case, therefore this is ‘off the clock’ so to speak. It really was in a date capacity. 

His thank you was so sweet too. He told her she was the person who mattered the most to him. I’ve no idea if he noticed her ring back at Baker Street or not but it definitely looks like he only just noticed it in the stairwell. The fact he tells her how he hopes she’ll be happy and that she deserves it is another telling sign of his growing love for her. If someone wants you to be happy even if it’s not with them, that is true selflessness there. He could have very well made himself much more clear on his intentions with hopes of getting her back so to speak, but he doesn’t.

“After all, not all the men you fall for can turn out ot be sociopaths.” I feel like this is him basically saying he doesn’t deserve her and that she deserves better than that. But as Molly says, maybe it’s her type.

THE DAMN SMILE HE GIVES HER BEFORE KISSING HER CHEEK…OR IS IT THE CORNER OF HER LIPS? IT LOOKS LIKE THE CORNER OF HER LIPS. THAT SMILE IS HEARTBREAKING AND WISTFUL AND FULL OF WHAT IFS. 

As he’s walking out of the building, you can hear him sniff as he bundles his coat and scarf. This is either because of cold weather or he may have been holding back feelings. He looks a bit defeated.

 She glances at him walking away as if in wonderment and it breaks my heart. I only wonder what would’ve happened had Tom never been in the picture.

HE STILL WENT TO GET CHIPS BY HIMSELF I’M CRYING

Upon meeting Tom, he doesn’t say a thing to embarrass her or point out that she is not over him at all. That is such growth on his part.

The Sign of Three

not much Sherlolly in this but so much to talk about…

Sherlock is so obviously observing Molly and Tom together. It looks a bit forced on Molly’s part but ya know that could be me. Why would they have it shot that way if Sherlock wasn’t jealous? Just sayin’.

All of the smiles and glances and twisting of her engagement ring during Sherlock’s speech is telling that she’s not over him if Tom being a knockoff of Sherlock wasn’t the tell-tale sign.

Sherlock goes to Molly for help on the the alcohol intake for John’s stag night. He obviously doesn’t need help, as she points out the fact he’s a graduate chemist. Another thing she knows about him that is talked about but clearly shows their closeness and infers that a lot of scenes of simple intimacy such as just talking casually and confiding in one another (note ASiB), happen off screen. They are talked about but never shown.

The playful back and forth of their conversation shows a level of comfort between them. Remember those scenes that are mentioned but never shown? The scene of him and Molly in the lab talking was not necessary by any means. Or maybe it was to show subtly the Sherlolly development? Obviously the show does not focus on romantic entanglements except that of John and Mary but that’s because it’s Sherlock. It’s not meant to. So the Sherlolly intimacy is always subtle but it’s there.

“You look…well.” DO NOT TELL ME HE WASN’T GONNA SAY PRETTY OR BEAUTIFUL OR LOVELY LIKE COME ON.

“How’s…Tom?” HE NEVER REMEMBERED ANY OF JOHN’S GIRLFRIENDS’ NAMES BUT HE REMEMBERED TOM’S? WOW.

MOLLY MENTIONING THE FACT THAT SHE AND TOM ARE “HAVING QUITE A LOT OF SEX” WAS TOTALLY ON PURPOSE. YOU CANNOT TELL ME OTHERWISE. SHE KNEW IT WOULD MAKE HIM UNCOMFORTABLE AND HE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE. In the words of Taylor Swift: darling I’m a nightmare, dressed like a daydream. She totally wanted to laugh at him.

THE DEATH GLARE SHE GIVES JANINE WHEN SHERLOCK THROWS THAT FLOWER THING TO HER OMG IF LOOKS COULD KILL Y’ALL

WHEN SHE NOTICES SHERLOCK LEAVE THE WEDDING, IT’S ALMOST AS IF SHE WERE ABOUT TO GO AFTER HIM BUT THOUGHT BETTER OF IT. MY FEELS.

His Last Vow

Sherlock was obviously ashamed of Molly finding out about his relapse.

“Sorry your engagement’s over. I’m fairly grateful for the lack of a ring.” Grateful because those slaps would’ve hurt much worse and of course, Tom is out of the picture finally.

IF MOLLY AND SHERLOCK WEREN’T ENDGAME WHY WOULD THEY BOTHER WRITING IN THE BROKEN OFF ENGAGEMENT? WHAT IS THE POINT?

Molly is the one that helps him survive in his mind palace. He trusts her with his life completely ever since TRF. 

MOLLY’S BEDROOM IS ONE OF SHERLOCK’S BOLT HOLES. IT IS THE ONLY BOLT WHOLE IN WHICH THERE IS ANOTHER PERSON PRESENT. IT’S NOT SO MUCH HER BEDROOM AS IT IS HER. Molly is a safe place for him. He can be emotionally vulnerable with her. That is a level of intimacy that takes so much trust. Sherlock never allows anyone to climb his walls, but he lets Molly in. This is another instance in which it is mentioned but never shown. 

that concludes my S3 meta. I hope y’all enjoyed it!

@sherlollyandspoilers

[mychakk]

From a Joke to the End Game - The Evolution of Molly Hooper: Introduction to the Series Meta

One of the reasons I joined Tumblr is that I wanted a place to share my thoughts on Molly Hooper: the evolution of her character through the whole series, the progress of her relationship with Sherlock and with all other characters, the reason why she’s the character that we know now. Basically, the road from a one time, silly, background character in the pilot to THE end game she became in s4.

I’m an analytical mind, and I can’t help but formulating all the meta 😊. I’ve a background in text analysis and to me a TV show is a form of a text, so I’ll be applying mostly those methods while writing this. I take texts (and thus the show as well) under analysis in their final form. This mean I won’t be going much into what Moftiss might have originally intended while they plotted said scene.

The aired episodes we’ve been given are a sum of Moftiss’ initial ideas, their screenplay, the director’s interpretation, the actors’ portrayal, music composers’ creations AND the editing crew’s choices. All of that created the show as we know now. And it got Moftiss' final approval to be aired as something they wanted to share with us. This final result, the aired version, is the basis for this analysis. This is actually quite important, so please keep it in mind.

I won’t be taking any creators’, directors’ or actors’ quotes as an argument supporting my hypothesis. The exception being only how Molly came to be as a character in the first place, that I’ll address later on in this post.

Lastly, the idea behind this meta had started forming in my mind even before TAB came out. I remember reading a quote from Loo she gave around s3 about Sherlolly being this kind of a sweet joke that had turned out into something serious out of the blue and no one in the casting crew was laughing about it anymore. I realized that it's the perfect description of Molly and her development in the show as well. Originally this meta was supposed to answer a question: why Molly Hooper will be the end game? But RL intervened and I never wrote it down. Then TAB came out and only reinforced my initial thought process and finally this year S4 confirmed it. I was wondering if it's still worth being typed, but in the end I decided to share it all with the fandom, answering now the question: HOW Molly Hooper became the endgame?

This meta and the following parts are mostly focusing on Molly Hooper, but since her interactions are always with Sherlock, it will be highly interspersed with Sherlolly too. Of course I am a hardcore Sherlolly shipper, and while I try to stay neutral, I’ll definitely fall into my shipping side ;)

Enjoy!😊

Please note I’m not a native English speaker and I type this mostly using the app while commuting to work. All mistakes are on me.

Introduction: The creation of Molly Hooper’s character

Learning how a character came to be in the first place can be only done from the creators’ quotes. Here is the only time I’ll be basing my analysis on them but it’s obviously a necessity. 😊

It’s a known fact that Moftiss tried to stay as true to ACD canon as possible, and for them this meant no new, original characters in the core group of characters for the show. So how come Molly ended up there?

Molly Hooper was created simply as a means to ended: the way to introduce Sherlock Holmes. To show some of his eccentric characteristics Moftiss needed another minor role to fill in. So why not create a Bart’s worker, preferably in the morgue? And if they are a female with a crush on SH the better - so many things to show about our genius boy in that very first scene! Molly came to be out of a necessity because of her usefulness. She was a hm, character device [is that even a thing?]. A means to an end.

A one-time means to an end.

So what has happened???

The answer is simple: Loo Brealey happened.

It was Loo’s interpretation and portrayal of a Molly in that pilot that has turned the character into the Molly. Her natural chemistry with Ben also added to the allure of her potential. Plus, how can you not love Loo? 😉 Apparently you can’t, as we know Moftiss were unable to resist her charms 😝 and needed to include her over and over again.

I think it’s not a newsflash that Molly Hooper in her current form exists thanks to Loo. But there is one more thing that essentially set up Molly as something more than what the original intent of the creators made her out to be. And it's the one thing that from the very beginning gave her the potential to be something more than she was originally supposed to be: She was introduced in the very same scene as the main protagonist.

While not intentionally, this, nevertheless, adds importance to her - the new character. First impressions are crucial, and having her appear right next to and what’s more alone with Sherlock in that very first scene we see him, naturally draws also attention to her. Just like it did with Mike Stamford for his first appearance with John and his role in the making of the bromance of the show. But while Mike’s initial impression of importance waned as the show progressed for the lack of his recurring appearances, Molly’s only grew more and more precisely for the opposite. She reappears, episode after episode with one meaningful scene after another, becoming more and more important character.

Loo’s performance and her natural chemistry with Ben inadvertently made Moftiss adjust their plans for Molly turning her from a one shot little thing into a recurring character. We should have immediately realized she’s something different for achieving such a feat in the first place. Breaking the iron rule set by Moftiss on staying faithful to canon.

Alas there is another thing about the creation and introduction of Molly Hooper - a character who was supposed to be only in that one scene in pilot - that is worth addressing. @writingwife-83​ has posted a comment explaining why John’s doesn’t see Molly’s importance to Sherlock even as far as in s4 – her explanation is brilliant in its simplicity: John isn’t a witness to most of Sherlock and Molly’s profound interactions. Even in the very first scene they are introduced being alone, by themselves, no witnesses. Just us, the audience. This sets up a precedence for their interactions through the whole show.

Aaaand surprisingly, fits into ACD canon. How? Simple: almost everything we know about Holmes is from Watson’s storytelling. But John doesn’t know everything. And Molly, here, falls precisely into that unrevealed part of SH's life in ACD canon. She’s something John doesn’t know of, so he doesn’t tell about her in his stories. Moftiss admitted they see their BBC Sherlock as a highly budgeted, done with aplomb and cheekiness, form of FANFICTION. And as any fanfiction tends to do, it usually fill-in the gaps. Moftiss wanted to fill in gaps, and unintentionally, they started it right here with the creation of Molly Hooper.

Moftiss saw the potential in Molly’s character and in Sherlock’s interactions with her. The potential was too great to pass up. And thus, Molly-a-One-Time-Thing became Molly-the-Useful-to-the-Storytelling-Tool. She’s beneficial for various reasons and Moftiss explore her in those regards especially in the earlier part of the whole show.

Being a writing tool is Molly’s initial role in s1, and yet, unintentionally, she’s so much more. That’s because writers initial idea and the final edit of s1 are two different things as we’ll see in the following parts of this meta. The thing is, Moftiss approved of said edit and of the character's growth Molly did. They enjoyed her and her interactions with Sherlock and wanted us to share this with us, too.

Did Moftiss see all the Sherlolly potential in those early episodes? I don’t think so. I do think, however, it was fandom’s analysis years ago when the first two series were coming out, that might have opened their (or people’s involved enough with the show to have some kind of saying in it) eyes to the possible interpretations of Sherlock and Molly in the early episodes and consequently to something more between them in the second part of the show. Moftiss definitely didn’t plan Sherlolly from the beginning (Molly wasn’t even supposed to be in the show beyond the pilot) but when they realized the potential, they seized the opportunity and went with it, creating the Sherlolly goodness we got in the end.

Why they changed their mind, and why they really didn’t need to explain/correct/repair any of Sherlock and Molly interactions form the earlier episodes, because the groundwork for something more has already been there in the first place, will be explained in the following parts of this huge meta, starting with ‘A Study in Pink’ that I should post within a week.

As I work on this meta as a whole, I realize that we can categorize Molly in in each season/series into a different role:

Season one has Molly the (writing) Tool

Season two - Molly the Comparison (or the Contrast)

Season three - Molly the Potential or the Wild Card

TAB interlude - The Metamorphosis

Season Four - Molly the End Game

I’ll divide this Meta into those five subgroups to which each episode will be posted as a separate post. With the next part we’ll start the analysis of Season One: Molly the (writing) Tool.

Thanks for reading. See ya next week!