#IT‘S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

[bronzebluemind]

It’s been 33 weeks since the World Cup finale, 5 days to go.

[mxliv-oftheendless]

After the Countdown

Death comes for everyone when it’s their time, appearing with a warm smile and a comforting hand to guide them to the Sunless Lands. And so Death came to the Borderlands to collect three souls after their deaths in the botanical gardens. But two of them weren’t quite ready to move on.

CW: character death (vague language used but just to give a heads-up)

Also posted to AO3.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

She watched in the garden, unseen, as the young man ran toward his friend. She could hear the crying of the other two, both of them hugging each other to gain whatever comfort they could in their final moments. They didn’t have much time left, these three. The young man—Ryohei, she remembered, from when she came for his mother—Ryohei would live far longer, the last survivor of the four in these strange Borderlands.

For mortals, such a fate seemed cruel and unfair. But it was simply how it was.

The blonde man’s eyes turned suddenly, and met hers. He didn’t speak, didn’t want to alert his friend to his location, but his eyes spoke for him. It’s time?

Death nodded with a solemn yet kind smile. “Yes, I’m afraid so,”

A soft sigh escaped him, before he nodded and took out his pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He lit up a cigarette with practiced ease and leaned against the railing to look off into the distance. “Would you go for Chota first?” he mumbled, too soft for his friends to hear but heard clearly by her. “He sounds pretty scared.”

Death smiled and nodded. “He’ll be all right. You all will.”

The man’s shoulders relaxed with a relieved sigh and he took an inhale of his cigarette.

“Karube!” they heard Ryohei scream.

“I’m behind you,” the man said aloud. There were footsteps, then Ryohei stumbled into view. His eyes were wide and desperate. The man didn’t turn his head to look at him, but looked into the distance with a soft smile. Death wondered if it was difficult for him to not turn his head, to not look at his best friend of so many years one last time.

“Arisu… thank you.”

“Five… four… three… two…”

“KARUBE!”

An explosion. And then Karube Daikichi was gone, his physical body falling to the ground with an unceremonious thump. 

Death sighed softly as she felt the simultaneous deaths of Segawa Chota and Shibuki Saori. At least they were quick deaths; that was ideal in a place like this. She watched Ryohei stare at the body of his friend in blank shock and for a moment lamented not being able to comfort him more. He’d lost so many people now. But she had a request to fulfill, so she turned and went off into the botanical gardens.

Chota and Saori were still clutching each other, even while their physical bodies were sprawled in the dirt. Saori was the first to sense her approach. She pulled away from Chota, wiped her eyes on her blazer sleeve with a sniffle, and looked up. Chota turned to see what she was looking at, and froze.

Death smiled and sank down into a squat. “Hey, you two,”

“W-Who… Who are you?” Chota questioned. “How did you…”

He trailed off. Death simply looked back at him as realization slowly came over his face. She gave him a soft smile. “Good to see you again, Chota.”

“Y-You know my name?”

“Of course I do. I was there when you were born. Oh, your mum was so happy that day.” She couldn’t help remembering the happy, relieved tears of Chota’s mother as she cradled her screaming newborn. “I was there when you were born too, Saori,” she added, turning to the woman who was looking at her in shock and slight awe. “Everyone said you looked like your mother.”

Tears welled up in Saori’s eyes and she hastily wiped them away. “I-It‘s time, isn’t it?” she asked shakily.

Death nodded. “Afraid so. But don’t worry—I’ll be there with you the whole way.”

She offered her hands to the two, and after a moment’s pause, they both took her hands. She helped them stand with a warm smile, then let them look down at their bodies. This part was always difficult.

“I wish I could’ve said goodbye to my mom,” Chota said quietly. “And Arisu… Arisu!” He turned to Death. “Where is he?”

A scream suddenly tore through the air. It was a guttural wail, a howl of grief that Death had heard many times before. Chota’s head snapped in the direction of the sound, then he turned back to Death pleadingly. “I, I know I just died, but… can I go to him?”

Death gave him a soft smile. “Of course you can. Daikichi’s already over there.”

Chota sighed in gratitude and bowed. “Thank you.” He was about to leave, then stopped and turned back to Saori. He pulled her into another hug. “I’m sorry, Shibuki.”

Saori hugged him tightly in return. “I… I should be the one to apologize, Chota. I’m so sorry…”

“Don’t be. I hope we can spend more time together now… as friends?”

A watery smile crossed Saori’s face. “I’d like that.” She kissed his cheek. “Take care, Chota.”

“You too, Shibuki,”

As Chota dashed off in the direction of the wails of grief, Saori turned back to Death, who stood patiently. She wiped her eyes and tried to square her shoulders. “I’m…” Something in her face cracked. “Am I… Will I be punished for what I’ve done?”

“Oh, Saori…” Death shook her head. “Of course not. You were taken advantage of, then forced to be in this place and survive however you could. None of that is a crime. Your existence from now on will be peaceful. I promise.”

Saori’s shoulders sagged in relief, like a weight she’d been carrying for far too many years was finally gone. “Oh… Alright…” She squared her shoulders again, this time more confidently. “So, what happens next?”

Death smiled and offered her her hand. “Here’s when you find out,”

Saori reached out and took her hand, and with a flap of her wings, Death carried her away to the Sunless Lands.

When she returned to the botanical gardens, she found Daikichi and Chota with Ryohei, who had collapsed to his knees as he howled and sobbed in grief. They both knelt on either side of him, Daikichi looking mildly annoyed while Chota tried to pat Ryohei’s shoulder. “Ready to go?” she asked aloud as she approached.

Chota looked up sadly. “He can’t feel my hand, can he?”

Death shook her head. “No, he can’t. You’re technically a spirit now.”

“He can’t hear us, either,” Daikichi grumbled. “I already hate being dead.”

Death chuckled. “If it’s any consolation, he can probably feel your presence. Sometimes a close connection makes it possible, and you three were as close as can be.”

Chota looked somewhat comforted by that. Daikichi frowned. “It’s probably just making him feel worse,” he groused softly, no venom whatsoever in his words. “He’s going to blame himself for this, I just know it. Stupid idiot…”

Chota looked up at Death again. “I know we have to go, but… can’t we stay with him? Just to make sure he’ll be okay?”

Death sighed. “I’m sorry, Chota, but you can’t stay with him here.”

“Where even is here, anyway?” Daikichi demanded, rising to his feet to give her a look that demanded no bullshit. “Is this some sort of fucked up hell?”

With a soft chuckle, Death answered honestly, “No, it’s not Hell. Believe me, Hell is far worse. The Borderlands are… well, they’re a border, a threshold, between life and death.”

“Like… limbo?” Chota asked hesitantly.

Death nodded. “Like limbo, yes. It’ll come back to you in a while, how you got here, but you’ve been sent here to see whether you’ll live or die. But this is a threshold, a temporary space. No one’s meant to stay here any longer than they’re meant to. And since you died, you’ll have to leave.”

“But what about Arisu?” Chota rose to his feet alongside Daikichi. “He’ll be all alone now. What if he dies too?”

“He won’t be alone for very long,” Death assured. “And I can’t give you many details, but Ryohei isn’t meant to die for many, many years. Your deaths won’t be in vain.”

“Yeah, but we don’t know that,” Daikichi insisted stubbornly. “I mean, look at him. He’s not going to survive for very long if he’s like this. He’s gonna want to give up, and we can’t let him do that.”

Chota nodded in agreement. “We can’t leave him. He’s our brother.”

Death couldn’t help smiling at the two. Most in the Borderlands were relieved to leave, finally free of the cruel landscape of survival. It was rare that someone wanted to stay, to make sure their companions were all right. It was rare in general, really, and it was always so touching when it did happen. “It’s wonderful that you want to make sure he’s all right. But like I said, this is a temporary place. Dead souls can’t stay where they’re not meant to be.” Daikichi and Chota’s faces fell, then perked up as she continued. “But… there are some loopholes in that rule.”

“Really?” Chota asked hopefully.

Death couldn’t help grinning at them. “The rules of the mortal plane and the Borderlands can’t be changed… but the rules of dreams are quite different.”

“How can we do that?” Daikichi asked urgently.

“I’ll have to ask my brother, but I’m sure when he hears your story, he’ll let you see Ryohei in his dreams. It’d only be when you’re needed most, and you wouldn’t be able to stay in his dreams forever, but you’d be there when he needs you while he’s in the Borderland.”

Daikichi and Chota looked at each other, then nodded. “We’ll do it,” Daikichi said resolutely.

“And if… whoever your brother is… if he doesn’t let us, we’ll make him let us,” Chota swore.

“I’ll punch him in the fucking face if I have to.” Daikichi shook his fist for emphasis.

Death couldn’t help laughing at the image of her brother’s face after receiving a punch from an angry Daikichi. “I don’t think it’ll come to that. Between you and me, I’m his favorite sister; I can probably persuade him to do it.” She couldn’t help glancing down at Ryohei, who had managed to tear off his headpiece and rocked back and forth on the ground as he cried. “In the meantime, though…”

Daikichi and Chota looked down at Ryohei. Chota sighed and glanced at his friend. “I guess it’s time for us to leave now.”

“Yeah,” Daikichi mumbled sadly. He reached out and gingerly placed a hand on Ryohei’s shoulder. “Goodbye, Arisu,” he said softly.

Chota squeezed his other shoulder, despite knowing Ryohei couldn’t feel him. “We’ll be back, promise.”

Ryohei’s cries marginally began to soften, as though he really could feel the presence of his friends on either side of him.

With a deep breath, Daikichi stepped away from Ryohei and looked to Death, Chota alongside him. “We’re ready now,”

Death nodded her head and held out her hands for them to take. The two friends glanced at each other, and Chota smiled slightly at Daikichi. The other mirrored his smile, then they took her hands. “I hope the afterlife is nice,” Chota stated in a semi-joking tone.

Death smiled warmly at him. “Let’s go see,”

And with a rush of her wings, she carried them away.

[visit-ba-sing-se]

You're incredible and a genius and I love you sm 💕💕

Aw thank you so much ?!?! 💕 but all I can say is that this feeling is definitely mutual ☝️🥰

[danganronpa-imagines-and-doodles]

Snow Days

Second of the three old fics to be posted. Again, this is very old so it’s not up to par with my current writing. 

- Mod Kaede

Kazuichi Souda x Gender Neutral Reader

Fluff; 1834 words; ao3 link

Clouds filled the sky while snow danced down to be greeted by its brethren on the ground and icicles draped the siding of houses, ready to strike. The air was cold as you left a trail of breath behind you while you walked.

In short, it was freezing.

But why were you outside in such a terrible cold?

Simple.

Because a certain mechanic had asked you to go sledding with him.

You see, Kazuichi wanted to test out a new sled he had designed, and based on the sketches he had shown you, you just hoped this didn’t end up like the whole wagon incident last year.

While lost in your thoughts, you heard a shout from atop the hill you were approaching.

You chuckled slightly when you saw Kazuichi gently sucking on his finger, obviously having just hit it with something.

“You do realize that you sucking on it isn’t going to do anything?”

He jumped a bit at the sudden voice. Pouting he turned on his heel, finger still in his mouth and quickly retorted.

“I knew that! It’s just instinct to suck on it, y’know?”

You chuckled again and nodded.

“I guess so, yeah.”

Turning back to his work, he continued working on the sled in front of him.

You surveyed the sled, walking all around it, taking it all in.

“Kazuichi, are you sure this safe?”

The pink haired boy gave a grin and nodded. “Duh! It’s totally safe, I mean, I made it!”

“That’s what I’m worried about…” You grumbled softly.

Snowflakes began to pile up on the boys black beanie while he worked on the finishing touches on his high tech sled he had made over the past week. As much as you adored him, that thing did not look safe.

“C’mon! This baby is just about ready.” He cheered.

You puffed out your cheeks and glanced at the mechanic again.

“You’re positive that it’s safe?”

He nodded eagerly.

You sighed and gingerly sat yourself in the sled. It was cold, even against the fabric of your pants.

Kazuichi coughed and stared at you.

“What?”

“That’s where I sit.”

You raised an eyebrow.

“Why? Aren’t they both pretty much the same?”

His face turned a bit pinker than it already was from the cold.

“Th-That’s just where I sit, okay…”

You rolled your eyes and scooched up to the front of the sled.

He then plopped himself into the back seat.

With a bit of fumbling, you both were situated in a comfortable position.

That position being you sitting between Kazuichi’s legs.

Something tells you that this was planned…

“Ready?”

Gosh, the hill looked a lot bigger than when you first climbed it…

You gulped and affirmed that you’re ready for whatever injuries will come of this.

It took a second for the sled to get moving, having been resting in the same spot for so long, but it slowly slides into place.

“Countdown?”

You nodded.

“Three”

You shifted slightly and looked on nervously at the bottom of the hill.

“Two”

You know, it looked more like a mountain at this point.

“One”

You suddenly grasped Kazuichi’s hand tightly.

“Z-zero!”

And with that, you're zooming down the hill at speeds you’ve never sledded at before. The cold nipped at your skin while your eyes watered from the wind.

But somehow, you didn’t really notice that.

What you did notice was the tight grasp around your waist, the head burried in your neck and the vibrations of screams muffled into said neck.

You were cold and so unbelievably warm at the same time.

Time seemed to slow down, as cliche as that sounds, but not for the reason you’re thinking.

This was the longest sled ride you’ve ever been on!

Wait.

You looked up and notice you’ve stopped. Apparently you were too caught up on how close to Kazuichi you were.

Even though you had stopped, he still held a firm grip on you, hot breath ghosting over the slightly exposed skin of your neck.

A blush crept onto your cheeks as you gently poked at him, trying to get his attention.

“H-hey, we stopped. And we’re not dead, so that’s good, yeah?”

He shifted his head to look at you.

He looked positively green!

“Oh gosh! Are you okay?! What’s wrong?”

He slowly lifted a hand to your mouth and shushed you.

“J-just give me a sec… I’ll be okay…”

A few minutes passed in silence as he composed himself. It was really peaceful actually. A bit awkward as he was still grasping onto you tightly. But pleasant regardless.

A gulp of air pulled you back from space and he lifted his head.

“I think I’m okay now…”

“What was that?”

Completely dodging your question, he stood up.

“Hey isn’t there a nice coffee shop near here? I heard they got some wicked hot chocolate!”

You sighed. Knowing him, he’d just keep dodging the question and that was a fuss you didn’t want to go through.

“C’mon let’s go to it! It can’t be more than a ten minute walk to there.”

“What about the sled? We can’t just leave it here!”

He stopped in his tracks and thought for a moment.

“Oh! That’s right, I almost forgot, I made this thing collapsable!”

He approached the sled and quickly folded it into a box the size of a suitcase.

“How the hell did you even manage that?”

He just grinned and kept walking.

“Hey!”

You huffed as you caught up with him.

“I thought you were a mechanic, not a speed demon.”

He laughed. A pleasant sound that made you smile.

“Anyhow, how far did you say this place was?”

“Like ten minutes away.”

You nodded and continued on with your walk.

It was silent for a few minutes. The only sound was the crunch of both of your feet against the snow and the occasional wind.

As calm and peaceful as it was, it just didn’t feel right.

You tried breaking the silence, but found you couldn’t think of anything to say. When you went to speak, your mouth just opened and nothing came out.

You closed your mouth and thought for a moment.

While thinking, your eyes drifted to Kazuichi’s hand.

Your cheeks warmed at the thought of your bold movement when you two were on the sled together.

Without warning, your mouth opened and words began to spill out.

“H-hey, Kazuichi…”

He turned his head to you.

“Hm? What’s up?”

Shoot.

Well, there’s no turning back now.

They say actions are louder than words, right?

Shyly you grasped his hand in yours. It was a bit bigger than yours and slightly callused, but it fit snuggly.

He blinked.

Slowly he processed what was going on and stopped walking.

“Wha-what? Are you okay?”

“Um, my hands were kinda cold.”

He stared at you, clearly flustered. It was cute, really.

“Ah, um, okay.”

After another few minutes in silence, you finally reached the cafe. It was a small shop, but it felt warm and cozy once inside. Fairy lights draped the wood walls and the smell of fresh coffee and muffins filled the air. The soft radio was playing in the background as you and Kazuichi sat down across from each other in a booth.

You gently shook your head, getting all the snow off of you and unwound your scarf. You were in the middle of unzipping your coat when Kazuichi spoke up.

“So, what do you want?”

“Ah, well, didn’t you say the hot chocolate here was really good? I’ll probably get that. Maybe a muffin or a scone too. I’ll see when I get up there.”

He shook his head.

“You're not going anywhere, I’ll go up there and pay, it’s my treat.”

You smiled at him.

“You don’t need to do that! Besides, I wanna see what they got here.”

“Fine, but I’m still gonna pay.”

“At least let me buy my drink.”

He pouted, but nodded.

Once ordering, you both sat back down to wait.

You hastily unwrapped your muffin, tore off a chunk and popped it in your mouth.

You sighed in delight at the flavour of it. You would definitely be coming back here.

“Kazuichi, you have to try this! It’s so good!”

You broke off some of the muffin and held it up to his mouth.

“Say, ‘Ahh!’”

Kazuichi glanced at the muffin chunk between your fingers and gave you a confused look.

“What are you doing?”

You cocked your head at his words.

“What does it look like?”

He blinked.

“It looks like you’re trying to feed me…”

“Ding, ding, ding! Now eat up!”

Kazuichi flushed, but kept his lips firmly closed.

You bumped his mouth with the cupcake imposter, trying to get him to open up.

“C’mon Kazuichi! Mr. Muffin clearly wants to be eaten~”

“I don’t want to eat it when you're feeding it to me!”

“Please?”

He looked at the muffin hesitantly, and slowly opened his mouth.

You smiled wide and fed the sweet bread to him.

He chewed reluctantly, but eventually gave in to the sweetness and began to visibly enjoy it.

You grinned happily at his reaction.

“See! It’s good, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess so...”

“Now gimmie some of your donut!”

“What, why?!”

“Tsk, tsk. You know the rules Kazuichi, I gave some of mine, now you have to give me some of yours!”

“I never asked to have any of your muffin!”

“So? I want some of your donut, it looks really good!”

“Nuh uh, it‘s mine!”

You leaned over the table and tried to snatch the pastry away from the plate that it laid on.

Kazuichi was a bit too fast for you and he quickly picked it up and put it high in the air.

Defiant to giving up, you once more reached your hand towards the baked treat.

“C’mon Kazuichi! Just a bite!”

Kazuichi, seemingly with a change of heart lowered his hand.

“Fine, only after I have a bite.”

You smiled and leaned back into your section of the booth.

And as an act of spite, he shoved the entire donut into his mouth.

“Hey! That’s not a bite!”

Kazuichi just grinned, his mouth still full of donut.

You rolled your eyes at his actions and slowly sipped at your hot chocolate.

It warmed your throat and you sighed at the calming ability it had.

“This is nice, huh?”

He took a moment to swallow the pastry and replied.

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool here.”

You two sat in silence for a while, sipping at your drinks every once and awhile.

Eventually both drinks were emptied and stomachs were filled so you two left the quaint coffee shop.

As you walked aimlessly you glanced back down at Kazuichi’s hand.

Less nervous this time, you grasped it into yours.

“Hey Kazuichi?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for today, I had fun.”

He nodded and lightly squeezed your hand.

Silence filled the air and snow fell from the clouds above.

The world was peaceful.

[comehome-tome]

it‘s the middle of the night and all i can think about is if sander got to see david bowie live. was he on the website the second the tickets went on sale? did he get to countdown the days until the concert? did he get to wait all day in front of the arena surrounded by other bowie fans? did he get to buy a bowie shirt in front of the arena? did he get to buy an overpriced drink in a cup with a lightning bolt? did he get to see his favorite songs performed live? did he get to look around the arena in the middle of the show and think to himself „finally i belong“? i really hope he did and got to experience this kind of happiness

[waitedforgarridebs]

Finally done waiting for Garridebs!

A rather self-indulgent retrospective of Tumblr fandom history

As many of you may know – or also already may have been looking forward to – another handful of Sherlock Holmes stories are about to enter the public domain in the United States, and therefore worldwide, on January 1, 2020:

The Illustrious Client

The Sussex Vampire

The Three Garridebs

This means that only six more stories still remain under copyright, with the last few finally falling into worldwide public domain on January 1, 2023.

Not quite unexpectedly, my focus in this little series of posts to celebrate the countdown to January 1 will lie on 3GAR – not only because the word "Garridebs" is literally part of my URL, and not even because of the quite literal cliffhanger we've been given in series 4, 

but – for anyone who doesn't know or needs reminding – because of the quote that started it all:

“Like most male friendships, everything is assumed, and nothing is spoken of. Oh, except for once. Just once, and that’s your lot. If you’re going to read it in order, like I did, you’ve got a long time to wait for The Adventure of the Three Garridebs, but patience, and keep reading in order - you’ll be blinking back the tears when the moment comes.” – Steven Moffat, Introduction to A Study in Scarlet (2011), BBC Books 

The fandom has expected the adaptation of 3GAR in BBC Sherlock for a very long time – given that the moment Watson gets shot is the "only" time he can truly see that Holmes is human after all.

In an instant he had whisked out a revolver from his breast and had fired two shots. I felt a sudden hot sear as if a red-hot iron had been pressed to my thigh. There was a crash as Holmes’s pistol came down on the man’s head. I had a vision of him sprawling upon the floor with blood running down his face while Holmes rummaged him for weapons. Then my friend’s wiry arms were round me, and he was leading me to a chair. “You’re not hurt, Watson? For God‘s sake, say that you are not hurt!” It was worth a wound — it was worth many wounds — to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask. The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking. For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain. All my years of humble but single-minded service culminated in that moment of revelation. “It’s nothing, Holmes. It‘s a mere scratch.” He had ripped up my trousers with his pocket-knife. “You are right,” he cried with an immense sigh of relief. “It is quite superficial.” His face set like flint as he glared at our prisoner, who was sitting up with a dazed face. “By the Lord, it is as well for you. If you had killed Watson, you would not have got out of this room alive. Now, sir, what have you to say for yourself?”

In short: It is the perfect setup for a love confession.

Unsurprisingly this scene inspired the fandom to come up with the most emotional, dramatic, and oftentimes angst-filled headcanons possible.

And, boy, did we all not only deliver on this trope, we created this trope.

There are so many fanworks including the Garridebs scenario on here, on AO3, and elsewhere that one can't even count them all properly – and believe me, I've tried: This blog contains a collection of more than 800 Garridebs-related posts so far (and still counting!).

Over the years, we've had them all: The angsty confrontations. The standoffs and life-and-death scenarios. 

Mary trying to shoot Sherlock, again, and John catching the bullet for him. Moriarty burning Sherlock's heart out by blowing up the building John is currently held hostage in. A burglar or murderer trying to get away, and knifing John in a struggle. Sherlock shooting John by accident. Sometimes, John deciding to end his own life after drowning in his own self-loathing and guilt (as well as a lot of alcohol).

We've had the reactions. The aftermaths. 

Sherlock frantically rushing to John's side. In lighter scenarios, the occasional banter, sometimes even giggling. If they weren't so lucky, Sherlock desperately trying to keep John awake, to stop the bleeding by pressing onto John's wound with his own scarf – just like John taught him that one time. The John in Sherlock's mind palace appearing in the moment of emotional turmoil to calm Sherlock down, to talk him through it, to guide, and to comfort him. Sherlock calling Mycroft to scream and cry into his phone, begging– no, commanding his big brother to just DO something. The sirens of the ambulance finally being within earshot. Lestrade silently putting a blanket over Sherlock's shoulders as John gets taken to the hospital, while Sherlock’s doomed to do nothing. To just wait for things to come.

Sherlock frantically pacing up and down in the waiting room of the hospital, afraid to lose John, paralised in shock and fear, losing himself in the darkness of his own mind palace, until the doctors finally come out of the surgery to give him the news.

Sherlock not leaving John's bedside, waiting for hours and hours, wanting to be there when John wakes up, until he falls asleep with his head on John's mattress, overcome with relief and exhaustion.

John finally waking up only to see Sherlock sleeping soundly next to him, their fingers still intertwined. Sherlock startling awake the second he notices the change in John's breathing pattern, and John is looking at him drowsily, and they smile, and they both don’t know what to say, but it is okay, because John will be okay, and if John is okay, then Sherlock is also going to be okay, and Sherlock didn't even realise he's been babbling this out loud, until John tells him that he did, with the hint of a smile on his face that is almost fond, and Sherlock doesn't understand what this expression on John’s face could possibly mean.

John absentmindedly continuing to stroke the back of Sherlock's hand with his own thumb and not wanting to stop doing so any time soon.

Sherlock taking John to Baker Street, bringing him home, and finally they're back to what they used to be, but something's changed, and it's something so heavy and light at the same time, it makes them both relish this anticipation of a different future – their future – and John continues to heal, and Sherlock keeps looking after him, keeps changing the bandages, keeps making the tea, keeps picking trashy movies for them to watch while eating the Chinese takeout they ordered, until someday they gaze at each other just a little too long, they touch each other just a little too frequently, they hesitate to break the emotional tension for just the right amount of time, and the inevitable finally happens.

At least that's the case for all the times they manage to not be completely all over each other the moment they close the door to the flat when John comes home from the hospital.

Sometimes, it doesn't go all that smoothly. There's the fighting. The guilt. The regret. The times when Mary or the baby had to suffer as well. Sometimes they confess their feelings in a rage, by accident, but that's okay, and they will be okay, and they fall into each other, and they pull at each other's clothes, almost as if clinging to life itself, and they will be okay just as long as they're Them, as long as there's This.

There are the unusual scenarios as well. The surprising ones.

Sometimes Sherlock's the one to get shot instead of John. Sometimes it happens in Victorian times and Holmes cries out Watson’s first name. Sometimes John doesn't get physically hurt at all, and sometimes he stays behind maimed, the eyepatch now permanently being part of his wardrobe.

Sometimes one of them actually dies.

And sometimes, you think of a smutty Garridebs scenario you would like to write, until you realise that Mark Gatiss already did it for you in an adaptation of Dracula on BBC Radio 4 – no joke! (x)

What I'm trying to say is … it was quite a ride. 

The best.

Honestly, I want to thank you all so much for these last few years. It was a blast, and I truly hope there's still many more fanfics, and fanart, and headcanons, and meta, and any other kind of fanwork to come.

However, this series is not going to be me rambling about what the fandom created here on Tumblr. I just had the need to recap, to reflect, and also to catch the new people up who've not been here while all of this unfolded.

But from here on we’re going back to when it all started:

Tomorrow we'll go into the history of the Holmesian side of things – and, lo and behold, of course the first post is going to be about the original canon story itself. After that, we'll dive deeper into all the other adaptations.

And I can’t wait to share all of this.

Update: Read the whole now completely published series of posts about the Garridebs adaptations here (x)!

[osamusriceballs]

Omg, Eve, dear, you're so gorgeous and cute, i can't! I swear, all haikyuu!boys fall for you, oh~ Don't worry about for father's words! And I'm so happy to know that you like new thoughts! I FALL FOR ALL YOUR ANSWERS, YOU'RE AMAZING!!! Oh, so exited to continue this in December now... Something like about boys' confessions or just random thoughts. Please, write me, if you find this novel's cover! I probably write about it in the future! I'm great! It's my father's birthday today~ - Tilli

TILLI!! 💖💖 THANK YOU AHH- like- That is the biggest compliment you could have ever made me 🥺🥺

And it‘s okay!! I‘ll try not to think about his words too much ✊🏻 he is a bit old-fashioned, so I already expected this

OHH!! SO YOU‘LL CONTINUE IN DECEMBER? 🥳💖💖 YEAH!! I‘M SO EXCITED!! 💖💖 boys confessions sounds good- let’s make like a December mini-series- like a christmas Countdown! Each day we‘ll think about a confession from one character- and I’ll write like a short Drabble about how they‘d end up together? So everyone will get their time to shine!

And in the end everyone could vote for their favorite character/confession, and the winner gets a full length fic on New Years? And that could also be the final paring for manager-chan? How does that sound? (But it‘s 2:30 am, I’m not sure if this makes sense now- in my head in does) 🥺

I tried to look for the cover, but I couldn‘t find it 🥺 could you maybe send me a link? 🥺👉🏻👈🏻

AND HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUR FATHER!! 💖💖 I hope you can spend a wonderful day together!! 💖 and i also hope that his leg is fine again!! 💖🥺

LOVE YOU!! 💖 FEEL HUGGED!! 💖

[incorrect-dragonquest-quotes]

Angelo, writing in his diary: day 46. I‘m still stuck inside purgatory island, surrounded by people of different walks of life. After weeks of thorough observation, I have concluded that-

8, to the tune of final countdown: IT‘S A MENTAL BREAKDOWN!

Yangus: *off key kazoo*

Angelo:

Angelo: -There is no intelligent life here.

[thedoctorispan]

It‘s the Final Countdown

[oceanbrings]

It‘s finally September !! Which means countdown for mine and Nami‘s birthday uwu

[number-808-broadway]

It‘s the final Countdown, our Tour is almost over! How would u call our Band, Angels of Darkness, Devils of Lightness? @thealienisttnt @tntdrama #AngelofDarkness

via Daniel Brühl on IG

[studyonthestairs]

It‘s the final countdown! In about three weeks I’m going to have my finals in german, maths, english, biology and ethics 🌷 School’s over for now, we only have optional classes, which I attend sometimes... meanwhile I’m studying at home and writing as much down as I can :)

Btw, the book is called “I crawl through it” by A.S. King and as far as I know (I’m on page 92) it is about teenagers, who suffer through the pressure at school, being different, lonely, anxious and the constant threat of school shootings. It’s a bit weird to read, but great so far!

[shethirtysix]

Change global, change local 🌏 Do you support our Petition #getridofpodiumgirls @sixdaycycling ? Check out you mailbox 💌 It‘s the Final Countdown 🔥 We hope for your support @kristina.vogel @robertfoerstemann @teamnater 🙏 #petition #changeorg #womenarenotobjects (hier: Velodrom Berlin) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bza4dZuob-8/?igshid=5gp6r2zh7rin

[the-secret-raccoon]

Loud music. Standing at the speaker, we feel the beat in our whole body. The vibe is amazing. It‘s 23:23, we enjoy ourselves.

Its 23:48, I go get new drinks.

Its 23:57, they start the countdown. Its the final countdown.

Its 00:03, you take me to the back.

Its 00:05, you kiss me.

We didnt need fireworks that night.

[spartanguard]

1/2: Hi Kait!How are You?I can’t believe it’s hiatus again!WHY!?It was so… I need MORE!Also I refuse to believe Ana’s the Guardian. It’s so random,I hope it‘s misleading, it HAS to be WishHook!I mean, Rumple gave HIM the elephant, it was a test again. And he gave up the thing that could guarantee his HE. He gave it to an innocent child without a blink of his eye. Again. We saw him overcame the darkness (alcohol). It HAS to mean something, otherwise what was the point of all of this plot part?...

2/2: They could do that any other way but no. OMG I need it! Now! Also I love Alice and Robin. And Killian. And Henry, Rumple, everybody! What are your thoughts? And overall 7A thoughts? In my country viewers are thrilled (best rated episodes so far!) and so am I! And finally, I wish You the merriest Christmas and the happiest new year! Thank You for being this kind of a kind person. I am happy to be in Once family again! :) SN

Hey friend!!! Ugh, right?? I’ve already got the countdown going: 75 days…which will probably be longer for me because I already know I’m busy that whole weekend. Hopefully I can squeeze it in!

But yeah—this is the first hiatus where I needed more right away. The others have at least had some bit of a bow on things to carry over, but this one just opened more questions!! (In the good way, though!)

I def agree that Anastasia is a red herring for the Guardian, but…I can’t figure out why Gothel wants her, then (unless she said and I’m forgetting because I haven’t rewatched yet).

This show is anything but subtle, so I agree that signs are still pointing to Wish Killian as the Guardian. He’s been tested ever since the moment he showed up in 7x02. But in 7x09, Gothel said it was someone who was incorruptible by darkness, and while he hasn’t given in to it in a while, he still has a long history of it, so that has me questioning things.

I was all set to ship Alice and Robyn as soon as they announced Robyn was coming and OMG I LOVE THEM!!!!! It’s so sweet and pure, even though we only saw them for 30 seconds. And I adore the in-laws dynamic between Wish Killian and Zelena—it’s going to be interesting to see that dynamic continue, especially since they don’t have any history together. (Crossing my fingers for a new brotp!)

Hopefully they give us more details on those 8 skipped years; I need to see Alice and Robyn fall in love, and how Tiana became queen, and why Rumple is sparkly again. (And they really need to develop Henry & Ella more. That’s really my only complaint about 7A: we don’t know enough about her or their relationship.)

Merry Christmas to you, too, love!! It’s always a pleasure chatting with you, and thank YOU for being a positive force! I’m sending all the love and warm wishes to you and your family as we head into 2018! ❤️❤️❤️

[lothiriel-01]

Reposted from @thedanielbruhl (@get_regrann) - It‘s the final Countdown, our Tour is almost over! How would u call our Band, Angels of Darkness, Devils of Lightness? @thealienisttnt @tntdrama #AngelofDarkness https://www.instagram.com/p/B3sPJYUofzn/?igshid=1fv90taa2uj5y