#i like mephone a lot. i feel like if i had the power to like. draw him a lot. i would be a very good mephone representative

[arvoze]

quote unquote ""airphone"" for my bf @skishie. sorry i only have passive knowledge

[justin-chapmanswers]

Justin my boy, if I may ask, what happened to Candle between III 18 and 19? ‘Cause at the end of 18 she seemed pretty hurt, but at the beginning of 19 she seemed fine. Could we get any insight into that?

Can’t wait to see you at the meetup my dude!!

Okay sooo Candle, right? What's the deallll with Caaaaandddleee.

Okay so 18 and 19 were written as one script. And in that script, the mindset for that element of Candle was: "okay so after she fights the Unvitationals, Silver's hurt feelings will lead the Inner-Flame to consume him, and he'll fight her and knock her out. She'd be knocked out and unable to help fight against the Unvitationals, and then she and Silver would chat when she wakes back up later, after Silver has realized his wrongs and wins the day with Thinker'ing as opposed to utilizing the Inner Flame power in a way that Candle wasn't approving-of.

Buuut then once the episode split into two, the story paused at a point when Candle had just passed out, and it became common speculation that she was straight-up *dead* n all. But that was never the intentional takeaway. The assumption was not big deal would be made of it since we've seen Candle's flame go out a couple times before without issue (granted, not the Inner Flame, specifically, going out) and MePhone didn't like explode right after Candle collapsed (she didn't need full recovery, just a nap, but laying this out for the purpose of getting into the viewer's perspective of not being sure on which). But hey, that interpretation of events happened, and that's that.

Not even the first time this happened, actually! Oh boy did I watch a lot of reaction videos of s2e14 "Hatching the Plan" where people would see Microphone carrying Fan's knocked-out body (granted, his x-eyes definitely gave the wrong idea away) and exclaim "omg did he die forever?" Whoopsy! Sometimes you get so lost in constructing a specific moment that you don’t think about alternate interpretations of that moment. Allll a learning experience.

Tldr - Candle was knocked out for a little bit. zzzzzz. Which ofc was still not cool on Silver's part, but it was never meant to be interpreted as anything worse.

(And yay, excited to see you too! Meetup incoming!)

[another-day]

welcome back to episode in review and HOO BOY do we have a lot to talk about

spoilers for episode 18 of inanimate insanity invitational!!!!!

so to begin OH MY GOODNESS that was a doozy

that episode was intense i had to keep pausing and rewinding it was scary ok lets start

seeing this i just knew i was in for a ride whoop dee doo!!

i feel like they were right TO A DEGREE, because mephone doesn’t have any ill intentions, he’s just misguided. he thinks the show is the only way he can have friends or people who like him, its really sad.

just wanted to include this because THEY’RE ALL SO SILLY and cabby politely standing beside the seat because she can’t sit on it THEY’RE SO SILLY

i was talking to some of my friends about this earlier, but silver’s whole world probably cane crashing down here. he’d been fighting for not just himself, but candle as well, and her not wanting to give him her vote, despite him doing everything she wanted, was probably heartbreaking. he’d found his inner flame and beat the competition and this is what he gets? i understand why he was so pissed later on because the one person he thought would be happy for him wasn’t.

he almost immediately covered it up, but his inner flame’s later outburst shows how he really felt.

mephone was hoping his plan would follow through here, but it also shows he’s hung onto the guilt of season one’s finale. in one of my previous theories, i guessed that he valued paintbrush for two reasons; that he thought they’d understand the guilt of losing 4s, and that they act somewhat similarly to him. i don’t think this is in confirmation of that, but it backs it up somewhat.

the perfect prize to mephone is this going to plan, without any casualties despite what the season four file may imply, from what i can tell. he’s scared its all gonna go wrong the same way season one’s finale did. however, i still don’t think he wamted to follow through with this plan, evidenced by both him and the floor at the end.

do i need to say anything

its the anti-avengers dude

sorry this was so funny to me i had to include it

this scene messed me up guys like seriously

on one hand, candle thinks silver spoon’s learned his lesson, that the inner flame is not something to boast, but rather cherish and use for good. she thinks this because silver spoon functions in such a way. he reveals something about himself that she doesn’t approve of, she expresses that, and he changes to fit her standards, that’s how its always been. it shows her trust in him, his constant, because as much as he thinks otherwise, he never truly changes his ways, until now at least. that’s why she was so shocked, thinking he wouldn’t hang on to that since he seemed so unbothered previously. to her, silver was almost always an open book, so to see him hide something was shocking.

for silver spoon on the other hand, the one person who always had his back, who taught him everything he knew, turned on him. he did everything she asked and she won’t support him. it would be enraging, hence why he didn’t understand her lesson. he was too focused on the fact that she’d decided, in his eyes, that he still wasn’t enough, too powered by emotion and greed. he’s incredibly insecure, so to have her tell him he’s doing everything he aspired for wrong resulting in the rage clouding his mind, and thus,

SHE IS DEAD BOY ‼️

seeing him inching toward her motionless body at the end was tragic i was on the floor. she advised him not to let the inner flame, his rage, cloud his mind, he didn’t listen, and look where that led him. its tragic, really.

as a mephone angst enjoyer WAAAAH

this was mean, springy’s mean, i don’t like him.

… but he’s right. to mephone, this WAS all a game. he’s changed and grown, but that’s not gonna change how badly he’s treated people. mephone is broken because he refuses to fix himself. implied through the screen protector memory from episode 13 season two, mephone was taugh that he was strong, and should never be a vulnerable. as a likely result, he may have grown to resent vulnerability, and in turn never sought help, because that would be making yourself vulnerable.

whoop dee doo ok i’m ending it there before i get out of hand.

thanks for reading this if you did and i hope you didn’t completely hate it!!!

have a lovely day, and stay safe ;P

[maxphilippa]

whar do gkgg mepad and 3gs look like and whats their deal.......... i must know..................

"Can you miss someone you never truly met, sir?"

"Of course you can, MePad. I, for example-"

"He's not asking you, 3GS."

After Cobs escaped alongside 4s and Mecintosh from Meeple, Mephone4 has realized that he couldn't do his job alone. So with all of the possibilities and power he had at hand now, he decided to get someone(s) to help him to run the damned place.

MePad, one of Cobs's greatest technology advances, a robot capable of teleporting, doing quick calculations and overall being a great support, created to be helpful and look out for others, became a bodyguard and one of, if not, the most important soldier Mephone4 has. Lacks feelings and sentiment, cold and analitical, but secretly, he has shown to be pretty caring around the other Meeple products, especially around 3GS. Mephone4 has given him upgrades, such as hands that can control any electronical device and hurt at touch, more strenght, more programs to work with, all thanks to the eggs themselves.

... 3GS was an interest case.

He was the main reason as to why MePhone4 did what he did to Cobs to begin with. Cobs was never able to repair him. So, since Mephone4 thinks he's unstoppable and a genius, because he is certainly, decides to repair 3GS and give him a new chance. While repairing him, he realizes that he's an astute and hardworking one. Smart and clever, why yes, Cobs should feel responsible for losing such an important member of the company. Mephone4 would never said it, but... he misses 4s. So, maybe, he found a replacement with 3GS.

However, 3GS is one of the oldest models that Cobs has ever made and even Mephone4 couldn't repair him completely. So his screen is still a bit messed up and he can't see or talk pretty well, but Mephone4 has given him a visor in order to help him to see properly. 3GS is just as respected as 4, since he's his right hand man. He makes sure the mephones are working properly and creating more products everyday.

And yet, 3GS wasn't able to go back to who he was. There's some memories... feelings that are off about everything. He can't remember a lot of it, but he misses someone dearly. Someone who he wanted to make proud back then. He feels guilty over nothing, Mephone4 thinks. It wasn't his fault after all. Cobs just was incompetent. He'll never change his mind on that.

But, he's more considerate towards him, leaving MePad to take care of 3GS most of times, since 3GS became more autocritical, emotional and doubtful about his own abilities. It's a pretty big change considered how full of himself he was back then when... he was alive and around.

Overall, they are pretty hardworking and respected members of Meeple. Mephone4 calls them his brothers, his family, but even then it's unknown if he really feels lile that. He does seem to have gotten slighty softer thanks to those two.

MePad trusts 4 blindly, since he does not remember Cobs.

Mephone3gs feels his heart ache at the thought of someone who is just a burning memory.

Perhaps Mephone4 had something to do with that.

Ah, and, they kind of have Mecintosh's role here. MePad might not be obvious at first as to what he does/when he appears, but 3gs wanders around Meeple sometimes.

[oscconfessions]

so i need you all to hear me out. Okay. another anon talked about two x mephone x popcorn and I've been Thinking!!!! about it. I specifically want to talk about the relationships popcorn would have. because i'm ill.

please excuse me for any mischaracterization, analyzing individual characters is not my strong suit by a long shot.

so twocorn. honestly i can really see this one as either romantic or platonic but i think friends to lovers could be how it plays out. i think they could be good friends! two would be able to put up with popcorn i think. and popcorn would take all the positive relationships she can get, there is no way that even in this special crossover universe that a lot of people will like her or really tolerate her. so i think popcorn could really cling to that. idk, i just feel like in a world where these universes cross over two would be one of the few friends popcorn has. maybe two thinks they can fix her. it kind of feels similar to certain flavors of poprot but with a more even power dynamic and no canon problems

And then theres popphone. i'll be honest i've had a far harder time coming up with how this would work. a part of me is very adamant that he would not like her. i'm less worried about what popcorn would think of him, as she strikes me as the kind of person to just completely misinterpret relationships and think that people think far better of her than they actually do. but i figure popphone could be fun as like a pitch or enemies to lovers sorta deal. i have no doubt in my mind that popcorn would have some sort of interest in mephone, i just don't quite know how or if he'd fit with her.

but im going to bounce this off to the two and mephone scientists for further study. peer review this. if i could attach images while on anon id pop the school of athens by raphael here. anyways ill probably ship these regardless because hehe funny popcorn and hehe funny crossover. but i like thinking

.

[poly-lights]

PART 2 TO MY II PREDICTIONS/WISHES/QUESTIONS (technically) SINCE YALL ACTUALLY KINDA LIKED THOSE?? and i have more!

please note btw that most, if not all, of this is not gonna happen bc they can't pack EVERYTHING into a 30 minute or so episode and not gonna lie some of these are my fixation talking and me being delusional. it's good to theorize though!!

lots of bias. let's get into it

i told my gf this BUT it'd be cool if there was a scene of trees changing, to represent seasons passing because it has to have been a year at most right

more lightbulb using her electrokinesis scenes plspls?????? like. she can just casually DO THAT....maybe have her use it for evil/J IM KIDDING. don't have her kill anyone

............................yet

another knife and suitcase scene, elaborating on the "making your presence known", how suitcase took it a different way, just a conversation if that makes sense

yknow. what was that roboarm in the gemory cave. and is it Still working after lightbulb powered it on.

unrelated but still.more so a question have we or will we ever get the full roommate list drop?? unless they're gonna wait for when s2 is done to not spoil anything

baseball and lightbulb friendship scene :] team captain style!

i think it's gonna release on OR near the anniversary, if the iii finale is so soon early into 2024 it gives slight time

can we get parent lore drop??? like hello?????? they cant just said what they said in iii ep 14 and never expand on it, so i have a heavy feeling its gonna get mentioned in s2 if not ep 15 specifically

im just hoping for lb centric, even if her lore doesn't match up well with the slams. pls im so autism abt her at this point its anything BUT funny

now here's some iii 18 predictions!! for fun :] and also me just rambling abt it (spoilers for iii 17!!!!)

those who left to the hotel come back for jury voting!! more importantly fan and pb please💥

bot and springy and gonna be near each other again next episode. springy may still try to pull some shit with bot, and, assuming so, if TEST TUBE IS BY BOT'S SIDE......

springy made that suitcase bot, so clearly he knows about season 2

we may just get ii 14 tt again. which i am HOPING for. idk i love seeing test tube ENRAGED for the people she cares about she's so fun and unique bc MAN that girl is angry. she's holding grudges against Two People

also. fan meeting bot? he is going to have such a big and hopefully impactful reaction!! pls he has his patterns and the sudden changes make him uncomfortable they need to mention this

if he knows about season 2......could he make, or has he made, toys of the other final four? again im just gripping at straws for an iis2 final four appearance

think abt it though. it's the iii finale. you think they won't do something big? considering mephone knows he has to go back? springy could easily torment him w that considering the whole "facing your past" theming

also walkie talkie is Totally associated with meeple. ik we've all figured that out but i just had to say something. very heavily focused on using electronics to better the future? implying robots taking over others positions?

also??? past contestants coming back SEEING the toys?? maybe. Maybe.

the entire episode could also just be a discussion and play on the ethics of ai and how it's affecting the writing industry by putting people out of jobs due to its advancement and im reading way too much into it but hey im putting my hard hat on and channeling my inner matpat for this stupid show about objects with limbs (/pos btw)

also. are they gonna leave floor behind??? or will they scoop him into a terrarium, then plant him into inanimate island?

can he teleport that far?? how far is paradise?????????? ae drop the map pls/silly

ALSO ALSO. WHAT ARE THE INANI-MATES?? IS N/A THE LAST OF THEIR KIND??????? i doubt it but STILL everyone else in that group died

hey. why is the background of the recap song the background used when the gemories formed the silhouette of cobs. hey now.

[yourfriendlyshapeshiftermonsters]

Hey, I wasn’t sure if you liked getting asks or not so if you’re uncomfortable or don’t want to don’t feel like you have to respond :)

I was just curious about the II Au you were talking about. It sounds really interesting!

Are you kidding.

I LOVE.GETTING ASKS. Especially about my au. Oh dear lord you don't understand how many idea has been stuck onto my brain but i also cannot function at all lmao ANYWAY.

My au is named Scrambled Destiny!

It's honesty just somewhat of an swap au, an au with the twist of it was me putting them all into a randomizer into other character and see how i can piece all of their stories all together and see how different things would be while also trying to stay into the original character. And so that's why it's named scrambled destiny! Tho,some of the randomizer was a bit too random for me. So i will choose the new roles of them myself,leaving some also blank because i haven't thoughts about them too much,i hope you don't mind that!

Sorry that it's kinda difficult to explain and i could be completely wrong about a certain characters! So ask me if you don't understand some of what i was saying. I really don't mind to explain my stories in details really!! Anyway,

✨Here are the list of characters and what their new roles are: ✨

It's "characters (what they are now as)" btw, everything here may change in the future

Season 1:

Balloon (bow)

Candle (paintbrush)

Cabby (pepper)

Oj (salt)

Goo (lightbulb)

Life ring (pickle)

Tea kettle (paper)

Mic (nickel)

Soap (baseball)

Nickel (balloon)

Silver spoon (oj)

Rex / Mephone4s (mephone)

Season 2:

Apple (yang)

Marshmellow (yin)

Bow (fan)

Bot (testube)

Box (dough)

Cherries (suitcase)

Taco (mic)

Thropy (knife)

Paper (box)

Cheesy (thropy)

Springy (toilet)

Me phone (mepad)

Ballpoint pen (cobs)

Inanimate insanity: Detective Oj (salt and pepper dimension(may change the name later))

This alternate universe doesn't actually have much in common with the og,most of what's here are a fresh idea so i will list all the casts instead

Book (coffee/the crazy nemesis)

Guitar

Mephone 2s

Some random police ig

Testube

Season 3:

Balloon (bot)

Yin (candle)

Yang (silver spoon)

Lightbulb (clover)

Cobs (springy)

Ghost / Mepad (dr fizz/ballpoint pen?)

Testube

A bit undecided:

Paint brush (soap)

Fan (cabby)

Knife (tea kettle)

Pickle (lifering)

Suitcase (marshmallow)

I haven't had an idea yet (you can give me suggestions if you wanted)

Baseball, bomb, pepper, salt, dough, testube, tissue, floor

Almost all of the mephones will not be swapped,and are instead going to be just a bit of cameo and little supporting lore

This au are including:

cobs got jailed for presumably kidnapping,abuse,resisting arrest and a lot more! Making him loose his childs products and company custody to his work partners ballpoint pen causing the company to get rebranded and the me phones to live long enough to develop a long range of emotions,feelings and trauma that they have their own way to cope with their daddy issues and also cause cobs to be pretty petty to them. Wanting to have controls of what he used to have back or at least what's similar to it. Which is buying a studio and run it through the ground. (Just like Disney)

Dw tho,ballpoint pen is great at dadying. Or well at least try to. Juggling at taking care of 7(+) kids and the company take a lot of energy and will power

All of the mephones will get a brand new name! Well,mostly it's actually just a name they start to call each other when the mephones did something stupid and embarrassing but they are now forever stuck in that nickname because they suck at being creative and the only time they got creative is when they bully each other... But hey!! New name!!¡! :D

Bow and bot being a ghost sibling who possessed a bot body to get out of the purgatory mansion later on also took balloon to be into their family! Now becoming the younger/middle sibling (box too) and later on also made balloon a bot body too so they can go to a VIP invitation to sour lemon. Which is.. Yknow,actually season 3 so it gonna be a mess a bit to see some people you used to know that also seen your death so. Whoops dedo

Testube lab is now bow&bot lab that they found deep down at the purgatory mansion,it was filled with.. Many questionable things but they took care of it

Balloon death effecting many of the contestants life. Since he's bow here heh.i just think it would be funny hehe... Meanwhile balloon is just vibing with his newfound family at the purgatory mansion with bow and bot. Heh.

The hotel actually is. A hotel for visitors and contestants,with some of the contestants even work at it such as: oj, cabby, tea kettle, life ring, soap, mic

Instead of inanimate insanity infinity, oj and cabby are now the main protagonist of a 90s detective comic

Inanimate insanity season 1 have most of their contestants being a teenager somewhere on 15-19 is with the exception of the adults being life ring and tea kettle somewhere on 24-27 (idk,i really haven't decided the exact age yet)

Season 1 & season 2 have a range of 7 year happens,making season 2 have all of their cast at least a young adults

ANDDDDDD many more that i forgot the list of.

Really. I forgot

You may ask many questions as you like about my au really, like what story i planned a specific characters to have and what was their arc gonna be or somethingz like that. i am insane about them :).

Here have some random concepts art i like the most:

Oke,i'm done on my rambles,ba bye for now 👋

[idonatedallofmyinternalorgans]

Candle’s whole exit interview but I wrote it while moving

You’re very welcome

Indigo: Welcome dear listeners my name is [idfk what they said] and I could not be more eager for today’s guest. No one carries a more powerful presence, she’s a voice in the wind that I long to capture even the slightest murmur of. In the darkest of times, she offers all the guiding light. Prepare yourself, mortals, for Inanimate Insanity’s own.. Candle!

Candle: Thank you for the hyper aesthetic introduction, Indigo. You truly set the scene in a manner that could not possibly be broken by any manner of interruption.

Indigo: Thanks? Hmm, that’s awfully specific.

Life Ring: Interrupting here! Ahem, to bring you this video’s surf-tastic sponsor, SurfShark VPN!

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Candle: And there it is, the return to your carefully crafted atmosphere. Despite the pause, your enthusiasm is already healing the deep wound in my soul.

Indigo: I’m glad to hear it. So, Did you actually feel hurt by this elimination? Cause if-so, it seems like you must’ve held back emotions when you got voted out, even Mephone said you were oddly calm.

Candle: To be honest, I always had sensed my time was drawing near. In fact, I felt as though I was dodging the thralls of time ever since I avoided the elimination in Episode 11. Perhaps I have been running on borrowed time ever since. It was only a matter of time.

Indigo: Oh, so in that case, Do you feel it’s worth staying on Indefinite Island for another chance?

Candle: Oh yes, I will be staying on Indefinite Island. I still feel that I have a purpose here in the game.

Indigo: Fantastic, I’m sure there’s still lots you can do here on the island while you wait, like your aura stand. How do you read auras?

Candle: It’s definitely an art. To put it as simply as I can, I use my third eye chakra to see into the depths of an individual soul. An aura is emitted during this process and the rest flows out naturally. In a sense, it’s communicating with someone as they bear their soul.

Indigo: Ohh! Speaking of which, you’ve had so many great connections out in the game. Do you think you may have made it any farther is Silver Spoon wasn’t a contestant? Or do you think he was helpful in how far you got?

Candle: Who can say? The strings of fate are ever unwinding and intertwining in new ways. I guess it would have just depended upon what type of game I wish to play. I will say this; there was a time I was sure he’d move on like everyone else, but had not. It was.. fascinating.

Indigo: Absolutely. I just want to say that you played a great game! But what is your biggest regret?

Candle: Thank you so much. That really means the world. I suppose it may be how I dealt with Yin-Yang when moving away from the Thinkers or rather, lack thereof, meeting Yin and Yang was definitely a highlight of my journey and I’m so proud of their personal growth. On a separate thought, I wish I would have started to play for myself a little sooner. I was so enthralled with aiding in my teammates’ victories and personal growth, that I may have forgotten about myself for too long. I’ve learned that it’s okay to take time to take care of oneself as well. Healthy body, happy mind, healthy aura, happy life.

Indigo: This question came from a viewer in the middle of an emergency, which is why I saved it until now. Let’s just see here.. Candle? I forgot how to breathe.

Candle: Oh my! Quick, call Dr Fizz!

Indigo: Great idea, I’ll message this listener with your advice long after this interview.

Candle: Praise the Earth Mother

Indigo: Next question. Candle, do you think Silver has any chance of winning the game?

Candle: Yes indeed. He’ll have a one in six chance; who’d have thought?

Indigo: Not me, it’s a steep competition. Did you ever feel threatened by anyone in the game, both strategy-wise and challenge-wise?

Candle: Oh, absolutely! Nickel and Balloon’s baneful friendship made for a formidable alliance, even if Balloon may have been wearing some rose tinted glasses. I’d also say Clover, as her lucky abilities defy the laws of fate and nature altogether. Although, how is one truly to compete with that? She is sweet though.

Indigo: Very sweet indeed. What is your favourite thing to do in your free time?

Candle: This may surprise you, but I do enjoy playing tabletop RPGs. I love creating stories with my friends. My favourite class is warlock.

Indigo: Hm, feels fitting, well with you and your magical abilities. Why is it that when you had swapped bodies with Silver, he couldn’t fly when he put out your flame?

Candle: Oh, Indigo, one cannot learn to fly by pouring water onto oneself.

Indigo: Ahh, of course. Will you teach me how to fly?

Candle: Step one, remove water out of the equation.

Indigo: ..remove water.. also noted. But any insight in general into how your Inner-Flame works?

Candle: Well, ‘works’ implies a sense of ability. As though I’m tapping into some whimsical superpower. However, while the Inner-Flame shares my soul, it carries a mind of its own. That’s why when someone connects to it, they best be wary, lest it consume you. But we’re on pretty nice terms, so we’re fine.

Indigo: Oh.. wow. I’m not quite sure if the flying is quite worth a hassle. Nextly, why is it that you decide to split up Balloon and Nickel? They were fun!

Candle: You mean at the glacier challenge? Well, Silver and I had established ourselves as key players of the Loony-Balloony alliance, as the two who ensured their survival against the Thinkers, the next step was to ensure that we weren’t the lowest on the pecking order. Therefore, poking at the inherently unstable relationship between Balloon and Nickel was our surest bet disrupting their trio with Bot. However, witnessing the aftermath, even I was surprised at how quick their bond was to snap. I sense that if they cannot work this out soon, it will be their downfall.

Indigo: Ooh, spooky. Following all of the craziness in that last vote, do you respect Balloon’s decision for voting for you?

Candle: Yes and no. Yes because he made a strategic choice. Can’t hold it against him if you’re participating in a game like Inanimate Insanity. And no because part of me feels like he may have been swayed into it by a certain someone who is just as strategic.

Indigo: You made plenty of bold strategic decisions as well. How do you feel about the whole villain arc you went through? Did it feel good?

Candle: Goodness! Me, a villain? Was it really that bad of me to want to try and focus on my own needs for once? My teammates had all started to find their own paths, and I felt like I was soon to be left behind. Such as the nature of the game. If being there for myself when I felt lost makes me a villain, then I guess it was an arc for me.

Indigo: I hear you. Speaking of villains, to wrap this up, I’d love to know how it feels to have left Silver Spoon behind. He was very sad to see you were eliminated, not sure if he’s the same.

Candle: Was he now? Interesting. Perhaps we will need to reconnect regarding that.

Indigo: Wonderfully vague as always! Thank you, Candle! Best of luck whenever the rejoin challenge comes along. And to our Inanimate audience, a very special thank you for all of your questions. Curiosity is a powerful thing! Be sure to subscribe to catch the next opportunity to have your question read. This has been Indigo Zircon Rose with IPR, signing off!

[rook-specter]

time to ramble about the howl's moving castle cabtube au

Test Tube as Sophie Test Tube is the eldest of three children and has sacrificed a lot to help take care of her family. She's resigned herself to being unhappy because she's convinced herself that the happiness of her family is more important than her own. Her family owns a knick-knack shop, which Test Tube took over after the death of her father, even as her siblings moved onto other things.

Cabby as Howl She's a mix of book Howl and movie Howl. She wants to do her own thing most of the time and is getting tired of getting summoned to the castle all the time. She does not want to take responsibility for everything because she's already taken responsibility for writing everything down in her files, but she knows that it has to be done. However, she's also often paralyzed by fear. She remembers the reasons why Mephone took her away from the palace. She tries her best with running the shops and writing in her files to distract herself from the war and the king.

Clover serves the role of the little apprentice kid, but she's more like a friend that Cabby likes doing magic with, and she also makes a lot of potions. She and Cabby are friendly with each other, but she feels as if there's something that Cabby's not telling her. She knows that Cabby's cursed, but isn't really sure how to help her. Her experience of magic has always been pure luck and doesn't know how to help her beyond that.

Mephone5c is the king's witch advisor and kinda sucks but she's still doing her best. She's not a great witch, but she follows orders and that's what the king wants.

The king probably also wanted to use Cabby for her magical potential and would have turned her into a weapon. He’s probably still trying to do that.

and I'm saying now that the king is Cobs

I kinda want Taco to be the Witch of the Wastes. She curses Test Tube due to her mingling with Cabby (she saw Test Tube with Cabby) and she refuses to accept that this was the first time Test Tube had met her. It's probably the same old age curse.

Calcifer would probably be Candle, but she's much more chill than Calcifer, because Candle's just a chill gal.

I think the whole war would be resolved by the Shimmers showing up and separating both sides the best that they can. And Mephone being with them. Yeah

I like the idea that Taco and Microphone were in the same position years ago that Cabby and Test Tube are in now. Taco was a powerful witch and Microphone came to her seeking help, possibly cursed. They were cool together, until they were separated. Nobody knows where Microphone went, except for Taco.

And maybe Turniphead is Goo? idk

anyways that's my idea! what do y'all think?

[object-show-analysis]

*waves* hi!!

So, i've been thinking: Where did Paintbrush's anger issues come from? In season 1 they dont show any (or barely show any) signs of having anger issues OR fire powers. I've been trying to give to this lore for quite for time, but failed.

Thank you! -MPW

Hi there! This is a great question!

You’re right. Paintbrush doesn’t display signs of anger much at all during season 1. Though to be fair, they don’t get much screen time at all. Their main gimmicks in the first season mainly being their gender, and being continuously interrupted/ignored. These are things that aggravate Paintbrush a lot later in season 2. So this means that their issues with anger must develop some time after the end of season 1. So let’s talk about it.

When we see Paintbrush at the very beginning of season 2, nothing has really changed since the first season. There’s nothing really significant about them right off the bat. They appear to be on relatively good terms with everyone. Especially Marshmallow, who they still regard as a friend after season 1. And interestingly enough, they seem to be on solid terms with Lightbulb before the competition starts.

In episode 1 of season 2, Paintbrush is extra friendly with the new contestants and is eager to meet them. As opposed to Lightbulb, who seems wary to trust them. As Lightbulb in early season 2, especially episode 1, was a lot more uptight than she appears later in the season

It’s only after Paintbrush joins the Bright Lights that their behavior becomes more aggressive

When MePhone first places them on the team, Paintbrush is excited to be there. They show no hostility towards anyone on their team. But that changes quickly due to the behavior of their fellow teammates.

The frustration starts when Lightbulb gets upset with Paintbrush for assuming TestTube would be smart, only going off the fact that she’s a TestTube. Paintbrush, despite being correct in their assumption, is scolded by Lightbulb and accused of judging people based on appearance. This is the first time we see Paintbrush get genuinely angry at someone else.

Even though this is minor and certainly not enough to constitute as an Issue, this is still worth mentioning. Because Paintbrush’s anger only gets worse from here.

This encounter seems to put Paintbrush in a bad mood, as they later lash out at Suitcase for not helping the opposite team, calling her selfish. As the competition goes on, Paintbrush continues to lash out in anger. Resorting to physical violence with both Fan and Yang (and by extension, Yin)

Paintbrush seems to have dropped the subject by the next episode, and continues to get along with Lightbulb, but after this point they are much more prone to anger.

Though it’s not like the anger isn’t justified. They always have reason to be upset. The main cause of their frustration? Inadequacy. From both their team, and the team’s leader

Lightbulb certainly struggles as leader of the Bright Lights, though it’s something she never admits, or may not even realize. She punishes people for little-to-no reason and often ends up ruining challenges.

Paintbrush expresses this frustration with Lightbulb’s inadequate leadership in episode 4. They quickly shut down Lightbulb’s cookie pizza idea, leading to Lightbulb bringing up her own past issues with Paintbrush, like the way they judged TestTube based on appearance. Eventually leading to Lightbulb questioning Paintbrush’s artistic abilities (though that’s technically not something we see any proof of until episode 12 of season 2)

This is what pushes Paintbrush over the edge. They quickly express their grievances with Lightbulb. Expressing how much of a horrible leader she’s been.

From this point, Paintbrush and Lightbulb appear to consistently be at each other’s throats, which continues to fuel Paintbrushes anger.

(Though as I explained in my last Lightbulb Analysis, Lightbulb still considers Paintbrush a friend)

This anger brought on by Lightbulb’s inadequacy as a leader later extends to Paintbrush’s other teammates, and even occasionally the hosts.

The first notable instance of Paintbrush’s anger extending from a rivalry with Lightbulb to a general anger is when they begin to argue with Fan in episode 7

Paintbrush once again takes up the role of leader, providing a pep talk to the rest of the team. Which we know they do because they feel Lightbulb is unfit to lead, both from previous actions and later dialogue, as they tell lightbulb in a later episode, they took the job as team leader because “someone had to”

This is when Fan interjects, saying there’s no need to try in the contest because of the clear winning pattern. Paintbrush snaps at him, thinking that’s a ridiculous idea, but one by one everyone else agrees not to try for one reason or another.

At this point, it’s not just Lightbulb who isn’t trying. It’s everyone. And this is what causes Paintbrush’s anger to go from targeted aggression, to full on anger issues.

From this point they snap far easier. Episode 10 seems to be the height of their aggression, as they snap at multiple members of their own team, and even resort to physical violence.

Speaking of which, to answer your other question about their fire abilities, when they get physically aggressive with Fan in episode 10, their tendency to catch fire is established as a genuine power, rather than just a physical gag, as it was treated in the past.

So that’s how paintbrush’s anger issues evolve over time. They start to get better after episode 10 as more and more members of the bright lights start to make amends with Paintbrush (which I may cover in a future post) but I hope it’s clear where their issues came from now!

[chipsfics]

part 6 2/2

2/2 is finally here! sorry for the long wait!

rated: PG-13 for swearing and crying.

Down in the basement. It's dark, musty, and everything is still covered in cobwebs. Once Tissues flicks on the light, the only thing that changes is the "dark". His brain is buzzing with activity- What could go there, what could he put here? So much wasted space in the hotel- and he was 99% sure that nobody else had been down here in a long time. He had to try and avoid being suspicious- But he'd already pretty much failed when Trophy caught him tiptoeing down the stairs to the basement at 7pm on a Wednesday. He went over to the covered-up couches and the chair surrounding the television set and small table- He carefully lifted up the sheets as if they were going to fall apart like wet paper towels. Underneath, the couch was the same dull orange-ish color as the rest of the hotel's furniture- probably a spare put down here. The furniture was suprisingly in pretty good shape, although the covers were kicking up a lot of dust that made his nose itch. He stifled a sneeze. The TV was tiny and old, but still a flatscreen- Looked like from when Meeple HQ was just dipping into television production. The small, outdated meeple logo on the power button confirmed his suspicions.

He picked up the cord attached to the back of the TV and plugged it into the small, dusty, offwhite outlet. Surprisingly, the TV almost immediately turned on with a loud startup jingle that just about made Tissues jump out of his skin. He walked over and looked at the screen, which had the old Meeple logo spinning on it's screen as it tried to boot up. Once it finally finished the startup sequence, the screen was on an empty DVD selection menu. "Hm." Tissues scratched his head as he continued to explore the area. What else could he fit in there? And more importantly, how would he get it down the stairs? 

Tissues sat down on the couch and a puff of dust fluffed out of the cushion. He sniffed... sniff... achoo-! Tissues sneezed. Tissues pulled out his phone and started to browse online for something to buy to fill the room- He had a little extra cash, because despite being eliminated first, he was still compensated for participating in II. That, and the lawsuit against Mephone that OJ pulled a while ago got him enough money to last for a long time. A minifridge, a new game console, a recliner... too many options! He wanted to make this basement space absolutely perfect. 

The more he thought about how hard it'd be to order all of this stuff and not have OJ- or god forbid, Trophy- notice what he was up to was leaving him puzzled as well. Maybe he needed to call in some backup... Or just do all these activities at night (although that'd be even sketchier if he got caught.) In a moment of frenzied impulse, Tissues loaded everything he was pining after into his online shopping cart and purchased them all at once. He turned off his phone and rocked back into the couch, processing what he'd just done. It was a bad idea, he knew that, but something about it was so thrilling. His heart was pounding- It was like he was making the hotel into his home, cozy underneath the earth, exciting and secret and all his. He was giddy.

After that brief moment of happiness, Tissues paused as he realized something. Oops. How was he going to pull this off? He scratched his chin, and another lightbulb went off above his head. To find someone to help him... He went back up the stairs, clinging to the handrail as he tried not to look backwards- He /has/ to find a way to get up the stairs without having to scale them. Yinyang was, of course, busy that day (with some kind of... event? He didn't say), so his only option was... sigh.

Cheesy was in his usual spot- loudly unwrapping and eating fun sized candy bars on the couch, throwing the candy wrappers on the floor after he's done with them. Tissues waved to get his attention. 

"Hey Tissues, what's up?" Cheesy said, and looked around. "Where's your boyfriend?"

"He's not my-" Tissues sighed. "And he's doing something today. Listen, Cheesy, would you be willing to help me with something?"

Cheesy narrowed his eyes. "Like what?" 

"Something... against the house rules," Tissues said. "It involves snacks! And TV," 

"I'm interested," Cheesy said. "I'm always down to cause some trouble. What exactly are we talking about here?"

"So." Tissues looked around. "There's a place in the basement that's completely unused, and already has chairs and a couch and stuff, and i'm planning to fix it up into a kind of secret hangout spot?"

"Hmmm, interesting..." Cheesy nodded. "Sounds fun! But how're you gonna pull that off?"

"That's what I need you for," Tissues said. "I ordered a minifridge, some video games, and a couple other things that i absolutely can't carry down the stairs myself- That's where you come in." 

Cheesy looked deep in thought for a couple seconds. "I'm in. But you have to let me hang out down there too," 

"Of course! Just don't tell anyone, ok? Especially OJ." Tissues said.

"No problemo, Tissues." Cheesy said, winking. "Until then, do you wanna play Space Bubble with me? I need a player 2 to complete this level." 

"Seriously?" Tissues said. "You wanna play video games with me?"

"Sure, whynot. It's not a huge deal," Cheesy said. "You seem like a cool guy."

"Ah, really? sorry, ehehe, It's just that, people don't usually want to be around me... on purpose," Tissues said bashfully, smiling, and grabbed the second controller. In his head, he was wondering when Yinyang was getting back. This game would be really fun with 3 players...

----

The next morning, Yinyang was still nowhere to be found. It'd been like this a couple times before, and Tissues wasn't too worried- They were probably just sleeping in or taking an extra long shower or something. He figured he'd be able to catch up with him later. Although, the thought lingered in the back of his mind- something was wrong. Was it him? Did something bad happen to his friend? He pulled himself out of bed all at once, stumbling a bit and catching himself before he fell, sniffing and sighing. Down the elevator, no Yinyang. Into the kitchen, no Yinyang. Past the living room, Trophy was sitting in Yinyang's usual spot. Trophy sneered at him, but Tissues was too busy with too much on his mind to really care. 

Tissues took a deep breath. Into the basement. It'll clear his head. Stairs, step, step, stumble- whoops, back on his feet and step, step step again. Flick on the lightswitch. Vision blurs a little bit. Stress or vertigo? Doesn't matter.

Someone was sitting on the old couch, twiddling his thumbs, looking upset. 

"Yinyang?" Tissues said, and he jolted up and looked.

"Tissues," He said, his voice was shaky. 

"What- uhh, What're you doing down here?" Tissues said, sounding concerned, walking over and sitting next to his friend. "Are you... alright?"

"Umm.." Yinyang shifted in his seat, getting more choked up. "I... well."

"It's okay, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Tissues put his hand on Yinyang's, and he immediately melted into the gesture. "D-do you need a hug?" Tissues smiled sheepishly.

Yinyang wordlessly nodded and pulled Tissues closer into a soft embrace. He was shaking really bad. Clenching and unclenching his fists, gritting his teeth. Tissues pat him on the back. "Is there anything I can do to help..?"

Yinyang didn't respond. He was crying. They stayed in that hug for a long time before Yinyang stopped shaking.

Tissues pulled away, his eyes sparkling with sympathy. He pulled a tissue out from his head and handed it to Yinyang. "Here you- sniff.. go, buddy. Please feel better... It hurts my heart to see you cry." 

Yinyang laughed. "You..." He sniffed, smiled, and wiped his face off. "Have to stop being so kind to me. I'll just end up disappointing you, or hurting you," 

"Wh.... no way..!" Tissues' eyes widened.. "I think- I... you're the only real friend I've ever had..! I love you and- and I really do care about you!" Tissues was getting choked up..

Yinyang laughed again, tears rolling down his face. "Dammit... this is what I'm talking about." Yinyang sniffed. "You're the only one who's ever cared about me, and it hurts- it hurts because I know that I won't ever be able to let you go." Something about Yinyang's voice was so sad. 

"Stopp it- sniff, you're gonna make me cry too..!" Tissues wiped his nose, and paused for a moment... "and... sniff... You're gonna have to try really hard to get rid of me. I'm already imprinted on you like a baby duck you know like in the cartoons where-"

"Tissues, what the hell are you even talking about-?" Yinyang laughed. "You nerd...!" He punched Tissues on the shoulder. 

"Aahhh, ahaha, oww.." Tissues smiled. There was a moment of silence. "Are you feeling any better... do you need to talk about anything else, i mean..?" 

"ah.... Tissues." Yinyang sighed. "I'm so scared of scaring you away. But... there's something I need to tell you... I. How do I say this..." Yinyang took a deep breath, and seemed to have regained some of his composure. 

"It's okay...! You can tell me anything..!" Tissues put a hand on Yinyang's shoulder, and he shivered. 

"Tissues. I've never said this to anyone so ... i apologize if we mess up. But... I think I'm in love with you." Yinyang looked away in shame and embarrassment. 

Tissues stared at him, wide-eyed, his face red. "W-wait. that's a funny coincidence, because.. Nobody has ever said that to me. Yinyang, I..."

"It's okay if you don't-" Yinyang sniffed, "Feel the same or, whatever. It's been forever since we were able to agree on anything, and it's kind of... terrifying. But i love you. We love you. And..."

"I love you too!!" Tissues stood up on the couch suddenly. "I was so worried you thought that I was hitting on you because I was and I was scared that you didn't like me like that and I just realized that i like liked you a couple days ago and-" Tissues rambled on and on...

"Shut up." Yang said. "Hey!" Yin scolded. "Now is not the time," 

Tissues laughed. "Sorryyy... I just got- really excited, and emotional, and I've never been in a situation like this and-..... just, wow. What does this mean? How does this work, are we like, boyfriends now?"

Yinyang blushed. "I dunno, probably. I'm too busy fighting with myself to learn how relationships work..." Yin laughed. "It's not... can we just... hang out down here for a little while...? I'm... still kind of processing. A lot of stuff."

"Of course..!" Tissues scooted up next to him and cuddled up to him. "I'm so scared, and happy, and worried, and sad, and just... emotional. Everything is changing."

"We're in it together," Yin grabbed Tissues' hand. "Thank you... for a lot. for everything," Yang added. 

"I love you," Tissues smiled. "I love you too." Yinyang said.

Hotel OJ was a vague silhouette on the horizon when the sun finally set- millions and millions of uncertain years stretching before them, as inperceivable as the distance between stars.

[bcimbatmandude]

More Human Than Meets the Eye-A Study in Pink, part 4-chapter 5

Hey guys! Thanks so much for the follows and love. Here’s the next chapter! I’m gonna try to make a masterlist later, but I have no idea how to do it. sooooo we’ll see what happens.

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Previously: "Yeah, but if you were really, really clever.." his voice trailed away. "Jennifer Wilson running all those lovers; she was clever. She's trying to tell us something."

Just then, Mrs. Hudson walked into the room. "Isn't the doorbell working? Your taxi's here, Sherlock."

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Adaline frowned at Mrs. Hudson's words. That was odd…no one had called for a taxi that she knew of. "I didn't order a taxi," Sherlock confirmed her thoughts. "Go away." Adaline glared at her father for his tone of voice. The woman was merely trying to help.

"Oh dear. They're making such a terrible mess," the landlady fretted. "What are they looking for?" "It's a drugs bust, Mrs. Hudson," John supplied patiently. Adaline was a bit surprised when a very worried look came over the older woman's face. "But they're just for my hip!" she cried, gesturing to the mentioned body part. "They're herbal soothers!"

The blonde haired child's face now adopted a puzzled look, wondering why Mrs. Hudson would be so concerned about her medicine. She looked over at John in question, but the doctor was pointedly looking away from her.

"Shut up!" her father yelled suddenly. "Everybody, shut up! Don't move, don't speak, don't breathe. I'm trying to think. Anderson, I need you, especially, to face the other way. You're putting me off." "What?" Anderson cried, obviously affronted. "My face is?!"

Adaline could not for the life of her stop the giggles that erupted when she glanced at Anderson's face, and in all honesty, she wouldn't have stopped them even if she'd had the ability to. She did have the decency to cover her mouth though, not that it did much good.

Anderson heard the freak's daughter start to laugh and scowled. She was laughing at him. Embarrassment filled the man and he threw the girl a very dark look.

Adaline had a feeling that if looks could kill, she would either not be breathing any longer, or would've at least found herself extremely maimed judging by the level of scowl she was receiving from the officer at the moment. It was quite obvious just how much the man despised her. Her glee at Anderson's plight only grew when John, having looked over in time to catch the exchange between the two, casually stepped into Anderson's line of vision, ceasing his ability to glare at the Holmes girl any longer. John lifted an eyebrow, silently warning him. Anderson seemed to understand what wasn't being said, wisely looking away.

"Anderson!" the officer jumped when his boss addressed him in a gruff voice. "Turn your back," the Inspector ordered. Anderson opened his mouth to protest, but Lestrade, having had enough, snapped. "Your back! Now, please!" "Oh for God's sake!" he cried, but did as his boss instructed.

"Come on," Sherlock murmured to himself. "Think, quickly!" "What about your taxi?" Mrs. Hudson said worriedly. "MRS. HUDSON!" Sherlock shouted, entirely fed up with the interruptions, making Adaline and the older woman both jump. Mrs. Hudson gasped and hurried downstairs.

Sherlock had been furiously pacing back and forth when suddenly he stopped, whipping around to stare at his daughter in excitement. He ignored the glare she was throwing him for his treatment towards their land lady, telling himself he would apologize to the woman later.

"Oh," he began, eyes lighting up. "She was clever, clever, Adaline. Yes!" He turned and faced the entire room. "She's much cleverer than you lot and she's dead. Do you see, do you get it? She didn't lose her phone. She never lost it. She planted it on him." He began to pace yet again. "When she got out of the car, she knew she was going to her death. She left the phone in order to lead us to her killer."

"But how?" Lestrade threw in. "What…?" Sherlock asked him, truly stumped at Lestrade's ignorance. "What do you mean, how?"

Lestrade hesitated for a second and then shrugged helplessly. "Rachel!" Sherlock provided, looking around the room triumphantly. He visibly deflated when he was only met with blank stares. "Don't you see? Rachel!" he repeated, as if that would help them suddenly understand everything.

Nothing.

"Oh, look at you lot," he sneered, utterly disgusted at the lack of intelligence before him. "You're all so vacant. Is it nice not being me? It must be so relaxing."

"Dad."

Sherlock heard his daughter call to him, her voice low and soothing. Calm.

The father immediately stopped and forced himself to take a deep breath inward. John took note of the fact that when Sherlock next spoke, the venom in his voice was no longer present. The doctor looked over at the little girl, intrigued at the power she apparently had over the headstrong man.

"John, on the luggage, there's a label. Email address."

The shorter man didn't bother asking questions and walked over to the luggage, locating the label and reading out the address. "It's uh…jennie dot pink at mephone dot org dot uk." Adaline watched her father stride over and sit down in front of the computer screen. "Rachel is not a name," he said simply, typing in the website. "I've been too slow," he scolded himself. "She didn't have a laptop, which means she did her business on her phone, so it's a smart phone. It's email enabled."

John watched as Sherlock pulled up the Mephone's website. "So there was a website for her account," the detective continued. "The username is her email address…" Adaline thought hard, mentally sifting through all of the information they had gathered, and adding up the clues. Rachel isn't a name….

Finally, it clicked.

"Rachel is her password," she gasped out. Now that she had figured it out, she was able to view the entirety of the case, and felt foolish upon realizing how obvious it all was. She was disappointed at her slowness.

Her father however, held completely different feelings towards his daughter. "Oh how the mighty have fallen." Lestrade looked to him questioningly. "What kind of day must it be for you all when a child is able to grasp clues before the majority of the Scotland Yard?"

"So what?" A voice dared to say. Anderson. Of course. Adaline rolled her eyes. "We can read her emails." "Anderson please cease talking. You wound the IQ of the entire street." Sherlock didn't waste time even looking at the tiny minded officer. "We can do much more than read her emails. It's a smart phone. It's got GPS which means if you lose it, you can locate it online. She's leading us directly to the man who killed her."

Mrs. Hudson hesitantly peeked her upper half back in through the doorway. "Sherlock dear. This taxi driver…" Sherlock got up from the computer chair and walked over to the woman. "Mrs. Hudson, isn't it time for your evening soother?" Mrs. Hudson puffed angrily and left, heading back to her own flat.

Adaline stared after her worriedly, hoping very much that she wasn't too upset at her father's obstinate rudeness. She threw a sharp glare in his direction and got up from her armchair, heading for the doorway. "I'll see what he wants," she informed them. Her father glanced over and nodded at her absently.

The young girl threw on her trainers and headed downstairs. She absently chewed at her lip, her mind whirling. Adaline opened the door, sending a gust of cool London air into the warm flat, and peered outside. The curly haired girl confirmed that there was indeed a taxi sitting in front of the flat for them. An older man was leaning against the vehicle waiting patiently. He was wearing glasses, his hair was grey and he was sporting a driver's cap.

"Hello," Adaline greeted politely. Her mind began shooting out warning signals. Something about this situation didn't feel quite right..

"Hello," he welcomed back just as nicely, nodding to her. She cautiously stepped outside, closing the front door quietly behind her. "I think there's been a mistake," she informed the man, secretly studying him. She gathered information about him very quickly, beginning her deductions just as her father had taught her.

-Shaving cream left forgotten behind left ear. Most likely lives alone.

"We didn't call for a taxi," she conveyed sweetly.

-Clothes are clean but have several holes throughout the fabric; at least three years old. Not planning for the future

"Oh no," he agreed, shaking his head. "You didn't Miss Holmes." He smiled at her then. "But I believe your father did."

Alarmed, Adaline took a half step back before catching herself. She mentally shook herself and thought about what her father would do. She stepped closer to the man. "Who are you?" she asked, cutting straight to the chase. It was obvious the man had information they did not. The man smiled wider at the little girl's spunk, properly amused by the child.

"I'm just a taxi driver little miss," he said to her innocently. "No one important." "How do you know my dad?" she demanded. "You shouldn't worry about that," he tutted to her. He gestured to the cab. "How bout you get in the cab, and me, you, and your dad can take a nice little cab drive." "I think I might pass," Adaline said slowly, her mind practically screaming alarms at her now.

She began backing up towards the steps, her heart beating wildly. "Now calm down little miss," the cabbie soothed, taking a step in her direction. "I don't wanna hurt you and your dad. I'm just gonna talk to you." The man took another step towards her, and Adaline couldn't help herself.

She turned around quick as she could, shooting for the flat. Right before she made it to the door, she was grabbed from behind. The girl made to scream and the man threw a hand over her mouth. Adaline kicked and struggled against his arms to no avail. He slowly moved the two of them closer to his vehicle and Adaline, growing more desperate, bit the man's hand as hard as she could.

"Ah!" he gasped, his grip on her body lessening just a tiny bit. Adaline jumped on the opportunity and pushed the man away from her as hard as she could, running up the three steps that would bring her to safety. She made it to the top stop, her fingertips touching the door handle, when she was suddenly jerked off of her feet. She fell the ground face first, gasping as her forehead connected with the hard ground. The seven year old whimpered at the pain now flooding through her, tears coming to her eyes.

The man took advantage of her stillness and quite literally, began dragging her closer to him, causing her to scrape her hands and holes to form in the knees of her pajama bottoms as she weakly attempted to fight back. Her pitiful tugs were ignored though as the man finally was able to open the cab door, tossing the child roughly inside the backseat.

Adaline scampered as far away from the man as she could, cowering into the left corner of the backseat. Every ounce of the courage she felt earlier was gone, drained dry by the abuse she was receiving. The man panted and shook his hand, and she noticed with a bit of satisfaction that it was bleeding from where she'd bitten into it. "Sorry about your head, love," he apologized with false sympathy. "Would've been a bit gentler if you'd cooperated." Adaline bit her tongue and hugged herself tightly, wishing very much her father was with her.

The man smiled at her creepily one final time, and slammed the door.

Meanwhile, back inside the flat, Sherlock was staring disbelievingly at the computer screen. "How can the phone be here?" he inquired, voice rising. "How?"

"Maybe it was in the case and when you brought it back it fell out somehow," Lestrade offered. Sherlock scoffed. "What, and I didn't notice? Me? I didn't notice?" "Anyway," John turned to Lestrade. "We texted him and he called back." Lestrade began talking to his crew and Sherlock easily tuned them out, his mind going back to the conversation he'd had with John earlier.

Who do we trust, even if we don't know them? Who passes unnoticed wherever they go? Who hunts in the middle of the crowd?

Suddenly, Sherlock's phone dinged from inside of his coat. Sherlock removed his phone from his pocket, reading the text.

COME WITH ME.

Feeling eyes on him, Sherlock looked to his left towards the door way of the flat, only to see a strange man slowly making his way down the stairs to the front door.

"Sherlock, you okay?" he heard John ask. Absently he answered. "What? Yeah, yeah, I..I'm fine." "So how can the phone be here?"

"Dunno," Sherlock quietly answered, still watching the taxi driver. John walked over to his coat where his own phone was sitting inside his jacket pocket. "I'll try it again," he told the dark haired man.

"Good idea." Sherlock made his way to the door. "Where are you going?" John called to him, puzzled as to why he was leaving at such a crucial time. "Fresh air. Just popping outside for a moment. Won't be long."

"You sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine," Sherlock ended, and hurried down the stairs after the man.

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aaand that’s it. Thanks for reading! next chappie will be out soon. hopefully.

[ebaeschnbliah]

ABOUT  THE  MEANING  OF  SERIES  ONE

________________________________________________________________

INTRODUCTION - USER MANUAL - CHAPTER LIST

A little while ago I made a short summary and overview of my ideas and theories regarding the events round the ‘Reichenbach Fall’ - including (mostly) the episodes ASIB, THOB, TRF and TEH - I called it: The Big Question. 

This new post can be seen as a prequel to The Big Question. It deals with the episodes of Series One (including the Unaired Pilot). Unlike the other post, this is less about a possible decoding of the actual stories told in those episodes, but more about the probable funktion of Series One as ...

introduction (ASIP)

user manual (TBB)

chapter list (TGG)

,,, for Sherlock BBC as a whole. If S1 - and especially TGG - is, what I think it is, perhapst TGG as the ‘chapter list’ could provide some interesting hints regarding a possible continuation of the stoy, that feels at the end of TFP still very unfinished.

Enjoy this idea if you like under the cut ...

UNAIRED PILOT  &  A STUDY IN PINK

The most important function is, of course, the introduction of the main characters

Sherlock Holmes

Dr. John Watson

Mrs. Martha Louise Hudson - landlady not the housekeeper 

Dr. Molly Hooper - pathologist 

DI Greg Lestrade

DS Sally Donovan (different actors in PILOT & ASIP)

Philip Anderson - forensic scientist (wears a beard in PILOT)

Therapist Ella Thompson

Jeff Hope - serial killer 

Mycroft Holmes (online appearance in PILOT)

Moriarty (name mentioned only ASIP)

Some interesting details of PILOT

The very first e-mail Sherlock opens is from Mycroft. He asks online for his brothers advice regarding ‘an impossible situation’. Sherlock answers with the famous canon Holmes quote: ‘When you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains must be the truth.’

Sherlock calls John ‘good, old Dr. Watson’ only hours after their aquaintance. This phrase is from the last paragraph of the last canon story His Last Bow and it continues: “You are the one fixed point in a changing age. There’s an east wind coming … ”

John shoots serial killer Jeff Hope from the house opposite 221b Baker Street. In the canon story The Empty House, this is the spot Colonel Moran (right hand man of Prof. Moriarty and only survivor of his criminal network) chooses for his planned assassination of Sherlock Holmes. He gets caught in his own trap. 

The topics ‘chess’, ‘playing the game’ and ‘a choice between two different options’ appear for the first time and will turn out to become a recurring theme through all currently existing episodes.

Ella, the ‘changeable’ therapist is later in the story replaced by a dead therapist in an airing cupboard, then by Elsa who finally turns out to be Eurus/Sherlock

Near the end of the episode a dog barks in the night … and dogs too will become a main theme that runs throughout the whole story, culminating in RedBeard. (Shoes for the Hound  Dogs of the Mind Palace)

ASIP is, basically, a repetition of PILOT. The main differences (among some strange and seemingly unnecessary ones X) are: 

The barking of a dog can be heard again. This time though at the beginning of the episode, immediately after John wakes from his nightmare and before he meets Sherlock for the first time (X)

Instead of five, ther are four victims. All of them get names. The phone of Jennifer Wilson, the pink lady, can be located by a tracking device called ‘MePhone’ (MyHeart?)

While in PILOT Sherlock approaches the killer, in ASIP it is the killer who approaches Sherlock (X X)

The final confrontation between detective and killer is moved from 221b Baker Street to a public school. John shoots Jeff Hope from the twin building of the school opposite

While in PILOT John throws his gun into the Thames, he keeps it in ASIP

Mycroft Homes appears in person and, at first, incognito. He declares himself to be Sherlock’s ‘arch enemy’. This leads to the assumption that he could be Holmes’ famous antagonist from canon … Professor James Moriarty. Only by the end of the episode it becomes clear that the mysterious man is actually Sherlock’s older brother

Another main character is added .… Moriarty. He is the sponsor of serial killer Hope and a ‘fan’ of Sherlock Holmes. To introduce Moriarty already in the first episode is a major divergence from canon in this adaptation

THE BLIND BANKER

This episode seems to serve as an ‘user manual’ for the whole story which indicates how ‘the game is played’ by introducing certain elements that will recur again and again in different variations:

locked murder mysteries and a killer who can break into everywhere

protections of high security facilities are bypassed or fail or suddenly cease to exist

secret informations, ancient cypers, codes, hidden messages and the indication that there will be a regular change of those codes by using a different book (a different story/a different stage play?)

the search for something very small but most valuable (a memory?)

the past is important (valuable information is found at the National Antiquities Museum=history)

smuggling things of great wealth connected to the East (past?) …. drugs and antiquities  (chemistry of love and memories out of the past?)

theatre stages on different levels, masks and disguises (X)

character mirrors ((Soo Lin//Sherlock;  Liang ‘Zhi Zhu’//Mycroft & Jim Moriarty (the brother and the spider);  Andy//John;  city boy Van Coon//Sherlock;  freelance journalist Lukis//John)

character switching (at the circus (on stage) John becomes Sherlock, Dr. Sarah Sawyer becomes Dr. John Watson)

family dynamics: sibling rivalry, dead parents, orphans

criminal networks (emotions?) connected to disused transport routes  (bodily functions?)

the mysterious character M lurks in the background and pulls the strings of a criminal network (Mycroft, Moriarty, Mary, Moran, Magnusson, Molly, Mummy, ME//Sherlock himself? His own worst enemy?)

people behind masks .... a veiled attacker with a sword, a masked escapist who needs to break free in time before he gets shot, a masked attacker from behind … all of them from the ‘East’

a dangerous ‘dragon’ also from the East (because every ‘dragon slayer’ needs his dragon?)

a sister from the East who knows how to decipher the code

key-locations:  high up in the sky (bank//Bart’s roof//CAM Tower) and underground (dragon den black tramway//Sumatra Station//London Aquarium)

things sitting behind glass that should be out in the open and used

the art of tea making

being observed and the sign of the eye (X X)

assassins pretending to kill Sherlock but don't do it because they want something from him

the period of …  ‘five years ago’ 

a desired relationship that doesn’t come to pass

John fighting with a ‘machine’ (Sherlock?)

German language (X)

things coming in pairs (X)

secret tattoos

spiderwebs (X)

pouring water, rain, spilled water by Sherlock as well as his attacker

cats (golden lucky cats and lions) 

a dog (Chow-Chow) hiding in plain sight

the colour yellow (X X)

William (one of 13 by the end of TAB)

Most likely this list could be continued ….

THE GREAT GAME

This episode looks very much like a chapter list for the whole story.

The ‘cold’ cases in combination with the new ones become very explosive. As it turns out in the end, every single case is connected to or planned by Jim Moriarty, the master criminal who later calls himself Mr. Sex.

The episode starts with a case in Minsk, the East (the past?) which Sherlock dismisses. Then 221b is hit by a massive explosion from the outside and right after that, Mycroft turns up with an urgent case regarding the missing plans for a very important defense system … called the Bruce-Partington-Plans. Sherlock pretends to dismiss this case too. Instead he puts his ‘best man’ - John - onto it. 

5 PIPS - 5 DOUBLE-CASES .... A CHAPTER LIST for 5 SERIES?

The explosion opposite 221b reveals a pink phone (identical to that in ASIP but new) and leads to a series of cold cases, each one announced by a backwards countdown of five Greenwich pips. And each of those cold cases starts with the abduction of a seemingly random person … 

a middle-aged woman

a young man

a blind old lady

a child

John Watson

Sherlock has to solve the cold cases in time, in order to prevent the death of the victims who are strapped to vests full of explosive material. Sherlock is eager to play that game, assuming he knows who is behind it.

The first pip - the first case - Series ????

A pair of shoes, dissappeared twenty years ago, reappears mysteriously in the basement 221C Baker Street (Sherlock’s subconscious?). They lead Sherlock back in time to his first case … the unacknowledged and therefore still unsolved death of Carl Powers, a champion swimmer who had a fit in the water and drowned during a school tournament. During the investigation Sherlock makes the aquaintance of ‘Jim from IT’. Though Sherlock can prove in time that Carl Powers had indeed been murdered, the identity of the murderer stays in the dark. 

The bombing victim - a middle-aged woman sitting in a car on a car park -  survives.

The first of the Greenwich pip cases feels suspiciously like the beginning of a story that stays unsolved and is still untold by the end of The Final Problem in Series Four.

The second pip - the second case - Series Two

Banker Ian MONKford disappears. Only the car he rented a day before his disappearance turns up with a lot of MONKford’s blood on the seat. It doesn’t take long for Sherlock to deduce that the missing man has faked his death, that his wife is in on the plan and that the car hire company JanusCars has helped with the execution of the fraud … including MONKford’s journey to Columbia in South America. Special feature of interest: half of Columbia is dominated by the high summits of the Andes (5775m) and sadly, that country is also one of the largest exporter of cocain worldwide.

The bombing victim - a young man standing on a traffic island at Piccadilly Circus - survives.  

The second of the Greewich pip cases has a lot in common with Sherlock’s own fake suicide and the events following The Reichenbach Fall. Fake blood on a ‘borrowed’ body (car). People being in on the plan. Janus-faced Mycroft and his agents providing the means for Sherlock to go undercover … at first apparently in Tibet (according to the following episodes MHR and TEH). Sherlock lives, disguised as a MONK, in a monastery high up in the Himalayan mountains, where he exposes a blond drug smuggler who had infiltrated the monks. 

The third pip - the third case - Series Three

Connie Prince, a media TV star and famous for her ‘make-over’ (cover up) programmes, dies. After a quick investigation, Sherlock knows that she has been murdered by Raoul de Santos, her house boy, who is the lover of Connie’s brother Kenny. After a severe dispute the ‘big’ sister threatened to disiherit the brother, whom she constantly bullied and ridiculed. Raoul de Santos, who had grown accustomed to a certain lifestyle, took revange and poisoned his lover’s  sister. Sherlock solves the case and Raoul de Santos goes to prison while Kenny stays back with Sekhmet, his sister’s cat. 

The  bombing victim - a blind, old lady - dies, because she starts to describe the bomber’s soft voice. The presumed gas explosion, caused by a shot at the explosive filled vest the old lady was wearing, claims 12 lives in total. 

The third of the Greewich pip cases resurfaces again in Series Three in form of a multilayered story carried out by several character mirrors … vividly indicated by the refelctions on the mirror panes in HLV. Basically this happens: the case doesn’t start but ends with a ‘big one’ being murdered ... Magnusson (’son of the great’), the media mogul who bullies, ridicules and blackmails anyone whom he deems useful for his purposes. Magnusson threatens to expose Mary’s secret, which she fears could cause the break-up of her established relationship with John. But it is Sherlock who decides that a certain lifestyle should be maintained. He takes revange, kills Magnusson and is ready to go to prison/exile while Mary stays back with John.

The fourth pip - the fourth case - Series Four

The case of Alex Woodbridge, a security man who loved to gaze through big lenses at the stars, before he was suffocated and thrown into the water of the Thames, leads Sherlock to the painting of an old master. Sherlock knows right from the start that it is fake but he still has to prove it. The Golem, a killer who is known for executing people with his big hands, is hired to keep the secret of the fake painting. He tries to stop Sherlock as well, but John comes to his aid. The Golem escapes. Time is quickly running out. In contrast to the privious cases, the bombing victim, a child, is only revealed near the end. But no visuals are given. Just a scared voice on a phone calling for help. No location where the abducted child is held captive either. Instead Sherlock is confronted with a countdown from 10 to 1. He finds the required proof in the very last seconds … the Van Buren Supernova …. a massive explosion that happened not earlier but later than indicated. 

Sherlock solves that case and the child survives.

The fourth of the Greenwich pip cases contains several key elements which play also an important role in Serious Four. There is a strong connection to water: ‘When does the path we walk on lock around our feet? When does the road become a river with only one destination?’. Fake identities (masks/spray tan) are revealed. A serial killer appears, who prefers to suffocate people with his bare hands. Scared children are begging for help, either high up in the sky on a falling plane or deep down in the ground in a flooding well. Old family paintings and modern family pictures are moved into focus. There’s a countdown from 10 to1. A massive explosion, caused by the so called ‘patience (passions) grenade’, hits 221b. One could describe that explosion as ‘postponed’ because it could have happened earlier in the story … at the pool where little Carl died …. at Guy Fawkes Night under the parliament … but it happens later.

The fifth pip - the fifth case - Series Five?

The fifth case is a hidden one. There is no Greenwich pip for it. The case starts before all the other cases, right after 221b is hit by the explosion across the street … where the canonical ‘empty house’ is located. It is Mycroft who brings that case to Baker Street. Plans for a very important defence system have gone missing … the Bruce Partington plans. It’s the case Sherlock pretends to dismiss. He lets Mycroft believe that he has put John onto it. He doesn’t tell John anything either. Sherlock keeps completely silent about that one and tries to keep everyone in the dark. But it seems that Sherlock is very well aware of the importance of this case …. the case of the stolen DEFENCE SYSTEM plans. 

In contrast to the previous four Greenwich pip cases, which are each treated in one block, the individual parts of the Bruce Partington case are embedded in the others. After Mycroft has delivered the basis informations, three visual scenes are presented, each one accompanied by the sounds of a barking dog:

1 - While Sherlock investigates Carl Powers’ shoes, John visits Mycroft to get more details about the Bruce Partington case. The visuals appear in form of a flashback. That flashback is followed by Sherlock who still investigates the shoes and now discovers the poison involved in the murder of Carl Powers.

2 - A text message from Mycroft reaches John right after he has completed his investigations at Woodbridge’s flat. At the same time Sherlock turns up at the Hickman Gallery and talks to Mrs. Wenceslas. John visits Westie’s and Lucy’s flat to gain more informations regarding the missing plans. When he comes back to Baker Street, Sherlock already waits for him and they set out to the Vauxhall Arches, where they will meet the Golem.

3 - Right after Sherlock has solved the Van Buren Supernova case, John receives another impatient text message from Mycroft but only after wrapping the Van Buren case in Scotland Yard, he is able to investigate the railway tracks where Westie was found dead. Sherlock joins him there and though he admitts that he hadn’t dismissed his brother’s case at all, he doesn’t reveal anything else. Together they visit Joe Harrison’s flat and Sherlock confronts the man with his investigations. A flashback accompanies Joe’s confession and reveals what really happened to Westie and the Bruce Partington plans. 

Now Sherlock has the missing plans in his hands. Yet, he doesn’t reveal the true meaning of the case. Instead he misleads John even more by claiming that his brother’s case had been nothing but a ‘distraction of the game’ and that the last Greenwich pip is still missing.

SHERLOCK: Distraction over, the game continues. JOHN: Well, maybe that’s over, too. We’ve heard nothing from the bomber. SHERLOCK: Five pips, remember, John? It’s a countdown. We’ve only had four.

And when John asks him about the whereabouts of the plans, Sherlock tells him another downright lie and pretends that he has returned the plans into his brothers hands.

JOHN: Have you given Mycroft the memory stick yet? SHERLOCK: Yep. He was over the moon. Threatened me with a knighthood – again.

But the very moment John has left the flat, Sherlock contacts the mysterious bomber and arranges a secret meeting to hand over the Bruce Partington plans … interestingly at the same pool where once little Carl Powers died. This means that Sherlock associates the plans of the DEFENSE SYSTEM not only with the outstanding fifth pip but also with the first pip of ‘the great game’. And his first words at the pool confirm, that it’s not his brother’s case which Sherlock considers to be the ‘distraction’ but the other cases of the ‘game’.

SHERLOCK: Brought you a little getting-to-know-you present. Oh, that’s what it’s all been for, hasn’t it? All your little puzzles; making me dance – all to distract me from this.

Despite Sherlock’s conviction that he knows what’s going on, a completely unexpected surprise awaits him at the pool. The bomber finally reveals himself as criminal mastermind Jim Moriarty (the former Jim from IT). He admits that he is the one responsible for Carl’s death twenty years ago as well as being the creative mind behind the ‘great game’. Shockingly, the fifth bombing victim turns out to be John.

There is no solution for the fifth case in The Great Game. The episode ends on an explosive cliffhanger. A stand-off between consulting detective and consulting criminal. No one dies because Irene Adler - Mrs. Sex - enters the stage per phone call, before Sherlock can bring himself to shoot the bomb vest … and kill them all. 

The most interesting features of the FIFTH CASE …. especially with regards to a possible FIFTH SERIES of Sherlock BBC

There is no Greenwich pip for the fifth case:

maybe because the last case is actually also the first case?

the end runs a full circle back to the beginning?

Two main characters are dramatically moved into focus:

Dr. John Watson - good old Dr. Watson, the one fixed point in a changing age

Jim Moriarty - the changable criminal mastermind who calls himself Reichenbach … Rich Brook

The fifth case connects two different cases:

an old one (the twenty years old murder of Carl Powers)

a modern one (the missing Bruce-Partington Plans - the very important DEFENSE SYSTEM of the government) 

The fifth case also combines two ‘first cases’:  

the missing shoes of Carl Powers, found in 221c Baker Street, are marked with the first of the Greenwich pips. Additional this case is called ‘Sherlock’s first case’, the case where he began. 

Mycroft’s request/order to retrieve the missing Bruce-Partington Plans, is the first case for Sherlock after the explosion opposite 221 Baker Street

Both cases ultimately end(ed) in the water of the same pool

Carl Powers 

Bruce-Partington Plans

Both cases are initiated by Jim Moriarty … Rich Brook … Reichenbach

All in all ... the case of the missing DEFENSE SYSTEM is defined by absolute secrecy. Sherlock lies, conceals, deflects and hides his intentions and actions from the moment the case is presented to him. He tells no one, confides in no one … not even John. 

Sherlock assumes he knows … and yet, what a massive rug pull is waiting for him at the pool ….

Deep waters, Sherlock, all your life. In all your dreams. Deep waters. 

Related earlier posts regarding the idea of TGG functioning as a ‘chapter list’: FOUR STAGES & FOUR CASES (stages inside stages) and THE FIVE HOSTAGES (foreshadowing of five episodes). 

I leave you to your own deductions. Thanks @callie-ariane for the scripts. 

The three promo pics for S1 (ASIP, TBB, TGG) can be found here

December, 2018

@gosherlocked @sherlockshadow @sarahthecoat @possiblyimbiassed @raggedyblue @sagestreet @loveismyrevolution @spenglernot @devoursjohnlock @waitedforgarridebs

[another-day]

hey gang, guess what time it is, for the last time in season 3....

EPISODE IN REVIEW - THE SEASON THREE FINALE!!!!

spoilers for episode 19 of inanimate insanity invitational!!!!!!!!!!!

oh. my. gosh.

this was such a beautiful episode, most things felt resolved and it was just SO GOOD

if you didn't see my previous posts, i was up at 2am to watch this episode due to timezones, and it was so so worth it. let's begin!!!!!

oh the character development is amazing, this versus how lost he was at the beginning of season two is just so interesting and amazing to see. i'm so so proud.

full honesty, i have a lot of trouble emotion-wise, and hearing this kinda caught me off guard because, as much as i'd like to ignore it, springy's never been anything more than a villain to me.

it helped me realise that, yeah, springy is another character like everyone else, and they have feelings, and they have capacity for goodness. it really got me thinking, especially since this line really had me relating to them. but ah well, onwards!!!!

seeing cabby get pissed was really funny, but also she's turning the broken insult walkie talkie presented to mephone in the last episode. it was very very cool, a reclamation of power really.

can you tell i like cabby

also this was such a pivotal moment for her, and as someone who apologises for literally anything people deem wrong, this was incredibly inspirational and soooo cool to see.

the poor guy, he's been nothing but berated this whole episode

the way i literally almost screamed at two in the morning i was shivering and shaking throughout the entire episode and this was like my sould left my body HE'S BACK and oohhhhohohohoo GUYS GUYS GUYS

this was such a beautiful scene; a robot who sacrificed himself for a happy ending for so many others encouraging another robot whom was the living result of his sacrifice to embrace the life he has. THEY DRIVE ME MAD DO YOU SEE?????????

NAME DROP!!!! also i think this is the first time he's acknowledged cobs in reference to his own actions, he's coming to terms with his memories and experiences, and realising he can learn from them GOODNESS do you see what i am saying BOTH THIS AND MEPHONE 4S's SPEECH ARE ENCOURAGING HIM TO LOOK PAST HIS MISTAKES, AND NOT DWELL ON THE PAST

does this mean mephone's finally gonna treat toilet like an actual person, WHO FREAKING KNOWS!!!!! but i really hope he does i really do

guuuuyyyyss stop i'm going to cryyyyy LOOK AT THEIR LITTLE MESSED UP MARRIAGE PLEASEEEEE

i had to squeal so quietly when i saw this BUT YAAAAY MY LOVELY LITTLE CABBY WON!!!!!!! i was so happy she absolutely deserved this and its so symbolic that test tube's vote ended up being the deciding factor and AGH i'm so happy!!!!!

SHE'S SO CUTE SHE'S LITERALLY THE BEST I LOVE HER DEARLY

they're so silly and so supportive of one another, and the fact that even with balloon considering himself a more self assured person and more independent, nickel's still willing to stick by his side to cheer him up!!!

guys them look at them

"Or of..." HER OR OF HER FREAKING OUT GUYS this guy's so silly and i'm so glad they're getting along again <3333

marriage

their sweet little family i love them dearly

communication is key !! this was very cute and i'm so glad they're getting along again

THE TEETH DETAIL they're literally spoiling me dude

GUYS THEY MADE YURI REAL i love them so so so so much

because of course she'd put her prize towards a knowledge bank for everyone, cabby's such a gem you guys i love her so much

i'm so glad they're getting along now, they're such a silly pair!!!

i literally almost cried when i saw this, mephone 4's reconstructing all these things that made him feel like he was useless to push himself forward, and its so beautiful to see, i'm probably gonna print this out and put it on my wall because its so meaningful and just UGH

the heroic pose, the self assured smile, ready for anything

this was a beautiful way to cap off the season because there he goes !! its so exciting!!!!

he's gonna need it girl lets hope the season 2 finalists didn't go insane

WAAAAAAAAAAH they used the the track "don't leave me until i find my way back to you" and the way i almost sobbed my little heart out that was such a beautiful homage and track and GOODNESS!!!!!!

overall this was a great episode. though i feel some dynamics, such as mephone 4 with 4s, and silver spoon with candle weren;t explored nearly as much as i would've liked, they crew really did an amazing job on this episode.

thank you so much for all your hard work inanimate insanity crew, and i'm so excited to see the rest of season two and how it'll play out!!!

till then, i'll see you next time ooooonnn episode in review!!!!

(bada bada duuuuum!!!)

[chipsfics]

Part 3 - Discovery/Creativity

Part 3 is here! 

Rated: PG-13 (heavy themes, swearing)

WARNING! this chapter contains light mentions of self harm! please do not read if this will upset you! 

~~~~ The next morning, It was surprisingly quiet- Everyone was doing their own thing, most were sleeping in due to the lazy feeling that comes with most sundays. Yinyang, of course, slept in. They were technically not allowed to leave the hotel until the game was over- But Yinyang didn't really have anywhere to go anyway. Even if he decided to go "home", he didn't have anything for him there- Everything he'd left behind didn't mean anything to him. The other contestants, though, were obviously itching for the show to finally close it's curtains. Cherries, Yinyang's roommate, spent most of their time bouncing ideas off each other and having dull conversations in almost frightening synchrony.

From what Yinyang overheard, they were getting impatient when it came to Inanimate Insanity's finale. In a way, Yinyang and Cherries were similar, but in a lot of ways they absolutely weren't. For one thing, the Cherries got along. Of course, things were okay. Yinyang was used to being cooped up, be it in his own mind, his own body- And Tissues obviously felt the same. He didn't get out much, for obvious reasons. Yinyang got up, yawning, stretching, and blinking slowly to life- It was around 1pm, and once they got up and fought for a little while over which toothbrush to use, they finally finished up their morning routine and exited their room. To their surprise, they found Tissues slumped against the wall next to their door, clutching a half full water bottle and snoring gently. Yinyang debated whether to wake him up. Eventually Yinyang nudged his shoulder gently.

"H...Wuhuh.." Tissues blinked awake and looked around.

"Tissues! What're you doing out here?" Yinyang said. "Are you alright?"

"Oh uhhh..." Tissues slowly seemed to be coming alive. "Wha.... Oh yeah, I- Sniff. Walked over here this mornin' and tried to knock on your door, but you guyse didn't answer. So i just waited," Tissues wiped his nose. "I guess i fell asleep. Was that... okay? Did i do something wrong?"

"Oh, no no, it's alright!" Yin reassured him. "Why did you come here in the first place?" Yang said plainly.

"I wanted to thank you," Tissues said, heaving himself up into a standing position. "For being so nice to me yesterday. I don't think I would be feeling so much better now if it weren't for you guyse," Tissues wobbled a bit, holding his head. "I mean... i still feel bad, but..." There was a small silence.

"O-oh. It's no problem," Yinyang answered bashfully. "Anything for a friend!" Yin added.

"A friend?" Tissues smiled, his eyes having a strange twinkle in them. Yinyang couldn't help but smile at his goofiness. 

"Are you... Alright?? Do you need help getting back to your room?" Yin said, concerned. 

"Hhuuhhh.. No. I wasn't gonna- I was gonna- uhh. ask if you wanted to uhhh. Hang out? Cause I was out of commission yesterday." Tissues stuttered.

"Well sure," Yinyang said, shrugging. "But what would we do?" 

"Thats the thing. I didn't think of anything before i fell asleep," Tissues laughed awkwardly.

"Oh." Yinyang giggled. "We could just see if there's anything on downstairs,"

"Sure thing." Tissues smiled, and grabbed Yinyang's hand.

Down the elevator, through twisting orange-yellow hallways, two friends holding hands less out of affection and more just so they don't separate. Tissues' head suddenly jolted to the side and he stopped suddenly, inertia causing Yinyang to bump into him. This time the sheer force from the collision sent Tissues face first into the hotel carpet. 

"God damnit." Yang cursed. "Be nice," Yin said, which earned him a small slap in the face. "Are you okay, Tissues?"

"HAAHH-" Tissues heaved himself up. "What is that?" Tissues pointed to a spot of orange wallpaper, near the floor in a small, slightly secluded corner of the hotel hallway.

"What is what?" Yang said, looking at where he was pointing. Upon closer inspection, the place where Tissues was pointing at looked... strange. Under the wallpaper, there seemed to be a small square imprint of something that looked a lot like a miniature door. 

"Wait, you're right. There's definitely something there," Yinyang said.

Tissues scooted up closer to it on his knees and inspected the strange imprint. "It looks like something was wallpapered over here."

"Let's rip it open," Yang said devilishly. "No!! We don't know what it is," Yin said. 

"Don't you wanna know, though?" Yang responded. "But- It might be private! Or dangerous," Yin said back. While the two were busy arguing, Tissues was already picking away at the wallpaper until he found somewhere where he could start ripping.

RRRIIIPPP... The wallpaper was surprisingly weak and yielded easily. The two halves instantly dropped their argument when they saw what was behind the wallpaper- A small wooden door made of darkly stained wood. It looked old, and the doorknob was missing. Just as they had expected- a mystery door. It was much too small for anyone to fit into, but it seemed like it could be pried open... What could possibly be inside?

"Should we open it?" Tissues said.

"No! We've seen enough. What if we get in trouble with OJ?" Yin whined. "So? Admit it, you also want to see what's behind there." Yang responded, obviously annoyed.

"We're not opening it." Yin said seriously. 

"I'm gonna open it," Tissues said.

"Not you too, Tissues!" Yin gasped. Yang laughed. "Yes, yes open it!" He said, baring his sharp teeth. 

Tissues tried to dig his fingers into the doorframe to open it up, and it came open easy as if it were magic. The inside was completely dark, an almost inky blackness- and the way the light was positioned wasn't illuminating what was inside. Tissues' jaw hung open. A small spider crawled out of the hole in a hurry, and he stumbled back in surprise.

"Woah... What do you think .... Do you have your phone..? We could use the flashlight." Yinyang said, and Tissues fumbled a bit before he reached up and plunged his hand into the top of his head, the slit where the actual tissue part of Tissues is dispensed- and he rummaged around inside himself for a couple seconds, much to Yinyang's surprise. Tissues pulled out his phone after a couple seconds, powering it on and struggling for a couple seconds before turning on the flashlight function. The beam of light cut through the darkness like a hot knife through butter. Both of them peered into the doorway.

The inside was almost empty, save for a large stack of what appeared to be magazines. The walls were made of bare planks of wood with insulation peeking through the cracks- as well as a huge pipe going along the back. After a couple seconds of hushed, awed silence, Tissues reached in and pulled out the large stack. It was covered in a thick layer of dust, as if nobody had touched it in a long time. Tissues blew on it, and dust flew into the air. 

"HACK- COUGH, COUGH... HUHH.." Tissues examined the cover of the top magazine. It seemed to be very old- The paper was yellowed and it appeared to be a wildlife magazine. The cover was plastered all over with still- vibrant green flora with several small purple bugs resting on the leaves of the cover- Tissues held it up and Yinyang leaned in close to inspect the cover further. In big, black, blocky font was the name of the magazine in some kind of unfamiliar foreign language. 

"Woah.... What's this doing here?" Tissues said. "Who do you think is hiding these?" He said, moving on to the next magazine, which seemed similar, but this time it appeared to be a magazine about cars- Super old ones. The next one was almost the same, except it looked to be a modeling and makeup magazine. All of them were in the same foreign language- which looked similar to Chinese or Korean.

"What in the world..?" Yinyang said. "Who knew... Stuff like this was hiding in the hotel. It was only built a couple years ago, and..." Yinyang trailed off mid-sentence when they flipped to a magazine that appeared to be advertising the very first Melife products. Big bulky computers, old monitors, and even the very first Flip MePhone were sprawled across the cover. "Woah.. This one's super old,"

"Do you think anyone would mind if we took these?" Tissues said aloud. "I think it'd be cool if we could look at em in detail," He continued. "But I don't know how to read this. Do you know what language this is?" 

"Hmm. I don't know, actually." Yinyang said. "We don't speak anything but English and Italian." 

"Hmmm.... I'll ask OJ about them. You two wait here and guard the magazines, I'm pretty sure I know where he's at." Tissues said, getting up. Before he could leave, Yinyang grabbed his wrist with a certain forcefulness. 

"No. It's okay," Yinyang said, deadpan, without looking Tissues in the eyes.. "I really wanna read these. We'll return them later, I promise." 

Tissues seemed a bit offput. "Wha.... Well... um... uhh. Sure," Tissues laughed. He wasn't about to start to argue. He sat back down and noticed that Yinyang was staring at a particular magazine. It was at the very bottom of the pile,

and looked to be a lot newer- It was in English too. It seemed like a crafting magazine, with buttons and sewing supplies on the cover. Yinyang was seemingly fixated on another fact, though, which was that a large white piece of paper was tucked in between two of the pages. He pulled it out slowly and saw that there was handwriting scrawled hastily on it in marker- Also in English. 

"TRY MAKING A COLLAGE"

The two objects just stared at it in awe. "This thing just keeps getting weirder," Tissues said aloud. "Who do you think these are for?" 

"I have no idea," Yinyang said, "Do you think...? Maybe whoever left it here was just waiting for someone to find it," 

"Maybe." Tissues said. "I still say we ask OJ,"

"Are you kidding? He'll kill us," Yang said. "We shouldn't have opened the door in the first place. But i agree, the last thing we need is him to be mad at us." Yin continued.

"You've got a point." Tissues said. "Do you want to.... Y'know, take them? The magazines?"

"Yeah, let's hurry. It's only a little while before someone notices and asks what we're doing," Yinyang said harshly. 

"Hehe, our first mystery adventure together!" Tissues said, giggling in a hushed voice. He stacked the magazines hurriedly, giving half the stack to his partner in crime before they made a break for it. Tissues closed the small door behind him using his foot. The entire time running, Tissues was trying his best to keep up with his rushed gait that was less like a run and more like a waddle.

Up the elevator, through twisting orange-yellow hallways, and back to where they started from. The only person who caught them on the way up was Pickle- But he was absorbed in his headphones and didn't seem to really care what the two weirdos were up to. Once they got to their door- Tissues dropped the stack he was carrying and wiped the sweat off his forehead, trying to catch his breath. 

"Ok, we're here, you got it from here?" Tissues said, out of breath. “Huff, huff..” Yinyang opened the door, and the Cherries were sitting in bed and reading 2 copies of the same book. He hastily sneaked past the twins, and placed the stack next to his bed, Tissues trailing after him. Yinyang flopped onto his bed and sighed.

"That was stressful!" Yin cried. "Well we made it," Yang continued. 

"That was surely something," Tissues said, giggling. "I feel like i could take on the world... That was the most adventure i've had like, ever." Tissues climbed into Yinyang's bed and tucked himself in. "Goodnight, i'm going to bed and never getting up ever. My life is complete." Yinyang laughed and shoved him. He slipped and fell off the bed with a yelp.

"Hey! That was mean." Tissues said, laughing.

"Sorry!" Yin said, giggling and kicking the covers off so he could reach down and help Tissues crawl back up onto their bed. Tissues stumbled and ended up uncomfortably close to Yinyang's face, both of them starting to blush. Yinyang laughed, the same crystal clear, genuine laugh- Tissues couldn't help but smile as a warm feeling flooded his chest. Was this what having friends was like? 

The rest of the night was spent together with the TV on. Cherries didn't seem to mind.

~~~~

WARNING: The next part has slight mentions of self harm. Beware and don’t read if this will upset you!

~~~~

By the time Yinyang woke up, Tissues was gone. He just assumed that he'd gone back to his room- Tissues' sleep schedule was entirely unpredictable. One of the many symptoms of his condition- Wait, his condi-shawn, but Yinyang always tended to sleep in. Even when he wanted to get up early, One half always argued to sleep longer until the other half gave in. He tossed and turned in his sleep a lot. 

Yinyang woke up, cracked his knuckles, and looked over to the side of the bed. The magazines were still there, untouched, in the same haphazard skewed stack- The note kept echoing in their minds. Something so special, something so personal was living right under his nose in the hotel and he didn't even notice? The spiritual side of Yinyang couldn't help but think that the note was for him. A sign of some kind. It didn't help that it was so plainly ordering him to do something. 

"TRY MAKING A COLLAGE"

The phrase bounced around inside his head like a ping pong ball. He sighed and got up, reaching his hand in between his mattress and his box spring- Rummaging around and pulling out an old pair of metal scissors with a black plastic handle. Yinyang looked at it and frowned, looked back at his wrist, which was scarred with criss-crosses, and put the scissors on his bedside table. It'd been a long time since he had last hurt himself, and he was determined to give that old pair of scissors new life. This was the most in sync his two halves had felt in a long time. Yin and Yang tend to get along well when they decide that something is serious. He got up out of bed, went downstairs clinging to the metal handle the entire way down, and knocked on the door of OJ's office.

"What is it?" OJ's voice answered from behind the door.

"It's just us. Can we borrow something?" 

"Yinyang? What do you want?" OJ said, walking over to the door and opening it. 

"Can we borrow some paper and some glue?" Yinyang said bashfully.

"What for?" OJ said, looking Yinyang up and down inquisitively. 

"A.... collage." Yinyang said quietly.

"A what?" OJ said.

"It'sforacollage," Yinyang said again.

"Huh?"

"It's for. a. collage." Yinyang said, avoiding eye contact.

"Oh. Sure! I didn't take you as the arts and crafts type," OJ teased.

"Shut up or i'll drink you," Yang growled.

"Jeez, don't get snippy. I'll bring that out for ya, just give me a second. I've only got glue sticks, if that's okay?" OJ said. "And I don't have any magazines or pictures or anything like that. Do you have your own?"

"Yup. Sounds good," Yin said cheerily. "I'll bring everything back that I don't use,"  

OJ turned around and looked inside one of his file cabinets- His office was usually cluttered and he only spent about an hour a day in there managing the hotel. He got what he needed, and handed Yinyang a medium sized piece of posterboard and a gluestick with the seal still unbroken. Yinyang nodded and grabbed them.

"Thanks!" He said.

"No problem!" OJ said, sighing and closing the office door behind him. Yinyang made their way back to their bedroom, thinking about what they were going to make. Yin and Yang had different ideas- But in their mindscape, they seemed to coexist and mash together into something wonderful and surreal, blending together into a mash of words and sounds and pictures. Before they knew it, they were sitting down sprawled on their bedroom floor organizing magazine clippings.

Yinyang just cut out anything that caught his eye. It felt good to be holding these scissors to make something beautiful and passionate instead of using them for harm- Most of the clippings he ended up cutting out were from the first 3 that he grabbed from the pile. 

After that, it was just blur of scissors, paper and glue- He cut out every single Melife product almost surgically and filled their screens with butterflies. Cluttered imagery of thick vines twisting around scientific diagrams of the brain, monochrome intertwined with overgrown flora. His halves were working independently but smoothly communicating with one another- They had different visions, but the purpose of the collage as an art form is to combine things together into a slurry of emotions and vivid images. Once he was done, the finished collage was giant, beautiful and terrifying, a lot of the clippings hanging off of the edges of the posterboard.

Yinyang sat back and just stared at it for a while. He should make collages more often.

~~~~

About an hour later, Yinyang's MePhone started to vibrate and ring violently, and he jumped. Looking at the screen, it was an unsaved number- But he didn't usually get calls, so he answered it. "Hello?" "Uhhhhh Hai guyse, what's your favorite pizza topping?" It was unmistakably Tissues. "Ummm... Olives?" They said. "Ok BAI GUYSE!" Tissues said and immediately hung up the phone. Huh. Weird.

~~~~

[bcimbatmandude]

More Human Than Meets the Eye-ch. 5-A Study in Pink, Part Four

A/N: This is the last one for today and then we’ll be all caught up until I type the next one, which will be very soon! Thank you all so much for reading!! Enjoy!!

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Previously: "Yeah, but if you were really, really clever.." his voice trailed away. "Jennifer Wilson running all those lovers; she was clever. She's trying to tell us something."

Just then, Mrs. Hudson walked into the room. "Isn't the doorbell working? Your taxi's here, Sherlock."

SHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH

Adaline frowned at Mrs. Hudson's words. That was odd…no one had called for a taxi that she knew of. "I didn't order a taxi," Sherlock confirmed her thoughts. "Go away." Adaline glared at her father for his tone of voice. The woman was merely trying to help.

"Oh dear. They're making such a terrible mess," the landlady fretted. "What are they looking for?" "It's a drugs bust, Mrs. Hudson," John supplied patiently. Adaline was a bit surprised when a very worried look came over the older woman's face. "But they're just for my hip!" she cried, gesturing to the mentioned body part. "They're herbal soothers!"

The blonde haired child's face now adopted a puzzled look, wondering why Mrs. Hudson would be so concerned about her medicine. She looked over at John in question, but the doctor was pointedly looking away from her.

"Shut up!" her father yelled suddenly. "Everybody, shut up! Don't move, don't speak, don't breathe. I'm trying to think. Anderson, I need you, especially, to face the other way. You're putting me off." "What?" Anderson cried, obviously affronted. "My face is?!"

Adaline could not for the life of her stop the giggles that erupted when she glanced at Anderson's face, and in all honesty, she wouldn't have stopped them even if she'd had the ability to. She did have the decency to cover her mouth though, not that it did much good.

Anderson heard the freak's daughter start to laugh and scowled. She was laughing at him. Embarrassment filled the man and he threw the girl a very dark look.

Adaline had a feeling that if looks could kill, she would either not be breathing any longer, or would've at least found herself extremely maimed judging by the level of scowl she was receiving from the officer at the moment. It was quite obvious just how much the man despised her. Her glee at Anderson's plight only grew when John, having looked over in time to catch the exchange between the two, casually stepped into Anderson's line of vision, ceasing his ability to glare at the Holmes girl any longer. John lifted an eyebrow, silently warning him. Anderson seemed to understand what wasn't being said, wisely looking away.

"Anderson!" the officer jumped when his boss addressed him in a gruff voice. "Turn your back," the Inspector ordered. Anderson opened his mouth to protest, but Lestrade, having had enough, snapped. "Your back! Now, please!" "Oh for God's sake!" he cried, but did as his boss instructed.

"Come on," Sherlock murmured to himself. "Think, quickly!" "What about your taxi?" Mrs. Hudson said worriedly. "MRS. HUDSON!" Sherlock shouted, entirely fed up with the interruptions, making Adaline and the older woman both jump. Mrs. Hudson gasped and hurried downstairs.

Sherlock had been furiously pacing back and forth when suddenly he stopped, whipping around to stare at his daughter in excitement. He ignored the glare she was throwing him for his treatment towards their land lady, telling himself he would apologize to the woman later.

"Oh," he began, eyes lighting up. "She was clever, clever, Adaline. Yes!" He turned and faced the entire room. "She's much cleverer than you lot and she's dead. Do you see, do you get it? She didn't lose her phone. She never lost it. She planted it on him." He began to pace yet again. "When she got out of the car, she knew she was going to her death. She left the phone in order to lead us to her killer."

"But how?" Lestrade threw in. "What…?" Sherlock asked him, truly stumped at Lestrade's ignorance. "What do you mean, how?"

Lestrade hesitated for a second and then shrugged helplessly. "Rachel!" Sherlock provided, looking around the room triumphantly. He visibly deflated when he was only met with blank stares. "Don't you see? Rachel!" he repeated, as if that would help them suddenly understand everything.

Nothing.

"Oh, look at you lot," he sneered, utterly disgusted at the lack of intelligence before him. "You're all so vacant. Is it nice not being me? It must be so relaxing."

"Dad."

Sherlock heard his daughter call to him, her voice low and soothing. Calm.

The father immediately stopped and forced himself to take a deep breath inward. John took note of the fact that when Sherlock next spoke, the venom in his voice was no longer present. The doctor looked over at the little girl, intrigued at the power she apparently had over the headstrong man.

"John, on the luggage, there's a label. Email address."

The shorter man didn't bother asking questions and walked over to the luggage, locating the label and reading out the address. "It's uh…jennie dot pink at mephone dot org dot uk." Adaline watched her father stride over and sit down in front of the computer screen. "Rachel is not a name," he said simply, typing in the website. "I've been too slow," he scolded himself. "She didn't have a laptop, which means she did her business on her phone, so it's a smart phone. It's email enabled."

John watched as Sherlock pulled up the Mephone's website. "So there was a website for her account," the detective continued. "The username is her email address…" Adaline thought hard, mentally sifting through all of the information they had gathered, and adding up the clues. Rachel isn't a name….

Finally, it clicked.

"Rachel is her password," she gasped out. Now that she had figured it out, she was able to view the entirety of the case, and felt foolish upon realizing how obvious it all was. She was disappointed at her slowness.

Her father however, held completely different feelings towards his daughter. "Oh how the mighty have fallen." Lestrade looked to him questioningly. "What kind of day must it be for you all when a child is able to grasp clues before the majority of the Scotland Yard?"

"So what?" A voice dared to say. Anderson. Of course. Adaline rolled her eyes. "We can read her emails." "Anderson please cease talking. You wound the IQ of the entire street." Sherlock didn't waste time even looking at the tiny minded officer. "We can do much more than read her emails. It's a smart phone. It's got GPS which means if you lose it, you can locate it online. She's leading us directly to the man who killed her."

Mrs. Hudson hesitantly peeked her upper half back in through the doorway. "Sherlock dear. This taxi driver…" Sherlock got up from the computer chair and walked over to the woman. "Mrs. Hudson, isn't it time for your evening soother?" Mrs. Hudson puffed angrily and left, heading back to her own flat.

Adaline stared after her worriedly, hoping very much that she wasn't too upset at her father's obstinate rudeness. She threw a sharp glare in his direction and got up from her armchair, heading for the doorway. "I'll see what he wants," she informed them. Her father glanced over and nodded at her absently.

The young girl threw on her trainers and headed downstairs. She absently chewed at her lip, her mind whirling. Adaline opened the door, sending a gust of cool London air into the warm flat, and peered outside. The curly haired girl confirmed that there was indeed a taxi sitting in front of the flat for them. An older man was leaning against the vehicle waiting patiently. He was wearing glasses, his hair was grey and he was sporting a driver's cap.

"Hello," Adaline greeted politely. Her mind began shooting out warning signals. Something about this situation didn't feel quite right..

"Hello," he welcomed back just as nicely, nodding to her. She cautiously stepped outside, closing the front door quietly behind her. "I think there's been a mistake," she informed the man, secretly studying him. She gathered information about him very quickly, beginning her deductions just as her father had taught her.

-Shaving cream left forgotten behind left ear. Most likely lives alone.

"We didn't call for a taxi," she conveyed sweetly.

-Clothes are clean but have several holes throughout the fabric; at least three years old. Not planning for the future

"Oh no," he agreed, shaking his head. "You didn't Miss Holmes." He smiled at her then. "But I believe your father did."

Alarmed, Adaline took a half step back before catching herself. She mentally shook herself and thought about what her father would do. She stepped closer to the man. "Who are you?" she asked, cutting straight to the chase. It was obvious the man had information they did not. The man smiled wider at the little girl's spunk, properly amused by the child.

"I'm just a taxi driver little miss," he said to her innocently. "No one important." "How do you know my dad?" she demanded. "You shouldn't worry about that," he tutted to her. He gestured to the cab. "How bout you get in the cab, and me, you, and your dad can take a nice little cab drive." "I think I might pass," Adaline said slowly, her mind practically screaming alarms at her now.

She began backing up towards the steps, her heart beating wildly. "Now calm down little miss," the cabbie soothed, taking a step in her direction. "I don't wanna hurt you and your dad. I'm just gonna talk to you." The man took another step towards her, and Adaline couldn't help herself.

She turned around quick as she could, shooting for the flat. Right before she made it to the door, she was grabbed from behind. The girl made to scream and the man threw a hand over her mouth. Adaline kicked and struggled against his arms to no avail. He slowly moved the two of them closer to his vehicle and Adaline, growing more desperate, bit the man's hand as hard as she could.

"Ah!" he gasped, his grip on her body lessening just a tiny bit. Adaline jumped on the opportunity and pushed the man away from her as hard as she could, running up the three steps that would bring her to safety. She made it to the top stop, her fingertips touching the door handle, when she was suddenly jerked off of her feet. She fell the ground face first, gasping as her forehead connected with the hard ground. The seven year old whimpered at the pain now flooding through her, tears coming to her eyes.

The man took advantage of her stillness and quite literally, began dragging her closer to him, causing her to scrape her hands and holes to form in the knees of her pajama bottoms as she weakly attempted to fight back. Her pitiful tugs were ignored though as the man finally was able to open the cab door, tossing the child roughly inside the backseat.

Adaline scampered as far away from the man as she could, cowering into the left corner of the backseat. Every ounce of the courage she felt earlier was gone, drained dry by the abuse she was receiving. The man panted and shook his hand, and she noticed with a bit of satisfaction that it was bleeding from where she'd bitten into it. "Sorry about your head, love," he apologized with false sympathy. "Would've been a bit gentler if you'd cooperated." Adaline bit her tongue and hugged herself tightly, wishing very much her father was with her.

The man smiled at her creepily one final time, and slammed the door.

Meanwhile, back inside the flat, Sherlock was staring disbelievingly at the computer screen. "How can the phone be here?" he inquired, voice rising. "How?"

"Maybe it was in the case and when you brought it back it fell out somehow," Lestrade offered. Sherlock scoffed. "What, and I didn't notice? Me? I didn't notice?" "Anyway," John turned to Lestrade. "We texted him and he called back." Lestrade began talking to his crew and Sherlock easily tuned them out, his mind going back to the conversation he'd had with John earlier.

Who do we trust, even if we don't know them? Who passes unnoticed wherever they go? Who hunts in the middle of the crowd?

Suddenly, Sherlock's phone dinged from inside of his coat. Sherlock removed his phone from his pocket, reading the text.

COME WITH ME.

Feeling eyes on him, Sherlock looked to his left towards the door way of the flat, only to see a strange man slowly making his way down the stairs to the front door.

"Sherlock, you okay?" he heard John ask. Absently he answered. "What? Yeah, yeah, I..I'm fine." "So how can the phone be here?"

"Dunno," Sherlock quietly answered, still watching the taxi driver. John walked over to his coat where his own phone was sitting inside his jacket pocket. "I'll try it again," he told the dark haired man.

"Good idea." Sherlock made his way to the door. "Where are you going?" John called to him, puzzled as to why he was leaving at such a crucial time. "Fresh air. Just popping outside for a moment. Won't be long."

"You sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine," Sherlock ended, and hurried down the stairs after the man.

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A/N: I hope I'm not making Adaline seem too grown. As I said, she is more mature than other 7 year olds. I would say that her maturity level is at least up to a teenagers. Saying that, she's gonna handle situations a lot differently than a normal 7 year old would. I just hope I'm portraying her well enough.

As always, the next chapter will be up very soon. I can try setting certain dates to upload the next chapters, but I don't think it would work, mainly because I'm just as excited to get the chapters out as you guys are to read them. Like, some authors choose to just post a chapter on a Saturday. I should try that so I can pace myself...buuut I don't think it's gonna work. Anyway, we'll see what happens.

Because I'm a mean person, I'm gonna pump you guys up for the next chapter before I go.

All I'm gonna say, is Sherlock ain't gonna be too happy to see his daughter in the back seat of this guy's car, bruised up and bleeding. Angry, protective father Sherlock will be bursting his way through in the next chapter. I'm excited myself to see what happens.

 As always, thank you guys so so much for your support of this story. Till next time!