#tld Molly

[donner-mathis-official]

Time to think about Molly because all of the characters in this game drive me insane with the little tidbits we get to know about them.

Ok so it’s pretty clearly hinted at that her husband was a terrible man that she didn’t want to marry (“I could have been something!”, really the whole conversation about his death), and directly stated that she very intentionally left him to die.

There are two things about her, though, that I really find fascinating. They’re more theory than outright, but I think I can back them up. Those are:

1) Molly tried to get out of the relationship as best she could with what she was given, long before the events of the game.

2) Molly knows that her murder spree is morally questionable, but has decided that even if it’s wrong, if she saves someone else from being hurt by a bad man, then it’s worth it.

Let’s start with the first one.

I firmly believe she talked to Father Thomas at some point about her relationship. He’s a religious leader, and, based on the fact that he was the one to gather people into the community centre, is probably a community leader as well. The type of person you go to when you need help. Molly says Father Thomas won’t help Astrid (indirectly but she has been roaming Pleasant Valley for a week post-first flare at time of our first entrance, so she must know he’s the only one there when she says “nobody there will help you”), and it tracks that he likely would not have helped her out of that relationship. Most Christian sects, to my knowledge, are against divorce to some degree, and we’ve seen that Father Thomas has no qualms with pushing his religious views onto others (making Astrid take the rosary). All of this together means it’s highly likely Molly tried to get out the “right” way first. She did everything she was supposed to, and still found herself stuck. Given that scenario, it’s obvious why, when the wolves gave her an out, she took it.

As for her knowing what she’s doing is wrong, I’d like to point to her asking if Mackenzie is one of the good ones. I absolutely love this line, because it says so much about who she is. It’s her offering Astrid something she was never given; a chance to get out. It’s her acknowledging that there are good men, and that she doesn’t want to kill them. That she only wants to kill the ones that will hurt people like she was hurt. Then following that up with “then I hope I never meet him”? This is probably my favorite exchange in Wintermute because it’s so short and direct yet says volumes. She wants Astrid to be happy and find her good one again. She would rather a risk a good man dying than a bad man going free. This isn’t just a revenge quest against any man she thinks is bad; it’s her trying, in her own way, to keep people safe and make the world better. This shows too, in her choice to leave Father Thomas alive. He’s a sitting duck, with no way of protecting himself. She could have killed him. She clearly holds contempt for him, and if you subscribe to the first theory I posited, he’s a large factor in why she had to stay in that horrible marriage. But she chose to leave Father Thomas alive, and I think that’s in no small part because she knows that those plane crash victims need him. That even if he screwed her over, he’s making the world better right now.

Anyways I love her and I think more women should kill people

[ohifonlyx33]

PEOPLE (sherlolly stans) WHO KNOW MORE ABOUT SHERLOCK (sherlolly theories) THAN i DO PLEASE TELL ME IF I'M CRAZY, JUST MISSING SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION, OR IF THIS IS LITERALLY ME STATING THE OBVIOUS (It's been a long time since I watched the full episodes without skipping any bits, so I might be missing context):

After Mary dies and Sherlock is trying to "save John" he starts spiraling. Or so it seems. Now I'm not saying he did or DIDN'T have a relapse (I genuinely don't remember enough, but I do think he was high when he was with "Faith Smith" since he thinks he made her up and misses her disguise). But I DO know, he went to John's therapist to ask her "what to do" as if he were gathering information (recon on John). And then when we see him acting insane, he clearly scares Mrs. Hudson enough for her to take him right where he knows John will be... and of course he lets her. Just like he wanted. And he planned ahead by calling Molly. All the cards seem to play out just as Sherlock wants them to. And that's basically the WHOLE POINT of the episode... Sherlock "predicts the future" by doing research and pulling some strings.

And since the episode is called The Lying Detective and it's literally about Sherlock lying so John will come to his rescue... one must ask about Molly's involvement. He confided in her last time he needed help faking his death. So what does she know, if anything? Molly comes and seems somewhat confused about what is truly going on and genuinely upset at John's news and apologetic that he is there... but also skeptical and unsure and hesitant... 2 weeks prior, Sherlock probably wasn't entirely clear with her on what to expect... just that he'd need her help. Maybe help with a ruse.

But what are the chances here that once he got in the ambulance, Molly started to grill him on details, until he told Molly his plan... or at least her part. What if he asked Molly to exaggerate or lie or make it sound like he was dying? Molly lied to everyone for 2 years... he knows she's capable of it, and trustworthy with a secret... I always wondered why Molly didn't actually do anything more to try to stop Sherlock.

What if he convinced her that John really needs to believe it? What are the chances that she was upset for other reasons 1. being asked to lie to John about Sherlock's death (again) is painful 2. realizing Sherlock is playing a dangerous game he was playing with a serial killer. 3. the thought of Sherlock + drugs scares her.

On top of that, Sherlock really drives it home in front of John...

And as he walks off, unhindered by Molly.... he glances back at her, resolute but almost apologetic... and she gives him a concerned but knowing look.

[silk-wool]

“ The wolves killed him. But my intention was for him to die.” -Molly, The Long Dark: Wintermute

[lambfromfield]

it would genuinely be a war crime if i didn’t show my tld fics on here tbh

[rey-jake-therapist]

The Lying Detective, self hatred and acceptance of abuse

There's something I need to let out of my chest about Sherlock and this episode in particular, cause it's the one that really opened my eyes about something very important regarding Sherlock: he hates himself. He really does, and because he hates himself he believes he deserves all the abuse he gets from the persons he loves.

At some point he says he believed he thought he was an idiot, because Mycroft kept repeating he was the smartest one when they were younger. That was until he met "ordinary people" and realized he was actually, you know, very smart compared to others. And yet, he kept believing that Mycroft was way above him in terms of intelligence. He accepted it, and because he accepted it he trusted him to know what was better for him. And Mycroft, in return, felt entitled to let him believe that Redbeard was a dog and not his childhood friend, and to hide him that he had a sister, who was also a murderer, who had let said friend rot in a well. He felt he had to do it because he didn't trust Sherlock to handle the truth. He thought he was what? too stupid to understand? Too sensitive?

Now don't get me wrong, I love Mycroft as a character, and I know that he did all that "for Sherlock's good", but at the end of the day, lying, manipulate a child's memory and repeating him all the time that he's stupid was textbook abuse. And Sherlock wouldn't have accepted to be called stupid, and would have probably seen that Mycroft wasn't THAT intelligent if he wasn't so deep in self-loathing. But then how was he supposed to love himself if he was always treated like the "slow one" of the family by his own big brother?

When Molly slapped him not once, but THREE TIMES, because he was high, again he didn't flinch, didn't protest. It's not an attack against Molly, I understand why she was upset at the sight of the man she loved destroying himself, but my point is: he could have considered that it wasn't her business, he could have told her to stop. But again, if someone he respects like Molly believes he deserves to be slapped, then he does.

Now John. Sorry guys, that's the hard part I have to say out loud. John was an excellent friend up until a certain time, no argument. One could even argue, and be right, that Sherlock was the abusive one for a while: he treated him like an idiot -but then Sherlock thinks everyone's an idiot except for Mycroft, ruined his first date, unintentionnally (or not) ruined several of his relationships by being obnoxious around his girlfriends, played dead for two years instead of confiding in him like any good friend would do, made him believe they would both die only to hear him say good things about him, I mean... Sherlock's definitely not an angel and for quite a long time, he was rather a shitty friend too. I guess growing up without friends, not even your own sibling will do that to you, but it's an explanation, not an excuse for being an asshole to everyone.

And yet John accepted him as he was, and always forgave him, so of course Sherlock came to idealize him like he idealized Mycroft, for different reasons of course. For the record, I love Sherlock and John's relationship/friendship/bromance/romance/whatever it is. Up until TLD at least I found it... precious. Yes Sherlock was an ass, more than once, but he acknowledged it, and showed he wanted to be better: he not only apologized, but he also grew to become a better person, someone who would be worth of John's affection.

What happened in The Lying Detective, though... what the hell happened? So John was sad because he lost Mary. Understandable. Even if popular theories like to claim he never loved her, his despair and the fact that he keeps her ghost with him all the time said it loud and clear: John loved Mary, very much indeed. And he was mad at Sherlock who he considered responsible for Mary's death. It was also understandable, if Sherlock hadn't shut his big mouth, yada yada... Ah I love to see a a female character fridged so two male characters can suffer and grow thanks to her sacrifice . But then what we know... happened, Sherlock was high as a kite, to the point he was very close to losing it completely he lost it completely, he took a scalpel and John, well, stopped him. But then John lashed on him. He BEAT HIM UP LIKE A PULP, which was at this point completely unjustifiable because Sherlock was no longer a threat, and he would have maybe killed him in his effort if two male nurses hadn't stopped him. But this post isn't about John and his disturbing lust for violence, not really. It's about Sherlock.

What Sherlock did? Nothing. Not one time did he try to defend himself. He took all the hits, didn't ask John to stop, just once again... Accepted. He accepted that he deserved John's violence, even said John was entitled to do that because he had "killed his wife". And Joh doubled down, "yes you killed my wife". But HE knew it wasn't true. Sherlock didn't, though. He was sick because he felt as if he had killed Mary herself, and that's why he was so adamant to grant her her last wish. As someone who hated myself for a long time, I totally recognized the impulse to take the blame for everything bad that happens. That's what Sherlock does, all the damn time.

Violence between men is often glossed over because the old say "boys will be boys". After all it wasn't the first time that John beat Sherlock up, he had done it after Sherlock came back from the dead but it was just for laughs and giggles then, "haha so funny John assaulted him three times, look his noise's bleeding, lol", and also the audience thought that Sherlock deserved it after all, so... it was fine, sort of. Notice that there too, Sherlock didn't try to fight back and didn't ask John to stop. Like, I still don't undrstand why John punched him the last time: because he told him he missed the thrill of the chase? What was wrong in saying that? Except that it was probably true? I'm personally never comfortable with the normalization of violence between men on TV especially when only one is actually fighting the other, but that's just me I guess.

In TLD it was very different. It wasn't funny, and it was certainly not ok. And I was very upset when at the end, not only John didn't apologize to his best friend for physically abusing him, but Sherlock was the one comforting him at the end. The man had almost been murdered by a serial killer, before that his second role model beat him like a pulp for a crime he didn't commit, and he was still the one being strong for John.

I have a big problem with the way this matter was handled, because John's violence was just.... forgotten. And if it had been the only time that he had expressed his anger against Sherlock with his fists, I'd agree it was just a bad moment in their relationship even though he'd still need to apologize for making it ok. But here there's nothing that tells Sherlock that John won't do it again; nothing that guarantees that the next time Sherlock will upset him, John won't lash out on him again, and it will be acceptable because for some reason, violence against a man is somehow ok.

The idea is, I suppose, that there's no power imbalance like there is between a man a woman. If Sherlock wanted to fight John he probably could easily win, he's strong and has enough fighting skills for that. That's not the problem. There IS a power imbalance in that Sherlock will always believe that John is entitled to be mad at him, thus to beat him up if he wants. And since John apparently never apologized for assaulting Sherlock, I have no idea if he realized how wrong it was, and if he intends to change. I don't know about you, but personally I thought texting a woman in secret from his wife wasn't a big deal compared to what he did to Sherlock, and yet that was the only thing that, apparently, John felt guilty of.

Sherlock really broke my heart when he told John that by saving his life, Mary had given it a value. Which meant, basically that before Mary's sacrifice, his life had no value whatsoever, at least in his eyes. Let that sink in for a minute.

"The Lying Detective" is a very fitting name for this episode and for Sherlock in general, because Sherlock doesn't just lie about being almost killed by Culverton Smith, he constantly lies to himself.

He did it when he claimed he fell back into his drug habits "for a case" -if he wanted to attract the press/Magnussen's attention on him there was a lot of things he could have done, he did it all his life about being devoid of feelings and emotions, did it about the reason why he literally offered his life to Culverton; yeah he wanted to "save John Watson" and honor Mary, but it was also about ending his own suffering, a result he hoped to get at best by catching Culverton Smith, at worst by dying.

No wonder why when Eurus challenged him to choose between John and Mycroft, he chose to kill himself. That's actually strange that she didn't see it coming. Probably she didn't know him as much as she thought. He made that choice because he thought he was the one deserving to die. Not Mycroft, not John, not even Eurus... Of course it was also a calculated risk, as he had understood at this point that he was the only one Eurus wanted to keep alive because everything she did was about him for some reason. But I truly believe he would have rather pulled the trigger and shot himself rather than killing Mycroft or John. I saw once someone claim that Mycroft knew Sherlock would choose to save John anyway and that's why he wanted to make things easier, but I think nothing's further for the truth. Sherlock would have never chosen. It would have always been him.

[lostdrarryfics]

hi so im looking for a fic on ao3 where draco and harry are out of hogwarts and teddy lives with harry so basically its like draco hears harrys girlfriend talking bad about him so he decides hes going to go to harrys house and tell him but when draco finally gets there he chickens out after ringing the bell so he just stands there when harry opens the door and says nothing but draco decides hes going to keep showing up at harrys house and eventually harry and his become friends and teddy really like draco too and one of the days dracos there and harrys girlfriend is there too and when she sees draco shes all like what is he doing here hes a deatheater what the heck harry and harrys like i dont care hes staying here and harry and his girlfriend break up and also hermione and ron are there too and they reassure draco that harry wouldnt have him there if he didnt want him there and then draco and harrys relationship eventually develops romantically. during this draco also fixes the colck that the weasleys have that tell you where they are because it broke when fred died and draco tld them he can fix it because he fixes clocks and draco struggles with it but eventually he fixes it and when he does molly cries and thanks him.

if you know what fic this is please tell me im dying to read it again.

We believe you are looking for from love, obviously by bizarrestars (52k, M)

Don’t forget to bookmark, leave kudos and comments!

[fluffbyday-smutbynight]

~ FluffSmut's Masterlist: Everything Else ~

SHIPPING SHIPS (original ficlets)

Love Hits You Unexpectedly, Sometimes

The Most Beautiful Ship in the World

MADE-UP FIC TITLES ~ fic ideas/synopses/plot bunnies 🐰 (generated in response to this ask game)

Fluffsmut's Totally Correct Sherlock Quotes ~ if you fancy a chuckle. Hehe.

~ BBC Sherlock: Headcanons  ~

Fluffy headcanons you can pry from my cold, dead hands

Smutty headcanons that live in my head rent free

Mycroft's Chocolate Stout Cake (for Greg, and Greg only)

“The Dads Are Alright” Headcanon (parentlock/fluff)

221B pets

221B rules (written by @kitten-kin)

Fluffbruary 2022 Trivia Tuesdays: Week 01 . 02 . 03 . 04

~ BBC Sherlock: Rewatch Meta ~

ASiB ~ Why I Love Irene Adler So Much // THoB  ~ Pt. 1 - Beware of the Dog / Pt. 2 - Lights in the Darkness / Pt. 3 - Killing the Hound // TAB ~ Way Too Deep // TLD ~ The Morgue Scene: a look at the script // TFP ~ The Coffin Scene

~ BBC Sherlock: Character Meta ~  Molly Hooper has been done dirty (and I say this as a hardcore Johnlocker) // (mini-meta) John Watson, a man with issues: one and two

~ Good Omens Meta ~

Petronius' Oysters (a modest contribution to a post by @ineffablyruined)

When in Rome... - Aziraphale's Hot Girl Summer?

The Hundred Guineas Club (a modest contribution to a post by @niceprophecies)

Analogies with the Divine Comedy - Canto V (a modest contribution to a post by @theonevoice)

***

Italian language/culture 101 with Fluffsmut:

Good Omens x Michael Sheen x Ancient Rome - a match made in heaven Italy

The versatility of "cazzo"

"Sticazzi" vs "me cojoni"

Random stuff:  

Half-Assed Fic Recs

Martin Freeman Appreciation Posts

Random Thoughts: StartUp (TV show) // Ghost Stories (2017 film) // A List of Things Sherlock and Malcolm Bright (Prodigal Son) have in common

****

Jump back to FluffSmut's Masterlist

[thetimemoves]

20 questions for fic writers

I was tagged by @raina-at @discordantwords and @totallysilvergirl, thank you!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

20

2. What's your total A03 word count?

57, 682. Not a lot for 20 works, but 10 of them are 221b ficlets. I only have one fic over 10k (it's just over 11.3k).

3. What fandoms do you write for?

BBC Sherlock

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Never Trust to General Impressions

Abditory

Feel My Heart Banging Like a Gun

Out of Every Nowhere

Forth They Went Together

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes, I do. I'm so thrilled to get them and appreciate it when someone takes the time to leave a comment. It makes me giddy, it does!

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I like to end on a happy, or at least hopeful, note but occasionally angst comes out on top. I think it's probably a tie between these two: Paperweight, which is Sherlock's POV when Molly gives him John's letter at the end of TST; and With Regrets, which is John's POV as he says goodbye to Sherlock in the hospital after the beating in TLD.

Both are 221b ficlets, so at least it's a sharp punch of angst and not an extended bout? Not kidding about that punch, though (sorry not sorry).

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

This is a tough one, but I think these are probably the happiest:

bitter, sweet

Feel My Heart Banging Like a Gun

Abditory

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No, thankfully. Hopefully that continues.

9. Do you write smut?

I love me some good smut, but I don't write it (yet). Certain bits in Feel My Heart Banging Like a Gun and Steady as They Go are the closest I've come so far, but they're not smutty.

10. Do you write crossovers?

No. I don't. One of my WIPs is a Stand By Me/The Body (Stephen King) fusion, but I'm not interested in writing any crossovers right now.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, which amazes me! Two have been translated into Russian.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

@splix71 and I began to plot out a Sherlock bounty hunter AU I had initially come up with back in 2019. We had so much fun coming up with names and theories and plot points, so much fun. Unfortunately, she had to step back due to health reasons (FUCK CANCER) and afterwards I couldn't bring myself to go back to it. I doubt I ever will, as clever as I think some of the things we came up with were. I don't know that there is a place anymore for Baker Street Bonds, Yarders Bail Service, or Reichenbach Bail, but I will always treasure the time we spent on it together (that she, a most amazing writer, wanted to write something with me, still blows my mind).

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Mulder/Scully and Sherlock/John.

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have a Sherlock/John hunt the Bogeyman fic I've been poking at for YEARS. I love a lot of what I've written, but I wrote myself into a corner and haven't quite figured out how to get out. At this point I despair of ever finishing it, but never say never.

16. What are your writing strengths?

221b ficlets. I think I've done well with these in conveying lots of emotion in little moments.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Clever case fic and complicated plots. I can also get a bit wordy in my beginnings sometimes (ironic, considering my ability to write a strong 221b ficlet) and need a gentle nudge to cut to the action.

Also, if I'm going to be brutally honest, I tend to walk away too quickly when I get stuck and don't make myself work out the problem right then. Hence my many languishing WIPs.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I've not done it yet and don't see it happening down the road either.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

For published fic, BBC Sherlock. There might be some self-insert stories with River Phoenix in my very distant past.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Ooof, this is a hard one because every finished fic is a victory for me. That said, I'll always have a soft spot for Abditory. I had been in love with Sherlock since 2011 and devoured fic at an unholy rate, but was never dared write my own until 2017, after the last series. Better late than never, right? I also really loved writing Never Trust to General Impressions, with its slice-of-life looks at Sherlock and John's evolving relationship in relation to canon (with a not-so-canon twist on TRF). Funnily enough, both are 5+1 fics.

This was fun! I have loved reading all of these from everyone too. I'm going to be That Person and tag everyone who wants to do this but hasn't been tagged yet. Please do share!

[aveline-amelia]

I sometimes get sad about Eurus

It is somewhat known I dislike her. I hardly keep it a secret.

But...

They failed her.

Her parents failed her.

Uncle Rudy failed her.

Her brothers didn't fail her (Mycroft was a child! And obviously so was Sherlock), but she still felt excluded.

The system failed her.

The authorities failed her.

People who were in charge of her (like the Governor) failed her.

And so did the writers.

Because Eurus could have been great. If she was allowed to be brilliant, and perceptive and manipulative, and at the same time lost and sad and alone.

If we actually spent more time with her outside the prison (TLD Eurus was so much better!) and get to see her mind work and her intellect actually displayed.

Have her deduce Molly's feelings for Sherlock, as opposed to inexplicably knowing about them for some reason (Moriarty couldn't have told her as he didn't think Molly mattered).

Have her have some kind of feelings regarding Mycroft besides indifference. (At the same time if we are meant to believe she only locked him inside her cell and didn't torment him in any way, doesn't that imply she unlike her parents doesn't blame Mycroft? Because if so, wow.)

If she wasn't made into a fucking rapist (I am sorry. I can excuse child murder commited by a child. I cannot excuse brutal rape. That is unforgivable.)

If we were shown she was clever, as opposed to told.

She could have actually been good LGBT representation as opposed to a vaguely queercoded villain, while her queercoded brothers are both painfully heterosexualized and forced inside their respective closets. (side note: Mycroft Holmes, played by Mark Gatiss, still isn't heterosexual and William Sherlock Scott Holmes is still not attracted to women.)

Not even fucking Moriarty is allowed to be openly queer, since it is still common belief he only says things like that to unsettle people.

Also Eurus is a fucking stupid name, I am sorry.

Seriously.

Will/Billy, Myke and Eurus? Were they called that as children?

[donner-mathis-official]

Swap AU make my pea-sized brain ping around my head like one of those brick breaker games.

Mathis was on a flight to Great Bear to visit his son in prison. He booked a flight with Archer Remote Transport, flying with a serious woman named Molly who doesn’t seem to particularly like him. Their plane goes down, and he finds himself in a quiet apocalypse.

Molly is a pilot who hunts in her spare time. After her husband died in mysterious circumstances, she’s generally regarded with suspicion by the people around her, and it weighs heavily on her.

Astrid is a doctor in the small town of Thompson’s Crossing. Shes taken over the community centre as a clinic. She would go out and search for crash survivors, but the people here need all her attention.

Mackenzie is a convict who recently got transferred to Blackrock. After one of his guys, a stern man named Jeremiah, got sent here, he got himself sent up to break him out. By the time he reached the prison, that had already happened, so he started searching the island for someone who could get them off it.

Heller takes Jeremiah’s position almost exactly.

Jace takes Methuselah’s position, but isn’t quite as cryptic about it and instead speaks in scientific terms that leave Mathis like “please have mercy I got a C in high school physics”.

Lilith Barker takes Jace’s place, ensuring that Donner doesn’t escape. She was climbing Blackrock mountain when the first flare happened, and when she saw from above what was happening, she rushed down to try to help.

Vachon takes Hobbs’s place but isn’t as obviously dead meat after his cutscene though. Hobbs is the guy who they mentioned got shot with arrows (who is Leclerc in canon).

Mackenzie, in spite of being a convict, isn’t actually a bad guy. He’s exceedingly practical, but he cares for his people, and when he learns Mathis is trying to get to Blackrock, he immediately agrees to help him. Then a faction conflict happens in Blackrock because some dudes are like “hey fuck you and fuck this guy from solitary you’re not the boss of me”. So Mackenzie wrestles with that and keeps them in line while Mathis goes to do all the quests.

The warden and Father Thomas sort of swap places except the warden ends up more in Molly’s position. He went off the deep end a bit with the fire and brimstone and most people stopped attending his services, which he resents them for. He kills the convicts because “it’s the will of the Lord”. Just fully cuckoo bananas with the religion.

Grey Mother is Mackenzie’s other henchman because I think epic gun grandma should get to commit crime and also hang out with Mackenzie more. It’s part of why in this AU, Donner does actually escape; because Lily gets distracted by her mom being there.

Methuselah goes where Grey Mother does. He has the player go look for buffer memories instead so they can write down the story of Milton because he doesn’t want it to die. They need to go to the farmhouse to get the key to the office, not the lockbox.

Father Thomas isn’t locked up (because in this AU, the convicts didn’t murder everyone bc the staff weren’t as horrible to them) but he is completely useless in sorting out the conflict in the prison. Just like “oh no, please don’t— oh no you’re doing it anyways :(“

[cumbercougars]

I posted 1,452 times in 2022

54 posts created (4%)

1,398 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@elennemigo

@ben-locked

@mizjoely

@sh-cumberbatch

I tagged 1,438 of my posts in 2022

Only 1% of my posts had no tags

#benedict cumberbatch - 979 posts

#sherlolly - 265 posts

#sherlock - 130 posts

#doctor strange - 115 posts

#doctor strange in the multiverse of madness - 52 posts

#the power of the dog - 33 posts

#molly hooper - 25 posts

#sherlock fanart - 24 posts

#benedict cumberbatch artwork - 23 posts

#sherlock holmes - 21 posts

Longest Tag: 116 characters

#okay the way we use the word library today is not the same as an archive; i mean library as in library of alexandria

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Sherlock (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper Characters: Sherlock Holmes, Molly Hooper, Greg Lestrade, Sally Donovan Additional Tags: Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Eventual Romance, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, Eventual Sex, Sherlolly - Freeform, mollock, Sherlock the Linguist Summary:

Set Post Sherrinford, Molly discovers that she has a thing for Sherlock speaking foreign languages and when Sherlock realises he decides to use it for his own ends.

SO EXCITED!!! @mrsmcrieff is at it again!!! Can't wait to see how this goes. 

18 notes - Posted April 24, 2022

#4

So how is everyone doing?

21 notes - Posted May 18, 2022

#3

Watch "Sherlock | Knocking on Heaven's Door (for Sim Mallec)" on YouTube

@mrsmcrieff for the beauty that is TLD Sherlock

28 notes - Posted November 3, 2022

#2

FYI Fanfic Authors

I may not have read every fic out there, but I can tell you with utmost certainty I LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE!!!

Thank you kindly,

53 notes - Posted February 24, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Agent Carter is my absolute favorite Marvel property. Hayley Atwell makes my heart sing.

61 notes - Posted October 29, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[writingwife-83]

Hi! This might understandably be hard questions but from 1-10 how would you rank each of the episodes of BBC Sherlock? And also what is one of your favorite moments from the show?

(Personal favorite moment is the sherlolly kiss. The drama😂)

Definitely a hard question lol! But I’ll do my best…

Just a note that I’m not giving anything a 10 because somehow I can’t bring myself to call any show or movie perfect. 😆 and if nothing else we gotta deduct a point for the fact that Molly gets very little screen time in any of the Ep she’s in! And it might go without saying but just fyi, even the ones I ranked the lowest, I still really enjoy!

ASiP- 7

TBB- 6

TGG- 8

ASiB- 9

THoB- 8 (if Molly was in this one it might’ve got a 9 lol)

TRF- 9

TEH- 8

TSoT- 6

HLV- 7

TAB- 7

TST- 6

TLD- 7

TFP- 7 (I would have given this a 6, but it has the ILY scene sooo 🤷‍♀️)

As for my fave moment, I truly don’t think I can pick just one. But some big ones are ASiB deduction scene, TRF rooftop scene, and TEH kiss and stairwell scene.

That was all pretty tough! 😅

[holidaysat221b]

Sherlolly prompts that have been filled as of 12/1/22

A quick reminder - even though these prompts have been filled, please feel free to fill them again.  The more the merrier!

Authors and artists have filled fifty-three different prompts - some multiple times - all of which are listed below under the “Keep Reading”.

1) Art prompt:  (I’ve wanted this like burning for five years, I’ll never give up asking)  Sherlock and Molly, the cake scene from Sixteen Candles".  Only in the morgue and Molly’s wearing the lab coat.  -  @sunken-standard  (Prompt fill - Sherlolly // Sixteen Candles by @simplyshelbs16xoxo) (Prompt fill – Sixteen Scandals by artbylexie, commissioned and submitted by @mizjoely) (Prompt Fill – Birthday Party in the Morgue by @dragonnan)

2) “We had chips. She liked me.” – Sherlock in TLD. What could have been had he and Molly gotten chips in TEH: A kick to Tom’s butt. Happy greeting (a hug at least!) at the end of TEH. Quite a lot of sex with Sherlock instead of Tom. Molly the best man’s date. A (sophisticated. Or not) Molly/Janine cat fight for Janine hitting on SH moments. Dancing, so much Sherlolly dancing (and no leaving early). Probably no Shezza (Shezzer?)—which, hmm, is a shame (But maybe they’ve their own not-being-on-a-sex-holiday-but-sexing-a-lot time). A real proposal to Molly. Molly at family Christmas, maybe even a Christmas wedding. Solving CAM without the threat of exile sharpens Sherlock’s deductive abilities. No Norbury as Molly’s already expecting their first offspring, so Sherlock doesn’t taunt needlessly. Mary as the Sherlolly baby godmother as she’s alive! Culverton Smith is taken down by the duo of Mary and Molly while the latter gives birth there (because the ladies are awesome, plus Mrs H tackles him down). John is so impressed he doesn’t look at any other women. Molly’s big heart brings Eurus from her metaphoric plane the moment she steps into 221B, plus baby Holmes wins her heart too. The Holmes family reconciliation and Eurus is in therapy instead of being a multi-killer. Baker Street Boys Team continues while Baker Street Girls Team gives them a run for their money. Mycroft asks Lady Smallwood out himself to her astonishment and internal squealing. Mummy Holmes gets more grandkids than she could’ve imagined. And basically, everyone walks happily into the sunset. The End. Please note, some things can obviously be modified. -  @mychakk  (Prompt fill - Turn Right by @sunken-standard)

3) AU: Molly runs away from home when her parents try to arrange a marriage for her. She wants to pursue a life that involves science and marry for love if she ever gets married at all. She meets Sherlock, who is being pressured by his family to marry a nice girl they found for him who loves science as much as he does. It will be interesting when they figure it out. -  @shadowyqueenbeard  (Prompt fill - Uncertain Terms by @geekmama)

4) Uni!lock Sally wakes Molly at 2 am because her junkie boyfriend of dorm 221b is streaking across campus calling her name, so she better stop denying that she’s his girlfriend. -  @escaily  (Prompt fill – Like Night and Day by afteriwake)

5) Rock Royalty AU.  That AU in which Mary drags Molly into an edgy rock concert of her favorite band “Baker Street Boys” even though everybody and their mother knows that indie acoustics and hippie music is Molly’s thing.  Enter Sherlock Holmes lead band member, (the type of Rock Star that sings ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’ while high as a kite) famous for his electric violin solos, addict past and cold attitude.  He tries deducing the girl less likely to throw herself at him out of all the fans and finding that one concert goer who doesn’t get turned on by his music. Turns out that Molly the ‘I-said-I’m-not-a-groupie’ pathologist in training is actually an interesting girl when she’s not covering her ears, even if Sherlock needs to educate her on the finger points of violin appreciation.  Basically a fic where the Rockstar wants to turn this hater into a fan but actually ends up falling for her instead.  -  @escaily (Prompt fill – Untitled Tumblr post by @welcometothelosingside)

6) The Do Over/ Time Travel Sherlolly fic that I NEED.  Let’s pretend that a destroyed Molly went to sleep the night of the infamous phone call wishing she could do it all over again, and overnight she wakes up back in Season 1 first ep.  If you could get a do over, erase all the bad things that have ever happened with the person you’ve always loved, even if it meant never having the good, would you do it? Especially if said person just broke your trust over the phone.  The moment with the riding crop, all the late nights at the morgue, chose to avoid that awful Christmas party (showed up with a boring date), change shifts the day ‘Jim from IT’ asked her out and not offer her help when Sherlock needed to fake his death.  Of course, fate still keeps throwing her together with Sherlock no matter what she tries.  “You’re not MY Sherlock, you wouldn’t understand,” she whispered at last.  “And what did your version of me have that I don’t?” “Many things, I know you think you can’t be a better person, but my Sherlock was.”  Or something around those lines where slightly-younger Sherlock feels jealous of TFP Sherlock, because in any version of history Sherlock will always end up falling in love with Molly and she’s already so attuned to his quirks that he resents the ‘other him’ for having so much time with her.  -  @escaily (Prompt fill – In a Time Lapse by @aloneiswhatihave1895 (katybaggins))

7) Spy AU : “Your agency and my agency are constantly competing and why do you keep taking over my missions?” -  @noregretsnoteasnoanxieties  (Prompt fill – At The Risk Of Falling (Off Roofs) by @lyssisbored)

8) Royalty AU : “We’ve been engaged to be married since we were three but this is first time we’ve met and your portraits really don’t do you justice.” -   @mousedetective (Prompt fill – I Feel Strange by @mizjoely)

9) Your soulmate was an artist of centuries ago, and currently, you’re an art student at university (or not but you’re taking an arts class). Then one day for a field trip, you go to a far-away museum and you just find yourself staring at what was your reflection, wearing different clothes to fit the timeline but it was definitely a split-image of you, on one of the framed displays. (A fanart answer for this prompt would also be awesome!) -  @noregretsnotearsnoanxieties (Prompt fill - A Soul Captured on Canvas by @mizjoely) (Prompt Fill – A Favorite Model by @theresadunn)

10) Person A owns a flower shop and person B comes storming in one day, slaps 20 bucks on the counter and says “How do I passive-aggressively say fuck you in flower?” - “so you’d need a bouquet of geraniums (stupidity), foxglove (insincerity), meadowsweet (uselessness), yellow carnations (you have disappointed me), and orange lilies (hatred). it would be quite striking! and full of loathing.” - @noregretsnotearsnoanxieties  (Prompt fill - Say It With Flowers by @mizjoely)

11) Doctor Who!Sherlock - Molly Hooper as a companion -  The Silent Fangirl  (Prompt fill - Doctorin’ the TARDIS by @darnedchild) (Prompt fill – A New Man by @lunaflowerlight) (Prompt fill – Molly Hooper, Travelling Companion by @mizjoely)

12) A Sherlolly version of “It’s A Wonderful Life”. Sherlock gets to see what his loved ones’ lives would be like if he never existed, realizing the positive impact he had on them when he was alive.  -  @simplyshelbs16xoxo  (Prompt fill - Strange, Isn’t It? by @simplyshelbs16xoxo)

13) Something similar to “The Ransom of Red Chief”, only in this version the kidnappers have figured out that Molly Hooper is a pressure point for Sherlock Holmes.  They take her captive, intending to blackmail Sherlock or hold Molly for ransom; but Molly Hooper is having none of that nonsense.  While Sherlock works to save her, Molly finds ways to torment, injure, and outwit her captors.  Whether she escapes on her own, finds a way to let Sherlock and John know where she’s at, or ends up driving her kidnappers crazy to the point that they give up and send her back is up to the author.  Could go humorous or dark very easily. – Anonymous  (Prompt fill – Self-Rescuing Princess by @darnedchild and The Return of the Self-Rescuing Princess by @darnedchild)

14) Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” – because I always think of the movies when I see Mizjoely’s U.N. Owen tag.  - @darnedchild  (Prompt fill – And Then There Were Two by @mizjoely)

15) Christmas - I would also look for England-specific things too – Christmas crackers, puddings, panto, wassail.  - @gettingovergreta  (Prompt fill – Make A List, Check it Twice by @mizjoely)

16) Valentine’s - Sherlolly Valentine’s … Sherlock requisitions a heart from Bart’s. Molly thinks nothing of it, it’s not unusual for him to … obtain body parts. What is unusual is what follows when he invites her to 221B that night … (post-ILY)  -  Anonymous (Prompt fill - Have A Heart by @mizjoely)

17) To cover her butt during New Year’s Eurus lies and tells mummy that Sherlock has a wife, and Mycroft borrows her ‘Sherlock’s wife’ excuse whenever he wants to avoid sticky topics during holidays. The lie gets bigger the more Sherlock avoids family meetings. Until December when Sherlock finds out he’s married to a forensic (E), sex addicted(E), petite (E), intelligent (M), very forgiving (M) paragon of virtue (M). Now he needs to find a stranger that fits the description before Christmas.  - @escaily  (Prompt fill – Wait, What Just Happened? by @mizjoely and Let’s Meet the Family, Shall We? By @mizjoely and You Can Imagine The Christmas Dinners by @mizjoely)

18) Song Fic: Adele’s “Water Under the Bridge”  -  @darnedchild  (Prompt fill - Water Under The Bridge by @simplyshelbs16xoxo)

19) Song Fic: Texas’ “I’ll See It Through”  -  @darnedchild  (Prompt fill - And I’ll See It Through by @darnedchild)

20) Song Fic:  … I’ve got a quote from a song.  “You only know you love her when you let her go.”  (Note from Mod - The song appears to be Passenger’s “Let Her Go”)  -  @flowerstar5  (Prompt fill - Turn Right by @sunken-standard)

21) Song Fic: Angst.  Based on the ABBA song “Knowing Me, Knowing You”.  Sherlock and Molly have tried to have a serious relationship, but it just didn’t work out.  -  @shadowyqueenbeard (Prompt fill - Waterloo by @mizjoely)

22) Molly’s school reunion – Sherlock assumes he’ll be needed to help Molly show everyone up.  The catch:  Molly’s been a beloved peer, so it’s him who gets the obligatory “you hurt her, we’ll end you”. :)  -  @mychakk  (Prompt fill - The Time “We’ll End You” Started Things by @mizjoely) (Prompt fill - The Detective, the Pathologist, and the Prompt - Chapter 32: We’re Watching You by @writingwife-83)

23) Sherlock sees a woman on the street.  Instantly intrigued (you can choose as to why) he follows her.  - @mel-loves-all  (Prompt fill - Following Her by @mizjoely) (Prompt fill – Untitled Tumblr Post by @monemenges)

24) Molly loves wearing Sherlock’s house robes.  -  @mel-loves-all  (Prompt fill - A Seminal Moment by @geekmama)   (Prompt fill – Dis Robe by @mizjoely) (Prompt fill – His Favorite by @writingwife83)

25) Molly has a piece of body piercing jewelry or a tattoo located somewhere that surprises and titillates Sherlock.  - @mel-loves-all  (Prompt fill - Stainless, Captive Bead, 11mm, 14 Gauge. by @sunken-standard)  (Prompt fill – Took You Long Enough! by @mizjoely)

26) Molly commits suicide, but only Sherlock thinks she didn’t.  He may not be wrong.  -  The Silent Fangirl (Prompt fill – Another Day, Another Faked Death by @mizjoely)

27) Fluff.  Molly has been hospitalized for whatever reason.  She decides that she is feeling better and just wants to go home. However, the hospital does not want to release her yet.  So Molly decides to leave AMA (against medical advice).  She feels she can recover at home just as well and also she is eager to get back to work. Besides, who is going to know?  This is something someone might expect from Sherlock, but not Molly.  How long before he finds out?  What is his reaction?  - @shadowyqueenbeard (Prompt fill - Home by @englandsgray)

28) Angst.  Molly discovers she is pregnant and is not happy about it.  Although she would love to have a baby at some point, right now is not the time.  She and Sherlock do not have a commitment and her career is going well.  She plans to terminate the pregnancy.  Sherlock finds out and tries to stop her.  He please with her to change her mind, marry him and be a family.  Is this just a control tactic or does he really love her?  -  @shadowyqueenbeard  (Prompt fill - Turn Right by @sunken-standard)

29) Molly discovers there is Sherlock Holmes RPF (Real Person Fiction) on the internet.  She’s shocked to find that someone called Sherlolly4vr74 has been writing fic about her and Sherlock, and they seem to have a dedicated fan base.  Some of the stories are very sweet and romantic, some of them are hot enough to give her NSFW ideas.  Who is Sherlolly4vr74 (Is it Anderson?  Mrs Hudson?  Mary?  John? I bet it’s John.) and is Sherlock aware of the stories?  -  @darnedchild (Prompt fill - This Love…is sweeter than fiction by @escaily) (Prompt fill – The Original Shipper by @JacobandEvie)

30) Eurus has been known to put on a persona and disguise to get close to people for information – she was Faith for Sherlock, E and the psychiatrist for John.  What if she had also spent some time around Molly prior to the events at Sherrinford?  What information would she have gleaned about her brother and his pathologist?  -  @darnedchild  (Prompt Fill – Untitled Tumblr post by @mollyhooopers)

31) Can they be R rated. Because I feel Sherlock would not muck about, with telling Molly what he would like to do to her, he would not use cute little names for all her female parts and would go into great detail, like all his cases. She would be his very serious case. Yes he would most defiantly do a lot of research on pleasing her. Write it however you are most comfortable with.  -  @oliverfel4  (Prompt Fill – Be Prepared by @mizjoely and @asteraceae-blue)

32) Sherlock and Molly are getting married!  It’s time to work on the guest list for the wedding, and suddenly they are faced with the question—Do they let Euros come, or not?  -  @celticmoonbeam (Prompt fill - Untitled Tumblr post by @theresadunn)

33) Shipwrecked Sherlolly—Sherlock saves Molly from drowning.  -  Anonymous  (Prompt fill - Untitled Tumblr post (TBC?) by @mizjoely)

34) Euros leads Sherlock to believe that he failed, and Molly was killed after the ILY scene. Much angst ensues as he blames himself for her loss … but then we get to see the happy reunion scene when he learns she’s alive.  - Anonymous  (Prompt fill – Part 1 by @welcometothelosingside and Part 2 by @welcometothelosingside) (Prompt fill – Unsaid by @writingwife83)

35) Mary as matchmaker.  At John and Mary’s wedding, Mary feels a little sad when they leave him alone to go dance (“What about you?”).  She decides to make it her mission to help Sherlock find a girl so he’s not alone anymore.  And this former agent has no trouble figuring out the potential between Sherlock and a certain Molly Hooper … (Up to you whether or not you want to throw in a Janine segue before she decides to set him up with Molly.  And feel free to cover Sherlock being shot!) -  @celticmoonbeam  (Prompt fill – The One Where Mary Gets Involved by @keeptheotherone)

36) Molly discovers she’s pregnant with Sherlock’s child at the worst possible time:  while she’s with his parents, being hidden away, and the two are pretending to be just friends.  Bonus if they figure it out before they’re told! -  @ noregretsnotearsnoanxieties  (Prompt fill - Untitled Tumblr post by @welcometothelosingside) (Prompt fill - The Right Way, the Wrong Way and the Holmes Way by @mizjoely) (Prompt fill – Hide and Seek by @rainbow—letters)

37) After the events of TFP, Molly and Sherlock get closer. Suddenly, though, he pulls away and starts flirting with a coworker of hers, sometimes blatantly in front of her. It isn’t until an event at Barts that the truth comes out that it was all for a case.  -  @noregretsnotearsnoanxieties  (Prompt fill – Tell Her About It by @mizjoely)

38) Sherlock moves in with Molly and begins perusing her book collection, picking up random books that have interesting looking covers, and the next thing Molly knows he’s turned into a fantasy buff.  - @ noregretsnotearsnoanxieties  (Prompt fill - Stories & Stories by SimplyShelbs16xoxo)

39) Molly, unbeknownst to Sherlock, suffers from psoriasis since her teen years. This is why she’s been adamant about being more physically intimate with him, no matter how much she wants to. Fortunately for her, Sherlock doesn’t care about it at all. Could be a hard T or M rating. Loosely inspired by Loo’s own bout with the disease.  -  @violetjersey  (Prompt fill - #Balm by @hobbitsdoitbetter)

40) I have read this in one or two fics, but not really developed as a main theme of the story … so: What if Rosie wants to pair John and Molly?  How will Sherlock react and … how will he convince Rosie that Molly is for him and not for John.  I’m imagining some angst in the middle because the silly man thinks this is a wonderful idea:  Rosie gets a mummy and Molly gets a family.  In fact, Sherlock sets up a date between Molly and John while he’s babysitting Rosie.  - @kalkopyryt  (Prompt fill – Untitled Tumblr post by @theemptyquarto)   (Prompt fill - Destiny and the Detective by @theemptyquarto)

41) Some strange guy is bothering Molly, so she tells him that Sherlock is her fiance in order to make him stop. To her surprise, Sherlock goes along with it. Maybe he goes even further by announcing it to family and friends. Now what does Molly do?  -  @shadowyqueenbeard (Prompt fill – Boyfriend Material by @darnedchild)

42) Hmmm… Molly is actually very cunning (I think she is indeed canonically), she uses her doe eyes, throaty voice, and innocent smile to get away with everything. So many people fall for her tactics, Sherlock is one of them, although he has more control than the others.  -  Anonymous (Prompt fill – Behind Doe Eyes by @mizjoely)

43) For those who have OTPs in other fandoms, imagine Sherlolly in the same situation another OTP of yours was in canon. Just because I’m curious.  -  @mousedetective (Prompt fill - Untitled Tumblr Post by @lunaflowerlight)

44) Post Tom/Molly break-up (pre- or post-HLV), Molly says to Sherlock “Just when I got used to feeling wanted, he took that feeling back. Like it wasn’t mine to have. Like he gave it to me by accident.“ - @noregretsnotearsnoanxieties  (Prompt fill – I’m Put to Mind of All That I Wanna Be by @ukthxbye)

45) The best feeling in the world is kissing someone for the first time when you’ve really wanted to kiss them for a long time.  (No credit given) - @noregretsnotearsnoanxieties  (Prompt fill – The Best Feeling In The World by @mizjoely)

46) Fluff and Smut : After enjoying some sexy time with molly, Sherlock goes out to deal with a sudden case.  Unfortunately, he forgot to untie Molly from the bed.  Oops! - @shadowygueenbeard  (Prompt fill – Untitled Tumblr Post by @elennemigo) (Prompt fill – The Escape Artist by @mychakk)

47) A Sherlolly + Warstan double date, where Sherlolly can either be established or not!  Bonus if Mary ships it extra hard.  😉  Thank you! -  @forthegenuine  (Prompt fill – Fibber McHolmes and Molly by @mizjoely)

48) Post TFP, Sherlock moves in with Molly while waiting for 221b to be repaired.  He experiences some PTSD and Molly helps him work through it. -  @shadowyqueenbeard (Prompt fill – Adrift by @englandsgray)

49) Fluff, little bit of Angst, maybe Smut : A few too many drinks and a poor sense of direction lead to Molly getting lost. She only stepped outside to clear her head, so she didn’t bring her purse or phone. After wandering around an unfamiliar area, she eventually falls asleep in a backyard or public park. A worried Sherlock goes to find her.  -   @shadowyqueenbeard (Prompt fill - My Hero by @mizjoely)

50) Fluff, maybe smut : Molly gets a pedicure.  Sherlock discovers he has a bit of a foot fetish.  -  @shadowyqueenbeard   (Prompt fill – A Shoe In by @lilsherlockian1975)

51) “What do you mean it’s a tracking device?!”  -  @shadowyqueenbeard (Prompt fill - Keeping Track by @mizjoely)

52) Sherlock and Molly announce their engagement. Mycroft, for reasons of his own, offers Molly a large sum of money to break up with Sherlock. Molly is shocked. Sherlock is furious.  - @shadowyqueenbeard (Prompt fill - The One Where Mycroft Offers Molly Money to Leave Sherlock by @mizjoely)

53) A strange woman shows up at 221B claiming to be Sherlock’s wife.  Is it true?  Did Sherlock delete her from his mind palace?  Or is she a delusional fan?  Or maybe it’s a scam to extort money from him?  Sherlock needs to find some answers. - @shadowyqueenbeard  (Prompt fill – There For You by @englandsgray)

[deputyash]

Apparently there’s a Molly in both RDR2 and TLD that are described as angry and bitter lol. I thought I was reading a post about Molly O’Shea but then I realized it was tagged TLD hahaha

[melon-kiss]

so... I’m working on the third part of The Cold Tea series and it’s WIP, I promise. in the meantime, shower thoughts happened to me and pondered over how Sherlock could have asked Molly to bring that ambulance to John’s therapist. so - here it is, a prompt (?), oneshot (?) - no sure, you pick the right term.

there was Flufftober which I missed. can we make Comfortember now, please?

(hope you’ll like it!)

_______________

“Hello, Molly. I was hoping to catch you before you leave.”

Sherlock Holmes entered the lab in a very swift and brisk manner, making focused Molly jump. She stood next to a table, looking around and making sure she cleaned everything and did all that was necessary before heading home. She turned on a heel to face her visitor, smiling. She had her handbag with her, ready to leave.

“Oh, hello”. She inspected his tall figure top to bottom and a corner of her lips went up. “I see someone here had a little domestic?”

Sherlock furrowed his brows.

“Who?”

“You”, she replied with a soft chuckle.

If possible, his brows furrowed even more.

“I don’t understand. With whom?”

“A razor, apparently”.

One corner of his lips went up, too.

“I’m trying new things”, he responded, taking a couple steps to get closer to Molly.

“Ages you”, she said, still in a good mood.

After a second of scanning, however, her smile faded. He seemed slimmer but not in a good way. His hair was tussled, dark circles under his eyes deeper and skin paler than ever. Clothes that used to cling to his body perfectly now looked baggy and in the best case scenario, unfitted.

“You don’t look good”, she said quietly.

“And they say complimenting isn’t my good skill.”

“You know what I mean. What is the matter?”

He tried to shrug it off but knew that wasn’t going to stick with her. He was more than aware of her rather extraordinary capability of sensing everything what was wrong with him. Even if he tried, he couldn’t lie to her about himself.

“I’m fine”, he said eventually.

But her stare was stubbornly curious, unwilling to let go of the subject. Sherlock attempted that anyway.

“I need your help.”

“With what?”

She resumed going through the content of her handbag, mood slightly shifted. Her brows were furrowed.

“I need you to visit one address with a fully equipped ambulance for two weeks.”

Molly’s head shot towards him, eyes big from surprise.

“What for?”

Sherlock sighed.

“I’d rather not get into details right now, it’s difficult to explain”, he explained vaguely. “Trust me, I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t of grave importance”.

Seeing how being secretive didn’t help his case and how unhappy with that she was, Sherlock decided to let her a bit in on his plan. After all, she was a valuable asset whenever he needed help.

“John… is not going to be well”, he said carefully. “No worries, it’s not an illness or anything but he will need help anyway.”

“So the ambulance will be for him?”, she asked, trying to piece everything together.

“No, it’ll be for me”. Having noticed her confusion, he added: “Everything’s under control, though. I just need you to be there.”

She didn’t look convinced. Having no other option, eventually, she sighed, yielded, but her good mood visibly evaporated. She hooked the handbag onto her shoulder, quite sure their conversation was coming to an end.

“No more fake death certificates, though, right?”

A genuine, wide smile spread across Sherlock’s phase.

“No. We’re past that now”.

Social convention said he should move to exit then but seeing her deep brown eyes and a little smile despite obvious disapproval of whatever he was going to do, he didn’t feel like moving at all. In fact, that lab, that silence and Molly’s quiet but reassuring presence could as well become his comfort zone right in that moment. And she didn’t make an impression of a person willing to head out either. The kind, mildly amused stare of her brown eyes melted into his, making that moment the best thing he’d had in last two weeks. Of course, he’d notice what the breakup did to her – she looked exhausted, stressed and vulnerable. For a tiny little second he regretted dragging her into his plan but to be honest, he didn’t have anyone else to turn to in this matter. Besides, according to all his calculations, John was going to name her as the person to confirm Sherlock’s story – there was no one else John would trust on this. Molly had that fascinating, complete and utter honesty, not a shred of immorality or lie.

On top of that, John was unaware. She wasn’t his last thought. In fact, she was his first thought. For a reason Sherlock could not articulate, he wanted her to remain secret. Whatever it was between the two of them, it was intimate and only theirs. Sharing that with anyone would be inappropriate, almost a breach of trust.

“You know you can still trust me, right?”, she asked, her voice pleasantly soft and quiet.

“I know”, he replied, a little smile crawling up his face. “And I’m eternally thankful for that”.

She beamed at him and he couldn’t resist to follow suit.

“Feeling peckish?” His feet wouldn’t move and eyes wouldn’t let hers out of sight.

“Yeah”.

“Up for fish and chips?”

“Why not”.

They started pacing towards exit. Having walked out on the corridor, they resumed their conversation.

“After all, we’ve never gotten to visit that fish place, right?”, he asked, pressing the elevator button.

“The one with the shelves?”

“Well, the shelves were actually in the owner’s flat but you’re right, that same one”.

Elevator door opened and they entered it in sync. It closed and started descending.

“Will there be a tube mystery included?” she asked, trying to conceal a bright beam taking over her lips.

Without looking back at her, he replied:

“One can never be sure”.