Lilbee

1. Remind yourself that worrying doesn’t stop things happening. Things will happen – or not happen –anyway.

2. Recognise that “What ifs” don’t usually help with problem solving. It’s better to use logic, and brain storm for solutions. Take control of your emotions by using rational thinking.

3. Motivate yourself by something other than worrying. Take a break and do something fun, and then go back to your work again. That positive approach will reap more benefits.

4. Face your fears – and do the things that you worry about. The thought is often much worse than the actual thing you fear.

5. Ask yourself “What’s the worst thing that could happen?” Then, “What are the chances that it will happen? Then “Will you survive it, if it happens, in the end?” Usually, that helps to move us from an extreme and irrational way of thinking to a more realistic, and reasonable way if thinking.

Bedtime Stories by liketheriver, 34 k, mature.  Sherlock and John slip into a queer platonic relationship, sharing John’s bed before Sherlock leaves for Reichenbach. Sherlock watches over John even while he is “dead” leaving him a dog to keep him company in his absence. Love the sweet, lovely sexy reunion when he returns too.

‘Till I Reach You by Mazarin221b, 13 k, mature. Two months after Sherlock’s “death,” John inadvertently finds out that he is alive. Determined to find Sherlock and unable to let this second chance at what he really wants slip away, John realizes he’s learned more about being an investigator than he expected. But in the end, what he brings to the partnership is being uniquely himself.

Where the Lovelight Gleams by songlin, 1.8 k, teen. They say you get to missing the people you’ve lost around the holidays.

Maybe in the meantime wait and see by Mildredandbobbin, 27 k, explicit. First Sherlock and now Mary, in the space of three years John has lost the two most important people in his life. So excuse him for laughing hysterically when Sherlock walks in the door. (Locked to AO3.)

From Ashes by thirtypercent, 6 k, explicit. Sherlock makes his way home. Sequel to Pyrrhic Victory, but can be read as a standalone.

Out of Sight by Mazarin221b, 4 k, teen. John finds the best way to deal with loss is to pretend it none of it ever happened. Out of sight, out of mind, you know. Until the things John thought locked away start to turn up.

A One Man Army by TalksToSelf, 10 k, explicit. Post-Reichenbach, Sherlock comes home expecting to find a broken man. Instead he finds a soldier. A man who took on the world single handedly - and won.

The Inexact Science of Miracles by VampirePam, 2 k, teen. Alternate ending to “The Reichenbach Fall,” in which Sherlock shows up behind John in the graveyard to explain and ask for forgiveness. What John gives him in addition is something far better.

True in All Minds but His by singularly_obsessed, 3 k, teen. Sally settled in, putting the paper aside. She briefly glanced over it before choosing a file, then suddenly whipped back, snatching it up and all but shouting, “Bloody hell! Since when has he been wearing a widow’s ring?”

The Empty Heart by sussexbound (SamanthaLenore), 7 k, teen. What would have happened if Sherlock had returned a few months, a few days earlier? What if it had been nothing but a few hours? What if he and John had been alone? Things could have been so different…

Gone to Feed the Roses (Elegant and Curled) by hitlikehammers , 18 k, teen. Post-Reichenbach.  John Watson is no one’s weeping widow, and he knows that it’s not impossible to cheat death. (John fakes his death and goes to search for Sherlock.)

Sixteen Words by kim47, 2 k, teen. Sherlock comes back after however-long of being in hiding. He has really missed John, coming to realise just how much he loves him etc. John has been devastated, he never got a chance to tell Sherlock how he felt. When Sherlock bursts in to 221B, barely two words are uttered before he finds himself pushed up against the wall, explanations saved for later.

Children of Dionysus – MoonBeam (part 1)  by meretriciousanddelicious, 5 k, explicit. John went to bed thinking Sherlock was dead, and woke up with a miracle.

Out of Sight by Mazarin221b, 4 k, teen. John finds the best way to deal with loss is to pretend it none of it ever happened. Out of sight, out of mind, you know. Until the things John thought locked away start to turn up.

The Burning Heart  by May_Shepard, 119 k, mature. With Sherlock gone, John feels like his life is over. He tries to move on with a charming new nurse at his clinic, Mark Morstan. However, Sherlock isn’t as dead as John thought, and Mark isn’t quite who he appears to be (A redo of s3 with a male companion for John.)

Erlebnisse by dreadpiratewatson, 7 k, mature. John gets a call after two years. Sherlock isn’t dead, but he’s in deadly peril on a mission in Serbia. He has something he needs to tell John if this is the end.

A Thousand (and John doesn’t want any of them) by Linpatootie, 2 k, gen. One day John Watson comes home and finds a dead man in his living room.

Tomorrow’s Song by agirlsname, 26 k, mature. (Sherlock POV. A  different Reichenbach reunion.) How can he think a relationship with me would be a good idea? I am the sort of person to take a break from my life and when I come back after two years, I expect to find it exactly as I left it. In reality I find it shattered to pieces. (I actually equate you with my life. When did I start doing that?)

Stay by unicornpoe, 17 k teen. John and Sherlock both begin to suspect that something deeper than friendship connects them. But when Sherlock fakes his own suicide and then comes back, things aren’t the same. Is it too late? Or do the Baker Street boys still have a chance at love? Some Language. A ton of feels.

The Secret Blog of Dr. John H. Watson series by agirlsname. 3 works, teen to explicit. If John ever saw a picture of how Sherlock gazes at him when he isn’t looking, things would turn around very quickly for them. What if they were together before Sherlock jumped? John records it all in his secret blog.

Finally Home by janto321 (FaceofMer), 3 k, explicit. Mycroft informs John Sherlock is alive. Of course John takes part in the rescue. And they’re done wasting time.

Figments by blueink3, 7 k, teen. What if Sherlock had returned after The Fall six months earlier?

Sherlock is a time to come home.

John is the one who is going on the bus.

Holmes was the one with the white and white tights.

Watson said that the two of us had to do it.

Johnlock was a really fun day.

enjoytheelephant added: I’m going to take it a step further. Knowing how this adaptation is already influencing other adaptations and will continue to influence future adaptations, I hope that future adaptations don’t make the same mistake giving John or Sherlock a baby. I hope they understand the huge distraction and encumbrance a baby would be.

Okay maybe a single episode baby like maybe they find a baby at the beginning of the episode and return it to its family at the end (like the Ronald Howard episode if I recall). But that’s the limit in a good Holmes adaptation.

@lediona25 LOL and it’s totally cool! Like I said, I don’t MIND parentlock, I just don’t actively look for it. And like @why-cant-people-just-think said, I also DON’T want it in the show. The Johnlock is what I’m here for, and honestly, fic writers write the characters better than the creators do… I mean… they brought Rosie in and….. promptly forgot about her, and wrote really stupid lines like “John should call his daughter” or something stupid like that… like… she’s a baby?? ANYWAY: Fanfics Yes, Show NO.

And same @enjoytheelephant. But again, if it’s done RIGHT and from the START I think it can be pulled off. Writing in a child later in the story is one of the worst things to do.

Fanfic Parentlock Yes! Rosie Noooooooo

Sorry in advance to be a bit of a downer, but I promise there’s a silver lining on my musings.

Regardless of what one thinks about S4, those of us still in the Sherlock fandom can agree that this is a wonderful fandom to be in. The main reason is the baffling amount of talented people in it, whether they’re creating art, writing fanfiction or conjecturing metas. One may ship this or that couple, arguments do arise but all in all? Pretty cool place to hang out.

But a not small reason at all is also the richness within the show itself. Begrudgingly, I will let Mofftiss take some of the credit for weaving the show; gladly, I will let Ben and Martin take most of the credit due to their marvelous on-screen chemistry and talent.

Every series has shaken the fandom in different ways. If S3 was a bit of an earthquake, S4 was damn near apocalyptic. What can we expect from S5?

I will not re-hash meta and theories for S5, but as a johnlocker and ex-tjlcer I can’t help but wonder how the cleaved relationship between Sherlock and John will mend. And although I don’t believe TPTB to make johnlock endgame, even if they do, my question will be…

So what?

If Mofftiss write a S5 where Sherlock and John become a romantic couple, this may very well complete a story arc, their long-term plan, and scratch more than one itch. But it will be so out of time. The time to have done this is so past. We are in 2018, when cinema and television is finally turning LGTBQIA+ stories mainstream and, more importantly, normalised. It’s not a finished process, but it’s well on its way, thankfully. Sherlock’s timing to do this will be off, because it will be one more in the current instead of the shockwave it could have created.

And if S5 sees johnlock happening… how can it topple the worlds already created by the fandom, the theories, the art, the love? How will any johnlock on S5 feel fresh and groundbreaking? How will it heal the fandom after S4?

Personally, I would be happy to see johnlock happening (even if I don’t think it will). Salty as I may be, I will not deny that it would make me happy. But the more time slips away from past series, the less relevant the outcome becomes, whatever that may be. It’s been eight years!!!

Thankfully, we’re still here, and you can pry my love for this show from my cold, dead hands.