#i also like lestrade talking about holmes at all because of course he does. of course he still thinks about him | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

amyreadsandstresses · 2 years

Text

So, I saw the posts by @inevitably-johnlocked and @7-percent, so of course I had to go ahead and do it myself. All fics will be focused on BBC's Sherlock.

I will be going from top to bottom, left to right, in columns. I also tried to keep just one fic per question, hard as it may be.

Onto the Recs!

Column 1

A fic you love without knowing the source material

Switching Tracks by detafo

18k, 6/6, Sliding Doors (1998), Viclock, Johnlock, Mycroft Holmes, Greg Lestrade, Molly Hooper, Jim Moriarty, Mary Morstan.

What started out as a way to keep my mind busy, soon became this... travesty? A BBC Sherlock/Sliding Doors crossover.

I have never even heard of this film and definitely not watched it. However, the tags rather intrigued me and I jumped into this wonderful fic. I completely recommend it, it’s delightful.

A cathartic fic

The Men Who Talked Between the Words by Odamaki

463k, 30/30, Johnlock, Mystrade, Parentlock, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Romance, Recovery, Family, Closure.

John expected to be a father some day; he expected to have the house, and the wife and the nice suburban job. Sherlock never expected to have children, in part because he never expected to make it past 30. As it turns out, you don't get a choice. Crammed into Baker Street with a baby, John struggles with single-parenthood and his own fears, while Sherlock treads the fine line between doing too little and saying too much.

Probably one of the best fics I’ve ever read, this one is a brilliant continuation and even ending of the show we all know and love. I was absolutely in love with the characterizations, the character arcs and the way all of these people came into sharing a life, however unlikely. As far as I am concerned, this fic is canon.

A fic you wish could be a movie

Musgrave Blaze by 7PercentSolution

Part 6 of a series, 64k, 28k, Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Mycroft Holmes, Childhood Trauma, Country House, Murder Mysetry, ACD Canon Characters, Equestrian.

Mixing ACD canon, Sherlock and John are drawn to the rolling hills of Gloucestershire to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a horse, the death of its trainer, and the theft of a three-day eventing trophy from Musgrave Hall. Multi-chapter case fic that brings back some old memories for both men.

A delightful fic that brings with it so many beautiful visuals. From horses to the house and a uniformed John Watson. Oh, and the dogs, of course the dogs. Brilliant fic in a brilliant series. 10/10

A fic that made you gasp out loud

The Deafening Sound of Silence by Ranowa

76k, 12/12, Johnlock, Sign Language, Mycroft Holmes, Greg Lestrade, Implied/Referenced Torture, Recovery, Psychological trauma, Mute Sherlock, Caretaker John, Paternal Greg Lestrade.

"Sometimes I don't talk for days on end. Would that bother you?"

Oh dear Gods, this fic. Wonderful, healing, uffff. There were more than one moment that made me gasp out loud. Somebody please read it and come gush with me.

A fic that gave you butterflies

To a Friend Who Sent Me Roses by AlgySwinburne

16k, 6/6, Johnlock, Parentlock, Friends to Lovers, First Kiss.

Five times Sherlock is mistaken for John’s partner and Rosie’s father, and one time it isn’t a mistake.

Will I ever get over this fic? No, I will not. Read it, read it, read it. This piece is so delightful and soft and loving.

Column 2

A fic with a premise that shouldn’t work but does

Cat Among The Pigeons by BeautifulFiction

10 works, 56k, Johnlock, Catlock, Hurt/Comfort.

As days became months, John found himself overlooking the cat-like characteristics or the occasional moments of Felisian behaviour. He forgot about Sherlock's sharper-than-usual canines and the way he could see in the dark. So what if he lived with a rare genetic variant of Homo sapiens, rather than a bog-standard example of the general population?

It was just Sherlock, unique in every respect and captivating for his mind as much as his physical appearance.

Sherlock is part cat, John is very human, and everything else is the same.

A fic you’d print and put on your bookshelf

The Ground Beneath Your Feet by Chryse

68k, 15/15, Johnlock, Mycroft Holmes, Implied/Referenced Torture, PTSD, Angst with a Happy Ending.

Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure.

Such a good fic, I would love to bind it, everything about it is brilliant.

A fic that led you to making friends with the author

None yet, I’m afraid

A fic you found at the right time

Not a Crime by Yitzock

Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Greg Lestrade, Genderfluid Sherlock, Coming Out, Acceptance.

Sherlock is genderfluid. They keep it a secret for a while, even though it's hard. After playing with their appearance for a while, they decide one day to come out to John before they get a new case.

A fic I read at a time when I was dealing with gender and identity. It was, and continues to be, a great read.

A fic that embodies something you value

Like Father, Like Son by BigBlkDog

Sherlock Holmes & Greg Lestrade, Teen Sherlock, Paternal Greg Lestrade, Drug Addiction, Adoption, Mycroft Holmes, Family Feels.

AU; A 15-year-old Sherlock is outcast by his parents once his drug use has come to a final blow-up. After fleeing to London, fate (murder) intervenes, and Sherlock becomes a part of the life of one, Sergeant Greg Lestrade. Together the two learn that sometimes family isn't just blood. TeenLock. If PapaLestrade is your thing - this is your story.

There are no words to explain how much I love this fic. Its focus on what family really is and how we can choose our own is so strong. Someone is always going to want us, however unexpected.

Column 3

A fic you’ve reread several times

Nature & Nurture by earlgreytea68

Start of a series, 203k, 57/57, Johnlock, Parentlock, Mycroft Holmes, Greg Lestrade, Molly Hooper, Harry Watson.

The British Government accidentally clones Sherlock Holmes. Which brings a baby to 221B Baker Street.

Such a brilliant fic that has been re-read by me an unhealthy amount of times

A fic you associate with a song

The James Holmes Chronicles by prettyvk

Series, 7 works, 338k, Johnlock, Parentlock, Adoption, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Family.

It starts with five words.

“Is my father really dead?”

Or maybe, that’s how it ends.

I didn’t pick just one part of the series because I actually relate the whole thing to this song: I'll Stay. It’s a wonderful series about a family coming together to heal from their past in the most unexpected of ways.

A fic that you would read a fic of

Stop Crying Your Heart Out by AnonyMouseHatesCaptcha

2 works, 52k, R/NC, Abusive Relationship, Jim Moriarty/Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Mycroft Holmes, Stockholm Syndrome.

Moriarty's offer was simple - Sherlock was to go through with his plan and disappear. In return, his friends would stay safe. And then, Sherlock would come to him.

Wow, this fic. Since it is unfinished (though leaves it at an alright point), and so so so good. I would love to have fanfiction of it. I just love my dark Sheriarty so much.

A favourite AU

The House Of The Rising Sun by Koscheyyy

60k, 15/15, Johnlock, Irene Adler, Prostitution, Blood and Gore, Case fic, Greg Lestrade, Janine, Mrs. Hudson.

Do you like reading stories of societal collapse? Where John Watson is an empty shell of a man seeking comfort and Sherlock is an obnoxious sex worker? Where they find each other and end up following the trail of grisly murders within the brothel that Sherlock works? Well I think you might enjoy this…

This was a very difficult choice, since I have several AU’s I just love. But THIS ONE, it’s amazing. Dark and sexy, scary but funny. Excellent.

Column 4

A fic you still remember many years later

Soul By Soul And Silently by Pargoletta

Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Sarah Sawyer, Mycroft Holmes, Greg Lestrade, Implied Violence, Case fic, Politics, R/NC.

Mycroft takes advantage of his position to bring Sherlock and John behind the scenes on a potential political deal. But what was supposed to be a single gala event quickly becomes a puzzle that Sherlock, John, and Sarah must unravel to expose the secrets of powerful men.

One of my first Sherlock fics ever read, and a long time favourite, this one is very interesting. A case fic that happens to contain an awesome Sarah Sawyer. Watch out for trigger warnings.

A fic that inspires you

Living Conditions by TheWhiteLilly

61k, 10/10, Sherlock Holmes/Jim Moriarty, Johnlock, R/NC elements, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, Stockholm’s Syndrome, Patient John, Healing, Plot Twists, Angst with a Happy Ending.

After Reichenbach, Sherlock disappears completely. Even Mycroft has given up hope of finding him alive... but Moriarty had planned for the events on the rooftop and has been taking full advantage of his new live in one.

Sherlock isn't traumatised. He's not, no matter what John thinks, or at least he won't be once he fixes the damage to his mind palace enough to deal with Moriarty's legacy. Because he's always had something that Moriarty underestimated - but it might not be quite what Sherlock thinks it is.

Probably seems like an odd choice, but this is one of my favourite fics ever and has inspired much daydreaming and planning for future fics as well as changed my understanding of what the dynamic between Moriarty and Sherlock could be.

A fic you’ve gushed about irl

En Pointe by pfeifferwrites

Johnlock, Greg Lestrade, Original Female Characters, Fluff, Insecure Sherlock, Ballet Dancer Sherlock, Angst with a Happy Ending.

The thought of John Watson, his John Watson finding out about his love of ballet was terrifying. John was a soldier. Robust, muscular, almost rippling with strength, and he could only imagine what said soldier would do if he found out. Of course, in the back of his mind, he had a dream once of his rugby-playing soldier doctor meeting him after show, teasing him lovingly about the leotard and tights, wiping away the sweaty stage make up that fell down his face as he leaned in for a kiss... But it was wrong. John wasn't gay, Sherlock wasn't a ballet dancer, and love was a horrible thing to think about after a murder.

Read it, it will MAKE YOU gush to whoever will listen.

A fic that made you laugh out loud

TLS and the Sloane Ranger by sgam76

Part of a series, 13k, 5/5, Anthea and Sherlock Holmes, Mycroft Holmes, Young Everyone, MI6, Spies in training, Mild Angst, Humor, Spymaster Mycroft.

Anthea Holder, smart as a whip and well aware of it, meets Mycroft Holmes' little brother, the infamous Lock Holmes (who has a number of other, less-flattering names). It doesn't go quite as she expects.

Oh, yes, and there's a goat.

Everything by this author is just brilliant, and this particular one shot is just such a fun read. I love it.

A fic you stayed up late to finish reading

A Conditional Pardon by London Lioness

49k, 30/30, Sherlock Holmes, Mycroft Holmes, John Watson, Mary Morstan, Greg Lestrade, Molly Hooper, Moriarty, Mental Health Issues, PTSD Sherlock, Drug Use, Therapy.

Sherlock stared nervously at the envelope in his brother's hand. "Is that my pardon?"

Mycroft pursed his lips. "It's more the procedure you have to go through to earn your pardon. There are conditions."

"And I'm not going to like them," the younger brother deduced. He paled suddenly. "Not the mission?"

"No," Mycroft pronounced firmly. "No mission, no gaol."

"Well, so far I love it," Sherlock snarked. "What's the catch?"

The elder Holmes visibly braced himself. "Psychiatric treatment."

Of course, in between therapy sessions, Sherlock will have to quite literally save the world.

Oh dear, this fic. Such an interesting read, with lots of excitement and angst. Everything I love to read, really. 10/10.

Column 5

A comfort fic

Seeds by thesardine

5k, 1/1, Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Gardening, Black Moods

In a fit of boredom Sherlock plants some seeds, may or may not eat one cracker, and definitely waxes dramatic on the sofa for a while.

A beautiful short fic about Sherlock finding a way to cope with the burdens of his mind and John being supportive.

A fic that brought you on board a new ship

Following the (Silver) Fox by Jobooksandcoffee

54k, 15/15, Sherlock Holmes/Greg Lestrade, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, Sally Donovan, Mary Morstan, Molly Hooper, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending.

After two lonely and painful years away eliminating the threads of Moriarty’s web, Sherlock comes home to find John living with Mary. John is also hurt and resentful, determined to not allow Sherlock to undermine his relationship with his new fiancée. Greg, who always thought Sherlock and John belonged together, becomes a closer friend to Sherlock. He gives the Consulting Detective a place to stay, a friend to have dinner with, someone who will listen to him. He tries to keep all interfering feelings at bay. As Sherlock notices his friendship with Greg becomes stronger, he begins to accept that maybe he can be alright even with John not living at Baker Street any more. He and Lestrade can work at the Yard, and talk about cases. Greg is good at rescuing Sherlock when John and Mary’s wedding preparations get intense. They are friends. This is enough for Sherlock. Right?

I’m usually one for Papa Lestrade, but this fic is so well written it’s impossible not to ship it and it opened my mind to explore Sherstrade a bit more.

A fic you associate with a place

The Edinburg Problem by snorkeplie

Start of a series, 152k, 39/39, Johnlock, Holmes Family, Friends to Lovers, First Time, First Kiss, Hurt/Comfort, Family Secrets, Case fic.

“A nice holiday, just a bit more...murdery. ” John said drily.

“Yes! The best kind of holiday!” Sherlock beamed. “So we won’t get bored!”

After he separates from Mary, John returns to Baker Street. Following a request for help from Sherlock's cousin Violet, the detective and his blogger take a trip to Edinburgh. John discovers more about the Holmes family and Sherlock than he bargained for, but tries not to run screaming.

Mind TW. I think the association is pretty obvious, and there’s also the fact that the series is called Scotland. So… yes.

PS: Also a brilliant fic. I love Cousin Violet.

A fic with a line (or two) that you’ve memorized by heart

I Don't Speak French by Ricechex

8k, 1/1, Major Character Death, Angst, Viclock, Mycroft Holmes, Drug Use, Sherlock speaks French.

“One of these days...” Victor wrapped his arms around Sherlock, pulling him closer. “I’ll learn fucking French.”

Line: Then he turned and flung himself into Mycroft's open arms, screaming against Mycroft's chest.

AND

Out Looking for Woodlice by celestialskiff

2k, 1/1, R/NC, Sherlock Holmes/Sebastian Wilkes, Drug Use, PTSD, Abusive Relationship, John Watson, Hurt/Comfort.

Originally written for a request on the kink meme, which asked for Sherlock having been in an abusive relationship with Sebastian, and John helping him heal from it. Reposted and cleaned up a bit.

Line: “I miss woodlice,” he told John. “There aren't any in this flat.”

I couldn’t choose just one fic for this one, so I went with two great fics, both of them a bit sad but with happier endings.

A fic that made you feel seen

2+2=5 by nauticus

33k, 4/4, Backstory, Autistic Sherlock Holmes, Mycroft Holmes, Mummy Holmes, Ableism, Mental Health Issues, Sign Language.

Sherlock is four years old and doesn’t have any words, but there’s a bird skeleton under a glass dome in his father’s study that he thinks might be his kindred spirit.

This fic, wow. I couldn’t relate to the exact circumstances the story displays, but the depiction of loneliness and isolation, along with the frustration of being constantñy misunderstood by the people around you (especially those that ought to see you the most) resonated so strongly with me it even made me tear up a bit. A wonderful read all around.

#bbc sherlock #sherlock holmes #sherlock fandom #sherlock bbc #johnlock #ao3 #sherlock fanfic #ao3 writer #sherlock fic rec

34 notes · View notes

inevitably-johnlocked · 3 years

Note

hi!! do you have any good insecure/low self esteem Sherlock fics? thank you!

Hi Nonny!

AHHHH I’ve too many to count; I did a list back in 2019 that combined the both of them, but I get asked so often for one or the other that I think it’s time to make separate lists, and to do that requires me to re-tag a tonne of fics, so for now, I will give you all the ones I have tagged; I apologize if I’ve missed any, but I’m going through them slowly <3 Enjoy!!

INSECURE / AWKWARD SHERLOCK Pt. 2

See also: Insecure / Awkward John or Sherlock (Jan 2019)

The Four Incidents by TheGirlWithRedHair22 (K+, 1,064 w., 1 Ch. || S1 Compliant, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, John Whump, Accident, John POV, Hand Holding, Worried Sherlock, Sherlock’s Self Esteem) – The first time John was present when someone insulted Sherlock, he brushed it off as a strange coincidence.

Together is What we Have, Together Protects Us by Phantom of the Black Pearl (K+, 1,566 w., 1 Ch. || Post-TRF, Friendship / Platonic or Slash, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Sherlock, Worried Sherlock, Slice of Life) – After a case one evening in the flat Sherlock voices a concern that causes the pair to consider why they've chosen to stick together after all that's happened.

Like Euphoria and Scotch by FinAmour (M, 1,856 w., 1 Ch. || Five and One, Alcohol / Drinking, POV Second Person Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Sherlock’s Imagination, Armchair Sex, Fluff, Happy Ending) – 5 different ways it all could have gone + the one way it actually works itself out.

Five Times Sherlock gave John a Pebble and One Time John Returned the Gesture by grimmfairy (NR, 1,895 w., 1 Ch. || Love Confessions, Fluff, Penguins and Pebbles, Nervous / Pining Sherlock, Oblivious John) – Sherlock isn't good with words, so he decides to tell John his feelings the way penguins do, by bringing him pebbles with different meanings. John catches on.

The Imminent Danger of a Tumblr-Night by Loveismyrevolution (T, 2,135 w., 1 Ch. || Tumblr Fics, Friends to Lovers, Sherlock is Out of His Depth, Humour, Fluff, Pining Sherlock, Military Kink, POV Sherlock) – Sherlock gets into trouble when he pretends to know all about John's favourite social media site - tumblr. To save face he seeks help from one of the bloggers and gains more answers than he had aimed for.

Work On Your Balance by speculate (K+, 2,448 w., 1 Ch. || Embarrassed Sherlock, “For A Case”, Skating, Fluff, Friendship, Humour) – In which John is actually pretty good at ice skating, Sherlock's not and insists it's all for a case , and Lestrade is pretty amused by it all.

The Many Faces of Concern by sdrawkcabemdaer5 (K+, 2,473 w., 1 Ch. || Friendship, Angsty Fluff, John Whump, Mildly Clueless Sherlock) – John is injured on a case, leading to some surprising reactions and discoveries about their friendship.

Nothing Left Untouched by ForeverShippingJohnlock (K+, 2,617 w., 1 Ch. || Friendship, Romance, Bed Sharing, Oblivious Sherlock, Anxious/Worried Sherlock, Grumpy John, Fluff and Cuddles) – Sherlock rearranges the flat. So what if John's bedroom is now a research library. It's not like John needs a bedroom, he can share with Sherlock. They're friends and John has obviously slept in close quarters with men before and it's not like Sherlock sleeps much anyway. It'll be fine.

Closeted by Sexxica (E, 2,762 w., 1 Ch. || Trapped in a Closet, Panicking Sherlock, Hand Jobs, Coming in Pants, Awkward Conversations, Love Confessions, First Kiss, Fluffy Ending) – An improvised hiding spot and a bit of accidental voyeurism leave John and Sherlock in an awkward position.

Reversed by whitchry9 (K+, 3,072 w., 6 Ch. || Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Medical Anomalies, John Gets Shot) – The man pointed his gun at John's chest, right at his heart, and shot.' Wherein John is shot, and Sherlock is the one panicking.

Study in Sherlock by chappysmom (K+, 3,790 w., 1 Ch. || ASiP, Friendship, Introspection, Anxious Sherlock, POV Sherlock, Caring Sherlock, Stroppy Sherlock) – Sherlock's thoughts and feelings during A Study in Pink. What DID he think of John, and why was he being so NICE?

Date Night by inevitably_johnlocked (G, 4,451 w., 1 Ch. || Anxious / Worried Sherlock, Caring John, Schmoopy Fluff, Fidget Cube, Baking / Cooking, Date Night, Established Relationship, POV Sherlock Holmes, Understanding John, Grumpy Sherlock, John’s Bum, Kisses, Hugs, Domestic Fluff, Touching, Hair Petting, Light Humour) – It's John and Sherlock's first Date Night as an official couple and Sherlock needs it to be PERFECT. Mrs Hudson helps. Part 7 of I-J's Tumblr Ficlet Collection

Sherlock and John Go Clubbing by wendymarlowe (E, 4,716 w., 3 Ch. || Clubbing, Dirty Talk, Dancing, Coming Untouched, Coming in Pants, Bi John, For a Case, Friends to Lovers, Flirting, Sherlock is Lost for Words, Sexy John, Mutual Pining, Possessive John, Floor Sex/Hand Job/Frottage) – John pinched the bridge of his nose - even for Sherlock, this was a new level of no bloody boundaries. “You want me to go with you to a gay club, wait around twiddling my thumbs while I let you get pawed by a criminal, then out-flirt him and talk you into coming home with me instead?” Part 32 of John and Sherlock's Kinky First Times

Applied Linguistics by what_alchemy (M, 4,837 w., 1 Ch. || Possessive / Anxious Sherlock, Introspection, Bed Sharing, Past John Whump, Est. Rel., Marriage Proposal, Sherlock Loves John So Much, Word Play) – “He wants to shake John by the shoulders, wants to open his mouth and swallow John whole. Wants to marry him.” Sherlock searches for the right words.

Sleeping next to you by Salambo06 (E, 5,018 w, 2 Ch. || ASiB Fic, Bed Sharing, Frottage, Mutual Masturbation, Rimming, Anal, First Kiss/Time, POV Sherlock) – Based on an Anonymous Prompt: "So, that scene from ASiB when Mrs H has been attacked by the American CIA guy & John, Sherlock & she are in Mrs H's kitchen when John says "She’ll have to sleep upstairs in our flat tonight. We need to look after her." to which Sherlock replies with "no". John of course suggested that because he cares about her safety, but maybe he also did it cause he /wanted/ that to happen. What if they finally agreed on letting her have John's or Sherlock's bed & J&S sleep in the same one?" Part 12 of Tumblr Collection

Nothing So Sweet by alexxphoenix42 (E, 5,275 w., 1 Ch. || Shopkeeper AU || Beekeeping, Sussex, Alternate First Meeting, Awkward First Time Sex, Self-Consciousness / Body Insecurity, Fluff, Hand Jobs) – In an alternate universe, Sherlock is busy keeping to himself, tending his bees, and selling lovely jars of honey when a soldier limps into his life quite unexpectedly. Part 1 of The Sweetest Things

My First, My Only, and My Forever by vintagelilacs (E, 6,220 w., 1 Ch. || Post-ASiB, Virgin Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Sherlock’s Bum, John’s Scar, Sherlock POV, Body Worship, Fingering, Bottomlock, Promise of Forever / Proposals, Misunderstanding, First Kiss/Time, Loss of Virginity, Virginity Kink, Seduction) – Sherlock narrowed his eyes. He was missing a vital piece of data, he was sure. John had been looking at him oddly ever since they left Buckingham Palace, and the ensuing incident with Irene Adler had only exacerbated his erratic behaviour. What was it? Why would he care that Sherlock was a virgin? There was nothing reminiscent of mockery or pity in his gaze. And then it hit him. John Watson was aroused.

Time on my hands by Mildredandbobbin (M, 7,179 w., 1 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Post-S3, One Night Stands, Mutual Pining, Virgin Sherlock, First Time, Sexual Exploration / Discovery, Desperation, Body Worship) – Virginity’s a construct, a concept—what does losing one’s virginity entail for a gay man anyway? Sherlock wants to fill that particular gap in his knowledge but John won’t, can’t, never will assist and there’s only so much desperately unspoken pining even Sherlock can take.

The Very Unlikely Existence of a Flightless Bird in a Tuxedo by cwb (E, 8,829 w., 1 Ch. || Poetry, Penguins / Animals / Zoos, First Kiss / Time, Blow / Hand Jobs, Sleepy Cuddles, Endearments, Friendship / Love, Adorable / Sleepy Sherlock, Case Fic, Sherlock Can’t Say Penguin) – A case at the zoo reveals something John finds cute about Sherlock. A conversation ensues, and so does happy endings.

Always the sun by Rose de Sharon (K+, 12,377 w., 3 Ch. || Song Fic, Alternate Post-TGG, Friendship/Bromance, Hurt/Comfort, Introspection / Reflection, Injury Recovery, Obsessive / Protective Sherlock, Nightmares, John’s Past, Bed Sharing / Cuddles) – Sherlock ponders about how much his life has changed since John has become his flatmate.

Understanding by rizandace (T, 13,268 w., 15 Ch. || Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Worried Sherlock, John Whump Then Sherlock Whump) – Sherlock's hiding something about his newest case, and John wants answers. Set post-TGG. Friendship fic, mostly, with brief entrances from Harry and Lestrade just for fun.

On The Fence by BeautifulFiction (T, 13,770 w., 1 Ch. || Fencing, Case Fic, First Kiss, Insecure John, Pining John, Hug, Greg Finds Out) – The murder of the King's College fencing champion leads to revelations about Sherlock's past. Will it be the point that tips them from friends to lovers, or will they remain on the fence?

Pattern Behaviour by SilentAuror (E, 14,835 w., 1 Ch. || POV First Person Sherlock, Jealous Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Introspection, Stroppy Sherlock, Light Humour, Friendship, John Takes Care of Sherlock, First Kiss/Time, Wall Kisses, Fluffy Angst, Happy Ending) – Sherlock doesn't even know why he resents John's dates so much. Until the day he does know. Slight angst, unrequited feelings (but don't let that scare you off!)

The Burning of the Leaves by blueink3 (M, 15,915 w., 3 Ch. || Post S4, Angst, Reichenbach, Parentlock, Past Jolto, Idiot John, Sherlock’s a Mess, Puppies, Fluff, Possessive / Jealous Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Sherlock POV, Matchmaker Sholto, Melancholic Feelings, Emotional Sherlock, Domesticity, Love Confessions in the Rain, Kissing in the Rain, Pet Names, Panic Attack) – After the events of series 4, Major Sholto invites John and Sherlock to lunch one day. It nearly proves to be too much for their tenuous relationship as the past haunts the present, putting the future that Sherlock so desperately wants at risk.

A Silver Sixpence by _doodle (NC-17, 16,400 w., 2 Ch. || LJ Fic || For a Case / Case Fic, Fake Relationship, Humour, Romance, Marriage Proposal, Awkward Idiots, Cuddling, Touching, Kissing, Love Confessions, Bed Sharing, Friends to Lovers, Fake Until It’s Not, Schmoop and Fluff, Bottomlock) – “John, we need to get married. It’s for a case, not any romantic notions on my part pertaining to our partnership,” Sherlock said, with brutal honesty, and without even looking up.

Hope for Heroes by Richefic (K+, 16,887 w., 5 Ch. || Post-TGG Fic, Introspection / Flashbacks, Friendship/Epic Bromance, Hurt/Comfort, Worried/Anxious Sherlock, Sherlock Admires John, BAMF John, John Deduces, Fancy Party, John’s Self Esteem, Domestics) – In the final moments of "The Great Game" Holmes hopes he will have the chance to tell his flatmate that he was wrong. Heroes do exist after all and the one in front of him is called Dr John Watson.

Between Friends by SilentAuror (E, 18,036 w., 1 Ch. || Post S3, Alternating POV, Friends to Lovers, John in Denial, Abduction, Awkward Situations / Miscommunications, Porn With Feels, Blowjobs, Pining, Unrequited, Angst With Happy Ending) – Sherlock gets abducted. As John discovers him tied up naked in an empty storage facility and comes to rescue him, Sherlock's body has an unfortunate reaction which triggers a series of events. John is convinced that everything will be fine as long as they never discuss it. Sherlock isn't as sure...

Out of the Woods by SilentAuror (E, 20,471 w., 1 Ch. || Post S4, Romance, Slow Burn, Flirting, Drunk Sex, Practical Jokes, POV Sherlock, Bottomlock, Possessive John, Pining Sherlock, Frustrated Wanking, Frottage, Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, First Kiss/Time, Virgin Sherlock, Love Confessions, Soft Sherlock, Dancing, Bum Appreciation, Hanging out with the Yard) – Sherlock is fairly certain that John has taken to flirting with him of late, but can't be entirely certain of it. At least, not until a case takes them into a forest, along with Lestrade's team and something happens that will change everything about their lives...

A Quiet Life by DiscordantWords (M, 25,176 w., 6 Ch. || Post S4, Retirement, POV Sherlock, Awkwardness, Established Relationship, Family Dynamics, Minor Character Death, Questionable Parenting Choices, Non-Linear Narrative, 20 Year Old Rosie, Meddling Mycroft, Pining Sherlock, First Kiss, Love Confessions, Angst, Sherlock Whump) – There had been three days of silence and a funeral. Sherlock had the terrible feeling that whatever happened next would depend, entirely, on him.

Rupert Street by WritingOutLoud (M, 27,262 w., 9 Ch. || Alternate First Meeting || Case Fic, Sexuality, Demisexual Sherlock, Drugging, Smart John, Sherlock Has Internalized Biphobia, Fluff, Angst with Happy Ending, Gay Bar, Flirting, John Manipulates Sherlock to Eat, John Deduces, Arguments, Kidnapping/Torture, Hospitalization, John Whump) – Discharged from the war with nothing but the clothes on his back and a realisation of his bisexuality, John Watson has to learn who he’s become. He can’t afford London on an army pension, but the city is the only friend he has. In an effort to understand his newfound queer identity, he heads to a bar one night, where he stumbles across a mysterious stranger who turns his life upside down. ‘I dug around inside myself, and I'm not quite sure what I found, but it was beautiful and terrifying all at the same time.’

The Wisteria Tree by SilentAuror (E, 29,773 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S3, Emotional Love Making, Amnesia/Memory Loss, Sherlock Loves John So Much, Sherlock POV, Romance, Angst with Happy Ending, First Times, Hurt/Comfort, Est. Rel., Retirement) – Sherlock wakes up from a month-long coma only to discover that he has no memory of the previous six years to his own shock as well as John's...

A Home for Us by sussexbound (M, 30,581 w., 12 Ch. || Scars, Bedsharing, Grief, Doctor John, Hurt/Comfort, Post-TRF, Implied/Referenced Torture, Sherlock POV, Pining Sherlock, Suicidal Ideation, Heavy Emotions, Clingy Sherlock, Hallucinations, Disassociation, Emotional Turmoil) – He has been on the road for two years, and he is exhausted. He’s almost accepted that he will never see London (John) again—almost. But then there are nights like tonight, where he is weak, and all he can think of is the warmth of the flat they once shared, the crackle of the fire in the hearth, the teasing smile playing at the corner of John’s lips, the boxes of half-eaten Chinese takeaway balanced precariously in their laps. He aches at the memory of it, at the realisation that it is something he may never experience again.

Deck the Halls by itsalwaysyou_jw (T, 31,018 w., 24 Ch. || Advent Fic / Multiple One-Shots, Assorted Tags) – One Johnlock ficlet for every day leading up to Christmas. Who is ready for pining, first kisses, established Johnlock, and everything in between? This collection of stand-alone ficlets will have it all.

The Winter Garden by Callie4180 (T, 31,213 w., 13 Ch. || Post-S4, Retirement, Christmas, Slow Burn, Grown-Up Rosie, Parenthood, Rosie’s Cat, Angst with Happy Ending, Holidays, Beekeeping, Magical Realism, Sherlock POV, Sherlock’s Violin, Future Fic, Sussex, Honey, Magical Healing Honey, Love Confessions, Sherlock’s Scar, First Kiss, Touching) – As Sherlock nears the end of his career, he's given the gift of a cottage in Sussex. The honey from the beehives out back is amazing. Almost...magical.

a good old-fashioned happy ending by darcylindbergh (E, 32,731 w., 26 Ch. || Christmas, Frottage, Comfort, Est. Rel., Fluff, Insecure Sherlock, Frottage, Nightmares, Sleepy Sherlock, Marriage Proposal, Humour, Fluff, Dancing, Cooking, Happy Ending) – For Christmas this year, Sherlock wants to get John something special: something every fairytale deserves. Part 2 of things fairy tales are made of

carrying up his morning tea by darcylindbergh (E, 34,504 w., 5 Ch. || Post S3, Minor Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Wakes/Funerals, Estranged John, Pining Sherlock, Depression/Insecurity, Slow Burn, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Chronic Pain/Injury, Reconciliation, Awkwardness, Loneliness, Scars, Angst With Happy Ending) – His fingers tremble as he dials and he can’t force them steady. Familiar number, even though he hasn’t used it in two years. He isn’t even sure he should be calling it now, but she’d asked. She’d made him promise.

Nothing to Make a Song About by emmagrant01 (E, 36,833 w., 10 Ch. || Post-TRF, First Time, Reunion, Jealous John, Pining Sherlock, Romance, Angst with Happy Ending, Sherlock Has a Boyfriend) – When Sherlock returned from his faked death, John could not forgive him for the deception and broke off their friendship. Ten years later, John returns to London in search of yet another new beginning. Sherlock, not surprisingly, is waiting.

The Unfinished Letters by SilentAuror (E, 37,391 w., 1 Ch. || Post S3 / S3 / HLV Fix it, Angst with Happy Ending, Romance, Infidelity, Depression, Case Fic, POV Third Person Sherlock, Love Confessions, Pining Sherlock, Letters) – A fire at Baker Street leads John to read something he was never intended to see: a notebook of half-written, unfinished letters Sherlock wrote during his time away...

(Never) Turn Your Back to the Sea by DiscordantWords (M, 39,968 w., 7 Ch. || Post S4 Fix It || Grief / Mourning, Victor Trevor, Friendship, Sherlock is Not Okay, Nightmares/Flashbacks/Panic Attacks, Parentlock, Pining Sherlock, Angst with Happy Ending, John Comes Home) – Baker Street is very much the same. Only different. And Sherlock is just trying not to drown.

Anchor Point by trickybonmot (E, 49,856 w., 80 Ch. || Truman Show AU || Psychological Drama, Suspense, Slow Burn, Dark Characters / Fic, Alternating First/Third Person, Protective John, Anxious/Worried Sherlock, Tender Moments, Love Confessions, Hand/Blow Jobs, Cuddling, Jealous John, First Kiss/Time) – The world tunes in nightly for Sherlock, the ultimate in reality TV: Sherlock Holmes, a real person with a legendary name, unknowingly lives out his life in a staged setting contrived by his brother. Things get complicated when a retired army doctor joins the show to play the part of Sherlock's closest friend. This fic borrows its concept from the 1998 film, the Truman Show. However, you don't need to have any knowledge of the movie to enjoy this story.

Never Change a Running System by Lorelei_Lee (E, 54,246 w., 18 Ch. || Pre-TRF, Romance, Humour, Drama, Sex Toys, Anal, Rimming, Masturbation, Frottage, Blow Jobs, Public Sex, First Kiss / Time, Virgin Sherlock / Loss of Virginity, Accidental Voyeurism, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Experiments, Naive Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Jealous Sherlock, Possessive Sherlock, Straight With an Exception John, Hand Jobs) – Sherlock discovers his sexuality – with far-reaching consequences for John.

A Goose Quill Dipped in Venom by Polyphony (M, 52,748 w., 16 Ch. || Celebrity John AU || Alternate First Meeting, TV Host John, Supermodel Mary, Character Death, Mystery, Romance, Case Fic, First Kiss/Time, Meddling Mycroft, Drug Abuse, Doctor John, PDA, Deductions, POV Sherlock, Toplock, Sexual Tension, Angry/Rough Sex, Hopeful Ending, Asperger’s Sherlock) – Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective, is called in to a very ordinary although brutal murder. Something is badly out of tune with the whole scenario and Sherlock finds himself becoming more and more obsessed with the crime - and also with the victim.

A Hundred Crimson Sols by elldotsee (E, 55,536 w., 16 Ch. || Astronauts AU || Mars Exploration / Space Travel, Slow Burn, Shy Sherlock, Scientist Sherlock / Biomed Engineer John, Alternating POV, Mutual Pining, UST, Angst with Happy Ending, Domestic Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Injuries, Suicidal Ideation, Zero-G Sex) – Will Holmes is a chemical researcher recognized widely for his contributions to the new Mars exploration program. Thanks to his ground-breaking developments, the IMMC (International Mars Mission Corporation) is one step closer to Martian colonization. Will and his team of scientists are headed out on the first of three manned missions before the first group of settlers arrive. Three days before launch, one of the crew has to be replaced. Will panics because...new people. The replacement is of course one John Watson, biomedical engineer and space hottie who was pretty sure he had retired from actual space exploration and was now content to work in the nice, quiet research lab. Can the crew survive this TOTALLY ROUTINE trip? Will they be able to endure each other for the looooooong trip in close quarters? Gonna be a wild ride... prepare for blast off. Part 1 of SpaceBois go to Space

The Thing Is by TSylvestris (E, 56,743 w., 21 Ch. || Case Fic, Dev. Rel., Anal/Oral, Blow Jobs, Meddling Mycroft, Drama, Romance, Humour, Casual Encounters, Pining Idiots, Possessive Sherlock, Orgasm Delay, Rough / Alley Sex, Public Sex, John Whump, Drugged John, Emotional Love Making, Awkward Relationship, Marriage of Convenience, Switchlock) – The problem with living with Sherlock, John thought, was that you never, never, ever knew the significance of anything. Like your flatmate's nose buried in your hair. Whilst you're in bed. Part 1 of Nitroglycerine

One Little Change by jadztone (E, 58,312 w., 12 Ch. || ASiB Divergence, Fake Relationship, Bed Sharing, Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers, First Kiss / Time, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Bi John / Gay Demisexual Sherlock, Switchlock, Alternating POV, Jealousy, Misunderstandings, Case Fic, Angst with Happy Ending, Emotional Love Making, Butt Plugs, Cuddles) – Our story begins right after John and Sherlock's first meeting with Irene Adler in September. It splits off into an AU that imagines them taking a case where they act as bait to hook a killer targeting closeted gays in secret relationships. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, many things happen that have our boys wondering if maybe they have a chance with each other. Then Irene fakes her death on Christmas Eve, and things get a lot more complicated - especially since they still have a killer to catch.

The Burning by SrebrnaFH (M, 60,658 w., 24 Ch. || Reverse Reichenbach, Suicide, Depression, Hurt Sherlock / John, Separation, BAMF John, Good Big Brother Mycroft, Angst, Implied/Referenced Torture, Fake Character Death, Rescue Mission, Reconciliation / Reunion, Hospitalization, Marriage Proposal, Illnesses, Physical Therapy, Happily Ever After) – Something went very, very wrong. John had seemed, if not happy, then reasonably content with his life. Sherlock had never predicted something like THIS might have happened. Not in his worst nightmares. He was the lousiest friend ever, apparently. At least Mycroft found him something to occupy his mind with, so that he didn't have to go back to 221B and stare at the walls and the chair, where John Watson would never sit again.

Being John Watson-ish by elwinglyre (E, 69,902 w., 17 Ch. || Bodysnatcher AU || Author John, Cranky Sherlock, Angst, Sexual Tension, First Kiss / Time, Falling in Love, BAMF John, Past Soldier John, Feelings, Inside Someone’s Brain, Shy Sherlock, Sherlock Loves John, POV Sherlock, Switchlock, Slow Burn, Internal Dialogue, Mental Turmoil) – When consulting detective Sherlock Holmes steps on one toe too many at a crime scene, he's consigned to a desk job in an archaic office on the seventh-and-a-half floor of the New Scotland Yard. It’s in this bleak office that Sherlock discovers a portal into the mind of renowned author John Watson. Grander than his mind palace, this new wonderland affords Sherlock new vistas of experimentation. To learn more about the mystery behind the portal, Sherlock seeks out and befriends Watson. But then it all goes wrong when others find the secret portal door—including the man whose brain he visits.

Gold Rush by ShirleyCarlton (E, 71,783 w., 17 Ch. || Post S3 / No Mary, Friends to Lovers, Mentions of Past Sexual Abuse, First Kiss, Case Fic, Slow Burn, Alternating POV, Switchlock, Angst with Happy Ending, Marriage Proposal, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Abduction, Anxious/Insecure Sherlock, Miscommunication, Emotional Lovemaking) – John has divorced Mary and pops round to 221B one evening to find Sherlock in the middle of a case. As Sherlock tries to find the identity of a young woman’s stalker, John realises he can no longer deny his feelings for Sherlock – which then, to their befuddlement, turn out to be mutual. Shy kisses and tentative embraces ensue. But will Sherlock be able to cast off a shadow from his past that he thinks might prevent John from wanting to stay?

Kintsukuroi by sussexbound (E, 91,823 w., 20 Ch. || S4 Compliant / Post-TLD, Grief / Mourning, PTSD, Internalized Homophobia, Therapy, Past Abuse, Alcohol Abuse, Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Depression, Anxiety, Bed Sharing, Love Confessions, Cuddling, Suicidal Ideation, Masturbation, Minor Character Death, Sexting, Frottage, Inexperienced Sherlock, Rimming / Anal / BJ’s, Emotional Turmoil, Finding Each Other) – “I love you.” Sherlock sees the words hit John with almost physical force. He reels back a little, jaw twitching and eyes filling. “I love you,” he repeats, a little softer, a little more gentle, as earnest as he possibly can. Because they’ve been teetering on the brink of this thing for years, and it had become painfully obvious over the last few months that they were at a tipping point. This had to happen. Now it has. Now they can see where they end up. The tears in John’s eyes spill over, and he wipes at them angrily. “Do you even know what that means?”

The Summer Boy by khorazir (T, 94,706 w., 6 Ch. || Post S3/Post TAB/Alternate S4, Friends to Lovers, Flashbacks, Sussex, Bullying, 1980′s Kid Sherlock, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Inexperienced Sherlock, Grief/Mourning, Pining Sherlock, Background Case Fic) – About half a year after the fateful events at Appledore, Sherlock and John embark on a private case in Sussex. For Sherlock, it’s a journey into his past, bringing up memories both happy and sad that he has locked away for almost thirty years. For John, it means coming to terms with the present – and a potential future with Sherlock. Part 1 of the The Summer Boy series

The Wedding Garments by cwb (E, 105,390 w., 36 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Alternate Future AU || Alternate First Meeting, Dating / Arranged Marriages, Romance, First Kiss/Time, Heavy Petting, Cuddles, POV Sherlock, Virgin Sherlock, Idiots in Love, Slow Burn / Falling in Love / Dev. Rel., Nervous/Anxious Sherlock, Jealous/Cranky Sherlock, Hiking, Vacation Homes / Honeymoon, Sherlock’s Family, Horny John/Sherlock, Patient John, Massages, Hand Jobs, Assassination Plots, Oral Sex, Case Fic, Emotional Love Making, Bath Time Fun) – This is the story of a young consulting detective who wants nothing to do with marriage and an army doctor who wants to find true love. It's 2020 post-Brexit England and the British government is encouraging arranged marriages. Candidates meet through state-run agencies and date in hopes of finding love (and tax benefits). Sherlock doesn't need or want a spouse, at least not until John Watson shows up. Hesitant to give in to his more carnal urges because of the way they derail his mind, how will Sherlock progress toward the more intimate aspects of a relationship? The answer lies in a very special wedding gift.

The Lost Special: Family Matters (As Do Relationships) by ShirleyCarlton (M, 144,688 w., 40 Ch. || S4 Fix It Fic / Meta Fic, Unreliable Narrator, John’s Mind Bungalow, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Demisexual Sherlock, Holmes Family, John Whump, Gay Mycroft, Misunderstandings, Drug Addiction, Parenting, TFP is a Nightmare, Virgin Sherlock, Slow Burn, Minor Character Death, Switchlock, John’s Past, Sherlock’s Past, Eurus, Love Confessions) – Sherrinford is not really the name of some high security prison. That was just a figment of John’s frantic coma dream. And Eurus is not actually Sherlock’s sister. That’s just something random she said to John before shooting him. Sherlock and John were never actually estranged. That was just their act to cover up what really happened to Mary – or Rosamund Moran, as her real name has turned out to be. Sherlock does have a secret sibling, though, and his name is Sherrinford. After finally eliminating Moran – though in a rather dramatically different way than they had envisioned – and exposing the truth about Eurus, John encourages Sherlock to delve into his past and to find out whether the reasons to keep Sherrinford away from Sherlock were the right ones, and to discover what really happened in 1981. Along the way, Sherlock and John gradually, finally, stop keeping each other at a distance, and eventually become a proper family of their own.

Against the Rest of the World by SilentAuror (E, 151,714 w., 20 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Post-TRF, Hiatus Fic, POV First Person Sherlock, Present Tense, First Kiss/Time, Big Brother Mycroft, Escaping from Capture, Soft Sherlock, Toplock, Insecurity, Infidelity, Travelling, Introspection, Pining Sherlock, Depression, Fantasies, Yearning for the Past, PTSD Sherlock, Suicidal Ideation) – Sherlock has been away from London for nine hundred and twelve days and counting, and has no idea what sort of reception to expect when he finally returns.

#steph replies #johnlock fic recs #insecure sherlock #my fic recs #Anonymous #long post #awkwardness

141 notes · View notes

transholmes · 3 years

Text

The Boscombe Valley Mystery is truly a ridiculous story and I mean that in the nicest possible way. Never mind the plot, but from beginning to end it feels like a conspiracy between Holmes and Mary to give Watson a badly needed holiday because he haven’t been taking care of himself.

No really. It start out with Watson and his wife sitting at breakfast and him receiving a telegram from Holmes if Watson would like to join him on a little excursion to Herefordshire as Holmes has been called there on a case.

They’re in what I call the, “mending their friendship” phase after Watson’s marriage and their subsequent estrangement and Watson isn’t sure if he should go or not. But Mary pushes him telling him she thinks he’s looking a little pale and worn and maybe going off with his friend would help him recover.

So here’s Mary Watson, sending off her husband with erratically behaving, workaholic Holmes because she thinks it’ll help his health? Let’s just say that Mary Morstan was never a stupid woman and she lost none of her intelligence when she married, and she has Holmes’ measure far better than many fans.

Because what happens then?

Well when Watson arrives at the station it’s to find Holmes restlessly pacing back and forth, the very image of frustrated and impatient energy. When he sees Watson he’s overjoyed to see him and immediately tells him to go sit and reserve the corner seats for them while Holmes buys them tickets. Mind you the whole carriage is empty by Watson’s own words two paragraphs later and they have it all to themselves.

Then they arrive in Ross near Boscombe Valley and are met with Lestrade at the inn they’re staying at, the inspector saying that he’s already engaged a carriage because he knows Holmes’ energy and sure he’d like to inspect the murder scene immediately. To which Holmes counters that that depends entirely on the barometric pressure and Lestrade gives Holmes a look that probably every reader is currently giving the page, because what? Well Holmes ascertains that the weather is likely to hold, ie. no rain, and since the inn has a very nice soft sofa and Holmes has some cigarettes he wants to smoke it can wait.

The reader will now definitely be staring at the page with the same utterly incredulous expression that Lestrade is currently giving Holmes because this guy who is boundless energy when he’s working and doesn’t seem to know the meaning of the word rest when he’s on a case just want to take the afternoon off to sit on a couch and smoke?

Well this exchange is interrupted by the appearance of the young woman who badgered Lestrade into engaging Holmes in the first place, who is also the childhood friend of the murder suspect and believes him innocent. After ended interview Holmes agrees with her assertion (Lestrade btw, does not).

Lestrade has acquired a warrant(?) to see the young suspect but it only allows him and Holmes access to the man so Holmes tells Watson to stay in town as it’ll be dreadfully dull anyway and he’ll be back soon. And off he and Lestrade goes leaving Watson to conduct a very brie ramble about the town and then return to the inn to have a lie down and then try and read. Mind you, this is the Holmes who what, three stories before this one had no problem throwing his weight around with a king and tell His Majesty that either he’d take both of them (Watson as well as Holmes) or he could take his royal business elsewhere.

Regardless Holmes returns in due course and begins discussing what he learned from the young man, then once again checking the barometer to make sure the weather will keep while telling Watson that he really just wants to be on the top of his game when looking at the murder scene so it’ll keep until morning and then proceeds to have a nice quiet evening with Watson discussing literature before going to bed. Btw as only Holmes was expected only one room have been engaged so I guess they’ll have to share.

Well the next morning bright and not too early off they trot to finally examine the murder scene. Holmes is in his element snooping around and Watson is in his element studying Holmes. It is a bit off the beaten track and demand both carriage ride and walking.

Once done Holmes gives Lestrade a few pointers about the killer which the Inspector disregards as too fanciful and then Holmes takes Watson back to the inn and tells him to sit down (so that Holmes can talk to him because that could not possibly be done standing up).

The rest of the story is a conclusion of the mystery plot and a small coda with a happy ever after for the murder suspect and the real killer’s daughter, but that’s irrelevant to my point so I’ll skip that.

tl;dr Boscombe Valley Mystery is Mary Watson pushing her husband to run off with his friend for a few days because she knows Holmes can and will wrangle her husband into sitting down and taking it easy which he very badly needs and Holmes then proceeding to do just that for at least a day and a half, even postponing a very critical part of his investigation and risking losing evidence just so Watson can rest.

And not only that, Holmes does it in such a way so Watson doesn’t feel like a burden or that he’s slowing Holmes down. By keeping on framing his actions as either his (Holmes) own self-indulgence or comfort there’s nothing Watson can really do than let Holmes look after him, except perhaps open confrontation. Maybe they did discuss it after the story ended but what we get is a Holmes who is very willing to take his friends comfort and well-being, emotional as well as physical, into account. Idk how Holmes would do as a bedside nurse, but when it comes to looking after Watson I’d say he does just grand.

#sherlock holmes #john watson #acd holmes #acd watson #mary morstan #acd canon #willow whisper #long post is long

56 notes · View notes

tiger-moran · 2 years

Text

47gaslamps said: Like, hello, mere mercenaries don’t get eaten up by revenge for three years straight.

YES

There are so many indications, some explicit, some subtle, in the canon that Moran was very close to Moriarty and that’s why he behaves as he does, even though they get very little written about them - Holmes calling Moran Moriarty’s “friend” and “bosom friend” explicitly, then the implication that Moran was cheating at cards to get money (so what happened to Moran’s money from before? Could he maybe have spent it all because he spent three years living off his savings while travelling around hunting Holmes down and paying others to be on the lookout for him?). And other elements too. And Moran doesn’t really have anything to gain by deliberately targeting Holmes like that, except satisfaction at killing the man who he actually saw shove Moriarty over the waterfall (something which he’s likely not only angry about but also probably actually traumatised by). Sure he’d be annoyed perhaps at losing his main/only source of income if he was just motivated by money but to be that obsessive about killing Holmes, it doesn’t make sense if the money was all he really cared about. And if Moran was just trying to take over Moriarty’s position as ‘criminal overlord’ or something surely he’d be more likely to dispose of Holmes later when they happened to cross paths, not have someone on the lookout for him and then try to murder him in his own home almost the instant he comes back to England, but it’s as if he cannot wait, as if he has been consumed by this desire for revenge for three years already and he cannot wait any longer. And I’ve said this before of course but a ‘cold-blooded murderer’ and someone who only cared about Moriarty’s money is not going to be “beside himself with excitement" on the brink of killing Holmes. Nor is he going to fall into an obvious trap which is very reminiscent of traps he likely has used himself for hunting game, unless he’s not entirely in his right mind, probably because he is so consumed with this desire for revenge that he just is not thinking clearly.

I think Holmes did underestimate Moran’s regard for Moriarty once but he has realised it by then, and then Watson refers to Moran with words like “rage”, and says that “The fury upon his face was terrible to look at", and that doesn’t just suggest to me that Moran is simply angry at being caught, it suggests that fury is wounded fury, that he is absolutely devastated at not succeeding in killing the man who killed/tried to kill Moriarty, and that even Watson - whose view of Moran seems to be very distorted by his own pain - knows that Moran is hurting so much and that’s why it’s so terrible to look at. Moran is an experienced hunter but he’s not behaving like that at all, he is emotional, which isn’t just something that does not fit him being purely mercenary it’s also pretty unusual for a Victorian man as well. He is restrained in the manner in which he talks to Lestrade (who he seems to have no personal grievance with), but with Holmes Moran barely seems to be holding himself together. Nothing about it seems like ‘mercenary’ behaviour.

And also, elsewhere in the canon there are characters who are seemingly consumed by a desire for revenge for the deaths of loved ones (not necessarily romantic partners always but certainly loved ones) - Jefferson Hope and Sophy Kratides for instance, and Leon Sterndale. The latter (which I addressed in a post some years back, here) is especially interesting to me because Sterndale is a “great lion hunter”, his first name even means Lion. Moran meanwhile is a well known hunter of man eating tigers and is referred to as being “wonderfully like a tiger himself”. There are very obvious similarities there between them and that may further suggest Moran’s motivation for trying to kill Holmes is very similar to Sterndale’s motive. And of course Holmes’s words in that story - “I have never loved, Watson, but if I did and if the woman I loved had met such an end, I might act even as our lawless lion-hunter has done. Who knows?” shows that even Holmes understands Sterndale’s motives for committing murder and he essentially says he might even do the same thing were a woman he loved killed. Also those words are often used to parallel his words and behaviour in The Three Garridebs, where Holmes says to Evans, “If you had killed Watson, you would not have got out of this room alive". Since Moriarty is basically Holmes’s mirror and Moran is basically Watson’s mirror then that also even further ties that story back to Moran and Moriarty. That idea of avenging the deaths of loved ones is a theme that occurs repeatedly in the canon and I think that includes Moran.

#Sebastian Moran #James Moriarty #Sherlock Holmes #Sherlock Holmes canon #MoraMori

15 notes · View notes

aosspones · 3 years

Text

ok so. it starts after sherlock jumps off the roof of st. bart’s and john thinks he’s dead. for a long time he’s obviously angry with mycroft, thinking he kinda partly caused his brother’s death by talking to moriarty; but later, after he keeps thinking about it, he softens. mycroft didn’t know this psychopath would use the information to plot the fall and death of sherlock holmes.

he thinks about this the next time he meets mycroft, which happens to be in the hallway of 221b baker street, as he is leaving the flat, coming down the stairs, probably for the last time. (he finally finished moving. there’s no reason to come back here again, at least not to the upstairs.)

mycroft’s elegant suit is dark, his tie and pocket square burgundy red. his hair and shoulders are wet, even though in his hands he holds his umbrella; as if he exited the car and came up to the door without opening and using it. they talk, and when john later thinks back, he wonders if mycroft deliberately planned to “run into him”— because, come on. he obviously knew john was moving out.

when they say goodbye, mycroft hesitates a bit, and it’s such a rare sight that john stops and stares and waits for him to say something.

“i just wanted to say again. that i am sorry.” mycroft says the words slowly, and though it’s with an assumption of affronted dignity, prideful as always, it also sounds honest.

so john tells him, “you didn’t know moriarty would use you to kill him. maybe you should’ve, but you didn’t. it’s not really your fault.” and then adds, because he thinks he starts to make out mycroft and his character, “and you must be hurting like hell. no need to add to your guilt, is there.” he even attempts a tentative smile. mycroft’s is just as unsure.

this happens around the end of autumn, and then it continues when december rolls around, and the holidays, and john walks home after spending christmas eve with harry. it’s snowing, and the city lights are beautiful, and somewhere near people are singing christmas carols, and the night is just overall magical. well, it should be anyway. john just feels very alone, and grief is hitting him now a bit harder than usual, as he thinks about a specific someone playing christmas songs on his violin, standing by the window. maybe the memory is what causes him to call mycroft.

because he does, he calls him as he walks down the sidewalk toward his new place, and he doesn’t even think mycroft’s gonna answer, because why would he, john knows even he and sherlock never called each other on christmas.

and mycroft opens with, “don’t tell me we’re going to do christmas calls now.”

john puffs a little laugh at this. “god, no,” he says. “wouldn’t dream of it.”

“so then, how can i help you, dr watson,” mycroft asks sweetly, and john can’t help but crack a smile.

“all right, i have to admit,” he says. “it is a christmas call.”

of course mycroft tries to quickly shake him off, saying he’s busy (it’s christmas eve, mycroft...), but he can’t get rid of john quickly enough, and before any of them know it, john invites him to dinner. see, he says, on the 25th he has dinner with mrs hudson and lestrade in baker street, and it really wouldn’t hurt mycroft if he popped in just for an hour, just to eat with them, to spend a little time together.

mycroft says no (he says, absolutely not, i have better things to do), but still shows up the next day — during the desserts. john suspects he planned it deliberately. at least he brings fancy wine and champagne, as a present.

he stays only for half an hour (“i told you i have things to do. just because it’s christmas, i still have approximately four countries to run.”). john sees him out, and they stand in the hallway (again, like they did that late autumn day) and john gives him his gift. mycroft looks positively bewildered by the little box in john’s extended hands, and even when he opens it he acts like it’s a ticking bomb that is about to go off any second. it’s not a bomb though, just a pair of cuff links— in the form of miniature telephone boxes.

the laugh that escapes mycroft also sounds bewildered.

none of them say it to confirm, but it’s pretty obvious that the links are a reference to the very first time they talked. john later thinks, is this an inner joke? do mycroft and i really have an inner joke?

then, it ends there, at least for a bit. they don’t talk or meet much, during the next two years, though john does call mycroft sometimes for no particular reason. and he doesn’t exactly know why, because he barely talks to mrs hudson... talking to the houselady hurts more than talking to the brother, apparently. then he meets mary, and then sherlock comes back, and things happen, as they usually do. like marriage, and magnussen, and rosie, and mary’s death.

it’s after all this, that it starts again.

that the three of them, john and mycroft and sherlock, are sitting together in 221b (well, sherlock and john sit, sherlock in his armchair, john by the table and with a computer in front of him, while mycroft stands and walks around), talking about a case the government (mycroft) wants them to solve, and mycroft holds out his hand, pointing at something on john’s laptop screen, the sleeve of his suit sliding up a little, and john looks at his cuffs, and he sees them. the telephone box cuff links.

mycroft is saying something to john, who’s not listening, so mycroft finally looks at him, and sees him staring at the cuff links. he immediately pulls his hand back, dropping it and sort of hiding it behind a chair — john’s eyes follow it there, and then they snap up, and meet mycroft’s. they kinda just stare at each other for a split second, before looking away, and continuing on as if nothing happened.

(from then on john always makes sure to check mycroft’s cuff links. 90% of the time, it’s the little telephone boxes.)

and this is where it starts.

#johncroft #hhhnnnnnggggg im having thoughts again someone stop me

43 notes · View notes

guardmesherlock-rowan · 3 years

Text

Zombie Apocalypse headcanon

I honestly love this! Though if there is a zombie apocalypse I’ll be honest, you do not want me on your team. I will most likely be among the first to go, I have my own zombie apocalypse plans which revolves around experiments.

I wonder how the guys handle this!

Sherlock Holmes

At first there were small incidents and he would accuse Mycroft of covering it up. But eventually the outbreak would be so severe there would be no avoiding it getting out of control. Sherlock would learn to recognize the traits people would start to exhibit if they were infected and hiding it. Of course he would be taken out of ground zero by his brother to hide away in a military complex. Although Sherlock would much prefer to be on his own without his brother or the military ‘protecting’ him. He would also rather be out there looking for John. It would be a battle of wits of Sherlock trying to get out so he could find John, who would undoubtedly be alive.

John Watson

John would be out the door trying to help protect people. He would shoot at the zombies, and be separated from Sherlock when he got picked up by Mycroft. John would find a group to stay with. With his field medical training he would be invaluable to the group, along with the little things he picked up from living with Sherlock, such as helping to recognize when someone may not be telling the group the whole truth. However, John would become harder over time as members of the group left, joined, died. With his PTSD getting worse.

James Moriarty

He’s fine. He has friends in places of power, and some that are still alive on top of that. He was one of the first people made aware that the government couldn’t stop it this time, and he did not delay in taking precautions. He has his own methods of getting somewhere safe, away from people, own emergency supply. Plus he has the help he needs.

Mycroft Holmes

You would never have known if he could help it. In a world with different experiments going at once, and so much focus on living longer it isn’t ridiculous for there to have been a few undead incidents. However, once it goes out of control he would have teams mobilized to pick up those most important. It would kill him if he couldn’t get to everyone on his list, it would be inevitable and he wouldn’t let it show that it bothered him, but he would remember.

Jack Stillman

He would long to be out there, on his own, an artist among monsters, who would be there to stop him from having his own fun? The answer would be Moriarty. Which would be the better bet in long term survival, but Jack does have his preferences. Staying with M would mean the group would have a doctor on hand, and additional support in dealing with other survivors they come across.

Sebastian Moran

Two Words: Head shot. He would be in charge of keeping M safe. This man would take the most shifts as look out, sniping any zombie he saw. The problem would be the cats. Others would be concerned about them carrying the disease into the group. James pulled some strings and got a military doctor to come and examine the cats to make sure they were not infected or carrying it and to help in how to plan to keep them safe. If he would have to leave them behind, he would have to leave them behind. Cats are resilient, he knew this. Though he would prefer to take them with, James knows that.

Jeremy Cassel

He is on Mycroft’s list, though it is seemingly more for sentimental purposes than survival. And while Jeremy is happy to tease Mycroft about caring, he doesn’t waste time before he figures out how to sneak out. The Phantom Thief is now doing what he can to help protect others who are not in a position to help themselves. Most likely he would end up going missing from where Mycroft wanted him to be, and Mycroft would accept that. Hoping to see him when this was all over.

Hercule Poirot

Also on Mycroft’s list, and he takes it. Doing what he can to help find a solution to fix the problem, scolding those who let it get to this point, if they are still alive. When they find more survivors he would be among the representatives talking with them and making sure no one was infected.

Arthur Hastings

Surprisingly also finds himself safe, though more because he was already with them when things happened. No one would say for sure if he would’ve been on Mycroft’s list, though Hercule promises that Arthur would’ve been on his. He helps with checking the CCTVs to spot survivors.

George Lestrade

In the first wave he jumped in, fearful, shaking, but he got to work protecting those he could, and trying to escort people away from the zombies. He wasn’t a great shot with the gun, but he could get the job done. Definitely threw up a time or two when he could catch a breath or when he went to check on survivors only to find the recently eaten. He would have himself a few quiet sobs, but mostly he would give a lopsided faked confident grin to those he was trying to protect. However, I fear he would not last long if he didn’t start checking those survivors for bite marks.

Mikah Hudson

Ideally he would be picked up with Sherlock. Ideally Mycroft would send team after team to find him. Ideally he would’ve been at home. However, if he was at school, he would have found a small group to be with and have barricaded themselves in. Leaving him to rely on the skills taught to him by the grown ups in his life. He would be a reliable member of the group, but it would not be without its own dangers. They would steal what food they could from the cafeterias, but someone would have to be able to sneak out to get it.

Henry Jekyll

He was one of the first to be moved to a protected spot, even before it got out of control. They needed his research for further experiments. It would seem no different than others times he would be hunkered down for security reasons, although it might go a little longer than he’d like. Additionally, he would make an addition to the list of people to be on the lookout for to pick up.

Edward Hyde

At first he thought they were messing with him. Zombies? Probably a prank, maybe even a prank show! But with the first zombie he had to fight off and that thought was gone. He would shout at the military personnel who would come for him about how they were idiots for putting people in danger with these experiments, he would check that his brother is alright. But he would decline to come with, even to the point of running away. He would find his own way to survive, even gain a few tag along members to his ‘not a group’ group.

‘Irene’

What the bloody hell do you mean Zombies?! She would be quick to get away from them and hide during the initial wave. She considered trying to go to Moriarty for help but decided she’d rather be a zombie with a chance of biting the man than ask for a favor. With a smile and a few soft words she would travel group to group, getting along most with Edward in his, being careful to avoid John when she heard he was also alive and somewhere out there.

[Where is MC?]

Sherlock - Would’ve made sure you were either picked up first, or refuse to go until you were with him.

John - Once you were with him, he would always keep you within arms reach, sleeping with his arms wrapped around you, waking up often to make sure you were still okay.

James - With him of course. Doing his best to make sure you never saw a single zombie.

Mycroft - Immediately he would come to get you with a group of soldiers, not that he didn’t trust them but more he didn’t trust them not to make a mistake and put you in danger.

Jack - With him. Although he would make sure you were aware of what was going on, he would be teaching you what he knew just in case.

Sebastian - Also with him, but you would hardly ever see him. Mostly you would be startled awake in the middle of the night when he would crawl into bed next to you, though he would be gone before you woke up the next day. He had many precious people he needed to protect.

Jeremy - he would’ve left you with Mycroft. While he would want to be out protecting people and helping he would rather you stay safe. Though he would be happy to have the help if you followed, he would make sure you stayed with those you were helping to protect if the undead approached.

Hercule - He would make sure you were safe first, and while he helped he would ask that you stay away, just in case someone infected came in.

Arthur - He would want you safe, he would demand that he either be allowed to go get you or that you were picked up. If they refused to go get you he would leave to find you.

George - He would bring the survivors he found back to you and do what he could to protect you all.

Mikah - If you’re brought in together because he was home, he would stay by your side, trying to take your mind off of things. If he was away at school he would pray every night for your safety.

Henry - You are also on his list, though he would hardly ever see you making sure you were kept in a place where you could be comfortable and safe.

Edward - Offer you his place when the soldiers came, asking you to go somewhere safe. If not, he would make sure you were protected. Teaching you self defense whenever he had a chance.

‘Irene’ - you are her first stop. Her first priority. She would find you and help you hide, checking over you to make sure she wasn’t too late. She’d do what she could to help make sure that you two were accepted into whatever group you two came across, but always insisted to keep moving, never staying with one group for too long.

19 notes · View notes

eclecticanalyst · 3 years

Text

Studying “A Study in Emerald”

At my grandmother’s house, stacked together with other books underneath a side table in her office, was a thick leatherbound volume with golden engraved lettering. SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE, it said, in large letters on the cover. And in smaller print: The Celebrated Cases of Sherlock Holmes.

I was eight or nine years old, and as soon as I opened the volume I was hooked. I brought it along as I rode with my grandmother doing errands. I asked her if I could have the book, and with her permission took it home with me. I hadn’t finished it by the time summer camp rolled around, so I tucked it into a suitcase and read bits of it at the end of activity-filled days before going to bed. I hardly even glanced at any other books until I had turned the last page.

Since I have re-read the stories so many times over the years, the solutions to the mysteries are no longer a surprise to me. I had read them for the mysteries, the first time. But now I read them for other reasons—the relationship between Holmes and Watson, the atmosphere of horror and dread that ACD does so well, the breadcrumbs of character arcs in the main and recurring characters, and the way the characters seem both dated and modern, sometimes in the same sentence.

All that is to say, I love Sherlock Holmes. And several months ago I found that Neil Gaiman had written a Sherlock Holmes story. I’ve read a few Gaiman works and was curious to see how he treated some of my favorite fictional characters, so I downloaded it. And read it. And loved it. And in this analysis, I will convey my enthusiasm by explaining just how amazing this story is.

NOTE: this will be a multi-part analysis, with one post for each part of “A Study in Emerald.” (Parts 2 and 3 will be covered in one post.) There will also be some follow-up posts with additional thoughts at the end.

You should 100% read the story before continuing because A) it’s awesome and B) there is a twist that I will be getting into pretty quickly that is much better if you experience it for yourself first.

Part 1: The New Friend

The beauty of this story is that knowing the Sherlock Holmes canon works both for and against the reader. If you’ve read the canon, you will recognize the references to certain characters or details or plot points—but at the same time, those moments of recognition can lead you to draw conclusions that Gaiman fully expects you to make but are in fact inaccurate.

Right off the bat, the title of “A Study in Emerald” is just one word away from the title of the very first Sherlock Holmes story. This, along with the first page or so of the narrative, primes us to approach the tale as a straightforward Sherlock Holmes pastiche, like the countless others that have been written: “Sherlock Holmes in space!” “Sherlock Holmes as a kid!” “Sherlock Holmes in the far future!”, where everything is basically the same, just with a natural transformation of entities to match the “hook” of the pastiche—so instead of smoking, kid Holmes sucks on lollipops or the like. The “hook” of this particular pastiche first manifests with the narrator’s war wounds being the result, not of bullets and fevers as in the canon, but of underwater creatures that suck the vitality out of one’s limbs.

“Okay,” we as readers familiar with Sherlock Holmes say to ourselves. “So Holmes and Watson, but in a world of the supernatural. Got it. Nice twist, Gaiman. I’m ready to see what you do with this.”

As I said, Gaiman uses your Sherlock Holmes knowledge against you in constructing this tale. The narrator has a shoulder wound as a result of his wartime experiences, just as Watson does in A Study in Scarlet—the circumstances of his injury are changed to be more fantastical, of course, but we accept that because we have acclimated ourselves to what we think is the whole of this seemingly straightforward premise (Sherlock Holmes, but with Lovecraftian elements). After all, we have the two men meeting in the university laboratory, both interested in sharing rooms, and we get the iconic line, “You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive.” We get the familiar prospective-roommates-share-vices exchange. It’s not the same as the original, but we don’t read Holmes pastiches for the exact same lines we could get by rereading the original stories. Besides, the exchange hits enough check marks for what we already know about Holmes (since we’re familiar with canon) that instead of the change setting off alarm bells, we’re busy patting ourselves on the back for recognizing references and approvingly nodding in response to Gaiman’s demonstrated knowledge of the stories. After all, Holmes did shoot bullets into the wall once. And he is private and easily bored, and selfish as well at times. These are revelations about Holmes’s character that are shared in later stories, after A Study in Scarlet, but they match the whole of his character that we know since we have the entirety of the canon under our belts, so it’s quite clear to us that this man the narrator meets is indeed Sherlock Holmes.

By condensing the characteristics of Holmes that were originally revealed over the course of several publications into one dialogue exchange, the plot is able to move speedily along while reinforcing our initial understanding of this man’s identity. However, presenting these characteristics in this manner also leads to some contradictions with canon, which means that things are just a little bit off. Holmes is established in later stories as having irregular habits, but in A Study in Scarlet, the specific story that this dialogue exchange is echoing, it’s Watson who “get[s] up at all sorts of ungodly hours.” Here the one who admits to “keep[ing] irregular hours” is the non-soldier, when in A Study in Scarlet Holmes is actually quite regular in his schedule (he doesn’t really maintain that behavior beyond that first story, but still). On a more complex level—and I might be reading too much into this particular point but it is striking to me as someone who has spent several years with roommates—there is the detail that the detective in “Emerald” informs the narrator right off the bat that he will need to use the sitting room to see clients. In A Study in Scarlet, Holmes does not inform Watson of this fact in the initial cross-examination. It’s only after they move in together and Watson starts getting (politely) kicked out of the sitting room on a semi-regular basis that Watson even learns Holmes is a person who has a visiting clientele. This is a rather major thing for a prospective roommate to know. Failing to mention this to Watson while still detailing his smoking habits and propensity for chemical experiments is a rather egregious omission on Holmes’s part, as anyone who has had to get used to a new roommate will tell you. So we have two instances where the information about the detective matches our overall conception of Holmes, but it is presented in a way that goes directly in opposition to how it was originally presented in canon—where what we are reading is both right and wrong at the same time.

Let’s continue on in the story. Our “heroes” move into the same old apartment on Baker Street, which further solidifies the straightforward Holmes in a Lovecraftian world explanation we as readers have formulated for the story. We go through the same “narrator wonders what his mysterious roommate does for a living” steps that we remember from A Study in Scarlet, albeit, again, condensed. And the mystery plot begins as the two roommates eat breakfast, just as in that very first story.

Keen readers might take note of the fact that it is Inspector Gregson, not Inspector Lestrade, who brings the mystery in A Study in Scarlet to Holmes’s attention. Considering that Lestrade made more appearances in the canon and became Holmes’s default police contact, Lestrade’s presence here can simply be chalked up to Gaiman paying homage to the whole of the canon, not just the first story. Alternatively, this is yet another instance of things being ever so slightly wrong when compared to the events we are all familiar with.

You’ll notice that, having successfully (because on first read you are likely not reading as critically as I am now with this analysis) lulled us into a false sense of security regarding the premise of this story and the identities of its characters, Gaiman starts to drop more references to other specific stories besides A Study in Scarlet, as well as more direct hints (which require much less complex analyzing than I have done in previous paragraphs) as to who our narrator and his detective friend truly are.

The first* direct hint is so subtle that I don’t think I even picked up on it the first time I read the story. It’s when Lestrade suggests he talk to the detective privately. The content of the exchange is, once again, familiar to a Sherlock Holmes reader—how many times have we seen Holmes assure a client that Watson can be confided in just as well as himself (see: “A Case of Identity”), or refuse to let Watson excuse himself as a case begins to unfold (see: “A Scandal in Bohemia”)? The hint lies in the description of the narrator’s friend when he dismisses Lestrade’s suggestion: “his head moved on his shoulders as it did when he was enjoying a private joke.” Gaiman can’t show his hand too early, so this hint is extremely oblique. The key is the phrasing: “his head moved on his shoulders” is a rather odd and roundabout description, which could much more easily be rendered as “he shook his head” or something to that effect. But in using this wording, Gaiman ever-so-lightly echoes the description of a certain someone a couple pages into “The Final Problem”:

His shoulders are rounded from much study, and his face protrudes forward, and is for ever slowly oscillating from side to side in a curiously reptilian fashion.

We have some more general Easter egg references to the canon—the detective’s slight dissatisfaction when someone (Lestrade in this case) remarks on the simplicity of his reasoning after it is explained, and the Study in Scarlet-specific “only one in the world” consulting detective explanation. And then we have this terrific bit. Our narrator asks the detective if he really wants him to come along. The detective’s response is as follows:

“I have a feeling that we were meant to be together. That we have fought the good fight, side by side, in the past or in the future...from the moment I clapped eyes on you, I knew I trusted you as well as I do myself.”

It’s terrific because it’s a summation of how Holmes and Watson are viewed by their fans. They belong together. Victorian London, World War II, 21st century New York, 22nd century London, as mice, as dogs, we’ve seen them in countless adaptations, and despite the change in locale or era or gender or species or countless other circumstances, they are always inseparable, always a force unto themselves, incomplete without the other. Of course this is Holmes and Watson. How could these words apply to anyone else?

The detective’s speech here appeals to our Holmes devotee sensibilities much more than canon Holmes’s response to Watson asking much the same question in A Study in Scarlet:

“You wish me to come?”

“Yes, if you have nothing better to do.”

Which is a rather unexceptional start to a partnership for the ages. The way “Emerald” tugs at the heartstrings, however, is dangerous—it pulls us further down into acceptance of the twisted world and characters that surround us.

*I will come back to this in a later post!

#sherlock holmes #a study in emerald #a study in scarlet #neil gaiman #analysis #in depth

20 notes · View notes

thesleepy1 · 3 years

Text

Plants For Company

A/N: I wrote this ages ago and can barely remember where I got the prompt from. But hey. I haven’t posted in a bit and this wasn’t the worst thing I’ve done this week. Unbeta’d. Also when I say I unbeta’d I mean I found this is one of my notebooks and copied down what I could read out of my crap handwriting.

Pairings: Mycroft Holmes x Reader

Summary: How would you go about setting up a vigilante group to death with local drug dealers?

Word count: 1340

Warnings: Mentions of kidnapping, injures, gore, blood, body horror

The briefing room in Mycroft Holmes manor was unlike the one in your family home. Instead of a pristine stainless steel table that stretched across the room with cushioned rolling chairs tucked underneath. There was nothing but the knotted dark oak table, chairs that were more like thrones and cute little plants that you had started naming, that were similar. You had been in his manor before, having named every other plant but you had not yet entered the double doors on the foremost end of the manor.

Kingston, the potted catnip kept you company as the Holmes brothers, Dr. Watson, Dr. Hooper, Lestrade, Mrs Hudson, and your best friend and flatmate, Bert sat at the table with tension so thick, you could cut it with your nails. It was silent, as if everything that needed to be said could be with the look of an eye. Kingston disagreed with that statement, but you would rather not break the silence if not absolutely necessary.

“So how are you, Molly?” Dr. Watson the ever brave soul broke the silence, but the tension only grew.

“For being attacked at home, I’m fine, a bit bored,” Dr. Hooper replied, clearly uncomfortable in the older Homles’s brother’s home.

Kingston averted his gaze and you followed suit.

“Just admit it, Grend. You failed! Stayed out with that coffee brewer across town for too long. Two hours and twenty six minutes to be exact.”

Lestarade shuffled in his seat, guilt pushing his head down.

“Molly was under your care!” Sherlock shouted, a fix of rage boiling over.

“Sherlock, enough,” Mycroft said, exasperated, rubbing his eyes. From the gravel tone of his voice you knew he had lacked sleep. For several days if you heard correctly.

“Oh you shut up, Mycroft! First Mrs. Hudson, then Molly! This is why I should’ve never listened to you.” Sherlock sprung up from his seat, his chair scraping against the floor.

“I’m surprised he listens to anyone,” Lestarde mumbled to Dr. Watson.

“I’m surprised he came here on his own free will,” Watson replied.

“If you’d listen, Molly would be at home, but she isn’t is she?” Sherlock blamed, ignoring the two men.

All eyes except yours and Kingston’s darted towards the noticeable bruises on the doctor’s skin. Molly caved into herself with the attention. Mrs. Hudson whose own bruises had yet to heal rubbed her shoulders gently in that motherly way she’d mastered after being the landlady of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson.

“She would have been safe with me!”

“She isn’t property, Sherlock. She’s a proud doctor that can make her own choices,” Mycroft tried to reason.

“Her choices left her hospitalized!” Sherlock raised his voice above everyone else’s. If Kingston had hands he would have covered his ears. If he had those too.

“At least I wasn’t running around with so many drugs in my system that would put an opium den out of business,” Molly spoke in a brisk and stern tone which was out of character for the collected doctor.

“In Sherlock’s defense, he was sober this time. I checked,” John added, looking to his flatmate to confirm. The man in question blinked a reply and the doctor groaned, slamming his head to the table. Mycroft looked at his brother exasperatedly and Sherlock handed him a list.

Mycroft glanced it over, “He’ll live, though I don’t know how long.” Molly and Mrs. Hudson perked up at that.

“Sherlock-” Molly began, but Mycroft couldn’t hear the rest as you spoke to him in a contrasting calm tone.

“You know exactly how long he’ll last. And with the way things are now he doesn’t have much time left.”

“I know,” Mycroft sighed.

“You knew he was overdosing?” Dr. Watson asked in confusion, the look on his face was like a puppy with fangs sharper than a butcher’s knife.

Mycroft looked to you once more before speaking, “I didn’t know that he was overdosing, but I knew what he was up to. When Mrs. Hudson’s safety was compromised; Sherlock stopped at nothing to assure her safety.”

“None of this would have happened if I hadn’t listened to you,” Sherlock seethed, recalling his landlady’s call for help. Her voice would haunt his mind for the weeks to come. Sleep was no longer an option.

“If Mycroft knew what was going on then shouldn’t we listen to what he has to say?” Lestrade added, speaking above the mumble.

“No-”

“Yes-”

“He knows nothing,” Sherlock just about shouts, spit flying from his mouth.

“Think about it Sherlock, first Mrs. Hudson, then Molly. They’re going after people who mean something to you,” Lestarde continued.

Molly timidly blushed as Mycroft contributed to the detective inspector’s statement, “We both know who they’re after.”

“Dead Mycroft, absolutely and undoubtedly dead,” Sherlock screams almost as convincingly as Mycroft’s Lady Blackwell. Mycroft gave him a look that told as much.

“Are you talking about who I’m thinking we’re talking about?” John asks his mind connecting the dots.

“No, John, we’re talking about Redbeard, of course we’re talking about her!” John rolled his eyes as a reply.

“W-who are we talking about?” Dr. Hooper asks, looking between the men. Sherlock locked his eyes with Mycroft’s before answering.

“Irene Alder.”

You and Kingston looked up to Mycroft in question.

“Your brother fell for Irene? I’m not surprised to be trueful, but how do you two know she’s alive?” You asked, Kingston nodding along with you. Mycroft raised an eyebrow but decided against asking.

“I thought she was killed? You tested her head and everything,” Lesterade said, astonished.

“Irene’s alive but the organisation is after her as long as Mycroft keeps me here.”

“How is he keeping you here? Why aren’t you out with Irene right now?” John stares at Sherlock, dumbfounded.

“Because he knows why he’s here,” Sherlock points at Bert who up to this point no one has noticed or heard from.

“That is Bert,” Mycroft explains, Bert waves awkwardly. “He has dealt with the group before-”

“This much is obvious Mycroft! But why is he here, what does he matter?! Just look at him, he looks as if he just finished proofing a pot with glaze. Not fighting with a world wide gang!!!”

“It was a mug, and I didn’t use glaze, just a white wash. My mugs are better than that,” Bert defended his honor.

“Shut up,” Sherlock yelled, pointing at him again. “Why are you here?” Bert said nothing but looked over to the elder Homles brother.

“He’s the worst case,” Mycroft explained as if those four words were enough.

“The worst case? What’s that supposed to mean?” Sherlock spat, shaking with an uncontained anger.

“Their right arm was sent to me last night,” Bert said with melancholy. To his surprise everyone in the room looked to him.

“I-I was attacked last night,” Dr. Hooper stumbled, cradling her right arm. Mycroft’s eyes softened to yours, he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in.

“You said their arm, but as far as I can see, being a doctor and all, Molly still has it,” John directed at Bert who looked to Mycroft for guidance.

“He is referring to Y/N,” Mycroft said with a heavy tone, “They were taken by the same organization that attacked Molly and Mrs. Hudson. Only, pieces of them have come back,” Mycroft finished, his eyes glistening with tears.

Lestrade, Mrs. Hudson, and Molly swallowed at the comment.

“I was sent their eye once word traveled that they were taken,” Mycroft stated, looking over to you and Kingston, who looked to be guilty for whatever reason.

“I prefer if you see me with an eye and arm. Sort of difficult to carry Kingston when you only have one arm. A prosthetic is fine if you were considering,” you said with ease, as Kingston nodded along, agreeing with being carried with two hands.

“You keep looking at that plant. You see them, don’t you?” John asked, glancing at Kinston with sympathy.

“I’ve seen them everyday for the past sixteen years.

42 notes · View notes

mca-attack21 · 4 years

Text

The Impossible

This is my first Sherlock Holmes imagine, I hope you enjoy it. It takes place after the season four finale.

Sherlock Holmes, the first consultant detective and the last man anyone expected to be getting married. To be fair, he was not the same man he used to be. He had been changed by the people who loved him. The helped him evolve from a great man into a good one. Every person he met, every case he took, it all prepared him to allow love into his life. To allow you into his life. It was not easy, it was more than a simple deduction that he was used to. But after meeting you he knew that his greatest case ever would be figuring out how to be a man you could love.

The beginning was simple, you were hired to watch Rosie on a regular basis. This led to a friendship with John and frequent interactions with Sherlock. Instead of being put off by his composure and intelligence you were in awe of it. Over time Sherlock would go out of his way to make sure the two of you would cross paths. Seeing you with Rosie, watching your face light up as he spoke, and hearing your laugh made him feel something that he didn’t understand.

On a particular dull afternoon, Sherlock had made the mistake of asking about you. It didn’t take John long at all to figure out what was happening.

“You have a thing for my nanny,” he laughed.

“I certainly do not. High Functioning Sociopath remember. I don’t do love.” Sherlock replied.

“Keep telling yourself that Sherlock” John replied.

“I’m serious!”

“I’m sure you think that you are,”

“John!”

“You should ask her out,”

“You are acting like a twelve-year-old” Sherlock shot back. It wasn’t like he hadn’t entertained the idea, but why would someone like you ever want to go out with a man like him.

It would take three weeks for John to convince Sherlock to ask you out. He had to get coaching from both John and Mrs. Hudson and even then the entire concept seemed so foreign to him. That night he had met you at John’s house while you were babysitting Rosie. The two of you talked about his latest case. You knew that something was off and asked him about it. Eventually, with much rambling, he made it through his request. He stood silently over-analyzing every second before you had agreed.

From there, things were interesting, to say the least. Sherlock had no idea how to be a boyfriend and it was very obvious. Luckily, you were patient and low maintenance. You would help him with cases when John was otherwise occupied. He would also stop in when you were watching Rosie. While your relationship was far from traditional, it worked. He may not have always picked up on your emotional needs, but he was there for you in ways that only he could be. His blunt and harsh words dimmed as he learned what it meant to love someone in a romantic way. He loved you in his own way, but it was precisely what you needed and you couldn’t imagine your life with anyone else.

The next step in your relationship was moving into 221 B Baker St. with Sherlock. He explained that it was convenient and cost-effective, especially since the two of you already spent so much time there. You laughed at his applied logic and agreed, excited to take the next step.

There was never a dull moment living with him between his experiments, cases, and friends. The longer you were with him, the more you realized he was like a grown puppy in constant need of attention and excitement. Whether it was a good day or a bad day, you were both always there for each other.

Mrs. Hudson was the first one to ask Sherlock if he was ever going to purpose to you. She had shipped the two of you since the first time she had seen you interact. She joked that Sherlock would not meet anyone else who adored his brain and was willing to put up with it so he’d better marry you or John and get it over with. He initially brushed off this comment, but it got him thinking. The two of you had never really talked about marriage or kids, that just wasn’t Sherlock and you understood that. Marriage was just a social construct, he found it pointless, at least he used to. Before John and Mary’s wedding.

He asked John his opinion on the matter which caught him completely off guard. He couldn’t believe that his best friend was actually considering getting married. He was so happy and helped him plan everything out.

The proposal, like the rest of your relationship, was nontraditional. You, John, and Sherlock were on a case together and it proved to be more unpredictable than Sherlock had anticipated. After momentarily escaping imminent danger, the three of you were trying to figure out your next move and he just let it slip.

“Y/f/n Y/l/n, if we make it out of this alive would you want to marry me?” he asked nonchalantly.

Before you could answer John spoke up, “Now?! We were just being shot at and you think now is the time to propose?”

“I’m sorry, is it not a good time? Would you rather me wait until after we get shot?” he directed to his friend.

“Sherlock-” John started.

“Yes,” you answered staring adoringly at the scene in front of you. This was your family and your life and you wouldn’t trade it for the world.

“Yes, what?” John asked.

“Sherlock asked me a question, that is my answer. Yes.” you clarified.

“Really?” Sherlock asked.

“Yes, now can we figure out how to get out of here alive?” you added.

“Oh right, I have a plan,” Sherlock explained.

“Of course you do,” John sighed not believing what he just witnessed.

That night ended with everyone making it out unscathed, the criminals in custody, and celebration of the engagement. When you made it back to 221 B Baker street Sherlock revealed the ring he had made for you. The two of you spent the next couple of months planning your wedding in-between cases, Sherlock was unexpectantly invested and excited.

It was a relatively small gathering. You didn’t have much family and weren’t in contact with them. At the end of the day, it was John and Mycroft who was Sherlock’s co-best men, Rosie who was the cutest flower girl ever, Mrs. Hudson, the rest of the Holmes family, Molly, Detective Lestrade, and a few other close friends. Because you didn’t really have anyone else, you asked John to walk you down the aisle which he was honored to do. He later made a joke that you and Sherlock might as well had asked him to officiate the ceremony too.

You had both decided to write your own vows which were interesting. Sherlock went first pulling out his notes from his pocket and then deciding not to use them and speak freely instead.

“I used to not believe in love. If you told me that I would be getting married I would have laughed at the ridiculous notion. I was logical and avoided emotions that would interfere with that. I never wanted the distraction that was love, furthermore, I didn’t believe I was capable of loving someone in a romantic way. But then I met you. I’m not going to lie and say that it was love at first sight or that I knew that we would end up together because it was not that simple. But over time I came to realize that I wanted to experience love and you. No matter how illogical, you had made an impact on my life and I wanted to explore that. Y/f/n Y/l/n you make me happy and complete in ways I can’t even comprehend. You make me want to be a better man, to be more like the man you believe that I am. So today in front of the people we love most, I vow to spend the rest of my with you, no matter where it takes us. The game is on.” he smiled.

“Oh my, how am I supposed to follow that?” you joked earning laughs from the others in attendance.

“Okay, here it goes. Sherlock Holmes, you are one of the most brilliant and astonishing people I have ever met in my life. My life changed the moment I met you. You brought adventure, uncertainty, and excitement into my life. I know that there will never be a dull moment with the two of us. By marrying you, I realize that I am marrying science experiments in the kitchen, solving cases, and ending any chance that I had at a normal life which is perfect. I acknowledge that you are not perfect nor am I, but we are perfect for each other and that is what matters. You are everything that I never knew I needed and I love the person I am when I am with you. So today, I vow to spend the rest of my life reminding you who you are. I vow to be there for you at 2 am when the world doesn’t make sense and at 2 pm when it does. I vow to help you annoy Mycroft and to look after John and Rosie. I vow to spend the rest of my life with you, no matter where it takes us. The game is on.” you smiled reciting his last two lines.

The two of you exchanged rings and were directed to kiss which earned cheers from your friends and family. You quickly signed the papers and took the photos before adjourning to the reception that John had planned. It was nice and intimate. Your and Sherlock’s first dance was something that you would never forget. You had never realized that Sherlock could dance like that. The rest of the night was what you’d expect for a reception. You made it to the point of speeches and everyone took their turn. Mycroft’s was short and simple, he explained how he was proud of his brother for becoming the man he was and wished you luck as Sherlock was your problem now. The mood changed as it became John’s turn. His speech was so sincere and touching that it brought people to tears. When he completed, both you and Sherlock nearly tackled him in a hug.

As the night finished out, you and Sherlock prepared to leave on your honeymoon which was planned and paid for by Mycroft. You thanked everyone for coming and were on your way, knowing that John would see that everything was taken care of. You looked up at Sherlock dazed with how happy you were. This was easily the best night of your life. You couldn’t wait to see what lies in store for the two of you. After all, the game is on.

#sherlock #sherlock holmes #sherlock bbc #sherlock benedict cumberbatch #sherlock imagine #sherlock imagines #sherlock wedding #sherlock x reader #sherlock holmes imagine #sherlock x you #sherlock holmes imagines #sherlock holmes x reader #sherlock holmes x you #john watson #john watson imagine

605 notes · View notes

swissmissficrecs · 4 years

Text

Most kudoed Sherlock (BBC) fics in 2019

Sherlock fics from 2019 with more than 1000 kudos on AO3*

1. Riptide Lover by jinglebell - 4011 kudos 114K, E, Johnlock, John/others The year is 1866. When John becomes swept overboard, he never expects to encounter a living creature of myth. When the merman absconds with John, the lost sailor must use every tool at his disposal to convince Sherlock not to kill him. But it seems that killing John Watson is not what the deadly, beautiful creature has in mind at all...

2. The Only Unproblematic Slash Fic by songlin - 2641 kudos 554 words, M, Johnlock I decided to write this after being OUTRAGED by the number of highly problematic and abusive fanfics I see on this site! Honestly I shouldn't even post it here at all, since AO3 is complicit in LITERAL SEX TRAFFICKING and ABUSE by allowing just anyone to post whatever they want. But it's the best website for posting fic. What am I supposed to do, raise money to pay for servers and use AO3's entirely, 100% open source code to start a new site that upholds REAL MORALITY? Anyways here's my fanfic.

3. A different kind of adventure by curiousbees (orphaned) - 1996 kudos 27K, E, Johnlock A series of rash experiments at twenty-three left omega Sherlock unable to form a bond or have a child. He never particularly cared, even if he sometimes caught himself wishing after meeting John. Now at 36, this inability is simply another part of who he is, like his intellect or his tendency for addiction. So after one night's loss of logic with his married best friend, he doesn't think to question it. In hindsight, he really shouldn't have taken it for granted.

4. What We Could Be by Mottlemoth - 1908 kudos 46K, E, Mystrade Ficlets and short stories featuring Mycroft Holmes and Greg Lestrade. Fluff, smut, humour, a little well-marked angst... and of course, lots and lots of romance.

5. East End Boy by Mottlemoth - 1620 kudos 192K, E, Mystrade "You fear becoming the plaything of a powerful man." Greg Lestrade might have risen to the rank of Detective Inspector, but he's still just an East End boy at heart. That's why this arrangement with Mycroft Holmes, power incarnate, is starting to feel so weird—if only Mycroft weren't so hard to resist.

6. Minutiae (Or 156 Things I Know About You) by AtlinMerrick - 1572 kudos 105K, E, Johnlock Here, in no particular order, are some of the things John has learned about Sherlock, and some of the things Sherlock has learned about John.

7. A Novel Romance by EventHorizon - 1511 kudos 357K, M, Mystrade Mycroft Holmes is a successful, yet reclusive, mystery writer. His agent nearly had to resort to torture to persuade the writer to allow a studio the rights to film one of his books. The studio wants the highly profitable and extremely sexy Greg Lestrade for the role, but Mycroft isn’t happy with the choice. The studio sends him to Mycroft’s remote country home to do some persuading. Once there, after getting to know the secretive, brilliant and slightly-eccentric Mycroft Holmes, Greg isn’t certain which ranks higher on his persuading list - him getting a role he dearly wants or him getting a man he dearly wants.

8. Sensory Science by sussexbound (SamanthaLenore) - 1439 kudos 80K, E, Johnlock John Watson has been invalided home from Afghanistan and is struggling with anxiety, depression, PTSD and insomnia, when an old friend from med school recommends something that might help: An ASMR YouTube Channel run by a friend. One session in and John is hooked, not only by the way the ASMR seems to calm him after nightmares, and help him sleep, but also by the mysterious man who runs it.

9. White Knight by DiscordantWords - 1360 kudos 69K, M, Johnlock Sherlock needs to fake a relationship for a case. He doesn't ask John.

10. Just To Hold You Close by sussexbound (SamanthaLenore) - 1324 kudos 70K, E, Johnlock When a woman is murdered and the last person to see her alive is recently invalided army vet turned reluctant (and prickly) professional cuddler, John Watson, Sherlock Holmes is pulled into a world of intimacy and intrigue he never could have imagined.

11. Proving A Point by elldotsee, J_Baillier - 1296 kudos 186K, E, Johnlock Invalided home from Afghanistan, running out of funds and convinced that his surgical career is over, John Watson accepts a mysterious job offer to provide care and companionship for a disabled person. Little does he know how much hangs in the balance of his performance as he settles into his new life at Musgrave Court.

12. Dearest Life by InnerSpectrum - 1265 kudos 276K, E, Johnlock / Warstan / Mystrade Sherlock is forced to marry John, a wealthy Alpha doctor, who is married to Mary, an infertile Beta. Both of whom hide dark secrets from each other.

13. Soul Mate by Mottlemoth - 1258 kudos 4K, T, Mystrade The words appeared on Mycroft's arm aged fourteen, foretelling the first thing his soul mate would ever say to him—and horrifying his respectable parents. He's now lived with the unfortunate words all his life, not certain that he even wishes to meet his soul mate if that's how the man talks. But when Sherlock befriends a Scotland Yard inspector named Lestrade, Mycroft might just change his mind.

14. Isosceles by SilentAuror - 1212 kudos 56K, E, Johnlock and Sherlock/OMC After solving a case for a major celebrity, Sherlock gets himself asked out. When John asks, he discovers that Sherlock has no intention of going, at least not until John agrees to coach him through whatever he might need to know for his date...

15. Beloved Baker Street by LadyLibby - 1164 kudos 203K, T, Sherlock/female!Reader / Warstan / Mollstrade / John/OMC Y/N Hudson grew up in America, daughter to a loving British mother and the leader of a notorious drug cartel in Florida. She grew into a brilliant and yet compassionate young woman with a penchant for solving mysteries. Accepted into the forensic department at Scotland Yard, Y/N never expected to be swept up into the whirlwind life of Sherlock Holmes....

16. It takes John Watson to save your life. by Sparkypip - 1135 kudos 105K, T, Gen A series of One shots where John saves Sherlock's life in so many ways.

17. The Bells of King's College by SilentAuror - 1131 kudos 64K, E, Johnlock It's only been two weeks since Eurus Holmes disrupted their lives when Mycroft sends John and Sherlock to Cambridge to pose as an engaged couple at a wedding show in the hopes of solving six unsolved deaths...

18. And if it begins anywhere, it begins here by Salambo06 - 1080 kudos 26K, E, Johnlock When Sherlock finds a letter in his bedroom, he doesn't expect to read the words of another version of himself from a parallel universe. What he expects even less is to read Sherlock Watson-Holmes at the bottom of the letter.

19. Pink, Purple and Blue by Mottlemoth - 1044 kudos 5K, T, Mystrade After eight years of failed marriage to a woman, with his boyfriends now a distant memory, Greg feels unwelcome in his own sexuality. Fallen between two factions, it seems like he belongs to neither. Comfort and reassurance come from an unlikely source.

20. Better Late Than Never by sussexbound (SamanthaLenore) - 1020 kudos 3K, T, Johnlock He suddenly wants John Watson out of his bedroom, out of his flat, out of his life, because he has been lying to himself these last few months, he realises. He doesn’t want John here, not with the way things are. He doesn’t want to keep being so careful, so generous, so, so…

* And now for the caveats:

- I’ve cut some of the summaries down because they were way too wordy. Sorry, authors. Write shorter summaries. It’s an AO3 blurb, not a dust jacket. - The kudo count is as of 2 January 2020. Obviously, fics that started posting earlier have the advantage, since they had a longer time to gather kudos. - For this list, I disregarded all fics tagged with multiple fandoms, since their popularity may be due to those other fandoms. - Fics may get - or not get - kudos for various reasons. This is not intended to be a rec list per se, and being on or off this list is not a statement on the quality of any given fic.

#rec list

349 notes · View notes

inevitably-johnlocked · 4 years

Note

hi Steph! i hope you’re great. i was wondering if you have any sulking johnlock rec?

Hi Nonny!

Ahhhh okay so I dooooo but I haven’t tagged them as Sulky Johnlock... sooooo I’m gonna take creative license and post up a list SORT OF this that I have been waiting almost two years to update, LOL..... Cranky Sherlock Pt. 2! It works I think? Ahh, I hope you won’t hate me *HUGS* Besides, we love a stroppy Sherlock, no? Heh. Hope you enjoy this list, there’s over 140 fics on it :D

Please note: I had to omit links to authors in order to be able to link to all of the fics on my list. Also, really sorry, mobile friends, this one is LONG. I will post the cut version on the THIRD reblog (I have to do it this way to get a copy of the full post) <3 I always like having a full version out first. Enjoy!

-----

CRANKY SHERLOCK Pt. 2

See also: Cranky Sherlock

(140+ fics below cut!)

When Morning Comes by Youarethelightoftheworld (T, 423 w., 1 Ch. || Christmas Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Lazy Mornings/Morning After, Fluff and Angst, Sleepy Cuddles, Domestic Fluff, Cuddling / Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort) – “Sherlock,” says John solemnly, “I’m not sure we can go anywhere today.”

Possessive by Fang323 (T, 850 w., 1 Ch. || John Whump, Hospitalization, Possessive / Protective Sherlock, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort) – His John did not belong. Not here. Not in this blasted hospital. It simply was not logical.

Burn Burn by Jenn1984 (K+, 925 w., 1 Ch. || Post-TGG, Angst, Worried / Panicked / Possessive Sherlock) – A week after the events of "The Great Game", Sherlock returns to 221B Baker Street to find it empty.

Our Bodies Bend Light by lovetincture (G, 1,211 w., 1 Ch. || Established Relationship, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Beekeeping, Retirement) – They got married. Of course they got married. Snapshots in a relationship. There's a jar of bees in the bookstore and a cottage in Sussex. Sherlock's not the marrying kind, and John's tried this once before, but they're Sherlock and John. Of course.

I Was Wrong by AllesandraQuartermaine (K, 1,496 w., 1 Ch. || TGG AU, Friendship, Hospitalization / Injury, John’s Self Esteem, Sleepy Sherlock) – Sherlock and John have a conversation a few days after the pool face off with Moriarty. And John hears something quite surprising.

Angel by MrsNoggin (T, 1,513 w., 1 Ch. || Winglock, Friendship, Chromoesthesia, Drugging) – John is an angel. That can be the only explanation. A response to the challenging request for a realistic wingfic one-shot.

You Should Have Let Me Sleep! by theraggedypond (T, 1,542 w., 1 Ch. || Humour, Sleepy Sherlock, Cranky Sherlock, Domestics) – After a three day case with no sleep and hardly any food, Sherlock is recovering from it by playing comatose. John finds out what happens when you wake up London's favorite consulting detective.

Back in the Saddle by grannysknitting (M, 1,577 w., 1 Ch. || Post TGG, Donovan POV, Observation / Introspection, Protective Sherlock, Injured John, Case-ish Fic) – Their first return to solving crime after the pool and the explosion.

Happy Birthday John by Starlight05 (K, 1,580 w., 1 Ch. || Humour, Friendship, John’s Birthday, Shopping, 3rd Person POV John) – When an important date comes up, Sherlock finds himself doing something he never has before - shopping! But will he succeed and manage to get his best friend a present?

The 3x John Carried Sherlock, and Once ViceVersa by ShinkonoKokoro (K+, 1,673 w., 1 Ch. || Fluff, Friendship, Three and One, BAMF John, Sherlock Whump, Worried Sherlock, John Gets Shot) – It happens more than he suspects.

Santa Knows by Itsallfine (T, 1,719 w., 1 Ch. || Christmas Party, Love Confessions, First Kiss, Fluff, Matchmaking, POV Sherlock, Pining Sherlock) – Sherlock and John both get exactly what they want from the Yard's secret Santa exchange. Pure holiday fluff.

3:00 in the Morning is a Great Time to Talk by Aztecwarfareandcrumping (K+, 1,775 w., 1 Ch. || Hurt / Comfort, Friendship, Bed Sharing, First Person POV John, Cuddling, Worried Sherlock, Comforting John, Platonic Affection/Love) – "Are you trying to talk your way into my bed?" "Obviously."

Love and Bombs by Spark Writer (T, 1,780 w., 1 Ch. || Post S3, Romance, Angst, Pining Sherlock, 1st Person POV Sherlock, Introspection, Ambiguous Ending) – Love and bombs aren't all that different, John. In the end, they're almost indistinguishable.

BBCSH 'Poor Mary' by tigersilver (M, 1,839 w., 1 Ch. || HLV Fic, Canon Compliant, Sherlock Whump / Mary Shot Sherlock, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Pining Sherlock, Hospitalization, Missing Scene, Sherlock POV) – As the tin says above, this is a missing scene, set directly after Sherlock awakens in hospital after having been shot by his best mate's wife. Minor angst, some pining, nothing nasty; please don't be alarmed unduly.

The Adventure of the Mysterious Appearance of Tissues by Gwen's Blue Box (K+, 1,910 w., 1 Ch. || Fluff, Humour, Sick John, Caring Sherlock, Hurt/Comfort) – In which there is a case, John has caught a cold and is not interested in investigating, Mrs Hudson is away and Sherlock does the shopping.

They're Taking My Wisdom by whitchry9 (K+, 1,939 w., 1 Ch. || Hurt/Comfort, Drugging, Dentists, Friendship, Anxious Sherlock, Humour) – Sherlock goes to the dentist. Of course, being Sherlock, things have to be complicated. Oh and drugs. They're always fun.

The Perfect Place by SilverSmile (K+, 1,955 w., 1 Ch. || Humour, Romance, 5 and Ones, Fluff, Experiments, Bed Sharing) – Sherlock attempts to find the perfect place to sleep, but his little experiment proves to be far more difficult than expected.

Fascination by xLaramiex (K, 1,959 w., 2 Ch. || Friendship, Cranky Sherlock) – Ch1: John returns home to find Sherlock sleeping on the sofa. At least, he thinks he does. Ch2: Once again, John is forced to abandon his food to trail after Sherlock. He doesn't even know why.

Stay by sussexbound (M, 2,067 w., 1 Ch. || Post TAB, Suicidal Ideation Mention, Implied / Referenced Drug Use, Kissing, Love Confessions, Frottage, Coming in Pants) – “Why? Why did you do it? Hmm…?” He takes a deep breath, waits, lets it out again. “Look at me.” There’s no denying him when he takes this tone. “Why did you kill him? Hmm…? For her? After…” A muscle twitches in the corner of John’s eye, and he clamps his jaw down tightly, swallows and sniffs a little before continuing. “For her? After everything she’s done?” “For you.” Before he can even stop himself. Just like that.

Denial Isn’t Just a River in Egypt by satanatemycat (T, 2,107 w., 1 Ch. || Humour, Friendship, Texting, Bored/Cranky Sherlock) – In which John makes a bet with a co-worker. If he wins, she shuts up about him and Sherlock being a couple. If he loses… well, that doesn’t matter, because he won’t lose. Because he and Sherlock ARE NOT a couple. Right?

The Case of the Missing Blogger by nicknack22 (K, 2,147 w., 1 Ch. || Fluff, Humour, Friendship, Worried / Anxious Sherlock) – Alternately titled, The Case of the Oblivious Consulting Detective. In which Sherlock comes out of his mind palace to discover John missing. 221B does not fair well as a result.

Risotto by Richefic (K+, 2,153 w., 1 Ch. || Friendship, Angst, Misunderstandings, Apologies) – The first time that John cooks dinner for Sherlock is almost the last. Fortunately, Sherlock is really quite observant. Inspired by John's reference in "The Great Game" to there being some leftover risotto in the fridge.

Crisis Averted by Spartangal22 (T, 2,188 w., 1 Ch. || HLV Fic, Missing Scene After Confronting Mary, Canon Compliant, Sherlock Whump / Mary Shot Sherlock, Family / Friendship, Hospitalization, Sherlock POV, Holmes Brothers) – Lying in the hospital, Sherlock receives some surprising visitors, and manages to deal with two problems he's been having lately. A missing scene from HLV about a formal introduction that was never made and a visit that was never shown.

Hell or High water by bluefire301175 (E, 2,250 w., 1 Ch. || PWP, Frottage, Alley Sex, First Person POV John, Case-ish Fic, Mutual Pining, Bed Sharing) – John wants. Sherlock wants. Plain and simple.

The Healing Touch by inevitably_johnlocked (G, 2,307 w., 1 Ch. || Caretaking, Domestic Fluff, Stroppy Sherlock, John Loves Sherlock, Love Confessions, Sofa Cuddles, Insecure Sherlock) – Sherlock's broken his foot and he's becoming unbearably stroppy. Good thing John has the healer's touch... ;) Part 3 of I-J's Tumblr Ficlet Collection

Reunions, Rowdiness and Phone Calls by Jennistar1 (T, 2,348 w., 1 Ch. || Humour, Friendship, Drunk John, Low-Key Pining Sherlock) – John goes on a school reunion and gets drunk. Sherlock solves some crimes and gets some interesting phone calls.

Surety by hudders (G, 2,477 w., 1 Ch. || Jealous Sherlock, Drunk John, Drunk Lestrade, Drinking, Alcohol) – Sherlock is pissed because it seems that four pints of larger, two shots of tequila and a glass of wine has resulted in Lestrade becoming a little bit too friendly with everyone. And by everyone, Sherlock really means John.

Insomnia by TheSingingGirl (K+, 2,635 w., 1 Ch. || Friendship, Humour, Bed Sharing, Sleepy Sherlock) – Sleep is merely the next frontier in what has become the battle to keep Sherlock alive. It's because of this that John ends up in bed with a sociopath.

BBCSH 'The Comfort of Company' by tigersilver (T, 2,769 w., 1 Ch. || Post-TRF/Mary, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Bed Sharing, Grumpy John, Touching, Clingy/Handsy Sherlock, Cranky Sherlock, Fluff and Light Angst) – It's a trope that John and Sherlock end up sharing in the same bed eventually and I admit I do adore it unconditionally, along with all it infers as to the lowering of defenses and the heightening of trust. I put forth for your consideration that the notion persists because those who think about these things realize these two men are each in dire need of some good company.

Pillow Talk by 221b_hound (E, 2,925 w., 1 Ch. || Post-HLV, Est. Rel., Preening Sherlock, Limpet Sherlock, Frottage, Hand Jobs, Sex on Furniture, Scent Kink, Masturbation, Fluff, Soft Sherlock) – John gets home late from work and Sherlock is nowhere to be seen. John walks through the flat, distracted by memories of all the excellent sex they've been having, and finally finds Sherlock asleep in the upstairs room - apparently having fallen asleep mid-wank while inhaling the scent of John's pillow. Well, you should always finish what you start, John thinks... Part 3 of Lock and Key

Better Late Than Never by sussexbound (NR (T), 3,021 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S4 / TFP Doesn’t Exist, Sherlock POV, Love Confessions, Drunk Sherlock / Sober John, John Takes Care of Sherlock, First Kiss, Jealous Sherlock, Emotional Turmoil) – He suddenly wants John Watson out of his bedroom, out of his flat, out of his life, because he has been lying to himself these last few months, he realises. He doesn’t want John here, not with the way things are. He doesn’t want 221b Baker Street to be nothing more than rest stop John returns to on his journeys between women. He doesn’t want to play co-parent if Rosie is going to be snatched away from him and placed in the arms of whatever nameless woman du jour John lands on next. He doesn’t want to keep being so careful, so generous, so, so…

Reversed by whitchry9 (K+, 3,072 w., 6 Ch. || Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Medical Anomolies, John Gets Shot) – The man pointed his gun at John's chest, right at his heart, and shot.' Wherein John is shot, and Sherlock is the one panicking.

It's Just Another Birthday by Vintage Tea Party (K, 3,207 w., 2 Ch. || Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Sherlock’s Birthday, Sherlock 3rd Person POV) – When John makes a birthday cake for Sherlock he thinks its an innocent enough gesture. But nothing is ever normal with Sherlock and this isn't just another birthday.

Bathroom Accessories by Evenlodes_Friend (E, 3,324 w., 1 Ch. || Sex Toys, Butt Plug, First Kiss / Time, Romance, Horny Sherlock, John’s Patience Wears Thin, Humour, Bottomlock) – John discovers that Sherlock has been playing with some very adult toys in the bath.

Apodyopsis by QuinnAnderson (E, 3,347 w., 1 Ch. || PWP, Rough Sex, Table Sex, Anal, Sexual Tension) – Apodyopsis: (æpəʊdaɪˈɒpsɪs) noun. the act of mentally undressing someone. Part 2 of Undressed

Measuring Damage With the Fujita Scale by teahigh (T, 3,548 w., 1 Ch. || First Kiss / Time, Vacation / Holidays, Friends to Lovers, Bed-Sharing, Pining Sherlock, Sherlock POV, Angsty Fluff, Scars, Awkward Talks) – John goes back into town, into the storm, and Sherlock realises he forgot to say, “I just want to be alone with you.”

Posh Boy by panickedbee (M, 3,622 w., 2 Ch. || Kinks, RST, Pining, Sexual Frustation) – In his head he greets him with hey, handsome in the morning, calls him genius when he is being too clever again, calls him pretty man and silly git and sweetheart and, of course, posh boy. Part 5 of Sherlock Holmes Is A Very Lucky Man

Paranoia by Ewebie (M, 3,789 w., 1 Ch. || Humour, Drinking Games, Scotland Yard Gang, Jealous / Possessive Sherlock, Inappropriate Questions, Embarrassed John, Matchmakers) – John and Sherlock join the gang of Scotland Yard for a night of drinking, and it gets a bit personal and revealing.

Tell Me a Secret, Sherlock Holmes. by DaringlyDomestic (NR, 3,880 w., 2 Ch. || Love Confessions, Truth or Dare, Smut, Gentle Explicit Love, Microscopic Angst) – John's voice is low and seductive, sending a shiver of want crackling through his stomach. Sherlock's heart beats frantically against his ribcage, and his breathing grows fast as he feels John's lips flutter against the sensitive skin of his neck. The kiss, if it could really be called that, is so quick and so light that Sherlock is almost convinced he had imagined it. Part 9 of Tumblr Drabble Challenge

Living Musical by VeeTheRee (G, 4,149 w. 1 Ch. || Est. Rel., Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Hobbies, Summer, Song Fic, POV Sherlock, Painting, Play Fighting, Soft Sherlock, Dancing, Love Declarations, Hair Petting, Promise of Forever) – A one-shot of John and Sherlock being domestic during summer. There is paint, fluff, and music from Imagine Dragons, namely from the album 'Speak To Me', specific song in this one-shot is 'Living Musical'. Part 1 of the Happy Fluffy Johnlock Time series

The Oolong Disaster by unicornpoe (T, 4,151 w., 1 Ch. || John’s Beard, Fluff, Humour, Frustrated Sherlock, John Takes Care of Sherlock, Case Fic-ish, Pining Sherlock, First Kiss, Possessive Sherlock) – John has a beard. Sherlock has a panic attack.

Obsession, Appassionato by shinychimera, Yeomanrand (E, 4,249 w., 1 Ch. || Possessive Sherlock, First Time, Jealous Sherlock, Music / Sherlock’s Violin, Present Tense, Frottage) – John is late, and he hasn’t called, and Sherlock works himself into a state. Part 1 of Love and Ysaye

Overture by Kate_Lear (M, 4,435 w., 1 Ch. || First Kiss / Time, Friends to Lovers, Angry John, Introspection, Dev. Rel., Embarassed / Insecure Sherlock, Morning After, Bed Sharing, Cuddles / Limpet Sherlock) – A short snippet on how John and Sherlock might have got together.

Let Down by Gandalf3213 (K+, 4,505 w., 2 Ch. || Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, John Whump, Insecure John) – John truly is sorry for letting Sherlock down. The only thing he wanted to do was finish the case, but bleeding out in a dark alley makes it harder for him to pursue that murderer running out of sight.

If He Knows by shamelessmash (M, 4,513 w., 1 Ch. || TSo3 Fic, Pining Sherlock, Bed Sharing, Angst, Sherlock POV, Texting, Internal Monologue, Blanket Forts) – I imagine mornings: John handing me a cup of tea, hair sticking out at odd angles. How he would bend down to kiss me, smiling fondly as he pulls away. The way his skin crinkles at the corner of his eyes, the way his skin looks in the morning light. The soft sigh as he sits in his chair with the morning paper, the way his toes curl in the carpet, the way he rolls his shoulders before sinking deeper into his seat. I watch him, how he is when he is content, as it should be. As he deserves. Happy. With me.

The Care and Keeping of Your Mad Genius by Janieshi (T, 4,553 w., 1 Ch. || Post-TGG, Friendship, Anxious/Worried Sherlock, Light Humour/Teasing, Alternating POV, Cranky Sherlock) – If he hadn't been so focused on holding the bastard still, John would have laughed aloud. This maniac really thought John was the pet in this dynamic?

Confessions by crimsonwinter (T, 4,711 w., 1 Ch. || Love Confessions, Fluff) – John and Sherlock finally confess their love for each other.

Sherlock and John Go Clubbing by wendymarlowe (E, 4,716 w., 3 Ch. || Clubbing, Dirty Talk, Dancing, Coming Untouched, Coming in Pants, Bi John, For a Case, Friends to Lovers, Flirting, Sherlock is Lost for Words, Sexy John, Mutual Pining, Possessive John, Floor Sex) – John pinched the bridge of his nose - even for Sherlock, this was a new level of no bloody boundaries. “You want me to go with you to a gay club, wait around twiddling my thumbs while I let you get pawed by a criminal, then out-flirt him and talk you into coming home with me instead?” Part 32 of John and Sherlock's Kinky First Times

How Will I Know? by eragon19 (E, 4,895 w., 1 Ch. || Pining, Love Confessions, POV Sherlock, Fluff, Sherlock’s Imagination, Papa Lestrade) – Here was the problem: Sherlock Holmes was completely and irrevocably in love with John Watson, and he had absolutely no idea how to tell him.

The Refining Fire by Arwen Jade Kenobi (T, 5,451 w., 1 Ch. || Post-TGG AU, Angst, Friendship, Alternating POV (Lestrade, Mycroft, Sherlock), Worried Sherlock, Hospital Recovery) – Fire can burn things to ashes, but it can also burn things together.

Sleepless nights by El loopy (T, 5,467 w., 3 Ch. || Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Panic Attack, Worried Sherlock) – Sherlock has a nightmare and John wants to know what it was about. Set during season 1. Three-shot.

Welcome Home, John by slashscribe (G, 5,504 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S3, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Awkwardness, Stabbed Sherlock, Protective Sherlock, Panic Attack (Sherlock), Self Esteem Issues, Love Confessions, First Kiss) – When John moves back to 221B, he thinks he’s the broken one, but after a while, it becomes clear that he might not be correct.

Captain John Watson, Genetics, and Other Crazy Things by cyerus (M, 5,581 w., 1 Ch. || Torchwood Crossover || Humour / Crack, Jealous Sherlock, Sexual Magnet John, Captain John, UST / RST, Three Continents Watson) – The explanation for John "Three Continents" Watson? Jack Harkness is his father. Sherlock doesn't know whether he's going to die from jealousy or sexual frustration first.

Survival Strategies for the Domesticated British Butthole by Atiki (E, 6,183 w., 1 Ch. || Crack, Rimming, Anal Sex, Iced Lolly, Hair Removal, Depilation) – In which there’s a rimming disaster, Sherlock depilates his butt, everything goes very, very wrong and groceries are mistreated. This fic contains hair removal creme in a butthole, ice lollies in a butthole and John Watson's penis in a butthole. You have been warned.

An Interpretation of Viewing Habits by akitsuko (E, 6,653 w., 1 Ch. || Porn Watching, Masturbation, Anal, Friends to Lovers, First Kiss / Time, Declarations of Love, Jealous Sherlock, Fantasizing, John in Denial / Internalized Homophobia, Bottomlock, Pining Idiots, Sherlock Has No Boundaries, Cockblocking Sherlock) – John watches porn. It's a perfectly normal thing to do.If every video he watches happens to feature actors with remarkable physical similarities to his flatmate, well, that's no one's business but his own. Or: John is in denial, until his infatuation with Sherlock is impossible to deny anymore.

Fa Subito by kim47 (E, 6,659 w., 1 Ch. || Suit Porn, Cockblocker Mycroft, Obsessed Sherlock, PWP) – John wears a suit. Sherlock finds it extremely distracting.

Lost for Words by notactivesherlockaccount (T, 6,709 w., 1 Ch. || Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, John Whump, Temporary Mute John) – While on a case, John temporarily loses his ability to speak, and he and Sherlock have to find a new way to communicate.

BANG by ElvendorkInfinity (T, 7,016 w., 3 Ch. || Post-TGG AU, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Worried / Scared Sherlock, Alternating POV, Whump, Hospital Recovery, Open Ending) – 'I should warn you,' Sherlock says, his voice steady and his eyes fixed on Moriarty. 'You are sadly misinformed.' And he fires. Prequel to M Is For Moriarty

Of Razors, Pipes, Red Notebooks and Rugby Jerseys, Or: Sherlock Doesn't Like His Doctors Clean Shaven by allonsys_girl (E, 7,313 w., 1 Ch. || Est. Rel., PWP / Porn With Feelings, John’s Beard / Beard Kink, Roleplay, Love Declarations, Banter, Rimming, Anal, Domestic Fluff / Bliss, Idiots in Love, Emotional Lovemaking, Pet Names, Obsessive Sherlock, Sherlock POV, Bottomlock, Cranky Sherlock) – John grows a beard. Sherlock really likes it. Part 1 of Consulting Husbands

On Favors and Keeping Score by Ewebie (G, 7,622 w., 1 Ch. || Hurt/Comfort, Sick Fic, Fluff, John Whump) – John woke up to the horribly unpleasant sound of his clock alarm. Which meant he’d slept through his phone’s alarm. And for a moment he glared blearily at the noisemaker before smacking at it with his palm. Ugh, he felt like rubbish. The back of his throat was burning with the irritation that heralded a proper dose, his nose was threatening to drip every few seconds, and he had the uncomfortable flush that normally suggested a fever. Nothing high, just uncomfortable. Nothing deadly, just irritating. Nothing worth calling in sick with, just a full day of discomfort in the face of other people’s discomfort. It was going to be a day where he was forced to bite his tongue from telling people off. “You’re not as sick as I am, so off you pop.” Part 7 of Tumblr Shorts

Sometimes When We Touch by kedgeree (M, 7,755 w., 6 Ch. || Post-TRF, First Kiss/Time, Inappropriate Giggling, Romance, Friends to Lovers, Virgin Sherlock, John Whump, Touching) – John might be touching Sherlock a little more often than is strictly necessary. Sherlock probably hasn't even noticed. Right...?

The Hours Before Midnight by Lady Sam Mallory (T, 7,773 w., 1 Ch. || TGG Fic, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Torture / John Whump, Kidnapping, Drugging, Alternating POV, Worried / Protective Sherlock) – Moriarty doesn't play fair. John must deal with hours of torment from Moriarty before going to meet Sherlock at the Pool at the end of the Great Game and Sherlock must deal with the consequences of his boredom.

What Did I Do Wrong? by Starlight05 (T, 7,880 w., 5 Ch. || Hurt Comfort, Angst, John Whump, Hospitalization, Worried Sherlock, Emotional Turmoil, Nightmares, Sherlock Being Dumb) - After John almost dies on a case, Sherlock disappears. So John is left to figure out what he can do to get his best friend back. Meanwhile Sherlock, guilt-ridden and willingly alone, is doing everything he can to stay away.

Caves in the Mountains Are Seldom Unoccupied by starrysummernights & TheMadKatter13 (E, 7,925 w., 1 Ch. || Were-Creatures, Werebear John, Pseudo Bestiality, Rimming, Dub Con, Rough Sex, Come Inflation / Eating, Size Kink, PWP, Bratty Sherlock, Rutting) – “This isn’t something to play at, Sherlock,” he snapped. “If it doesn’t work out- what you’re asking of me- we can’t shrug and say 'oh well, at least we tried'. If we do this… I could seriously hurt you. Do you understand? I could lose control. I could… I could kill you.” (This one is... REALLY REALLY kinky, heavy dub-con warning)

A Friend Indeed by Sanru (K+, 8,190 w., 1 Ch. || Missing John, Friendship, Drama, Introspection, Possessive Sherlock, Worried Sherlock) – Something has gone terribly wrong with a supposedly simple case. John Watson is missing. While the search for him is proving to be fruitless, it has made Sherlock realize that having an emotional attachment to someone may have its disadvantages but he liked being able to call John his friend. Now if only he could find out what happened to him...

Made for You by Raxicoricofallapatorious (K, 8,440 w., 1 Ch. || Friendship, Sci-Fi, Androids, Sherlock Called Freak) – When John was shot in the shoulder he was decommissioned and his memory and personality was wiped. Sherlock was given the blank droid and he quickly learns that this droid is more than it seems. John just so happened to come back and no one can fathom how or why. Johnlock if you squint.

My Life for His by QuinnAnderson (E, 8,816 w., 1 Ch. || Guardian/Protector, Greek Mythology || Growing Up, Sex, Religious Themes, Suicide, Minor Character Death) – It began when Sherlock was eight, and he attempted to climb all the way up to the highest branch in the old willow tree in his back garden. He'd thought he was still small enough that it could support him, but the second he'd grabbed hold of it to pull himself up, the branch snapped, and down he went, plummeting a solid twenty metres.The odd thing was, he never actually hit the ground.

All the Times Something ALMOST Happened by allonsys_girl (T, 9,049 w., 6 Ch. || POV Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Canon Compliant, Angst, Friendship/Love, UST) – John and Sherlock dancing around what they dance around in canon.

Five Times Sherlock Realized He Was Getting Older by Mildred Graves (T, 9,215 w., 6 Ch. || Five and Ones, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Getting Old) – . . . And one time it didn't matter.

Ravish Me by amalnahurriyeh (E, 10,025 w., 1 Ch. || UST / RST, Makeup / Lipstick, Sympathetic Sally, Experiments, Pining John, First Kiss, Face Fucking / BJ’s, Cuddling) – Sherlock is experimenting with patterns of wear on lipstick in daily encounters. John is going to go insane.

You fit me, Sherlock Holmes by orphan_account (G, 10,077 w., 1 Ch. || It’s An Experiment, Bed Sharing, Slow Burn, Fluff and Angst, Idiots in Love, Mutual Pining, Questionable Science) – An unfortunate series of events leads to John accepting being a part of Sherlock's study in physical intimacy. As the days pass by, John realizes he might be in for more than he bargained for. He doesn't entirely mind.

The Haunting of 221B Baker Street by earlgreytea68 (M, 10,388 w., 2 Ch. || Post TRF, Halloween / Ghosts, Pining Sherlock, Ghost Sherlock, Stroppy Sherlock, Sherlock POV, First Kiss/Time, Angry Sex, Ghost Sex, Love Confessions, Open / Ambiguous Ending) – In which Sherlock Holmes is a ghost.

The Five Stages of Mourning, Plus One by SunnyRea (T, 10,557 w., 1 Ch. || MCD, Pining / Grieving Sherlock, URT, Heavy Angst, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Drug Use, Graphic Death, Depression, Unhappy Ending) – Sherlock did not want this, did not want another stalemate with John in the middle, a gun in Jim's hand. This cannot have happened without a sign. There has to be something he missed anything which said today is the day I kill for real.

A Is For Aftermath by ElvendorkInfinity (T, 10,567 w., 1 Ch. || Injury / Whump, Hurt/Comfort, Friendship/Pre-Slash/Bromance/Platonics, Hallucinations, Introspection, Insecure / Worried John, Big Brother Mycroft, Alternating POV, Anxious Sherlock, Self-Deprecating, Mildly Possessive Sherlock, 3G Moment) – John is still hallucinating, Sherlock cannot sleep, and Lestrade has a new case for them. But will life at 221B ever be able to return to normal? Epilogue to M is for Moriarty.

London Gods by a_different_equation (E, 11,092 w., 5 Ch. || American Gods Fusion || Magical Realism, Sex Magic, True Love, PTSD John, First Kiss/Time, Marathon Sex, Sensuality, Genie Sherlock, Human John, Internalized Homophobia, Star-Crossed Lovers, Soul Mates) – Sherlock Holmes is a jinn who does not grant wishes. However, when Dr. John H. Watson, recently returned from the war in Afghanistan, gets into his cab by "accident", it might not even need magic to grant both men their deepest wish: love.

The Dying Doctor by Transcendental Starlight (T, 11,258 w., 3 Ch. || Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Sick John / John Whump, ACD Rewrite) – Loosely based off ACD's "The Dying Detective." Sherlock relives a case that should have killed him, but instead resulted in John being hospitalized for a deadly disease. Sherlock endeavors to catch the murderer, while attempting to envision a future without John Watson. No Slash.

Sherlock's Sleeping Habits by Cumberbatch Critter (T, 11,424 w., 16 Ch. || Friendship, Sleepy Sherlock, One Shot Collection, Fluff, Domestics) – In which John learns about Sherlock's sleeping habits. Series of unrelated oneshots featuring the one and only ADORABLE Sleepy!Lock! Fluff abounds.

A Building of Bridges by Unique (K, 12,325 w., 3 Ch. || Drama, Alternate First Meeting, John’s PTSD / Flashbacks, Mute John, Dialogue-Heavy, Caring Sherlock, Friendship) – No one would ever send Sherlock in to diffuse a stand-off; but on one unlikely day, that's exactly what happened. "Congratulations, Lestrade," he called out sarcastically. "You're traumatizing a war veteran."

And Here We Are by J_Baillier (T, 12,416 w., 2 Ch. || ASiP Fic, Alternating First Person POV, Drama, Friendship, Mild Case Fic, Autism Spectrum Sherlock, Insecure Sherlock, Protective John, Pining, Homophobia, Loneliness, Angst, Humour, Domestics, Morbid Fluff, Kidnapping) – All the little things we never got to see when an army doctor and a consulting detective were adjusting to sharing a flat. And a life.

Shuteye Shenanigans by Ayakae (K+, 13,263 w., 8 Ch. || Post-TRF, Friendship / Epic Bromance, John’s Nightmares, Angsty Fluff, Bed Sharing, Humour, Cuddles, Taking Care of Each Other, Domestics) – John Watson has never slept with Sherlock Holmes. Never ever ever. And never will, thank you very much. Well, there was that one time, but John didn't count that. It was completely different, just like the second time it happened. And the third. And the fourth. Epic bromance, but it can be read as pre-slash if you wish.

Kintsugi by distantstarlight (E, 14,772 w., 1 Ch. || Post S4, Emotional Hurt / Comfort, Regret / Remorse, Loneliness, Separation, Drug Use, Healing, Protective John, Sad Sherlock, Dev. Rel., Complicated Relationships, Love, Angst With Happy Ending, Sherlock is Called Freak, John’s Penance, Voyeurism, Doctor/Caretaker John, Guilty John, Detox, Fingering, Love Confessions, Cuddling, Slight Non-Con Turns Enthusiastic Consent, Virgin Sherlock) – Sherlock Holmes becomes estranged from the man he had once considered his best friend after John lets him down horribly in public. It seems that the world's only consulting detective will be on his own once again...or will he?

The Palmyra Atoll by elwinglyre (E, 16,609 w., 3 Ch. || TSo3 Divergence / Episode Fix-It, Stockholm Syndrome, Kidnapped John Watson, John Whump, Evil Mary, Angst, Cuddling & Snuggling, Toplock, Limited 3rd John POV) – As John's preparing for the wedding, Sherlock is preparing to have his heart broken, and Mary is prepared to do the unthinkable. Intervention required. Enter Sherlock. Set before Sign of Three with a far different outcome. John is drugged, kidnapped, and left on an island, but not just any old island.

Wonderful, Etcetera. by VictoryCandescence (T, 16,955 w., 3 Ch. || Wonderful Life AU || Alternate Timelines, Brotherhood, Homophobia, Suicidal Ideations, Mentions of Drug Use, Friendship, Different TRF, Sherlock’s Past, Victor Trevor is Past Boyfriend, Depression, Hallucination?, Love Confessions, Christmas, First Kiss) – Sherlock thinks everyone would be better off if he had never existed, including and especially himself. When he finds himself in a world in which his wish has been granted, he begins to think perhaps even he could be wrong – but it takes an unlikely chaperone to make him not only observe, but understand.

Let's Make a Bed Out in the Rain by theimprobable1 (M, 17,664 w., 11 Ch. || Pining, Angst & Fluff, First Kiss, Unrequited) – John is devastated after his long-term girlfriend leaves him. Sherlock helps him through it.

Traitor's Gate by roane (E, 17,714 w., 6 Ch. || Post-TRF, Case Fic, Mystery, Bets and Wagers, Undercover for a Case, BAMF John, Scientist Sherlock, Teasing, Established Relationship, Military Base, Sexting/Texting, Military/Uniform Kink, Frottage, Dirty Sex, Anal, Bottomlock) – John and Sherlock go undercover at a top secret government lab to find out who is selling research. John is back in uniform and Sherlock is back in a laboratory, but they have to pose as strangers. Sherlock thinks he'll have an easy time of it, but John has his doubts. It's up to them to find out who is responsible for putting a dangerous weapon in the wrong hands, and try to keep their hands off each other at the same time.

I Think I've Come A Long Long Way To Sit Before You Here Today by ArwenKenobi (T, 18,251 w., 3 Ch. || Grief/Mourning, Passage of Time, Major Character Death, Alternating POV, Sherlock Whump, Pining Sherlock, Hospitalization, Coma, Revenge Murders, Hallucinations, Love Confessions, Brutal Accident, Mystrade, Ghost John) – One year after John is killed Sherlock starts to wonder whether John has actually gone anywhere.

You're On the Air by prettysailorsoldier (M, 20,616 w., 1 Ch. || Unilock, Matchmaking, Radio, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Sherlock POV, Pining Sherlock, Flirting, Bisexual John) – The Consulting Detective and The Woman dominate the airwaves of their university radio station, doling out advice on everything from meeting the parents to sexual positions. When their ratings start to dip before the holidays, however, manager Mike thinks it's time for some fresh blood, and who better to fill in the gaps than rugby captain--and notorious flirt--John Watson? Part 1 of 25 Days of Johnlock

The Real Meaning of Idioms by feverishsea (T, 21,691 w., 13 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Texting, Humour, Post-TRF, Awkward Romance, Idiots in Love) - After two weeks away, John finally texts Sherlock. He doesn’t expect Sherlock to respond. He doesn’t expect Sherlock to keep texting him. And he really doesn’t expect things to spiral out of control so rapidly.

5 Times John Got the Girl (and lost her) and 1 Time John Got the Guy (and kept him) by LiviKate (M, 21,695 w., 6 Ch. || 5 and Ones, Kissing, Oblivious / Awkward Sherlock, BAMF / Sexy / Stud John, Embarrassed John, John’s Scar, Hurt/Comfort, Jealous Sherlock) – John has always had good luck with the ladies. He's charming, friendly and funny, not to mention great in bed. However, his usual skill with the opposite sex is constantly being thwarted by Sherlock and his outbursts. How will John ever get a leg over when Sherlock is always cockblocking him?

The Kepler Problem by kinklock (E, 24,270 w., 1 Ch. || Sci-Fi AU, Alien Sherlock, Space Repairman John, Alien Biology, Horny John) – Working in uncharted space exploration was not as exciting as John had hoped, especially when it turned out to be mostly bot maintenance on uninhabited planets. However, the mystery of the repeated, unexplained malfunctions on planet BAK 2212 might turn out to be exactly the kind of adventure he'd been craving.

Hellfire by testosterone_tea (E, 28,596 w., 9 Ch. || Fantasy / Magic / Mages / Elementals AU || Mage Sherlock, Elemental John, Developing Relationship, Torture, Powerful / BAMF John, POV Alternating, Dark / Blood Magic, UST, First Kiss) – Sherlock is a Mage that gets involved with a case involving Dark Summoning rituals, leading him to John Watson, a man with Berserker blood. The only thing is, Berserkers have been extinct for centuries. And of course, nothing involving Mycroft and his interfering ways is ever simple. This time, even Sherlock may have bitten off more than he can chew.

To Mend Icarus by AlessNox (T, 29,186 w., 14 Ch. || Post-TRF, Friendship, Drama, BAMF!John, Emotional Turmoil, Introspection, Harry is in this Fic, Angry John, Happy Ending, Queerplatonic Relationship) – After a case lands John Watson in court, he tells Sherlock that he is leaving. Not understanding why, Sherlock decides that the only way to learn the truth is to investigate his flatmate, Dr. John Watson. A revision of the story Mending Icarus.

An Acquired Taste by kinklock (E, 31,059 w., 4 Ch. || Vampires AU || Vampire Sherlock, Misunderstandings, Bat!Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Humour, Magical Realism, Fluff and Angst, Blood Drinking, Holmes Family, Slow Burn) – At Montague Street when Sherlock was forced to sate his body’s needs, he was at least able to wander about the flat as much as he pleased.At Baker Street, it was mini-bags in a mini-fridge and bedroom confinement.

The Whore of Babylon Was a Perfectly Nice Girl by out_there (E, 32,897 w., 1 Ch. || Past Drug Use, Blowjobs, Toplock, Mentions of Switching, Rough Sex, Background Cases, Sherlock’s Past, Sherlock’s Sexual History, Experienced Sherlock, Past One Night Stands, Fingering, Cuddling, Possessive Sherlock, Paris Holiday, Bed Sharing, Naked Lie-Ins, Bathing Together, Confessions, Worried Sherlock, Laying in Bed All Day, Meddling Mycroft, Naked Lazy Day) – Sherlock walks into a room and takes all the space right out of it. He does the same inside John's head.

Chaperones by MissDavis (T, 34,114 w., 7 Ch. || 11 Years Post-S4, Fake Relationship, Parentlock, Disney World, Bed / Room Sharing, Friends to Lovers, Fluff, First Kiss, Obsessive Sherlock, Insecure John) – Right. Of course. Everyone assumed they were a couple and no one would question it. John put his elbows up on the table so he could rest his head in his hands. “You want to pretend to be a couple so we can chaperone a trip to Disney World with Rosie’s class and you won’t have to share a room with a stranger?” “Exactly.” Sherlock beamed at him. “Don’t worry about the cost. The Birmingham case last month paid more than enough to cover expenses for all three of us.”

we have never seen a greater day than this by Lediona (T, 36,420 w., 7 Ch. || A Royal Night Out AU || WWII / VE Day, Prince Sherlock, Soldier John, Alternating POV, First Kiss, Bittersweet Ending, Homophobia, Dancing) – Peace. At long last. It’s VE Day and Prince William desires to join the celebrations. It is a night of excitement, danger and the first flutters of romance.

Turn Left at the Park by Glenmore (NR (E), 37,409 w., 28 Ch. || Alternate First Meeting / ASiP Divergence, Case Fic, Depression, Suicidal Ideation, Loneliness, No Mary, Possessive Sherlock, Fluff & Angst, Nightmares/PTSD, Sherlock Saves John, Sherlock Whump-ish, Doctor John) – So what would have happened if John hadn't walked through the park and met Stamford?What if, instead, he walked around the park and just went home?

A Week is Just Seven Days Isn't It? by scifigrl47 (T, 39,906 w., 4 Ch. || Humour, Friendship/Bromance, Stroppy/Bored Sherlock, Undercover/Army John, Texting, Pining-ish Sherlock, John Whump) – When John heads overseas for a week, Sherlock's forced to fend for himself. It goes about as well as anyone could have anticipated. Which is to say, very, very poorly. Don't worry, things'll be fine in just seven days.

In the Still of the Night by SilentAuror (E, 42,234 w., 1 Ch. || S4 Fix It / Post-S4, Sherlock POV, Angst, Drama, Romance, Virgin Sherlock, Awkwardness, Misunderstandings / Miscommunications, Case Fic, Travelling, Pining) – As locals on the Northeastern coast begin to report UFO sightings, life at Baker Street becomes significantly awkward as John brings up his desire for more than friendship and Sherlock refuses him. They embark on the investigation from the confines of the tiny cottage Mycroft has rented for them, attempting to navigate both the clues of the case as well as their own inability to communicate...

Guidelines by WithLoweredVoices (M, 43,018 w., 15 Ch. || Winglock || Angels, Fantasy, Angst, BAMF! John, War, Jealous Sherlock, Possessive Sherlock, Jealous John, Falling in Various Ways, Needy Sherlock, Wings) – The Good Soldier, one of the oldest and strongest of the fallen, is offered a bargain: to live as John Watson and to Guide a fledgling archangel so that he will stay on the path of good. Of course, Sherlock Holmes has different ideas about his destiny. Fantasy AU. Warnings for violence, occasional gore, and a whole load of hurt and angst.

Bloody But Unbowed by BeautifulFiction (E, 43,211 w., 8 Ch. || Abduction, John Whump, Mild Torture, Background Case Fic, Friends to Lovers, Post-TRF / S3 Rewrite, Hurt/Comfort) – When a familiar argument threatens to destroy the last remnants of John and Sherlock's failing friendship, both men are left questioning their worth to one another. Before either of them has the chance to make amends, circumstance intervenes. John is left at the mercy of his abductors, and this time, he's not sure Sherlock will bother coming to his rescue.

The Case of the Vanishing Pants by SwissMiss (E, 44,025 w., 6 Ch. || Five and Ones, Post-TRF, Case Fic, UST, Homophobia, Friends to Lovers, Pining John, Showering Together, Couple for a Case, Sherlock’s Bum, Fantasies, Jealous Sherlock) – Five times John and Sherlock lost their pants in the course of a case.

The Real Great Perfumers by shelleysprometheus (E, 45,355 w., 68 Ch. || Case Fic, Alternating POV, Gay Sherlock / Bi John, Canon Compliant with Divergence at TRF, Friends to Lovers, Oral / Anal, Pining, First Kiss / Time, Dev. Rel., Drugging, Body Worship, Bathing, Love Confessions, Travelling, Bottomlock, Cranky Sherlock, BJ’s, Alternating POV, Jealous John) – The case, this case. This extraordinary, fascinating, scintillating case. A house. Designed entirely by its eccentric owner, built by no less than five hundred expert tradesmen in the heart of Marrakesh. A house that had, seemingly not only driven its owner out, but also to his quite unpleasant death. And a perfumer, a chemist no less, the very thought of the secrets that house could reveal, would reveal was irresistible. Sherlock had to have this case ... and it seems, he also had to have John! Part 1 of the Forethought and Fire series

Impossible to Feign by achray (M, 49,204 w., 12 Ch. || TRF Rewrite / Reverse Reichenbach, Suicidal Ideations / Discussions, Drug Use/Abuse, Mutual Pining, Friends With Benefits, John Accepts his Sexuality, Anxious Sherlock, Meddling Mycroft, Depression, Hallucinations, Secret Agent John, BAMF John, Reunion, Make-Up Sex, Ambiguous Ending) – Sherlock leant forward, his long fingers curving round to grip John’s.“I won’t let him win,” he said, eyes hard. “I will do whatever it takes to get you out.”

A Study Of Living With Sherlock Holmes by AllesandraQuartermaine (T, 50,234 w., 22 Ch. || Post-ASiP/Pre-TAB, Domestics, Friendship, POV John) – Learn about what happened between John and Sherlock January 31st and March 22. From John's pov on how to survive and learn to live with one eccentric mad genius known as Sherlock Holmes.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by SilentAuror (E, 50,635 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S4/S4 Divergence, Case Fic, For a Case / Reverse Fake-Relationship, Conferences, Marriage Equality, Travelling / New York, Pride, Homophobia, Bottomlock, Marriage Proposal, John POV, Sexuality, Love Confessions, Emotional Love Making, Public Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Passionate Kissing, Needy/Clingy Sherlock, Virgin Sherlock, Touching / Hand Holding, Bed Sharing, Little Spoon Sherlock, Intense Orgasms) – John and Sherlock go to New York to attend a conference run by the National Defence of Traditional Marriage Coalition in order to investigate the potential bombing of the annual Manhattan Pride parade. As the conference unfolds, John finds himself repulsed by the toxic ideology being presented, which becomes relevent to his own unacknowledged issues and his friendship with Sherlock...

The Thing Is by TSylvestris (E, 56,743 w., 21 Ch. || Case Fic, Dev. Rel., Anal/Oral, Blow Jobs, Meddling Mycroft, Drama, Romance, Humour, Casual Encounters, Pining Idiots, Possessive Sherlock, Orgasm Delay, Rough / Alley Sex, Public Sex, John Whump, Drugged John, Emotional Love Making, Awkward Relationship, Marriage of Convenience, Switchlock, BAMF John) – The problem with living with Sherlock, John thought, was that you never, never, ever knew the significance of anything. Like your flatmate's nose buried in your hair. Whilst you're in bed. Part 1 of Nitroglycerine

This Thing All Things Devours by cypress_tree (E, 63,844 w., 15 Ch. || In Time AU || Science Fiction, Dystopian Universe, First Meetings, Action / Adventure, Romance) – In 2169, time is money—literally. Humans are genetically engineered to stop aging at 25, when the numbers on their arm start counting down from one year. When that time is up, they die. The only way to get more time is to earn it, borrow it, or steal it.John Watson lives day-to-day in the crowded slums of Zone 13. He never imagined living any differently—until he meets the practically-immortal Sherlock, and helps him on a case to track a local time-thief...

The Bells of King's College by SilentAuror (E, 64,019 w., 5 Ch. || Post-S4, Missed Opportunities, Angst with Happy Ending, Fake Relationship, Case Fic, John POV, Jealous John, John in Denial, Travelling / Holidays, Virgin Sherlock, Wedding Proposals) – It's only been two weeks since Eurus Holmes disrupted their lives when Mycroft sends John and Sherlock to Cambridge to pose as an engaged couple at a wedding show in the hopes of solving six unsolved deaths...

Hell Sent, Heaven Bound by ConsultingHound (M, 64,381 w, 16 Ch. || Angels / Demons AU || Fallen Angel Sherlock / Angel Cop John, Alternate First Meeting, Slow Burn, Case Fic, John & Lestrade are Friends Before Sherlock, BAMF John, Mind Palace John, Friends to Lovers, John in Denial, Sherlock Picks Out John’s Clothing, Clubbing / Dancing, Mildly Jealous John, Awkwardness, Kidnapping, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Sacrifice, Worried / Anxious Sherlock, Angst with Happy Ending, Immortal to Mortal) – Ex-War healer and current angelic guard John Watson is not having the best day. He overslept, he’s underpaid, and now there’s someone tagging the Council’s building walls. However things may be about to get interesting: there’s an unusual stranger hanging around (the definition of tall, dark, and handsome), a literal underground cult is brewing, and rumblings are coming from hell. Can he keep his neighbourhood safe, how and why is he being connected to all this, and who the hell is Sherlock Holmes?

White Knight by DiscordantWords (M, 69,840 w., 13 Ch. || S4 Compliant/Post S4, Marriage For a Case, Jealous John, Pining John, Janine / Sherlock Fake Relationship, Serial Killers, Case Fic, Undercover as a Couple, Weddings, John is a Mess, Misunderstandings, Wedding Planning, Jealousy, Drunkenness, Love Confessions, Angst with Happy Ending) – Green. The word green was used to convey a great many things. Illness. Envy. Inexperience. Standing there amidst Janine's chattering bridesmaids, watching Sherlock furrow his brow and study fabric swatches, watching him smile and simper and flirt, John thought it a remarkably apt colour choice. Because he felt quite sick to his stomach, he feared the source of said sickness might very well be jealousy, and he had absolutely no idea at all what to do about it. Or: Sherlock needs to fake a relationship for a case. He doesn't ask John.

The Vapor Variant by 88thParallel (CanadaHolm) (M, 72,684 w., 18 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Post-THoB, John Whump, Protective Sherlock, Guilty Sherlock, Anxious/Worried Sherlock, Virgin Sherlock, Angst with Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, PTSD John, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Suspense, Virus, Sick Fic, Big Brother Mycroft) – They stood face to face in the middle of a clearing. The dim light of the moon barely allowed Sherlock to see the glassy terror in John’s eyes and the sweat that glistened off his forehead. His nose was bleeding again, blood dripping in a slow stream from his right nostril. They were both gasping for air, John’s eyes locked on Sherlock’s. There was no recognition there, just wild animal fear. Time stood still for an eternal few seconds, and Sherlock took a shaky breath. “John—”Spell broken, John spun and bolted back into the woods. Still heaving for air, Sherlock took off after him.

Summit Fever by J_Baillier (M, 78,802 w., 18 Ch. || Mountain Climber AU || POV John, Angst, Tragedy, Suicidal Ideation, The Himalayas, Mountain Guide / Doctor John, Mount Climber Sherlock, Loneliness, Drama, Suspense, Slow Burn, Injured Sherlock / Sherlock Whump, Pining John) – After graduating from medical school, John Watson followed his heart to the Himalayas. Ten years later, he's a haunted cynic working for his ex-lover's trekking and mountaineering company. Will leading an expedition to Annapurna I—the most lethal of all the world's highest mountains—shake John out of his reverie, and who is the mystery client added to the group at the last minute?

Thermocline by J_Baillier (M, 83,557 w., 14 Ch. || Scuba Diving AU || Adventure, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Marine Archaeology, Asexual Sherlock, Horny John, Relationship Drama, Technical/Scuba/Wreck Diving, Slow Burn, Underwater / Medical Peril, Doctor John, Hurt Sherlock, Anxious Sherlock, John POV, Protective John, Body Appreciation) – John "Five Oceans" Watson — technical dive instructor, dive accident analyst and weapon of mass seduction — meets recluse professor of maritime archaeology Holmes. As they head out to a remote archipelago off the coast of Guatemala to study and film its shipwrecks for a documentary, will sparks fly or fizzle out?

Northwest Passage by Kryptaria (E, 95,157 w., 27 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Canadian AU || BAMF!John, Canadian John, PTSD, Anal / Oral Sex, Rimming, Emotional Hurt / Comfort, Drug Rehab, Falling in Love, Pining Sherlock, Love Confessions, Sherlock’s Violin, Panic Attacks, Switching, Anxious / Protective Sherlock, Hugs for Comfort, Suicide Mentions, Healing Each Other) – Seven years ago, Captain John Watson of the Canadian Forces Medical Service withdrew from society, seeking a simple, isolated life in the distant northern wilderness of Canada. Though he survives from one day to the next, he doesn't truly live until someone from his dark past calls in a favor and turns his world upside-down with the introduction of Sherlock Holmes." Part 1 of Tales from the Northwest

The Wedding Garments by cwb (E, 105,390 w., 36 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Alternate Future AU || Alternate First Meeting, Dating / Arranged Marriages, Romance, First Kiss/Time, Heavy Petting, Cuddles, POV Sherlock, Virgin Sherlock, Idiots in Love, Slow Burn / Falling in Love / Dev. Rel., Nervous/Anxious Sherlock, Jealous/Cranky, Hiking, Vacation Homes / Honeymoon, Sherlock’s Family, Horny John/Sherlock, Patient John, Massages, Hand Jobs, Assassination Plots, Hand Jobs / Oral Sex, Case Fic, Emotional Love Making, Bath Time Fun) – This is the story of a young consulting detective who wants nothing to do with marriage and an army doctor who wants to find true love. It's 2020 post-Brexit England and the British government is encouraging arranged marriages. Candidates meet through state-run agencies and date in hopes of finding love (and tax benefits). Sherlock doesn't need or want a spouse, at least not until John Watson shows up. Hesitant to give in to his more carnal urges because of the way they derail his mind, how will Sherlock progress toward the more intimate aspects of a relationship? The answer lies in a very special wedding gift.

A Study in Winning by Jupiter_Ash (E, 106,658 w., 11 Ch. || Tennis AU || John POV, Dirty Talk, Mutual Pining, Misunderstandings, Happy Ending, Sherlock Speaks French, Switchlock, Wimbledon) – John and Sherlock are professional tennis players and it’s Wimbledon. One is a broken almost was at the end of his career, the other an arrogant rising star tipped for greatness. It should have been a straightforward tournament. It really should have been. How were they to know that a chance encounter would change everything? Part 1 of Tennis

Two Two One Bravo Baker by abundantlyqueer (E, 114,574 w., 27 Ch. || Military AU || Afghanistan, War Story, Thriller, Switchlock, Rimming, Emotional Lovemaking, Lots of Sex, HJ/BJ’s) – Captain John Watson of 40 Commando, the Royal Marines, is assigned to protect and assist Sherlock Holmes as he investigates what appears to be a simple war atrocity in Afghanistan. An intense attraction ignites between the two men as they uncover a conspiracy that threatens everything they’ve ever known, but Sherlock is as much hunted as hunter, and everyone close to him is in deadly danger. Can he solve the case in time to save himself and John? Part 1 of Two Two One Bravo Baker Universe

A Further Sea by i_ship_an_armada & ShinySherlock (E, 125,492 w., 23 Ch. || Historical Pirates AU || Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Doctor John / Pirate Captain Sherlock, Sailing, UST / RST, Masturbation, Action / Adventure, Mild Angst & Peril, Romance, Shaving, Molly/Janine, Bottomlock, Hand / Blow Jobs, Past Drug Use, Slow Burn, Mild Violence, Facial Shaving, Happy Ending) – Here be a tale of adventure for both body and soul, but beware if ye be not of stout heart, for this be piratelock, ya savvy? Luckless ship's surgeon John Watson takes a chance, and finds himself eye to eye with The Ghost, the scourge of the seven seas and a definite thorn in the side of the blaggard, James Moriarty. But when John finds there's more to this most cunning pirate than be meetin' the eye, he has to choose... is it a pirate's life for him?

The Bang and the Clatter by earlgreytea68 (M, 137,049 w., 37 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Baseball AU || Slow Burn / Dev. Rel., Possessive/Obsessive Sherlock, Jealous Sherlock, Mutual Pining, Body Appreciation, Depression, Closeted Sexuality, Family, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Ogling Each Other, Anxious Sherlock, Panic Attack, Drunkenness, Talk of Forever, Big Feelings™) – Sherlock Holmes is a pitcher and John Watson is a catcher. No, no, no, it's a baseball AU. Part 1 of Baseball

Proving A Point by elldotsee & J_Baillier (E, 186,270 w., 28 Ch. || Me Before You Fusion || Medical Realism, Insecure John, Depression, Romance, Angst, POV John, Sherlock Whump, Serious Illness, Doctor John, Injury Recovery, Assisted Suicide, Sherlock’s Violin, Awkward Sexual Situations, Alcoholism, Drugs, Idiots in Love, Slow Burn, Body Image, Friends to Lovers, Hurt / Comfort, Pain, Big Brother Mycroft, Intimacy, Anxiety, PTSD, Family Issues, Psychological Trauma, John Whump, Case Fics, Loneliness, Pain) – Invalided home from Afghanistan, running out of funds and convinced that his surgical career is over, John Watson accepts a mysterious job offer to provide care and companionship for a disabled person. Little does he know how much hangs in the balance of his performance as he settles into his new life at Musgrave Court.

#steph replies #johnlock fic recs #my fic recs #cranky sherlock #stroppy sherlock #Anonymous #long post

90 notes · View notes