What? Idk but I'm staying. I love fandom.

BBC Sherlock, I can't quit you.

[sussexbound]

Comment of the evening from an otherwise positive-ish review of TFP in The Guardian. (X)

[sussexbound]

Still the best description of Season 4 I’ve ever seen.

[chriscalledmesweetie]

Pants on Fire

The first time it happens, Sherlock is fourteen.  He wakes to find a small scorch-mark on his pants.  Further investigation reveals a matching burn on his sheet.  

How did they get there?  Sherlock has no memory of using matches, a lighter, or flames of any sort before bed.  Had he gotten up and set something on fire in his sleep?

Scanning back through his dreams, Sherlock recalls a particularly vivid sensation of being aroused.  Sexually.  He flashes back to a health class in which the teacher mentioned wet dreams.  But this seems to have been the opposite of a wet dream.

Sherlock stares down at his penis, flaccid and harmless-looking.  He knows that people sometimes refer to sex as being “hot,” but he’s never heard of a nocturnal emission leaving scorch marks.  The term “seminal fluid” had led him to believe that semen would be liquid.

Well, there’s one way to find out.  Though he’s never been tempted to try it before, Sherlock decides that he’ll have to masturbate.  For science.

The results are shocking.  At the point of climax, a thin stream of fire shoots from the tip of his penis.  A few sparks fall to the floor, smouldering briefly on the carpet before going out.  What the hell was that?!

Over the course of the next several months, Sherlock does all the research he can, both practical and theoretical.  Nothing he can find online bears any resemblance to his own experience.  There’s only one logical conclusion: Sherlock is a freak.

By this time, his parents have begun to notice the scorch marks.  They chastise Sherlock for conducting experiments in his room, when they’ve set up a perfectly good laboratory for him downstairs.  Mummy questions him about the damage to his clothing.

Sherlock puts her off with a story about an experiment on the flame retardant properties of various fabrics he’s conducting for a school project.  As the words leave his mouth, he can hear Mycroft’s voice in his head, taunting, “Liar, liar, pants on fire…”  

Soon after that, Sherlock makes a decision.  The risks — of exposure, of burning down the house, of being locked away in some secret government testing facility — aren’t worth it.  Better to take sex completely out of the equation.

Sherlock learns how to will away erections.  He begins staying awake for days on end, so that by the time he does fall asleep his body is so exhausted that there is no chance of a wet (or, rather, fiery) dream.  He avoids forming any sort of relationship that could possibly lead to attraction.

So this is how Sherlock grows up: isolated and lonely, but safe.  And then he meets John.

When they go out to dinner at Angelo’s, and John asks if he has a boyfriend, Sherlock is momentarily stunned by his body’s response.  The mere thought of it, coupled with the sight of John’s pink tongue poking out to lick his lips, has Sherlock’s cock hardening uncomfortably in his pants.  Oh, how tempted he feels.

But it could never work.  Sherlock’s arousal is a dangerous thing, and must be ruthlessly tamped down.  So he forces himself to tell John that he is married to his work.  

This time, it is his own voice he hears in his head, mocking him.  “Liar, liar, pants on fire…”  

It’s worth it, though.  Sherlock is keeping John safe.  Sherlock is keeping John.  And it’s worth it.

As the months and then years pass, Sherlock’s attraction to John only grows, but so does his determination not to do anything that could hurt the man who has become his best friend.  Although he’s too observant to have failed to notice that John reciprocates his interest, he is sure that it is better for John to experience a bit of pining rather than suffer severe burns.  And, less altruistically, Sherlock is unwilling to risk making a move that could end in John leaving him.

Then, one day, everything changes.

Sherlock’s latest case has brought him and John to a circus.  This is the third time, in fact, that they’ve visited a circus together, but the first time the circus features fire-eaters.  Sherlock is watching, transfixed, when John casually mentions that he dated a girl in uni who knew how to swallow flames safely, and she taught him the trick.

Suddenly, the case is forgotten.  Sherlock drags John back to Baker Street without an explanation.  Something in his manner cues John in to his intention, though, and the moment they’re in the flat they’re kissing.

As they break apart for air, John gasps out, “Finally!  I thought I was going to spontaneously combust before you got your head out of your arse!  What took you so long?”

Sherlock glances down at his obvious erection, and John follows his gaze.  

“Can I show you something?” Sherlock asks.

“Oh, god, yes!”

Written for the @hiatustory prompt Magical Realism: Elemental Magic.

Tags under the cut - please let me know if you’d like me to tag or untag you

Keep reading

[may-shepard]

WOW I mean–

[alexxphoenix42]

Time Travel - part 2

The Time Traveller’s Flatmate by orithea, 4 works, teen to explicit. Sherlock Holmes suffers from Chrono-Displacement: simply put, he time travels unpredictably, against his will. John Watson lives his life the normal way. Or as normal as it can possibly be considering that he first meets Sherlock at the age of six.

A Second Chance by kipli, 13 k, explicit. AU. When Sherlock finds that glowing matchbox, it turns out to be a magic item that allows him to go back and live his life over from a turning point. He goes back to his dinner with John at Angelo’s and starts a relationship that never was before. Sweet, and sexy.

A River Without Banks by Chryse, 203 k, explicit. This story is worlds within worlds. Sherlock uses a time traveling device to go back into his past, rejoining his consciousness to that era to redo key points in his life. Over and over, Sherlock tries to find the change that will defeat Moriarty once and for all. Warnings for rape, and torture, but eventual happy ending.

Before The Time of Angels by PlotDotOh (TheCheerfulPornographer), radial_symmetry, 17 k, teen. Sherlock/Doctor Who crossover. John Watson has a run-in with a weeping angel, and gets sent 33 years into the past.

The Science of Forward Momentum by thisprettywren, 3 k, teen. Sherlock understands the impossibility of second chances. Somehow Sherlock is stuck in a time loop, reliving things over and over.

September 20th by HappyJuicyfruit, 10 k , teen. Sherlock keeps reliving the same day. He isn’t very happy about it. (Time loop.)

I Burn For You by Leloi, 9 k, explicit. ACD and BBC Sherlock. For some reason, when John Watson wakes in 221b, everything has changed to look Victorian. At least Sherlock is there with him, but, no, he’s changed too.

The Case of the Moebius Trip by Bitenomnom, 129 k, not rated. When John finally gives in and accepts a case for the first time since Sherlock fell eight months ago, he finds himself in a unique position: in possession of what his client calls a time machine, and desperate enough to give it a go. If it works, he could travel back in time. If it works, he could save Sherlock.

At Your Finger Ends by tartanfics, 7 k, teen. John has always wanted to be a historian. He was born in 2020, so he grew up hearing about developments in time travel technology and theory. For John, history is mostly about the adventure. Fusion with Connie Willis’s Oxford University time travel novels (Doomsday Book, To Say Nothing of the Dog, etc.)

Not Always 1895 by esplanade, 5 k, teen.  “I have long since established that I am not where I once was. So would you be so kind as to enlighten me?”

Misdialed by DLanaDHZ, 63 k, teen. John needs a new phone, one that doesn’t bend time and have an amazing man on the other end who claims to be the world’s greatest detective, except that he can’t figure out how he called Dr. Watson instead of his brother. However, with a criminal mastermind on the loose, John’s phone connection may be the only thing that can save them both.

To the Nines by suitesamba, 2 k, mature. John skips forward in time, and Sherlock reads the signs that point to nine. John knows he’ll eventually be with Sherlock, but the waiting is nearly impossible, and his body is a lot more than transport. A foray into magical realism where all the canon events occur, and a hell of a lot more.

The repeated image by Teatrolley, 9 k, not rated. “Have we met before?” That is what John always says, no matter the circumstances of their meeting. Sherlock always says no until, one day, he doesn’t. Yes, he says this time. Yes, and there’s something I need to tell you. Yes, and I know already that I adore you; in fact, I don’t just know it, I feel it. This is where we always start. This is my twelfth time.  (reincarnation.)

Philia and Eros by distantstarlight, 84 k, explicit. Love is timeless but time isn’t necessarily linear. John Watson and Sherlock Holmes are about to embark on an unintended adventure that will take them far away from the comfortable confines of 221 B Baker Street.

Redivivus by cathedral_carver, 5 k, gen. There are so many different ways to die. For some reason, Sherlock is stuck in a time loop, reliving a horrible day over and over.

John Watson and the Door to Next Week by ASongofSixpence, 8 k, teen. Or, The Curious Case of Time Travel and Sherlock Holmes’ Kiss. On the second Thursday of March, John Watson tumbled out of his bedroom window, and into the third Thursday of March.

Paradox and Splinters by pickledfingers, 3 k, teen. SF AU. The first time John catches eyes with Sherlock, he is young and on his first Watch. John doesn’t miss the spark of recognition in those grey eyes. The first time Sherlock catches eyes with John, he has just finished a chemistry degree and is sitting in a cafe to celebrate. The older, haggard face isn’t one he knows, but he’ll accept a nod and a raised glass from the stranger.

To Rubble and Decay by anchors, 6 k, teen. Wholock.  “You’re John.” He pauses, frowns. “But not my John.” The man - John - quirks his lips into a smile. “No. But I was.” Sherlock receives a visit from an old friend, who has both words of advice and words with which to say goodbye. Time Travel fic.

Just a Jump to the Left by fleetwood_mouse, 5 k, explicit. Sherlock has made a lot of mistakes in his relationship with John. The time machine being the least of them. (Locked to AO3.

In Which John Watson Never Really Had a Choice by Alltheroads, 2 k, teen. Wholock. John smiles against Sherlock’s lips. Sherlock is tense and confused. And John realizes that The Doctor may have gotten the years wrong again.        

[conversationswithjohnlock]

Chapter 1 of The Wedding Garments is up.

[love-in-mind-palace]

Ok..um I wanna talk a bit about this expression on Sherlock’s face

*starts screaming*

[love-in-mind-palace]

Ok so this is what I was saying now that first round of screaming is done.

That is the softest expression he ever displayed. The fucking level of adoration. Like you hot headed little hobbit what am I gonna do with you. You got in a row with a chip and pin machine? Take my money. Take my fucking whole life my soldier. That soft smile my god fml.

[love-in-mind-palace]

This is one of the reasons why I have an issue with the notion that Sherlock was not human enough. What the hell? What the fuck are these people talking about when they say he was not sensitive in the first place!! Look at his face my god. He is so happy that John is in his life. He is finding him funny. We always talk about how John was less bored after meeting Sherlock. Remember same goes for Sherlock too. If you asked him. He would probably never admit it.

[roadswewalk]

“you hot headed little hobbit what am I gonna do with you”

asklhglaksahdldj take my fucking whole life, Ankita

[imrisah]

this is my closure, goodbye for good

[what i was listening to while drawing in case you wanted soundtrack <3]

[ao3feed-johnlock-deactivated202]

The Lost Special: Family Matters (As Do Relationships)

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2rc6Xoi

by ShirleyCarlton

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.

Words: 4216, Chapters: 1/18, Language: English

Fandoms: Sherlock (TV)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Mycroft Holmes, Eurus, Sherrinford Holmes, Mary Morstan, Greg Lestrade, Mummy Holmes, Daddy Holmes, Harry Watson

Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson

Additional Tags: S4 fix-it fic, nothing was as it seemed, Unreliable Narrator, John’s alibi theory, Sherlock and John were in cahoots against Mary the whole time, Villain!Mary, TFP was John’s coma dream, John’s Mind Bungalow, Eurus is a liar, she’s not The Other One, there is an Other One though, sherrinford, Redbeard - Freeform, Redbeard was a dog after all, Misunderstandings, alternating povs, Friends to Lovers

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2rc6Xoi

[shirleycarlton]

So yeah, since we didn’t get the extra episode of BBC Sherlock (named after Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Lost Special” or otherwise) that many fans had been hoping for, and that would repair all the plot holes and answer all the unanswered questions of series 3 and 4, I decided to go ahead and write one myself. :)

I was inspired by all the amazing meta analyses that the fandom instantly produced after the airing of each of the S4 episodes, and which predicted certain narratives that made infinitely more sense than the ones we subsequently were presented with on the show.

So I started writing a story that incorporates various fan theories (mostly revolving around the ‘unreliable narrator’ theory), and connected them in a way that fills most of the plot holes, while hopefully being an enjoyable read as well. :)

I kind of wanted to prove to Moffat and Gatiss that you *can* write an exciting story without loose ends and with narrative arcs that actually make sense, so I hope I succeeded at that.

So I would like to dedicate this fic to all the brilliant fans on tumblr who spotted inconsistent details or wrote academic-level meta (too many to mention by name: I tried but gave up!), who proved that you could still make sense of the ridiculous mess that the narrative of BBC Sherlock had become, if only you superimpose their well thought-out theories on it. I would like to thank my army of beta readers and Brit-pickers (@thelanding, @mydogwatson @camillo1978, Jonathan and Amber) without whom I would never have had the guts to publish this, and arianedevere (@callie-ariane) for her brilliant episode transcripts, which are truly invaluable when you’re writing a fix-it based directly on the show. Many thanks also to to @deaflock and @welovethebeekeeper-deactivated2 for sharing their knowledge as experience experts.

[camillo1978]

Weeeee!

I can’t wait for more…

[may-shepard]

So excited for this!

[marcespot]

Sherlock’s reverencial silence.

As if this moment wasn’t already painful enough, I wanted to relive it from Sherlock’s pov. Look at the reverencial way in which he watches John make such intimate confession. Live those eternal seconds of silence from Sherlock’s perspective and tell me he doesn’t treat John’s feelings with the outmost respect, patience and understanding. He gives John the time and space he needs, watchful for the right moment to step in to offer him comfort.

The most human human being, indeed.

[sherlock-pressure-point]

i’m crying now

[thelostsmiles]

This is it. This right here. This is who Sherlock is. Now you know.

[immaculate-benediction-batch]

How much better this scene is without Mary.

[may-shepard]

Months later, I am still 100% unable to take tfp at face value. How about you?

[phoenix-rises-1623]

Same!

Not only TFP, but most of S4 has driven me to do something I never thought I’d do.  Write!  (I’m not really a writer, but I’m giving it a shot.  Maybe I’ll share some day.)

I recommend this video if you haven’t already seen it.  It’s long and I don’t agree with it 100%, but I found a lot of good points here.  Worth every minute of viewing for my sanity anyway.

I used to think they were trying to say something subtlety about sexuality and humanity, but they refuse to engage in conversation about that, so...  ???. They are more about having a laugh and hurting fans feelings and acting like they are so clever, when really they’re just big kids given the keys to the candy store.

If there is something beyond face value, they aren’t telling.  But of course that doesn’t mean we can’t make it about something ANYWAY.  But I don’t even see any face value in TFP, it’s just too ridiculous in too many ways for me to give it any value.  But they went so far with it that I don’t even want to figure out what’s it’s “really” about.  And maybe this guy in the video is right.  It’s not about anything after all.

My final point.  Don’t give those writers too much of our energy.  Focus on our own creative energy instead.  (which you’re doing already).  I’m reminding myself more than anybody when I say that. (the struggle has been real!!)

[plaidadder]

The Madness of King Buttercup

From the Washington Post, but you’re gonna see this everywhere, because it was a media event:

Praise for the Chief: Trump’s Cabinet tells him it’s an ‘honor’ and a ‘blessing’ to serve

Buttercup’s team invited the media to Buttercup’s “first full Cabinet meeting.” It is slightly alarming to me that he hasn’t held one before this; but maybe it’s for the best if this is what’s going to happen at all of them:

“At Monday’s Cabinet meeting — the first President Trump had held with everyone on board — White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus spoke up to thank Trump “for the opportunity and blessing that you’ve given us to serve your agenda and the American people.”

Priebus said he was offering words on behalf of everyone in the room. But one by one, pretty much everyone else seated around the table took the opportunity to lavish their leader with praise, too, as the media looked on.“It’s an honor to be able to serve you,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

“I am privileged to be here,” said Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta. “Deeply honored.”

“What an incredible honor it is to lead the Department of Health and Human Services at this pivotal time under your leadership,” Tom Price, secretary of that department, added when it was his turn to speak. “I can’t thank you enough for the privileges you’ve given me and the leadership that you’ve shown.” “

The Post refers to this as “praise,” but let’s call it what it is: flattery. Buttercup’s idea of how to turn this ship around is to surround himself with the beneficiaries of his patronage and invite the media in to witness their impressive display of sychronized sycophancy.

Look…this is not a good sign.

This display has to have been orchestrated by the communications team. I don’t know how specific the instructions were, but nothing else would explain the consistency. They are probably telling themselves that this is a PR strategy; but as a PR strategy, it’s terrible. The only people who are consuming this uncritically are the people who, in his immortal words, would still vote for him if he shot someone down in the middle of 5th Avenue. 

I think the staff is mainly doing this for Buttercup. They think he needs this. This is basically them offering their fussy infant a giant binky. And that’s what the Cabinet has been reduced to. Buttercup’s binky.

So this says very bad things about the state of Buttercup’s psyche. But also…think about how humiliating this performance must have been for everyone in it who isn’t already 100% corrupted. Think about how warped the administration culture has become that they were able to secure full participation in this stunt. Many of these assholes have spent their lives pulling shit like this. But clearly, the ‘grownups’ who signed on have succumbed to gravitational pull of the Orange Singularity. If they weren’t going to reject THIS idea, there’s not a lot he’s going to propose that they’re going to feel called upon to argue with.

So, to recap: our president has gone all

and his staff is trying to soothe him by turning the Cabinet into his henchmen:

…yes, even the much-vaunted national security team…

while the Post and NBC are like

and we’re all kind of torn between

and

[phoenix-rises-1623]

OMG! accurate.

[987r93gr7r-deactivated20250803]

Okay imagine John and Sherlock are still pining for each other but John is living at 221b again with a child that might or might not be biologically his. He gives his three year old daughter a kiss and she asks “why did you kiss me?” and John says “Because I love you and I wanted to show you” and then she says “Then why don’t you ever kiss Sherlock?” And John starts sweating as she starts throwing a tantrum that will only end if he kisses Sherlock.

[one-thousand-splendid-stars]

John brushes Rosie’s thin, blonde curls off her forehead and presses his lips between her eyes. She smiles as he pulls back and tucks another stray curl behind her ears.

“Daddy?” she asks, laying back and allowing him to pull the covers up to her chin.

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“Why do you kiss me?”

John chuckles warmly. “Because, my darling, I love you and want to show you.”

As she settles into her blankets, a crease forms where her eyebrows are furrowed in thought, an expression she no doubt picked up from Sherlock. John’s heart warms in the way it only ever does when he sees Sherlock’s traits shining through in his little girl.  

“Daddy?” 

“Hm?”

“If you kiss me because you love me, then why don’t you ever kiss Sherlock?”

John’s breath catches in his throat as his insides freeze. Of all the things he expected to come out of his daughter’s mouth just now, that was certainly not one of them. 

“What-”

“Because you love Sherlock, right?” she stated more than asked, as if pointing out that the sun rises every morning. 

“I … c-certainly l-love -”

“And he loves you too?”

“He … I don’t -” 

“Then why don’t you?” she persisted, an irritated whine creeping into her voice as her bottom lip jutted out.

“Rosie, honey …”

“WHY NOT, DADDY?” she wailed.

“Rosie!” John prepared to raise his voice as well, sensing one of her world-famous tantrums coming along.

“That’s not fair to him!! How will he know that you love him too if you never kiss him goodnight?!” 

“Rosie, hush right now.”

“NOT FAIR!! And it’s not very nice, Daddy!!”

“I’m going to count to thr -”

“NOT NICE!! WHY WON’T YOU TELL ME!”

John reached out to console his distraught daughter but was met with the world’s most Sherlock-esque pout and an angry pair of crossed arms. 

“Rosie-”

“NO!!”

“Everything alright up here?” came Sherlock’s familiar voice at the door.

Dear god … John thought, panic rising and sweat pooling at his temple. He could not have arrived to help at a worse time.

“She’s fine. She’s just having a -”

“How come Daddy never kisses you?!” Rosie demanded. 

And there it was. John pinched the bridge of his nose. Although his eyes were tightly shut, he could feel Sherlock’s questioning stare at the back of his neck. Time seemed frozen in that moment, as neither of them dared move first.

“Why doesn’t he … kiss me?” His breath caught almost unnoticeably on the ‘k.’ 

“Ignore her. Rosie you need to go to sleep.”

“But you said you love him!!”  I swear to f- “You need to kiss Sherlock goodnight too. It’s only fair, Daddy.”

John finally looked at his daughter. Rosie had that look in her eyes that said she would sit there all night with her arms crossed at him until she got what she wanted.  Behind him, he heard Sherlock awkwardly shuffling from foot to foot in the doorway, likely regretting he ever came upstairs.  John finally exhaled in exhaustion, not wanting to deal with Rosie’s attitude any longer. 

“You want me to kiss Sherlock goodnight?” She simply cocked her head in response, her eyebrows still furrowed together. “Fine. Sherlock, come here.” 

His stomach churned and he hoped to god that Sherlock would bear this with him in good spirit. The last thing he wanted to do was make him uncomfortable. Or worse, damage their only recently repaired relationship.

He finally turned to look at his flat mate and best friend, who seemed flushed and frozen to the spot.  God, please Sherlock, just do this for me- for her. John stood and tugged on his sleeve, leading him to the side of Rosie’s bed, where she stared up at them in expectation.

He gave Rosie a pointed look as if to say ‘happy?’ before turning to Sherlock. Of all the times he imagined something like this happening, it was never in this context. His stomach flipped again as he leaned up on his tip-toes and pecked a quick, chaste kiss to Sherlock’s cheek.

 Immediately, he felt his face heat up to an alarming temperature, butterflies swarming in his stomach. Glancing up, he saw that Sherlock seemed to be malfunctioning. He hadn’t moved an inch aside from his wildly fluttering eyelashes.

John relaxed and grinned. “Happy?” he said to Rosie. She uncrossed her arms, but the line of confusion remained fixed on her forehead. He pulled the sheets back up around her, congratulating himself on his handling of the situation. It went much smoother than he thought. As soon as Sherlock came to his senses, all would be back to normal. Now if he could just tuck Rosie in … 

“But Daddy …” Oh Christ, what now.  “That’s not how you kiss me goodnight.” Dread settled again in the pit of John’s stomach. 

“John,” came Sherlock’s voice, sounding small and vulnerable. “It’s alright.” John released another exhausted breath and stood again. The nervousness he felt last time wasn’t there anymore. This time there was an entirely new tension present as he approached Sherlock.

He slowly reached up and cupped the back of Sherlock’s neck, pulling him down. Sherlock’s eyes never left his as he pushed a dark curl out of the way and tenderly pressed his lips to his forehead. An electric charge seemed to buzz through him at the contact. He lingered just a bit too long, feeling Sherlock tremble slightly beneath the touch.  When he pulled away, Sherlock’s eyes bore into him with new understanding. The corner of John’s lip twitched up in response.

They stayed like that, noses inches from touching, John’s fingers threading into his nape curls until Rosie spoke up.

“There. Now Sherlock knows you love him too. Daddy, can you turn the lamp off please?” John could hear the satisfied smile in her voice before looking. She closed her eyes and nestled into the mattress as he turned the lamp off, leaving only her ballerina nightlight to illuminate the room. As he retreated, he gently took Sherlock’s hand and led him out, closing the door behind them.

They stood outside looking at their feet for what seemed like several minutes. Finally, John chuckled and ran his hand through his hair.

“Look Sherlock, sorry about-” he started, but was cut off by Sherlock leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to his hairline.

“I love you too, John” his voice rumbled just between them, a playful twinkle in his watering eyes.

His grin stretching wide and his heart swelling, John tugged his pajama shirt back down to press their lips together. After a moment of shock adjustment Sherlock stepped in closer and timidly gripped his biceps. John returned his hand to its previous place in his nape curls and placed the other one on his cheek. Their kiss deepened, and hands roamed cautiously, not wanting to break whatever spell had overcome them both. They kissed until a sleepy mumble from Rosie through the door caused them to break apart. Foreheads pressed together, they basked momentarily in what had just happened.

“Er, should we … downstairs?”

“Yes.”

Tagging some peeps who might enjoy this :)<3  @kimbiablue @shag-me-senseless-watson  @love-in-mind-palace @tjlc-or-cocaine @johnlocklovein221b​ @rosecoloured @beejohnlocked  @inevitably-johnlocked @the-moon-loves-the-sea @violets-of-resistance @highfunctioningfangirl @alexxphoenix42 @usuallynotusual @loveinthemindpalace @victorianlovers 

[987r93gr7r-deactivated20250803]

OMG THIS IS SO PRECIOUS THANK YOU SO SO MUCH FOR WRITING THIS

[cucumberbenny-deactivated202109]

Johnlock

[simpleanddestructivechemistry]

😭❤️

[francescacoppa]

While many people think fanfiction is about inserting sex into texts (like Tolkien’s) where it doesn’t belong, Brancher sees it differently: “I was desperate to read about sex that included great friendship; I was repurposing Tolkien’s text in order to do that. It wasn’t that friendship needed to be sexualized, it was that erotica needed to be … friendship-ized.” Many fanfiction writers write about sex in conjunction with beloved texts and characters not because they think those texts are incomplete, but because they’re looking for stories where sex is profound and meaningful. This is part of what makes fan fiction different from pornography: unlike pornography, fanfic features characters we already care deeply about, and who tend to already have long-standing and complex relationships with each other. It’s a genre of sexual subjectification: the very opposite of objectification. It’s benefits with friendship.

Francesca Coppa, “Introduction to The Dwarf’s Tale,” The Fanfiction Reader (via unreconstructedfangirl)

[darcylindbergh]

John, frustrated with his place, with his restraints, with his own damned pride, finds himself walking out on the moors in the early morning hours. It is quiet in that way that only the moors can be:  peaceful, but busy with the murmur of late frogs and early birds, the buzz of bees, the song of the wind through the long grasses. 

Beyond the hills, the trees, the horizon, the sun rises. 

John ducks his head into the cover of his collar and walks, the hem of his coat dragging wet through the morning dew. The house behind him is sleeping, but for the first scullery maids and stable boys, and John imagines that he can leave behind the disaster he’s made in his heart as easily as he does his overbearing mother, his newly engaged and unbearably delighted sister, and the oily slick memory of Lord Mycroft Holmes, looming out of the darkness of the safe and familiar rooms of home.

If he is to be unhappy now, it will be only of his own making. 

Yet John remembers the softness around those pale eyes just yesterday, the confession in them as he passed Clara Bingley into Harriet’s waiting arms, and cannot now suppress the seedling of hope growing beneath his breast. 

And then, a hush.

Through the fog, through the grey-green-violet fields, through the first weak strains of sunrise, there is a miracle with hair wild and shirt open, coming across the moor toward him: Sherlock Holmes. 

He is now as John had for so long not been able to imagine him to be – soft-edged and warm-cheeked, looking over John with such wonder and longing, as if he can scarcely believe him to be real. 

If John had been able to see this truth in him from the very beginning, he might have saved them all a great deal of pain. But what’s done is done, and it has been Mr Holmes’ goodness of heart that has slowly begun to repair the damage left in John’s wake, and John can see him now for who he truly is. 

Mr Holmes stands in front of him. John swallows. “I couldn’t sleep,” he offers in explanation. Niceties and social rules hardly seem to apply to a meeting on the moors at sunrise.

“Nor I,” Mr Holmes says quietly. “My brother…”

“Yes, he was here.” John offers an embarrassed smile to soften the blow.

Mr Holmes’ neck and cheeks are flushed against the chill of the morning, and the colour deepens with embarrassment. “However can I make amends for such behavior?”

John would lower his own eyes in shame but finds he cannot tear them away. “After what you’ve done to protect us from Ms Morstan, and I suspect for Harriet, it is I who should be making amends.” 

“You must know,” Mr Holmes chokes out, suddenly overcome, “Surely you must know it was all for you.” John does know. John does, and he nods, and Mr Holmes says, quickly, breathlessly, as if he might lose his nerve, “You are too generous to trifle with me. You spoke with my brother last night, and it has taught me to hope as I’d scarcely allowed myself before. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes have not changed – but one word from you will silence me forever.” 

John looks up into Sherlock’s eyes, willing him to see there how John’s feelings have changed, and says nothing.

After the longest moments of John’s life, Sherlock begins again. “If, however, your feelings have changed…” His lips are trembling as he pauses, collecting his courage. John holds his breath. “I would have to tell you. You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love – I love – I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on.” 

Oh, but to hear it said, to hear it confirmed, to hear that it is still, after everything, still true: John’s chest is full to bursting, an ache of light and adoration that stills the flurry of John’s thoughts and soothes the very deepest places in his soul.

He steps forward, takes Sherlock’s hand. Sherlock, unblinking, lets him. 

“Well then,” John whispers, bringing Sherlock’s knuckles to his lips. I shall never be parted from you from this day on, he breathes over them, and Sherlock’s chest hitches as if he has heard the words said aloud. “Your hands are cold.” 

John closes his hands around Sherlock’s fingers, holding them close, holding them with promise, and Sherlock leans in, resting his forehead against John’s, letting himself be held, letting himself give in. 

Somewhere in the distance, the sunrise crests over a ridge, and warms the first tentative breath of a kiss. 

[phoenix-rises-1623]

Best of Freebatch (Benedict Cumberbatch & Martin Freeman)

chemistry. enjoy!

[ellipsisaspired]

Moffat and Gatiss are clearly unable to separate their affection for Amanda Abbington from the character she plays.

[seducemymindyouidiot]

As much as I hate to think about it, I think this is what it came down to. I think they prioritized wanting to give their buddy a cool role over the integrity of the show. It just so happened that it fell at right about the time they needed to pull the great No Homo…so it served multiple ends.

[monikakrasnorada]

I still have nefarious thoughts concerning all of this. Something is sooo fishy.

[wendyqualls]

I think part of the problem is that Moftiss really aren’t “planning ahead” types of writers. They said in an interview that they honestly had no idea how they were going to bring Sherlock back after TRF but they liked the drama of it so they just did it and figured “eh, we’ll solve that later.”

Eurus, to me, feels a lot like that. Maybe they were thinking “oh, we should tease the Sherrinford thing and then have it turn out the Holmes brothers have a sister! That would be a cool twist!” but then they had to pretend they were foreshadowing it the whole time and that’s how Mycroft’s weak “I’ve been dropping subliminal code words” got rammed into canon. And yeah, S4E3 was a really well-done stand-alone episode - but as a culmination of four seasons of drama, it just didn’t live up to the hype. (Either the hype Moftiss deliberately generated for S4 or the expected hype of “something’s gotta give” from the character arcs in the rest of the show).

I feel like they never did fully commit to the character of Mary. They didn’t want her to be too passive (which I applaud - ACD wasn’t big on 3-dimensional female characters) but they didn’t want her to have a cliche bad guy betrayal, so instead they got this weird mix where she’s an assassin who lies to John in what I’d consider a totally unforgivable way, but John and Sherlock both wave that aside because, what, baby? Momentum? And then she’s this great addition to their team, except when she’s not, and then she has the most cliched death ever despite that fact that hello, she’s got an infant at home, does she really not care enough about her daughter to have a sense of self-preservation? And through some hand-waving we’re supposed to believe that Mycroft - who obsessively has eyes on his little brother even when there’s no reason to - hasn’t at LEAST had a background check done and thought hey, this woman’s backstory is a little weird, maybe I should kidnap her and interrogate her a bit?

I love the show because I love the characters, but there’s a reason so many of my fics end up in some nebulous “Sherlock and John are living together and All That Weird Stuff hasn’t happened” time frame. I just can’t reconcile the plot with the way the characters were developed and how they’d act in those situations.

[missdaviswrites]

I completely agree that a big issue with the show is it’s just not planned out very far ahead and a lot of things are thrown in for the “cool” factor. (One of the biggest: “if we make it so Sherlock almost dies, we can do this cool Mind Palace sequence!” But they didn’t realize fans would then think Mary was more of a villain than if she had say, shot him in the arm or just tried to talk to him instead.) Luckily for me I’ve never been much interested in over-arching plots–I like the show for its witty dialogue and character interactions.

As for Mary herself, I was a very casual fan (casual enough that the show made almost no impression on me–it was just there in the background) until she showed up, and then s3 blew me away with its….witty dialogue and character interactions, which I found worked much better when there were three characters on the screen playing off each other, rather than just John and Sherlock. This is even true for some of TFP–there are some nice moments between Sherlock, John and Mycroft that wouldn’t have worked with just two of them.

[ivyblossom]

I’m always a fan of things that demonstrate why planning is so important in fiction. Many people hate to do it, but this is why it’s important! We knew they hadn’t planned anything after the pool when they wrote S1, and you can tell they hadn’t planned S3, which required John to be secretive about what the H. in John H. Watson stood for, when they had John casually offer up Hamish as a baby name in S2. Outlining for the win.

As for Mary: I agree that they seemed to have a sense of what they wanted from her, but got tangled up in how to get there, and seem to keep trying to justify something that I don’t think needs more justification (personally).

I think the story works much better if Mary fully intended to kill Sherlock when she shot him in S3, given what we now know about her, the way she sometimes just reacts and does the wrong thing, even though she wants to be a person who does the right thing. Her judgment is TERRIBLE, and I think that’s sort of the point. Or, it makes sense to me if that were the point!

It would make sense to me that Sherlock took that fateful step in S3 and ceased to be a friend in that moment. He became Generic Threat That Must Be Eliminated. The moment she felt he threatened her, their fun friendship ceased to be a factor and her instincts took over. She meant him to die, and he did die, because she’s efficient and deadly. She remains a cocked gun even when she doesn’t want to be one anymore.

I’m sorry that everyone’s still so invested in her being a villain. I liked the rug pull of her not being a villain in the story, personally. I thought she was going to be a big bad after S3 too, but when she turned out to just have terrible instincts that ruined her relationships (like shooting Sherlock and then threatening him, and vanishing on John at exactly the wrong time), I kind of liked what that made her. A bad guy who aims for goodness and fails over and over again.

I liked that they put me in John’s shoes: distrusting, kind of angry with her, frustrated with the situation, stuck pretending everything’s okay, but uncertain if this is really going to work (or should work!). I think it makes John that much more understandable and sympathetic in his own failings and anger towards Mary in the end.

But I don’t think we need to go back and redeem Mary in S3. I don’t know why they’re retreating to that. It’s way more interesting if Sherlock forgives her for actually killing him. That’s an insane thing to forgive, but that’s Sherlock for you.

[plaidadder]

This is in haste because I’m very interested in this thread but I don’t have a lot of time, but:

I agree that you can see that this show was not planned very far in advance. However, you CAN put together a coherent plot even if you have not outlined it all ahead of time. I don’t necessarily recommend this method to others; but I do a LOT of plotting, and most of the time, when I get started, I don’t really know how it’s all going to fit together. I have actually been thinking about why it is that I hate Moffat’s Plot Twists so much when I am so enamored of them in the writing of other people, and it comes down not so much to the lack of advance planning as the refusal to commit.

See, you CAN develop a plot on the fly–a serially published narrative really makes that almost necessary–BUT, at some point in the arc, usually around the midpoint, you need to stop introducing things and start working on tying all the things you’ve already introduced together. No matter how disparate these things may appear to be to you, they CAN be tied together if you do the work of figuring out, at the midpoint, how all your plot lines relate to each other and which piece each will contribute to the ultimate solution. 

I think what ivyblossom is talking about with Mary as a character in the post just above this one is an example of Moffat and Gatiss’s reluctance to commit. I disagree with ivyblossom’s interpretation of Mary, but what she says makes total sense: to have Mary OWN the shooting AS an attempt to kill Sherlock, and then deal with that in the aftermath, would be in every way a stronger choice than this “she was saving my life by trying to kill me” bullshit. That’s an attempt to *avoid* commitment by having it both ways: you get the drama of the betrayal, but then you get the reassurance that Mary hasn’t actually betrayed anyone. But this authorial CYA ends up making nonsense out of the shooting and, over time, out of Mary’s entire character arc. 

Similarly, the fact that they didn’t know, when they made TRF, how they were going to get out of it is not an excuse. Doyle didn’t know how he was going to get Holmes out of it when he wrote “Final Problem.” Hundreds, if not thousands of fans figured out how to craft a logical explanation without any advance planning based just on what we were given in the episode. They didn’t give us a straightforward explanation because, IMHO, they were afraid to. Instead, they embedded their explanation in the middle of a bizarre and displaced conversation with Anderson, who then rejects it, so that their explanation becomes deniable as a trick or a hallucination of Anderson’s if people don’t like it. 

With an arc, you want the second half to be the development and resolution of things you introduced in the first half. That way, as the arc goes on, it means more and more to the reader because you keep gaining new perspectives on things that you already thought you understood. But instead of building on what they’ve already got, what Moffat and Gatiss have historically done is evacuate it and then start again. That’s definitely what happened in Series 4, where instead of really dealing with the issues that would normally arise after the events of “His Last Vow,” Mycroft retcons it, Sherlock and Mary become best friends, and the resolution of Mary’s arc is driven by people we’ve never met and events we never knew about. And when you evacuate your narrative instead of developing it, what happens is that as it goes on, it starts to mean less and less. 

This was not immediately obvious on Sherlock for a few reasons: one, the introduction of Moriarty does sort of provide the first series with a coherent plot arc which builds on what has already been introduced, and to some extend that arc extends to encompass TRF. Two, the production values, which continue to astonish me even though I’m SUPER fed up with the writing, created so many layers of meaning in the filmic text that they camouflaged, for a long time, the disposability of the plotting. So it isn’t really that they didn’t plan far enough in advance. It’s that they never really committed to the resolution phase, either in the individual series arcs or in the arc of the show as a whole. To me, that’s emblematic of a general refusal of sincerity that characterizes almost every aspect of Sherlock except for the actors’ performances. THERE you have commitment aplenty, and that’s what really gives the show its gravitational pull.

[alexxphoenix42]

After this weekend I have the strong feeling that we have to take s4 at face value. Still, so much doesn't make sense to me. Are there any good fics that follow canon, explore more of the feelings and motivations of the protagonists, and are still 'Johnlocky'? Thanks for all your amazing work!

Hey nonny, you might enjoy this fix-it and post s4 stuff …

Bridgesby sussexbound (SamanthaLenore), 6 k, mature. John and Sherlock are alonetogether for first time his birthday.  Aprecarious bridge is stretched out before them that they need to at leastattempt to traverse.

Happy Birthday, SherlockHolmes byglenien, 2 k, teen.  After The Hug™ andbefore going away to eat a cake. The Lying Detective missing scene, no fadeaways, not on our fandom.

The Science of Deduction, 2021by constant-warmth-and-tea, 1 k, gen. Four years later, we take a glimpse into 221B as Sherlock deduces.

Things Neededby BakerStTardis (Sokashi), 5 k, gen. After Mary’s death, John is moving on,changing things. Sherlock wonders where he fits in to the plan. Parentlock.Sweet.

Home Isby glenien, WIP - 13 k +, teen. Parentlock. While 221B is still underconstruction, Sherlock stays with Rosie and John. The two men relearn how to betogether, finding something new developing between them.

Those Forbidden Words bythatawkwardfriend, 2 k, gen. This is a fix-it for that scene of John in thewell from The Final Problem.

A Case for DomesticPropinquity bySilentAuror, 32 k, explicit. As Sherlock and John renovate Baker Street withRosie underfoot, Sherlock can’t help but wondering how he could possiblyconvince John to just stay indefinitely…

And in the Pieces We AreFound byItsallfine, teen. A collection of unconnected short stories inspired by series4. Summaries/warnings by chapter:

Hearth and Home by mycapeisplaid, 5 k,teen.  Parentlock. Sixteen years afterthe east wind came and went, two men embrace their future.

There’sAlways Three of Us by Itsallfine, 1.7 k, teen. Sherlocktakes John and Rosie out to Angelo’s and gets a chance to correct the biggestmistake of his life. JustOne Condition by Itsallfine, 2 k, teen. John gets some senseknocked into him by one Martha Hudson, resident sassmaster. Maybe it’s time tomove back into 221b after all.

The In-Betweenby blueink3, 10 k, mature. Beginningin a Chinese restaurant and ending at the bottom of a well, what about themoments we didn’t see? Fix-it fic for all of Sherlock.

29January 2017 bywearitcounts (Sher_locked_up), 1.7 k, explicit. “That,” John says, “should havehappened years ago. Maybe even the first time.” On an anniversary, thelads finally admit what they are to each other.

Who IWant To Be byhubblegleeflower, 3 k, gen. Meta fic. Sherlock and John talk back to thecreators, complaining about series 4.

PermanentFixture byvitruvianwatson, 18 k explicit, parentlock. Domesticity had neversuited John before, but somehow, here in the warmth and safety of 221B BakerStreet, with Sherlock Holmes reading medical jargon to his daughter, Sherlock’sbony feet nudging against his leg, John couldn’t imagine anyplace that would makehim happier.

We Agreed, No More Secretsby SherlocksSister, 9 k, explicit.  Johnand Rosie are living back at Baker Street when Irene texts again. This time,they have a proper conversation about the nature of the relationship betweenIrene and Sherlock and why she texts him. Truths are shared. (S4 fix-it fic.)

AHesitation Waltz byUrbanHymnal, 5 k, teen. John and Rosie have moved back into 221b, but somehowJohn and Sherlock remain out of step. Sherlock keeps leaving with no word,disappearing for hours, and John decides to follow.  (Sherlock is playing his violin for weddings.John is charmed. They dance together.)

Nocturne by Atiki, 6 k, teen. Post S4.  John and Rosie are back in 221b, but thingshave yet to be said. Finally, in the dark, late at night, conversations can behad.

The Pieces that Fall toEarth byItsallfine, 49 k, mature. Epistolary fic that picks up after s4. John isreeling with his loss, and struggling with alcohol abuse, anger management, andtherapy as he raises his daughter. Sherlock hovers at the edges hoping so muchthat John will let him into his life. It helps that John finally decides tocome out.

We Go On(It Was Only Texting) byPoppyAlexander, 1k teen. How did Sherlock know it was onlytexting? A fix-if fic for TLD.

Marrying Absurd by JenTheSweetie, 3 k,teen.  “Sherlock, are you and Daddymarried?” John heard Rosie say from the other room. “No,” Sherlock said,shortly followed by, “Want to look at pictures of the inside of eyeballs?”

(Never)Turn Your Back to the Sea by DiscordantWords, 37 k, mature. A very believable mop up after theend of s4. Everything is different now. Sherlock deals with a flat goneunfamiliar, a sister he didn’t know he had, Mycroft, the work, and of courseJohn and Rosie. Always.

TheThing Which I Greatly Feared Is Come Upon Me by ancientreader, 3 k, mature. John and Rosie moveback to 221b. John still has nightmares. Finally he and Sherlock talk, and Johnapologizes for the beating.

From the Bottom of the Well by SilentAuror, 36 k, explicit. After the mess with Eurus is over,John is still picking up the pieces of his life, helping Sherlock rebuild 221b,and finding minders for Rosie. At night though, the nightmare returns, and he’sback at the bottom of that well.